WOM Update

Hi, All. Happy Labor Day Weekend. I'm been busier than a one-armed paper hanger. Anyway, I thought I'd flash my progress on the shawl. Sorry about the BAD photos.

This is the second go-around with this shawl. I was about this far and just didn't like one of the design elements of it. So, I ripped it out and have caught back up.


Where the green pin is located is the line I changed the shawl design just a smidge. I really didn't like the 2 YO's on either side of the center stitch line, so I have been just Making one one either side and I like it better. Hope I can work on it this weekend a little more.

the yarn is finished!

I have 1460 yds of Sports Weight.
Spun on the Roberta Electric Spinner.
Fiber content: Mohair/Alpaca/Wool in random proportions.
It will go to the Wasatch Wool Pack Team exchange for this year. I want a plain cardigan so I can brush the garment and get the fuzz out of the mohair.
More pictures on my blog.
The yarn was abused while washing and spun tight enough so it will not shed.....hopefully!

Yarn spun and dyed!

I finally finished spinning up my yarn this weekend. It was from a 1 lb. fleece of 50%bluefaced leicester/50% leicester longwool and it is so soft. I have a total of 856 yds which I dyed with onion skins. It turned out the most beautiful shade of burnt orange. The luna moth shawl from elann.com is what I plan to use it for. I'm excited about this as I've spun a lot of handspun in 2 years, but have not used any of it.;)
Jillan

Progress made

I haven't posted in forever, and my work on this project was a bit stagnated. I've finally chosen the fiber and have completed 1/2 of the spinning. I was anxious to see how it would turn out, so the first 1/2 is spun, plyed and has had the twist set. I've got 240 yards of 2 ply, 14WPI yarn from 4 oz. I still have 4 oz left to spin. Colonial wool top from Ashland bay. Haven't taken a picture of the yarn yet, but here's a pic of the roving. I'll be knitting the Clementine Shawlette with this yarn.



Sherie
WhimsyKnits

New Toy!!! Need help...

Ok so I haven't posted in a while. Mostly because the spindle spinning was taking too long for me, and seemed too fussy. I like it, but it's also a pain. Anyway, I have been keeping my eye out and found that a lady about five mins down the road from me had a wheel for sale. So when I got the money for it, I checked, and she still had it. Here it is! It's an Ashford Traditional that's been updated with a three speed flyer. Since I'd never used a wheel before she gave me a good detailed how to, and what's what on the wheel. It's no problem, I've picked up on how to use it. I was having trouble with spinning the practice fiber she gave me (not sure what it was, but it was tough to draft), so I switched to my merino that I'd been using to spindle spin, and in no time was spinning along nice lace weight yarn. All was well till I broke it b/c I accidentally drafted too thin.

So here's the issue. I can't get it to reattach, it just keeps unwinding and pulling off more and more. I figured with so many lace spinners here, maybe someone could give me tips or something? I'm going nuts. Please help!!! :D Oh and as a side note I've switched to the smallest wheel for a higher twist? Is that right? I was told that was better for fine yarns.

Here are the pics, please ignore everything around it, I'm in the middle of reorganizing the whole area.

Back:Flyer:
Front!
I'm seriously in love with this already though, even with the speed bumps, I've spun a good bit on it before that and it's better than I ever imagined!

spinning away

Well, I've been working on this for a while and still have a ways to go. So far I have about 300 yds spun. The colors are purple, blue, and teal, but the flash washed it out a bit. It's a merino/silk blend and I'm doing a 2-ply. Just wanted to post a progress photo.

Singles Ready!

The 2nd skein of yarn is now finished to join the first :) I now have 6.8 ounces of yarn, approximately 950 yards with which I plan to cast on for the Wing o the Moth. You can just see the sparkle of angelina fiber in the photo - it's terribly difficult to capture, I'm hoping I manage to capture it in the finished work. The difference you see in the yarns is due to the fact that the smaller skein is spun from a carded batt, while the larger skein was spun from the exact same fibers handblended at the wheel.

Long Overdue..

I'm long overdue for an update post. I finished plying my yarn last month and I should be pleased with it. Unfortunately the inner critic in me won't stop voicing objections. It's not as even as it could be. It's not as soft as it should be.


I finally stopped listening to that terrible voice in my head and started the Flower Basket Shawl. The pleasure of knitting with my own yarn finally silenced the critic within and I can't recall a more joyous lace project.

I'm using size 3US/3.25mm Addi Lace needles and as many of you have found out, they're perfect. As for the yarn, it may not be perfect but it certainly isn't all that shabby either.

