Sunday, June 27, 2010

Lots of Pictures- Update

I've been lazy on my picture taking. So I thought I should show what I have been working on. I haven't made much progress on my Baltic. I'm just not in the mood to be knitting on a heavy sweater when it's as hot as it's been.

But I have started....again....the Swallow Tail shawl. I'm on the 5th repeat of the second chart. So far not as many mistakes as the last time I tried. I'm not sure if I elaborated on my last attempt. Suffice it to say, black yarn is hard to knit lace with. Enough said. I am using a discontinued color (Mango) of Knit Picks Gloss Lace (70 merino/30 silk).


Also before I got my wheel, I orders a bunch of dyeing for colour mixed bags of pencil roving (superwash merino). (I just noticed that she has updated her shop and has lots more mixed bags of pencil roving) I love spinning this fiber. I wanted to try to get 3 spindles full of a mix of blues/blacks/silver. then 3 ply it for sock yarn. I only have 2 spindles done so far, but the last will be finished soon. OR hopefully before the end of summer. I may just ply the yarn on the wheel to make that part go quicker.


Finally, I also want to try to make a 3 ply fingering weight on my wheel. So I started to spin up the greens pencil rovings I also purchased from Dyeing for Colour. I put my wheel on the fastest ratio, and I am getting a very fine single. (finishest for me yet!!!)




That has been it. I have been running constantly with my daughter so I have been dragging around the EZ baby blanket in the rayon/linen blend (bright teal). It is all stst so it's completely mindless knitting!! It's really boring too. So I only do it when I am waiting for softball games to start or when they get really really boring.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Finally, A Little Sweater News

I have been a bit distracted by my new toy. But can you blame me? She is so Fine!!! But back to my sweaters. I'm still working on the Baltic sweater from Fishermen's Sweaters. I've made it all the way up to the arm pit (17-1/4 inches from the bottom). This is going to be a nice long sweater. I've started the back and forth knitting portion of the front. It is not exactly fun, because I have the pattern memorized for right-side knitting. So now, I have to really think about whether I am supposed to be knitting or purling the stitch when I am working my way back on the Wrong-side.



So now...About My New Wheel!!
She has been working smooth as silk. She is so lovely. I've decided to name her Chloe. When I spin on her, it sounds like the whirl is whispering Chloe...Chloe....

I've been doing pretty good spinning on her. Those years of Spindle spinning have paid off. My first few skiens are fairly fine. About 12-15 WPI. They are longer wools. I spun them on about a 9:1 ratio. I'm going to try to tackle some superwash merino at a higher ratio. ( Sorry about the poor picture quality)



I've decided to do the Tour de Fleece this year, but I won't be able to start spinning until July 11. I'm going to work on spinning my Superwash merino from Dyeing for Colour (Etsy). I want to try to get to a 3-ply fingering weight for sock. We'll see how that goes.

Since it has been so hot, I am starting to itch to try my hand at lace knitting again. Recall I tore out the Swallow Tail shawl after I dropped a stitch and couldn't figure out how to fix it. I really want a triangle shawl. I have some heavier lace weight from knit picks in a peachy color. I am hoping that knitting in a lighter color will be a little easier.

UGH!! See, more distractions from the sweater knitting. It's so hard to stay monogamous to a wool sweater when it's 93 degrees outside.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Awesomeness is here!!!


Isn't it beautiful!!
























Thank you Rob Edwards-Poad. You did a beautiful job.

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

The Awesomeness is Getting Closer

So, What is the Awesomeness?
Well, At the Upper Vally Fibber Festival. I spent 4 hours talking to everyone who was spinning about what they liked about their wheels and I tried every wheel I could get my handles on. Hands down, I like the Majacraft the best. I was torn between the Rose and the Suzie Pro. I actually found the strength to leave the show without buying the wheel at that show. OF course the vendors Tempted my like crazy...."You can have this one. It's already put together?" and "I have this one in the truck." ACK!!!!! RUN!!!!!quick, before I impulse buy!!!!!!

I have been spending about a year studying wheels - their features, designs, the ups and downs of each of these designs. But the UVFF was the first opportunity for me to actually sit down on a bunch of wheels and try them out.

First of all, I determined I do not want Single treadle. I tried 2 different types and did not like the feel/action at all!!

Also, i did not like the Ashford wheels (Heretic, I know). So many people have them around here, and everyone who has, one likes it. But for me, it did not seem as solid as the the Majacraft or the Fricke I tried. The Kromski was just okay....beautiful - Yes!! But again, not as sturdy to spin on as I seem to like. The Louet was okay but the one I tried was a single treadle and "h-a-t-e-d it." Sorry I think it was mostly the Single treadle and not the Louet.
Oh, Also, after reading reviews from MS&W, I got fascinated with the Hansen Electric Spinner. I almost actually impulse ordered one before I even tried a spinning wheel. Thankfully, I resisted that Impulse buy!! I tried an Ashford electric spinner and decided I wanted a wheel not an electric spinner. So anyway. This is my very simplistic overview of the wheels I tried.

I narrowed it down pretty quickly to the Majacraft, Rose or Suzie Pro. I needed to think on it for a few days to be sure. After all this research, I did not want to impulse buy a wheel and have buyers remorse. Needless to say, I did a little more reading about the difference between the 2 wheels and I ordered a Rose the following Friday!! I am waiting for it's arrival. And yesterday my dealer (Circle Hill Farms) emailed me and told me it may be coming this week, she got a notification it was ready!! I'm so excited!!!!!