Bockstark Knits » 2008 » October

Undyed spinning	October 30, 2008 @ 11:01 am
posted by kris	Filed under: spinning

So I’ve been faced with a spinning dilemma. I want to make a handspun sweater for my boys (I would make one for husband but thought that I wouldn’t have the patience), and the only fibers that attract me for a sweater amount would be undyed roving - like some of those grey, brown or black shetlands or undyed merino. I really think for sweaters, plain is better, especially for cable details and what not.

But then I think about spinning a POUND of plain roving. Ugh. Sounds like torture, especially when you can buy the same wool in commercially spun hanks for just a little bit more. Is it worth it? I know I would be much more prouder of a handspun sweater, but it will only be worn a little while (6 months, if I’m lucky) and to put all that work into it…for just a little bit of wear!

So then I’m back to making an adult sweater - but by god, 2 pounds is even worse!!! At least it would be worn forever (I would make sure of that).

What do you think? Have any of you spun up a sweater’s amount?

Comments (17)

Geez, has it been a month already?	October 27, 2008 @ 3:53 pm
posted by kris	Filed under: baby knits, spinning

Riva del Garda, the town we stayed in

Gardasee, we’ll be seeing you again!

My first BSJ!

Mini BSJ in Wollmeise Spice Market

Handspun Tausendschön ef merino in Traumtänzer

Handspun navajo plied Sunshine Yarns roving in Drift

Handspun 2ply Annette’s Wollwerkstatt batts

Is anybody even reading this blog anymore??? I know I’ve been really bad about blog posts, but I hadn’t realized that THAT much time has passed by! I actually haven’t done a whole lot of knitting or spinning - I may have learned to balance out my life and have done quite a bit of reading, vacationing with the family, and just plain enjoying life. So I apologize if I haven’t been reading all y’alls blogs lately!!!

What have I done this past month or so? I went with the family to Gardasee (Italy) for some camping. It was the first time we took the boys. We weren’t sure how it was going to go over, but it turned out to be the most fun ever! We stayed at a campground in Riva del Garda, right on the beach. We had two tents, one for the boys and one for us and they absolutely loved having their own little house. We brought a little disposable grill but it was a miserable failure since the coals wouldn’t light. It was so painful to have to throw away all the meat. But luckily, there was a pizza place next door. We walked through the little towns in the day (and even bought some climbing harnesses for them) and then strolled on the beach at night. It’s amazing how relaxing it is not to have the TV, internet, distractions, etc. and can just be together on the edge of a really beautiful lake. Oh and the gelato, so yummy! :) The boys did so well and is looking forward to more trips. I think we will head to Gardasee whenever we get the chance. It is fairly close (3 hr. drive) and now that we can camp, it is cheap too!

But I have managed to do some knitting - I even finished a BSJ - my first! I did an I-cord edging and did button loops rather than have a button band. I really like it, the construction is genius and I’m sure there will be more of these in my future! Handspun is just perfect for this pattern! For this one, I used Crown Mountain Farms sw merino in “We are the Champions”. I still need to attach the buttons, hopefully will get that done tonight and I can send it off. This is going to “baby Bockstark” - the German guy who introduced me to the word “bockstark” and claims that he invented it, just had a baby girl a few weeks ago.

I liked the BSJ so much that I made a mini one (to fit a barbie) for the boys’ kindergarten. They needed a “Jacke” as something that starts with the letter “J”. It is too cute!!!

And I’ll just throw in some of my spinning pics, nothing too exciting…

Oh and also, my pattern has finally been debuted with the first Wollmeise Sock Club shipment! It is called “I Mog Di” (ravelry link). Unfortunately, it is currently only available to the sock club members.

Sorry for the rambling and disjointed post, that seems to be how my mind is lately…

Comments (15)

Too much beer	October 6, 2008 @ 5:56 pm
posted by kris	Filed under: misc

Those things are heavy!

Sorry for not being regular at posting, I’ve kinda been off the internet for awhile. You know how it is. Oktoberfest is now over and we went on the last day (Sunday) and had a lot to drink. We went with my husband’s work group and so we had free beer and chicken all afternoon/evening. Awesome! I started off with a coke (which I spiked myself with some grappa), then had a radler (which is 1/2 beer and 1/2 lemonade or something sweet), then had the full on Oktoberfest beer, which is quite potent stuff - 13% alcohol, if I remember correctly. I’m not a beer drinker, so this progression (sweet -> beer) made it possible for me to handle it.

I love Oktoberfest, it is a really great tradition. It’s so cool to just hang out, talk to random strangers (whoever sits next to you) and you just drink and eat and drink. Sounds like a huge frat party, and in some ways it is, but it’s really great to see people of all ages (not so much kids, but old and young) having a great time. It gets rowdier during the night since people have been sitting there all day drinking beer, but I’ve never seen it out of control. So much gemütlichkeit!

Comments (9)

autor imagen

What does bockstark mean (pronounced bok-shtark)? My crazy German friend, Matthias, made that word up to mean "really cool" and says that it is catching on in Garmisch. So I am helping him popularize the word! I thought if I ever opened a yarn store, I would call it "Bockstark Yarns". This blog is all about my projects, yarns and crazy ideas related to knitting and other crafts. Contact me at bockstark.knits(at)gmail(dot)com.