First handspun knitting project

Look! It has only been eight months since I started spinning, and I already have a finished object to show.

Yarn: my own handspun (from Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino, "Under the Boardwalk" colorway)
Pattern: 6x2 ribbing
Needles: 2.25 mm DPNs

Initially I was concerned that I might not be able to eke out a respectable pair of socks with my 350 yard skein, but halfway through the first sock, my worries disappeared. My trusty scale told me I had nothing to worry about. In fact, I could have made the legs longer, because I have about 20 grams of yarn left over. (Please don't advise me about the virtues of knitting socks toe up. I'm aware of the pros and cons, and I still generally prefer top down construction.) I'm actually happy to have a bit of the yarn left. It certainly won't go to waste.

What can I say? I adore these socks! (However, I don't adore them enough to model them in today's 100°F heat.) The subtle colors and the random blending of stripes thrill me to my toes...literally. This is why I started spinning.

The perils of spinning to order

Just when I think I'm getting the hang of this spinning thing, the spinning gods manage to give me a light smack across the cheek to remind me that I still have a long way to go.

A while back I exchanged a few emails with Oiyi about doing some spinning for her. She had some merino that she had bought with the intention of learning how to spin, but she had never been able to find the time to do it. Nevertheless, she did want to see the wool spun up. We arranged a trade, and shortly afterward, I received these in the mail.

We discussed the possibilities for spinning these up. It was clear that the two blue ones could be spun together to make a 4 oz. skein, but it seemed best to spin the pink one on its own. Oiyi said she would like the yarns to be in the sport-DK range. No problem, said I. (You can probably see where this is going.)

Fiber: Skeintily Clad 100% merino, "Peacocks on Broadway" and "Aegean Fantasy" (plied together)
2 ply
250 yards
116 grams

Fiber: Skeintily Clad 100% merino, "Sonoran Sunset"
3 ply (Navajo/chain plied)
116 yards
65 grams

If you look at the specs, you'll see that both of these yarns ended up closer to worsted weight than sport or DK. Oops. In my attempt to spin thicker than I normally do, I definitely overcompensated. While they're both nice yarns, I can't help being just a little disappointed.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my fingering weight spinning comfort zone for a while.

A winner at last

Thanks for being so understanding about the delay, everyone! And good grief, y'all are jonesing for the handspun, aren't you? I really love the way contests bring people out of the woodwork.

Without further ado, the winner—as chosen by the random number generator—is...peaknits! Winner's choice:

Many thanks to all who commented! Now I just need to decide what to do with that other skein...

Delays

Sorry, folks. I'm going to have to postpone the drawing for the handspun yarn for a few days. One of our computers has died, and the Professor still needs to finish writing his final exam. We're also in the midst of some turmoil related to house-hunting. Please bear with me.

You must choose, but choose wisely.

I have two new yarns to show today. The first one is chock full of earthy goodness.

Fiber: All Spun Up 100% Merino, "Woodland"
2 ply
410 yards
117 grams

Every fiber of Kristin's that I've spun has turned to gold, and this one is no exception. Her fibers are among the best prepared I've found, each one an absolute joy to spin. And her colors? They rock. If you're a spinner, do yourself a favor and procure some of this lovely stuff. And if you're not a spinner, well, Kristin also sells her own amazing handspun yarns.

Next up is a wool that's new to me—Targhee.

Fiber: Sweet Grass Wool 100% Targhee, "Hidden Canyon"
2 ply
360 yards
108 grams

What a lovely, bouncy wool Targhee is! It's now among my favorites to spin. These super-saturated colors from Sweet Grass Wool push all my happy buttons too. And did I mention the bounce? This wool has so much spring that I can practically hear it go "boing."

Now, about that contest... For the past couple of months, I have had vague plans to give away a skein of handspun on a blog contest. Various spinning commissions forced me to put off those plans, but now I have two yarns that I think are worthy of giving away to a good home. But which skein? After two nanoseconds of thinking about it, the answer was clear: Let the winner choose.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post indicating your choice. The contest will remain open through midnight (Central Daylight Time) on Sunday, May 4th. On May 5th (or a bit later), I'll select a winner at random. Anyone with a mailing address on Planet Earth is welcome to enter. (Humble apologies to any Martians who might be reading. I can't afford NASA's cargo fees.)

Good luck!

News flash

I am actually knitting with my own handspun. Details at 11:00.

OK, so it isn't all that exciting, but at least now I can stop answering the "When are you going to knit with it?" question.

Oh, and stay tuned for a contest.

Finishing what I've started

My knitting has slowed down so much of late that it feels like a momentous occasion when I actually have some finished knitting to show.

Pattern: Anastasia from Pepperknit
Yarn: RubySapphire Treadsoft sock yarn (100% superwash merino), "Kira" colorway
Needles: 2.00 mm (US size 0) DPNs
Modifications: worked top down rather than toe up, added eye of partridge heel

This is actually the second time I've knit this pattern. It's really great for busy yarns, and yet it isn't as monotonous as plain stockinette or ribbing. And just look at that eye of partridge goodness! It makes me smile just looking at it.

