Episode 50 Hot Coffee

TdF Tour de France/Fleece is on, so it is a week filled with spinning.

Knitting:
Walk on the Nuvem
Maurits

Spinning:
Nest SWM in Primavera  402 yards 2 ply fractal + 18.5 yards n ply
Chocolate Shetland Fleece

Dyeing:
Wollmeise DK, 21 packets Mixed Berry, 12 packets Tropical Punch, formerly in the Feldmaus colorway

Stashquisitions:
 Nest Fiber Club July shipment Nebula in BFL

 iPhone, I am for the first time a smart phone owner

Random and All Over the Place:
Tour de France/Fleece
CTA Poundathon
CTA Spin the Bin
Stash Dash 48% there
I will probably need to skip the week of the 21st 
Recording again July 19th

That's all for now,
take care guys

Molly : )

Episode 49: How About Now?

I might be a bit rambly this week.


I had a busy evening, so no show notes this week.

 

That's all for now, take care guys!

Molly : )

Episode 36: Oldest Anything KAL

The KAL has begun! What are you working on? I show 2 different things, and I am full of vague notions this week.


Knitting:
Halele'a
Maurits

Spinning:
Fat Cat Knits Variegated BFL in Let's Go Crazy
Fiber Optic Emerald to Indigo gradient

Stashquisitions:
10 packets of Mixed Berry Koolade to dye the Feldmaus DK
Wollmeise Twin in Raku Regenbogen
Strandwanderer and Fragile Heart from José

Vague Plans:
 Imagine It Wollmeise Lace Swap/KAL either Persephone or Strandwanderer
Socks for my Grandpa out of Mountain Colors Crazyfoot in the Lupine colorway


Random and All Over the Place:
Oldest Anything KAL! Join us! It is a joint KAL with Emily of the Whatcha Swatchin Podcast
Thanks for the birthday wishes!
How to make Maurits work on the DSLO's chicken legs
Blasts from the past, Featherweight for 2012's Imagine It KAL and Handspun Hat from my first Fiber Optic
Review of Respect the Spindle by Abby Franquemont
There was a finch on the porch, spring is coming!

Recording again on Tuesday April 8

That's all for now, take care guys!

Molly : )

FO Friday: Hat Trick!

So, three weeks of no blogging also resulted in a pile up of finished objects. Additionally a New Year/Winter Break left me with a bit more crafty time than normal.

Hawaii Socks:

I cast on waiting to board the plane. You can see the pattern in there, Monkey, by Cookie A.

I got pretty far on the leg during the first  plane ride. And there was a 3 1/2 hour layover before the second.

It was a real challenge to stay motivated by the end of the second plane ride.Damn that heel flap was boring, and the in flight movie was beyond lame.

But I did arrive, and I got lei'ed. I was so busy that I didn't get a chance to take more sock photos for a whole week. My room was pretty sweet though. Check out this chair!

How did they know they would be hosting a knitter, that would be totally geeked over a knit wicker chair.

I managed to finish the first sock in the first week, and I started on the second. There was much knitting time because there was much driving around.

The second week was in Maui, and I kept on having insomnia. Since I was on the sunrise side, these were the sort of views I was catching, sitting on the lanai, knitting my sock.

This was across the street.

See! Look! My lovely view, and happy sock, and pink coffee cup.

 I finished the sock, walking down the tunnel to board the plane.

They have really long legs, because I wanted them to be.

Eye of Partridge heel, I used the purls, the yarn is a yummy MCN I picked up at Vogue Knitting Live. I find it appropriate that I knit the June Wedding during my honeymoon. I liked the pattern so much I cast on for a second pair. All in all, a nice project.

Rabidly Rose-Hulman:

I got home, bringing 2 WIPs with me, and came home to 3 more waiting for me. Something had to go. I actually managed to knock out 2. The hat was the clear one, it was close to being done, and it was really freaking cold when we got back. Actually this was also out of yarn I bought at Vogue Knitting Live too.

