I think I’m going to have to make more of these.

I recently participated in a trade with a local dyer. MamaJude does simply beautiful work with plant dyes and can also dye cotton. I cannot dye cotton, so we worked out a swap where she would acquire a couple skeins of cotton boucle from me, and I would receive some indigo batts from her.

The batts arrived a few days ago, and they are gorgeous! There are six of them total. I haven’t weighed them, but I’m guessing the batch is in the six-to-eight ounces category. Here’s the best picture I could nab of one in the fading afternoon light.

I keep thinking that I should mix these with some of the lovely soysilk I have stashed away and make something large. But they’re so light and fluffy, I’m wondering if I could find a light spring/early autumn top or cardigan pattern. That might do them more justice. Whatever I decide on, it’s going to have to wait awhile. I’ve got two or three other spinning jobs lined up, plus the BFL lace I’m finishing up now.

My aunt’s shawl yarn, however, is now finished. I set the twist earlier this week.

And, speaking of shawls, here’s a picture of my finished “Hatter’s Party Scarf” shawl.
Shortly after I finished it I was able to wear it out and about at a botanical garden on a chilly day. This convinced me that I could, in fact, find excuses to make a larger shawl and wear it often.

I’m really tickled with how it turned out. I have so few projects made where I actually spun the yarn and then made it into something, it’s nice to have another pretty one. The fringe was rather fun to make as well. A very simple matter of dropped stitches! (Dropped on purpose.) My main trouble was making sure I dropped the stitches all the way back to the twisted row. Something about that single-ply merino/mohair made it keep snagging on itself.

And, as a final item, here are some little felt squares that came with my new batts. Aren’t they cute?

Oh, and to make things even better, somehow, someway I ended up knitting one sock on size ones, and the other on size twos. No, I’m not ripping it back and starting over. They both stay on my feet, and the difference isn’t too huge unless you notice that one is an inch or so shorter than the other. A good reason to not repeat the “it takes a year to finish these” method.

About the same time I finished those up, I finished spinning the singles for my “Violet, You’re Turning Violet.” Hurrah! A lovely bluefaced leicester and silk blend. I’m thinking it will turn out as a DK or light worsted weight. Two ply.

While I was photographing the singles, I started playing around with a clock key and wound up with this photo. (No pun intended.) The colors are slightly off, but I like the feel of the picture.

Of course a yarn store stop was involved in the trip, and it dawned on me there that I hadn’t blogged for quite some time. Therefore, I am taking the necessary steps to share some of the neat things that have happened lately.

First off, the new purchases, because everybody likes seeing shiny new yarn. Three balls of Jo Sharp wool. They’re not amazingly soft, but I really like the colors and the subtle sheen.

Believe it or not, I actually wound up starting a project with them at least four times. Quite probably five or six. This is what happens when I don’t have a pattern and keep changing my mind twelve rows into a scarf. First it was going to be stripey stockinette, then it was going to have purl diamonds to keep it from curling, then cables, then twists with ribbing, then cables and twists but no ribbing . . . you get the idea. I really think I should find a pattern as soon as possible, otherwise it will become the knitting equivalent of trying to rhyme with orange. It just doesn’t work.

You may be wondering why I bought yarn when I already have so much at home. Well, I was silly enough to only bring one knitting project along on the trip, and what looked like it would take all week (six sections of lace) was practically finished in the car. The lace sections were so very easy. Next time, I’ll actually read the pattern to double check how long it’s going to take me.

And here’s the “finished project” — a little bitty neck shawl called Little Shells. Still needs to be blocked. I knit it from some handspun DK weight silk which I spun up way back when, after hand dyeing it. It was actually the first silk I ever dyed. Memories, you know, memories. And I got to make some more memories while knitting the silly thing. Such as chasing the stitch count all through the project (I was always on the stitch count that belonged to the row before the one I just finished!) and knitting while laying out on a blanket by the lake.

Here’s a couple pictures of the area that I borrowed from my sister. It was a lovely day, and the bugs were few and far between, and none of them dared to go after my silk yarn.

