WIP Wednesday: A Mean Right Hook

A 1 mm crochet hook finally arrived in the mail today! Hurrah for the return of mail! Hurrah for the efficient adding of size 8 beads! Boo bills! Thank you Joni!

I got to do half a repeat with the crochet hook. It works great, and I don't need to worry about bending it like both versions of my copper wire. Version one was similar to a crochet hook. Version two was more like beading wire.

I finally got to check off another 5% on my progress bar. Only 5% of the stitches remain, 3 bags of beads, and a boatload Wollmeise lace. For the first time in a long time you can see the shawl in its full form. I plan to block the living daylights out of it. I am excited because I have my first Friday off, so there will be more time to work on this. I plan on renting a movie and going to town on this.

Speaking of movies, I went to see Star Trek this weekend. Partly because movies like that are meant to be seen in a theater, and partly because I needed some way to keep myself entertained while knitting several inches of stockinette in the round.

I had an obvious color change with the balls, so I have to rip back everything I did in the movie. Rats! you can see a little bit in the photo where I did two rounds alternating skeins. There was no way I was going to rip back past the horizontal bust darts.

The fit this time around is great. I am so happy it worked. I have another half an inch of boring knitting before I get to the waist decreases. As you can tell,  I am fond of this blue. I didn't realize my shower curtain matched.

So I mentioned in my last podcast that I asked about a spinning class at one of the LYS's in town. I went on the wait list. That very night I jumped from third on the waitlist, to sitting in the first class the next afternoon. The first class was mostly review for me. I have been spinning on a spindle since December, so on the spindle and drafting portion I blew the other people out of the water. Next Sunday we start wheel spinning, and I will get to be a complete n00b again : ) I wish I had brought some of my first yarn to show them that I started at that same place, and I did not have someone there to help troubleshoot when things went pear shaped.

I actually found the coopworth a bit harder to handle than the shetland, but that might also be because I was spinning bottom whorl, with a heavier spindle. It is really slick and soft. I haven't broken into the romney yet.

The shetland is really coming along. I am spinning every day for at least 15 minutes, and oftentimes an hour. I finished the first third Monday night, and I wound it off on a leg on my niddy noddy.

I started the next third on Tuesday night. I got a decent chunk done.

I took the time to measure the wraps per inch. It was coming in at 31!!!!!! After checking the handy chart that means my singles are a light fingering, so I will probably have sport weight yarn. The plan is to have a 3 ply, and it will barber pole like crazy. I learned how to check my singles to make a 3 ply, so I am making it pretty twisted to give my singles the appropriate energy.

I am excited because it is looking like dutch delft tiles. I love when the blue and white blend in my single.

Please check out the other WIP Wednesday bloggers!

I think that is all for now, take care guys!

Molly : )