Spinning with the Fibership

I've been test-driving my new Grafton Fibership and it's spinning up my new fiber quite nicely. This is the Cloverleaf Farms Merino/Tussah in Seamist. It's looking really beautiful. Very heathery. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to make with it though I'm thinking maybe a hat. I only bought 4oz. so something small.

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival

I went to the Maryland Sheep & Wool festival last weekend to see my friend Janel who was a vendor and to do a bit of animal petting and to do a bit (well, a lot) of shopping. I had no idea just how bad my fiber addiction was. I had a great time and bought way more than I should have... The sheep dog trials were so fun and amazing to watch. Oh, and I really wanted to get an alpaca! I wonder how that would work in my small Manhattan apartment.

So here are tons of photos of stash and fiber critters.

From Chameleon Colorworks - Spindlewood drop spindle in purpleheart and beautiful natural black baby alpaca fiber:

From Chameleon Colorworks - Hand dyed boucle yarn:

From Chameleon Colorworks - "Bambino" bamboo/merino superwash sock yarn

From the Yarn Barn - Chasing Rainbows silk hankie in Juniper Berry colorway:

From the Yarn Barn - Chasing Rainbows bombyx top in Abalone colorway:

From the Yarn Barn - Bonkers Tencel 'n Merino in Funky Green:

From Cloverleaf Farms - (l-r) Merino/Tencel in Peacock, Merino/Tussah in Seamist, Merino/Tussah in Green

From Brooks Farm Yarn - (l-r) "Acero" superwash wool/silk/viscose, "Primero" 100% kid mohair

From Seaport Yarn - Grafton Fibership spindle

From the extremely generous Sheila and Michael Ernst - a stunning glass button

From Carolina Homespun - a fun little sheep needle size and guage check


And apparently it is not permissable to leave until you've stood in line forever and purchased some of the festival merchandise which is actually quite nice!



And now a few of the cutest fiber animals ever!

Sheep (of course!):

Sleepy angora goat:

Fluffy bunny:

Sheered alpacas with fancy hairdos:

Lovely llama:

Happy sheep:

Sock Do-Over

I've decided to start my sock over from the beginning. My knitting guru guide Janel had gotten me started, but without a pattern, and she sadly lives 3,000 miles away so I really needed something to follow if I wanted to get any further with this on my own. So I found this fun Nancy Bush pattern "Rib and Cable Socks" from the Fall 2005 Interweave Knits. It seems pretty simple but the cables add a little zing.

And can I just say that I love cables - they are easy and look like you've done something fancy!

A Little Yarn Porn

For those so inclined...


This is Alchemy Haiku (40% silk, 60% mohair) in amethyst. Purchased at Purl Soho - a very dangerous store for any yarn addicts. This store is very small but they have only the most exquisite yarn. I consider it an "artisanal yarn store". As mentioned in my previous post I was going to get some more of the Rowan Kidsilk Haze but since the dye lots were so different, I decided to get something completely different and now this is going to be for my next lace project. All of the Alchemy yarns are heavenly. This one is so soft and the color is so rich. I can't wait to use it!

Lace Beginnings

Now on to a new project. I've been drooling over everybody's lace projects from Victorian Lace Today so I finally got myself a copy of the book and now I want to make nearly everything in it! Unfortunately, I've never knit lace before but now's as good a time as any to start! I actually have nearly an entire skein of Rowan Kidsilk Haze left over from the embroidery on my Shriek sweater so I figured I'd use that for my first lace project. I tried to get a few more skeins but the dye lots were just too different so my first project is just going to be a long skinny lace scarf. I'm using the diamond pattern in Victorian Lace Today with far fewer repeats. Here are my small beginnings:


I'm using the new Addi lace needles which I really like. Having never knit lace before I can't really give any authoritative review but I can say that the very pointy tips do seem to be very helpful.

FO-Fetching Mitts

PATTERN: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath from Knitty Summer 2006
YARN: Knit Picks Andean Silk in Sangria
NEEDLES: Takumi Bamboo DPNs, US size 6

I loved knitting this pattern and I'm really happy with the end result. This was my first time knitting with double pointed needles which is a bit like wrestling with an octopus especially when you add in a cable needle but I more or less got the hang of it and it was a quick and easy knit. The Knit Picks yarn is nice and soft and, of course, very reasonably priced.

I'm pretty sure I'll be making a few more pairs of these as I've already had several requests for some Fetching gifts!

FO-Shriek Sweater

PATTERN: Shriek by Kim Hargreaves from Rowan #32
YARN: Rowanspun DK in #747 "Catkin" (4 skeins), Rowan Kidsilk Haze in #592 "Heavenly" for embroidery
NEEDLES: Addi Turbos US size 6 & 3

Finally finished! I blocked this sweater with my fancy new blocking board and put it together this weekend. This is a perfect beginner's sweater and no sleeves meant it was that much less work. I used the spec'd Rowan yarn which I was not crazy about - it wasn't very soft and broke easily. And I ran out of it only to discover that it had been discontinued - no surprise. Fortunately, the internet is a wonderful place and I just did a google search and quickly found myself another skein.

Now, we'll see how long it takes me to finish my Union Square Market sweater... I am almost done with the body but this sweater has sleeves and I know those take a long time!