Clockwork

A local yarn store -- Fibre Space in Old Town Alexandria -- had a Miss Babs trunk show several weeks ago. One of the samples was Clockwork, by Stephen West, knit in Sojourn. Sojourn is a very soft, heavy fingering weight cashmere & silk blend yarn. I picked skeins of navy (blue) and nori (green), but when I began knitting I saw that the contrast was far too low to show off the stripe pattern. So I sent off for some lighter green (coventry), which worked well. It's finished and blocked, and is even softer now. The pattern is basic garter stitch stripes, with slip stitch contrasting columns of stockinette stitches.

My First Yarn

Recently, I plyed and skeined my first batch of yarn that I spun on a spindle. Three small skeins, probably enough for a hat and maybe a matching cowl, plus some single laceweight left over. The top I spun was some beautiful Miss Babs dyed top -- mixed bluefaced leicester (BFL) if I remember correctly. I like the way the yarn turned out, but I clearly need more practice!

SOS #3

I finally got the third pair of Summer of Socks done. I had a severe case of Second Sock Syndrome with these, but I forced myself to finish by 9/21/11 because I wanted to be in the running for a prize by completing all three pairs within the time allotted. I wanted these to look completely different from last month's pair, even though the two patterns were very similar. As I was casting on, I knew that the dark yarn with a slight fuzz would not show off the lace pattern, but I kept on anyway. I think these will be good winter socks and will go well with all the black that I wear.

Now I can cast on something else!

Learning to Spin

I'm inbetween my two spindle spinning classes, learning to spin. The class is held at Fibre Space in Old Town Alexandria. The teacher, Antonia Bookbinder, taught herself to spin two years ago so that she could teach spinning for boys wanting a Boy Scout merit badge and has been teaching children. Sunday's class at Fibre Space was her first class for adults. Fibre Space generally keeps the class size small -- we had 5 people in the class. A book the teacher suggested is one that I already have: Respect the Spindle by Abby Franquemont. I purchased it when it first came out because I wanted to learn to spin, but it seemed too intimidating to teach myself. I am glad I am taking a class . . . it is easier than I thought, but I am still in the early stages, so my yarn is the thick-and-thin type made by beginners. I spin a little bit each day, in small increments, and already I am learning a lot by trying different things as I practice.A lot of people move on from the spindle to the wheel, but Abby Franquemont does a good job of arguing for the use of a spindle.

Messenger Bag

After having so much fun sewing the project bag on Monday, I spent Tuesday sewing a simple messenger bag, following tutorials I found on the internet. This one uses fabric I got at G Street Fabric for this purpose a while ago -- home dec fabric for the outside and some red batik quilting cotton for the lining. It's about 10" wide by 13" high by 3" deep -- gussetted with a 3" gusset. The strap is just a smidge narrower than the gusset -- about 2.5". This one has no pockets, etc. It closes with velcro. Now that I know how to do it, I am already planning another one -- wider than it is tall, maybe 2" deep so that it will have a narrower strap, and with pockets. This one will be fine for travel, when I want to carry my camera, folding umbrella, knitting project, hat, etc. I found a tutorial for a zippered messenger bag that I think would be a good base for the second bag.

Quilted Project Bag

Mom sent me a link to a video on Crafty Gemini showing how to make a quilted wristlet bag. I had a "20% off entire purchase" coupon from Joann's, so I went over there & bought the materials to make the bag. I was in the mood for bright color, so I used an orange border print for the outside and coordinating bright pink for the lining. I learned a lot from making it. I'm happy with the result, even though I can point out every little imperfection in it. It's useful, too -- I've got my current knitting project in it. It was a productive afternoon.

Summer of Socks #2

I've finished & blocked my second pair of SOS socks. Now off to knit some more . . . but what?