I realized I’ve been leaving you in suspense over my purple sweater! It did get finished, and I literally had to take it to Colorado unblocked and block it in a friend’s washing machine, but it got finished. I wore it a lot and really, really enjoyed it. Several people commented on it (in a good way). Yay! The photo, or rather a piece of the photo, I snagged from a friend’s picture of the trip. We were playing an acting game called Freeze.

Another project I’m really excited over is my latest thick-and-thin yarn. I spun this from two batts carded by my good friend Legossi, and the yarn turned out so wonderful! The batts were all light and springy and the yarn took up that quality and made it a poem. (That’s what you call waxing poetic.)
Here it is undyed -

And here it is post-color –

Interestingly enough, I just dumped the dyes in with the yarn to see what they would do. I wasn’t expecting it to go that dark, but the pops of color shifts are gorgeous! So subtle, and almost shiny.

And, the projects that I haven’t begun yet are very exciting. I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I was scouring Ravelry for hat and cowl patterns. Well, here’s why. I’ve been appointed as assistant director for a Christmas play. And that, to my knitterly mind, means I will be out and about in the cold more than usual. Thus, I will be empowered with the ability to wear more knit items than is conceivably possible. My heart beats wildly at the thought.

I finished the silk laceweight for my sister.

And, while I was at it, I almost finished up the Willow fingering weight. (That’s due to be finished as soon as possible so I can dive into some lovely merino.)

And I’ve been simultaneously (well, not quite simultaneously) spinning this gorgeous thick and thin yarn. Again, it was on that super secret device, which was perfect for this kind of yarn. The thick bits wouldn’t fit through any of my wheel orifices, and the Walking Wheel keeps me at arms length from controlling the thick and thin variations.

And big news! The Phat Fiber “sneak peek” videos are now up, and you can see my samples in the first video. Hooray! I’m about the fourth one in on the first video. If you’d care to see it, you can find the Phat Fiber videos here.

This is called banana silk. It’s derived from the leaves of banana trees, so it’s a plant-based fiber, and you can see how shiny it is in the pictures. I’d heard of yarn that had banana fiber in it, but it had never registered in my noggin that that would mean there was banana spinning fiber floating around somewhere to be pounced on.

I now have a full four ounces of the stuff waiting for me to figure out what to try it in. The individual strands are thick, and the softness is really hard to describe. Almost like a really, really fine elastic. The kind that isn’t wrapped up in thread.

And, if you’re wondering, yes, I bought it on Etsy. And, yes, I am aware that other fiber retail areas exist, but, hey! Why not Etsy? This particular fiber came from ExtremeSpinning – great store, great owner – and she has some really neat stuff in there. In fact, she sent me a fun little sample of some locally carded wool roving. Isn’t it cute?

Sweater! I promised a picture and here it is.

My first knit sweater. Very, very comfy and soft. In fact, so comfy that I’m already plotting to make another sweater. A short sleeve cotton one, actually. I already have the pattern and yarn picked out. I think I’m still on a “start a new project” kick. Thankfully I’ve been able to resist. Even when I couldn’t knit any more on either of my current projects for various reasons.

The Emily Dickinson shawl is coming along nicely, after a small glitch in which I ran out of beads and had to wait a day to get more. The ironic thing is that, now that I’ve got more beads, I’m back into a whole section of the shawl that doesn’t need beads. I believe I’m on row six or seven now, and I’m really happy with the way it’s looking at the moment. I’ve already been toying with the idea of making another version of it without the beads.

And, another batt picture to sign off with, my very favorite of the bunch. The Geiranger Fjord batts…

It’s hard to tell how big something will be when it’s scrunched up on circulars. And, of course, doing a stitch count and the necessary math would have just been overkill.

So, now it’s big enough to go up over my head like most enormous cowls (instead of the neckwarmer I thought it would be) but it’s not wide enough to do more than make a feint at keeping the top of my head warm. Perhaps I can knit the second ball into a similar size, then graft them together down the middle. I’m also hoping that the minor stretch job I gave it while blocking will help it expand.

It’s blocking now. And it’s got quite a nice texture in the stitches. I’m very happy with the way it turned out. Beautiful and warm.