Best of all, having these finished means my niece will get her birthday present on time. I'm also sending her a couple of books. Hmm, socks and books—surely those will secure my position as "favorite aunt" (ahem).

Of course, I am still spinning like a madwoman.

Fiber: 70% superwash merino, 30% alpaca from All Spun Up
2 ply
250 yards
116 grams

This fiber was really lovely to spin. It's a heathered gray base overdyed with shades of blue, teal, and brown. The finished yarn has amazing depth of color.

In the interest of honing my spinning skills, I've been attempting to spin a bit thicker lately. Before now, I had been in a bit of a fingering weight rut. Although fingering weight is still my favorite to spin, I am over-the-moon happy with this.

Mmm, blue and brown are such great partners.

Lost: blogging mojo

Seriously, has anyone seen my blogging mojo? It seems to have run away from home, and I do miss it. I'm going to file this particular lapse under "life gets in the way."

Lack of blogging does not imply lack of spinning, though. These have been finished for about two weeks.

Fiber: Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino, "Good Vibrations"
2 ply
Skein 1 (left): 380 yards, 111 grams (fingering weight)
Skein 2 (right): 280 yards, 120 grams (sport-DK weight)

This fiber is from the previous lineup of colors in CMF superwash merino. This is one of the colors Teyani used to dye, which I tend to think of as "vintage Sock Hop." There isn't much more to say about this fiber that I haven't already said. We loves it.

Why did I spin it at two different weights? Initially I didn't plan it that way. However, my current spinning project requires me to spin a bit thicker than I've been used to doing, so I decided to use one of these skeins as practice. It worked out pretty well, and it's interesting to see the difference between the two yarns. Although I'm still a fan of spinning fingering weight, I am starting to appreciate some of the advantages of spinning thicker.

I have knitting too! Such as it is...

I must finish these in time for my niece's birthday. Theoretically, there's still plenty of time—more than a week—but this darn spinning wheel keeps mysteriously appearing in front of me. Maybe I should ask the Professor to hide the wheel for a couple of days so I stand a chance of making progress on the knitting front. Hmm, on second thought, perhaps not. The withdrawal symptoms might be too unpleasant.

(P.S. To all you Ravelers: Have you contributed to Ravelraiser? There are fabulous prizes to be had, including my donation to the handspun stash.)

Two for one

I've got two finished yarns for show and tell today. Let's start with some good old superwash merino.

Fiber: Spunky Eclectic superwash merino, "Toronto" colorway
2 ply
420 yards
111 grams

The fiber seemed to have an alarming amount of white, the full extent of which is not really visible in this photograph. Since I'm generally not a fan of white, I was a bit skeptical about how it would spin up. At the same time, however, I know that those stretches of white tend to look less white in the finished yarn.

Meh. I don't love it, and I don't despise it. The color sequences ended up being a lot longer than I had anticipated. Even though I did make some attempt at planning how the colors would come together, in the end it was all for naught. There are some particularly long stretches of—you guessed it—white.

Moving on to a yarn that exceeded my expectations in almost every way...

Fiber: The Arts at Eagle's Find 100% merino, "Tropical Fish" colorway
3 ply (Navajo/chain plied)
500 yards
118 grams

This yarn is just plain fun. Look at those colors! The childlike side of me is clapping with delight. The fiber itself was a joy to spin, and it was really reasonably priced to boot.

This was my first full-skein attempt at Navajo plying, and all in all, it came out quite well. I think it's ever-so-slightly underplied, but not enough to make me want to do anything about it. Interestingly, my natural tendency is to overply conventionally plied yarns. Go figure.

Final verdict: I love Navajo plying! The process did seem to take forever compared to my normal 2 ply, what with spinning the extra-long single (1500+ yards) and then making the big loops during plying. However, the end result is totally worth it. Yay!

Chocolate & raspberries

All right, I take back everything negative I ever said about pink. It's a fine color.

Fiber: Freckle Face Fibers 100% Merino, "Razzleberry Pie"
2 ply
approx. 285 yards
92 grams

Bea asked me to do some spinning for her in exchange for some of her lovely handmade things, and of course I happily agreed. She was maddeningly delightfully vague about how she wanted the wool to be spun, so in the end, I just let the fiber tell me what thickness it wanted to be.

Of course, I had more singles left over than I would have liked. (Drat! Why does that happen when I'm spinning for someone else?) I decided to Navajo ply the leftovers, so Bea also got this mini skein.

In return, Bea presented me with this treasure trove of handmade goodness.

That's merino roving she dyed herself, her own YarnPig 100% superwash merino sock yarn ("Painted Desert" colorway), and one of her plum velveteen project bags. Really, I feel like I won the lottery. She showed me three more of her rovings, and all I can say is that I hope she puts them up for sale in her shop. They are so beautiful that it's hard to believe they're the result of her first attempt at dyeing fiber.

Thanks again, Bea!