Why not to use lilac for a spindle:

I was about ready to wind the yarn off the spindle when it happened anyway - this just means that I'll have to use a new stick for the next bunch.

Done with the white spinning fibre

It turns out that the white spinning fibre I was struggling with sheds just as much when it's spun and being knitted as it did when I was trying to spin it.

However, I managed to make a very pretty cowl.




It was originally meant to be a scarf, but half the yarn got used up too quickly. So I started from the other end, making a buttonhole, and knitted until I used the other half of the yarn, then grafted them together.

spinning

This weeknd, I did some spinning for the "February Challenge" in the "Spindlers" group on Ravelry.

The theme was "Mardi Gras"

My inspiration was this:

And I decided I’d be using up various things I had lying around.

Here are all my singles:

(It turns out I didn’t have very much of the blue yarn around, so I was limited by that. I ended up dyeing the red (with red food colouring) so it would be brighter, and the yellow is really the beige with lots of yellow food colouring added in.

I did a cabled yarn, with three-ply cables - one for the pancakes and one for the toppings.

And here is my 3 meter end-product.

I ended up turning it into a bracelet.

Handwarmers

I've been on a roll for the past few days - or else maybe I've just been working on very small projects.

The most recent small project is a pair of handwarmers for the "Obscuriousity" knit-along on Ravelry.



Notice the difference in length?

I didn't actually write down the number of rows on the cuff the first time, so when it came time to do the second, I looked at the row-counter I found in my pocket, which turned out not to have the right number of rows marked. (I think it was for that project, but who knows?)

I'm trying to decide whether the difference is enough to matter, and whether I can reasonably pick up stitches along the bottom and knit the other way.



They're made from Rowan Tapestry, which turns out to be very itchy. I'm trying to get used to them.

Book review: Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified

For the past couple days, I've been reading Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified, by Ann and Eugene Bourgeois.

I probably won't make any of the sweaters in the book without heavy modification (they're all excessively baggy and the colourways are a bit aggressive), but the book still contained a lot of useful information about knitting fair-isle sweaters in general. The second section of the book contains thorough information on knitting cardigans and pullovers, both steeked,

I also enjoyed the beginning of the book, which is about the beginnings of the Bourgeois' farm, before they had any farming experience.

I found my camera

It was in the first place I looked - on the dresser in my bedroom. I just couldn't see it until I cleared some other things away.

So, here's the promised post-blocking picture of my shawl:


And here's a closer look:

My lace shawl, part 2

I finished my lace shawl today, or, at least, I finished the knitting.

I had the bright idea of using my new kitchen scale to weigh my yarn after each of the last couple rows, which meant that I realized I needed to skip one of the rows in the scalloped edging, or else I'd run out of yarn.

I now have 0.2 grams left of the yarn. (A row takes about 1.5 g.)

I also now have a disgusting mess of unblocked yarn. Unfortunately, being a responsible adult who knows where my stuff is, I've misplaced my camera. So, photos are on hold for now.

Let's hope blocking works its magic.