Socks for Michele

I know Michele doesn't read my fiber blog, so it's safe to mention her name here. These socks will be her xmas present. Not the prettiest sock yarn, but very funtional.

Pattern: Short-row toe and heel basic socks, by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Zwerger Garn Opal Elemente, colorway 1079
Needles: US1
Modifications: Knit from the top down, so wedge-shaped toe, closed with Kitchener stitch

I started these socks toe-up six times, 5 using the "easy" cast on, which just would not cooperate. Finally, I went back to the short-row toe. 72 stitches around.

And I hated how the toes came out. So I scrapped them and started top-down, from the cuff: alternating long tail cast on, 2x2 ribbing for 20 rounds before switching to stockinette.

I was able to match the patterns between the two socks, until I hit a knot in the self-striping yarn. I blithely snipped out the knot and carried on. Just short of the toe, I realized the socks no longer matched. Heaving a huge sigh of resignation, I ripped back, found where the patterns matched, and finished.

Now I am happy with the results.

A little catch-up

There are a couple of handspun yarns I have not reported on. That is because I hung them on the curtain rod in the guest bathroom to dry, and there they sat, for months. (I don't have very many guests.) Today I decided I should retrieve and label them.

But what are they?!? Fortunately, I was able to put together the fiber, the spinning, and the plying to come up with label text. That's why I take photos and keep a fiber blog.

First up, a merino-silk blend called "Storm", chain-plied. Some of it is heavier than the rest. Not sure how that happened.

Next, some "natural" brown merino comeback, also chain-plied. (I think the color is not natural, but dyed.)

I have so much handspun yarn. It's time to start assigning it all to projects.

Knitting: I finished the socks; separate post to follow. The patch pocket square is going slowly, so it is now my TV knitting.
Spinning: The three-color braid is now all spun and plied; all that remains is to give it a good soak and set the twist. AND label it!

There are a lot of opportunities to spin in public coming up. I'm not sure I will make it to all of them, but I will report on the ones I attend.

Shear fun

Can you relate to this comic strip? I've never shorn a sheep, but I have worked with fleece. There is a cuff-to-cuff sweater in the queue that will use my handspun.

Knitting: Still working on the pocket patch for the L-Bag. Almost ready to knit the ribbing on the socks.
Spinning: Three-plied the three-color skein today until I ran out of the red... then discovered that there is more of the red fiber to spin. I'll spin it, then chain-ply the individual colors to complement the three-ply.

I skipped this month's spinning guild meeting to have some family fun. My son and his girl friend like to visit zoos, so we spent the afternoon at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. In the evening we attended a concert: Big Head Todd and Blues Traveler. Talk about LOUD. My SO turned off his hearing aids, while I was wishing for some ear plugs. We all had a good time, though.

Are hobbies just a distraction?

I like to knit and spin and (sometimes) weave. BUT. Sometimes I think that my hobbies are just a distraction, something to keep me entertained as I grow older. But what else would I want to do?

Well, there are a few things I want to tackle before I'm too old to do so: sort through all the photos I somehow "inherited" when my dad passed away; transcribe my journals; and play tennis.

Back in the day, I taught my son to play tennis, and he went on to be the number one seed on his high school team. So when my granddaughter showed an interest in tennis, I thought I could teach her as well. She has taken a few lessons from parks and rec, but needs to practice more.

Well, I am discovering that I need to practice even more than she does! I can't race around the court like I used to, I get out of breath rather easily, and my shoulder gets tired. But it is something I really enjoy doing, so I'm going to continue, just to have fun.

Knitting: The socks are about halfway up the calf now. I finished the knitting part of the L-Bag - it's large enough for me to wear as a skirt! Now I'm knitting a 12"x12" square to felt along with it, to use for pockets.

Spinning: Still working on the three-color braid.
Weaving: I am sort of finished with the circular weaving from last week. I have a tendency to go too far and ruin something, so I stopped where I am. I may do something more with it, but I'm letting it rest for now.

Here is a sweater I would love to knit or even purchase. The picture is from the cover of the local parks and rec fall catalog. I think it is a style that would work with my lumpy body.

Has anyone seen this sweater anywhere?

Fiber friends

I am an introvert, quite content to just stay home most of the time. But I know that it is important to have at least *some* friends. Of course, there is my SO and my family, which help a lot. But sometimes I just want to hang with some female agemates.

There used to be Women's Weekend, when a bunch of us mothers who knew each other in college would get together twice a year, sans kids, to drink wine, play cards, watch R-rated movies, etc. But all of a sudden, that stopped, I think in part because we became *more* busy as our children became adults. And some members moved out of the area and a couple of them passed away.

I joined the local spinning guild and weaving guild several years ago, which has introduced me to what I now call my fiber friends. For a smaller cadre of us, it is more, though. We sometimes gather at each other's houses to spin and knit and talk. Before the monthly spin-in at Little Shop of Spinning, we usually meet for lunch. We talk about more than fiber.

While I enjoy these gatherings, as an introvert they can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. Like yesterday. It seemed everyone needed to TALK. When I finally arrived home, all I felt like doing was sit and listen to the silence.

Knitting: The sock heels are turned, one of them twice (dropped stitch I could not recover from). I'm *still* knitting the bottom of the L-Bag; I'm pretty sick of that project.
Spinning: I'm on the third color of the three-color skein.
Weaving: Last night I got inspired and started a new circular weaving project. Circular weaving is good for using up bits and bobs of yarn from various workshops.

I thought I had a taker for the basket weaving supplies, but they were a no-show. It may be time for Plan B.