Use the handspun

My big 2017 fiber resolution was to knit more of my handspun. I’m not sure if I’ve done a super awesome job so far… but I have churned out 2 scarves, a pair of socks, and a pair of fingerless mitts.

HOWEVER, 2017 isn’t over yet! I have a couple of things going now.

First up: I have a little phone pouch that my mother made me back in 2012. Long time readers may remember it: I use this all the time and it is now completely threadbare:

I asked my mom if she would make me another one, and I told her I was thinking about weaving the fabric for it. What did she think? She was game but neither of us really knew what I would make. I wanted to use wool so that I could full the fabric and make it denser than the cotton fabrics I can weave on my little Cricket. Honestly, I decided not to overthink it and just went by instinct. I took these two yarns which I had spun earlier this year

…and jumped right in. I double-threaded the undyed, 2-ply yarn on my 10-dent heddle and used the dyed Teeswater singles as weft.

It is hard for me to predict how woven fabric will look. Here is the result!

It’s kind of gradient-y, but also kind of stripey. I honestly don’t know if this fabric will work to make another phone pouch. Will it be durable enough? Will the sewing machine be able to handle a layer of this wool handwoven with batting and a quilting cotton liner? Will it look stupid? The jury is out on all of those questions. My mom is visiting in a couple of weeks, and we will consult. She might end up taking the fabric back home with her, because she gently pointed out that her sewing machine is way better than mine. I get that.

Even if this fabric doesn’t end up working for the phone pouch, I can say I wove with my handspun – and the undyed yarn is completely gone, out of stash.

In other handspun news, it’s time to knit another sweater. Remember the sweater quantity of Greenbow I spun last year? I spun the singles at the end of 2016 and plied it up in January of this year. I spent a little quality time with Ravelry and decided to try making Ysolda Teague’s Blank Canvas sweater. It’s simple, which is good with a colorful handspun yarn. It also has an interesting shoulder construction I’m eager to try.

I swatched on both a US 5 and a US 6, in the round (it kills me to cut all those floats, but the swatch didn’t lay right without doing so):

Of course, I didn’t have gauge. But I my old friend, math, to help me out:

So here I go, hoping it works out. I’m trying not to overthink it and just knit the yarn.