Note on yarn weights

I have noticed over and over that people especially newer spinners seem to think that shawls are knit only with lace weight. This is far from true. Many patterns are made for other weights of yarn. My favorite shawl is actually is a big hug of comfort made in handspun worsted weight yarn.

Many of the prettiest lace designs are designed with fingering weight yarn or heavier weight yarns in mind. Fiber Trends is well know for having patterns that list a number of yarn sizes for their lace shawl patterns. Many Sivia Harding designs are made for fingering or sport weight yarns. So spin a yarn you like and are comfortable spinning then go looking for a pattern.

Just a sampling of some lovely patterns on the web using other then lace weight yarns. The Bell Shawl is designed for sport weight yarn. The Feather and Fan Comfort Shawl was originally knit in a mix of DK yarns. Lion Brand has a beautiful triangle lace shawl that is done in Homespun which is a bulky thick and thin yarn! For those that can see it here is the Lion Brand link Homespun Diamond Shawl.

The moral here is whatever weight you can spin and whether it is thick and thin or smooth there is a shawl pattern out there that can show it off.

Newbie question

Hi there
I have not knit lace before and I am a newbie spinner.
I have finished spinning one batt of my Shetland and am trying to figure something out.
Can I knit with my singles?? I know that you can, but in some cases the yarn will twist creating a visible line--but I don't' think I can spin it thin enough to create a 2 ply laceweight yarn.

Thoughts??

Batts for Shawl

Here are the batts that I carded up for the shawl. I'm going to lay each the three colors on top of each other and pull into roving. I hope to maintain some seperation of the colors. We'll see how it turns out. Wish me luck!

Black and silver/brown alpaca
Tussah silk and grey Coopworth

Brown Cotswold and red Kid-Mohair

Pattern Chosen

I finally chose the pattern that I'm going to use. It is the Barbara Shawl. I have 600 yards of 2-ply fingering weight yarn, spun out of cormo in shades of green and yellow. I have the first repeat done and working on the second one. I love the way it it turning out.

Gorgeous Stuff

Man, there have been so many beautiful things posted on here, that I just can't keep up with the comments. You guys are doing some magnificent things. All I can say is: WOW!

Legends of the Shetland Seas (Hazel Carter Stole)

Here is the first pattern repeat for "Legends of the Shetland Seas" since I was waiting to see if I would have to be on Jury Duty today. Knit on US 2 needles. The colors change nicely for me but when I get to do the edging, I'm going to spin a little extra yarn without any big color shifts since I think that will look nicer in the long run. This will take awhile since I'm knitting multiple shawls/stoles and rotate them but at least I've made a start!

Mission Control, We Have Yarn

I have plied one strand of Lisa Souza merino and one strand of Lisa Souza BFL to make this yarn. Spun 36 WPI on both my Schacht and my sisters Majacraft Rose. I did not bother to put this into a skein. I just wound it from the bobbin onto a ballwinder with a toilet paper roll in the center that had be cut down and taped so it would remain as the center of this ball. That way, if there is some over-twist it won't kink up in the middle while I use it. I don't have a lot of over twist and what there is will block out when I go to knit the shawl. If I leave it wound in this form long enough, it will block on it's own actually. Will post soon once I get a little on the needles. I will be making "Legends of the Shetland Seas" by Hazel Carter on US 2 needles. I will be posting my progress on this stole here and on my own blog. For those who were asking about what missalicefaye would be knitting with that green yarn I spun, she is swatching for something out of Victorian Lace Today and will post it later on her blog.

Finished

I finished knitting last night, and blocked this morning....


I will definitely stick around and after a break I'd like to do another shawl, for me next time maybe, and a lot slower paced! All the details for this are on my blog. I look forward to seeing others progress and getting inspired for my next one!

-Lucy

Blue scarf

I've finished the first border on the blue scarf in Victorian Lace Today. The first repeat went nicely, the second not so well (I've been calling it the Bourdain curse as the errors occurred whenever I was watching Anthony Bourdain on tv) and the third went "swimmingly," as a friend of mine used to say.

The yarn was spun on my St. Helens spindle (Cascade) and plied on my Rio Grande Wheel. More on my blog, merrypurl.com.

Finally a post about me. My name is Gemma, I have been spinning for approximately four months, but I was able to purchase a spinning wheel second hand, and so have been having some fun for a while. This rainforest wool is the fourth bundle of roving I have spun, and I get more consistent with each new project, so hopefully the next lot (which is caramel coloured merino/camel) will be suitable for a lacy shawl. But to show how far I have come so far, here is the hardware and the finished software, but still a little coarse for a shawl.
I got 18 wpi for this spinning, and I am almost embarrassed to admit it, as you all spin so beautifully and so much more finely.... this is quite a learning curve for me, and I will just have to see where it takes me.

Cheers from Australia

hey there

Hi! I just joined a little bit ago after lurking for a (long) while. My name's Emily and I've been knitting for 4 years but I'm pretty new to spinning. I only started last fall. I already have 3 skeins of yarn spun up and a pattern picked out but, my mom took her camera with her to New York to visit my nephew so, no pics till she comes back. But, I'll be sure to post some as soon as I can.

HI

I don't think I've been by to introduce myself yet.
I am spinning some Chocolate Brown Sheltand that I got from a local farm:

I'm not yet sure what pattern I will be making--something easy as I 've never knit lace before.
Just wanted to pop over and say hello!

My blog is here:

Questions about Coopworth

i have 3 lbs of Coopworth that i got as a birthday present in march. i finally got more bobbins to use to spin it up, but i started & it's way too "wild" to be laceweight, which is how i was spinning. luckily i didn't have to get very fal at all to see this. i was wondering if anyone has suggestions for spinning it and has spun/is spinning it. i've seen that it is best for outerwear & rugs, but i don't want to use 3 lbs of roving just to make something i'm gonna step & walk all over.

Alternate Skein Winder

Thanks Tyler! Your suggestion to use my umbrella swift as a skein winder worked. At first I resisted the idea thinking how awkward it would be. Then I read somewhere else in the blog-o-sphere (can't remember exactly where) that it works well if the swift is mounted sideways, on the table leg, instead of in its usual position on a table top.



