Monday, May 28, 2012

Pax in progress

I finished the knitting on the Origami sweater, and have made a good start on the Pax scarfette for the CAL.    The Tunisian crochet is not entirely new to me, but very nearly!  I have been grateful for the CAL, as I got a key tip from a fellow CAL-er--it made the whole thing much easier and nicer looking!  I certainly recommend CALs (Crochet A-Longs) and Ravelry, in general.

 I'm just a little past halfway on the first part. (Picture this as a sort of "base" onto which some lacework is added.



 This is my "practice" piece but I've decided to go ahead and finish it, or at least take it to the point at which the next chart starts.  I had ordered some bamboo lace-weight for this project and I gave it a try, but it's really to slippery--too difficult for me to find the bars to pick up.  Maybe I'll give it another go at some point, but I'm happy to be getting some experience and increasing comfort level with the stitch and pattern.

I was a little loose on the chaining, I think, and this isn't the softest yarn around (especially with the sequins in it!) so I will have to wear it with a turtleneck but I think that will be all right.  

And I'm enjoying it, which is the whole point of it, right?

Saturday, May 19, 2012

A promise is a promise, but..

I vowed that I wouldn't start a new knitting or crochet project until I finished the Origami sweater, but it is taking me a LONG time to finish it.  (I have a short attention span!)

Today I joined the CAL with Crochet Crafters & Artisans on Ravelry, making Aoibhe N's "Pax" scarfette.   I am joining the CAL a couple of weeks into it, and I still have a bit left on Origami, but I don't consider it cheating on my vow to order the yarn for the next project, or practicing Tunisian crochet.  :-)   I have done just a bit of Tunisian, and loved it, so I'm looking forward to this new project.

Ravelry is such a wonderful community for fiber and yarn artists!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

New Spinning Toys

I've been enjoying some new toys, er...tools, for my spinning--thanks to a bit of "mad money" from my brother.  (Thanks, Mike!)  A new spinning stool has been a great relief for my back, as I'm sitting with good support for the derriere, and at the proper height.

My favorite new...tool is a Woolee Winder.  I was even able to buy some extra bobbins so I'll be less likely to find myself in a bobbin bind!


  The bobbins are smaller than my standard Kromski bobbins, but because it winds so much more efficiently than I do when I have control over moving the singles on the flyer, it still holds the same amount of fiber/singles on a bobbin.

 
The photo shows 4 oz. of singles, hand-dyed BFL from Fiber Fancy.  (Love her fibers!!)  I have another 4 oz. to spin, the plan to do a 2-ply yarn.  I have no idea what I'll do with the yarn, but that's not really the point, is it?