Time Warp Fiber

Remember than I'm a spinner too? And officially a carder as well. I've branched out an awful lot from that day in a coffee shop with acrylic yarn and a Lion Brand how to knit book. Blending fibers seemed like a natural progression from spinning and dyeing. This project was not so much to work with color as with fibers. I've had some trouble spinning slippery soysilk all by its lonesome, so I wanted some of that. And I had some leftover alpaca. Fleshed it out with good old wool and I was on the move. I'm still working on my carding technique, but it's getting easier. I tend to get between 5 and 8 grams per rolag. Does that sound about right to any carders out there? If you have an efficiency secret, I'd love to hear. I didn't strive for a perfect blend on this, I was aiming for a slubby sort of yarn, with little blips of each fiber taking center stage at times. As you can see in the sample (by the way, I actually sampled!) I think this worked out alright. I'm unsure as to whether I'll over dye this after it's been spun, what do you think? Off hand, I don't think I have any FO's in natural colors for myself, and I've been wanting a brown scarf, so maybe I'll leave it as is. Send happy spinning thoughts my way, as I'll be putting this on the wheel soon. I've had limited experienced wheel-spinning carded fiber, rather than combed, and certainly I've never spun my own amateur attempts on the wheel. Coming soon: a new FO and a sock parade.

Ashford hand cards, shown here with my beautiful hand crafted spindle and some of the fruits of my first carding experiment.

New purchase from Purlescence, lesbian-owned shop in Sunnyvale. Excellent book, fulfills my technique junkie needs.

I had a bit of an adventure today. I took an immensely crowded bus to Santa Monica to explore the three yarn shops there. I began at L'atelier on Montana. I would not go back. I really don't like to speak badly of other knitters, and, by extension yarn shops, which are sort of like knitting temples. After my very wretched bus ride, I came into the shop with a feeling like relief. However, no one greeted me, although the two women behind the counter did stare. Most of the women in the shop were about middle aged, so maybe my being younger surprised them. A twenty-something knitter, even in these enlightened times, still raises some eyebrows. However, when a women seated at  table asked a question about an increase, and I bent to answer her, I was interrupted mid-sentence by an employee and elbowed out of the way. So, I left, more than a little wrung out and disappointed.

I set out for the next store, and realized that the careful notes I had made about directions and addresses had somehow gotten lost. I kept walking, at least half certain that I was on the right road but increasingly nervous. Low and behold, Wildfiber , like a beacon on the horizon. I admit I was a little apprehensive going in, given what happened at the last shop. It could not have been more different. Fair warning, this place will make you dizzy with yarn fumes. They have the largest Koigu selection on the West Coast. And the staff could not have been more friendly. They let me roam unhindered for quite some time, taking it in. I was offered tea and asked to stay a while and knit. I very gratefully accepted, I couldn't have asked for a warmer welcome. And there was stash enhancement. (of course) I very optimistically picked out buttons for my Marina Cardigan, which is now a whopping eight inches long. I think they set off the barely-green color of the cotton yarn. Now I just need to finish the thing. I also got some Cherry Tree Hill yarn in the colorway Winterberry. It's very soft and superwash. This is destined to become a gift, so this will probably be the last you see of it until it's knitted and sent away. 

The last shop I hit was  Yarns Unlimited. It's a family business, and the young man behind the counter was friendly. I got a back issue of KnitScene, but the yarns ran heavy toward acrylic/novelty, which isn't so much my style. But a nice shop, with nice staff.

I would very much have liked a job to have been among my acquisitions this afternoon, but no luck there. I did give Wildfiber my email, in case they find they need another teacher. So, the quest for a summer job goes on.

In other news, I got in two sets of needles from elann.com ,  courtesy of a gift certificate from my sister. I haven't tried Addi Turbos before, so I ordered a pair of 12 inch circs, which I don't think very many other companies make. I want to try them out for sweater sleeves. They're very tiny, making even my somewhat small hands look giant. I also got a pair of Clover bamboo circs. Both of these needle sets are for the green sweater I started before heading west, which I have named Matcha, for the green tea. It will be quite the experimental piece, all the new needles I'm trying. I started with a pair of Crystal Palace bamboo circs, which I like, but the join isn't quite smooth enough to keep the eternally splitty Lara from snagging. I shall test these needles extensively and report back. 