Well, look at that! It does work. I tied a non-stretchy string into a circle of exactly 2 yards and then opened the swift until it fit the string. I then tied a colourful piece of yarn to one section of the swift as a marker. Rotating the swift around and around by hand (easily done by hanging onto one of the 'spokes') I counted each pass the marker string made.



I have at least 760 yards of 22 WPI, 2 ply laceweight in one continuous strand. (The handspun wasn't as tight on the swift as the measuring string was so I figure each 'lap' was slightly more than the 2 yards I counted.) I have a wee bit more that I have Andean plyed from what was leftover on one of the bobbins after plying. I'll likely use that bit for my gauge swatch/es.



The beads are leftover from another project. There won't be enough to do the shawl, but they match so well that I'll take them with me when I'm hunting down some more. I think I know where I got them.

Ready To Be Sent (Not The One I Will Use)

Two skeins of 70/30 Merino/Silk. One skein at 750 yds the other at 647 yds for a total of 1,397 yds spun at an average of 30-32 WPI. I say an average because it's not consistent enough to be an exact measure. I will not be knitting with this yarn because I will be sending it of to missalicefaye to knit with. Why you ask? Because I love to see her knitting, because I have tons of this fiber, and because I can. I'm still working on my own yarn and I'm half way through the second bobbin . I hope to be done in a week or so between my other activity's. Happy Spinning/Knitting To All!

Spindolyn!!!

My spindolyn finally arrived today!!! I'm so excited to use it but I have to wait for the little ones to go off to bed before I get to try it. It's so pretty! A little bit smaller than I thought it would be, but perfect anyway!

Knitting has begun

I have been knitting since the beginning of the week (picture from tuesday night):



I've been working quickly on this wing of the moth. If it looks nice enough when it's done I have plans for it that involve it being done next week.... if it doesn't, then I'll just keep it :)

I started the second chart tonight, and have lots of knitting plans for the weekend.

When this is done, I'd like to stay with the group and do a slightly slower paced shawl for myself. ...once my sanity has returned that is :)

- Lucy

Alpaca Lace and an Intro

Hello everyone - While I've spun for almost 3 years this is my first lace project. I bought this alpaca 2 years ago and finally I'm getting around to spinning it. I'm not sure which project to do with this yet, so I'm just spinning first and seeing how far it goes.
My first lace singles...



If anyone is planning on attending the Midwest Fiber Festival - I've signed up for the spinning lace class on Sunday morning. I'm hoping to practice more before then and then really pick up some refining tips for the future.

~ Madame Purl

Plyed and Busted

I don't think I've ever had one of these large, Majacraft bobbins so full! I plyed and plyed and in the end I got nearly 250g of 2 ply laceweight (22 WPI) on there. I'd love to tell you how many yards that made but ----



--- when I had counted off well over 300 wraps (on a 2 yard niddy noddy) the piece of junk broke under the strain. I knew it was cracked, and I've ordered a new one, but I was hoping the loosely jointed, weak, poorly designed, piece of good for nuthin' kindling would hold together long enough to finish this job. As it was I had to yelp for help before hundreds of yards of handspun became hopelessly tangled.



I quickly finished winding the skein while my husband held it on his outstretched arms. *whew*



It's had it's bath and is hanging (perfectly balanced, *woo hoo*!) to dry. Hopefully I'll be able to borrow a yardage counter to get an accurate length before choosing a shawl design.

Prepped and Waiting...

This would be my bowl of fiber that is prepped and waiting to be spun - it's a blend of merino wool and angora - I've not yet decided if I want to add a little bit of sparkly stuff in or not - and I also haven't decided what I'm going to try to knit with it - to get it to be lace weight is going to be a trick, but certainly worth trying seeing as the angora is so warm!

Eat, Drink and Be Merry, For Tomorrow We Ply!

I now have two bobbins of the "green stuff" IE, the merino/silk blend that I have tons of at home. This is not for me to knit with however. I'm going to be sending it, providing it is decent, to missalicefaye, knitter extraordinaire! She has just finished her Wedding Ring Shawl from the pattern by Sharon Miller and it is exquisite! I can't think of a better person to Beta test my lace weight yarn. Hope it is good enough for her to use. Tomorrow we will be finding out. I'm almost done with the second bobbin for the yarn I will actually be using for my own shawl for this spin/knit along but I will get this done first!

Indigo!

Today, I completed the indigo dyeing process by washing out my yarn. I am so excited. I love the color. And, I love the fact that I have spun this yarn, dyed it, and now I get to knit it.

Tomorrow, we leave for the Balck Sheep Gathering in Eugene, Oregon. I plan to sit in the car and start knitting my shawl! I hope to have a photo for all of you when I get back showing some progress!

Intro

Hey all, I'm Kelly. I joined a few weeks ago but I've been busy with the kids and haven't had time to post until today.

I decided on making the triangle shoulder shawl in cherry leaf pattern from Victorian Lace Today. The fiber is from http://www.sheepshed.net/. It's merino/tencel in Caitlin's way. I started spinning it up last week on my Kromski Symphony and I'm almost done. Hopefully I'll have the finished yarn to show you next week.

Happy spinning!
http://thegabbyknitter.com

Considering Mountain Peaks --- OR ---

I've been on the computer all morning searching for just the right shawl pattern. I'm still not sure exactly what I want, but I'm narrowing it down.

I don't want circular or square --- twice the knitting (and yarn!) and the second half doesn't really show --- otherwise I'd do the Tina Shawl.

I don't want rectangular either as I find stoles awkward to wear.

I do like "Birch", but I'd like something with a bit of variety in the stitch patterns --- not one pattern throughout.

I also like the look of an elaborate border.

72" wingspan would be perfect.

I'd like to add beads, although they don't have to be present in the original pattern.

The Mountain Peaks Shawl might work --- or ---

I love the look of the Peacock Feathers Shawl, but I've done it already and I'm not normally one to repeat a pattern. I might just decide to do it again anyway. It's such a beautiful shawl. I've never found one I like as much. It's been two years since the last ---

--- Help me, I'm falling again!

