Spinning Wheel, Spinning Round

About a month ago over six weeks, I took a yarn spinning class a month ago and had a blast. Maggie Casey, the co-owner of Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins in Boulder and the author of a terrific book, Start Spinning, was the instructor. And I don't think I could've learned from anyone better.

We got to first learn on a spindle, then on a wheel. Over the course of the class time, we washed, teased, and combed raw sheep fleece to make into wool yarn. The last class was devoted to dyeing the yarn we made with natural dyes. As cool as that was, the colors were a little too muted and earthy for me. But here they are:



These were some of my more "instructive" attempts at spinning and plying:



When I finally got good enough, I bought some dyed roving and spun and plied these skeins, which are likely going to be knit up into a shrug someday (not bad, huh?):



And here's what I'm working on now with a spindle:



I thought about buying a wheel, especially the Lendrum I first worked with or the Schacht Ladybug, but it was just going to be another rabbit hole I'd get caught in. Needless to say, my knitting projects suffered greatly and little got done.

But now I can see why people love yarn spinning - now I do too!

Another hiatus

Wow - where did the month of August go? It's already September and at least here in Colorado, I feel it in the air. Well, not to use excuses, but this time of year always gets a little frazzled, more so than usual. That's because I go back to school and start my day job all over again.

But I'm still here, and I'll keep updated with all thing fiber-related. Much more to come!

Bummer...and the lessons learned

Aggh! I just finished knitting something that I thought would be terrific...and it turns out to be a potato sack on me. The printed silk cardigan from the Spring 2008 Interweave Knits is so huge on me, probably because I thought that a size 38" (in the bust) would be roomy and not clingy on me. But I should've made the next size down, a 34". I also didn't consider that the yarn I used, Valley Yarns Southwick, was going to drape a little too well. It feels great, since it's a yummy cotton/bamboo blend. But I simply can't wear it without wrapping it around my front to the shoulder. And that just doesn't look right.

What's particularly frustrating is that I got gauge on stitches, but not on rows. So I did make adjustments accordingly so it would not be too long. But I didn't think it was going to be that huge on me once I put it on.

I will post pictures eventually, but I need to find someone suitable to give it to first, either a friend or my sister-in-law who both have larger chests than I do.

My favorite knitting magazines, part 2

So really, this should be titled "My not-so-favorite knitting magazines" because these are the ones that just happen to be hit and miss for me.

I still subscribe to these magazines, because I do want to see what is popular design-wise and understand how design works, for that day soon when I will want to make the jump into that crazy make-my-own-stuff world.

The first of these is Vogue Knitting. At first, I really didn't like this mag at all. As my friend Wendi once said, it's a little too avant-garde. Sometimes the patterns have just been way out there and meant for someone who is six foot and 120 lbs, with endless legs and torso. Not me by a longshot. But the last issue (Spring/Summer 2008) had some decent patterns that I would actually consider making. Especially some of the tank tops, designed by Mari Lynn Patrick and Norah Gaughan.

Vogue's offshoot of this is Knit Simple. It has designs that are just as you'd imagine - simple and straightforward. I like them, and they're a little more up my alley than Vogue, but there's nothing yet I'd choose to knit.

Next is Knit N Style. This one struck me as very unfashionable and almost dowdy. The last few issues, however, have been more acceptable to me. I do like their articles, especially about yarn companies and designers. That gives me great ideas for my copwriting business, KnitWit Copywriter.

The last of these magazines has been the hardest for me to embrace - Knitters. Apparently, this was once a great magazine, but I have seen only a few items that would be worth looking at, let alone cast on. Many of these patterns have been WAY out there, and I'm not sure what's going on with it. I will still give this magazine a chance, but it's getting harder to appreciate what its goals and focus are. Maybe I should lay off the criticism, because I don't have a strong sense of what's fashionable in knitting now. But I know what can look good, and I'm not sure if Knitters does this.

My favorite knitting magazines, part 1

Let me just say, I'm not well-versed in fashion. Never have been, because I've rebelled against what is fashionable ever since my mom made me wear stuff that she thought was and only bought me things that were far away from that standard. I've kind of been a jeans and comfy blouse or shirt, flowing dress girl, nearly all of my life.

