Because you couldn't escape the photos

[untonuggan]

Yay! Internet back. Huzzah. I did lots of knitting and spinning and fulling the yarn and only once accidentally whacking my hand on the bathtub while fulling the yarn. I also knit with my handspun! \o/

I decided I couldn't wait for enough of one yarn for a full project to try it, so here's the plan: I'm spinning lots of the colorful fiber for a big project (well, big in terms of homespun. Maybe a cowl? Or a hat? I have 50 yards of single ply right now I think that's unfulled in about a worsted weight. Need MOAR.)

In the meantime, the neutral colored stuff is - HERESY OF HERESIES - being mixed with machine spun yarn to make a shawl. In my defense, the fiber is from a local alpaca farm (they outsource the spinning).

I think it looks swell (if a little bit scrunched in order to stay on the needles):



The texture of the my homespun is pretty funky:



I am glad it looks good in garter stitch, because I am herxing at the moment and so I can't manage anything complicated. My brain just won't compute. Thus, these two lovely projects are languishing in the wings even though they're close to done.


Here's the cardigan I'm making for myself; it just needs sleeves but I'm not up to knitting on DPNs, especially if they're attached to a great big swath of yarn like that. :D Plus, I want to add that lace pattern to the end, too. So yes. This will have to wait. I just hope it's done in time to wear it for spring!


I'm also knitting a shrug for my mom in this lovely lace pattern, which was really easy to do when I wasn't herxing. Ah, well. My brain will come back to me eventually and then I can finish it. *grumbles to self*

In the meantime, I seem to be able to spin okay, so I'll just be thankful for that. <3 <3 <3

ETA: I am also now of enough spinning proficiency that I can spin while talking on the phone if it's on speakerphone. \o/

Comments

[tyger]

\o/ The handspun looks really good like that!

And that is an epic cardi; I hope you can get it done for spring too! :D

[untonuggan]

^_______^

Thank you!
I hope so, too. Hopefully soon my brain will be back to full functionality/more functionality and then I can manage DPNs. Until then - garter stitch and spinning, which is quite a lovely combo. :D

How is your knitting?

[tyger]

^____^

It is a good combo! :D

Me, not so much. It's been hot enough it'd stick to my fingers, so I've been doing... well, not much, really, but avoiding that, heh.

[untonuggan]

Avoiding the heat is an important task, which it sounds like you have been doing with aplomb. Go you!

[tyger]

Haha, I try! <3

[kaberett]

I am really enjoying all of your updates on your spinning progress. <3

[untonuggan]

Thank you! The weasels said it was boring, but I said it was awesome and so I am glad you like it. ^________^ Boo weasels!

[lynnoconnacht]

They don't know what they're talking about! This isn't boring! This is vibrant and lively and lovely too (yes, fingers, you get to make that typo on purpose now), and loving and squeeful and awesome and all things good.

*waves... her laptop charger at weasels because it's all she's got near at present* Go away, weasels! You lie!

[untonuggan]

<3 <3 <3

[vae]

Hooray for spinning! I really am terribly impressed.

[untonuggan]

Thank you! It's actually easier than it looks? I used to be so scared of it, but really? It's taking stored energy from the spin of the spindle/wheel/whatever and transferring it into the twist of the yarn so the yarn fibers are stronger. Once I learned that, it...well, I couldn't just suddenly do it, but it made a lot more sense strategically. If you know what I mean. And it's SO MUCH FUN. ^__________^

[alee_grrl]

So many pretties! Love the way the homespun is turning out. It's very nice. The cardigan and shrug are also lovely. You are very talented my friend. :)

[untonuggan]

Thank you SO MUCH. I had an awful night and this means a lot.

[alee_grrl]

::hugs::

[northern]

The different textures look lovely together! I also like the colors.

[untonuggan]

Thank you! ^_______^

[lynnoconnacht]

Ooooooh... All so gorgeous. I love those neutral colours. (They just look so warm and cosy.)

WHOOT on your ability to spin while using speakerphone! <3 GO YOU! <3<3<3<3

[untonuggan]

I love the colors toooooooooooooooo. Sometimes I stop knitting and just *squish* the yarn.

<3

[lynnoconnacht]

They are awesome colours! <3<3<3

I don't blame you. <3 I mean, look at that yarn! It's so squishable I might not even get any knitting done at all. Awesome knitting skills and yarn are both awesome. <3

[untonuggan]

Last night I spun 30 yards of two ply! To put that in perspective, on has to first spin one ply, and then ply it into two (also on the spindle). SO MUCH FUN omg. squiiiiishy. The plying process effectively halves the length but makes the yarn thicker and squishier, so you get more knitting powah out of it anyway.

I also have all kinds of poetry ideas about spinning now that I know more about it omg.

[lynnoconnacht]

:O GO YOU! (So does it follow that you can ply it multiple times for thicker yarn or do you need to do something else afterwards? *has no clue how spinning works*)

*SQUEES* Spinning poetry! Spinning is truly one of those gifts that keeps on giving!

[untonuggan]

I think there's a limit to the number of times one can ply yarn together theoretically, but basically spinning works by twisting fiber together to make it stronger and hold together more instead of just being all wispy. When you "ply" yarn, you take two of those strands you just made - or more - and twist them together in the opposite direction to make them even stronger. There are schmancy ways to do it to make it look fancy and pretty, but basically every time you add more twist (by spinning the spindle), you make the yarn stronger.

If you do it a lot of times with steel, you have suspension bridges. *g*

[lynnoconnacht]

Hee! Thank you for indulging my curiosity and explaining. <3

Suspension bridges are essentially made by spinning them? That is the bestest thing I've hears all week. <3

[untonuggan]

<3 It's the industrial kind of spinning (as in, industrial revolution devised this method) obviously other than the drop spindle kind, but yeah, that's basically what happens. Also, rope. ^____^ (I learned some of this in a historic rope factory in Yorkshire.)

[raze]

Welcome back! Looks like your projects are coming out lovely - not that I'd expect anything else. That cardigan is lovely and looks like it's going to be super comfy.

[untonuggan]

Thank you thank you thank you! So far it seems to be, I keep trying it on for size and "forgetting" to take it off *g*.

[geeksdoitbetter]

it's completely reasonable to pair precious limited handspun with copious commercial yarn!

think of colorfully patterned sweater yokes, with handspun as the accent

[untonuggan]

Ooooooh, I like it. ^___^