Another Intro.

Hi, I am Laura, aka soapturtle. My home on the 'net is here.

I joined a couple of weeks ago, but haven't felt chatty lately, so I am just now getting to my intro.

I have just finished spinning up around 800 yards of2 ply heavy lace/fingering weight and now just have to decide on what pattern to use with it. Whatever I choose, I think I am going to throw some beads on it as well.

Black Rainbow

My supervisor, Shelby, posing with my "hardware", a Little Gem II.



And on the wheel ---



--- the beginnings of 250g of "Black Rainbow" a dyed, Halfbred wool blended with 10% rainbow glitter. I bought it from the Aurelia booth at Fibrefest International. I'm spinning it fine, to become a 2ply laceweight.

I hope to use the finished yarn for a beaded, evening type shawl to use in the holiday season. I still haven't picked a pattern though. Any suggestions? I'd like something reasonably complex --- not just one stitch pattern throughout, and I seem to lean toward triangular or faroese shawls though I would consider others.

Yarn ready, now to decide on pattern

I got my yarn all spun and plied, but ended up with only 600 yards out of the 16 ounces of fiber :( Not to sure of my wpi, but when I measure it, it seems to be 11 wpi, which doesn't make sense as it seems thinner than that, as you can see from the picture. Oh, well...now to decide what shawl pattern to make.
I have a couple of free ones, but I'm not to sure if the yarn would look good in a fancy lace pattern or if I would have enough to make one. If anyone has a recommendation for a pattern that I can make out with the yardage and wpi I have, please let me know.

Introduction

Hi. My name is Marlene. Thanks for allowing me to join the group.

I've only been spinning for about 2 years now but I learned to knit over 40 years ago. I love to knit lace and have completed several shawls, including the Swallowtail Shawl above, which was knit in my own spindle-spun 2 ply. There are more details about it on my blog, "Wovenflame", if you are interested.

I'll be back over the next several days with pictures of my "hardware", current "software", and perhaps some ideas of where I will be taking it.

Almost One Bobbin Full (How About a Circular Shawl?)

I have almost filled one of the bobbins with a single of the green merino/silk and I just got a new book that I pre-ordered from Amazon. "Wrapped in Comfort" by Alison Jeppson Hyde. It looks really good to me and the shawls and are designed to stay on your shoulders. There are a few scarves as well for those who would prefer a quicker knit. She has both written and charted instructions for those who prefer one over the other and there are various degrees of difficulty from beginning lace knitter to experienced. The needle sizes are very reasonable (US 9 or US 10 most of the time). Now I've lately been knitting on small needles, but these patterns are very graceful and look terrific in the larger gage. Depending on the yarn when it's done, I might just have to make one of these lovely shawls with hands spun. The green yarn is not the one I'm going to knit with. I've promised some to missalicefaye to knit with so that's that. Good Spinning and Good Knitting!

Introduction - Finally got myself spinning for the KAL

Hi there, I'm CAT.....
I'm so excited to be a part of this group because I've only been spinning since last fall. You can see my learning experience in 2 episodes of my video podcast LetsKnit2gether and more recently on my blog.

I haven't yet spun anything laceweight and I felt like this Spin/KAL would help inspire me to get there and I can reach out to you all for advice along the way...

Software: I got this pound of blended Colonial Wool from CJ Kopec Creations

I love the colors with Purples, greens and black. It has a staple length of 4-5 inches and it is spinning up beautifully. I'm predrafting a lot beforehand because I'm still not that experienced spinning fine.

Hardware: Fricke E-Spinner

I've only had this since January. Before that I was spinning on a support spindle, so I'm really still only learning how to use it.

At this point, I'm spinning at 36wpi....

I'm running nearly the top speed for the larger pulley. If I switch to the smaller pulley, I may be able to get to 40wpi without running the motor so high. I'm going to try that this weekend.
I haven't yet chosen the project I want to do yet, I'm waiting for the spun yarn to inspire me. These are the ones under consideration....

Well, that's it for now...Happy Spinning!!!

Getting better...

So here is a pic of the three mini skeins I've got. I've been spinning as much as I can at once and then winding it off with my ball winder and plying it on itself, like the inside and outside strand. Here we can see my progress. The top skein is the best one and the last one I've done, also it is finally a true lace weight yarn. The second middle one has the same yardage as the first but is thicker. The bottom skein is my first yarn skein from this fiber and you can really tell the difference. It's got a tad bit more yardage but mostly it's bigger, about sock weight. I was more than thrilled with my last skein, I was afraid I'd never get it thin enough that it would be lace when plied! So if I get enough I won't use those two skeins but we'll see. For now the total is only really 100 yards or so, including those two. Slow going! My spindolyn should be here by Monday or Tuesday at the latest and I'm hoping that will help me out as well.

spinning for laceweight

hi, my name's jen & i'm relatively new to the group. i've been hiding & looking at everyone's awesome stuff. hopefully mine will be good. i learned to spin on a spindle (i've got about 4 now) but started asking for a wheel shortly after. this is the tool of my madness. it's a kromski prelude. i got it for my 22nd birthday. it's a nice beginner wheel, but i've got my sights set on another kromski, maybe a mazurka or a minstrel. maybe perhaps a sonata. i just like the onboard kate with the prelude.


here's some laceweight i've been spinning up. not finished yet, (it IS laceweight) but hope to be soon. it's about 4 oz. of black bunny fibers in the peaches (no herb) colorway, 100% falkland wool. it's awesome to spin, but i think i say that about everything since i tried to spin my first yarn out of merino.






i spun up some lorna's laces wool top as weel. you can see pics of those on my blog.

Lookie what came for me today

It's the high speed flyer kit I ordered for my Louet wheel. The kit included a high speed flyer, three fat core bobbins, and a spare drive band for much less than I've been able to find them elsewhere.

Since I chose the free (slow) shipping option I really didn't expect these to show up until sometime next week at the earliest. In them meantime, I started spinning one of my precious Grafton Fiber batts Sunday at my fiber guild meeting.

