On the one wheel I have this gorgeous stuff. It’s the laceweight silk I promised my sister a year ago.

And on the other I have this. Cinnamon alpaca laceweight that will probably wind up in Filigree Willow Laceweights. (Sorry about the nasty photo. I have concluded that TV rooms are out to sabotage photography everywhere.)

The only problem with this new obsession is that I have multiple spinning projects calling out in their plaintive, soft voices for me to come console them after their long imprisonment in my closet. Stuff like this unfinished indigo and cochineal dyed sock yarn.

And this.

And my soysilk. And those batts I’ve been hoarding. And some of the black llama.

And you get the idea.

Here’s hoping I’m able to spin a lot these next couple of weeks!

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.

Anyway, back the the finally-s. I finally got around to over-dyeing the two pairs of slipper socks. This was the second over-dye for the pair on the right, and the first for the pair on the left. I tried steaming the blue/yellow/red ones, and it seems to have worked pretty well. No crocking!

This afternoon I whipped (well, surged, actually) some large denim bags together to use for storing the lovely llama and alpaca wool I’ve been given this last year.
The fleeces were in plastic bags, and I seem to remember someone saying that keeping fiber in plastic isn’t the best for long-term storage, because moisture can get trapped in there, or something like that. Anyway, it gave me a chance to dig them all out and fondle them again. I’ve already got a fair sized portion of the black llama fiber de-guard haired and in this lovely bag. And why did I start with the black llama? Well, it was on the top of the pile, and I had ulterior motives . . .

A couple of nights ago I came to an important conclusion. If I had a large shawl or ruana I would definitely use it. It was downright freezing. I had to resort to draping a large, acrylic crocheted afghan about my shoulders. And I say that if you have an excuse to do that, you have more than a good reason to make something large and sumptuous. Something done in black llama. I even have some black sparkly stuff I could put in there too, but that might be a bit much. Ooh, maybe I could use the black llama, and then occasionally throw in some white for a marled look. I rather like that idea.

No! Not another project right now! I refuse. It was all I could do yesterday to add a bit more to the Willow sock yarn. The first bobbin full is done and reeled off, and it’s as gorgeous as ever.

Speaking of gorgeous, I did something yesterday that I’ve never done before. I placed a large fiber order – (Yes, I know I’ve done that before. Will you wait for the punch line?) – for Maiden Yarn on Etsy – (There. Satisfied? Yes, I know I’ve done that too. Wait a bit!) – and it had some luxury fibers in it. Such things as camel down, yak fiber, silk latte, and bamboo. I can hardly wait for it to get here so I can pet it . . . oh, I mean, transform it into various new products. It’s coming from Wisconsin, so it’ll take it a few days to get here. In the meantime I shall keep spinning 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.

So . . . my New Year’s Dash is becoming a bit more of a New Year’s stroll. What with an unfinished and late Christmas present, and not having spun for a long time (various muscles and joints don’t like to be thrown into the deep end, so to speak) I’m idling my way along. But I am spinning. Yes, I am. It’s some superwash merino with bamboo in it, and I think some nylon.
Gorgeous, soft stuff. I dyed it quite awhile ago and stowed it away, lost and forgotten. I absolutely love the way it’s spinning up. (Into a sock yarn, of course.) It shall be called “Willow” and may possibly make its debute in my Etsy store. If it stays here I shall find myself dropping all sorts of works in progress and plunging into a new pair of socks. I do not need more sock yarn. I am firm. I am resolved. And maybe I can make some more later.

Really, though, I am even more excited about these sock yarns because of the amazing events leading up to their completion.

I had planned to place a large bare sock yarn order early in October, but the website said they were out of that kind of yarn and they wouldn’t be getting more in until the sixteenth of October. I was leaving home on the twenty-first of October, so even if I ordered them on the sixteenth and rushed the shipping on them, I wouldn’t have had enough time to dye them before I left.

Well, I happened to check back on the website a few days later and the yarns were already in! Way before they were supposed to be. And third day shipping was really not that expensive, so I ordered a bunch of them, thinking I would make time to dye them as soon as I got back from my lovely trip. Lo and behold, time opened up and they were finished before I left! Praise God!

Well, let me see, where to start. Perhaps some of you remember when MamaMentor gave me those beautiful blue stitch markers? I’m happy to announce that they now have cousins. MamaMentor made me some gorgeous amethyst ones as well. Beautiful! (Thank you so much.)

We got the beads at a wonderful yarn and fiber store called Rose Path Weaving. Note the fiber. I happened to find certain fibers I had been planning to get for a sweater project, so I jumped at the chance to save shipping. I got some cream baby alpaca, BFL, and mohair locks to blend. The mohair doesn’t appear to be washed, so I have to decide whether I want to try washing it before I blend it into the others, or just wait and wash the yarn to minimize risks of felting.

