Multidirectional

When I still had only my borrowed spinning wheel I spun 4 oz of superwash Merino Top into a thick and thin singles yarn. ( What else can a beginner spin?) I did well on the twist especially after reading this article about twist angles. In the meantime I might have learned how to avoid spinning the thin, thin parts ( if you don’t want them that is).

Apparently when I spin yarn I have to knit it up immediately, so I was looking for a project and found this scarf pattern on Ravelry. ( Instructions can be found here)

I partnered my handspun with undyed Riverstone yarn from Louet and after all the knitting was done I added little triangles in crochet as a border*.

It took about 100g ( 3 1/2 oz) each of the two yarns. I knit it on 4.5mm needles and the scarf is 5 1/2 inches ( 14cm) wide and just under 2 yards (1,75m) long.

It was a fun knit, the scarf looks pretty and my daughter wants it – a successful project.

*I made it up, it was something like this: (chain 3, turn, single crochet 1 into the chain and single crochet 1 into the scarf, turn, slip stitch one into the chain and 1 into the scarf) repeat

I Love Stripes

When I was looking for something to knit on our vacation I found a picture of a cheerfully striped sleeveless sweater on Ravelry. I thought it was the perfect vacation project: an easy knit and colourful.

The yarn I chose was Louet Gems worsted weight and I dyed it as a transitional yarn in two giant skeins: one in dark colours and one in light colours. I decided the stripes two rows wide and alternate between the dark and the light yarn. To ensure a good fit I decided to make my own pattern. For that I went to my dress form and took measurements on it, starting from the length of the sweater to where the waist would be, the armholes and neck opening. I wanted a somewhat loose fit and added 2 inches of ease.

When I had knitted about 8 inches I tried the sweater on and it was much too wide. I had knitted it exactly to my measurements, but the fabric stretched so much, that it became too large. So I started over with zero ease.

The hem is knit in garter stitch. The collar is 9 inches long and knit in stockinette, because I like how it drapes. To tidy up the armholes I crocheted one row single crochet and added a second row in slip-stitch to mimic a knitted stitch.

I like my new sweater a lot. It fits exactly the way I wanted it to and adds some colour to my wardrobe. It took 460g ( just over 1 pound)/ 800 yards of yarn and I knit it on 4.5mm needles.

The Queen of Treats

Look, what was delivered to my door:

I am so excited about my first, very own spinning wheel! The decision to buy one was not easy. I had been thinking about it for 2 years. First of all they are not cheap and then I am very busy as it is. How much time will I have to actually spin? Will it end up gathering dust in a corner while I feel bad about it?

The reason why I decided to buy it is that I enjoy spinning immensely and I almost love knitting with handspun yarns even more. So I treated myself to something fun even though I might not find a lot of time for spinning or I might never quite get the hang of it. Not everything in life has to be sensible, right?

So here I am already planning my first project, immersed in my spinning books whenever I have a moment:

• Intertwined by Lexi Boeger
• Start Spinning by Maggie Casey
• Creative Spinning by Alison Daykin and Jane Deane

Oh, the possibilities!