Flower Basket Shawl

Hi all, I've done it! The Flower Basket Shawl is finished and I want to do more of it! It needed only 312yds! There are lots more pictures and the specifics on my blog. I'm already spinning for my next project. So happy! ;o)

Hello to all . . . New member

Hi All:

I am new to Spun Stitches. I've been spinning for over two years--started with spindle, now have a Babe Production, and am drooling over a Majacraft. I enjoy spinning laceweight to fingering weight. I caught the lace spinning bug, and make shawls out of it. The most current spinning project is some self, handpainted superwash roving.

The most recent, completed spun stitches is a laceweight yarn turned into a flower basket shawl.

And the next knitting from handspun that comes to mind is a Peacock Shawl out of this lovely yarn:

Please check out the blog for more projects. I can't wait to see more of your inspiring creations.

Introduction

Hi Everyone,

My name is Necia, and I can be found online here
I heard about this Along during one of my many blog hops. I have to say I'm excited to be here, although I'm pretty clueless as to which direction I plan on taking.

Here's a pic of my hardware:

A Fricke DT that I absolutely adored, and have renamed Lucie Liu. I purchased her at last year's Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool Festival.

As far as software, I'm confused which way to go. Maybe ya'll can help. I have some Punta roving, which is a long haired fiber. I can easily dye that, but oh what color? And, will it make a good shawl. I guess the only way to find out is to swatch.

My other option is also from the stash. A microblend from Paradise fibers called Mocha Raspberry. It's a superwash nylon blend.


Here you can see pics of both.

Then there's the option of going with Merino Tencel, and buying a glorious colorway. Oh the pain of making a decision. Speaking of decisions, which shawl should I knit.

I guess I'll mull over this for another week, before making a decision. Feel free to chime in if you have any suggestions.

Necia

And Just Like That

I saw something shiny and wandered away from my initial plan. I was going to spin up the Lorna's that I posted a few weeks ago, but then I stumbled on Mystery Stole 3 and was instantly sucked in. The recommended colors to use are black or white, and I just happen to have alpaca in both those "colors" staring at me. In fact, I have a bobbin half full of black singles already, but it's a bit heavier than what this calls for.

I think this works out perfectly, especially since I was still undecided on a pattern. I don't know what the story will be behind this pattern, but I've already picked out beads. As the first portion of the pattern is released at the end of the month, I think I have some spinning to do in order to stay on top of things and not fall too far behind. Now the question is, singles or 2-ply?

Here's My Stats

Hello all. I've never participated in a KAL so this will be fun for me.
Here's the hardware:My trusty Ashford Traditional w/WooLee Winder.Next...My inspiration...

This Promethia Moth hung out on my porch all night and most of the day.So, here's the software that I came up with from my stash....

Clockwise from top)Deep Brown Cotswold. Tussah Silk, Grey/Brown Alpaca, Black Alpaca, Red Kid Mohair, and a Light Grey Hogget Coopworth.I decided that the only pattern that I could possibly use is the Wing-of-the-Moth . So, I guess I better get to prepping the fiber. Looking forward to seeing how we all progress.

Fiber Spun!

I started spinning this three years ago on my Little Si spindle, but kept having to put it away due to my grandchildren. Now I am spinning it on my Babe Pinkie wheel, using a piece of the original spindle spun as a leader, so that I can match weights, which I am doing. In the last three days I have spun the last 6 batts. I will be working on plying it today, so I can set the twist and see how what the wpi and yardage is. Here the singles waiting to be plied: and one of the last batts to be spun:

Hey gals..concerning your yardage

Ok, there's been some talk about yardage and how much do you need. If there wasn't, then maybe it was me in the back of my mind doubting that 2 ounces alone (no matter how thinly spun) won't knit up a great big shawl. So, I did some research on the topic. I was wondering if there was a great way to use a conversion table in finding out how many yards I need without having to knit the darn shawl in the first place only to find out I got half way through. Or worse, all the way to the last row and be completely out of fiber.

So, in my research, I came across this site. It's perfect for spinners and knitters. Here's some great topic points that stuck out at me.


"The Hundred Yard Rule
Check out Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' Knitting in the Old Way for her "100 yard Rule": Basically, WPI of your yarn times 100, equals the yardage needed to knit a size 36" stockinette stitch "standard" fitting long sleeved sweater. Add or subtract 10% for each size above or below the 36. Add 20% for cables. Guesstimate color work by % and divide for each color by it's percentage of the garment. "


"Now how many yards per inch? Or inches per yard?
Now you go back to your final swatch - the one that has the gauge and pattern stitch you intend to use for this garment. Carefully measure the total area of the swatch, pinning it flat if needed. Mark on the yarn, with a pin or a knot, where the swatch begins, and gently pull it out, having of course written down all the specifics of gauge to two places, and needle size (no you won't remember - write it down). When you have pulled out the swatch, measure the yardage of the yarn used. Now you know that it took, say 25 yards to make a 4 x 4.5 inch swatch. Now you figure the area of the swatch. 4 x 4.5 is 18 square inches. So you know that it takes 25 yards exactly for 18 square inches. How many yards does it take for 253 square inches?"


"Measuring options:

• Skein winder with yarn counter - it's possible to buy an add on yarn counter to attach to a skein winder or ball winder. Accurate and expensive.
• Two yard skeins - just count them. Cheap, not very accurate. It depends a lot on how evenly and loosely the skein is wound, so check that it's really two yards - just cause you wound it on a two yard skein winder doesn't mean it stayed that way. Multiply length of standard wrap (off the winder) by number of wraps."

This one is great for me, being the last person on the earth to not have a niddy noddy. I can just use the legs of a chair. Measure it. Multiply that by how many wraps I have. Divide that by 36, and I have my yardage. (I'm so glad I have a calculator :D)

This site can be found here

There is also another site that converts yardage into ounces, butit actually only does it per pound basis. Unless I'm wrong, but I didn't see how many yards of lace weight would convert into 1 ounce. Although I'm sure some quick math would take care of that.

Yards into Pounds.