Thankfully I was cautious enough to only get fiber at that store. They had some beautiful yarns, but I kept my eyes on the baby alpaca and resisted. I think knowing that I had this crimson sock yarn from the last store helped.

I love this red. And I especially love that sock yarn is something I can buy without worrying about what I’ll make out of it. It’s the ultimate impulse buy!

And then I was given these beautiful fingering weight yarns. (Thank you!)

I tell you, I have no idea what I’m going to do with them yet, but whatever it is, it’s going to be good.

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.

And, would you believe it? I forgot to see if my pattern could get translated! I brought it all the way out there and promptly forgot it. Oh well. I’ve got other things in line now. Big things.

Like a cowl made out of this. It’s a mohair blend, and the actual yarn is a lot more navy than it looks in the picture. I thought it would make the perfect “dress up” item for my rather plain sand-colored coat. I’m thinking a simple pattern would be best. Maybe a check or herringbone sort of thing. Nothing too lacy. I got two balls of it, so I should have enough. Possibly more than enough. But that’s okay.

Speaking of more than enough, how about three bags full of alpaca and llama fleece? Or are they all alpaca? I’ve lost track. Two gorgeous shiny black, one cinnamon brown.

Oh boy oh boy oh boy. I’m in fiber heaven, but also project shock. What on earth am I going to do with it all? (Aside from the obvious: Fondle and spin.) Thanks, MamaMentor!

More yarn and fiber to show tomorrow. This was a very fun and productive trip. Not to mention I got to have some of the best African food ever!

Then there was this yarn. Another two skeins of the bulky weight. Nice? Pretty? I love the jewel-like tones.

But this yarn was supposed to be purple with green and yellow flecks, and a few spots of brown. Do you see purple? Anywhere at all? I see blue, but not purple.
Every so often the carefully mixed dyes decide to separate and become new entities. The “red + blue = purple” combination separated.

So, we had two really good finished colorways and one that was still nice, but unplanned.

Fast forward a couple of days. We decided to dye some more yarn. Two skeins, this time. The DK weight turned out beautifully in pink, chocolate, white, and butterscotch.

The other skein decided to repeat the bulky weight’s quick change act. This was originally intended to be dark gray, light gray, and red. I didn’t have black, so I mixed brown and blue to get the gray tones. Guess what? The brown and blue separated.

Why is it that I’m only having trouble with it on someone else’s yarn? It must be the Bermuda Triangle of dyes. Mixed dyes usually behave just fine! Has anyone else had trouble with mixing colors?

As my wonderful aunt is here visiting, we got to go to the Yarn Garden again. And I definitely splurged. I’m afraid I have been bitten by the knitting bug and will never fully recover. I didn’t buy a single skein with crochet in mind.

This brown yarn is alpaca fingering weight, which I plan to use for a glove pattern I found on Ravelry. It’s called Knotty Gloves and has some beautiful cable-work on the wrists. I think they’re cables.

Then I wandered back into the bargain closet and found this skein/ball of laceweight.
You can’t really see all the light blue in it, but it’s there. The colors make me think of sea foam and beaches and summery days and . . . Ahem. I’m thinking it should become an airy sort of scarf/wrap/cowl when it grows up.

And, speaking of wraps, while we were there I tried on a beautiful Braided Wrap. It’s knit in worsted weight, and the front is actually braided as you knit. I really want to make it. The pattern is available as a download. Now all I need is several skeins of turquoise yarn.

And, as I’ve had the sock itch even worse since the lack of translation on a gorgeous pattern, I bought sock yarn. Two kinds.

Here’s the first. It’s a gorgeous single ply. Very smooshy and soft, and the colors are amazing.

I got two balls of this, since they were only fifty grams each, and because I like having tall socks. Or, at least I think I do. We’ll find out once they’re done. I like the idea of having tall socks.

Then I got this hundred-gram batch, which is a lot darker and subtler in the color shifts than the above sock yarn. It’s sort of a charcoal with pale blue, brown, and gray streaks.

I wanted an almost solid because there’s a pattern (on Ravelry again) that is a pretty version of all over ribbing. The yarn is a little darker than I’d like, but it should knit up nicely. There’s no real problem with dark socks.

I had the perfect pattern picked out for this. I downloaded it from Ravelry and everything, and then I opened it up and found that it was all in German.

Stunned silence.

Thankfully my sister stepped in and found me a German/English knitting terminology translator thingummy online, and I got to work deciphering the stitches. The pattern is in a chart, but the explanation of the symbols is in German. And things have come to a screeching halt.

I really wanted to make these socks. Really really really. But the pattern has defeated me. At least for now. There’s a possibility that it will be released in an English version sometime in the future. I’m going to stash the yarn away and hope for the best.