Showing posts with label drop spindle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drop spindle. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Back in the swing of things

I think I've been in a knitting slump lately. I know I was in a spinning slump. I'm not sure what has changed, but I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things again. I even have proof.

After much deliberation, I decided to start Anne's Bee Fields shawl. I've loved the pattern since she designed it, but I was waiting for a lull in the knitting to start it. I currently have 2 of the 4 chart repeats of the first section finished. There's no rush on this, but I do want to finish it in a more timely manner than my last two big lace projects. Here's where things stand right now:
I decided to go with the Wooly Wonka laceweight merino (just as Anne did in the original shawl), but I went with "The Silk Road" colorway. The yarn is incredibly nice to knit with and I will absolutely consider it again for future lace projects.

After months of sitting on my desk, casting forlorn looks my way, I got my drop spindle out this weekend. I have 4.6 oz of 100% merino fiber from Copper Pot Woolies in the "Hot Rocks" colorway and I had spun just a bit of it right when it arrived. Then as I said, my poor lonely spindle has had to wait until now for me to get with the program. Here is the progress so far:
I have not done any plying yet with these singles, so I am eager to see how the actual yarn turns out. I'm loving the color though. And I have to say...as much as I would love to have a spinning wheel, I really do enjoy spinning on a drop spindle! A wheel would just be so much faster.

Maybe I'll have another progress report later in the week.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Trying Again

So I bought a drop spindle last year and immediately tried it out. Then I got frustrated and put it away. I've always wanted to try again, but wished I had someone local I could go to for help, or even more convenient, find a helpful video online. Then Erin started playing with her new drop spindle and I knew I had to get mine out and see if I could do better than I had done before. Darn that Erin.

I played with the spindle off and on all day yesterday and was finally able to come up with this. Obviously, it's not terribly even, but the two strands on the penny show the variation I'm getting. Those are pretty much the thickest and the thinnest that I was able to spin.


Must keep practicing.