The Land of Wool and Honey

The First Yarn of 2011

Looking through my yarn photos of 2011, I was shocked to discover this skein of yarn I finished on Saturday is the first yarn I've made this year.  How can it be?  We're halfway through March already.  Bad spinner.  Lazy spinner.

 

 

Yarn:  "Starlit"

Started: October 2010.

Finished: March 2011.

Yardage: 367 yds--4 oz. 

Fiber Content: 50% Merino wool, 50% silk.

Roving: Hedgehog Fibres, a gift from Cindy.

Weight: DK weight.  2-ply.

Notes:  Silk is a mysterious textile.  Because silk is so lustrous, so seemingly smooth, so um, silky, that you'd think the fibers would glide through your fingers with just a gentle flick of the wrist.  Think again.  Silk has the tendency to cling to every craggy nook of your epidermis.  You think your skin is soft?  It's not.  This roving was quite frustrating for me to spin until I discovered a game-changing magic ingredient: cocoa butter.  The lotion provided a filmy barrier between my rough winter skin and the flyaway silk, taming the fiber into a more consistent spin.  Whew.  After the introduction of the lubricant (about a quarter of the way through bobbin number two, unfortunately), I felt I could finally ease into the project.  I also let the singles sit--each of them, at different times--for at least a month a piece, which is not normal.  I do prefer to let freshly spun yarn rest for at least 24 hours before plying (to alleviate a bit of the singles' energy), but in this particular circumstance, I only left them so long because lately, I just haven't given spinning very much brain space.

I've been saving that for picking out spring yarns.  Silks?  They're definitely on the list. 

Purple on Parade

Following a trend in October-turns-November--it's like a rainbow around here.  A purple rainbow.  Every color purple under the sun.  

"Wanderlust".  50/30/20 alpaca/merino/silk from Rita, the fiber rockstar.

No-name-yet 2-ply Merino from Yarns.  

Another no-namer.  This time it's Wensleydale from Briar Rose.  So, so lovely.  Hairy, but lovely. 

Predrafted BFL fiber, ready to spin.  Again, thank you, Rita. 

Some rather sticky (but crazy beautiful!) 80/20 Merino/silk from one of my favorite Michigan Fiber Fest friends, Barbara Lambrecht.

And something I can't believe I haven't posted about (seeing as how it's been done for a month!) is the bee-you-tee-ful Daybreak Shawl by Stephen West.  But then again, since my last post, I've started--and finished!-- eight skeins of handspun, a tea cozy, a hat, a pair of fingerless mitts, two other shawls and am nearing the end of this week's project for the 12 Knits of Christmas. 

(Read: I'm a prolific knitter and a lazy ass writer.) 

Pattern: Daybreak by Stephen West

Started: late September 2010

Finished: early October 2010

Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in Eggplant and Aguas, less than one skein each.  (I have enough leftover to make a pair of really cute baby booties from each color.)

Needles: US 4 Addi Turbos--24" circular

Size:  Medium.  Shop sample for Wool & Honey. 

Modifications: Nary a one. 

Notes:  This yarn is so beautiful that it wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit to lay around in piles of it all day long.  You'd swear it had silk in it, but no, just three tightly twisted plies of a supersoft Merino wool.  It's got great stitch definition and with its subtle tonal qualities, makes for a visually stimulating knit, even while plowing through miles of stockinette.  I wouldn't kick this yarn out of bed for eating crackers.

* * * * *

While it may have been quiet around the blog lately (something I always mean to change), things are buzzing here.   Not only have I been wrapping up some last minute holiday plans for the shop, but we're building a brand-new website (with full online shopping capacity--yay!) that we hope to launch soon, soon, soon.  It's taking me longer than I had hoped (doesn't it always?), but the end result will be so worth it. 

Don't Look Now

...but guess who's knitting!

I know I haven't been posting very often or with much content, but I swear, there's been knitting.

And spinning.

Okay, so maybe there's been more input than output, but I really am getting a few things done around here.

Documenting real progress?  One of these days I'll get on it.

Knitting Blues (The Good Kind)

I've just finished a whack of knitting (a shawl, a cowl and two scarves) and spinning (three 2-ply skeins, one singles and on the brink of plying another), but they're all blocking or waiting for me to weave in ends so I can block, post photos and Ravel.

So, while I'm waiting for paint knits to dry, I'd like to share some of the fresh, fibery things that have been inspiring me this week.

