Fiber Overload
I returned home from work last evening to find I have a boatload of things to work on now.
Patons, KnitPicks and Black Bunny
After the discussion a while back about how good Patons yarn is for felting, I went to the JoAnn’s site and it was on sale, so I bought a little.
This is forty balls of yarn in 10 different colors. They sent me a variegated one that I didn’t order (or at least didn’t mean to order), so I don’t know what I’ll do with that. I’m considering making felted hats with the yarn that I will included in my craft show inventory of things to sell. We’ll see.
I also got my order of circular needles from KnitPics.
I needed to get a couple of short US11 cable needles for the felting project and also some fine gauge circular needles for lace projects…either current or on the horizon.
Finally, I got my order from Carol at Black Bunny Fibers.
God that woman knows how to pick incredible fiber, and then does an amazing job of dyeing it. I can’t wait to start a lace project with this yarn. The softness is unbelievable and the shades of blue have me staring at the yarn for such long periods of time that I think I may have an alien abduction thing going on. Here’s a closeup picture that still doesn’t do it justice.
I’m not sure if she will ever do this alpaca/Shetland blend again, but if she does, grab it up immediately. I still can’t believe I was able to snag this one.
Current Knitting
I did another couple of relaxing inches on the kid alpaca bedspread. A picture wouldn’t help illustrate my progress…trust me.
But I also moved the red lace tea cloth to the KnitPicks needles, I’m up to round 70 on this garment.
I’m quite fond of the KnitPicks needles so far. I could easily see myself replacing all my Addi’s with these. The biggest difference is that the KnitPicks needles are lighter weight than the Addi’s…if they end up being as sturdy, I will be very happy.
Readers’ Comments/Questions
Regarding the link to the anti-Scientology site, John M. wrote in an e-mail, “You seem thoughtful and responsible. The Scientology stuff that you wrote is OK, except for the last bit… referring people to the YTMND site. I think this could be considered irresponsible from someone that appears to be enlightened. It’s because you give such thoughtful intercourse on the topic then a flip, irresponsible resignation to redirect people to this site that is so irresponsible.
I replied back that I was trying to show that there are folks that are vehemently opposed to Scientology, but he’s right…I should have looked for a more well-balanced site that didn’t seem so extremist. Thanks John.
VTKnitBoy mentions Navajo plying the tussah/cashmere, and then Meribeth follows up with, “The spinning is glorious! I can’t wait to see it as a 3 ply.”
Actually, I think I will just double-ply it. When I spin the second round of singles, I will just use the same color sequence, knowing that the colors will mix a little at the transition between colors. Besides, I don’t know how to Navajo ply…it’s the first spinning technique that I haven’t been able to teach myself.
My two cents on Scientology — I had a boss who told me he “used to be an alcoholic, but Scientology cured me” as he sucked down more beer than anyone I have ever seen. Umm, right. Once a pickle … He was the most emotionally damaging human, manipulative, lying, irresponsible, and mean, I have ever known.
I’d love to know how you like the knitpicks needles, I really like my Addi’s, but can barely afford them.
I use the knitpicks needles for everything except socks. The cables are so flexible they are a joy to work with. The only issue I had was one of the cables came off of the screw threads. I’m sure knitpicks would have replaced it free of charge but a little dab of superglue fixed it and I was back to knitting in no time at all.
wow – you could open up a store with all that! or maybe not…
I just scored a BBF laceweight merino skein – magnifico! and worth the price!
happy knitting; have a good weekend!
Thanks, Joe!
I had a KP needle break off where the needle joins the cable. I am going to return it, just haven’t gotten around to it yet. The points are VERY sharp.
Oh Joe – don’t let lack of experient with a technique keep you from trying it.
I’ve decided to navajo ply my tussah cashmere once I spin it – so that I can completely control the color transitions.
I’ve never had much luck with getting my colors to line up when spinning two bobbins and then plying them together.
ditto. although it is hard for me to get a soft navajo ply. meaning, it does twist up so fast you have to go in REALLY SLOW motion, treadling as slowly as possible. anyway, it’s not my fave plying technique, however you can get better matched colors.
one note on 3-ply: i started 3-plying almost everything is spin. this forces me to spin thinner singles. the end result is fabulous, and i feel that stitch patterns are more prounounced due to the roundness of the final yarn. i also spin the singles a bit under perfect twist, which results in a softer yarn. when i ply, i ply about 10-15% more than the final desired plying, as washing (i always wash my yarn after plying, then skeining, as it relaxes the yarn and reduces most chance of shrinkage.
ciao!
Navajo plying is on my list of things to learn soon. Its been on that list for awhile, though. Honestly, I think the mixing of colors between color changes will just add to the interest. That kind of stuff keeps me amused while I’m spinning.
Clicked on the YTMND site, then shrunk it down while I continued catching up on your blog. I didn’t realize it had sound- gave my daughter and me quite a scare until I figured it was the computer. Pretty funny. Haven’t read it yet.
If you would like to learn to Navajo ply over President’s Day Weekend, I will be in the Philadelphia area and am more than happy to teach you this technique. I love it; there are never any leftovers on one bobbin like two-ply.