FO: Pup Tent

Growing up, I had many, many cousins. I lived pretty far from them, so I wasn't really part of the tight-knit core group. When I would visit them, it was fun, if mostly because I got to ride around in the bed of a pickup truck and I was allowed to operate heavy farm machinery at a tender age. Plus, my vocabulary of bad words and insults would grow tenfold anytime I spent more than a few minutes with them. That is if I could stop coughing enough from all the cigarette smoke being inhaled second-handedly.

Anyway.

The name of this hat is Pup Tent. I can not say the words "pup tent" without cracking up a little bit. It's mostly because my disrespectful trash-talking cousin once yelled while observing clothes hanging out on the line, "Aunt Linda, your underwear are so big, I could use them as a pup tent!" and then we all scattered like so may giggling deer to escape the wrath of a chubby, angry aunt. When you are six, it's funny. Or, as we might say, "wicked funny".

The pattern is a freebie. I made it a little larger to use up the yardage and ended up with a nice slouch. I used it to use up the last 150 yards of Canopy Worsted leftover from the Vine Yoke Cardigan. It's simple and it used up what I had left, and it will now make a very nice gift for a winter-climate dweller (although perhaps just not for my Aunt Linda).

FO: Vine Yoke Cardigan

Just in time for warm summer breezes, a heavy winter wooly cardigan to see me through. It's the Vine Yoke Cardigan by Ysolda from a Twist Collective that was published in 2009.

Springtime here was not exactly an airy brief silken clothing inspiring event, so I sat down and churned out a quick sweater despite the fact it might be a while before it actually gets some use. Some people make hay when the sun shines, I make wool winter sweaters while the populace dons winter coats in June.

Actually, this was intended as a gift, so I made it size up than what I normally would make myself. The pattern is unusual as you knit it sideways, which lets the unique lacy cable wind its way across the shoulders, and I loved the small lace details of the cuffs and waist. The pattern wasn't hard at all, but there were a lot of short-rows involved so you had to pay attention, but otherwise you could have this done and blocked in a week or two and be done with it. It's hard to adjust the fit in sweaters like this, but you could easily modify to make the sleeves longer of shorter.

What's better than getting a wintery-warm sweater in July? Nothing. It's almost like one of those anti jokes: What's worse than finding half a worm in your apple? Cancer.

The pattern called for buttons and button holes. I thought it looked sloppy, so I left them out. I am currently in the market for some lightweight pewter clasps to fasten the front. That dpn is just for show!

The yarn is The Fiber Company Canopy Worsted. I used 8 skeins- a mere 800 yards, so it's very easy on the yardage. It's a 50% alpaca 30% wool 20% bamboo blend. Quite warm, if I have to sum it up. It's lovely to work with, with very little of the prickle that I grew tired of alpaca for. Every time I declare myself "over alpaca" this yarn brings me back. The color is a lovely heather green "yerba mate".

FO: Selbu Modern

While I'm at it, here's another hat I finished and it's my go-to winter hat this year.

It's the Selbu Modern by Kate Gagnon Osborn. I've been meaning to make it for years now.

While the pattern is written well, colorwork is always a little time-consuming as I can't read charts when I'm anywhere but home, so it takes me a little while to complete something.

The yarn is The Fiber Company Canopy Fingering in the colors "Orchid" and "Fern". I wanted something subtle and washed out to go with my muted winter palate this year. I love this pattern- it reminds me of an eastern architectural motif- and I could see stealing it for a colorwork yoke sweater.

While I could have gone up a needle size on the main part of the hat to make it slouchier as written, I like it as it is. It's very warm- the yarn floats in back makes it particularly wind-proof. Coming back to Paris after spending some balmy days in New York and it's exactly what I need to keep my ears covered. It's been barely breaking freezing in the mid-afternoon, and the dark has really set in. I'm getting used to it, but it's really wrecking havoc on my sleep cycle as I'm waking up in the morning to a few more hours of night, and that's just weird. So I'm embracing it- dressing warm and waiting for the return of the sun.

