Woolgathering

Blink seems to be steadfastly resisting the halfway point and I seem to be spending more time going backwards than I am spending going towards my goal. This scarf is turning out to be anything but the quick knit that I intended it to be. I don’t know what it is - because it is a simple enough pattern. Perhaps it is because I am stressed and upset at the moment and that is causing lapses of attention. And it does not help when one corrects an error from the wrong pattern row, either.

Well, all I can say is that I must spin a good yarn, as it is holding up well to all this punishment.

I had hoped to take my knitting and sit quietly in the back row with it tonight but as I have been conned into doing asked to do chairs and teas, that will not be possible.

In Other News - I just bought a kilo of gorgeous natural BFL. It’s not all for me, I hasten to add.

Frankly, the thought of spinning an even yarn for a whole jumper is even more scary than tonight’s elections or my job application!

Ah, well - back to Blink. Let’s hope for some forwards progression!

Spin! Beth

I think that it has to be done, don’t you?

I have a migraine brewing today so didn’t fully enjoy my not-spinning (I took the knitting). Highlights were the Sephardic Cake, meeting F’s two new rams, and my bravely greeting Barnaby (even though he showed me his teeth.) Barnaby is a pony, BTW, and belongs to SpinningGill. Or maybe he’s not a phony but a real ‘oss. What would I know? I tend to keep out of their way as much as I can. Equines make me nervous.

The rams were wonderful - one is a little black Hebridean, very pretty, the other is an Ewok and I want to steal him and take him home to bed to cuddle. Actually, he’s a Ryland - and the cutest little thing ever, and really tame and friendly.

Ewok - Ryland - spot the difference!

I want to buy some of this: BFL roving. Actually, I want to buy quite a lot - a sweater’s worth. It’s time that I worked my way up to a proper spinning project and practised some consistency for a while. I really enjoyed spinning the BFL tops that I was given. - and these look to be a stunning shade. J is going to have some too, if I send for some.

And now it is time to sit and soothe myself with a few more ripples on the Blink.

My Hypotenuse scarf/wrap thing (Pythagoras) is now suffering a light blocking. It was fun/easy/quick to block due to its geometric pattern - there are lots of straight lines to measure and straighten. Of course, with my lack of blocking skills, and the lack of a set of wires, it’s anything but straight in fact. But it’s no dog’s hind leg either, so I am quite pleased.

Blocked to 81.5″ by 15.5″ - no doubt when I take the pins out it will be closer to 80″ by 15″

It’s in the utility room, so Lulu has to stay outside until it dries.

My washed skeins are dry.

Time to wind them into balls and look for some knitting needles!

I resisted the temptation to cast on for Blink without washing my skeins - and they are currently drying on the line. Much more colour washed out of these skeins than I had anticipated. I can’t help but wonder if the colour will be significantly changed. I have run out of Eucalan and couldn’t find more on eBay, so I washed these skeins in shampoo. I wonder if that was a factor? I have used it before with success - it’s a Lavender and Jasmine (ooh, look at that, Superdrug do online shopping AND deliver to Scottish Islands at no extra charge!) “Herbal Essences” 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner. I might pop over and ask Natalie what she recommends.

It’s reheated leftovers today, so I have plenty of free time. I am trying to decide whether to wash and block the Hypotenuse, or to get on my bike and go look for a thimble and pins. At the moment it’s the blocking that’s winning. Though I suppose I could leave it soaking while I go to the shop, and kill both birds. To tell the truth, I am wary of leaving my washing for any length of time, it keeps looking like it might rain again - and I do not want those skeins to get a soaking, even if I’m not too worried about the laundry

• a book - Papermaking and Bookbinding: Coastal Inspirations by Joanne B Kaar who lives over the Pentland Firth from me. This book is both more and less than I had hoped/expected - but very inspirational and extremely useful and I am now fired up to do something other than knitting
• A circular knitting needle size 2.5mm 100cm - so I can experiment with Magic Loop socks
• Something wondrous - a serendipitous Internet find - that will be kept under wraps until I can illustrate with photographs

Having cast on the new Morning Surf and wobbled significantly about the colours, I can reveal that viewing it in daylight this morning has calmed me down considerably. Thus far, it is looking very good indeed but I am only 3 repeats in yet. It seems to be going far more slowly than the cashmere one did, though this probably has more to do with the extra width than any inherent characteristic of the yarn. 96 stitches is significantly more than 76 stitches. Why did I not realise that? This is not going to be a 2 day knit, so I’ll see if the shop has some 4mm needles when I go down later on for some milk.

If I go missing from the blog for a while you may find me in the utility room doing things with water and paper pulp and dyes - in which case I may well be updating the other blog with my adventures.

One other thing: I began spinning the Wranglers and Rustlers roving yesterday. It’s gorgeous, really light and airy and requires no pre-drafting at all. I’m just throwing it at the wheel in the hope of making a lightly twisted irregular single. I’m not deliberately slubbing but I’m not trying to keep it particularly even either. In my head I am reproducing something like the Manos del Uruguay that I knitted My So Called Scarf from - so I can knit another one, for Mr L. I really don’t think I have the right skills, though!  I may have to distress the singles a bit to get them to felt a little. Thus far I have way too much twist in it and I can’t figure out how to get less.

Still no sign of the quilting needles needed for Monday.