I nearly ran out of yarn. I used up all of the original black, so I went to the LYS and got some Cascade 220. But I had to ration the white and red, since that was all I had. Since the red was my own dye job, there was no back up plan. The inside is a mess of intarsia and three color colorwork. The DSLO was impressed with the ridiculousness. I was so proud. When I gave it to him he verified the washing directions. This hat will be hand washed by me. I am pretty sure the red and white would felt in the washer.

Mountain Colors Targhee Top:

So I predrafted this fiber instead of packing the night before we left for Hawaii. We were chatting with  a friend, and that was an easy way to hang out instead of knitting or packing haha.

I am assuming I must have posted this before, because I already shrunk the photo.

I managed to rip the top into 16 pieces, and I really worked the predraft to get everything soft and fluffy. It made it very easy to spin.

It was really easy to tell which sections I did a good job, and which once I did an ok job. I could feel a really big difference. Which is good news, because I can feel it.

I hope that I will continue to learn and understand. The DSLO was asking how far this whole spinning thing was going to go. I am borrowing a spindle, and it is sorta expensive to practice since I am spinning weights I don't normally use. And, getting a wheel is a very expensive ending step. I might take a break soon. I explained that spinning is a problem I don't know how to solve yet. It bothers me that I don't understand how yet, so I want to figure it out.

Singles!

Center pull ball for plying

Here is a macro shot of the singles on the spindle. You can see the thick and thin, a join, perhaps how overspun it is, maybe.

 I would not feel comfy using this as just singles. There is just something magic about plying. It is so freaking awesome to go from crazypants to normal.

What what! Bulky yarn.

 

I got 48 yards, ish. I made 24 wraps on my 2 yard niddy noddy. When I tied it up, there was only a half twist in the skein. It was very balanced.

Here it is all washed and thwacked. I am not sure what I am going to make with it. I was thinking while I was spinning that a hat would be neat. Who knows! I am learning and growing, and yet I still do not understand.

SO, that ends my FO Friday update,  go comment on the other posts! It is fun to see what other people have done.

That's all for now, take care guys!

Molly : )

Work in Progress Wednesday: Post Overflow

I had more to talk about last week, but in light of my already tardy WIPW post, I decided I did not need to also include fractals and stashquisitions in an already long post. I am not good about pacing. It is all or nothing, unless it is a FO post for a project I am really proud of.

Or, the FO that was long forgotten. I knit this last Christmas, it is a wham bam thank you lamb. I knit one for my MIL, then bought more yarn to make one for me. I didn't get to use it last winter, since I forgot it at her house.

Whoops, better late than never. I love wearing it. Go go malabrigo!
 
So, what is the story? I have no real FO's this week but I do have more WIPs! Perfect timing for work in progress Wednesday.

Longest going first:

Evenstar is to an exciting stage!

I finished the 6 repeats of 4 rows.

I also discovered the plain row takes approximately 30 minutes to knit, at 560 stitches a row.

And since I am taking it to Hawaii, well, I am just going to pack it away until that day comes.

I'll explain more later.

In order to show off the lace, I put a card underneath. You can see the 24 rows of twisted ribbing and mesh, and also the old school lace mesh.

This project is starting to get awkward to carry around, so it is probably for the best that I am retiring it from my knitting bag. Epic, but now that the mindless  section is over, I should have something less crazy to bring with me everywhere.

I was dissatisfied with the hat again. Don't get me wrong, I was largely pleased. But there was an unforeseen design flaw.

The corrugated ribbing, and basically all of the colorwork was too tight. So, I could not reverse the hat.

Solution: knit the ribbing in black, without the colorwork.

The plaid pattern is totally awesome, but the DSLO did not like the ribbing, and so it had to go. The ribbing was pretty neat, but I suspect anything that looks like old school fair isle isn't going to fly with him.

This is replacing the evenstar as the carry around project. I would like to finish this hat soon, since it seems like I keep on taking one step forward and two steps back on the stupid thing.

