Posts
All Comments
From 100grams I got approximately 175 metres. It came in at 10WPI, which makes it about a worsted to DK weight. Still a bit thick and thin, but I achieved my goal of making a finer yarn than before and increasing the twist.
The colours aren't as bright as in the pics, more softly muted. 
I still have another 100 grams to spin up, then I'll decide what to make with it.
I've had the yarn and pattern all organised for ages so when I was looking for something to knit on the trip to Christmas lunch it was an easy choice. Nearly finished it, so I'll post pics when it's all done. 
It was fiddly but fun, will have to make one for me one of these days. 
They are not only pretty, they are easier to knit with than my op-shop metal set. The fact that they flex a little and have nice sharp points make the tricky turns involved in sock making so much easier. You can find them here, they have a list of Aussie stockists on the site. 
Merry Christmas everyone!
Despite the sadness of the occasion it gave me an opportunity for some therapeutic knitting, much to the curiosity of other travellers and those gathered for the funeral. Knitting helped pass the time and probably reduced my consumption of comfort food and beverages. There's only so much sitting about and nibbling one can do. I think the fact that I was knitting socks really intrigued people. Why would I do such a thing? Besides the enjoyment factor and the fact that I can't sit still without something to occupy my hands, there are a few other reasons to knit socks. It makes me feel connected to those who knit before me, part of a tradition, an art form, a history. It gives me a sense of self-sufficiency, I feel competent in a skill that produces something useful and practical. Handmade socks feel better, fit better and can be made in any style or colour I want. Most importantly though, I like making socks, it's fun! One down, and one to go.......
Must get on to that red and blue roving soon. I'm off on a short trip down to Tassie tomorrow, so it'll be sock knitting for me on the bus and train. Shame they won't let me knit on the plane!
So, it got frogged. According to Theresa Vinson Stenersen on Knitty this is what frogging is: 
I have a little bit of yarn left, so I might use my newly aquired icord making skills to create some ties for the shawl. Or maybe I won't, I may just add a button. Or not. Perhaps I'll just use a pin. Whatever I choose I'll need something to secure the shawl, it's too tiny to stay in place all by itself. 
I added a vintage bakelite button from my special button stash, and Bob's your uncle! Actually I have 9 uncles, none called Bob lol.....
Hmmmm, what's next?
The colours aren't as strong as I'd like so I will probably try doing the same colours in stronger solutions on some more roving soon. I was pretty happy with the yarn though, lovely and squishy.... Roving is soooooo much easier to spin than fleece...... 
And just to show that it's not just Cinnamon who loves the faux fur blankie, here's my girl Nutmeg having a snooze. 
DS13 covered her up with it and she snuggled in. DS wants a blankie of his own but no way am I making anything else out of that stuff! Poor kid, may just have to make him a beanie instead. I have been knitting, will post pics of my neck warmer as soon as I put the button and icord on it. Til then, I'm off to card some wool......I love spinning group. One of the great things about it is the goodies for sale on the trading table. I snapped up a 1kg bag of roving for $12.50, bargain! I had been wanting to try multi-coloured hand-dyeing for ages. Thanks Rexenne for the wonderful video tutorial on how to do it. Here's mine after applying the dye.
And here it is after dyeing and plaiting. I did 200 grams of the blue/red and 100 grams of the green/orange/brown. Yummy.
All the roving made me reminisce about the lovely Irish ballad I remember singing in school. For your enjoyment....... She left her father's castle gate. She left her own fine lover. She left her servants and her state To follow her gypsy rover.
She left behind her velvet gown And shoes of Spanish leather They whistled and they sang 'till the green woods rang As they rode off together
Last night, she slept on a goose feather bed With silken sheets for cover Tonight she'll sleep on the cold, cold ground Beside her gyspy lover
Her father saddled up his fastest stead And roamed the valley all over. Sought his daughter at great speed And the whistlin' gypsy rover.
He came at last to a mansion fine Down by the river Claydee. And there was music and there was wine For the gypsy and his lady.
"Have you forsaken your house and home? Have you forsaken your baby? Have you forsaken your husband dear For a whistling gypsy rover?"
"He is no gypsy, my Father," she cried "but Lord of these lands all over. And I shall stay 'til my dying day with my whistlin' gypsy rover."
With everyone out of the house except the sleeping giant (DS 16) I rustled up 3 kgs of yummy soap this morning. 
One enjoyable aspect of this project is that I get to use my funky vintage bag I picked up at the op-shop last week, isn't it cool?
Mum is coming over tomorrow so she can take them over to Dad for a very belated Father's Day pressy. Now I am free to cast on something else, but what? I'm a bit over socks at the moment but not game enough to make a jumper yet. It's going to be summer here in a week so I don't want to start something too big or it will be too hot to work on. Gloves and scarves are small but wouldn't be used for ages, and I have a heap of bags. I want to make something for me, but what? Hmmmmm, back to Ravelry to get some ideas...... 
I thought I was spinning it very fine, but once plied it became a super bulky weight, about 6 wraps per inch. Not sure what to do with it yet........
Please excuse the crappy yarn, it's purely for demonstration purposes. Aren't the adjustable pegs sweet? DH doesn't even own a lathe, he rigged up some contraption involving a drill, a vice and a chisel to turn them. What a clever boy. Of course we took it for a whirl, and it spins like a dream. Just gotta make some more yarn so I can put it to use!
They work like an abacus, you use them to keep track of the rows you've done. Mine reads 12, the green beads count as ten each and the red count as one each, you just loop the little circle of seed beads over the others to mark your place. So they can record up to 99 rows! I used glass beads to make mine, I recycled them from some necklaces I had from many moons ago. The little heart charm reminds me where I started from.
This bag is what I used my first homespun for. You can find the pattern here . The pattern was surprisingly quick, and I had just enough yarn to make a cozy for my mobile phone. I found a leather belt at the op-shop for a handle and added the brooch for a bit of bling. Must dash, CSI is on and there is a bottle of port with my name on it lol.....
Yup, I got me a spindle! Isn't it cute? I had so much fun trying it out yesterday. I studied up on the technique via my favourite craft instruction source www.youtube.com , so it didn't take long to get the hang of it. Now I can spin anywhere I want!
Spindling is a very cheap way of getting into spinning. Lots of people spin for years on these before they get a wheel. Some very co-ordinated people even hike while they spin! My fine motor skills are much better than my gross-motor, and using both at once is way beyond me, so you won't see me doing that soon. Can see myself spindling at a lookout though, maybe a trip to the mountains is in order?
I dyed the skeins and this is what I ended up with.
Louie was found in the middle of a road at a few days old by DH. She was totally alone with no sheep for miles around. We surmised she had been left behind when a farmer moved his sheep and gladly took her home. She is a Merino and has the most plaintive call that we just can't resist. 
When my Dad spotted the socks I made for myself he decided he'd quite like a pair too. Out came the 8ply pure wool yarn my aunty had given me and this is sock numero uno. 
The heel turned out great, but I needed a break from socks for an evening. Second sock syndrome has reared it's ugly head! A quick search of Ravelry turned up the pattern for this headband and shortly after that I was wearing it.
This is my first attempt at a lacey pattern and my first experience of yarn-overs so it's not perfect but it's all part of the learning curve right?
Cinnamon understands the physical exertion a crafter goes through. Last night when I flopped exhausted on the bed she was straight up there with a soothing massage..... Ahhhhhhh........ 
