I’m Knitting As Fast As I Can

Merino and Mohair

I’m not much of a “joiner” and because I’m so picky about fibers and colors I’m even less likely to join something like a yarn or fiber club. That said, joining the Spunky Eclectic fiber club is one of the best things I’ve ever done. The subscription is month-to-month and a shipment arrives unless you cancel the previous month. Perfect for the disorganized part of my soul.

June’s offering arrived in my mailbox on Friday.

Hmmmmm . . . a mohair blend.

Now, mohair is not one of my favorite fibers but this roving was so soft and beautifully dyed that I couldn’t resist immediately tearing it into strips and predrafting it.

My plan was to spin it as a three-ply sock yarn. I figured the mohair would give the finished yarn some durability. I briefly thought about Navajo plying, but my piece had quite a bit of white in it and I didn’t want to end up with long white stripes in my yarn. So I decided to divide it into 3 equal piles and aim for a tweedy look.

By late Sunday morning I had my three bobbins finished.

By early Sunday afternoon, the yarn was plied:

Roving: Spunky Eclectic June club roving (70% merino / 30% mohair) Flowering Weeds colorway

Technique: short backward draw

Wheel: Spun on a Kromski Sonata; plied on a Schacht Matchless DT

Stats: 3 ounces; 3-ply; 241 yards

After it was plied, I let it rest for a day:

Then I gave it a quick, wet finish and set it out to dry.

It think it’ll make some nice socks.

What did I do during my unexpected vacation? The first day or two, I watched a lot of TV. Really. Probably more TV than I usually watch in a year. The next few I still couldn’t drive but I felt well enough to move around a bit without throwing up. So, . . . . .

I crocheted (!) a string bag:

I finished knitting a shawl that I recently designed (pattern soon):

I swatched for another new shawl design:

I knit a felted bag, which still needs straps:

I started a sweater:

I started another sweater:

I read a book:

I read another book:

When I felt considerably better, I spun some amazing silk that Laurie sent me:

Oh, and Paula, I watched my tomatoes, get bigger:

After that, I was exhausted so I marked all my Bloglines feeds as “read.”

Ahhh, so many feeds . . . so little time.

If you’ve been spinning for more than a year, I suspect you remember PippiKneeSocks–pusher purveyor of hand-painted rovings and yarns. Well, Amy posted earlier this week that Pippi is having some financial difficulties and Amy has taken the lead in trying to throw a little cash her way. Any cause of Amy’s is a cause of mine since Amy is one of those people who always steps up to the plate with donations of fiber and yarn from her shop when a cry for help is sounded. So, as soon as I read Amy’s post I started spinning up some merino roving I bought a few months back from Enchanted Knoll.

I finished it last night and set the twist this morning. Despite the rainy weather, it’s already dry:

I’m sending this off to Amy tomorrow and it will be included in the auctions she’s established for Pippi on eBay. She started a couple of those auctions today, including an Indigo Moon batt (swoon!).

So watch Amy’s blog for the auctions. I have it on good authority that there will also be some handspun for sale from spinners far more skilled than me.