Sunday, September 07, 2014

Spinning... and a super-quick FO



I went to my monthly spinning group, Beretun Spinners, yesterday. They meet up on the first Saturday of each month for a whole day of spinning and fiber goodness. I don't often get to go, what with the busy job and the even more busy family life, but when I do go it's always lovely. The spinners in the group are amazing - so many so very talented people, and they are always friendly and happy to share advice and help. 

Look at those gorgeous rolags - sadly they were not mine. 



I don't get to spin much these days. Boy #1 is OK with the wheel now, but both boy #2 and #3 would play with the wheel and the fiber endlessly if I left it out. The wheel is usually locked up in D's office and I'm just too plain lazy to drag it out in the evening only to lock it back up at the end of the night. So spinning tends to happen at the group only. That said, over the months I have made inroads into my huge (it's a theme with my hobbies...) fiber stash. My plan is to get rid of all the beautiful but often small amounts of dyed fiber in order to make room for one or two big fleeces with enough yarn to knit larger garments. 

Look what I finished this time:



This is merino/silk (the dark blue), plied with some merino (the light blue). It's only one skein, but it should be around 100g, so definitely enough for a hat.

The second skein is the last of a number of skeins I spun a few years back. I had some of the fiber left over and decided to spin it up quickly so I would have some more. I'm thinking of making Liesl with the yarn - if I skip the sleeves I may just have enough... 

Last time I was at the group I also finally spun up some delicious looking merino/silk mix I had lying around for years. The colours were so vibrant!



There were actually three skeins of this, but it only occurred to me to take a picture when I'd already used two of them! I spun this deliberately slubby, which was more of a challenge than I thought it would be. Sure it should be easy to spin up something really messily? Turns out that spinning neatly is much much easier!

This time I brought some big circular needles and cast on for Haley Waxberg's Bulky Mobius Cowl. 





Such a fun and quick project! I knitted for about an hour yesterday and then another hour today and tadaa, it's done! The yarn is so soft, so it won't be irritating on the skin to wear it. I think I'll get a lot of wear out of this.


  
This was such a fun little thing to knit, I don't think this is the only cowl project in my future...

Shared with:

6 comments:

  1. Your yarn looks fantastic! I would love to have a go at spinning one day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! :) Spinning is very therapeutic. I used to do it a lot, but it's been difficult with the little ones because spinning wheels do look rather a lot like toys...

      Delete
  2. Anonymous9:58 pm

    I have yarn envy xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haha, it all increases my already unmanageable stash! I think I may have to add a few cowls and gloves to my Year of Projects list - cheap (if labour-intensive) xmas presents perhaps?

      Delete
  3. I like the organic and cozy vibe of your spinning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. My yarn always looks a bit 'rustic' - I like it that way. ;)

      Delete