Small and big

I have a small project to share and the beginning of a very large one.

First, here is some more yarn I made with the new longdraw technique. This is 2-ply Icelandic. I had about 2 oz of roving and the finished yarn weighs 1.85 oz (52 g). I have about 115 yards.

You can see that this isn’t terribly even yarn. I had to fight with it more than I did the other stuff I just finished. The yarn label says that the black fiver is from a sheep named Beauty and the white is from Felicia. Well, Beauty and Felicia are pretty dissimilar. Beauty’s fiber was more coarse and long-stapled; it had lots of grip. Felicia’s was softer and tended to drift apart. In sections of roving where the two types weren’t equally balanced, funky things tended to happen.

I’m not at all sure what to do with this. I might make a slouchy hat, but I would want to line it with a much softer yarn. We’ll see. I’m glad I only had 2 oz of that!

Now for the LARGE project. I told you I was making a blanket (Heirloom Chevron Throw). Watching it grow is going to be like watching paint dry, so I’ve decided only to share it when I change colors. I have 3 balls each of 6 colors, and currently I’m on ball #2 of color #2. It’s too big to spread out properly while it’s on the needle, but hopefully you get the idea: Color #1 is a lovely neutral green called Turtle that looks warmer in person than it does in this photo. The Turtle section is a triangle. Next up is a teal called Pacific which is right up my alley. Here you can see the point of the chevron:

The yarn I’m using (Cascade 220 Superwash) is skinnier than the yarn called for, which means I have more stitches per row. I have 329 stitches per row, to be exact. It takes me about 15 minutes per row. My goal is to do a minimum of two rows (one garter ridge) per day, sometimes more. Here are the rest of the colors. Doeskin Heather (the greige) is up next.

If you want to make this blanket, I recommend choosing a BULKY yarn! Hindsight is so clear.