It's a big one!

So! Much exciting news. First: I knit a hat from the yarn I spun!!


It's my own pattern, mostly made up as I went along. From the garter stitch border up is the first fatty skein, knit on Denise 13s. From there down, including earflaps, is the second skinnier, more even skein on 11s. I still have some left over also. I left little nonfunctional stringies at the bottom of the earflaps and a loop at the top to show off the yarn in its unknit state. I think the transformation from yarn to fabric is so interesting. It's so easy to get caught up in people's spinning blogs, etsy shops, or (perfect example) the yarn museum, looking at the pretty lumps of yarn just as themselves, but I never really have any idea of how they'd knit up. Now I have an idea! This hat is so warm and thick and comfy. Mmmm. And we got snow!

So. Second exciting news. While I was home (free washing machine, woop), I figured I'd take advantage and do some felting. This is new for me. I was looking at the marsupial tote in the first stitch n' bitch. Well, not really because the book was elsewhere. But I was thinking of it. So I knit up a big ol' bag with almost a whole thing of Cascade EcoWool. It was HUGE. I tried to put Kirby in it. She would have fit, but she wasn't having it. It had a neat cable on each side, garter stitch bottom and top chunk, handles were more or less big horizontal buttonholes.

Here's a progress pic/"before":

Aand, after:

My hand and Wegman's bag included for scale. It's TINY! pursey, even. It's really thick. The lumpy part on the bottom is what's left of the cable. Looks like if I ever need a lunch box, I've got one.

Anyway. Here's the new project.

Mini-clapotis in Noro Silk Garden. Look at those dropped stitches! Unraveling was never so fun! The yarn feels lovely. I was worried about the high mohair content making me itchy, but I think the silk balances it out. I think this might be nice to knit in art history. There's really not a ton of thinking involved, and I'm afraid 4:30ish might turn into nap time otherwise. Actually, I'd have to be pretty freaking tired to fall asleep during the infamous Gerar.. He really is like a cartoon character. Or muppet. Still. I don't really take notes, and my hands need something to do..

ta da!

It's yarn! I made it! These are my first two skeins from the Louet kit. The first one is way more irregular and fat than the second. I used the park-and-draft method for the second one instead of trying to draft as the spindle was spinning, because that takes more coordination than i'm ready for. But maybe someday.. Or maybe someday I'll just have a spinning wheel, which I think is more like park-and-draft because I could keep both hands on my roving. Tomorrow I'll wash it, along with the hooded sweatervest that needs blocking (and blogging). Hopefully this is enough for a hat! Maybe earflaps.. I'm trying to decide if a raggy, unstructured hat would accompany the uneven wacko yarn well. Maybe a seedstitch border on the flaps and hat.. yes...

Mittens and SPINNING!

So, first of all, an FO:

They're xmas mittens for Ben. He also got glittens lined with Thinsulate after I had finished them and before I gave them to him, but he said these are good too.
Yarn is Lion Brand wool, worsted weight, from Micheal's. Cheap! I held the two colors together.
Needles.. size 5 dpns I think? The fabric's pretty freakin' dense.
The pattern was from The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns by Ann Budd. I changed the decreases on the end of the thumb though, because it ended up too pointy the first time.

And now, my xmas present! I got a gift certificate from my parents to the yarn store.

It's a Louet Drop Spindle kit! Ben got me Craftivity, which has sort of brief instructions on drop spinning. I had sort of been thinking of it, but was hesitating because I have enough knitting stuff going on already. But then I started reading about it more online, and one thing lead to another, and now I'm spinning! The kit came with roving dyed in colors I like a lot, a spindle, directions, and wool wash. The wool wash is patchouli-scented, so I guess I'll be smelling like hippie. Oh well. The pictures show a single that I've made already with the brown and purple together, and I'm going to ply it with a solid single of the red. I want to make enough for a hat. I'm really excited to be adding the step of actually making the yarn to my knitting. I think the finished product will be so much richer because I'm involved in a lot more of the process. I'd like to get into dying also.
I think I'm doing pretty well with it so far. It might be too twisty, but I don't know that i'll really be able to tell until it's plied. I'm also spinning counterclockwise, which isn't really the traditionally 'right' way to do it. I don't really care about that, but I wonder if it's easier that way.

Oh, one more thing:

Noro Silk Garden! SO excited. This is also a gift certificate purchase. It's definitely more expensive than anything I'd buy with my own money. I'm thinking it'll make a nice big drapey scarf. I have this problem with scarves where I don't have enough yarn, and then spend the whole time I'm knitting it trying to maximize what yarn I have. I think this is enough to safely avoid that. Now I just need a pattern..