Gustave Courbet
The Sleeping Spinner1853
Friday, May 31, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
What to do with those Mini Skein Sets?
Cheryl and I just finished five weeks of shows. We were vendors at four of them, and buyers at Maryland Sheep and Wool (which was right in the middle of those five weekends). We get a lot of interesting questions while we are vending. Questions I would never predict that knitters would ask. Like, "wow these mini skein sets are beautiful - what would you use them for?" Don't all knitters buy first and figure out what to do with it later? Just me?
My goal now is to make samples to show those knitters exactly what can be done with the mini skeins. AND I get to knit with them, too. Bonus!
I started with a set of 6 mini skeins (100 yards each) that gradated from green to blue that Cheryl gave me for my birthday. I love the colorway. (if left to my own devices, I'd probably make everything in these colors. I'm very drawn to them.)
After much searching on Ravelry, I saw this Haruni in GirlGoneLoopy's projects. (a ravelry link) I absolutely adore how the violet and light blue contrast in her Haruni's edging makes a pretty scallop. So I contrived to make my set do that.
After reading the Haruni pattern, I laid out my 6 colors from light to dark. According to the pattern, half the yardage will be used for the edging, so I made sure to put the darkest and the lightest next to one another inside the edging, and finish with the next lightest. The shawl is worked from top to bottom, so the skeins will be knit from 1 (top) to 6 (bottom edge).
(pic does not show how gorgeous the colors are. Hopefully I can get a better pic of the work in progress.)
To keep track of which skein was which, (and keep the skeins clean) I put each in a little zipper baggie and labeled them 1-6 with a sharpie (next time I will use some painters tape on the baggies; the sharpie wore off after a few days.) I wound them into center pull balls as I needed them.
I decided that making this project was technically "working", and not just making myself something to wear, so I made sure to sit down and work on it every day. Right now I am knitting on skein 4 in the edging. The rows are getting very long, and my husband now knows that "just let me finish this row" could mean 15 - 20 minutes, not the 2 that he's used to. I am looking forward to getting to skein 5 to see what the contrast looks like! I hope it looks as good in reality as I am imagining...
Here's a pic of the work in progress:
It is getting a bit big for my needles, so it is difficult to spread out. I will take more pics once I get it off the needles, and onto my blocking board! (should only be a few episodes of "Mr. Selfridge" til it is finished.)
My goal now is to make samples to show those knitters exactly what can be done with the mini skeins. AND I get to knit with them, too. Bonus!
I started with a set of 6 mini skeins (100 yards each) that gradated from green to blue that Cheryl gave me for my birthday. I love the colorway. (if left to my own devices, I'd probably make everything in these colors. I'm very drawn to them.)
After much searching on Ravelry, I saw this Haruni in GirlGoneLoopy's projects. (a ravelry link) I absolutely adore how the violet and light blue contrast in her Haruni's edging makes a pretty scallop. So I contrived to make my set do that.
After reading the Haruni pattern, I laid out my 6 colors from light to dark. According to the pattern, half the yardage will be used for the edging, so I made sure to put the darkest and the lightest next to one another inside the edging, and finish with the next lightest. The shawl is worked from top to bottom, so the skeins will be knit from 1 (top) to 6 (bottom edge).
To keep track of which skein was which, (and keep the skeins clean) I put each in a little zipper baggie and labeled them 1-6 with a sharpie (next time I will use some painters tape on the baggies; the sharpie wore off after a few days.) I wound them into center pull balls as I needed them.
I decided that making this project was technically "working", and not just making myself something to wear, so I made sure to sit down and work on it every day. Right now I am knitting on skein 4 in the edging. The rows are getting very long, and my husband now knows that "just let me finish this row" could mean 15 - 20 minutes, not the 2 that he's used to. I am looking forward to getting to skein 5 to see what the contrast looks like! I hope it looks as good in reality as I am imagining...
