Please vote for my socks!

Okay y’all, the Summer of Color entries have been posted on Allison’s Simply Socks Yarn Company website, and the voting has begun.  There is a $200 yarn gift certificate waiting for the winner of the popular vote.  Won’t you please take a few minutes to vote for my Fjordland socks?

Remember these cuties I knit for Boy 2 out of the new SSYC solid sock yarns? 

There are 15 pairs of lovely socks in the contest.  Mine are #12, so scroll down.  To vote, all you need to do is email Allison at allison@simplysockyarn.com with the subject line VOTE and the message Socks 12.  Emails will be accepted through Friday, 8/6/10, midnight EST.

Man, I could make a LOT of cool socks from $200 worth of sock yarn.  S1 is very interested in the new Mad for Plaid design from Knitty.com, and that would be the first thing I’d knit from my new yarn if I won!

Thank you!

Look, more yarn!

My latest hank of handspun took quite a bit longer than the previous one.  Part of that was that I tried to create skinnier yarn (still in search of the ever elusive handspun sock yarn).  Toward this effort, I got a new whorl.  So now I have 3 altogether – here is my whorl tower:The bottom two came with my Ladybug; the top one is the Schacht high-speed whorl.  Each one has two grooves and depending on which one you put the drive band into, you can get different spinning ratios:The higher the ratio, the more times the flyer spins around for each revolution of the wheel, and the more twist you get.  When you draft the fibers out very fine, you need more twist to hold them together – so spinning finer yarn requires a smaller whorl.  (I think I have that right!)

Anyway, this is the first yarn I’ve spun on my new whorl.  I used the larger setting, though (14:1), so I can still go one notch finer if I want to (and I will).

This is a 2-ply merino-silk blend (70/30, I think).  I got 432 yards in 120 grams (4.25 oz).  I spun it worsted style, which means that the yarn is fairly smooth – not lofty and airy – and it has nice drape thanks to the silk.  It’s pretty! I’m not exactly sure what to use it for.  It should probably be something that goes around the neck, because it’s soft enough.  Maybe a kerchief-y or cowl-y neck thing.  Some of those smallish triangular kerchief-y/scarf things have been catching my eye lately.

My next spinning project is going to be another attempt at a true sock yarn.  That means THREE PLIES.  It is just so hard on my hands to knit 2-ply yarn at the density it needs to be knit at for hard-wearing socks (that beautiful gray Jacob sock yarn I’m currently working with is 2-ply).  I’m going to use the high-speed whorl at the 16:1 ratio in order to get the thinnest singles I can.  And I will spin either the BFL/mohair roving I got in Bedford or the treasured Wensleydale roving naturally dyed by Tactile Fiber Arts that I got at Sock Summit last summer.  Wensleydale is a very long-stapled wool and it should be good for socks.

I’m taking a quick trip to the Midwest this weekend, which means airplane/airport knitting.  I think I’ll take a project for the plane that requires a little more attention – perhaps the Butternut Scarf that I started last fall and then abandoned for holiday knitting.  I’ve revived that in the past week and it’s a lot longer now.  Or maybe the Campanula Scarf in laceweight cashmere.  I cast on for it again last night with my new Knit Picks Harmony needle (you were so right, Janna, about which needle would work best).  So far it’s very slow going. And then, I’ll need a plain vanilla sock for knitting amongst people.  Dang, I have some packing and planning to do.  Better go!

Pansies

The Pansy Socks are done!

Those were a pretty quick knit.  I took the time to weave in some reinforcing yarn in the heel flaps.  I used some Mountain Colors Bearfoot (from these socks) that I had around – its wool/mohair content makes it a good felter, and felting is good for heel reinforcement.  Kris and I darned socks at our Knit Night last week, and I darned not one but two holey socks made from Socks That Rock, so I’m being extra cautious about sending these into the world.  I really love the Blue Moon dying sensibility, but this 100% superwash merino sock yarn base is one that I will not be buying any more of.  (Perhaps you knew that?)So now I’ll get back to those grey Jacob Cauchy socks I started before I got distracted by the pansies.

In other news, I’m over halfway done spinning the purple merino/silk blend.  Here is the first bobbin all finished: Yum yum yum!

Purplicious

I’ve read the children’s book Pinkalicious.  I understand that Purplicious is its sequel; I haven’t read it yet. But purple seems to be my color lately!

