Falkland!

Quick post before the season premiere of The Amazing Race comes on.
Between rows of the Salem Hooded Jacket from New England Knits and my second Kepler sweater, this:

It plied up to about 149 yards, 13 wpi, sport weight-ish yarn.
There's lots more Sunflower merino to spin because...well because I've been knitting all week instead.
Happy, happy! Joy, joy! A finished object is off the needles! Yes, Virginia. There are unicorns.
Film at eleven....

Autumn's Here!

Progress of Necessity

Three weeks, three days left until the next splurge at the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival.
That means two things: obsessive list making and furious speed spinning! Queue flying monkey theme music from the Wizard of Oz!
Can I really spin at least two ounces per day until the festival? Here's my progress this past weekend.

First up, easy peasy merino spinning. This is three of 8 ounces of multicolored merino in the Sunflower colorway by Cloverleaf Farms. These braids remind me of the "colonial" wool, whatever that means, that I purchased at my very first Rhinebeck. It seems highly processed with no noticeable crimp in texture. In order to keep the singles from snarling, it required that I draft way faster and treadle a lot slower. This is not easy coming from bfl pace.

Not fur nothin' though, I totally would have had an even four ounces done on Sunday were it not for having to give my cat his semi-annual bath. That's right. I said it.
Don't judge. His claws are really sharp!

Now Saturday was all fiber, all the time. I came dangerously close to finishing a vest that may be nice to wear for the trip. There is just the right front to finish and it's done. Your FO vibes are welcome, please send them my way!

When I was all knitted out I made quick work out of four ounces of purple falkland wool from Woolens Bullens. I had forgotten how smooth and luscious this fiber is to spin. Yum!



Just Craptastical!

A whopping 85 yards!

Alls I got from that beautiful batt of Grafton Fibers Corriedale (so far) is 85 yards of snarly attitude. Hmph!
Even though I halved the batt, the bobbins were wildly uneven. Another navajo ply candidate on the to do list. Great. If that wasn't bad enough, just as I was finishing the ply on junior, my jumbo bobbin broke apart!

Now when  I fancied another jumbo bobbin for my Rhinebeck shopping list the other day, little did I know that it would become an actual need instead of lust want....

I'm going to go knit something!

Weekend Spinning Finale

Wish that I had a chance to take this photo of the finished skein in the daylight. The colors are lighter in reality. Then there is my problem of capturing an accurate shade of purple. This ain't it. There's fushia, gold and bottle greens from the 4 oz batt. Love it! OK, the stats: approximately 119 yards of tweedy randomness. It is thick to thin, mainly dk to worsted weight yarn. The sections that I measured mostly ranged from 13 to 10 wpi.

What didn't make the cut? 3 oz of baby camel. Only a smidge was spindle spun. That's going to be a while before its yarn. Then there is a scant bit of light blue angora, which weights less than an ounce. How will I spin that any way? Lastly, a dark red 1 ounce pouff of carded wool. All unspun. I grabbed all my odd n'small amounts of yarn for the challenge. Batches of fiber that are 4 ounces or less that I wouldn't mind rushing though because they'd wind up being knitted to a hat, collar or cuff.

I'll continue spinning like a maniac in the weeks to come because it's all most time for NYS Sheep and Wool. Gotta make room!

It's 10:57p. Putting my hands up and waving them in the atmosphere!

Ready to Concede

It is hours away from the challenge deadline and I think that I am about ready to wave the white crocheted doily... The 4 oz of Black Cherry BFL from Susan's SpinningBunny has been spun and skeined.

From that fiber: 151 yards of 16 wpi, dk weight yarn.
The color looks complementary to the Crosspatch singles that are still marinating on their bobbins.
Is it possible that they may have a future together?...Things to ponder, over holiday ribs and Asti...
Hopefully, my headache will have subsided and I can ply that tonight before 11:00pm.

What is most doubtful to be plied tonight is the 4 oz batt of Grafton Fibers Corriedale.
I loved, loved, loved the colors. Too bad that by late last night I hate, hate, hated to spin. My wrist hurt and I got real crabby, real fast.  I confess, 16 ounces was more than I could handle. There, I said it. Sniff, sniff.
It showed up in my spinning too. Plying will be hellish as I try to get the over spun kinks out along the way. Howmever, it is spun and I'm counting those 4 oz towards the challenge goal. So that's 12 oz from the 16.

Stats on these singles will be posted tomorrow. Meanwhile, it's time to eat, drink and ply some more.

And Then There Were Three

Three bobbins down and a smidge on the spindle. This challenge is hard, but I will be grateful to have more space in the nether regions of the fiber abyss for new things in the fall.
The BFL was a comfortable jumping off point. Starting this effort out with purple was the icing.

Next up, I grabbed this beautiful 4 oz bag of Crosspatch Creations fiber in the Wolf Creek color way.
The label calls this a signature blend, composed of corriedale wool, rambouillet, cvm, tussah silk, viscose, bombyx silk and silk noil. When I bought this, I was attracted to the predominant copper/purple colors. Interestingly, when I opened the bag to spin and unfolded the batt, I saw that the actual predominant color was bottle green. Lucky for me that I didn't mind. Note to self: in future, open bags if necessary to see what the real deal is before purchasing.

That aside, it is a hoot to see the color combinations that pop up as it's spun. I held off spinning this fiber for so long because I treasured it so. It's basically one of a kind, so the controlling side of my personality wanted to plot and plan it's use to perfection. Spinning with no plan and in a hurry is proving to be a wonderful lesson in how to relax and let go, enjoy the journey. I can imagine how this yarn might be used and not get all hyper because I don't have the perfect answer right away. It's nice just to spin.

Treadling Along

It's a bit comical to see me get reacquainted with the wheel after a loooong hiatus.
I did manage to get some of this bfl done this afternoon.  One bobbin down!

Ante Up!

Bronx Knitter has accepted the challenge AND upped the ante!

The goal has been boosted to 16 ounces by 9/6/10. I will do my best to spin it all by the deadline.
Here is my entry for the 8 ounces

And the bonus 8

Psst!

I challenge you to a duel!!!

8 ounces of the fiber of your choice spun by 9:00 pm EST, 9/6/2010
At 9:01p, put your hands up and wave it in the atmosphere.

What's at stake? The glory of completion and the elusive space for new Sheep & Wool stash!

Here are the rules of engagement:

• This fiber must not have been previously predrafted before today, 3:00 pm EST
• Spun on wheel or spindle
• Your entry must be photographed and posted by today, 9/3/2010, 11:00 pm EST
• Finished yarn must be photographed and chronicled by the deadline and posted at the prescribed coordinates.

Should you choose to accept this mission, holla!