FO: Grace Lace Beret

Oye. I've been really slacking on any sort a crafting lately. True, there are many things going on. A sewing machine clacking away in a game of "will it fit" chicken, an antique spinning wheel testing my mechanic skills and patience, a gorgeous spindle will occasionally be put into commission before it loudly clacks to the floor. Oh, the knits though. I'm having some issues sitting down and finishing anything (obviously). I currently have a very lightweight sweater on the needles that is almost done and it's been almost done for a while now. While I'm usually wrapping up the gift knitting right about now, this year I am coming up short. Y'all can deal with the hats and mittens that I made you last year for another winter, right?

I made and gifted a simple beret a few weeks ago.

Actually, it was more than that. More than a month ago now. Gah.

It was simple- a free pattern online. It used up a skein and a half of Canopy Worsted in "Palmbud". I love this alpaca/merino/bamboo blend. I did one less lace pattern than called for since this is a gift for someone with a small head, and I thought any bigger/floppier would look ridiculous.

It did take me about a day to make from start to finish. If I'm working on something that has an end in sight, I tend to just sit down and get it done.

FO: Springtime Bandit

I have no idea how I had the capacity to *eff this shawl up as badly as I did. It's a first for me.

I had four gorgeous skeins of The Fiber Company's Canopy Worsted in a gentle light blue shade called "Palm Bud". A lovely blend of bamboo, alpaca and merino, I was waiting for a special project to hit me. I finally settled on the equally lovely Springtime Bandit Shawl. Thousands of other people have made this shawl and raved about it, and it's well-known as a simple and fast item to knit.

"This is *effing easy!" I remember saying to myself as I cast on. Months of teeny tiny gauge projects on size 0 and 2 needles made the worsted weight yarn feel like rope (soft, lovely rope), and it just flew along. I did the called-for Four pattern repeats, puzzled over why I was still on my first skein of yarn, and did two more repeats, just for fun. I thought the shawl was shaping up a little oddly, but, hey, whatever, most knitting surprises me in the end anyway.

Two days later, off the needles, I had my answer.

I had only made one side of the shawl. I totally read the charts wrong when I gave them the quick, "This is Cake" glance-over, and only did half the charts. So. The way the shawl is now constructed, what is supposed to be the top edge is now the bottom point. What is the bottom lace chart is the only part of the shawl that I can get to be a long, flat edge. It's upside-down.

I am genius. Hear me roar. This is getting ripped back and re-made into something a bit saner.

*Grandma is known to stop by the old blog on occasion, and I can't bring myself to say the eff word in front of her. effing, effing effing, effing. Guess who I learned words like this from, Grandma? Your daughter, that's who. True story.

Battier than a Belfry

Guess what?



I've updated my Etsy shop with MORE BATTS!





Scoop them up and spin yourself something awesome for fall! All of them are soft and well-blended. Most of the fiber I have hand dyed, and some of it is natural colored (Sheepy brown! Alpaca fawn!). A lot of work goes into each one, and they are completely unique. Some of these have merino, romney, bfl, alpaca, silk, bamboo, Leicester Longwool...really whatever I feel inspired by at the time.

This is the last of the batt updates for a while as I tucked the carder away, bundled up all my fiber and gave the house a good hoovering. I don't know how other batt-makers do it, but usually I end up with bits of fiber tracked all over the house. It seems like the alpaca is the most willing to travel and go places. It's hard to have a lot of company over with all this fluff flying around, and still appear somewhat normal to other people. I'm sure I'll be pulling the carder out again before the end of the year, if only for the selfish reason that I have a hankering to spin a rather gorgeous Rambouillet fleece.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KnotMyDayJob

New Spinning Batts!

I have been going a little crazy with the drum carder lately. The unexpected super high humidity we've been having means that I don't have to deal with the static and flyaways that always seem to end up in my eyeballs or in my dinner, so I will toast to that. A la votre!



I do love blending fiber and colors to make beautiful and unique handspun creations. It's pretty labor intensive...not only does the carding process take quite a bit of monotonous cranking, but I usually make a pretty big mess in the process. I can't just take a few fibers from the pile and blend them; I have to take out my entire scrap and carding stash and lay it all out and pick handfuls of what I feel would match up well together. Once I have all this out and set up, it's impracticable to put it away at the end of the day, so I tend to do my carding in week-long sessions where the dining room table is occupied by piles of fiber, and we have to sit on the floor in the next room to eat. I need to use good judgement as far as my timing goes.



