Handspun Socks!

Well, I don't have handspun socks quite yet, but I am certainly on the right path.  I was very excited to find that I can indeed spin a 3-ply fingering weight yarn.  The breakthrough came with the workshop with Amelia Garripoli.  Behold:

Of course, I am chomping at the bit to reel this off into a ball and cast on, but I'm trying to restrain myself.  For starters, I already have a pair of socks on the needles and this is only enough for one sock.  I still have to spin the rest for the second sock.  With a busy week coming up, I may not get around to that for a week or more.  We'll see how long I can hold out, but if you are a betting person, I think you know where I would recommend you place your wagers!

I do have two FO's to show - a quick and easy project courtesy of Knitting Pure and Simple.  In just two days I knocked off two Little Girl's Shrugs:

The picture is kind of dark courtesy of an overcast day and the dark yarn.  The yarn is Knit Picks Cotlin, color coffee.  This was such a fun and easy pattern.  They were literally accomplished in two days of fairly easy knitting.  These will be perfect for keeping little shoulders warm during our cool spring evenings.  I mentioned last post that I mistakenly ordered 3 instead of 4 skeins.  When I called to order another one, it was backordered until the end of May, which also meant a different dye lot.  I decided to plunge ahead and was pleased to discover that I could make the two shrugs out of 3 skeins, with some left over!

Hubby mentioned the other day that my quilting has really taken a back seat to other endeavors.  Perhaps it has, but I haven't abandoned it entirely.  I've been working on a bunch of UFO's in that area and actually finished one this week:

It does actually lay flat without rippling, but I was trying to get a quick picture before a certain puppy could make herself comfortable right on top of the quilt.  This was a machine embroidered piece and was great fun to make.  I was able to find all the blues in my stash, with the exception of the long border strips and binding.

Quite a busy week coming up.  This afternoon I have to trek back to the dentist.  Yuck!  I've had enough of dentists to do me for quite a while.  This appointment will be to start the crown on the tooth that had the root canal.  At least the extraction site is healing and I'm relatively pain free in that area. 

However, the rest of the week will likely prove to be a lot more fun!  Sunday we are going over to Ben & Abby's to celebrate Isobel's and Bill's birthdays.  I'll be sure to get pictures of the girls in their shrugs.  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday is the spinning workshop with Anne Field.  I am so excited about it!  I really hope to greatly improve my skills, then start spinning on the yarn for Ben's sweater. I will try to remember to take my camera and get some pictures.  Usually in such circumstances I'm so excited that I completely forget!

Comments

[Abby]

The shrugs look adorable! Can't wait to see them on the girls. :)

[KathyInIowa]

I have yet to spin a 3-ply sock yarn. Any tips you want to share with me?

The shrugs are adorable - I'll be looking forward to those b-day photos!

[Vera]

Wow, you got those shrugs done quickly. I love the Knitting Pure and Simple Patterns; they are very nice and well written.

[Dorothy]

Dumb luck, maybe?? Im not sure that I have any nuggets to offer. At the workshop Amelia gave us samples of her sock yarn to pull apart and analyze. I just tried to get the drafting as thin as I possibly could and seemed to luck out. I am a little disappointed, however. I couldnt resist starting a sock and I think Im going to run out of yarn! Each pack of three bumps is supposed to make one sock. I know I didnt have that much waste while spinning and Im making a ladies small. I even made the cuff about an inch shorter than I usually do. Rats! I think Ill spin up the second set and see if I have any left over from that. If not, I may contact the seller and ask if I can buy just a couple more ounces. I dont have enough experience to know if this is my fault or something I need to watch out from this seller.

Dorothy

[Lorette]

The yarn looks great! I have no suggestions on the yardage, though. You could always make kid socks with it if you can't get more fiber.

I've started to weigh my fiber just to make sure it's what it says it is. I think I should also weigh the finished yarn and keep track of it just for my own education. Did you get that at the spin-in? Was that the stuff in the pre-measured packages of different colors?

[Pat]

Pretty pretty sock yarn - is it going to stripe blue/gray?? Keeping my fingers crossed for you yardagewise - do you know how many yards you had in that skein?

Beautiful little blue quilt too :-)

[gayle]

Birthday parties and a spinning workshop! Those will go a long way towards offsetting the dentist visit.
All your projects look great!

[coach wallets]

Summer is the great season for all sports in the open air. People can go swimming and sightseeing. It is time for all things to grow up.