In the backyard

Life continues much as it always has here.  There is knitting and spinning happening but I have no photos to share.  No photos of the knitting because this week I made Chuck a new toque and no sooner was it cast off then he was away with it on his head.  I guess he likes it.  The spinning looks just like it did last week, only more of it.

I did however, have a visitor in the backyard this morning.

I also saw the first robin of the season, but I don't have a picture of that either.  By the time I got my camera, it was gone.  There are those who say that if there is no picture, then it didn't really happen.  Believe what you like, I'm clinging to this lovely vision of spring.

Things are Looking Up

I always think of March as being something of an endurance test - something to get through before April and Spring starts in earnest. But today, on the 9th, I feel like things are looking up.

First of all, the sky is blue and the snow is melting.

No really, trust me - it is. And the temperature's are up. Today is only a little bit below freezing. The birds which are still here, the Jays and Chickadees are flitting around the trees and chattering away and there is heat in the sun when it comes through the window. I've also noticed that rivers and streams are starting to open up, which means the ducks and geese will be back soon.

My husband is getting better. He's had an extremely heavy chest cold that was bordering on the plague. This was the kind of cold where he didn't get out of bed for four days - and I've been in the guest room for four days because I didn't want it. He actually got out of bed today, got dressed and ate. Which means I might get to sleep in my own bed tonight. Fingers crossed. On a related note, I've discovered that we need a new mattress for the guest room but that doesn't have to happen right away.

Ian progressed through two levels of snowboarding this year! I don't have a picture of this because I forgot my camera yesterday, but we spent the day at Mount Pakenham where he's been taking lessons. He'll be starting in Level 4 next year - pretty good considering he only started riding a year ago. And while I was there waiting for him.....

...I finished a pair of socks; almost.

I need to graft the toe and weave in the tail from my cast on then I'll have something new. These are knit in Malabrigo yarn in the Archangel colourway.

I also got back in the proverbial saddle and decided to try spinning more Alpaca. This time it is working wonderfully and a good thing too because this isn't actually for me. A couple years ago, a lady I worked for took a vacation to Vermont but before she went she asked me if she bought fibre, would I spin it? And being so keen as a new spinner I said "Sure!"

So I've had this - about a pound and a half of Alpaca fibre in my stash for about two years.

The white is pretty standard white, 4 oz but the brown is the most beautiful mahogany colour which really doesn't show in this picture. She's got 8 oz of that. I'm sure she's a bit annoyed at me by now - or has forgotten about it. Two years ago, I really didn't have the confidence or skill to do it.

Now I feel and do, at least enough to spin this well and give her something that she can use. In exchange for my time, she also gave me 8 oz of Alpaca from a lovely animal named Gus from Maple Farm Alpacas in Brandon, Vermont.

I might have the order of who gets what wrong but either way, it's such a pleasure to spin. I really like how this is prepared, the fibre is extremely clean and wrapped neatly into bumps. While I didn't buy this, I would order more from them (once our dollar goes up again).

Technical SNAFU

So. I received an email today from Google+ saying "this is what your profile looks like" and did I want to add a photo? Since I have a few photos that are good for this sort of thing, I picked one out of a photo album online (first clue) and I inserted that. Then I found a good background image and put that in.

Then I decided to go see what else was on Google+. Piles of stuff, all the pictures from my blog, as well as some things that I don't know where they came from. But the Google+ site was a mess. Lots of the photos didn't make any sense outside the context of the blog so I decided to clean it up. (Alarm bells)

I spent a pleasant evening curled up with the dog, going through these pictures and deleting those which don't really stand on their own...

...and when I went back and opened the blog, was horrified to discover half my pictures are gone and I'm the dumbass who deleted them.

I suppose its a good lesson in illustrating a blog, but right now I'm so mad I could spit nails. So I apologize for the sudden lack of photos here. I'll get them all back. Eventually.

Ice Core II

So to continue to the story of the Ice Core Alpaca that I spun last week.

I actually let it rest on the bobbins overnight.  The next morning I had another look at my bobbins and admitted that one had noticeably less yarn than the others.  OK, well, lets start spinning and see what we get.

So I started plying the three singles together. I had two plies which twisted together just fine and the third was all over the place.

