Triumphant Return
Well, sort of. I’ve still got the sniffles and my schedule’s all upside down, but finally I’ve been able to get back to my usual knitting, spinning self. I polished off a pair of fishes—
(with apologies for the ridiculous photo, but if you think it’s hard to get pictures of your own feet, try doing it with a screen that you can’t see, and thus a timer that you can’t set.)
I have to say, although the pattern (Pomatomus) is still a favorite of mine, I don’t know that I’ll be using this yarn again. The feel of it was great, soft and smooth, but I can’t believe the inconsistency in the color. I mean, I understand that there can be differences between skeins of handpainted yarn, even within the same dyelot, but these two socks came from the same skein and the second sock is far less saturated than the first. Maybe if I’m lucky some of the dye will come out of the first sock when I wash ‘em, we’ll see. They’re on Ravelry here.
I’ve been spinning like crazy, as well; since all of my Rhinebeck purchases were fiber rather than yarn, there’s now a big imbalance issue in my stash, which I aim to correct by cranking out the yarn.
You’ll note I’ve been spinning, not so much with the plying. Since this is just a stash building exercise and I’m not in a rush to actually use any of this, I figured it would be better to spin for a while and then spend a day or two in the future plying up a whole mess of handspun. The two bobbins on the left will become a heavy laceweight, and the three on the right will be what’s fast becoming my usual light fingering weight. I’ve got more laceweight on the wheel now, as well as a couple of spindle projects, but I’m setting it all aside for a week or so in favor of…
a quick sample knit! More details on this later. :)
NYS&W 2009
AKA I Went to Rhinebeck and All I Got Was H1N1.
No kidding. Well no, I got other stuff too, but after all of my protestations that I didn’t need a flu shot, I’m not really around other people that often, etc., I suppose I was due for a little comeuppance in the form of a good (un)healthy dose of flu. And not even the kind I could’ve gotten vaccinated for, even. Oh well.
As usual, there were friends aplenty:
And although I almost came home with a wheel…
by the time I went back on Sunday to give it some serious consideration, it was gone. Probably for the best; my mum (hi mum!) really would’ve killed me. In the end my haul was pretty tiny, mostly consisting of really awesome fibers that I haven’t tried yet, plus a new tsock kit, which I’ll have to knit up before next year to keep the tradition going.
Unfortunately my camera also took a dive and ended up with a cracked screen, which is why I don’t have quite as many pictures of the weekend as I’d like. I can still take pictures, but I don’t know what they look like until I load them onto the computer. Things may look a little… surreal around here until I replace it.
All in all, it was a fun (if rather adventure-filled) show! Can’t wait to do it again next year.
So close, and yet…
I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather for the past couple of days, but I’m determined to make it through this week and enjoy myself this weekend, no matter what it takes. Almost everything that absolutely must be done for Rhinebeck is completed. Now all that’s left is packing, sewing on Viv’s clasps (which still haven’t arrived), and a few small pet projects that I’d like to get done but aren’t vital. So if I need to, I can sleep for the next few days to try and shake this bug.
The pomatomi continue onward…
I’d actually love to be knitting these faster, but if I get them done before I leave (or—heaven forfend—while I’m there) I’ll be without a mindless knitting project, so I’m trying to stretch them a little longer.
I also spun up the second ply of that merino/silk that I’d like to finish this week, on the same bobbin as the first ply because I was too lazy to wind off. I just spun a bit of contrasting color scrap fiber in between the two and kept going. Of course, now I have to wind off both plies to have room for the third one, but still.
I also had to move the wheel downstairs, where I could put it behind a closed door, because of this little problem:
Oh, cats.
Countdown
Ten days left ’til I leave for Rhinebeck and I couldn’t be more excited or panicked. The shop is shut down so I can start labeling and packing spindles, because I am not waiting for the night before to do it like I did last year. Viv has been washed and blocked and fits perfectly—
so once the clasps get here I can sew ‘em on fast and that will be done too.
I was also hoping to get in one last skein of handspun before potentially handing over my bobbin to have copies made,
but this is only the first ply so that may or may not happen.
Still on the to-do list: finish up the last handful of spindles, label and pack them as noted above, figure out what knitting and spinning projects to take with me, and clean this place up a bit so I don’t come home to a disaster area.
(That last one might end up being too much to handle. We’ll see.)
Gearing sideways
Turns out that to make spindles I actually need things like shafts and whorls and bead caps and glue… so mostly my prep for Rhinebeck so far has included spending lots of money and waiting for supply orders.
Not to worry, though, because I did manage to successfully complete my Kitris,
and after a bath tonight and a photoshoot tomorrow I’ll give you a full post on ‘em.
