Tag Archives: falklands

FO: tigerlily (and some shalom progress).

Posted on by
6

In an attempt to hide from reality (spring break is over, I’m heading to campus in an hour), I spun up the second half of my AVFKW falklands fiber in the tigerlily colorway yesterday. This is 48 yards of worsted weight, navajo plied yarn, from 1.5 oz of fiber — exactly the same yardage that I got from the first half. This clearly wants to be something paired — fingerless mitts, perhaps?

And here’s where I’m at with Shalom. I knit all of that stockinette on Saturday night, at a knit-friendly dinner party, and I’m hoping that I can maintain my momentum on this sweater now that spring break is over. (Can you tell I’m still pouting about that?) Despite my lack of a gauge swatch, plan, or pattern obedience, it appears that this sweater is the perfect size. Thank you, top down sweater construction.

Boh and I are off to take a quick walk this morning before I head to campus, as Mondays are pretty busy days. Hope your week is off to a good start!

Advertisement

FO: bluestone.

Posted on by
4

It’s official. I’m obsessed with navajo plying. And with Southern Cross Fibre. This merino might well be the squishiest thing to ever come off my wheel. 148 yards of plump worsted deliciousness, navajo plied, in the Bluestone colorway from the March 2010 SCF Fiber Club. I love this so much that I want to wear the hank doubled around my neck…and I’m thinking it should probably turn into a cowl, ASAP.

I went looking for something else to play with, and decided on this falklands wool from AVFKW in the tigerlily colorway. I split the roving lengthwise in half with the idea that the colors would repeat twice. And when I finished the first half, I decided to go for two mini-skeins so that I could navajo ply some more (instead of waiting until today).

I wrestled with this in places — in some spots, my singles were slightly overspun for navajo plying, and my lack of patience meant that in those sections, I had to deal with energized singles that hadn’t been given any time to rest. That said, I love these colors, and am psyched to spin and ply the other half of this fiber. What you’re seeing here is 48 yards of worsted weight yarn,  from 1.5 oz of fiber.

And here’s another shot of Shalom — I slipped this on yesterday to see if I wanted to add a fourth button hole (I do), and had to laugh at the exact matchiness of my t-shirt and yarn.

Alas, spring break has come to a close — and the grey skies are echoing a bit of how I feel today. I wish break lasted a bit longer, as I am just starting to feel caught up on a lot of of work, sleep, and play. I’m going to let myself do a bit more knitting and spinning today, amidst prep for the week, but I’m not going to lie: I am feeling a little bit pouty, and it will be hard to head to campus tomorrow morning…

hat-tober?

Posted on by
5

second seaman

I started a second handspun seaman’s cap yesterday afternoon, and I’m very close to beginning the decreases. I’m using AVFKW falklands in The Silent Undergrowth.

second seaman closeup

The greens are very subtle, and I’m not sure if you can tell from this picture, but there is a soft green stripe right at the base of the turned up ribbed band. I’m learning quite a bit about the connections between my spinning choices and how the yarn knits up. This hat looks a bit more rustic than the first seaman’s cap, in part because my spinning isn’t totally even, but mostly (I think) because this is a 2-ply, and my first seaman’s cap was a 3-ply. I need to start making some choices about my holiday spinning and knitting, so this comparison is giving me a lot to think about.

bmissj

Also, check this out. I really think Boh misses our guest. For much of the morning, Boh stretched out on the floor and  pouted exactly where our houseguest had been sleeping. It is so hard to be a dog.

pink.

Posted on by
7

pliedpinkhh

pinkhhskein1

pinkhhskein2

106 yards of 2-ply, light worsted, from 2 oz. of pinky-purple falklands fiber from AVFKW in the hollyhock colorway.

Despite what you’ve seen here lately (Mara, this baby sweater, lots of pink spinning), pink is not my favorite color in real life, but I am always really happy with the pinks in my fibery projects. I hated pink as a child, and as soon as I headed off to college, my parents painted my bedroom what I like to call “pepto bismol” pink. (That pink is still not okay.)

bbelleprog sleeve

bbellesleevecloseup

I’m loving how this is knitting up, but I’m getting to that place where I’m concerned I may run out of yarn. With this in mind, I stopped the sleeves at 4 inches, so these will be 3/4 length, rather than full length. I even caught myself knitting faster last night…fingers crossed!

feeling antsy.

Posted on by
6

I’m not exactly sure why — maybe because it is early enough in the semester that I don’t quite have a routine yet, maybe because getting back into this particular mode of being is a bit of a struggle — but last night I felt just plain antsy, like I should be getting things done, even though I was tired. I think one of the reasons there is such crossover between the land of knitters and academia is that knitting is a way to see what you are producing, to hold it in your hands. Sometimes, even though there is a pile of reading staring at me, I just need to really see my own progress on something slightly more tangible.

belleprogsleeve

Hence, my baby belle. I just have the sleeves and the button band left to do, and I love how this is turning out. Also:

hhocksplied

I plied the bobbins of the green falklands fiber in the hollyhock colorway together, and set the twist.

hhockskein

hhockcloseup

110 yards of 2-ply, from 2 oz. of fiber. You may recall that the other half of this bump is pale pinks and purples. I may have spun up the remaining 2 oz. before bed last night…

purpleshock

I’m taking a class that is exciting to me, although it is out of my field — and out of my comfort zone. I may ply the rest of the hollyhocks falklands fiber this morning in preparation  — the fibery equivalent of a few deep breaths?