The first Pansy Sock is done, and I’m almost ready to begin the heel on #2.  Here’s #1:Then I reached into my basket of spinning fiber and came up with this:  I knew this was top by the way it was arranged, but it didn’t have a label on it.  I got this earlier this spring when I placed an order with The Spinning Loft.  I had a gift certificate to use with them and wanted to get a smaller whorl for my Ladybug (as part of my quest to spin a good 3-ply sock yarn).  I’m sure I knew what it was when I ordered it, but I’d forgotten.  I managed to find my receipt online and have decided that this is a merino silk blend.  I have 4.75 oz and I’m spinning is rather fine to make a 2-ply.

The receipt says “Louet merino silk McKensie,” but I can’t find a colorway called McKensie on the Louet website.  Ashland Bay makes a 70/30 merino silk blend called Mckenzie, so this might be it.  The colors online look more gray than purple, but that could just be the photography.  Then again, I think my fiber really looks like the Ashland Bay blend called Purple.  So, whatever…

At any rate, it’s pretty and I like it.  And spinning on the wheel is sooooooooo much faster than spinning on the spindle!

In other fun news, I won a contest on the Novamade blog and got this fabulous BFL dyed by Cloverleaf Farms.  The colorway is “Golden Oaks” – isn’t it gorgeous?This was waiting in the mail when I returned from NC – what a treat.  (Ironically, Cloverleaf Farms is located in Hendersonville, NC, one of the towns we spent a bit of time in during our trip.)  I thought about spinning it next, but I decided to wait until I feel that first chill in the air since it’s so autumnal.  The chill is decidedly NOT here now – we’ve been having highs in the mid-upper 90s every day. 

If you aren’t already familiar with Nova’s blog, I encourage you to visit – she takes fabulous photos and always has beautiful things to show (fiber-y things as well as her adorable children)!

What kind of cat carries your golf clubs?

Today’s post title is a nod to Billy Jonas’s most excellent song, the title track of his CD, “What kind of cat are you?”  We listened to this CD nonstop all the way to, through, and from North Carolina.  My kids adore it (thanks to Kristina for bringing it to our attention!).  Seriously, you have to read the lyrics.  Better yet, don’t read them – listen to the song first (see link at top), so you can try to answer the clues.

Anyway, one of the “cats” in the song is the kind of cat that carries your golf clubs – a CADDY.  I’ve been meaning to tell you that we saw llama caddies on our trip.  We left our campsite one day to go to the Carl Sandburg home in Flat Rock and drove past a golf course.  S1 and I both did a double-take as we rolled past – were those llamas or alpacas carrying people’s golf clubs?  We thought we were seeing things.  I asked our campground host about it later in the day, and he just smiled.  “It’s Tuesday – Tuesday is Llama Day,” he said.  So there you have it – some people are using llamas to carry golf clubs around.  NC truly is a fascinating state.  I didn’t get a photo myself, but luckily, the NYT has covered this llama caddy phenomenon – here’s their photo:

Camelid segue… I don’t have any llama fiber to tell you about today, but I did finish my Jacob-alpaca yarn – close enough? My batt was labeled 3 oz, but my finished yarn is 2.5 oz (71 g).  That’s 140 yards of 2-ply.  You’ll notice if you look closely that this is pretty uneven.  The fiber contained a lot of lanolin, and the Jacob drafted quite differently from the alpaca (the pure white spots are alpaca).  It was sticky.  I decided not to fight it and just spin it as it wanted to be spun.  The yarn bloomed a bit after setting it in a hot bath.  The result is quite fluffy and pettable.  It will probably work well as a hat.

I’m so stoked that I finished this in 2 days – I spun all the singles on Saturday and plied on Sunday.  What’s next from my pile?

Hint: something purple.

Socks in progress

I’m not sure what I call this sock yet.  The stitch pattern (from the Vogue Stitchionary volume 1) is called “rib and welt pattern,” which doesn’t exactly have a nice ring to it.  The yarn is Socks That Rock Lightweight in colorway “love-in-idleness” (an old name for a wild pansy).  So maybe these will be my pansy socks.  There is some pooling, but it’s not annoying me tooooooooo much at this point.  It looks more painterly than pooly:

The Jacob Cauchys are still on the needles but haven’t seen much action since you last saw them:See what I mean about the decrease area?  I wish I’d put the decrease stitches in the purl area rather than the knit part of the rib.  Next time.