I also finished a skein of yarn—
(Merino/bamboo, 3oz, 260 yards, 3-ply. I’m hoping that I can get a pair of Pomatomus out of this, especially if I ply up the half ounce of singles I have left.)
And started a new spindle project.
I have big hopes and dreams for this yarn, although I’m a little hesitant to share them because they usually fall apart once I’ve told people what I’m doing. Still, I’ve got three ounces to get through before I can start putting these plans into action, and hopefully that’s enough time to sketch and swatch and get it right.
NJS&W
In which I managed to sell some spindles—
(Spindles on the right, there. Me looking snarky on the left, obviously.)
And spin a ton of yarn—
And do more than my fair share of chatting and giggling and just generally hanging out.
I may have gone a little overboard with buying stuff, but my wallet was full of birthday money and I spent less than I made, so it’s okay, right?
Tasty, tasty 100% silk laceweight from twisted fiber which is destined for something I’m hoping to design over the next couple of weeks.
Some drool-worthy merino/tencel from my dear Zarzuela, which I believe will turn into sock yarn.
Buttons! I should’ve bought more from these people; they had an overwhelmingly lovely selection.
And 3oz of some gorgeous border leicester from Kate at Roclans. As my sample tells you, it makes a fantastic two-ply laceweight; I’m thinking a large, very textural beaded lace shawl. Mmmmmfiber.
All in all it was a fun way to spend my birthday weekend. Hopefully next year we can do it again!
(By the way, for those who were inquiring after it, the Honeybee Cardigan pattern is now available! It is one of the best knits I’ve ever done so you should definitely go get yourself a copy.)
Two-thirds
I was right; Catherine (that’s the wheel) spins much better now that she’s clean. Smoother, quieter, happier. So happy, in fact, that I spun through the second ply for a three-ply sock yarn in three hours.
Three hours. About 500 yards of singles. I think I’ll be a real contender for Team Suck Less, come next Tour de Fleece.
I’m also two-thirds of the way through my spindle building for NJS&W. Which is, uh, Saturday. I should get working.
(Re)Finished
Turns out the two coats of oil took less time than expected; I had to spread it out over two days but each took just twenty minutes. And now I have a shiny, happy wheel!
If anyone with an antique wheel is reading this, I highly, highly recommend looking into refinishing if your wheel has a shellac coating. It is well worth the effort, and I think my wheel will run better for being clean.
While I was at it, I also finished up some other stuff; I whipped through the foot on my handspun Bex socks:
(Bex by Cookie A, US1.5/2.5mm circs, 400 yards of handspun 3-ply merino, on Ravelry here)
And spent a few hours on a simple but gorgeous cowl.
(Golden Tulip Cowl by Saccade Elyse, US10/6mm circs, one skein of Plymouth Mulberry Merino, on Ravelry here)
I also had the opportunity to put the lace overlay on the cuff of my first Kitri sock!
I gotta say that it’s one of the best things ever. I love doing knitted on lace borders like that anyway, but when it’s such a small size it’s just enough to be interesting, unlike on a shawl where you’re sick of it by the end. And the beads, although slightly fiddly at first, end up being a really fun way to spice up a simple lace pattern. I’ll start the second one soon and have full notes when I finish the pair!
Fall Cleaning
You all remember my wheel, right? Dark, pretty thing that I’m in love with?
I gave her a bit of a makeover.
Turns out all that lovely but splotchy color was the result of 150 years’ worth of dirt getting caught in the shellac. Say it with me now: eeeeew. So, armed with no more than some denatured alcohol and a toothbrush, and guided by the wise words of the women in the antique wheel and CPW groups on Ravelry, I took the thing outside and scrubbed. And scrubbed. And then… I scrubbed. Have I mentioned the scrubbing? I finally de-crudded the flyer:
And cleaning the drive wheel brought out a gorgeous grain—not enough to narrow down what type of wood this is, but hopefully I’ll be able to find out eventually.
Kitty Carlisle even got in on the cleaning action.
Now I’ve just got to refinish her with some tung oil, and she’ll be ready to travel with me down to Garden State Sheep and Wool next week.
Something new
Between finishing a bunch of things off at once, and having to frog the socks I started the other day (too small to fit over my heel, too large ’round the ankle), I’ve found myself with nothing to work on.
Which means it’s time for some startitis! I’m going to cast on for what is (hopefully) a quick knit momentarily, and I zoomed through most of the first ply of a tasty, happy merino/bamboo blend today.
I’m sure these two new things will multiply into ten new things by the end of the week, but for now I’m going to enjoy the new project rush and not worry about it.
