Author: saffronknits

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planning for tour de fleece 2010

I’ve been thinking about how I want to challenge myself during Tour de Fleece this year… maybe I’ll learn this or try that. But I realized that the day the tour begins, I will hopefully be purchasing the hand cards I’ve been wanting and some cashmere/tussah silk fiber.

I already have 2 ounces of it.

So, with hand cards, four ounces of luscious fiber and some dye, I might have a nice little Tour de Fleece project to work on, but you’ll have to wait and see what that is.

But don’t worry. You’ll be the first to know. :)

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fiber friday: rainbow pastel

I took a small break from spinning for a few weeks but with the coming of Tour de Fleece and inspiration from The Hyper Monkey, I decided to start ‘training’ and finally sat down at my wheel to finish my current project.

This was spun from The Painted Tiger’s ‘CMY Party Mix’.

I just wanted a basic barberpole yarn, which worked most of the way except for a couple of sections of green & orange that are more solid.

I call it ‘Rainbow Pastel’. I think I like it! :)

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fiber friday: after the storm

I recently saw a rainbow arching across the sky. It was after a rainstorm – the sun came out and as I was driving home, I looked to my left and there was a rainbow… almost a full rainbow. Inspired, I went home and started spinning this – 4 oz Superwash Merino dyed by The Painted Tiger.

My goal was the split the top in half and spin so the colors matched up.

Well… that didn’t work out as planned, which is why I ended up with two skeins.

Nonetheless, I like it. :)

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a blanket for j

A couple of weekends ago, I was going to write a blog post. I was going to write about how I felt my blog has felt a little unfocused this year (hence the silence) and talk about some knitting angst I’ve been having … then I got some news. Not good news – someone I cared about had been hit by a car. Such an odd sentence to say … think .. write. It doesn’t make sense to read the words, ya know?

It’s not really something that I can wrap my mind around to even grasp the reality of it. What I can grasp is that it makes me sad … but glad that no life was lost. … and all my knitting angst suddenly was unimportant. Who cares how many projects I have on the needles. I no longer did so I dropped everything that I was knitting … I am now knitting squares.

I hope these squares will end up as a blanket – I don’t know if I’ll manage that … but the moment I started knitting them, I felt better… Knitting once again has allowed me … helped me to be constructive when otherwise, I’d probably worry and obsess way more than was needed.

So keep good thoughts … for my loved one’s recovery … and the blanket I hope to make for him.

A blanket for J. I couldn’t find a pattern I liked so I’m making it up as I go along … but isn’t that what life is all about?

Peace to you … and go tell someone you love them. Life is precious.

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a different kind of rainbow

A while back, when I was experimenting with dyeing, I tried to dye some silk. But it didn’t really turn out the way I’d hoped. I’d read that silk doesn’t absorb water as quickly as wool so you need to soak it longer. So I did. The result was that the silk top seemed to disintegrate in the water. Not wanting to waste good fiber, I dyed it anyway, trying a technique that I came up with on the spot. I never really liked the final product so I didn’t take pictures and hid it in my stash.

Last December, when I couldn’t decide what to spin next, I pulled it out. I hadn’t spun silk before and figured it would be an good introduction. Since it was more like roving, I used more of a long draw to spin this fiber.

One thing I’ve learned about spinning (and somehow keep forgetting) is that the ‘ugliest’ of hand dyed fiber can make the prettiest of yarns.

I’m gonna have to try this dyeing technique again. :)

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winter rainbow

I finally finished yarn I started for my Ravelympics challenge. I wanted to spin 8 oz of fiber. Unfortunately, work kinda took over my life (don’t you hate when that happens?). Thankfully, that won’t be permanent, but the result was I wasn’t able to complete my challenge but I did finish the singles by the time the Olympics were over and about a week or two later the yarn was finished. So I present ‘Winter Rainbow’ – 8 ounces of Corriedale Cross (not at soft as Corriedale alone), dyed by The Painted Tiger.

As sometimes happens with yarns I make, I don’t always instantly love them – that was the case with this one … but it grew on me. It’s definitely spun a little more evenly than the previous version.

Ok, I’m off to knit the pink shawl. Happy knitting and/or spinning to you!

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back to the beginning

Well, I washed the swatch.

