Oh my gosh…
Posted by: fourpeass on: April 20, 2009
You guys. It’s spring! Isn’t it funny how one day you’re grudgingly putting on your winter coat and the next you’re walking around downtown wearing a t-shirt and flip flops? I started riding my bike to work again last Thursday. It was so wonderful, I almost wish we lived farther from my job. We’re moving again, Conor and I, to the East Rock area on May 1st. I am very excited and I’ve already begun mapping different routes to make my bike commute longer in the morning. With some inspiration, I decided to dress up my bicycle a little:
I’ve been wanting a basket since I bought the bike, well over a year ago, but ended buying a rack and attaching a milk crate to it. I was always paranoid things were going to fly out of it though, no matter how many bungees I used to secure things down. The front basket puts my paranoia to rest and it’s visually pleasing especially, with the flowers. I’ve been meaning to blog about my helmet since I bought it last year.
I’ll admit it, I hate helmets. I think they’re dorky and they make my head sweat something fierce in the summer. That being said, I value my brains and my life so, I wear a helmet. I searched the Internet far and wide to find one that I wouldn’t mind wearing and ended up on Nutcase Helmets. I love it. My head still sweats but I feel like a cool dork wearing it as opposed to a dorky dork.
Spinning like a mad woman
Posted by: fourpeass on: April 14, 2009
- In: knitting| spinning
- 4 Comments
I have been spinning like a mad woman and spending way too much money on fiber! I’m still working on Kaari and hoping to have it done by CT Sheep and Wool on April 25th. I might have to rip back one of the sleeves and re-knit it so if I give spinning a break for a couple of days, I think I’ll have it done. On to some spinning photos:
This batt was free with the wheel I rented from Mocha’s Fiber Connection. I spun a 2 ply yarn that feels like twine. It’s way overspun and I probably won’t ever knit with it but it was good practice.
Next, I bought an Alpaca/Corriedale blend from The Yarn Barn. I’m really not crazy about the color at all but they didn’t have much of a selection and I was dying to spin anything!
The yarn has a cool heathered look to it but it’s not something I normally go for. Anyway, here’s some uneven 2 ply. I think I’ve only used about half of of the roving (I bought a pound!).
So, I finally decided to look at Etsy for some roving and oh boy, there is a ton to choose from. I kind of fell in love with All Spun Up and can’t stop buying from her shop!
Initially, I was hoping to get a decent 2 ply out of this roving to make socks but I couldn’t get a consistently thin single so I decided to leave it as is. It varies between a light fingering weight and a thick lace weight. I have about 300 yards of it and have no clue what I can make with it.
You spin me right round….
Posted by: fourpeass on: March 31, 2009
I took a spinning class on Saturday and it was awesome! We started out by sitting at different wheels and treadling. After feeling the differences between a double and single treadle wheel, I decided to stick with the double. I forgot what type of wool we started spinning with. I know Corriedale was one of them, you can see some in my first skein:
I wish I could remember what the tan wool is. Maybe Romney? I was getting pretty used to drafting and adjusting the tension of the wheel so by the end of that little skein, it started to somewhat resemble yarn. The instructor must have thought I had a decent handle on it because she let me spin some of the softest merino I’ve ever felt. Boy, was that a mistake. The merino was so fine, it kept pulling apart. Look how much I spun before I went back to the tan stuff:
One person in the class was amazing from the beginning. She normally spins using a drop spindle so she was already good at drafting and getting an evenly spun yarn:
The shot is in motion but you can get a pretty good idea of how even the yarn is. She was spinning alpaca by the end of the class. I think I understand the basic mechanics of it, now I just need to fine tune everything I learned. Luckily, I brought home of these:
You can rent wheels at Mocha’s Fiber Connection for $15/week so I went for it. I spun a little on Sunday and ended up with my 2nd skein of yarn. It’s definitely over spun in some spots but overall, I’m happy with it.
So, what’s really annoying is that after finishing that skein, I tried to practice more but I could not get the yarn to wind onto the bobbin so I gave up and decided I’d try again later. I took yesterday off and tried to spin a bit today but the same thing kept happening. What am I doing wrong? It’s incredibly frustrating. The yarn just spins and coils up on me. I’m considering paying for a private lesson because I’ve wasted so much fiber at this point. The funny thing is, I picked up my drop spindle and was able to spin a nice thin yarn for for the first time. I guess I’m happy about that but still annoyed about not being able to spin on the wheel. After a bit more practice, I’m hoping to spin some usable yarn out of this:
Any spinners have tips for me?
Babies everywhere!
Posted by: fourpeass on: March 30, 2009
- In: knitting
- 3 Comments
I’ve been dying to make baby clothes but no one around me is anywhere near ready to have any babies…until now! My friend Sara and her husband, Eric, are expecting a baby girl in April. As soon as I heard it was girl, I knew I was going to make Helena. When the Fall issue of Knitty came out, I considered knitting Helena just to have as a back up. Eventually, everyone is going to start having babies. Maybe I should just have an arsenal of baby knits ready. Anyway, here’s the sweater:
Pattern: Helena from Knitty in the 12 month size
Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo DK
Needles: US 6 and US 2
Notes: Great, straightforward pattern. I didn’t do a gauge swatch because I figured at some point in the baby’s life it would fit her. It turns out my measurements were spot on for the 12 month size with the exception of the body being .5 inches longer. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t do gauge swatches in general. I find them very helpful most of the time but if I’m going to be knitting something where gauge isn’t crital or if it’s something that is easy to modify as I go, I won’t do a swatch. Anyway, check out the buttons (they’re kind of a pain to get through the buttholes but I didn’t tell Sara that…shhh):
The baby shower was great. No silly games or over the top decorations but plenty of good food and drink. I ended up chatting with another knitter who made the cutest baby sweater and booties. I want to knit more baby things. Seriously folks, get to it!
Meet Maddox
Posted by: fourpeass on: March 12, 2009
Pattern: Maddox the Mischievous Monster by Rebecca Danger
Yarn: Malabrigo
Needles: US 5
Notes: Made this for my friend Jenny for her birthday. I really enjoyed making him and I’m actually kind of sad we had to part. Jenny loves him though, so I know he’s in a good home. I’ll make another for myself eventually. Toys are a nice break from functional knits though, you could argue that his function is to bring joy into my life.
In other news, I just signed up for a spinning (yarn-spinning, not bike-spinning) class at Mocha’s Fiber Connection. It’s all the way out in Colchester but I’m dying to learn! Not that I can afford a wheel anytime soon but at least I’ll know if it’s for me. They also rent out wheels for 15 bucks a week. I really like the idea of completing a project from total start to finish. From spinning the fiber into yarn to knitting it up into a wearable garment.
