Monthly Archives: December 2021

FO Friday: Handspun Hat

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One last finish for New Year’s Eve! My Handspun Hat is completed and has had a nice bath. It is probably the thickest and warmest hat I have ever knit.

Pattern: My own made up beanie hat

Yarn: My own handspun

Needles: US 8s

Ravelry details are here.

I had to finagle the decrease a little bit as I didn’t plan that far ahead when I decided to use 72 stitch count for the hat. They didn’t turn over too badly and were less pointy than I had feared.

In trying to maximize the usage of my handspun skein, I ended up with a very slouchy hat. I will likely wear this with the brim rolled up. The bulky yarn made a really substantial fabric and this thing should WARM.

Now I need to plan my next handspun knitting project! Happy Knitting!!

I Couldn’t Help Myself

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A few special people in my life are expecting babies in the new year. So I couldn’t let those babies have cold heads!!

This yarn is some Super Bulky spindle spun handspun from 2020. I decided they needed to be baby beanies. I pulled out some size 10 dpns and just invented hats on the fly. I used up every single inch of precious handspun and came out with two cute hats.

PB loaned me a baby doll so I could take glamor shots. I still need to wash them and get them wrapped up. But that is for another day!

Happy Knitting!!

All The Advents

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In the chaos of December I completely forgot to share my advent calendars. That’s right I splurged on more than one….no regrets.

First up was the Chromatic Yarns 2021 advent calendar. I felt quite creative when I pressed Jellybean’s remote school calendar into use for holding my daily packages!

Also from the UK is the Bird and Blend Tea advent calendar. This was a first for me. I ended up enjoying most days but for sure some the teas were not in my wheelhouse. I would do this one again because it made my stretch my boundaries.

Last up was the Queen City Yarn Home Alone inspired advent calendar. This was an advent my husband got for me in June as an anniversary present. The packing was on point and the mini skeins made a beautiful fade.

When I get my sh*t together and recover from Christmas I will share the actual yarn, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Another Alpaca And Merino Blend

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My wheel was cold without spinning on it. So here I go starting yet another bag of roving from my donated fiber stash.

This fiber actually had some information in it. This i3 ounces of merino/alpaca from Midwest Fiber Farm. Definitely a natural fiber with no dye. It is a nice blend of light and dark grey fibers. It is marling inside the singles.

I think this one will REALLY come out pretty when I ply it. Like a broken record, I plan to spin all the singles and make a 2-ply….again, lol.

Happy Spinning!!

Friday Spinning Win

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I managed to snag some free time over the weekend to wash up and dry my latest hanspun. I came out with two really nice skeins!!

On the left is my unknown merino/alpaca 2-ply that came out black/dark grey with white tweedy bits. This skein had about 7 wraps per inch equating to a bulky yarn. I managed to get a 112 gram skein with 159 yards. So I really should be able to make something with this one!

And on the right is a skein that delighted me to no end. I had 4.1 ounces of all BFL roving in a natural/tan color. This spun a lot finer for me than previous attempts. So this two ply came out to more like 9 wraps per inch and close to a worsted. This is my finest spinning yet. The finished skein was 114 grams and 251 yards. That is pretty darn close to commercial yarn stats!!

I think that BFL skein will need to be my next Musselburgh hat…..

Happy Spinning!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

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Happy Christmas Eve to all who observe and happy holidays to the multitude of other December celebrations. I am ready for Christmas and some down time!

I took our wee ones to a local light display that was STUNNING. And they even had a sheep set up, lol. Not to mention this knitter was able to stay warm using my Basic Baby Blend Hat and Volcano Trail.

I wish a peaceful weekend to all and I will see you on the other side!!

Looming For Christmas

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Nothing like leaving your to do list for the last minute. I realized that my Aunt Barb had requested some new potholders for Christmas or her birthday. So here I am weaving frantically at the 11th hour.

I am using my loom from the 1990s and new loops from Lotta Loops. This particular set of loops are pastels. My brain is on Christmas overload so I am not doing any crazy patterns. Just two tone colors that I think look good together. So far I have a warm color and a cool color one.

There are two in the bank and I would like to crank out two more….do you think I can make it?

Happy Holidays!!

More Skeins Ready For A Bath

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As predicted my mystery tweedy alpaca singles very quickly passed through my wheel. And while those singles were resting I managed to get a whole other fiber bat spun up.

I ignored my household chores of laundry and dishes to spend a whole glorious evening plying my singles and watching Vlogmas videos from my favorite knitters. I ended up with these two pretty skeins.

They don’t hang completely straight and have a small amount of twist which means I might have overplied them. But that should wash out when I soak and whack these skeins. But now I need to catch up the laundry and washing line so I have room to wash and dry yarn!

Happy spinning!!

Musselburgh On The Road

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My Musselburgh project hit the road this week. I have made some pretty decent progress in the hours and hours of stockinette this project calls for. Still doesn’t look very wintery here in Kansas but I love the project matches the landscape!

Based on the weight of my yarn cake, I think I might be halfway through my hat? I am just knitting stockinette until I have 10 grams of my skein left. It’s the perfect holiday project that doesn’t require any brain space!

Happy Knitting!!

Daughter Brownie Points

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My dad is healing nicely from his procedure but is still in a sling. So I wracked up some major daughter brownie points by hanging his exterior Christmas lights. He purchased new LED lights this that really make his house look incredible

We still need one more string to replace the yellow ones on the bottom left. But he was SO happy with the finished look. With Christmas fast approaching we are all glad that his house is ready and festive!

Happy Monday!!