These sites were a great help to me, so I'm hoping to pass on some ease of stress to you guys. :D

Half Spun

I posted about a week ago with my fiber and hardware (ashford wheel and spindolyn). ...I've made some progress:


I've got about 580-590 yards of it done - and I ordered more angora and it arrived over the weekend (fast shipping!!). I'm about to start spinning the second half tonight. I still haven't decided on a pattern, although I'm planning to visit my LYS tomorrow and look through theirs to see if something strikes me as right for this yarn. I just love how it's turning out (I left it on the mantel for a couple of days just so I could see it often!).

I'm hoping to be done spinning within the next week... we'll see how that goes. Seeing everyone else's projects is a lot of fun!

--Lucy

The start of my shawl...

Edited to add: I realized that my calculations at 3 am this morning were wrong, and that I had left out a 1 somewhere. I actually have around 95 yards! I'm feeling much more encouraged.

Ok so after a few hours spinning on my new spindle this is what I've got. I finally decided that I would use the pink roving I got first. I didn't get very much spun although it sure felt like a lot. It's somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 yards. Probably a little more, but that's a safe guess. Underestimating. And that's only one single...I still need another to ply it with. So we'll see how much I actually get when I'm done here. I can see it's going to take me a loooong time.

Other Hand Spun Shawls I have Known

Thought I'd post some of the shawls that I have made or am making with hand spun yarn. I've only done three. The first one was done years ago when I first started spinning. It's actually a very pale peach color that does not translate to the photos. It has belonged to an elderly friend of mine, Louise, all this time so I had to borrow it back to take pictures because it was Pre-Digital Photography. It's a merino wool that I bought from Straw Into Gold in Berkeley CA when it still was there. Spun woolen (hey, I had no clue) it is the christening shawl from Knitters Magazine. Not very even but still pretty. The next one you see is from the same green merino/silk fiber I'm currently spinning. It's Mountain Pines by "Two Old Bags" and was started in 2006 and finished in 2007. I wore it to Stitches West 2007 and it now belongs to my friend, Jerry in Seattle. The last is a very rough hand-spun I made when I came back to spinning after a years long absence. Its very uneven but still has a rustic charm. This shawl languished because I didn't have the correction to the lace pattern and kept getting it wrong. I've got it now but it's a low priority knit for me right now. There you have it. Past/current efforts with my meager hand spun yarn. Hope these next efforts at spinning turn out well. I'm spinning two yarns but will only knit one for my shawl. I plan to give the other yarn to someone else to knit with. Until later!

Almost Ready

I had my second spinning refresher lesson today, so all I need to do is wait for the roving I've ordered to arrive. I'm itching to get started, but I'll keep practicing until the mailman brings my package to me!

About my Spindles

Karin asked about my spindles in my previous post - the two in the photo are a Mielke Farm Amelia (the one with the 2-colored whorl) and the other is a Victorian Lady - they both spin wonderfully. I should note that any cop on the Victorian lady has to actually be wound off - as the detailed turnings on the bottom of the spindle prevent the cop from simply sliding off the spindle.
I got sucked into sweater knitting this weekend, and unfortunately made no progress on my bowlful of spinning!

Introduction and FO

I just finished my lace scarf. If you are on the Victorian Lace Today blog, you've seen the photo and I'll apologize for the duplicate photo. This is the first time I have completed a lace project with my lace yarn. It was all spun on my Tiger spindle (Cascade) and plied on my St. Helen spindle (Cascade). I do almost all of my lace spinning on a spindle at the park where my son plays as this is the only time I have to spin lace. For heavier yarns, I use my Rio Grande Wheel (in the picture) or my Fricke. The Fricke, though a good wheel, is getting little use these days as my preference has been for spindles, big and small. I keep a blog about my spinning and knitting at www.merrypurl.com.

~ 530 yds!

I'm so happy and excited. This is my very best hand spun yarn to date. I started spinning last month. This was more a practice run than anything else, but since I've got (for me) a whooping amount of yarn, I'm ready to start knitting. If you are interested please read all about it here.

Lots of progress on my spinning and a start to my shawl

Hi every one,

Here is a picture of the start of my shawl. I did a really long post on my blog to show how I processed the white merino viscose blend fiber to go with the space dyed fiber that I talked about in my last post. I also give the details of the shawl.

A question...

I have a general question for some of you more experienced spinners. I am just looking for a ballpark number nothing exact. How many yards of laceweight can I expect to get per ounce of roving? I know it will vary but I want to be able to have an idea of what I'll get at the end.

Meet Captain Jack and me , dudleyspinner Deb

This Pi shawl is one I made a few months ago. Blocking is a big job but makes all the difference.

I am Deb aka dudleyspinner. I dye dudleyspinner roving and spin, knit, needle felt and other fiber arts.

This is Captain Jack, (he has a wobble) This wheel is about 35 years old, one of the first Ashford Traditional wheels. He has a new double treadle system because the original had two bolts instead of one crank and it had a terrible thunk when you treadled. He also had the jumbo flyer and the bobbin holds over a pound of yarn. That is a lot of yards when you are spinning fine.
Deb aka dudleyspinner

Old Lendrum

I thought some of you other Lendrum owners would like to see an older model. I bought this used, but the previous owner said it's from the 80's. I really like how the wood has aged.

It still uses a flexible metal cable footman.


The flyer uses hooks too. (I've replaced them with Woolee Winder). Check out the HUGE plying head!


My Project
I have more then half of the yarn spun up. It's the same WPI as the magazine suggested (13-14 WPI).


It's rustic, but I kind of like that for the four generation shawl.

Spinning and Knitting as if I Really Had The Time

Hi there! Just introducing myself. I've been spinning off and on again since the 1980's but most of the time I spun for sweaters. I've gotten into lace more recently so now I've been spinning towards obtaining a decent lace weight yarn so I can knit with it. To date, I've only knit three shawls with my own lace weight and I hope I'm getting better at the spinning. Since I had already started spinning singles I'm going to post progress on two different fibers on two different wheels. My sister and I own three wheels. Which ever fiber gets done first will be the one that gets made into a shawl. See above the "Hardware" for the first fiber. It's my good old reliable Schacht single treadle. I love this baby dearly but have difficulty using the high speed whorl and bobbin so I'm not using it for this project. Just the regular old bobbin with the smaller standard whorl. The already filled bobbin is 4 ounces of Lisa Souza's Merino in the colorway "Petroglyph". I bought this fiber one year at Stitches West but there was only the single braid merino to be had at the time. See also, the same colorway in BFL, also from Lisa Souza. Because it's BFL, and because it takes the same colors differently, It looks different from the merino (see the partially started bobbin of BFL). I intend to ply these two different fibers to see what I get. I think it will be very pretty and I'm hoping that the BFL will give the yarn strength and a little sheen while the Merino gives it a little softer hand than you would get with 100% BFL.

