Weaving...

My husband got me a Kromski Harp rigid heddle loom for my birthday:


The weaving part is super easy (at least a basic plain weave is) but wraping/worping (not sure the propper term) is hard! My tension is all over the place (the warp is the long string that goes the length of the project).

but I made a small scarf with some handspun & sock yarn:


It's a little short but otherwise I am happy with it.

Now I'm working on a longer scarf with a cotton warp (from artfibers) and beaverslide fishermasn wool. The cotton warp is even more wonky in tension than the sock yarn was. But it's still going ok:


and a bit of spinning (my first traditional 3 ply - 1 strand "hot rod" bfl and 2 strands natural bfl):






it makes me think of fruit stripe gum :)

post christmas selfish knitting

So I've been working on a few non gift items just-because-I-feel-like-making-them projects.



it's just a basic entrelac pattern using Tilli Thomas Pure and Simple silk. So decadent to work with.



this is candy stripes form IK holiday issue. I'm using some long stashed rowan kid classic (it's for me).

and a little spinning and navajo plying:




and most exciting.... I got a loom for my birthday. It came yesterday and I have no idea what I'm doing but plan to spend some time with it this weekend :)

navajo plying

I wanted to try novajo plying with my yarn rather than the traditional plying... so here is my first try:

it's romney wool and is very over twisted and feels like rope...

second try:



wool blend and much better, but a very chunky yarn.

and the third time is apparently the charm:



merino fiber from handpaintedyarn.com. The single is much finer and I made sure not to overspin the single, then worked really slowly while plying. This one I love. The color stays together very nicely. I can see using navajo plying quite a bit.

lots of undocumented spinning

I have been spinning more than usual and posting about it less... so here's some catch up.

"deep woods" superwash merino (fat cat knits - etsy)




"royal" superwash merino (pigeon on roof studios -etsy)


"explorer" wool (spunky ecclectic):


"pulse" bfl (spunky ecclectic):


I finally got around to washing and photographing these the other day (the color is a little off... the short daylight hours are making accurate color photos hard)

quick update

I've been knitting...

my tree jacket (the sleeves have been separated - it looks too red in this photo):


Yarrow Rib Socks for my aunt (first one done second one almost to the heel):


Harlot Poncho for my mom (she really wants one... )I added a cable down the front and back. Using Cascade Eco Wool:


and some spinning

bought soem blue/pink merino at a craft fair:


and here is the final yarn:


also some bfl in "vivian" from fat cat knits on etsy:


and the yarn:

tweed coridale spinning

I've got one sleeve from boatneck bluebell re-knit sans flare (much better). One more to go. Also been working on the Tree Jacket. I really do love the merino I'm using. It's a little more purple less brown than the photo shows.



bought 2 oz of this dark pool blue coridale when the spinning studio around the corner from me had a going out of business sale (Deep Color).



spun that up into a single and then spun up about the same amount of natural white coridale fiber. Then plied them together to make this:




I think mittens from this yarn

Pink merino handspun

Bought some fiber from pigeon roof studios etsy shop. It's superwash merino in blush.

Fiber:


and the 2ply yarn (didn't get a photo of it as single ply):




I love yarn... so much possibility :)

Novascotia Alpaca

Alpaca is so much more dense than merino, bfl, or falkland wool. This yarn is heavy and not bouncy, but has a nice sheen to it. Not quite sure what I'll make with it but here is the yarn:



and as a single ply:


and the fiber:

some more of the spinning I did

Fat Cats Knits merino fiber in buckaroo. I did what they suggested on the tag that came with the fiber to make it more tweedy. Separated it into 8 strips then using 2 strips of fiber (one flipped so the colors didn't match up)I spun it together. Then made it 2 ply. the color is more like tweed and less stripy this way :)



Also used some of my handpaintedyarn.com merino fiber. I tried really hard to make a chunky thick thin yarn. It was really awkward... I need more practice. But I think the yarn looks pretty regardless of how spazzy I felt while spinning it.

been spinning a bunch

Fat Cats Knits superwash wool fiber in hobgobblin. This fiber was really nice to spin... long staple and has a nice sheen to it.

singel ply:


2 ply:

3rd time is the charm

Homespun yarn + needles = scarf I like

Entrelac scarf made with blocks 8 stitches wide rather than 10 (better width than before). I'm really liking how this is turning out. I've actually been faithful to this project... perhaps I'll finish something :)

two failed attempts

I wanted to knit a scarf from my handspun


so I started an Irish Hiking Scarf:

but decided it was too striped for cables.

So I ripped it out and started an entrelac scarf:

but it was too wide (super wide scarf or really narrow stole). So I ripped that one out too and started a more narrow entrelac scarf. I finally have a winner (but no photo... I'll get one up soon)