The basket of cone ends, all finished off. Merino/Silk/Cashmere in a 70/20/10 blend; 2/28NM laceweight. An array of neutral shades, collected with red tones and an apricot shade. A real treasure trove. There are two 300g collections here and each cost circa £11. The yarn will go a very long way, even if knitted double - which is what  am doing to begin with. I have kind of missed the Tumult of Waves wrap - especially since seeing the flair with which J wears it. So I am doing another one, slightly wider, and in shades of pearl and ivory through café au lait and onward to an almost indescribable greenish-gold-brown colour - and throwing in the apricot shade as well. Will it work? I have absolutely no idea!

Those deep red and amethyst shades are gorgeous, and thankfully in large enough amounts to make lacy scarves in single colours.

It is delectable stuff and very easy to knit with.

The Machair laceweight from The Yarn Yard

And the Aurora laceweight from the same source. See how much plumper it is than the Machair?

Last, but by no means least - my handspun. From a Merino roving (Lavish), carefully hand dyed by Natalie at The Yarn Yard. This is the first skein - 340 yards and 64 gms. Proud? You bet! The remainder has been plied but not yet skeined. (That odd looking piece in purple is some different merino yarn that I used to tie the skein off with.)

I am thinking of turning this yarn into this scarf, because I seem to have overshot the sock yarn mark with this roving.

EDIT: bought the pattern. ARGH. 4mm - the same size as the Morning Surf I just cast on! Now I’ll have to get a move on to free the needles up. I really want to use this yarn by the end of the month and manage to complete at least one PS3 project on time. Maybe I should buy new needles tomorrow if the shop has any.

After winding all that 2/28 yarn I disappeared into a deep hot bath with a long drink and a spouse. Then knitted on ‘is sock in bed for a while. I am about to begin the toe shaping. It makes progress but does not enthral me. This however, does. Isn’t it gorgeous?

Woken by Nell at 4am, I had to go out on the dark with a migraine. Humph! Slept it off a bit after that, but it’s hanging around in the background now. The first thing I did when I crawled from my pit was to skein my yarn. I got 340 yards in the first skein (64 gms) so am on course for 530 yards total. It’s very pretty and I am pleased with it, though my plying is nowhere near as good or as consistent as I thought it was when I was doing it! We need better lighting in the cottage. It’s a must!

The rotary cutters arrived today but there is still no sign of the needles. I am about to chase those.

Today is for feeling sorry for myself, investigating the fibrecrafts parcel from yesterday, and perhaps for beginning a Morning Surf - though I may wait for a brighter day to make my yarn selections for that as harmonising them is critical to success (I still fret about the navy blue in the Tumult of Waves version.) I might even ply the remainder of my yarn.

I have  a mass of paperwork to attend to, too (I hear you, Gill!)

Ok. I got on with my plying. It’s not finished. It’s taking ages. I had not realised just how fine I had been spinning. There’s miles of this stuff and it took forever to 2 ply a bobbin full.

I now understand the attraction of the double  treadle. There’s no leaving off plying in a house with 3 dogs and 3 cats - you can’t just leave your singles festooned about the place and unattended, you know. It’s the whole bobbin, or nowt.

Maybe I’ll finish tomorrow.

No sign of the quilting needles yet. How long can it take to shove those in an envelope and stick a stamp on it???

I did receive the new pin for my new debit card, replacing the one that I locked myself out of and can’t unlock due the need to get to a Nationwide ATM… no sign of the card yet, though. luckily, it hasn’t curtailed my spending power

Also in the mail - my two laceweight skeins from The Yarn Yard. Neither is the shade that I thought I had bought - nothing new there. I havered and dithered and obviously plumped for ones I didn’t remember. Both are lovely, and each is very different.

The blue skein is Aurora col 425 (one left - see it here) - 80/20 Merino/Silk. A lovely violet blue, maybe deep cornflower, perhaps periwinkle - I’m not sure. It has more sproing (knitter’s technical term) than the pink. It looks as though it will give a good stitch definition and it sports that very gentle variation in shading that one expects with a hand dye, coupled with the slight shimmer of the silk content. Lovely.

The Machair is as soft as a naked baby’s cuddle. Less bulky than the Aurora, it has a soft twist and some halo. Both fluffy and glossy at the same time, it’s 70/20/10 baby alpaca/silk/cashmere - real luxury fibre at a very good price (only £1 more than the Aurora) The colour is a soft deep dusky pink - maybe Old Rose - I love it. I can’t show you right now, though - it’s all gone.

It is going to be fun, choosing the right patterns for these yarns, though a quick excursion around Ravelry last night suggests that most laceweight patterns are designed for a heavier yarn than these. I don’t want to knit them double, I want the yardage!

Lead contenders, in no particular order:

• Fern Garden Scarf 
• Muir 
• Garden Party 
• Paisley Long Shawl 
• Peacock Feathers Shawl

There are some yardage issues associated with some of those, but nothing insurmountable - and I may be led astray by the pattern that Natalie included in my parcel. It’s a very simple but extremely pretty shoulder shawl from Victorian Lace Today. I’m not sure I could face so much stocking stitch, though. On the other hand, it would be a quick knit to destash some of the Colourmart yarn that I am presently winding! Would  be good for Xmas pressies, I think.

Also today - more Copperpot roving. Wranglers and Rustlers this time. No plans other than a vague notion to fashion a present for Mr L. It’s a manly colourway. I find myself moved to start it straight away.

My stash is huge - both rovings/fleeces and yarn. No more, no more! I’m sorted for at least 12 months, I do believe.