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Tag: drop spindle

  • Is it Yarn Yet?

    Tonight I played with my new drop spindle and some roving that was here, and look:

    Spun yarn on a drop spindle
    Spun yarn on a drop spindle

    It took a few tries, but guess what? It’s yarn! My roving on the other end is a bit of a twisty mess but I am trying to get the hang of managing the twist as it spins. Of course I spent the evening doing this instead of knitting on my scarf for my friend Jen. But I did get quite a lot of knitting done on the commute today. I still have hope that between now and the weekend, some miracle will happen and I will be able to get the scarf done.

    But hey, my first yarn! How exciting is that? Ok, it’s only a few inches of yarn, but it’s yarn! Who would have ever thought I’d get excited about making my own yarn, when I’ve been promising myself all these knitting years that I really don’t need another fiber obsession? I can tell already that spinning is seriously addictive. I’ve got a typical all-over soreness that I get from tensing up when I learn something new. I hope I can get comfortable enough soon so that this feeling goes away. I guess that means there’s more practice spinning in my future!

    What is it?

    Lookie at what I got in the mail today:

    seed stitcher tool
    seed stitcher tool

    I used to knit with a Bond Incredible Sweater Machine, but stopped completely when I learned to hand knit. I really don’t have room to set it up in my house since the addition of a little boy, first with playpens, and now with train tables and Legos abound. But there are one or two little gadgets I miss, especially this one, as I recently found out.

    This little double ended latch hook tool is used to create seed stitch on the machine, which is really only capable of producing stockinette on its own. Well, in working on my February Lady Sweater, and dropping garter stitches one too many times, I realized that this tool is something that would make it so much easier to fix the dropped garter stitch. Basically, on the knit side you grab the ladder in the latch and pull through as you would with a crochet hook, but then you push it through to the other end and grab the stitch in the other direction for the purl side. I’d make a video to show what I mean, but there’s one on the Knitting Today site already. It shows the tool in use on a machine, but hand knitters can easily see what’s happening to the fabric and figure it out. I think everyone who garter stitches a lot needs one of these!

    Back to the scarf knitting tomorrow. Maybe I’ll post a pic then. See ya!

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  • New Stuff in the Knitting Bag!

    It’s been a mundane Saturday at my house. But, perhaps I’ve needed one. My DH let me sleep in til 11:30 this morning. I can’t remember the last time I did that! I got quite a bit of knitting done on my scarf in progress, but I am not going to show you that. Let’s just say it now looks like it’s going to be a scarf when it grows up, but realistically, there’s no chance in you-know-where that it’s going to be done by next Sunday. So instead, I thought I would show you some of my latest knitting-related acquisitions. First, I’ll start off with a wonderful new book I got while at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this year.

    Everything Old is New Again for Baby

    This adorable little book, Vintage Baby Knits: More Than 40 Heirloom Patterns from the 1920s to the 1950s is really no little knitting book. It contains a plethora of patterns for babies. My mother had some old knitting books from the 50s in her collection–I remember reading them and not understanding a thing about what they were trying to tell me to do. Many years later, I of course became a knitter, and you know what? I went looking for those patterns, and was dismayed to discover that I still didn’t understand them. This book attempts to solve that problem. The author, Kristen Rengren, is a lover of vintage knits and has translated some classic baby wear designs from decades past into modern knitting language and modern yarns.

    The photographs in the book are just too adorable for words; who could resist all of the adorable wee babes wearing beautiful knitwear?

    There are many cardigans to choose from, and cute little booties and soakers, and pullovers and blankets, and an adorable hat or two. There are even some toys tucked in there, so just about everything you could ever want to knit for a baby is contained within the pages. An adorable sailor sweater and classic argyle are among the vintage looks… and lots of lacy, delicate little things that just make it so fun to dress the little one. There’s even a gorgeous christening gown, that maybe if I start it now, I’ll be done by the time my 13-year-old daughter becomes a mother (sometime in her 30s, of course!).

    I see that Amazon has this book for a very reasonable price, so if you love to knit baby things, go get this book now! You won’t regret it. I paid list price, but I don’t mind. I got to meet the author at the festival, and see? Mine is signed:

    Kristen Rengren signed my copy of Vintage Baby Knits
    Kristen Rengren signed my copy of Vintage Baby Knits

    You Spin Me Right Round

    Also while at the festival I bought one of these:

    Golding Drop Spindle
    Golding Drop Spindle

    It’s a drop spindle by Golding and it is a beautiful thing. Now, I’ve tried my hand at drop spindling a couple of times, and I haven’t had much luck with it yet. I bought some practice roving at the festival for a very good price, and I’m going to learn how to spin if it kills me. Why, do you ask, am I so thusly determined? Well, wouldn’t YOU be determined if THIS was waiting for you???

    purple, olive and brown roving
    purple, olive and brown roving

    Uh huh. I thought so. When I start something, I dive in with both feet. I wasn’t content just to have my little inexpensive scratchy roving. I needed an incentive, and this is it. It’s a Lorna’s Laces Wool Top Roving in the “Purple Iris” colorway. It is SO soft. I’m half tempted to stick some wiggle eyes on it and call it a stuffed animal and let it be. Who am I to think I can make some pretty yarn out of that? I hope I can do it some bit of justice. Meanwhile I’ll practice away on my gray Icelandic roving. I’m sure my yarn will have some interesting textures, but isn’t that half the fun?

    Meanwhile, I’ve got a scarf to finish. Better run. See you soon!

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