I also warmed up the spinning wheel yesterday and got busy.  I decided not to spend much time pondering which fiber to spin.  Instead, I just grabbed what was on the top of the pile.  I got the 3 oz Jacob/alpaca batt that I got at MDSW this spring.  I separated it into 2 equal sections (the digital scale is so handy for this) and spun the singles.  I plan to ply them today (you’re supposed to let the singles rest overnight).  Hopefully you’ll see some new yarn here soon!

That’s all for today – off to ply now.

Camp Fiber

I finally finished spinning the first half of my 4 oz of Polworth top.  I haven’t been using a reference card or anything to help with consistency, and I have a feeling that the last bit I spun was thicker than the first bit (because the spindle was getting heavier).  We shall see when it is plied.  Supposedly you can spin as much fiber as the weight of the spindle, but that seems like a lot to me.  This is about 2 oz of fiber on a 4 oz spindle:I’ll wind that off onto a piece of PVC pipe I brought with me before beginning the next half.  The grey sock is on its 3rd iteration.  I decided that I wasn’t happy with the way the 2x2 rib transitioned into the stitch pattern.  I took a 1-hour ribbing class with Cookie A at Sock Summit about exactly this, so I couldn’t stand not getting that right on one of her designs (her pattern calls for a picot edge, which I don’t think would be right with such a rustic yarn, so I’m substituting a ribbed edge).  I also decided to make the ribbed cuff part much deeper, since I have plenty of yarn (5 oz).  So that photo shows a Cauchy sock with a deep ribbed cuff plus 1 22-round pattern repeat.  When I do sock #2, I’ll modify the ribbing again – I should have planned to put the decreases in the purl stitches rather than the knit ones.  I think they would disappear better.  Knit and learn, right?

The grey sock is kind of bulky.  You may not be able to tell from that photo above, but the grey yarn cake is supersized and not so portable.  So I started my backup project to work on during the camping portion of our trip.  I’m doing a stitch pattern from the Vogue Stitchionary with some Socks that Rock Lightweight from stash (colorway Love-in-idleness).  It’s pooling a bit, but the colors are still lovely:

We have been camping the last 2 nights (one more to go) and it has been rather rainy here, off and on.  Luckily, we hung a tarp over our picnic table, which makes a dryish place to hang out while it rains (other than the tent, which is super steamy here in the humid South).  I popped into the Earth Guild in Asheville while we were there and Boy 1 seemed excited about the potholder loom – so of course we got it:The “deluxe” kit comes with enough loops to make six potholders.  Boy 1 made the first one with random loops.  Then S1 made one with a gradiating color pattern.  Then Boy 1 started another one with a different pattern.  Need a potholder?  We’re in production mode.

We lucked out and were in Asheville the day of The Big Crafty festival.  We had such a great time browsing the booths and getting inspired.  The building that some of the booths were in also housed a children’s museum, which we got free admission to with our Whitaker Center membership, so that worked out great – one parent stayed with the kids in the museum while the other shopped, and then we traded.  The Big Crafty is the kind of craft fair where you can buy things like vegan cupcakes and beer.  A great scene.  We got some fun things to remember our visit there.

My turn on the internet is coming to a close, so I’ll yield the netbook.  See you soon!

OBX stripes (or, FO: Beachy Felici)

Finished the Beachy Felicis today!  These were a quick knit with only 48 stitches around and speedy stockinette.  A short row heel probably would have been more attractive with the striping yarn, but I don’t have that construction memorized and I didn’t have notes with me.  These are done – and I only used 1 ball of yarn (so I have a spare).

I’ve been spinning the Polworth top on my spindle.  I know that seeing singles pile up on a spindle isn’t super exciting, but here’s how it looks now: I started a pair of socks with Jacob sock yarn, which is a little thicker than fingering.  I’m using 2.25 mm needles.  The stitch pattern is a 10-stitch repeat and the cast-on number is 60 – but this thick yarn made the sock too big so I backed down to 50.  We’ll see how this works out. Today Boy 1 and I climbed the tallest brick lighthouse in the world – Hatteras Island Lighthouse.  It’s 12 stories tall.  Great view at the top!One last shot of Beachy Felici (I just like saying that):

OBX string

I’ve learned that OBX is short for Outer Banks, which is where we are this week.  I won’t post a ton of photos of the beach, the pool, lighthouses, the Wright Brothers memorial, etc… Just one: It turns out that the weather conditions that caused the Wright brothers (who were from Dayton, OH) to test their flying machines here are also ideal for kite flying, which is a very big deal.  I’ve never been a huge kite flyer myself, but I suspect it’s because I never had ideal conditions.  It’s so EASY to fly kites on the shore here, because the wind averages 16 mph.  Here is Boy 1 flying away yesterday evening on the sound side of the island.