Opal
the Akamai Knitter

First Pictures, baby shawl

Here is my shawl (just begun), spun on an old Elizabeth wheel I picked up at a yard sale. The fibery goodness is merino/cashmere/finn, worked up to a lace weight and 2ply. This is still early in my spinning career, so to make life easy, but slightly challenging, I have decided to knit a baby shawl. I am using the Bird’s Nest shawl from the book Knitting Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle. Here is the first pattern repeat. Onward and upward. For scale, our five cents (pictured) is a little larger than your nickle. The shawl has been scaled down, I am using 132 stitches, and with the yardage should get a nicely sized baby shawl when completed. (Can you tell I hope one day for grandchildren to wrap in something cloud soft - a new heirloom)

Some Progress on my Shawl

A Dragonfly

Here is a photo of some of what I have done so far on my shawl. It is a Pi shawl with the theme Bugs in Your Garden. There are more photos on my blog

-Amy

Finished Forest Canopy

This little project worked up quickly. The roving was from May's selection of the Spunky Club, color Nightshade. I spun it into singles (apx 400 yds fingering weight). The shawl is Forest Canopy by Susan Lawrence and it was a quick and fun shawl which took only a couple of weeks to knit.


You can read more about it on my blog.
Thank you for inspiring me to knit a shawl with my handspun!
Margene

This is my first post on this blog. This is what I'm going to be spinning for my next lace project. I've not decided which one I'm going to use yet, but I'm spinning them both laceweight on these spindles!

Another yarn done

I finished this yarn today. I am going to be using it to make a Pi shawl called Bugs in Your Garden. It is a 60/40 Merino-Bamboo blend. All the specs and more photos are on my blog

-Amy

Done Plying

The alpaca, wool, mohair, and silk is now spun and 2-plied. I ended up with 10 ounces at 1210 yards. More than enough for the Wing of the Moth Shawl. The colors got pretty much muddied up, but there are some patches that have some better color. Just have to knit it up and see how it turns out. It is very soft and a bit fuzzy.

Spider Web Shawl

This is my first post to the KAL. I am Amy from Amy's Babies and I have become smitten with laceweight yarn and shawls knit from them. This is just one of at least 3 handspun shawls I have in mind.

This yarn is BFL spun laceweight in the Tulip colorway from Spunky Eclectic. I got over 1300 yards out of this fiber. You can read more about my experaments in laceweight at my blog.

Here is what the fiber is going to become. It is the Spider Web shawl from Victorian Lace Today. I decided I wanted 4 sections for my shawl. It isn't much yet, but it is knitting up so quickly.

Forest Canopy Shawl Spun and Begun

My first goal was rather ambitious for a fairly new spinner so I have changed my mind and picked an easier, more doable project. I am a member of Amy's Spunky Club and have enjoyed her fiber choices over the last few months. In July the selection was a coopworth wool she called Nightshade. I spun it in a single, my first attempt at singles, and did a fairly god job of it! I predrafted the roving and put only enough twist in to hold it together. The single looked great but needed some 'finishing'. In an effort to see how it would knit up I made a small swatch and was very pleased with the fabric.


The singles sat on the bobbin for a few days and then on the niddy noddy for a few days more in an effort to relax the twist a bit. A friend suggested I steam it while on the niddy noddy so it would relax more quickly and I did just that. You can read a bit about my day of finishing several handspun yarns here. The finished singles were more beautiful than I imagined and I decided the yarn would make a lovely shawl.

The shawl is Susan Lawrence's Forest Canopy. Susan designed it for a beginning lace knitter and while my skills are more intermediate it's a fun and easy shawl to knit. I think it will be beautiful and I'll come back with pictures once I'm finished.


I love the way the colors change in the pattern already!

Margene

Silk Swallowtail

Hello All:

I started my third-ever shawl made out of my own silk laceweight handspun. I finished this yarn over 2 months ago. I kept it in my stash and pet it as much as I could. But I really wanted to make Swallowtail. Here is the beginning of the pattern. This is only the first chart, and the first repeat of the second chart.

You can read more about this project and yarn on my blog.

First Repeat of the Border (Legends of the Shetland Seas)

I'm now working on the border for this stole and this is the first repeat. I have to do this three times then do the other end before I get to do the edging. The row of bead holes seperates the body of the stole from the border. Nice and simple knitting.

This Should Help

Yesterday I bought a new toy. It should help me spin my yarn a little faster. So far I'm in love. The roving that I am using in the photos is for practice, since I am new to wheel spinning. Once I am more confident I'll start on the Merino I am using for my Spun Stitches shawl.

on with the shawl!

I finished my pound of handcarded, 2 ply, light worsted border leister wool. I was a little hesitant about spinning and hand carding so much yarn, but really it went by pretty fast.



I had a private crochet lesson at my LYS to get me going on the Fourth-Generation shawl from the winter Spin Off. I am a novice in crochet, but once I got going (and a few false starts) this is a really easy pattern.

I'm starting to like crochet more and more, and it really has a possibility to help it eat some of my excess stash quickly. Crochet I have learned usually takes up more yards then knitting, which fr us a bit overburdened in the yarn closet can be a relief.