As an adult, I've slowly learned what it means to be stylish, but not a slave to style. Talk about a trial and error process!

I wear what I think looks good on me and in colors that I love, usually bright and bold jewel-toned colors. Sometimes I wear something more muted, like in gray or tan. But never, never orange!

Becoming a knitter has naturally made me more conscious about what I wear and how shape and silhouette (really foreign concepts to me) affect my look. And I have to admit, it's been fun exploring this new territory. Magazines have helped me out tremendously in what this fashion stuff all means.

No doubt about it, my favorite knitting magazine is Interweave Knits. Even when they have just an overall OK issue, like the current Summer 2008 one, I still think they are way above the others in the daily wear department. Some might think IK is not very fashion-forward, but that's not what I'm looking for in style. Hey, if I'm going to invest 2-3 months in making something with my own slow-moving hands, I want to make sure I can wear it for at least the next few years. For the year since I've subscribed to IK, I have chosen at least 4-5 out of every issue that I'd like to knit. Since that's logistically impossible, I only end up doing 1-3 projects out of each. My current cardi and Jenna's sundress are from the Spring 2008 IK.

The sister pub of IK is Knitscene, which is slightly aimed toward a younger crowd and more fashion-forward, but I still like a lot of what I see in it. Here, I'm planning to make the papillion top and a scarf that looks like a shawl. Well, once I get some more of those WIPs done.

Next time: more of my favorite mags (and some not so favorites)

Knitting up a storm!

So, just to show you I haven't been slacking or giving up on my blog altogether, here's proof that I'm actually getting some knitting done.

It's part of the pact I've made with myself, and to correct the major startitis I had for the past 6-7 months or so. I'm essentially working on six WIPs only now, in an effort to get my UFO count down to a more sane 5 or 6. And as with all good intentions, I'm going on another yarn diet because I went a big hog wild during May and this month. I don't really want to say exactly how much yarn is stashed around the house, especially to DH Rob.

Now, on to the WIPs!

First is my printed "silk" cardi from the Spring 2008 IK. Of course, it's not really silk, because then the yarn would've ended up costing about $600 or so (OK, more like $250). I've finished nearly all of it, so hopefully I'll assemble it by next week:



And here are the sleeves:



This project has been an exercise in pattern alterations, row gauges, math calculations and changes in stitches. It's been frustrating, but I've also learned a lot. And the color is, well, simply gorgeous - so all is forgiven. But the major lesson here is, ALWAYS swatch and ALWAYS check row gauge, too!

My sub yarn has been Valley Yarns Southwick, a yummy cotton/bamboo blend. Like with any bamboo fiber, it has a tendency to split, but I've loved working with this.

Second is the girls sundresses - one for Jenna and one for Nicole.
Here's what I've done so far with both:


Even though both of these dresses have been straight stockinette, with the potential to be mind-numbingly dull, both have been fun to knit. That's mostly because one has regularly changing color stripes, while the other has given me the opportunity to try new techniques - short rows, jogless stripes and the invisible provisional cast-on

The other aspect of these projects has been the yarns. Niki's is in cotton (Knitpicks Shine Worsted) while Jenna's is in linen (Louet Euroflax Sport Weight). It's true what I've heard about working with linen yarn - it's
like working with twine - not great, but I can't wait to see the final result after it's been washed. I haven't minded it at all. And the cotton - well, no surprise...it feels wonderful.

I'll post more next week with the other three WIPs!

Hiatus

I haven't blogged in a while (actually more than month now), mostly because of family issues and getting through some work-related obligations. Of course, I'd be lying if I didn't admit I've been frustrated by not being able to get traffic to this blog. I suppose it's because there's more knitting blogs out there than there are grains of sand on Waikiki. Like I wrote once before, I will continue writing here, because someday others will discover it. For now, this is a completely self-indulgent activity, meant for my onw enjoyment and knitting life.

So one positive thing... I have made lots of progress with two projects in particular and did get an FO in the books! They're scarves for the girls, and here they are:





As part of an attempt to destash from a Ravelry group, Stash and Burn Groupies, I've concentrated on getting two projects done - a cardigan and a sundress from the Spring 07 Interweave Knits. Both have been fun to knit, and I'm amazed by my progress on both.





Guess I'm just becoming a faster knitter...or more obsessed one!