Knit & Nosh

april spinning & sparrow

Here it is, April 9th and I am still spinning for this months socks.  The spinning has been difficult.  Because I want to keep long color repeats, I only split the braid into  five pieces.  Five thick pieces that make spinning fine yarn slow, and not as even as I would like.

I  have almost finished the singles, but I have all that chain plying.  Will I finish in time?  I may have to make an executive decision about this yarn and the two pair of socks I plan to knit with it. 

Sparrow is coming right along. 

The yarn is leftover from the Desdemona and Simple Shawls.  I had two giant skeins of this yarn because I love the color so much.  Sparrow is going to use it all up.

Look at the little side gussets.  There is an eyelet row running along each side that will open up with blocking.   Eventually I am going to need to chose buttons.  What do you think?  Simple, matching, contrast, metal...?

done

The Blue Beauty, she is finished and oh so lovely.

Willy Wonka Fibers Nimue Sock, colorway Ariel, 50/50 wool/silk.  The drape is so nice,  I do not feel a need to block.

I have been working on this scarf here and there for so long.  Last night Husband and I sat down to watch a movie.  Turns out it was not a particularly good movie, so I knit the entire time.  I told myself when the movie was over, I was casting off.  In the end the scarf is 64  inches long, which is a nice length for me as it provides many different looping and wrapping options.

Because I can not work on Longest Night in public, I have cast on for a sweet sweater vest.  Sparrow from the latest Twist Collective.  The first part is mostly stockinette and will be perfect for this evening's Guild meeting.

stacks of squares

When I type sqaures is does not look wrong, it looks Canadian.  Am I the only one who thinks likes this?

Patons just posted my stacks of squares.

a circle

Last night I was very cold.  I sat at my desk, wrapped up in a blanket, waiting for summer.  Once people began arriving home I moved from the office to couch, taking my blanket with me.  I got up to pour a glass of wine, returned to the couch and was greeted by this image.

Two crochet blankets.  The one on the couch was made by my Great Aunt Betty.  I rescued it from my Grandma's closet where she had it practically hermetically sealed after being dry cleaned.  I know she did this because it is special.  She understands the work that went in to the blanket and does not want it to be harmed.  Me, I also understand that it is special and I know full well the work that went in to creating such a large, multicolored piece.  Here is where we are different.  I think that something special needs to be used to be fully appreciated.  I think it should be used as often as possible.  Using it to bring joy to a life is the best way you can say you love something.  So I use this blanket, often.

The second blanket in the photo, the one draped over the arm of the couch, just happens to be my very first crocheted blanket.

I did not know my Great Aunt Betty well.  She lived on a big'ol ranch in Montana.  I am a city girl.  The one time I remember visiting her, our little convertible got stuck on their dirt road and "the men" came and lifted it up and set it right.  That was followed by a tour that included bulls and other things to terrify a city girl.  Still, here we are, 40 odd years later, two blankets, a full circle.

 

an old friend

Dear Longest Night,

I am sorry I have left you at the bottom of the WIP basket for so long.  I do not know what I could have been thinking.  The minute I held you and checked out your charts, I knew you were all I ever needed.  Reconnecting with you over the past few days I have felt the clouds part and the sun shine and never want to be without you again.  I promise that nevermore will you feel the bottom of the basket pressing against your stitches.  Forgive me?

Love,

Terri

April's handspun socks

Its spring!

I am beyond excited to think about the appearance of spring and the coming of summer.  To keep my bright happy thoughts flowing, I have chosen a bright happy fiber to spin for April's handspun socks.

You may have seen this before.  It was a gift from my Grandma.  Merino, chasmere, silk, yum.

About half of the braid has been spun and my plan is to chain-ply.  A chain ply will keep the colors distinct, there should be stripes.  For a chain-ply the fiber prep is very different than my usual.  The goal is to keep the color repeats long.  I could have just sat down to spin without doing anything to the fiber, but I chose to break it up a bit.  I split the braid into 5 pieces and then began to pre-draft.  It did not go so well.  Even the lightest tug of the fiber caused a split.  Is it the cashmere?  Whatever the reason, I ended up pre-drafting lightly and VERY carefully.  I will be doing most of the work at the wheel.

a blanket not forgotten

A couple of months ago a friend gave me a stack of knitted squares.  They came from a person who attended her church and had passed away.  This person always worked in the nursery and it was decided that the squares should be turned in to a blanket for the church nursery.  I think this is a very sweet idea and I volunteered to put the blanket together.

There are 20 squares, which will make a nice sized blanket, but there are a couple of issues. 

Two of the squares have some discoloring.  I do not think a wash is going to help.

The squares themselves have been knit, and then a scalloped crochet border was added.  That means each one needs an additional border before they can be joined.

I have been playing with them and have figured out a border that will work.  All of the appropriate weight yarn I have is way to bright for this project, so I need to shop for suitable yarn.   I am thinking either a darker pink, or a cream color.  Shopping will happen this weekend.

My goal is to have this finished by the end of the month so that I can bring it to her at the next Guild meeting.

the royal wedding

The Knitted Royal Wedding.

its getting bigger

The blanket has added even more colors and squares.

 

FO- March's handspun socks

I think these may be my favorite socks ever.  Ev-er.

 They fit like a dream and the colors make me happy.

The afterthought heel fits just as well as my normal flap and gusset.

When the sun hits them, they kind of glow.  Favorite!