I don't normally have much trouble with yarn, but really, this one ply was just out of control. I pushed through it thinking "I'm the human here, and I dictate what is going to happen". Silly human - what was I thinking. It's been said that its always better if you enter into a partnership with your fibre rather than forcing something on it. In the end, I had to accept that I had one wonky ply.

Then I had to accept that it was overspun. Not just a little bit, I mean it was overspun.

Even after a good soak and beating in the tub it doesn't lie straight. OK, so my yarn has body and that wonky ply now looks like I made a bouclé yarn. So that's what I'll tell everyone.

But back to the remaining two singles on the bobbins. I decided I'd do a two ply yarn and maybe use it in conjunction with the bouclé.  I couldn't spin this to save my soul. I looked and I studied and I Googled and nothing was helping me. Then I sat back and really looked at my remaining singles.

And then I saw it. One was spun to the left, and one was spun to the right. No matter what I do, this isn't going to work. Probably explains the wonky single too.

The moral of the story is, pick a direction to spin your singles and stick to it. I vaguely remember thinking when I started that something was different but I let it go. In the end, I used these two plies to teach myself Navajo plying so it isn't a waste. I'm a little disappointed at such a silly mistake because I really wanted to use the yarn. I can probably still do something with it, but I need to be aware that one third of it is structurally compromised.

Ice Core

Last summer at the Mississippi Mills Fibre Festival in Almonte I picked up this fabulous "petite batt" from Victory Farm Alpacas. The bag says that it is approximately 2 oz which is about 55g.

What is unusual is that I typically prefer to spin with undyed fibre because I'm still fairly new to spinning and undyed is always so much easier. I have heard it said that if you aren't careful when dyeing that the fibre will felt slightly, making it much harder to spin.  I don't know how true that is and I'm reluctant to shift all the blame for my lack of skill to the dyer so don't quote me.

 This, however, was no problem to spin. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it was almost easy. 

The batt was in three layers so that made the "How many plies" decision an easy one.

I expect I'll have the spinning completed today so I can ply it tomorrow.  I'm thinking of making a cowl or perhaps short scarf with a big button.  Something fun.  I'd like to say "something light and flirty for spring" but it's still -10C here so the blue makes me think of the blues you see in ice and snow rather than the blues of Mediterranean Seas.  Then again, maybe I will call this Santorini and tell winter where to go.

Tidepool

So while I was working on the Verchères pullover, I got to a point where I couldn't work in front on the TV without miscounting and having to rip out everything I had done in an evening. So I started something new. The criteria is that it had to be simple enough that I could watch TV while knitting, but not so dull that I lost interest.

It's a funny thing with varigated yarns - they always look so stunning in the store and I tend to buy them on spec. but when I get them home I'm stumped as to what to do with them. What can I make that will show off the colours but will still allow a pattern to show?

This pattern is CashSilk Fern by Sweet Georgia Yarns and is knit in CamelSpin by Handmaiden. I really like the 'hand feel' and drape of the fabric this produced; its easy to maneuver and tie, yet heavy enough to be a substantial winter scarf.

I used one skein to make this.  Finished dimensions are 10" by 66".
Best part is the pattern is free!  Get it here.

Verchères en violet

This has been a long time in the making, I bought the yarn for this (Cascade Yarns Heritage Silk, 85% merino, 15% mulberry silk)  in July 2013 and started working on a pattern in the Amy Herzog book "Knit to Flatter". However, by the second sleeve, I knew that I wasn't in love with that sweater (though I learned a lot about sweater construction and how to custom fit for me so it certainly can't be considered a waste of time). This is the sweater that is on the cover of the Winter 2014 Interweave Knits - Verchères Pullover.

Since I had a sweater's worth of yarn in a colour I liked, I didn't even try to get the suggested yarn. However, my gauge was different enough that I had to recalculate all the stitch counts. I consider it a small mercy that my row gauge was exactly the same.

I also discovered the zen of sewing seams. Because this texture or pattern is horizontal, it is very unforgiving of any errors in the side seams, or under the sleeves. The pattern must match at the seams exactly, or else errors would be highly visible.

The other thing I discovered is I'm really not as young as I like to think I am and I had to wait for a sunny day when I was at home in order to do this work. The dark yarn was too hard to see at night - even with a good light. I also learned the value of basting in the sleeves to set the location and then sewing properly after. What this gives me is a sweater that moves with me, and doesn't bunch up under the arms even though it has about an inch of negative ease.