Pax revisited

Feeling more comfortable with the Pax shawlette pattern after working on a practice piece, and some beautiful hand-dyed baby alpaca yarn arrived from Knitwit Originals, so I am embarking on another Pax.

This yarn is quite different from the "practice" yarn and it is taking some getting used to. (Read:  the inconsistencies in my knitting and the mistakes are much more noticeable.  This will keep me on my toes!)

I love the minty green color, and who can argue with baby alpaca?

Brewing/Steeping still...

I'm working on the art piece, bit by bit.  We haven't come to a common understanding of how we're going to converse, but I've not doubt the piece will have its say at some point!   At the moment I'm adding beads as the spirit moves me. 

I can see the piece in my head, of course, but the chances that it will end up looking that way are pretty slim.  I may need to pick up some spinning or knitting while waiting for the conversation to start.  I can be patient.  Maybe.  Sort of.

Somthing's brewing...

A new art quilt is in the works.  I'd tell you what I have in mind, but quilts always have a mind of their own, especially these artsy kinds of things.  And what I have in my head doesn't always work out as I planned, or I figure out a different--hopefully better--way to do things. (In case you didn't catch the subtle note of "well, that didn't work out so well, let's go to Plan B" in there--ask me how I know that things go that way!).

So, here's a hint--any ideas about what I'm doing?  No, they aren't ties.....although....hmmm.  That gets some ideas moving....
(I have moved further on this and I'll post some more photos as it progresses. )

Sigh.  When I couldn't sleep this morning (being of a certain age), I planned out another project or two.   I will sketch them out, along with my notes, fully aware that they're going to have the final say in how they go!  But with another project (or two, or three, or...) running around in my head, demanding attention, it takes more discipline for me to focus on a WIP.   Have I mentioned that I have the attention span of a 2 year old?

When did I lose control of my life?  ;-)

Back to the Spindle

I learned to spin on a spindle but was very glad to be able to switch to a wheel after a short time because I found the spindle cumbersome to use:  it didn't spin for very long, and trying to coordinate learning to draft while trying to figure out the "physics" of the spindle was frustrating.  I managed it, but I wasn't very happy with the results.

Recently I bought a Golding spindle.  I confess that I bought it mostly because it's beautiful but I was happily surprised when I actually tried it for spinning; it was well balanced and heavier than my beginning spindle, and I swear that it would spin forever if I let it go!  So, I'm back to doing some spinning on drop spindle.   It's taking me a little while to coordinate my hands and pinch at just the right point while I"m drafting, but it's a much more enjoyable process with this spindle--it's beautiful while it's working so well!

When I've spun enough that I want to wind off, because the balance changes, I am winding it onto my weaving shuttle bobbins.

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?

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!

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?