Next, see my sisters wheel, a Majacraft Rose. This is the "Hardware" for the second fiber choice. Years and years ago, when I was still knitting cable sweaters and spinning yarn for those projects, I bought a HUGE amount of this green fiber. it's a 70/30 Merino/Silk from Widdershin Woolworks and, as you can see it only cost me $9 for 4 oz at the time. I've already made one shawl from it but my spinning has improved since then. It was Mountain Pines and has since been given to a friend in Seattle. On the Rose, I bought the optional lace flyer/bobbins because I found I disliked using the delta orifice. This had more to do with my "less than standard" way of sitting at the wheel to spin, than with the actual delta. I know lots of people do just fine with the delta orifice but I have to say that I love the lace flyer and it makes my spinning just fly. The wheel that will not be in service is our Lendrum. My sister is spinning on it at the moment but it does make decent lace singles as well.

I have no idea what pattern I will be making. I have a whole list of shawls I want to make but it will depend on how well I do with this spinning and plying. My biggest challenge will be to gain consistency not only with the spinning but the plying. In the past, I have lacked the patience required to ply well. I hope to overcome this problem this time. Here is wishing luck to everyone who will be joining in on this project! Though I've joined groups for information about particular shawls in the past, I've never participated in something where I had to post progress. I think it will be a blast. Until the next post!

Intro

My name is Betty and I'm from southwestern New Mexico, USA. I learned about this group from my sister, who is always trying to encourage me in my crafts.

My hardware is a Babe Pinkie and my software is some cormo from Wonderland Dyeworks, in the Spring colorway. I have had it sitting in my stash for three years, got it to spin for a shawl, but just hadn't gotten it done. So now I have a reason to pull it out and work on it. As for a pattern, I haven't really decided...will wait until I see what the yarn weight and yardage is before deciding.

Missing hardware and tender software

Hi all! I figured I better introduce myself as I have been a member for a while now. Grin it is also 4am and I am wide awake with nothing much to do while I wait for my jammed fingers and sprained wrist to heal. My name is Dorothy and I live in southeastern Wyoming, USA. To get here you go to Denver, Colorado, turn north and drive about 2 hours. ;-)

The hardware pictured is a Lendrum Saxony in cherry. He is a dream to spin on but sigh belongs to the store still. Hopefully he will be here by the end of Summer.
FYI if any of you are into Maggie Sefton's books that is the actual store written about in those novels ;-) I have yet to meet her as we attend differnt "teas" but someday I hope to arrange my schedule so I can.





Now back to reality. Grin my hardware is an Ashford Kiwi with the normal whorl on it.


The software is a lovely Alpaca/BFL blend from Kendig Cottage in the color Acorn. I have not picked out a pattern yet as I want to see what weight my yarn turns out to be.

Software Chosen

This is All MINE, the dudleyspinner roving that I am spinning up for my shawl. I had a small amount of this special private stock of roving. I have put some up it up for sale, but this is ALL MINE! I am spinning it fine and hope to knit with a singles yarn to keep the color progression clear. I have been looking at pattern I saw from Cast On blog from Brenda Danes pod cast, the circle sweater, but I know it would not be flattering, just very fun to knit. So I am still searching for a shawl pattern. Feather and fan would look nice, but I hope to find something more exotic to try.
Deb

Greetings!

Hello! I'm Stephanie...
I blog over here - I joined up a few days ago, just haven't had a moment to post :) Here I am now, though - with a shot of one of my pieces of hardware - my Kromski Minstrel - I love her - she's almost 2 years old.

I also have several spindles - 2 of which you can see here:



and lots of fiber...though I'm partial to merino, I also adore Blue Faced Leicester, silk merino blends and angora blends - though the angora gets all over the place, kinda like my cat's fur ;)

I'm looking forward to this - I have a whole bowl of fiber predrafted and ready to go, and it's just been sitting beside my spinning wheel for quite some time. I'm not quite sure what I'll knit up yet.

One of my more recent projects that was spun and knit was a scarf for my sis in law.

Yarn (closeup):

Scarf (closeup):

In the meantime, I'm really enjoying looking at everyone elses photos and posts :D

My first Spun Stitches

I finished

this shawl early this spring. I spun the yarn from suri alpaca and silk then plied singles from both together for a two-ply lace yarn. It took me six months because of the enormity of the project. This is the Wing-of-the-Moth shawl pattern which can be found at knitspot.com .

Until next time...

Just Joined/First Post

Hi, everyone. I joined up last weekend, but just got everything together to introduce myself and show off my hardware and software.

My name's Kat and I'm in the Midlands of South Carolina (central part of the state) . I blog my fiber and other crafting adventures here.

I've been spinning for almost two years, and I tend to spin on the fine side naturally. I've been working my way down and have finally spun a true laceweight that I'm happy with. When I found this KAL, the timing couldn't have been better.

My Hardware:


My Louet S51 wheel, for which I just ordered a high speed flyer/bobbin set. Spinning for this project will wait for it's arrival.

My software:

I've got 4 ounces of Merino/Tencel roving from Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks in the colorway Purple Haze. This photo doesn't show off the colors all that well, but it is a lovely subtle blend of deep purple and grey that I just adore.

But wait, there's more.
This is my first laceweight that I spun over the winter. It is bluefaced leicester from Dry Creek Naturals (sadly, without website) It has a subtle varigation of fibers: while predominately a blue green, there is yellow and purple and grey as well. I have approximately 400 yards of it at 26 wpi and need to find a project for it.

