Startitis

Though I certainly have enough projects-in-progress, seems that lately I'm always game for a new distraction... For starters I've finally jumped on the bandwagon and started a February Lady Sweater (Ravelry link.) My friends Opal, Megan, and Lisa are among the culprits in this one, though with over 4000 versions of the pattern listed in Ravelry I suppose it was inevitable I'd join in eventually. That many knitters can't be wrong. I knit a baby-sized version from Elizabeth Zimmermann's original pattern awhile back and was very pleased, so I'm hoping one in my size will be just as flattering.

We are happy to be part of the flock. Baaaaa.

I'm knitting mine in Brown Sheep's "Cotton Fleece" yarn, a cotton/wool blend that should make for a great three-season garment. I've started spindling again too. When I first got my wheel, it was all about yarn production: how fast can I churn it out? Now that I've got a shelf full of handspun waiting to be knit, I feel drawn to the more deliberate pace of spindle spinning.

This is a 50/50 wool/soysilk blend, two ounces worth, dyed by Hello Yarn in a colorway she calls "Frosted Forest." I'm spinning it up into a laceweight two-ply to get as much yardage as I can from this fiber. It's the first time I've spun with soysilk, and so far it reminds me of a wool/silk blend. Very shiny stuff, and it likes to be thin. Now, that's not to say I've been neglecting the wheel either. I'm working my way through a set of superwash merino batts from Enchanted Knoll. These are a colorway called "Good Fortune," a delightful mix of greens with a dash of brown and a dollop of blue for good measure. You can see the gold sparkles in there too... I'm leaning towards another laceweight yarn with this one, or maybe more of a light-fingering weight. Or a three-ply sock yarn... I can't decide! I did finish a pair of socks, though they've been off the needles long enough to be worn and sent through the wash a couple times already. These are the "Gentleman's Sock in Railway Stitch" from Nancy Bush's "Knitting Vintage Socks." I used Paton's Kroy 4-ply sock yarn as the main color, and Knit Picks Essential (in "Dusk") for the contrast.

I just love that striped toe!

Last, though certainly far-from-least, this is my newest time-sucking project: The yarn is a merino/silk blend I handspun mostly on a spindle, beginning over a year ago and finishing up last summer. I love the colors, but was having trouble finding a shawl pattern that wouldn't get lost in the self-striping of the handspun. I believe I've found a complementary match. The pattern is called "Gail (aka Nightsongs)" (Rav link) and can be downloaded as a pdf from this blog. I'm utterly enchanted with it, I love the bold leaf pattern that sweeps through the shawl... I'm working on the fifth repeat, surprised at how quickly it's going. So that's all for now. Thank you for all the welcome-back and well-wishings - I'm so thankful for my blog-friends, you warm my heart. See you again soon!

Been so long, I'm not sure where to start...

... but handspun can't make for a bad beginning.

4 oz. /360 yd. sport-weight cabled yarn (two 2-plies, plied together) Enchanted Knoll Farm, "Hard Cider," superwash merino batts

4 oz. / 200 yd. thick 'n' thin chunky single Hungry for Handspun "Honey Toast" merino wool

4 oz. / 300 yd. worsted-weight single Hello Yarn, "Baked Alaska," Romney wool

8 oz. / 626 yd. dk-weight 2-ply Spunky Eclectic, "Think Spring" African Fine wool and "Burning Bush" 80/20 merino/silk two colorways spun seperately then plied together

4 oz. / 130 yd. bulky 2-ply Hello Yarn, "Verdant," 70/30 merino/mohair

4 oz. / 325 yd. dk-weight single Susan's Spinning Bunny, "Plummy," Targhee wool

My personal life has been tumultuous in the past few months and has required my attention. I wasn't sure how or whether to address it here, so I retreated from the blog and, sadly, from much of my fiber-arts work. I'm still not ready to talk about it, but I'm attempting a re-entry on the fiber-front... please stay tuned...