Plus, all the fur flying in the process means that my vacuum cleaner makes a death rattle in protest. Worrisome. I plead with it daily.



After much experimentation, I find that the batts I like best are under 2oz. They just hang together a bit better into compact bundles, and because I'm not jamming so much on the carded, I end up with less waste as well.



Everything can be found in my Etsy Shop, and I will be listing more in the coming days. Each batt is made up of merino or a super luxe blend that might contain merino, alpaca, silk, bamboo, faux cashmere, BFL, cashgora, angora and kid mohair. Most of it I have hand dyed; some of it is natural sheepy colored; still other bits are leftover from spinning projects that have accumulated over the years. All of it is super soft and ready to be made into a special yarn.



Best of all, anything 2oz and under is only $12-$13 as I only have so much space to store big, fluffy batts and I need to move these things so I can make more.

www.KnotMyDayJob.etsy.com

FO: Bamboo Frock Camisole

My A-Z stashdown continues as I plunder my stash for any non-wool yarn that I might be okay with wearing in summer.



I had 8 skeins of Bamboo Tape yarn in my stash. Like so many yarns from Rowan, it's been discontinued, but a almost exact replica will certainly appear with a catchy name like "Tapey Bamboo" or something.

I chose a pattern- after my previous lace project, I wanted something super simple- I wanted to be able to go into a movie theater on an overly warm day, catch a film and come out of the place with most of a garment done. The ribbon yarn did a little twist and coil trick, but otherwise I was as happy as I could be with it (considering it didn't come from a sheep). You just have to pick the right project for the yarn in order to love it.



The yarn basically has no shape- it just becomes this drapey mass. It would be impossible to do lace in this yarn. Just let it hang out and drape. If you fight it, it will win. Let it move like a jellyfish.





I used 7 skeins in the color "Tissue" for the Medium size. It's so pretty and purpley. The whole thing took less than 570 yards. I used size US6 needles.



The pattern is called Frock Camisole by Katie Himmelberg. It's from the Spring 2010 Interweave Knits, but they also have the pattern for free up on their website. It's a really simple piece- really, if you get gauge you can whip this up with no issues while you are taking a nap. It has a line of purl stitches running up the front and back to give it a neat seam. There's a tiny bit of shaping, you work the fronts and backs of the yoke separately and knit up the straps in reverse stockinette. The only real finishing involves tacking and sewing the straps to the front, and you're done.

I love it- it's wearable and comfortable. The fabric is dense enough so I can wear this without a security shirt underneath, lest my bra show through. It's a bit heavy but I'm really in love with it. As far as cute summery tops go, it's pretty much instant gratification.

I like it a lot better than my other Bamboo top, the Lotus Blossom, from a couple of years ago. This one is much more flattering.

Crafty.

An afternoon of gorgeous fibers, good food and friends is a great way to break up the winter blah. It's been not quite so breathtakingly cold the past few days. Spring is on its way.



Plus the house we were at had a lovely wine grotto. Jealous!



It also gave me a chance to get out with my travel wheel. Golly, I'm sick of spinning brown fleece.



I've got 5 bobbins spun up and the basket of batts still has quite a bit of fluff left. I'm really enjoying spinning it, but I usually put a movie on and sit in the dark while I'm spinning. It's just so brown.

To improve my spinning mood, I dug through my stash and grabbed a braid of Creatively Dyed bamboo/wool blend.



I got it at MDSW ages ago, and I spun up an aran-weight 2-ply.



I'm not quite sure how much yardage I have since I'm letting it rest on the bobbin, but it was a fun, colorful spin. While I was plying, I realized the bamboo fibers are so long and strong that this could have just been left as a single. I have no idea what this wants to be yet, but I enjoyed every moment of it.

I also started spinning some Cormo from Foxhill Farm in Massachusets.



She doesn't have a website, but the internet is filled with raves about her fleece and roving. It's gorgeous stuff- it's not heavily processed so you can really feel the lively crimp in the fiber. It also has a slight sheepy smell to it that I love. I'm spinning woolen, from the fold, lace singles to be plied. This will make a lovely cabled hat.

I also finished the pair of steeky socks, but I need some daytime pictures to do them justice.