Here's a pic of the work in progress:
It is getting a bit big for my needles, so it is difficult to spread out. I will take more pics once I get it off the needles, and onto my blocking board! (should only be a few episodes of "Mr. Selfridge" til it is finished.)
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Knitting the Scarf
Now that my handspun is dry and wound into center-pull balls, I am going to start knitting.
I want a substantial scarf, but I also want it to be long enough to wrap around my neck a couple of times. So, I measure the yarns' wpi. The GreenBlueViolet came out a little bit thinner than the Arctic Ice, but I'm not worried about that. I settled on 24 stitches per row, on a size 6 needle.
With the Darker yarn end (Violet in this case), cast on 16 stitches.
Work a K1P1 rib for two rows ( *[K1, P1], repeat from * to end.)
DO NOT CUT YARN.
Attach most contrasty end of second yarn and work two rows K1P1 rib. (both my ends were the darkest teal, so I just picked one and started knitting.
*Start working with first color again, but pull it from UNDER the second color. Work 2 rows.
Pick up second yarn from under first yarn, making sure to pull it from UNDER the first. Work 2 rows.
REPEAT from * until almost out of yarn, end with 2 rows the darker yarn, cast off in rib.
I want a substantial scarf, but I also want it to be long enough to wrap around my neck a couple of times. So, I measure the yarns' wpi. The GreenBlueViolet came out a little bit thinner than the Arctic Ice, but I'm not worried about that. I settled on 24 stitches per row, on a size 6 needle.
With the Darker yarn end (Violet in this case), cast on 16 stitches.
Work a K1P1 rib for two rows ( *[K1, P1], repeat from * to end.)
DO NOT CUT YARN.
Attach most contrasty end of second yarn and work two rows K1P1 rib. (both my ends were the darkest teal, so I just picked one and started knitting.
*Start working with first color again, but pull it from UNDER the second color. Work 2 rows.
Pick up second yarn from under first yarn, making sure to pull it from UNDER the first. Work 2 rows.
REPEAT from * until almost out of yarn, end with 2 rows the darker yarn, cast off in rib.
The knittings is finished! I tucked the ends in, and this project is complete.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Time To Ply
The weather was nice, so I spun outside for awhile. That is the Green Blue Violet in the works. The bobbin with the Arctic Ice is on a bobbin in front, see?
While I was still spinning singles, I somehow lost the end of my single in the bobbin. After hours of trying to find it, I gave up, broke a strand that was (I think) near the lost end, and kept spinning. I never found it. Even while plying. Weird.
Now that I have all my singles spun, it is time to ply. To keep my colors as solid as possible, I decided to use a chain ply (sometimes referred to as Navajo ply).
I put my full bobbin on a lazy kate, and started with a loop. I am plying with an "S" twist. Then as, the spin comes into the yarn, I pull a new loop through the old one, before it is spun closed. I use a short draw, pinching with my left pointer finger and thumb, while pulling the loop through with my right. I really like the way the yarn looks, but I know it will get fluffier after I set the spin.
I repeated this for the second skein. Once the skeins are dry, I can wind them into balls and start knitting!
.
While I was still spinning singles, I somehow lost the end of my single in the bobbin. After hours of trying to find it, I gave up, broke a strand that was (I think) near the lost end, and kept spinning. I never found it. Even while plying. Weird.
I put my full bobbin on a lazy kate, and started with a loop. I am plying with an "S" twist. Then as, the spin comes into the yarn, I pull a new loop through the old one, before it is spun closed. I use a short draw, pinching with my left pointer finger and thumb, while pulling the loop through with my right. I really like the way the yarn looks, but I know it will get fluffier after I set the spin.
Arctic Ice
Green Blue Violet
After plying, I skeined the yarn up and tied it in several places. The yarn gets a bath, and then I snapped it and laid it out to dry.
I repeated this for the second skein. Once the skeins are dry, I can wind them into balls and start knitting!
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