Going quietly about my business

I finished some socks, and I could not be happier with them.

Yarn: my own handspun (Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino, "We Are the Champions")
Plain stockinette sock over 64 stitches
2.00 mm needles

I had forgotten how quickly plain socks knit up! At some point I think I convinced myself that I needed lots of patterning in order to keep myself entertained, but these socks have completely quashed that notion. I loved every second of knitting these. My sock mojo seems to be back.

I also plied the bobbin of Targhee from my last post.

Fiber: Sweet Grass Wool Targhee, "Hidden Canyon"
Navajo/chain ply
610 yards
110 grams

Ah Targhee, how I love thee! This wool has serious bounce. It spins up a lot like merino, but it's more elastic. If you've been with me for a while, this colorway might look familiar. I spun up another skein of it last April and subsequently sent the yarn to its new home with Peaknit. This new skein came out a little finer than I had intended, but I'm sure I'll think of something to do with it.

And last but not least, here is round three of the All Spun Up spin-along.

This time the fiber is 70% superwash merino, 30% alpaca. This particular colorway is nearly impossible to photograph accurately. In real life the fiber is a fair bit darker than the above photo. Anyhoo, I have spun up half of the fiber into this:

3 ply
420 yards
111 grams

I really don't think Kristin is capable of producing a bad colorway, and this skein is further evidence in support of my theory. Rest assured, though, that I will continue to subject this theory to rigorous testing.

Progress continues

I'm still a bit behind, so I have lots to show today. Spinning is back on track after the holiday lull. A while back I signed up for the Fat Cat Knits fiber club. The first shipment arrived in September, and I have only just gotten around to spinning it up.

Fiber: 100% merino
3 ply
486 yards
109 grams

The soft greens and lavender in this yarn remind me of spring. This isn't a colorway I would have chosen for myself, but nevertheless, I'm pleased with the finished yarn.

I'm continuing to attack my pile of Crown Mountain Farms fiber too.

Fiber: Bluefaced Leicester, "Silk Road"
3 ply
818 yards
209 grams

Every time I spin BFL, I wonder why I don't spin it more often. The soft luster and silky hand make me giddy. And this colorway in shades of brown and dusky purple is simply awesome.

Continuing the theme of breaking out of my merino rut (at least temporarily), I also spun up a bobbin of Targhee.

On to knitting... Here's the finished shot my my handspun Morning Surf scarf.
Pattern: Morning Surf scarf by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer (66 stitches)
Yarn: my own handspun (100% superwash merino)

I couldn't be happier with this scarf. It looks shockingly bright against my black wool winter coat, and the contrast pleases me immensely.

My sock knitting mojo seems to be slowly creeping back as well. I started knitting a pair out of the recently spun "We Are the Champions" yarn.

So far so good. I had forgotten how satisfying plain stockinette socks can be.

Catching up

The holidays sucked away all my blogging time, but that doesn't mean I haven't spinning and knitting away. Now I find that I'm woefully behind on documenting my projects, so it seems easiest to to it in one fell swoop.

First, spinning.

This is some gorgeous merino top I got from Kristin at All Spun Up. It seemed almost too pretty to spin, but spin it up I did.

3 ply
404 yards
108 grams

I love love love how this yarn came out. It was always meant to be a gift for a friend, but I will admit that I gave it away with a certain amount of reluctance.

Then I finished up the twin of the handspun yarn that was one of the prizes in my birthday giveaway.

Fiber: Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino, "Crocodile Walk"
3 ply
420 yards
118 grams

This yarn met with a sad fate while I was reskeining it. Somehow I managed to turn part of it into an enormous tangle. After spending nearly two hours trying to sort out the mess—it's handspun after all—I decided I would have to cut out the worst of it (about five yards of irretrievably tangled mess). So this skein has something that no other skein of my handspun has ever had—a knot. Sigh. Oh well, it' s still pretty.

Crown Mountain Farms has had some great sales in the past few months, and as a result, my bin of CMF fiber is overflowing. In an attempt to make room, I've been spinning up a lot of it.

Fiber: Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino, "We Are the Champions"
3 ply
908 yards
233 grams

And believe it or not, I have been doing a fair amount of knitting too. When I finished my my Christmas knitting a week before the big day, I decided that was enough time to knit one or two things to put in the Professor's stocking. I made him a hat first.

Pattern: Habitat by Jared Flood
Yarn: Cascade 220 superwash, color 865

Since the hat only took a couple of evenings, I cast on for a pair of socks as well.

Yarn: Rio de la Plata superwash sock yarn, color SC46 (port royal, bison, topiary)
Pattern: improvised

I really like how these socks came out, although they are quite fraternal in color. One sock leans more red, and the other more green. Really though, who is going to be looking that closely at his feet?

And finally, I've been working on a little something for myself.

To be completely honest, this scarf is now finished and blocked. I just liked this photo of it in its unblocked state.