 

Leland blue stitch markers.  Brand new and crazy rare.  Call me (231) 228-2800 or email me at spunhoneyfibers AT gmail DOT com to snag a set.

 

Making a painful decision--which 30 colors of Malabrigo Silky Merino to order?  And how do I axe any of these colors?!?

 

Beautiful handspun--the one on the left was spun by Nell, dyed by Elizabeth and the other two were spun by Denise. 

The creative juices are officially flowing.

Labor Day

This is my idea of a vacation. 

Happy holidays, my hard-working fellow Americans! 

What Stash?

On Sunday morning, I headed off to a family mini-vacation in the U.P. (approximately 27 hours of fun), stopping first in Charlevoix to get my midsummer fiber fix.   And I hit it hard.

 

L to R: 50/50 wool/Seacell (Creatively Dyed), 50/25/25 Merino/bamboo/silk (Winterhaven Fiber Farm) and 50/50 wool/bamboo (Creatively Dyed).

 

50/30/20 alpaca/Merino/tussah silk (Yarn Hollow), 50/25/25 Merino/bamboo/silk (Winterhaven).

50/50 Merino/Tencel (Winterhaven), 50/30/20 alpaca/Merino/tussah silk (Yarn Hollow).

 

50/30/20 alpaca/Merino/tussah (Yarn Hollow), 100% Bluefaced Leicester (Yarn Hollow).

100% BFL, both from Yarn Hollow....wow, am I that predictable?

And, wouldn't you know it, when I got home on Monday night, I had a little package waiting for me there, too.  Whoops.

100% superwash BFL (L) and 100% superwash Merino (R) from Fat Cat Knits.  LOVE!

And this one, which has already gone through the orifice once and is ready to ply:

 

I can typically curb this sort of manic cash-flashing, but I actually have an acceptable excuse for this particular stash enhancement.  I'm preparing for (and only just announcing it for the first time at this very moment!) a trunk show of my very own. 

Throughout Thanksgiving weekend 2010 (Friday-Sunday, November 26-28th), I'll be showcasing my handspun yarn, handpainted spinning fibers and samples knit from my own line of patterns, designed specifically for beautiful, unique skeins of handspun yarn.  The trunk show will be here at the shop, with an artist's reception on Friday night from 6-9 (can you say 'chocolate and sparkling wine'?)  I'll be introducing a few surprises as well--it's going to be a crazy awesome weekend.

So, long story short, this stash that I've most recently acquired is not stash at all, but soon-to-be yarn. 

It all makes perfect sense to me.

(While writing this and waiting for my blog photos to load, I may or may not have bought this.  I'm terrible.)
 

Monkey-Off-My-Back Monday

Finito! 

 

 

Hi.  I'm a pocket and I'm red!

 

Seaming, sleeve-setting-in and what it looks like when the yarn breaks mid-skein at the Noro spinning mill and they splice bright blue with red.  Design feature, anyone?

 

1x1 rib button band.  I sew my buttons on with embroidery floss--NEVER with yarn.

And actually, the sweater does fit.  It is a cropped, fitted sweater, so while a few inches of length and maybe two more inches of ease would make me feel a little less like a sausage more comfortable, it fits exactly as the pattern schematics describe.  Who knew?  

More details Raveled here.  (And hey!  While you're checking them out, why don't you join the "Friends of Inish Knits" Ravelry group?  Yes, you.  I'll wait.)  

I've also started another sweater.  

 

This is the left front--the back is done.  Size 10.75 plus chunky tweed plus Sundays off equals mad, mad knitting marathon.

 

With a little time-out for spinning, of course.  (Fiber purchased from Birds Nest Yarns.  This may be my most favorite spin yet.  I mean it this time.)

On an entirely unrelated subnote, try adding 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon to your next chili recipe.  So.  Dang.  Good.  In my house, it went over so well that his exact words were, "This is the chili we're going to feed our future children."

Happy Monday, y'all.

p.s.  A few new things in my Etsy shop....check it out!
 

Twenty-Ten: Year of the Yarn

So.  Here we are.  Rockin' the new year.  Mine has started out in the very way I meant it to.

With yarn.

 

"Fairiewinkle."

 

"Shenandoah." 

I have spent the past four days spinning nonstop, which has made me very, very happy.  This excessive giddiness, however, has lead to some crazy scheming, along with several lofty, unrealistic goals for The Year in Handspun.

