Spinning merino

Just wanted you to see my next project.

The wool is from Limmo design.
Spun straight from the top and 3 plied.
Very soft, and kuddly, I can't walk past it without feeling it!

Actually quilting!

I don't know why I've been spending so much time spinning and knitting lately... I walk past my sewing room and sigh... wishing for time in there...

Finally I've got myself a couple hours with my beautiful sewing machine, and I had a great time!  I've been working on a BOM from Florida Cabin Fever and it's been hanging on my design wall.

Now I've got most of the top finished, working on the pieced border.  The pictures are not great, but I think you get the idea?

There are more borders coming, hopefully I will able to show you the finished quilt soon!

A cowl for coming winter

I found this wonderful merino yarn and just could not resist it!  Check it out:  link  I ended up making a cowl!

The pattern is very simple, I found it on Intrepid Fiber Wizard's website.  I did change it a little and used a full 100 gr skein of yarn which made the cowl long enough to become headgear as well.  The springiness of the yarn makes a very elastic fabric, which is great for this project.

Wonderful yarn.
Great pattern.
Simple knitting.
Quick project.

Can it get better?

A skein of lace yarn

The lace yarn is now plied and washed.  It is 185 meters and 50 grams of swedish rya wool, combed and spun worsted.

I have no idea what is to become of it... yet.  It might get dyed, it might "grow" beads.

Spinning lace

I've been exploring my spinning, wih the help of a book I bought the other day.  The book is Spinning wool, beyond the basics by Anne Field.

The book is... dry, fact filled, somehow boring, and completely enthralling.  It takes you through the physiology of sheeps wool, the anatomy of a spinning wheel and makes you want to spin the perfect yarn for your wool.

I am by no means making the perfect yarn for my wool.  But I am spinning a controlled lace.  The wool is a swedish rya, staple length about 15 cm, combed and spun on my Ashford Traveller.  I'm spinning it with 23 twists to 2 inches, and plan to make a equalized 2 ply.

Which ever way you turn it, this is fun!

Ullared progress

The Ullared sweater is slowly coming along, I'm slowly making my way to the armpit where I will be adding a arm gusset.  More on this later.

You want to see?

In the red

I've been spinning some red wool locks I had in my stash.  The first time I spun this wool I carded it, and it resulted in theese mittens.

Here is a picture of the yarn.  Not ugly, but somehow... bland.

I like them, but the colors didn't really pop like they do in the locks..

So, this time I combed the locks (with a dog comb from the pet shop..) and spun it with short patches of each color.  I haven't knitted anything out of it yet, but I like the results better.

I know, the white doesn't show in the locks, that's because  the dye didn't completely saturate the locks and the middle parts are undyed.