Frogging the yarn was dreadful. There is enough mohair to make it awkwardly sticky. Good thing I set aside Tuesday night for some serious knitting time. What ended up working was pulling all three strands, then winding it around the floor, then standing on a two foot wide section, and rolling one ball at a time, in two foot chunks until I made it back to the hat. That way everything stayed decently untangled, and I could only worry about a color at a time.

I made good progress on the improved brim. Once I get going on the color work, things should go quickly.

Of course I cast on something new. December 1st was the start of the The Knit Girllls deep stash dive December KAL, and Thanksgiving was the start of the Whatcha Swatching Beatnik KAL. So, I am using my first dyed yarn! Double dip for the win!

I also got a new toy, which is why all this yarn is in neat little cakes.

More on that in stashqusitions.

I cast on Sunday night, because Ooofancypants of Whatcha Swatching was hosting a virtual nit night (VKN). It was a lot of fun. If I do it again, I should get a webcam, because, well, the other participants did not appreciate that a still photo of me and the DSLO showed up every time I talked. I thought it was so cool.

I swatched, and got that far during the VKN. And on my Tuesday night of all I want to do is knit, I got into the cable section.

I decided to make the 40 inch size. My swatch came in at 19 stitches across 4 inches on 5's, and it called for 18 on 6's. I still haven't decided if I am going to do a cardigan, or a pullover. I am knitting it in pieces, because that was drilled into my head a Vogue Knitting Live, and at how expensive those classes were, I should at least try to take their advice. I am still in my first skein. If I change my mind, it won't be the end of the world.

I made an executive decision. I don't want to carry a sweater's quantity of yarn to Hawaii, so this project is going to live at home. I don't want to knit on a sweater their anyways. Evenstar, and unknown, yet to be cast on sock will be much better Honeymoon knitting. Holy freaking cow, I am so excited about this trip.

That is all for the WIP section of this post. Check out the other people blogging this week here.

Department of Stashqusitions:

I have more yarn. I guess the first is the ball winder. A friend told me about a special offer from Knit Picks. If you bought at least 5 bucks of stuff, then you could get a skein of Biggo for free. Well, I looked at a ball winder, and I was sold. Basically my free skein covered the shipping cost of the ball winder. I can't believe  I waited this long to get one. It is super duper affordable at 20 or so bucks. As soon as it arrived, I assembled the ball winder, and wound the free skein.

I am not sure what it will become. It is 50-50 merino nylon. It is slick as can be. I'm thinking cowl . . . because hey, it is going to knit up really fast. My friend ended up getting 3 skeins of biggo to make an infinity cowl.

My MIL Joni gave me Christmas yarn. Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! and Vesper Self Striping.

Both are gorgeous. I have heard so many good things about Bugga!, I am really excited to have it in my hot little hands.

She also gave me Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush. I haven't had time to look though it and figure out what I would like to knit. Funnily it is a signed copy for Sue. I guess she didn't like it that much.

I also managed to snag a lace color bag, from Wollmeise.

I got this on the first update. I got set 7, which is a stretch colorwise for me, in greens and grey. My first choice was set 6. It also came with a pattern, walk on the moon, and a nifty clear bag. I have no clue when I will get around to knitting with this. There are some other shawls calling my name more loudly.

And in big news, I am going to learn how to spin soon.

I am really curious how it will go. The friend that offered to teach me is letting me borrow a spindle. We haven't worked out when. I suspect it will be soon. I loved the blues in this top, and it will be fun to see what sort of yarn it will become. From all of the descriptions I have heard about spinning, it sounds like it is completely up my alley. No, I do not have time for another hobby, but, I still think this will be fun.

I have a couple of cool fractals.

They are all variations on julians. I learned a cool trick, which really fills out the fractal. I duplicate the shape tranform, and switch the sign on one of the variables, which creates this mirrored, inside/outside look.

This week the challenge is very hard. I don't hold high hopes on it turning out pretty. I might not even bother sharing it.

That's all for now, take care guys,

Molly : )