Stashdown 2011

The goal: To spin 4oz of fiber, knit 4oz of handspun and work 4oz of millspun each month
Did I do it? Yes! On average I met each of my goals. Some months I did more, some less, but I worked through a lot of materials this year!

However, I didn't meet the spirit of the goal.. which was to use stash. Many of my projects required new fiber or new yarn to complete. Sometimes I bought new yarn/fiber just because I wanted to (and really, who doesn't?). So if this goal was "Production 2011" then I certainly produced. Did I reduce my stash? Not so much.

Next year, I want to work from my stash. In fact, I'd like to work entirely from my stash for both spinning and knitting materials. (I am leaving an exception for weaving, because I don't have much yarn suitable and may need to purchase particular yarn for projects I have in mind. Still, I'd like to keep weaving-purchasing limited to planned-projects only. No "just because it's on sale" buying!) I will not be making any pledges as to how much I get done each month, but I hope you'll join me for a "work from what you've got" year!

January:

   

February:

    

March:

   

April:

    

May:

   

June:

  

July:

   

August:

 

September:

    

October/November:

   

December:

  

Yak and Silk

Yak and Silk, a photo by Project Pictures on Flickr.

Yak.

And silk.

Can we just say "luxurious"? I knew we could!

This is wonderful yarn (if I have to say so myself). The silk single is spun from dyed mulberry silk which has amazing almost-metallic shine. The yak is matte and fuzzy, spun woolen to make it even softer. The two together are sublime.

They also match the color-scheme of a slowly-growing stash that I am seriously considering for making a hand-woven jacket.

Yes. A hand-woven jacket.

I'm so excited about this!

But there's still a lot more spinning to do, so I'll get back to you on this again, later!

P.S. This is 3.5 oz towards December Stashdown. Almost done!

Holiday Gift Scarf

Holiday Gift Scarf, a photo by Project Pictures on Flickr.

I love weaving and I love twills. I think my best purchase this year was the 4-shaft table loom I picked up in the summer. Although along with that I ended up grabbing a used bobbin winder and that is just as awesome! (But the two really support each other, because without the table loom, I wouldn't really want the bobbin winder, and the bobbin winder makes working on the table loom that much more fun.)

But I digress.

This is a lovely "turned point twill" I wanted to try before leaping into a slightly more intricate gothic cross pattern. I also needed to get something special done quickly, and this fit the bill.

I hope the recipient loves getting it as much as I loved making it!

Mixed Mythology

Mixed Mythology, a photo by Project Pictures on Flickr.

Here's November's goal of knit-up-handspun yarn. This is a lovely pattern known as "Vlad" on Ravelry. It's a free download. Check it out!

I had some small problems with Vlad. Nothing that should trip anyone else up, but for some reason my brain had a hard time holding on to the change in pattern at the center. Once I put in a stitch marker to remind me to knit the center section, everything went a whole lot smoother.

October/November spinning

Merino/yak/silk, a photo by Project Pictures on Flickr.

I'm doing some catching up all around. I have projects in the works that can't be blogged, and I have projects I haven't blogged because it's Holiday season and we're all a little crazy!

In fact, things are likely to slow down a bit on the crafting front.

I'm going back to school. I'll be trying to ease into it a bit at a time so as to not be overwhelmed. Next term I'm taking one class (Statistics). I hope to take one in the Spring term and perhaps two over the summer since I have a lovely young woman looking for babysitting work then.

But until then, I need to get caught up! So here is a shot of some gorgeous Merino/yak/silk blend. My wonderful husband bought this for me for Christmas last year (so it's good to get it done before this Christmas rolls around, yes? YES!). The bag had "approximately six ounces" written on it. I bought another two ounces to round that out to eight so I could combine it with another eight I have of dyed Merino/yak/silk in a big project. I have plans for this stuff, yes I do!

But here is the finished yarn. I'm extremely pleased with it. Even if my current idea falls through, this would make quite a stunning knit shawl.

Happily, this counts for my spinning goal for both October, and November!

Inglenook

Inglenook, a photo by Project Pictures on Flickr.

I'm extremely pleased to announce that I have a pattern in the Winter 2011 Issue of Twist Collective!

Here is a picture of the prototype of my pattern, Inglenook. It is a top-down sock with no visible gusset. The increases are incorporated into the lace pattern so that as you knit, it just grows into the right shape. Then you turn the heel and knit a reinforced sole and work down to the end of a shaped toe.

I love these socks. They go wonderfully in my clogs. The cushioned heel feels great, and in backless shoes you get to show of the lace patterning!

Twist Collective provided a wonderful sock yarn (Pollika Knitglobal 4-Ply Sock Yarn) which I really enjoyed using. The socks were originally knit in a heavier yarn (they are shown above in Mountain Colors Bearfoot), but translate very well to the finer weight of the Knitglobal sock. I especially like how round the 4-ply yarn is. It has wonderful stitch definition!

I hope you'll all pop by and take a peek at the fantastic photography on Twist Collective!