Monday, May 29, 2006

Finished Stuff!


At long last, my Opal Flamingo Socks! I finished them on Saturday morning in my hotel room in Washington, D.C. It was too hot to wear these to my cousin's wedding later in the day, plus they would have looked a bit odd with my dress. But I did wear them home yesterday, and a good thing that was, as the airline lost our luggage. (HOW does an airline manage to screw up putting a bag on a direct flight, especialy when said direct flight is not full?) Luckily, it took a mere couple of minutes to determine that our bag was still in D.C. and would be arriving on a later flight. It was delivered to my door first thing this morning, none the worst for wear, and I once again had access to my oh-so-lethal knitting tools. (That would be a pair of scissors, some stitch markers, some larger sized circs, and my chibi needles.) Without those tools, I could not have completed...


...this. You've seen it in progress, and now here it is, drying on my bed. Can you believe, the pattern ends with 4 rows of garter stitch and a bind-off row, and that I only had enough yarn to make it about a third of the way through the third row???? I had hoped to wear this to the wedding, but with more yarn needing to be spun at the last minute, I kind of missed the deadline. I dashed off enough yardage to finish this morning, wove in my ends, and gave it a wash. I was too eager to see the thing made up to bother washing a tiny skein and waiting for it to dry, so the last two rows and bind-off were worked "in the grease." It washed up very nicely, though, and I am thrilled with the shawl. And what a spinning geek I am! Am I waiting for the shawl to dry comepletely so I can WEAR it? Heavens, no. I am waiting for it to dry completely so I can see how much extra weight the edging added to the central triangle. If it's 5 ounces or under, I think my triumphal shouts may well be heard as far away as Kalamazoo. This is the most consistent, finest gauge yarn I have spun yet. A definite entry for the Big E this year!



Monday, May 22, 2006

New Project Picture Journal


Coopworth Fleece purchased at NH Sheep & Wool on Saturday, 13 May 2006. 3-1/2 lbs shorn from an 11 month onld ewe named Maggie. So clean I am working with it "in the grease" and loving it!


These are freshly hackled locks, still in the grease, and ready to spin. I still can't believe how easily this stuff goes through the hackle, and how little waste there is!



This is the center section of my razor shell/feather and fan shawl. I decided to see how it would block out before starting the feather and fan edging, plus I need to spin some more of the yarn so I can finish. This is one of Liz Lovick's patterns, and I really love its simple elegance.


Here's a little close-up shot. Dig the variations in color! Can anyone say "Big E?"