I am strongly considering the Swallowtail Shawl from IK Fall 2006, but am a bit concerned about yardage. The pattern calls for one skein of Misty Lace Alpaca which has 437 yards. I have 400 yards, give or take. I've perused around the blogosphere and have yet to determine whether I have enough yarn. Does anyone know how much actual yardage this pattern requires? I hate the thought that I could get down to the end and run out. Any pattern suggestions for a small shawl or scarf that I could execute with this yardage?

Question for Teresa and Kirsten!

We are supposed to knit shawls with our handspun, which I intend to do. But I'm wondering if as a first spun and knit project a lacey scarf would be alright to show here too? I've got three patterns I'm itching to knit as soon as I'll get enough yardage. I'd like to knit a larger shawl, but that will take me a while to spin.
Thanks,

Monika

Spindle!!!

Ok so today I took a little trip to a place that I didn't even know was located near me. Paradise Fibers is paradise indeed. The couple who owns the place, are the nicest people ever. I will for sure be going back. In any case I went to get a drop spindle since none of the yarn stores around here carry them. I ended up getting a small Ashford one that weighs just over an ounce. I also got some ingeo(corn) fiber in a light ice blue, and some really ultra soft rose pink merino. Here are some pics! I have been practicing with some of the wool I already had that was cheaper (the blue green one in my first post), in preparation and I must say I caught on rather quickly. I'm already pretty good at getting it laceweight and that is with the wool that is not very slippery, it is rough to draft. So I should be spinning up shawl yarn in no time! Oh and I bought the spindle to hold me over until my Spindolyn arrives. Yes, I ordered one, and I can't wait to get it!

I have a question too, how do I know how much yardage I have??? I just don't know how everyone else is calculating theirs. I don't have a swift either so I don't know if that is how or what. I'd appreciate any suggestions for how I should go about that!

Progress

Well, finally some progress on my "software"


This skein is approximately 620yds--24 wpi...with more yet to spin up. Now to find the pattern to knit! After being contacted by Anne, I bought Hypoteneuse, mainly because I love the pattern but also an idea for this KAL. I'll have to adjust the needle size...Anyone else with other suggestions?

Keep on Spinnin' & Knittin'!!

Polwarth Rolags: On the runway and ready to spin.

This weekend I am attending a 3 day indigo dyeing intensive. My dyeing teacher is kind! She said that we can bring some of our handspun to dye in her indigo pot. I thought, perfect, I will use this opportunity to dye my yarn for the KAL. This also means I have alot to accomplish by Friday.

As you might recall from a few posts back, I had a large pile of uncarded Polwarth fleece and didn't know what pattern to knit. Well, I found a pattern to knit. Its the Red Sea Shawl from the Folk Knits book. And, over the past week, I have carded most of the polwarth. I can not believe how much the polwarth grows and fluffs up when carded. Its silky and soft. I just love it. Below you can see the big pile of polwarth rolags.


I happily spun and spun the morning away. I decided I needed some entertainment, so, I watched Keep the RIver on Your Right. It is a docmentary about a native NY who travelled to Peru in 1955 as a Fulbrighter and ended up living with one of the native tribes. The twist in the story occurs when he finds himself alongside his tribe as they mass murder an entire village, and then is involved in cannabalism. Needless to say, this has marked him and has haunted him for his entire life. Whoa... this was pretty intense.

The DVD ended up making my spinning a side note. And after an hour and a half, I ended up with 382 yards. It feels like cotton. It's great and ready to go to the indigo pot.

I still have more polwarth to spin but I am a little afraid that I won't have enough. I think the pattern calls for something like 800-900 yards. I keep saying to myself "Cross that bridge when you come to it". I can not wait to see the blue color and feel this yarn along my fingers as I knit!

Finally jumping in

Technically I joined a couple of weeks ago, but haven't had the time to sit down and blog until now. I'm still unsure of what pattern I'll be doing, but here is a look at the hardware:



My new Lendrum DT, purchased at MDSW last month. This is my first wheel, and yes, I am very very new to spinning. But I love it!

The software...well, you've got me. I've got a lot of great fiber sitting around that I bought at MDSW and in the fall, when I was trying (unsuccessfully) to get into spindle spinning. I've got ingeo, merino/silk, merino/bamboo, wensleydale, alpaca, soysilk...well, you get the idea. Let's just say that the software is more than likely in this picture:



Whatever it is, I know I'm going to have fun doing it. It's just the incentive I needed to get my spinning more consistent. This is going to be a blast!

Hard and Software

This is a fun project and right on time for me.
I had a kid mohair fleece sitting around waiting for it to talk to me. Since it did not say a word, one day I blended it with alpaca and wool. Off to Spinderella's we went and she carded it into this beautiful roving:


For quite sometime I have been having problems not being able to spin thicker weight yarns. So I thought I would give it a try on the Roberta. I have to concentrate and try really hard but it is coming out about DK weight. I am not sure what it will be when I finish spinning. I might dye it. Altogether it is 3.5 lbs so maybe an Aran jacket or something like that.

Adding my spinning...

Okay, so I joined up a while ago but just have not had time to actually post anything yet. However I do have some pictures to show you now. I am spinning on my Babe this stuff...


Here is the Shetland fleece that I am spinning for the shawl. It is so soft and easy to spin, I am loving it!
Here we have some spun up...


Lovely. I am actually really happy with how this is spinning up. I do wish it was thinner. I think that if I ply it this stuff will be worsted weight. So I am thinking about just keeping it as a single. Would it work knitting a shawl with a single?
Anyway I look forward to seeing everyones progress!
Dee

Joining Up

Hi everyone! I've never been part of a KAL before, so I'm very excited about this!

My name is Lucy - feel free to check out my blog.

I just heard about this and it's perfect timing as I am working with some Angora (spinning on my spindolyn)



which I am planning to ply with some pretty wool that I will be spinning on my (borrowed) Ashford wheel



I haven't chosen a pattern yet, I'm kind of waiting to see how the yarn strikes me when it's done. It will probably be a fingering or sport weight once it's done. I have done a couple of shawls, and I have a copy of VLT and a couple of other books and patterns that I'm looking through. I'm planning to give this shawl to one of my friends, so if the yarn doesn't impress me enough to pair it with a pattern I will keep spinning... I look forward to seeing what everyone else is doing!