After I bound off the cowl I found myself in an emergency situation. I was only partway into the audio dramatization of Les Miserables (for the first time ever), and I had no knitting projects in progress to work on! I couldn’t spin during it because the wheel would have made too much noise. And, of course, I couldn’t just sit there and listen without something to do with my hands. That wouldn’t have been nearly as fun.

After some desperate stash scrambling I printed out the Baroness Beret pattern (free on Ravelry) and got started with some handspun worsted weight. I’m pretty sure the yarn is indigo dyed.

And, with the aid of the beret in progress, I finished Les Miserables to loud acclaim from myself. I may just need to dig up a copy of the actual book now. Only I can’t knit while listening to that.

But, thanks to various knitting moments, the tam is also done and blocking.

My Knitpicks yarn arrived yesterday. I’ve already done a gauge swatch on the charcoal gray. (Gorgeous stuff. I’ll have to get more of it in the future for some project or other.) And I’m happy with the sweater yarn color. One moment it looks brown and the next it looks purple. Two colors that I like very much indeed. Once I get the gray tam done I can dive in on the cowl-neck sweater!

First off, Nessie is done. Eyes and all. The pattern called for brown eyes, but I happened to be working with some navy yarn at the time so I just snitched a bit of it from the too-long tail of the work in progress. The recipient’s eyes are blue, so it works.

Second, I give a public thank-you to God for His blessings to me through yarn and fiber sales on Etsy. A month or so ago I was seriously thinking about pulling the plug on the whole thing, but He has sent me enough sales to make continuing worthwhile. I’m very excited about next year. I’ve got all sorts of ideas for new products, and a couple of marketing ideas as well. Look out, you may be seeing my shop on Ravelry sometime soon!

Third, I’m starting my New Year’s Dash tomorrow. Or at least, I’ll be preparing for my New Year’s Dash tomorrow. I’ll probably spend the better part of the day working on something completely non-fiber related, but I will take time to rummage through my fiber stash and see what will make the cut. I was given my favorite recording of The Wind in the Willows today, and I plan to listen to it once I get spinning.

And last, I actually began working on the navy cowl again. (Hence the color of Nessie’s eyes.) It’s about three inches tall now. I really don’t know how tall a cowl should be. I want it to come up over my head like a hood, but not swallow me up when not over my head. It may be too narrow for an over the head cowl. Thankfully it’s not taking up all my stitch markers now. I was given another set for Christmas.

Ha. As I was typing that last bit I kept thinking of more and more spinning projects to add to the Dash list. This could get really interesting. Another thing I’m going to add to my Dash list is not technically spinning. I’ve had an idea for an article to submit to a spinning magazine, but never gotten around to writing it. It shall be written between now and the New Year. Period. Zip. End of discussion.

And I finished my socks! A little more exciting, definitely. They were laying about almost finished for quite a bit – I still had to weave in those pesky ends. This is the one problem with knitting and crocheting that consistently irritates me. You finally finish and suddenly there’s one more thing to do.

Anyhow, I wanted to wear them a couple of days ago, so, amazingly enough, they were finished in record time! I am not the sort of person who will wear socks with strings hanging from them in public. At home, yes. At Walmart, no.

And they are quite comfy soft. As you can tell by the picture I didn’t bother to match the stripes. A good knitting friend reminded me that fraternal twins are much more fun in the sock world.

A couple of days ago it dawned on me that, dun dun dun! I could now knit things for people for Christmas! Great idea, but it would have been better if I’d had it back in early June. Oh well, I’ve got enough yarn laying around to sink a small rowboat. And I only have a few people I’m actually making things for. I shall be as inconspicuous as possible as I blog them all over the internet. My only comfort is that the recipients will have no idea I’m talking about them.

Ow. This spiced chai drink is hot. Which reminds me that cold weather is on its way! No, it’s not here yet. I keep having to switch from short to long sleeves. While I was cleaning my closet I suddenly found myself wanting to make—no, own—more hand knit sweaters. Most of my long-sleeved shirts are neutral or dark colors. This must be remedied! Remedied sometime when I’m not working on various Christmas projects.

The indigo merino is coming along! I spun quite a bit during movies the last few days. We have company now, so I hesitate to spin during movies for fear of the squeakswish bothering them. But, I’ll figure out some way to sneak it in. I really want to have it done before December.