500 grams of possibilities

Here are 500 grams of possibilities:

Handspun from roving from the stash. Awaiting a spinning weekend in Warwick, Qld on March 12 - 14 where there will be a natural dyeing workshop (among others). I don't know quite what to expect, but I hope I don't get orange!

The yellow returneth ... sort of

The missing yellow has returned. Just in time for the last few stitches of the toe graft.

So I now have a "pair" of socks that I deliberately made not to match, but that the knitting goddess has decided will really not match.

I unwound the remaining yarn, & all the yellow was present & correct. (2 pattern repeats worth) So if I had started the second sock without re-winding the ball, I would have had one sock with yellow where there should have been yellow, & one sock half and half. I think if I had to choose, I would rather have what I wound up getting. But still, a fraternal pair would have been nicer.

Where did the yellow go?

Working on my current travelling sock, I finished the first one, & re-wound the ball so the pattern repeat would go the other way for the second. (So it doesn't look like I've attempted to match them perfectly & failed.) Somewhere along the way the yellow seems to have gone AWOL.

Not a very good photo. Sorry, I'm still learning!

For those of you playing at home, it's a Moda Vera Noir (Spotlight) sock yarn - colourway Dnmmix.

Maybe the yellow will make a return appearance ... maybe it won't. Do you think it's going to look odd?

The house of "stuff"

I was stash diving, & found a poem I wrote nearly 10 years ago. Not that much has changed over the years - except for the inevitable increase in "stuff"!

I thought I'd share it with you:



My house is filled with stuff.
It has bags and bags of fleece.
Some are dyed and some are washed,
And some still in the grease.

There are half-knitted jumpers, half made rugs,
Even a cross-stitch or two,
(My problem is just, that I cannot walk past,
A wool shop without going ooooo!)

In the laundry there are buckets,
All soaking with water and wool,
The lounge it abounds, with pounds and pounds,
Of dripping skeins of wool.

There's a Lazy Kate, a wheel or two,
A basket or three (alright, lots),
Jelly crystals, plants outside,
And lovely big dyeing pots.

There are boxes of wool all wound into balls,
And mountains of patterns and books.
They're stacked into cupboards and shelves and nooks,
And there's more every time that I look.

The house is a mess, yes I have to confess,
That the beds go unmade (yes, it's true)
But I'm busy spinning and dyeing and knitting.
There's NOTHING that I'd rather do!

Coasters

Around xmas, I had a little accident involving one of my two glass coasters. You guessed it - the coaster is no more. I'd been thinking about making my own, but couldn't seem to find the right pattern. Crazy, right? I've only been knitting for about 30 years, so what do I need a pattern for?

Here is some 8ply handspun alpaca before ...

And after felting (by hand in the kitchen sink - hard work!)

Bit wonky around the edges, but I think they'll do the job.

Oh, and if you think using this alpaca seems like a waste? It's actually really scratchy. You would not want this next to your skin.

Welcome to my first ever blog.

Let me introduce myself ...

I spin, dabble with dyes, and knit. Oh, do I knit! Never not knitting. There's always a travelling sock in my handbag.

I plan to use this blog to document my spinning & knitting journeys as I strive to improve my skills. (Also to try to improve my computer & camera skills, but I digress.)

Stay tuned ...