I was in the process of determining gauge (It was hard to see the stitches clearly after it had been washed), when I heard from my LYS – the color I wanted in that yarn was discontinued. However, there was only a brief moment of disappointment. I liked the yarn I’d chosen, but I didn’t love it. So it’s ok. And I’m back to the drawing board, in search of the yarn to make my first sweater – yarn that I love. I have an idea or two. I’ll keep you posted.

Also, I finally finished my yarn from Ravelympics – that’s coming up next! :)

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a first step

I swatched!

It’s not washed or anything, but it’s the first step to making my first sweater. (Snowbird-ravelry link) I’ve chosen Rowan Felted Tweed. I rather liked the tweedy look of the designer’s sweater and this yarn is said to be machine washable. I’ll probably handwash but it’s nice to see the chances of felting my first sweater are lower. ;) It’s dk and I rather like the idea better than making a sweater in worsted. Finding a pattern I love so much definitely helps with being intimidated by the prospects of knitting a sweater.

And as for being able to afford the yarn for this project, I’m going to return a couple of skeins in my stash to get store credit and that should help defray the cost.

Now keep a good thought that once I’ve washed the swatch, I’ve got gauge. I have my doubts … but I also have hope. :)

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buying patterns

I’ve been buying patterns. Normally, I don’t buy a pattern until I’m ready to knit it. But there are are lots of designers who are donating some or all of the proceeds toward helping Haiti.

So I’ve purchased patterns that I was going to buy anyway and discovered other patterns that I might not otherwise have considered. I was amazed to see that Cosmicplutoknits has already donated $1,000 from these sales.

One of the pattern designers I discovered in my search was Heidi Kirrmaier – specifically, the pattern ‘Snowbird‘ – a gorgeous cardigan sweater that was released last week. I want to knit this. I want to knit this more than any sweater I’ve seen to date. It’s got positive ease, it’s long – going below the hips, it’s got pockets and it has long sleeves, which is hard to find when you have long arms like me.

If you’ve been reading my blog, you might have noticed that I have never knit a sweater. There are two major reasons for that:

  1. Intimidation
  2. Cost

One of the things I’m working on this year is to ‘Be Brave’ – To try those things I’ve been afraid to try; fight that fear of failure. I mean, in the end, it’s just knitting. Besides, it’s not really the knitting that intimidates me, it’s the figuring out what size to make so it will fit the way I want it to. That’s hurdle I need to overcome.

I suppose I could try to spin the yarn for this, making it a little cheaper to make, but I love this pattern so much, I do NOT wish it to be the first sweater I spin for. Therefore, I am researching yarns to see how in world I can find a nice tweedy wool blend yarn that won’t break the bank.

Another note about this designer, if ‘Snowbird’ is not your cup of tea, as it were, she has several more very lovely sweater patterns, some of which are free.

Happy Knitting!

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it’s all about shawls, y’all

I’ve been fighting it. Casting on for more shawls, I mean. It’s not that I’ve been taken over by all the wonderful shawl patterns that have been published recently, it’s that my yarn is being noisy again. It all seems to want to be shawls. I generally try not to cast on TOO many things, but now I think it’s beyond my control.

I have at least four shawls that I want to knit next – all from my stash. So … if I listen to my noisy stash and cast on for these shawls, I will have a total of about six shawls on the needles. I think juggling that many projects would make my head explode. … but all the potential projects that I want to knit are already driving me crazy(er) …

Ok … let’s see…

  1. Simple Yet Effective Shawl – on the needles – stalled again because I need the spin more yarn for it. It’s still not big enough.
  2. Ulmus – on the needles – almost to the lace edge
  3. Show Your Colors Shawl – in that pink Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Dyed Cotton. ‘Tis a gift, just took a while to settle on a pattern.
  4. Attabi Wrap – Some handspun yarn I just bought cried out to be part of this shawl. I will have to buy some yarn to be a contrasting color.
  5. Daybreak – Use the ‘Doesn’t Want To Be Socks‘ Handspun and maybe the purpley ‘Yummy‘ yarn I have.
  6. Impatience – A beautiful pattern, perfect for the Dream In Color ‘Starry’ I just bought. … What? It was Romeo Blue. I couldn’t resist.

*looks at list* Omigosh!

