Wow. April? April was really my last post?
As we sit here in the final days of 2010, I can’t help but look back over the last year. For me, fate put me on a roller-coaster in late March, and didn’t really let me off the ride until this fall. There was no activity here on the blog, because there was almost no knitting or spinning in my life.
Even after the roller-coaster ended, it took a while for me to get back into any crafting at all. I haven’t started any knitting projects, but I did spin for a while on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The yarn is currently hanging on the line to dry, so pictures of it will be coming soon.
In the meantime, here is my purple and gray handspun that I found some time to spin earlier in the year. This was spun from slightly more than 4 ounces of 70% Superwash Merino and 30% Alpaca Top from Wolf Creek Wools (purchased at Black Sheep Gathering 2009). I ended up with a single skein of 2-ply yarn that measures 215 yards. This turned out so soft and squishy. It is definitely on the list of favorite yarns that I have spun.
My goal is to not be absent so much from the blog, Ravelry, or anywhere else from now on. I hope to be in contact with many of you soon.
I’ll be honest, there isn’t much progress to post for March so I’m not going to go through the list of goals. I’ve been absent from the blog because I spent more of the month away from home than I did at home. I had planned to be away for a few days for a vacation, which was a nice break. A few days later a family emergency occurred and kept me away for much longer than I’d planned.
That being said, there was no spinning in March and I didn’t finish a single knitted item. Essentially, the entire month of March after the Ravelympics was dedicated to the baby blanket I’ve been designing. The good news is that I should finish it this weekend and be able to move on to some other knitting.
This is my February wrap-up of my progress on my ten for 10 goals.
- Knit a large square/rectangle shawl (like one from from Heirloom Knitting or Knitted Lace of Estonia)
- Knit a sweater for me
No progress on either of these items.
- Knit a pair of colorwork socks
I’ve been knitting and posting about my self-designed colorwork socks that I started for the Ravelympics. So far, I’ve managed to knit one sock, and I’ve got one to go.
- Clean and prep the baby alpaca (cria) fleece I purchased
- Spin the above mentioned fleece
No progress on either of these items in February.
- Spin at least an hour per week to improve my overall spinning technique and consistency
As was the case last month, I wasn’t able to dedicate an hour a week to my spinning. I blame trying to knit for the Ravelympics for the lack of time. I did, however, spend 6 to 8 hours spinning four ounces of fiber from Wolf Creek Wools.
- Reduce the overall stash.
I didn’t actually finish any knitting projects in February, so the amount of yarn that left my stash is zero. On top of that, I added a bunch of Knitpicks Swish DK in order to work on a project. Granted, I cast on with the yarn right away, but I did overestimate the amount I needed by about 4 balls (7 oz/200 grams). This will result in adding to the stash, not reducing.
- Design and release at least 2 patterns
I’m definitely on track for this one. I will be releasing the colorwork socks (they need a good name). I’m also working on a baby blanket pattern (which also needs a good name). There’s already interest in this one by an outside party. No details until I’m sure of what the outcome will be.
- Post more regularly to this blog
I only managed three posts in February, not the frequency I was hoping for. I know March will be better. This is already the third post, and it’s only the 10th of the month.
- Attend my local knitting or spinning groups more often (which shouldn’t be hard – I hardly went at all in 2009)
I made it to knitting twice in February. I’m ok with that.
Overall, I feel that I made fairly good progress in January and have some fairly high hopes for what I can accomplish in February.
I’d like to do a wrap-up each month here on the blog on my progress on my ten for 10 goals.
- Knit a large square/rectangle shawl (like one from from Heirloom Knitting or Knitted Lace of Estonia)
No progress on this one. This is still the one that worries me most for 2010.
- Knit a sweater for me
I’ve been thinking about this one, and I’m leaning towards the Asymmetrical Cardigan from Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan. I thought about challenging myself and knitting this sweater for the Ravelympics, but I’m now leaning towards one of the designer events.
- Knit a pair of colorwork socks
See the super secret swatching project listed “On my Needles” and the reference above to the designer Ravelypics event? That’s all I’m saying for now.
- Clean and prep the baby alpaca (cria) fleece I purchased (which will be much easier since I got combs and hand cards for Christmas)
- Spin the above mentioned fleece
I spent some time this past weekend testing out my new hand combs and cards. I think I need more practice with them before I tackle the fleece. I made a mess out of the commerical top that I tried to card, and I’m not sure it’s even spinnable anymore. Definitely not what I want to do with the lovely fleece.
- Spin at least an hour per week to improve my overall spinning technique and consistency
I didn’t spin an hour a week in January, but I did spin about 8 hours total in the month. I’d like to work towards spinning a little each week rather than in burst once or twice a month.
- Reduce the overall stash -I must knit/destash more than I purchase (by weight, since I want to include the fiber and yarn)
This one isn’t going so well. I’ve got another 8 ounces of roving coming to me that I ordered in January. All I used up in January was about 3 ounces of yarn for my Citron (which just finished blocking).
- Design and release at least 2 patterns
This is well underway and should easily be met this year. More details to come!
- Post more regularly to this blog
I managed to get in five posts in January. I’d still like to post more, but it’s a definite improvement over most of 2009.
- Attend my local knitting or spinning groups more often (which shouldn’t be hard – I hardly went at all in 2009)
I only made it once in January, but it’s a start. I am planning on attending tonight.
Overall, I feel that I made fairly good progress in January and have some fairly high hopes for what I can accomplish in February.
The thread plied yarn I posted about before is finally finished.
I began by winding it off the bobbin and on to my niddy-noddy.
You can see how much twist is still in the yarn as I took it off of the niddy-noddy. I’m used to the yarn twisting on itself lightly, but this was a bit more than I usually see.
I soaked the yarn for about an hour in hot water in the sink. It then hung to dry for several days (it’s damp here in Oregon). I didn’t get a photo of it hanging after it soaked and dried, but the twist seen in the photo above was gone. It hangs straight in a nice loop.
Overall, I’m pleased with the yarn. There are areas that are still somewhat tightly spun and areas where the fiber is nearly unspun and looks as if it could come apart with the slightest tug. I feel like it was a good attempt at a new technique, and I’ll definitely try it again.
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