So I’m nuts. I want to finish my sweater project before the nineteenth. I see many late night efforts in my future.
As you can see, it’s grown quite a bit, and I’m now into my third ball of yarn out of nine. I’ve had to make a conscious effort to knit tighter once I got to the easy part, because the garment was expanding when it wasn’t supposed to. By now I’ve gotten down to the waist decreases, so it feels like I’m making more progress faster. I have a feeling knitting sweaters with heavier weight yarn could become addicting. They’re so quick when you actually take the time to knock out four or five rounds at a time.
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I hope you’ve been having an absolutely top-hole new year! (Yes, I’ve been watching a lot of British comedy lately. Why do you ask?) It’s been downright cold around here. We even got some snow a few nights ago, and it covered the back porch in a whopping half-inch deep drift.
Well, for my New Year’s Dash I got the sum total of about three quarters of the superwash merino sock yarn spun. Ta-da!
Next year, I start earlier.
I did, however, get the start of the first draft of that spinning article I mentioned. And I also got a pretty good chunk of the black llama deguarded. That wasn’t on my list, I know, but hey, it’s still spinning related.
The nice pile of chosen and selected fibers is still teetering on my desk, so I have decided that this month shall be a spinning month. The idea is to see how much of that pile I can spin before February, while keeping things fun. If spinning becomes a stress factor we have a major problem.
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Alright. So. First off I would like to know who the wise guy is that made me think I had started last year’s New Year dash the day after Christmas? And who kept me from doing some simple math? I was happily prospecting on the amount of spinning I would get done, and possibly even complete spinning all the fiber you see below (carefully selected from the dozens of applicants) when someone casually mentioned the fact that the New Year was a mere six days away.
Crash. Bang. Shriek of car brakes. WHAT?!?!?!??!?
Last year I took ten days. Started on December the twenty-second. There I was, December twenty-sixth, thinking I would get even more fiber spun then last year. Ha ha ha. Ha ha.
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Ta-da! All two pounds of fiber dyed blue and dry. Now we come to fun part. Spinning them. And spinning them ASAP.
At the time, I wanted to have all this yarn spun up by mid-October, and I still do— (I hear the rustle of calendars as you look at the date. I can dream, can’t I?) It didn’t seem so difficult at the time, but the trouble was that my usual loyal, supportive G. P. Adams & Co wheel was full of silk. And I did not have time to finish spinning that project before I began the indigo. Therefore it was time to try out the two antique spinning wheels that my father bought. Scary scary. Two unknown wheels and a deadline. I started with the one that treadled best. 
This poor wheel had literally come to us in pieces and had been put back together by my grandpa. On its maiden voyage (ha ha) it behaved well for a while, then began throwing a fit. And throwing its drive band.
When that didn’t deter me, it decided to snap the single at any and every opportunity, and if it could snap the single about two inches after I had rejoined it, that was even better! Well, I couldn’t sit around and deal with it so I put it in the corner to think over its attitude and got out the other wheel.
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Beginner’s Info: Part 6
This is the wheel version of spinning tutorials. You can find the drop spindle one here.
Let’s Go
If you learned on a drop spindle you’ll already have the basics of spinning down. All you’ll have to do is learn to operate the foot pedal while moving your hands.
However, if you decided to go for the big stuff first you’ll want a little more background.
The following videos are helpful for both complete beginners and drop spindlers. It’ll let you get a feel for how a wheel works.
The Videos
This is one from Paradise Fibers. It is the second half of a two-part series on setting up and using a Lendrum wheel. Lots of good things are covered, and you can get a feel for how a single drive band works.
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I’ve started the races on wool washing. As of now I have a pretty good start. I’m being extra careful to not let the wool sit and be forgotten for too long, as that seems to make the final fiber coarser. I have a finished batch drying, another in the degrease stage, and a third in the preliminary soaking.
In the meantime, quick, take a guess. What new knitting project have I plunged into? Anyone? Anyone? 
It is not a garden hose cozy. I haven’t quite gone off the deep end yet. I am merely dipping my toe in the water, so to speak. (Although I’m not doing it the toe-up way.) Behold the beginnings of a sock. And before you start pointing out that the yarn isn’t one of mine, let me explain. I was going to try to knit my first socks out of handspun, but the only handspun yarn I had was too thick. My knitting sister very kindly shared from her stash, so while you see before you a completely commercial yarn, it is still a nice yarn. Could I have waited to spin my own? Of course not! When you have the urge, you knit.
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“Oh, I could write a sonnet about my Easter soysilk. . .” Wait a minute. That doesn’t rhyme.
Well too bad for the song because this soysilk is the coolest thing since sliced bread. It’s a bit of a challenge to spin up because it’s clingy like silk, but it falls apart easily. Explain that one. I’ll be holding a chunk of roving and blop—half of it falls to the floor. And the other half sticks to my shirt and jeans. But I learned its wily ways fast!
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Yes, you read that right. A very good friend (and fellow spinner!) sent me some fur from her dog for my birthday present. 
That stuff is so soft! It’s unwashed at the moment, which is driving my dog nuts. I can hardly wait to get started with it. I think I’ll spin it first, then wash it. That will help keep the fibers from felting or getting tangled. Which is pretty much the same thing, now that I think about it. (Unless you want to get into the molecular structure of felted fibers.)
I’m going to spin it on the Great Wheel as soon as I finish up the fall colored fleece. Talk about motivation! Let’s get that fleece done! She also sent some rescued cotton bits from pill bottles. I’m very curious to see how they will behave on the wheel.
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I did some more dyeing yesterday. Here are the two new colorways, Poppies and Copper Lake. That last practically designed itself. I started mixing colors and there it was!
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Okay, so not only am I working on the merino/silk scarf, but I went ahead and started another knitted scarf. I really must be a glutton for punishment. But I have a logical reason for starting it! (More or less.)
Scatter Stitch Scarf
It’s a gift, and it’s getting to be overdue. I had a long car ride ahead of me, and a simple stitch pattern, so I went for it.
Here is what I got done in three hours of drive time. Well, not all three hours were spent knitting, doncha know, but I gave it a pretty good effort. It is currently fourteen inches long and still crocking. But not badly. Another soak or two once it’s all knit should fix it up just fine.
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