Do you see my dilemma? *thinks for a moment* Maybe I will cast on for the ‘Show Your Colors Shawl’ and that will drown out the noise from the other three. But alas, I know that in the end, Resistance Is Futile.

And finally… you didn’t think I’d mention stash in the list above without showing it to you, did ya?

‘Spectrum’ – spun by DebbieB. I’ve admired her spinning for awhile and I finally had to buy a skein.

Dream in Color ‘Starry’ in the colorway ‘Romeo Blue’. Oooo… Sparkles!

Ta ta for now!

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are wii having fun?

Yes! Wii are! :D … and that’s…

The good news:
I got a Wii last month! I won it at my company holiday party! Can you believe that? And I love it! I love how active you have to be to play it. I received Wii Fit Plus for Christmas and finally got a TV stand for my TV and soon I’ll have things set up the way I want it and Wii Fit, here I come!

The bad news:
The Wii has distracted me from my spinning! :roll: . I know! How frustrating! (I did, however, achieve my goal of spinning or fiber prep every day in December so I am pleased.)

Can someone find out how to add more hours in the day please? There is not enough time for the fun stuff. *pouts*

Ok, enough pouting! I have what you’ve been waiting for – more stash enhancement! :D

It’s from The Painted Tiger – 8 ounces Corriedale Cross in the colorway ‘RBY Party’.

I had so much fun spinning ‘CMY Party‘, I couldn’t resist a chance to try this one.

I plan on chain-plying this fiber as well, but I hope to spin the singles a little thinner.

See ya later! :)

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a moment of weakness

My goal this winter is the spin down my stash, NOT to add to it. And I’d been doing well. But in December I had a weak moment… (or two or three… ;) )

Dyed by AllSpunUp in my fave colors. Her hand dyed fiber is so distinctive but I’ve only once before bought from her and that ended up in my handspun shawl. Before then, I loved her reclaimed/redyed yarn. I have an awesome skein of cashmere (Yes, blue & purple) that I haven’t used yet.

.
The fiber is 80% Merino & 20% Silk. I can’t wait to spin this up!

Stay tuned for more stash enhancements. :D

p.s. Happy New Year!

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all I want for Christmas is handspun

The Fiber:
Superwash Merino in the colorway ‘Kaleidoscope’, dyed by Spincerely Yours.

The Yarn:

The top was split lengthwise in half; each bobbin spun from opposite ends to create a 2-ply barber pole effect. 3.9 oz / approx 401 yards.

I am very happy with how this yarn came out. It’s consistent and very soft and shows that all the work I’ve done to learn and improve my spinning is paying off, but I don’t love it.

Part of that is having too much green and another part is not being a huge fan of barber pole yarn. But with that said, I am holding out to see how this yarn will look knit up. Up until this point, I’ve been spinning for the sake of getting the yarn I want, with no regard for how it will knit up. Time to take it a step further. After I wind it into a ball (after the requisite period of just petting and squishing the skein), and determine wraps per inch, we’ll see what this yarn wants to be. (I know what I want it to be, but I’ve learned that Yarn can be a bit stubborn in that regard.) :)

I will end with a tip for you:

When wet finishing your yarn, it’s important to remember that the yarn is superwash, or else you’ll spend five minutes beating up your yarn, wondering why it’s not fulling & fluffing up. (Granted, this was my first superwash wool yarn, and I’m used to non-superwash yarn. Yeah. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it! ;) )


I wish you peace, joy and lots of squishable fiber. :D

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happy handmade

It is cost effective to practice a project on copper wire before before working with silver but you can end up with something you really like.

These earrings are very basic and were really easy to make. I wasn’t sure about it after I made the spirals but the hammering and texturing really made a difference. Sometimes the simplest things can be come something very nice.

They’d make a nice Christmas present, don’t you think?

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patty-cake, patty-cake, baker me!

I’ve never really successfully baked a cake from scratch. Something always goes wrong. So, finally, I realized that the thing to do was ask my mom for help. She makes this awesome pound cake and a couple of months ago, we got together and she guided me through the process of making her ‘famous’ pound. (Actually, it’s only famous in my mind ;) ).

It was a success!

A yummy success!

So much so, that I asked for a mixer for Christmas. :D