Yummy Fiber Acquired!

A total of 5 oz. of Merino Silk from Blue Goose Glen in Lichen and Light Blue. I plan to ply the two colors together I think? I will most likely be knitting a Swallowtail Shawl. It will be for my grandmother for Christmas.

Now to start spinning!!!

This KAL is just the motivaiton I need to start turning my handspun into something knitted. I just fell into spinning last fall, but I fell hard, so there's a lot of fiber filling up my house! For this I'll be using my Louet S10, which I bought second-hand, and I love:

to spin some "Australian mixed wool" roving I bought from my spinning teacher last year. I have already spun some of it (which I'll post soon) and the rest looks like this:

It's a lovely gray/brown mixture and spins up very soft and springy. I'm looking forward to following everyone's progress--some beautiful fibers on here so far!

Newbie Question

Hi all
I'm a fairly new spinner and have never knit a shawl before.
So, I have a question:
How much fibre will I need for a shawl?
I know it depends on size, shape and whether its 1ply 2 ply etc etc--but roughly.
Do I need 4 oz? 8 oz?

Thanks!!

Spinning Spinning Spinning

I know I just posted, but shortly after my intro post I had two bobbins half filled, time to ply.







It came out nice and balance at a lovely 19 WPI, just what I ordered! I forgot to weigh it before I soaked it, but the yardage is 216. Depending on the pattern I choose I'm about 1/5-1/3 of the way to cast on!

So Happy to be Here!

Hello all,

My name is Megan, but I blog under the named Duchess. I am very excited about this project and delighted that Teresa and Kirsten (and others?) started up this KAL. I know it's going to help me stay motivated on such a large undertaking.

So, here's the intro to my project.

I will be spinning a lovely 50/50 Alpaca/BFL mix that I acquired last year at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. I bought a pound of it I loved it so much and so will have plenty for more than just this shawl.



I originally tried to spin it into a 2 ply worsted, but it would have none of it. This fiber insists that it will be a lace weight, who am I to argue with the will of the fiber? These itty bitty singles will be plyed into a 2 ply lace weight.



And all of this will be accomplished on my beautiful old Ashford Traditional named Tara.



I haven't decided on a shawl pattern, but was intrigued by the article in the newest Spin-Off (I just got mine yesterday,) about a woman who spun the yarn for and then knit her friend a Faroe Island shawl. I am interested in the shaping of this type of shawl and will be doing more research on them.

Here is poor photo of the photo in the article.


(photo credit goes to Spin-Off Magazine, summer 2007 issue)

I've been enjoying seeing what everyone else is planning and can't wait to see both the processes and the results.

Thanks for letting me join!

Update on time frame

Hey everyone,

I've been noticing there's been some buzz going around about the time frame on spun stitches and having to spin the yarn and knit the shawl by the end of the summer. Just to let you know that there was never really a time frame set for this KAL. Since there's such a large amount of people still signing up for the spin/knit along we're keeping the time frame open ended. That way we can give as many people as possible the chance to sign up and show off their tools, fiber and awesome knitting skills. :D

Teresa

For Better or For Worse. . .

I've cast on!
I've only got about 170 yards spun and plied, but I am simply too impatient to wait for all of the yarn to be spun. I'm making the Myrtle Leaf Shawl from Victorian Lace Today. There are more photos and information on my blog.

Introducing an Excited Participant

I think this is a great idea! Last September, I took a spindling class from Elizabeth Dailey, of Greensleeves Spindles, and she encouraged us to 'spin with intention'. Since that time, I have been thinking about potential projects, but have been finishing up the one and two ounce bumps of various fibers I had collected at the three fiber festivals I was lucky enough to attend over the summer. I started working on the Larger Than Life Bag as a way to combine those various handspuns... these are some of the seven squares I have done to date.

However, I would like to spin enough yarn for a shawl, so will be spending some time in the next week determining what weight, how much fiber I need (and if I have enough in my stash already), and what pattern. I look forward to seeing everyone's work as we all progress together. If you want to learn more about me, visit my blog, A View From Sierra County.

Starting slowly....

I am so glad to find this KAL, thanks to Opal! So I have set about deciding what to use for this Knit along.
Thinking of what to use - I immeadiatly decided to use the 3 oz of shetland that I was gifted with by a dear friend this year at Md. So there is the first part of my software.
But I would need to hove something to ply it with, as 3 oz is not enough. Then I thought about the silk reeling kit I also got at Md... I could ply that with the silk. If spun thin enough - I can do a shawl in the Shetland Wedding Ring style... yeah that is a plan! So here is the next part of the software.So now to find the hardware to use....Lots of options. But there seems to be a theme to this idea- I decided to use a spindle I got at Md Sheep and Wool too.... a Golding Decorative rim spindle:

So I have started to spin... now to find a pattern. That may take me a bit longer. But I am certainly glad to be here and excited about this!

Getting started

I was happy to find this KAL - I need a push to spin some of my fiber stash and actually use it. I wasn't sure what to use...and then I remembered something I bought at Maryland this year.



I bought this from Tintagel Farm. Its 50% wool, 50% mohair - I don’t think I’ve spun mohair before so I’m having fun. The photo just doesn't do it justice - its really a dark blue, teal and yellow (no idea where the colors in the photo came from but I couldn't get anything better and my batteries were dying!).



I just had knee surgery this week, so I just started spinning it today and could only go for a little bit....but hope to get it done by the end of June. Not sure what shawl to make yet - I need to see what it looks like when its plied.

I'm looking forward to being part of this KAL, and seeing all the beautiful fiber become beautiful shawls!

Jeanne
Jeanne Knits

Project Decision

With so many choices in fiber and shawl patterns, it was difficult to decide on a project. However, I did do just that with a little bit of stash diving. The oldest fiber in the stash is a lovely salmon pink merino/angora blend purchased from Woolen Rabbit before I could even spin! It's time has come. The shawl will be The Knitted Veil from Victorian Lace Today. More details can be found on my blog today. Enjoy your weekend!
Margene
Zeneedle