Today we returned to the Wright brothers memorial for the second time, just so Boy 1 could attend a kids program on kite flying.  That gave me a chance to pop into a shop I spied on the way down there: Knitting Addiction is a lovely shop with a lot going on.  The shopkeeper greeted us and immediately showed Boy 1 to the lego area (he came prepared with his own book, but extra toys are always a good idea to keep knitters with kids in the store longer).  There was a very welcoming seating area at the front with at least one person knitting there.  A basket on the coffee table held scratch paper with the store’s info on it, pencils, needle sizers, and stitch markers.  There was a “brag book” on the table, too, containing pictures of projects completed by store customers (great for inspiration).  Decorations included lovely bouquets like this: …and check out the felted lizards that were suction-cupped to the front window!  Unfortunately you can’t see the beautiful colors because the sun was coming in (nor was a good shot possible from outside), but picture the colors in your mind:This makes me want to decorate my front door sidelights with suction-cupped felted animals (which I just might do!).  Knitting Addition creates a lot of their own patterns, which come free with yarn purchased for the project (I didn’t even realize that until I looked at my receipt later) – and they offer to wind the yarn for you, which is a nice touch.  I bought a project that might surprise you; it’s really not my normal thing.  Perhaps I was influenced by the beachiness of this environment.  It’s a small bag (suitable for a sock project) knit double stranded with one strand of Mango Moon Bali Sky (recycled viscose handspun in Indonesia – I think the viscose is from saris) and one strand of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (80% cotton 20% merino):There were commercial yarns that I recognized here, but there were also a few from independent dyers, as well as other things handmade by local craftspeople. I was mighty tempted by these fortune cookie bags: There were even some neat turtle shaped bags (some of the profits go to a sea turtle rescue organization) – they zip up the bottom side of the turtle:I had my eye on some very nice hand-dyed semi-solid sock yarn with a lot of sparkles in it.  I thought my mom might like some sparkly holiday season socks made from it, but I second-guessed myself.  We’ll go back together to look.

Despite the handknit sock on the store’s logo, there wasn’t very much sock yarn in the shop.  And I didn’t find the 2.5 mm wood needle I need for my lace project.  But that’s okay – I’m still finishing the Beachy Felicis (which saw a lot of action on the drive down here – it was supposed to be a 7-hour drive but it took 11) and I’ve started a pair of Cauchys in the Jacob sock yarn I got at MDSW this spring.  I’m also trying to spin a little every day.

Next time I’ll post some actual knitting photos!

Felici, di nuovo

I was at a conference last weekend so of course, I took my knitting along.  When I travel, I always worry that I’ll run out of knitting (doesn’t everyone?) so I cast on for another pair of simple socks and threw them in.  I didn’t touch them at the conference, but they’ll be perfect for my next travel knitting.

A plain vanilla pair of socks for Boy 2 out of Felici: When I was knitting the pink Felici socks recently, Boy 2 frequently petted them and talked about how soft they were.  (Felici is unusually soft for a sock yarn that includes nylon.)  I promised him a pair of Felicis and showed him the colors I have in stash.  He picked this one.  This is one boy who’s not afraid of color!  This is one of their older colorways, called Aurora, that has stripes of differing widths.

Boy 2 responds strongly to softness and texture.  I have a tiny yarn cake of cashmere laceweight yarn out in the living room right now which he immediately asked me about.  “Mama, what is that blue yarn? It is soooooooo soft!”  It was fun to be able to tell him about cashmere and let him rub it on his neck.  This is the first laceweight yarn I have ever purchased.  Lace normally isn’t my thing.  But was I entranced by one of Anne Hanson’s latest creations, the Campanula Scarf, and thought I’d give it a try.  I actually cast on and knit a few rows of this, but I struggled so with the slippery metal needle I had.  I think I need a different needle to work this.  I ended up goofing and frogged the whole thing.

But this scarf will be MINE – lacy cashmere scarves should NOT go to kindergarten!