MIA (mara in action).

Posted on by
10

wearingmara1

Monday.

wearingmara2

Tuesday.

laceshawlalmost

18 rows to go. I was intending to work on it tonight, but I accidentally (?) had a few beers after class today, and really should not work on it.

hollyhock1

Late last night, after doing substantial work on the shawl, I decided that while I could no longer look at lace charts, I wasn’t quite ready for bed. So I spun a bit of luscious falklands fiber.

hollyhockbob1

This is the first of four ounces of lovely falklands fiber in the hollyhock colorway from A Verb For Keeping Warm. There are two ounces of this green, adn two in a lovely pinky-pale purple. I’m spinning each color separately into a 2-ply, with the thought that I’ll make something stripey…eventually.

dogtired

This is what Boh looks like right now, and I’d say it accurately conveys how I feel at this particular moment — and it is only Tuesday. Hello, September.

why hello, skein.

Posted on by
10

fpp1

fppmacro

fpp2

fpp3

LOVE.

238 yds. of squishy 2-ply worsted weight yarn, from 4 oz. of falklands wool in five plum pie from Hello Yarn.

fpp nply full

fpp nply

I navajo plyed what didn’t fit on the first bobbin — so here’s 28 more yards of practice yarn. This is still overplied, but I’m getting into a rhythm with this technique. It is really hard to slow down my feet!

zucchini pickles

Also, zucchini pickles! I made these on Thursday, but the recipe said they’d turn a lovely shade of chartreuse after a day in the fridge. I know the green of my kitchen is tough to beat, but the zucchini really is absorbing the color of the brine. I’m taking these to a backyard bbq later today!

five plum pie.

Posted on by
5

First off, if you clicked through from Joy the Baker’s site because you, too, wondered if roosters wear shoes, welcome! I don’t have any pictures to prove it, but I did use my oven continuously yesterday (zucchini bread, granola, roasted potatoes). And I was barefoot.

(I won an awesome set of Baggu bags, and I can’t wait. In fact, I’ve been doing some serious winning lately, as I was the lucky commenter selected in Jodi’s blogiversary contest over at A Caffeinated Yarn. Yay!)

bob2plumpie

Amidst all the oven use yesterday, I did manage to get a lot of spinning done. I finished both bobbins of the Hello Yarn Fiber Club falklands wool in Five Plum Pie, and late last night, I decided to do a little bit of plying.

full bobbin

Which turned into A LOT of plying. That bobbin is so full that it no longer turns independently of the flyer. I’ll have more pictures of this 2-ply when it is done drying, but I’m really happy with how nicely the colors lined up. Instead of breaking the roving into 2 pieces, I stripped this in half lengthwise, and was carefully to spin them the same way to keep the color progression. In a lot of places, the colors match exactly, and the transitions between colors seem gentle and subtle. Also, not that it needs to be said, but this stuff was incredible to work with — smooth, even, and solid without being compressed. I fully understand the HY hype.

Public Service Announcement: Have you seen this navajo-plying video over at Spin-Off? I found this link through the Spunky Club on ravelry, and I feel moved to share. For folks new to navajo-plying, this video makes it really easy to see how it works and what it looks like. For old pros, the video demonstrates a particular way of holding the yarn and pulling out the loops that is easy on the shoulders and very rhythmic.

For those following my bat saga, Boh and I were winged-visitor-free last night. Here’s hoping it stays that way!

sweet peppers and plum pie.

Posted on by
4

(Hint. Only one of these things is actually in the kitchen.)

sweetpeppers1

sweet peppers

These are hands-down some of the prettiest peppers to ever grace my kitchen with their presence. Everything else from this week’s share (carrots, beets, potatoes, tomatoes, dill, basil, cilantro, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, endive, lettuce and garlic) went right into its place in the kitchen, but these needed to be photographed.

five plum pie

And here is the plum pie. Five Plum Pie, to be exact. This is the first colorway I received as a new member of the Hello Yarn Fiber Club in May 09 — 4 oz of falklands wool. I finally feel like my spinning is consistent enough to start playing with my slowly growing HY stash. I’m aiming for a squishy 2-ply, probably a dk to light worsted in weight, and right now I’m thinking that I would love a new cowl and/or set of mitts for fall…

saddag

It was too humid to do much of anything during the day yesterday, but once the evening arrived, Boh and I went over to see dog and people friends, eat delicious pizza and farm veggies, and take a lovely evening walk. (We also polished off a whole jar of dilly beans. I couldn’t wait any longer, so I opened one of the pints a few days shy of its 2-week pickling period. I need to pick more beans!)

beans and a skein.

Posted on by
2

dillybeansprep

3morejars

Three more pints of dilly beans on the shelf.

boh

Boh, worrying about something. (What’s new?)

falklandsfo

falklandsclose

166 yards of light worsted 2-ply falklands wool from 3 oz. of the silent undergrowth colorway from AVFKW. This stuff is soft, squishy, shiny, and all-around delightful.

Off to pour another cup of coffee…