It's Here!!!!!

I got an email on Monday morning about my fiber, and today, when I arrived home from work, there was the box on my front porch. 3.8 pounds of Corriedale wool blended with my Iona wool. I am so excited about this wool. It's a little more grey than I anticipated, but I like it very much - probably better than had it turned out to be bright white. There is now less possibility I will dye it once it is spun.

And speaking of spinning it - I'm terrified. I'm going to try getting gauge with some other yarns around here and I will be falling off the stash busting wagon to purchase a skein of the commercial yarn that October Frost is shown in (once you click, scroll a bit - it's the orange cardi) to test my gauge and see how that yarn is spun. I hear from my teacher that sometimes handspun can be spun so that it's too dense and heavy, and then the weight amount required will be very off. She says getting a skein of the recommended commercial yarn is a very good idea. It's Classic Elite Yarns Montera. I hope it's not discontinued.

I didn't open the bag yet, or I would have taken a better photo - but the roving is pin drafted and it's in there pretty tightly - I think they do that to prevent felting during transport.

And just to show that some knitting has been happening, here is a little Branching Out scarf. I have made a number of these scarves, but always before out of Brooks Farm Primero that I had left over from making Clapotis shawls. I made this one for my cousin N's mom. She's 97. She has macular degeneration so she won't really see it so well, but it's cashmere, so I think she will like wearing it. The yarn is Handmaiden cashmere in the Joker colorway. I don't really know what possessed me to buy it, and I had a lot of trouble with it on the swift so I just took it off and wound it by hand. The pattern is visible, but again, for any kind of stitch definition, I really think that solids and semi-solids are the way to go. Still, I like how it looks - very cheery :-)

I highly recommend the Branching Out pattern. It's a great place to start as you learn to knit lace, and even if you are quite experienced, it's just a great pattern. Some times the simple things are the most beautiful :-)

Comments

candy said…
Yay! You got the yarn! Good luck with it :-)
Michelle said…
Oooh, pin drafted! I don't think I've ever had the pleasure, but have heard that it's wonderful to spin. I guess you can even knit with it as is! A bit tricky in the knitting, but sturdy once knit and very soft and lofty.

Whatcha doin' for Thanksgiving?
Knitterary said…
Montera hasn't been discontinued, as far as I know. It's a fuzzy, fairly lofty blend -- wool and mohair? Wool and alpaca? I don't remember, but it's one of those yarns with a very slight halo and a bit of loft. Knits at about 4 stitches to the inch on biggish needles, maybe 9s or so.
Kris said…
Oh how exciting!!! I don't think I would be able to contain myself.

Have a great turkey day!

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