Spinning

I have been taking part in the Tour de Fleece on ravelry for the last couple of weeks, which means that I have been making an effort to do a bit of spinning every day. So far I have finished the first skein from the new wheel:


Merino dyed by Anna Harris, 570m/93g. I was expecting/aiming for about 400m, so I was quite surprised how much more length I got out of it. I'm not complaining though, fine is good - it made me feel a bit better about how long it took to ply too...

After that I started on some Halfbred from Heavenly Wools, in Salamander on Dark Grey (purples and greens). It is definitely a bit different to spin after the merino, and I'm really enjoying it. I've definitely come to the conclusion that I prefer other fleeces to merino, both for working with and for wearability (although it is nice to snuggle some super-squishy merino every now and then).

I have done quite a bit more than this, but all you can see on the bobbin in later photos is greens, this gives a better hint of the full colour range, even though it has only just started into the green at this point. I am planning to navajo ply this to keep the colours nice and crisp, and with any luck it will turn into something suitable for making a nice winter hat.

Accomplishments!

I have been feeling pretty braindead recently, but I'm happy to say that I've managed to finish charting the first incarnation of a baby blanket pattern. Eric's blanket was the prototype, so it's only taken me nearly 2 years to get it sorted out...



Next job for that will be tweaking and trying out some sample ideas for the shawl version. And then a bunch of pattern writing.

I don't expect any of that to be happening too soon though, this just means that I've got a bit of a head start on it when I get a chance to pick it up properly.

Stocking progress, and a couple of finishes

Two out of three pages of stocking are now done

I think this will be getting a break after I finish page 3, before I move onto the backstitching and knots.

I have also finished a cardigan:

Pattern is Brunello from Knitty. Now I just need to wait for the weather to be warm enough to wear it!

And a pair of socks:

Pattern is Sockdolager, and was the first round pattern in Sock Madness this year (a sock knitting marathon that I discovered partway through last year). I didn't do very well at finishing socks, but it was fun to watch along and see the interesting patterns.