I got these US 3 12 inch addi circs for a sweater sleeve. I've yet to try them, or any addis for that matter. I'm nervous about those itty bitty tips, but I'll give it a shot. Hand for scale.

This thing is incredible. Form and function at the same time, be still my heart. This was a christmas present from Butthead, who humors my yarn cravings with very good grace.

Woohoo swift! The newest and best toy. This was my delayed but much-appreciated christmas present from butthead. It's the full-size swift from Elann and it's lovely. It's almost entirely wooden, only a few bits of wire here and there; it turns beautifully and folds up to almost nothing. I am a very big fan. And of course, the chaotic dorm room in the background, because your humble photographer was too excited to realize that the swift has open spaces, through which mess is visible. Apologies. 

By way of update, I have finished nothing, but hope to have photos of the stuff I finished while I was in hiding sometime soon, maybe today, if it stays sunny. I did, however, add two projects to the WIP list. Butthead wanted a certain dragon and was so appallingly cute I had to agree. The colors he chose are very fiery, and I would definitely recommend the suggested yarn, it gives a very satisfying scaly texture and is very cuddly. The other project is secret gift knitting, which I am trying to prioritize so it can be gifted in time. Work continues on the others, although I haven't been at my wheel much lately. Pace has picked up aroud here, and while I'm not crazy-busy, it's not easy to find some uninterrupted spinning time.Iv'e gotten quite a bit done on the frumptastic sweater while sitting at a table attempting to sell tickets to a drag show to our conservative student body. Certainly entertaining, and good zombie knitting tme. I think I've come to accept that the Feather and Fan Shawl may never end, but I'm not too disappointed as the yarn is a dream to work with. Particularly after I switched it to some newly acquired KP Options . If you haven't tried these, do it. I'm far too poor for addi turbos, so I can't make the comparison everyone has been, but these have become my favorites right away. I'm not as crazy about the dpns, as I prefer bamboo there, but the circs have stolen my heart. Having used them for the frumptastic, I went to work on the shawl using another brand and was appalled. I was going to be sensible and just get a few as I need them, but the temptation is strong to just get them all. That might be the best part, that I can pick and choose which ones to buy when. Oh the irony that I bought my denise set not 3 months before Options were premiered. Oh well, it's not like there could be too many needles.

My kpixie order came today. Wonderfully fast shipping, which especially pleases me, as impatient as I am. I got a set of bamboo #1 dpns, which makes two I own. I love to work with bamboo, and hope to do more sock knitting. But an extra set of #1's can't hurt, considering how fickle I am with projects. There's also a teeny little crochet hook, also bamboo. It's 3mm, a letter d. My main thought with this little guy was picking up very small dropped stitches, but I'm not adverse to the idea of little baby hats for charity or the like. I'm happy with the new toys, but nothing like the yarn. This was my major splurge. It's Blue Sky Alpaca yarn, half alpaca and half silk. Oh is it amazing. It couldn't be softer. And the color is the darkest green I've ever seen. Has a lovely sheen too. Now, I really don't need to start a new project right now, as I have three personal ones actively going, plus two for the project, not to mention those that are in time out. But I just don't know that this yarn can wait. So I got industrious and picked out a pattern. I wanted something lacy, but still with some substance. I chose Liesel which I found via knitting pattern central, which is always the first place I look. I adore that site, all those brilliant designers freely sharing their creativity is moving. At any rate, I'm determined to conquer charts. I've done very little with them thus far, but I drool over the lighter than air and beautifully complex shawls I've seen all over blogland. So I copied over the liesel chart and busted out the colored pencils. I've made my mods to the pattern. (does anyone just knit them as they are?) I'm going to do three pattern repeats in stead of two and a smaller gauge, #6 I think. I'm also going to knit it in two halfs and graft it together, to make the leaves flow down on either side. So maybe soon I'll have a photo of the beginning of the scarf to show you. I've been working on the trees mostly. And the shawl at night, but it never looks any different. I've accepted the sweater as a very long term goal, maybe by christmas.

This warping board was actually made by Butthead's father for Butthead's mother long ago, but it came to me with the loom. On it in the photo is a 4 yard warp in linen, the first one I ever did start-to-finish by myself.