Eh.  I'm going for it.

I am going to spin 100 skeins of handspun yarn in 2010.

The first skein of the year is "Fairiewinkle", the purple yarn in the first picture above. 

Yarn: "Fairiewinkle"

Fiber Content: 100% Wensleydale wool

Yardage/Weight: 219 yds--4 oz.

Gauge: 2-ply light worsted/dk weight

Started & Finished: January 1st, 2010

Purchased from: Aloft Fibers

Notes:  This was a Christmas gift from my gal pal Cindy. While I have professed in the past to be squeamish about longwool types (Mohair, Coopworth, Teeswater, et al.), it is safe to say that I am now only teetering on the fence. Lovely, lustrous locks may be the new siren song that sends me to my ultimate wooly demise.

The second skein pictured above does not really count as Yarn Spun in 2010, as it was just hanging out on the bobbin and honestly, I didn't really feel like spinning another bobbin full of green.  The solution?  Singles! 

Yarn: "Shenandoah"

Fiber Content: 100% Merino wool

Yardage/Weight: 501 yds--4 oz.

Gauge: singles sport weight

Started: November 2009

Finished: January 1st, 2010

Purchased from: Freckle Face Fibers.  Duh.

Notes:  You may recognize this yarn.  After spinning an entire sweater for myself last winter (2-ply), then being commissioned to spin another 1100 yds in November, I really couldn't stomach any more green wool.  (Plus, I needed to free up a bobbin.)  So I took the lazy way out and made singles instead.  Sue me.

I truly believe that 100 skeins in 2010 is a reasonable goal.  At the moment.  Not pictured is another finished skein of BFL--just needs a wash--and two more projects that are nearing completion.  So technically, I have already met my weekly handspun quota of 1.923 skeins.  Boo-yah.

Just to make sure I'll have enough fiber to get me through, I thought I'd order a little more. 

Just in case.

p.s.  I will have a photo album on the blog that's entirely devoted to this year's handspun.  Partly because I need to become more organized, but mostly because I really want to see what 100 skeins of handspun look like, all lined up a squooshy row.  You can click on the thumbnails for larger pictures, as well as yarn specs. 

There and Back Again: A Knitter's Tale

Although I haven't spent the last month trudging through the fires of Mordor, I am about as winded as one must be at the end of an epic journey.  Since my last check-in, I attended a Fiber Fest (to buy more stuff of course!), dyed 15-ish pounds of BFL, spun five? six?  twelve? an unknown number of four-ounce skeins, manned a hopping booth at the Leland Fiber Fest, enjoyed the most successful month of 2009 to date at Inish Knits (October--whee!),  and was asked to teach a class at the Northern MI Lamb & Wool Fest 2010.  I also watched the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Again.

There's been knitting, too.

 

Festivus Fingerless Mitts.  Details here.

 

Which became a multi colored version of this.

A failed attempt at a hat:

 

However.  When at first you don't succeed, 

 

Keep on knittin'.

 

A designing/spinning/knitting project is in the works:

 

 

 

Merino and silk, how I love thee.

I am up to my wool-covered ears in custom orders, emails and requests for private instruction.  At least five people every day are added to our email list.  (Email me at inishknits AT charter DOT net if you'd like me to add you!)  In "these trying economic times", it seems that everyone I meet is finding peace in all things handmade. 

I am inspired, renewed and grateful.  
 

Wallowing-in-My-Own-Filth Friday

Holy deadlines, Batman.  This week has been-- how you say?--a bit much.  And this is the death and destruction a week like mine leaves in its wake:

 

Yes.  According to the calendar on the wall, we are still experiencing the month of April.  Thanks for pointing that out.

 

 

Can you say "biohazard"?

Oy.  Thankfully, in this case, I have something to show for my week.  (Well, besides cracked, stained fingernails, dark circles where my eyes should be and a raging addiction to caffeine.)

Dyeing:

 

Drying:

 

Spinning:

 

 

And a bit of sewing, too:

 

TGIF?  Yeah, I can dig it.

p.s.  As the ultimate treat to myself for a week of work well done, I am heading tomorrow to the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Fest.  Will you? 

p.p.s.  In the spirit of Friday randomness, just thought I'd pass on this week's factoid.  Laura Nyro was nominated (posthumously, of course) for an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Finally!