I finished yet another hat! This is a gray alpaca version of the first tam I made. It’s knit from KnitPicks Andean Treasure. Baby alpaca, sport weight, great stuff!
Technically this is the second time I’ve finished it, as I had to knit the ribbing twice. The yarn just wasn’t elastic in 2 x 2 ribbing form! That, and it draped so much it would have fit Barney the Dinosaur. Enlarging the rest of the pattern has definite drawbacks. I solved the problem (with help from the knitting sister!) by raveling back — which was painful, but not too scary — and then going to size 1 needles, as well as decreasing a little more. It worked very well, and I had hoped to deliver it to the recipient at church today, but she wasn’t there.
And, lest you think the lack of recent posts means I haven’t been doing anything fiber-related, let me inform you that I have enough material for two posts now. Part B will go up tomorrow.
The spinning front had been deceptively quiet for the last week or so, and I was getting to feel like it was just lurking around the corner waiting for me to come by so it could jump out and trip me into paying it attention.
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This is a post of “finally”s. I finally got around to taking a picture of the progress I’ve made on my cowl. 
It’s a good five inches long, and I’m coming up on the end of yarn ball number one. The question is whether to continue on and make it really big, or just have a second ball of navy mohair laying around for who knows what.
I thought about making a matching hat out of it. One of those things that are sort of like tams, only a bit more floppy and mushroom shaped. Possibly with the same lace pattern so it will match!
What with the cold weather lately I’ve been wearing my merino/oppossum tam a lot, and I’ve gotten quite a few compliments on it. Enough to make me wear it every time I stick my head out of the door. And it’s nice and warm, too. I don’t notice it when it’s on my head, but when I take it off I get colder.
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Hello, everyone. I’m having a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you are too. And, while I didn’t receive any fiber-related gifts, I do have a couple of odds and ends to blog about.
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.
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I sure can pick the knitting patterns. The one I finally decided on for my blue cowl is in French. Thankfully it’s a little easier to decipher than those German socks. 
And I’ve got almost an inch and a half done! (Hey, it’s the little victories that count.) Not to mention it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of one hundred and ninety tiny little stitches. And the mohair makes for terrible ripping back. Avoid ripping back this yarn at all costs! Even if it means creating stitches out of nowhere. Which I have done. *cough cough* And need I point out that I had to cast on three times? I have yet to master the long tail cast on in terms of estimating how much tail to use. Thankfully I didn’t get anything twisted.
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Alright, I feel a little explanation is in order. After my stunning resolve to not go for more than a week without posting, I promptly up and left for almost thirteen days. The reason? I was in Texas. In Texas with fellow yarn and fiber lovers, running about to various yarn destinations and generally shooting my budget. So, I shall attempt to summarize the many and various things I bought and did.
First off, I took along the indigo-dyed merino and a spinning wheel, hoping to get a bunch more spun. Unfortunately, I didn’t spin quite as much as I’d planned, but I was able to teach a friend to use the wheel, and two others to drop spindle. Now the goal is to finish the indigo merino well before Christmas.
I didn’t spin as much as I had planned because I was working away at my latest pair of socks. The first one is done, and the second is well on its way to the end. I’m now in the “knit until sock measures x length from heel” stage. A little on the boring side, but it needs to be done so I can get to some of the stuff I bought.
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Whew. It’s been a while since I’ve posted about any personal projects. And as a result, quite a few posts have racked up, so hold onto your hats!
I finished spinning these lovely skeins. They’re from the Iowa fleece (the same fleece I’m working on washing) and have a great feel to them. I spun them on the Walking Wheel.
The only problem is that I didn’t pay very close attention to the size of the singles as I spun. A little “weight shift” occurred between the skeins. Keen-eyed yarn lovers may notice I have one skein that is thin for the most part, and two that are mainly thick. (I say mostly and mainly because they were “fun” yarns. The kind I don’t grapple with tooth and nail to get the lumps and inconsistencies out.) I’m itching to get these into a dye pot of some kind, but I don’t know what for. Lately all my yarns have been spun and dyed with certain projects in mind. This lends itself well to the careful and responsible use of all and sundry fluff.
But I really just want to slap those babies into the kettle and have fun with them.
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