I am finally done with my HHHH skein (click on picture for fiber details). It took me forever. Mostly because I was forcing myself to knit a scarf for a friend whose birthday has come and gone. And I’m still not done, but I’m almost there. Isn’t that sad - *forcing* my self to knit??? It would’ve been much more pleasurable if I was knitting in handspun, but she is not a handspun-full-of-color kind of person, so I am knitting it out of marisilk, which is one of my most favorite yarns and it *still* pains me to be away from the wheel. I am a very sick person. ;) I finally couldn’t stand not having a complete skein and just started spinning in limited amounts every day until it was done.

The final skein came out less hairy than I thought it would be, maybe the action of plying helped calm things down. I am very happy with it, although I made a skeinlet of navajo ply out of the leftovers and I think I like the N-ply better. Oh well. I hope my pal likes it!

http://www.ravelry.com/people/BockstarkKnits/stash/trade

Thank you so much for being my pal. You are a superstar spinner! Since you are in the states and all, would it be at all possible for you to slip some Kikkoman “stir fry” seasoning mix in with my handspun? I bought some the last time I was in the states and I love them. I’m trying to eat healthier you see, and stir fry is healthier than say …oh I don’t know… pizza or McDonalds. Or as an alternative, if you are a cook or your local grocer doesn’t stock it, a good (and easy) stir fry recipe will do too.

Thanks so much! :)

almost halfway there!

Spinning for my HHHH swap pal is underway. Could this be yours? You’ll see in a week or two! :) I am enjoying this spin, but it is turning out more hairy that I like. Maybe that’s a property of the tussah?

Fiber:
Pigeonroof Studios 80% merino/20% tussah silk in Bruise
shooting for a 2ply fingering weight ]]> http://www.BockstarkKnits.net/2008/07/12/this-could-be-yours/feed/ http://www.BockstarkKnits.net/2008/07/11/navajo-ply-results/ http://www.BockstarkKnits.net/2008/07/11/navajo-ply-results/#comments Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:07:48 +0000 kris http://www.BockstarkKnits.net/2008/07/11/navajo-ply-results/
Handspun Lovesticks sw merino in Patina

So here is the result of last night’s navajo ply. I was cursing the whole time! ;) Yes, it looks good from afar, but come up close and blech! It’s a lumpy bumpy mess! It’s still knitable, but you can feel many of the joins. I feel like I did a disservice to the flber. It’s so pretty and I just love the subtle patina colors.

And another thing - the yardage sucks!!! I got 272yd/4.2oz. I don’t know how you N-plying people stand it. Ok, it’s nice that you use almost every inch of fiber, but still. And I also read in the Yarn Harlot’s blog that the n-ply is not as strong as a 2ply. I wonder if it has to do with how it’s put together?

I probably won’t do another navajo ply again anytime soon, unless someone has a magic trick that will make everything better. Fbz suggested that I put the lazy kate far far away as it would help with the tension of the single coming off the bobbin. She even promised a video! Ah, what great friends I have!

I am going super slow, and about 50% of the time it looks ok, but the other half, sucks ass. Really. A lot of times, I have one of the plys too tight (like coming from the lazy kate) and so the other two start wrapping around it. I tried pulling the other two tight, but then I start pulling the yarn off the bobbin and there’s not enough take up (I think I have this adjusted to have as much takeup as possible). Then I tried loosening the LK, but then I got the curlys, even though this single has been sitting for 2 days). And then there’s the problem of when I’m getting ready to “chain”, plys shift and move and look like crap.

Please tell me that whacking fixes this!!! Probably not. Shit.

So, for this spin, I did it “fast and free”, meaning I just let go - fast and not too much control/thinking. And man, it was a lot of fun! It’s overspun just a tad, but I am really happy with the results. Makes me wonder why am I so stressed out trying to get it so thin, when it just does it itself! :)

The fiber was given to me by my HHHH swap pal, SourCherries. She totally knew exactly what to pick out. Well, it helps that I leave comments on her stash pics saying “drool” or “OMG, drool even more”. Heh! Thanks so much Ami, you have now turned me into an AllSpunUp stalker. I already ordered some merino/silk.

Twisted Fiber Art Cloudy in Ravelry (2ply light fingering)

Politically incorrect in Greg (2ply fingering)

Handspun hat modeled by Kelp!

About to N-ply the Lovesticks sw merino in Patina

All Spun Up sw merino in Chocqua

I’ve been so bad about blogging lately. Cuz it takes away from spinning! :) It’s been so long since I last posted a “real” post, I don’t even remember what it was about. How about I just fill this with pictures and make the text short. Let’s see….

I finished the Twisted Fiber Art Cloudy skein, I also finished the Politically Incorrect batt (that I started in May!). I am currently working on a Lovesticks sw merino navajo ply and a AllSpunUp sw merino 2ply. Both of them are delish!

As for knitting, I finished a handspun chullo hat for Michael, to match his handspun socks. I thought about crocheting a border around the edge, and did a few sts and decided I didn’t like it. He also hasn’t had time to model it for me, but luckily Kelp! came to remedy that problem. It was really great to meet her and talk about how much we hate Houston. Heh!

I am currently wrapped up in the HHHH swap. There are almost 100 participants and it is a lot of work to keep track of everything/everyone and try to match them up with someone you think they would like. Some of them I couldn’t, due to allergies and skill level, but hopefully it all goes well. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed. It looks like I have a great bunch of peeps, they are like my kids. It’s so rewarding when they post about the swap and enjoying the process of getting to know their pals!