WIP Wednesday and New Podcast Episode

Whew!  I have fallen off the blogging waggon - it's been crazy busy in the dye room right now, but I'm going to try to get back into the blogging habit.  (And thanks to gentle reader, Laura, for a nudge - I promise some reading updates tomorrow!).

For now, tho, I've got a new podcast episode up, recorded this past Sunday, October 16, 2016.

In this episode, I talk about:

Austin Yarn Crawl and the Happy Ewe in Jonestown, TX

FO: 
Cenote Shawl and Spin + Knit magazine

WIP: 
Sekret Knitting project for March in Kid Silk Haze. 
Strawberries and Cream socks. Pattern by CC Almon. Yarn is Wooly Wonka Aerten Sock in Parfait.

Ongoing KALs: 
Handspun KAL: Hosted by me. Runs through December 31, 2016. 
Box O Sox KAL: Hosted by Kristen of the Yarngasm Podcast. Runs through December 31, 2016. 
TBK Sock Club 2016: Hosted by Jilly of The Knitting Broomstick. Runs through December 31, 2016. 
Coffee with CC KAL: Hosted by Jilly of The Knitting Broomstick. Runs through December 31, 2016. 
Filament KAL – any pattern from the new Filament Fall 2016 issue. See more details in the Ravelry forum.

Socktoberfest KAL - hosted by me. Runs through October 31, 2016.

Handspun Yarn: 
Spinning merino/bamboo blended roving from Hilltop Cloud

Stitching: 
Babushka’s Blossoms pattern

WIP Wednesday: March 9, 2016

And here's what I'm working on this week!

Sekret Knitting:

• More by the skin of my teeth than I'd like, I got the final magazine deadline project out the door.  (And no, it wasn't overnighted but I have issues about paying the Post Office a gazillion dollars to ship something, so I just power knitted for 2 days and shipped it out Thursday a.m. so it would arrive Monday via regular Priority Mail.)  Whew!
• I've moved onto a design I'm working up for Jen at Spirit Trail Fiberworks for her booth at Maryland Sheep and Wool.  While I can't share the design details with you, I can show you the fantastic colorway she sent me to work with.  This is on her Sunna fingering weight, which is a 75/15/10 blend of superwash merino/cashmere/bombyx silk.  She will have some of this colorway (Angel's Trumpet) up on the website shortly if you don't have plans to attend Maryland and want to pick some up.  It's a seriously beautiful yarn and I'm thrilled with the design so far.  This will be a summer/warm weather garment, with a bit of lace and minimal finishing that you can toss on for all sorts of occasions.  I'm just about finished all the upper portion of the bodice and I'm ready to start the lacey bits.  My plan is to have the sample finished by March 18th, so I'm focusing primarily on this right now. 

• Next in the design queue will be the Heroines shawl for May 1st.  I've got the yarn dyed for my sample and have the basic construction plotted out.  I need to tweak charting before I start knitting, but that'll be my focus project for the end of March. 

Personal Knitting:

• I'm still working on the sample sock(s) for the self-striping colorway for April.  I should have the first sock finished up at least in time for my podcast next week.
• And I cast on Kirsten Kapur/Through the Loops gorgeous Seastripes shawl pattern.  I'm knitting this with a handspun gradient that I spun last year with fiber from Hilltop Cloud.  I'm a wee bit farther along than this picture shows, but still working on the garter stitch section at the top of the shawl and just enjoying the knit.  I'm saving this as a relaxing and fun project for weekend knitting, so no real goals or timeframe on it.  I'll just work on it over the course of the month and see how far I get.

Spinning Friday: November 6, 2015

This week, I finished spinning the singles and plied the gradient I was working on last week.

Yarn Specs:
Roving:  Hilltop Cloud gradient pack in "Lake Shore" colorway, a blend of 50% merino wool, 37.5% shetland wool and 12.5% linen (flax).
Weight: Fingering weight.
Ply: 2-ply.
Yardage: 574 yards/5.1 oz.

I hadn't spun this particular blend before (it's a custom blend from Hilltop Cloud), but I loved it.  Rustic look with the flax, but enough merino in there that it's still passably soft.  I did pretty well on spinning the singles evenly.  I had only about 2-1/2 yards of singles left on one bobbin after I plied, so the color shifts lined up pretty nicely!

With this spin, I'm within a pound of reaching my 7.5 pounds spun in 2015 goal!  I'm hoping I can finish up the next 14 ounces in the next weeks before the year's end!

Spinning Friday: October 30, 2015

I did finish plying the 2 oz of  mixed BFL "Lagoon" from FatCatKnits.  Another skein of worsted weight 2-ply, with 119 yards.

So added to the current pile for this sweater I'm planning to knit, the stack currently looks like:

The current tentative plan is for a cardigan, and I'll use the natural dark brown for the ribbing and lower portion of the sleeves and body, striped with the 2 contrast colors that are sitting up on top, and then work the body in the variegated "Quest" colorway for the remainder. I still think I might be a bit short on yardage, but we'll see.

I then moved on to another spin.  This one is a gradient pack from Hilltop Cloud.  This is a blend of merino and shetland wool, and flax, that's a custom blend.  I have just under 5 oz to work with in this pack, which is in the colorway "Lake House".

It doesn't look like much since all the interesting color shifts are hidden, but I am done bobbin #1 of the singles:

I've started bobbin #2 and I'll be spinning the rest of the singles up this weekend with any luck!

Spinning Friday: August 28, 2015

I've been up to my eyeballs in the dye studio getting ready for my Salida show and filling wholesale orders, but I've been trying to carve out a bit of time at least a couple days a week to maintain some sanity here with my spinning.

I treated myself to a couple of club installments for the fall - to spin something new and keep myself motivated to keep going back to delve into stash.  I signed up for Hilltop Cloud's Time Traveller's Club and the August installment arrived mid-month.  The theme for this month was William Morris's "Strawberry Thief" textile - one of his most popular patterns.

This club is a blended roving with 25% Corriedale, 12.5% Mulberry Silk, and 62.5% Merino wool.  Super soft and it spins like a dream.

It's a little darker in real life.  More navy blue and dark green than the pops of gold the camera picked up.  I got a double dose, so I've got just under 8 oz to work with and I'm spinning it fine for a 2-ply fingering weight.  I think a shawl is slated for the finished yarn when I get it done.

This week, I've just gotten bobbin 1 filled, but I'd like to get bobbin 2 spun up in the next week and plied, since I'm planning on participating in a 2-month sweater spin in September/October.  (More on that to come shortly!)