I cast on for a shawl-



It's the Shaelyn Shawl. I'm using a Bijou Basin Yak/Merino blend called Himalaya Trails. It's nice stuff- It's rustically spun and makes a for soft, lofty yarn.

Also, there is more beer.



It will be another week or two before we bottle, but this is in an "almost beer" stage. The original batch is pretty much gone- we have found that beer makes highly appreciated gifts and we've been keen to share.

FO- Hurricaine Hat

I spent a lot of time last week on the subway going to various events and parties. Taking the subway means 1. I might get a strange new disease and end up in a medical textbook and 2. I can finish a hat in two days without breaking a sweat.

Well, not quite two days. This did start out life as a fibery beast.



3.8 oz of handcarded batt from Butterfly Girl. It was a blend of 67% bamboo, 25% merino and 8% glitz. Very sparkly. It sat in my spinning stash for a couple years, and then I dug it out as part of my spinning stash bust in October.

I spun it up and made a DK weight 2-ply. I got about 154 yards from 3.4 oz of fiber. The colorway is "Curtain Dress", which makes me happy.



I loved the swirly-whirly look, so I knitted up the Hurricaine Hat.



The mostly-bamboo content means this isn't terribly warm, but it does have nice drape. It will be a really usefull hat to have around come the not-so-bitter spring if it doesn't get nabbed by someone before then. I always like to have a handful of fun little hats on hand to give as gifts.



I wish I would have stepped into direct sunlight for the pictures. This looks like a disco ball in the right light. It was really fast and an easy knit.

Handspun Yarn: The Curtain Dress

In my constant effort to use up my entire stash, I recently spun this gem up:



It's another bat from Butterfly Girl Designs. The color is called "Curtain Dress", and it's a rather dazzling blend of 67% bamboo, 25% merino and 8% firestar. I tore the batt into strips and let it spin up as it wanted to, with no real drafting and letting it lump and bump where it wanted to. This is a lot of fun sometimes if you can learn to give the control up and just let the yarn happen. Coming down after spinning from a sweater (lots of controlled spinning to get the yarn perfect and consistent) makes me okay with just letting this art batt become what it wants.



From 3.8 oz of batt, I ended up with 155 yards of a heavy aran-weight 2-ply.



I'm not quite sure what this will be yet- maybe a simple pair of mitts.

Corespun yarn

I'm a plain vanilla spinner. There. I said it.

I like myself a nice balanced 2-ply, and sturdy round 3 ply, and the occasional even lace singles. Not that I don't admire crazy art yarns. I look on, green with envy, when friends make piles of chaotic gorgeousness. I took a 2 day class that was nothing but freeing your inner anarchist at the wheel. It was fun, but I'm still not convinced that I could ever make anything useful.

Then, last month, I got a weird urge to corespin. After a few yards of trial and error, I found my rhythm and could. not. stop. It was addictive.



I started out with batts from Butterfly Girl in "Rocky Road". It was a soft, luxurious blend of merino, suri alpaca (the best kind of alpaca in my opinion), silk, bamboo, and a little bit of glitz. Corespinning lets you stretch out a small amount of luxury fiber- because you are wrapping it around a core yarn, you will end up using less. This is a perfect technique if you only have a couple ounces of fiber, but you still want the yardage to actually make something.

For my core, I chose some dk weight wool.



This was some yarn that I had frogged from a hoodie years ago. It is still too painful for me to knit with it. I didn't check to see if there was a pattern errata and followed the pattern with blind faith. I didn't question things at all, even when it had me put the hood where one would logically put a second arm hole. I just kept on knitting. Very painful memory right there.

Anyway, I found that hiding the yarn makes me feel better.

I ran the core yarn through my wheel and onto a bobbin, adding more twist. That way, I wouldn't end up with an over-twisted mess once I started the core spinning process.

Basically, you are taking your pretty fiber and letting it wrap around the core yarn. The Bellweather has a great tutorial (as always) on corespinning. She can explian the process much better than I can.

Here are the results:







Parts of the silk were a little tough to draft out evenly resulting in lumpy thicker sections, but I thought I got most of the skein fairly even. It was so fun, once I sat down I couldn't really stop if I wanted to, and it only took me a couple hours to complete.

I ended up with about 160 yards total. I'm planning on making a hat from this- I think the yarn will give it a fun, funky texture.