July 4, 2008
What better way to kick off a 3-day weekend than with a later-than-usual blog post, rolling in at a civilized hour on this lazy holiday morning? I really appreciated the 4-day work week, and so far it’s been delightful to enjoy a relaxing long weekend! Speaking of appreciating delightful things:
As soon as I saw this new colorway of Araucania Ranco sock yarn, I knew I had to have it! I think what really appealed to me was the cuteness of the color’s name: Daily News. It’s the colors of newsprint! You probably wouldn’t automatically think of smudgey newspaper as something that would make nice yarn or pair of socks, but I just love it when yarn colors work well with their names, and I think the varying shades of gray will make neat socks. Some type of “black, white, and read all-over” joke is coming to mind here, but I will spare you the details.
I haven’t decided what type of socks this yarn will become, but I like that it’s a little on the thicker side of fingering weight. Being able to knit on US2’s gives me a lot more flexibility when choosing patterns, since 64-stitch socks don’t generally fit me with smaller needles and skinnier yarns.
In any case, I’m going to take some time to find just the right pattern for this yarn, since I’m taking a mini-break from socks and hoping to spend the weekend spinning, finishing up older projects and working up little stash-busting projects like Hats for Alex and knitted toys. My secret pal did an awesome favor for my current toy-knitting habit! She didn’t even know I was planning to knit softies this weekend, but still she had perfect timing with sending me the set of Hansigurumi Cephalopod patterns! I’ve always been a fan of squids and their cousins (appreciating both their ecology and their culinary contributions!), so I’d been eyeing those toy patterns ever since I first saw them. Now I get to knit a while set of squishy sea creatures of my own! Big thanks to my Secret Pal, whomever she may be ;-)
June 30, 2008
As promised, here’s my progress so far with the Duet Skinny sock yarn. I’ve been knitting socks fanatically recently, so there’s a lot of sock to show for myself! I really like this yarn for the feel of the knitted fabric and for the way the colors are working out– I think it’s a great match for the Bellatrix Socks pattern (which is available through Ravelry), even though I’ve ended up modifying the pattern almost beyond recognition. (Toe-up, short row heel, picot hem, different gauge, different stitch count…)
If I’m remembering right from my knitting last night, I need about 6 more pattern repeats before knitting the picot hem in the contrast color. Depending on how much knitting I get done today, that puts me on track to make this another sock-in-one-week! (I would have to finish it by Tuesday night.) My whole strategy of guiltlessly knitting only the first sock of a pair and then moving on to something new has been really fruitful for my knitting productivity… just not yet for my sock drawer! It’s been fun to always be working on a fun new project, and never be working on the repeat sock, the one you’re always “just trying to finish.”
There’s only one problem with my current sock knitting strategy: I’ve run out of sock blockers on which to proudly display those single socks. Does this mean I should go back to the beginning and start knitting mates so the socks can move to gift boxes or the sock drawer? Or does it mean I need more sock blockers??
June 28, 2008
Rob has a new project at work that means he’s working in a “creative space” (a converted conference room) with a few code monkeys that are his geek friends. The closed door and creative atmosphere means they have a lot of fun while working with each other, and thus came the demand from Rob: need more toys. Apparently the Mario mushrooms and the Companion Cube aren’t enough? My crochet skills are extremely rusty (or maybe they never existed at all?), but it didn’t take long to create the stuffed super star from Mario:
The yarn is Lorna’s Shepherd Worsted in 40ns Sunshine. I love that my work gives me instant access to any color yarn I would need! (We had such a fun time yesterday designing a one-off “Giraffe” colorway in Lion & Lamb so Sam could make a knitted giraffe toy.) I do have a lot of this easy-care yarn leftover after this small project, so I’m thinking either lots more stars, or maybe Hats for Alex?
June 27, 2008
I can remember a couple instances of reading blogs where people said they particularly loved knitting with this yarn, so it’s been on my “want to try” list for a long time. It’s the Duet Sock Yarn from A Swell Yarn Shop, in the “skinny” weight. Surprisingly, it took me a long time to find a colorway I liked, but I like this one enough to compensate for the delay!
The colorway is “Mossy Rock,” and today’s yarn pr0n pictures are an important part of documenting history, because this skein has already been torn open, wound up, and cast on! Maybe the idea of the mini-skein of coordinating color heel/toe yarn was too irresistable? Or was it the subtle shading of green and gray?
I’ll show off the sock I’ve started over the weekend. I really like how the colors (in seemingly all the Duet colorways?) do tiny self stripes as opposed to pooling or anything very flashy. It’s also knitting up into a really nice fabric that seems like it will be comfy and wear well. Now it’s got me really curious to try the Duet Middy-weight!
June 25, 2008
I couldn’t even wait to take a couple “before” pictures of my latest fibery endeavor before I jumped right in and started spinning. I had ordered this lovely spindle from Spinsanity to allow me to spin lighter yarns than my heavier homemade one. It’s great! I really love how it looks, and how the square shape is a little unusual. It’s also really great to be spinning on a professional spindle instead of one made my someone who doesn’t spin… the spindle spins really fast and long, so I’m having a lot of fun practicing.
The roving is beautiful superwash merino from The Dyeing Arts, which I got recently from The Loopy Ewe. I had heard Tara from the Dyeing Arts on Lime & Violet ages ago, so it was fun for me to get fiber from someone I’d heard talk all about the dye process and other yarn topics. I really like the “Goblin Elbow Blue” color scheme, too. I’m not generally a big blue person but lately, I like it! The yarn looking very neat as it spins up, so I’ll be sure to show off some more pictures of it soon.
One problem I am having with all these new spinning projects, is how to manage and store my works in progress, like the fiber I’ve unbraided and the spindle when I’m not using it. I guess I’ll be in the market for some kind of smooth sided basket or box/bucket/bowl contraption (or several of them)… does anyone have any good recommendations or reviews for that sort of thing?
