November 06, 2008
Ode to Fern
See? I actually haven't disappeared off the face of the earth. :)
I have been pretty wrapped up in these Fern batts from Enchanted Knoll Farm, though. They're a blend of superwash merino, tussah silk, and angelina dyed up in a fabulous array of greens.
Since I'm spinning these into a laceweight yarn on a featherweight spindle (Bosworth birdseye maple, approximately 0.5 oz), I've been spending a lot of quality time with this fiber. I started out with 8 ounces and am now down to less than 1. I'll miss it when it's gone, though....
My goal with this fiber was to spin enough yarn to knit a square Shetland shawl. I'll probably end up with about 2100 yards, which should be enough for the Gibbie Shawl from Gladys Amedro's Shetland Lace.
My photography hasn't quite caught up with my progress, as I've already finished the edging and have started the center portion of the shawl. I love the way that the color variations in the fiber are working up in the fabric--interesting, but still subtle enough not to overwhelm the lace patterning. Even with the sparkly gold angelina popping up all over the place. :)
Posted by missalicefaye at 10:05 AM
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September 03, 2008
Icarus
And so I finally get around to posting photos of my completed Icarus shawl.
To recap, the yarn for this project was spun on my Bosworth midi spindle from the incredibly gorgeous Lady Starlight batts from Enchanted Knoll Farm. Four ounces of this fiber yielded about 1,000 yards of two-ply laceweight, so I still have a bit left over. Perhaps more Orchid Lace Mitts are in order?
This is one of my favorite projects to date. Fun to spin, fun to knit, and the finished shawl turned out just as I had hoped. I've also found that I really like spinning laceweight on my spindles (and have recently acquired a few more for that very purpose). Soon I will have to spin some crazy amount for a nice square Shetland shawl of some sort.... :)
Posted by missalicefaye at 01:16 PM
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August 18, 2008
Glacier Lake
While I wait for my completed (!) Icarus to dry, I offer you some photos of the project that resulted from my first sparkly batt.
This is where my sparkly fixation all started--the batt is called Glacier Lake and comes from the fabulous Butterfly Girl Designs Etsy shop. It's a 70% superwash merino, 20% bamboo, 10% nylon firestar blend with a bit of angelina thrown in.
Spun on my beloved Bosworth midi spindle, the yarn ended up somewhere between a heavy laceweight and a light fingering weight. I'm not a bamboo spinning convert yet--I thought it was a bit tricky--but I'll give it another try eventually.
And then I made up a simple scarf pattern using a motif from the Estonian lace knitting book Pitsilised Koekirjad. Shiny!
Posted by missalicefaye at 08:41 AM
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August 03, 2008
Sparkly
I didn't mean to be gone for so long, really. But now that the Long National Nightmare of my summer classes is finally over, we can get back to the business of talking about making stuff.
I have to admit right up front that the other thing I've completely neglected this summer is the Princess shawl. I finished the center and started the top border (the homeward stretch!) and promptly lost all steam. It's waiting for me patiently, and it will probably continue to do so for a bit.
Meanwhile, I've been spinning. And also experiencing some sort of personality shift where I now think that spinning sparkly, shiny, angelina-filled yarn is the best thing ever. Me, the smooth and subtle laceweight purist.
Take, for instance, the Enchanted Knoll Lady Starlight batt above. It's a fluffy, gorgeous blend of hand-dyed merino silk in a range of blues with sari silk strands and lots of angelina thrown in for good measure (sigh... the pretty....). I've been spinning a laceweight yarn on my spindle and started knitting it up this weekend.
I'm completely enamored with the colors and textures. And sparkles.
This is the beginning of Icarus, a striking pattern that nonetheless has enough stretches of plain stockinette to showcase the yarn, I think. In the past, I shied away from this pattern because I was afraid I'd get bored with that stockinette. But working with handspun seems to provide excitement enough on its own.
Posted by missalicefaye at 06:53 PM
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May 22, 2008
A sheep named Roger
Way back when, at the Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival, I bought a pound or so of Shetland fluff to play with.
Courtesy of a sheep named Roger.
I've spun up a bit of laceweight, and am testing the waters of another Gladys Amedro shawl.
It's a bit hairy, though--so I'm not sure this is the yarn's ultimate fate. Or if I want to commit to spinning this much cream-colored laceweight all at once. Maybe I should concentrate on one monster project at a time (yes, I'm looking at you, Princess).
Posted by missalicefaye at 10:12 AM
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