I Think I Accidentally Made Worsted Weight Yarn

It took me a minute to get all my plying done. Had a few fits and starts, but I now have two pretty bobbins!

I did a quick wraps per inch gauge on these….and y’all this might be a true worsted with spots of a heavy worsted. This is the finest I have spun and plied thus far! I need to give this yarn a bath and see if it plumps up any. I am kinda excited to see what this turns out to be!

Happy Spinning!!

Knitting In The Park

Motherhood means stealing stitches where you can. PB and Jellybean are finally old enough to play fairly independently at the park. So to celebrate seeing the sun for the first time in a week we hit the local playground. I had a large iced coffee and my Stark Effect Socks.

I made super good progress on sock number two. I am through the full tube and almost done with the ribbing. I need one more black stripe and then to knit and cast off in the dark purple. I have been knitting for 12 ish years and it never ceases to amaze me how fast self-striping yarn feels like it knits up.

Happy Knitting!!

Plying All The Romney

My spinning mojo has really caught fire. After starting some singles out of 100% Romney last week, I spent all day Saturday playing outside with the kids and finishing the singles. I let them rest overnight and played the “mother’s day card” so I could drink wine and ply my yarn.

I really enjoy using my tensioned Kate. It helps prevent overspinning and having the singles fold back on themselves. The wine doesn’t hurt either!

Happy Spinning!!

Outdoor Time

After finishing my unknown 3-ply, I felt the urge to pull out my wheel again. It’s been a hot minute since I felt the urge to spin. So I took PB outside to swing and I sat on the patio with my wheel to spin a little.

I have roughly 200 grams of 100% romney wool in this lovely natural chocolate color. It is spinning really well and smoothly. It took me a minute to get back in a rhythm and make semi consistent singles.

PB played and told stories and I filled 3/4 of a bobbin! I think I have enough fiber to fill two bobbins and make a two ply? Who knows, I will go where the spinning leads me. It is freeing not to have a specific plan or destination. Just make something pretty!

Happy Spinning!!

A Second Stark Toe

Thanks to family movie night last evening, I have a second Stark Effect Sock toe!

I always make toe up socks and start with DPNs. I work the magic 8 cast on and put my increases at each side of the toe. Once I get up to my “recipe” totale of 68 stiches I switch to my nine inch circular.

Now I’m ready to zoom right through the tube. Watching the stripes develop is super addicting so I envision this sock will go quickly as the first tube. Happy Knitting!!

Mystery Handspun, But It’s Finished!

I have had some singles finished and just waiting on bobbins. I got a wild hair to ignore my adult responsibilities and stay up past 11 to ply everything the other night.

The singles were really inconsistent and prone to breaking. So I decided to chain ply/3-ply them back on themselves. It made a really thick and thin yarn but I think it came out really pretty!

I ended up 242 yards out of 182 grams of wool. So this is probably a bulky skein with a few worsted spots on it. The wool was some unknown wool I was donated so I don’t know the fiber content is. It’s a little crunchy/wooly so I think not merino. But also not alpaca as there was no drape.

Whatever it is, I will make something fun with it! Happy Spinning!!

One Stark Tube

Another silver lining of COVID? I can knit one full sock leg whilst binging Netflix and isolating from my family. My first Stark Effect Sock tube is done.

I made the decision to save the afterthought heels to the very end after I knit the second tube. There should be enough yarn left from the skein after the second tube, but I want to make sure.

I worked exactly three rainbow repeats total in the tube. For the last three cool stripes I used 2×2 rib to make the cuff. Pictures don’t do this yarn justice, its so vibrant and happy! The dyer is String Theory Colorworks and she does amazing work.

Now on the second sock! Happy Knitting!!

COVID Consolation Prize

Our family finally got caught by COVID. Three out of the four of us tested positive. The hubby and I went on our first real dinner and movie date in two years and came home with COVID. Pretty poetic, right?

We spent all of last week laying low and staying home. We are on the mend but PB can’t go back to daycare for another week yet. It’s been hard, trying to work my busy season from home and keeping two kids in good spirits. So I purchased myself a consolation prize….some Chromatic Yarns/Corner of Craft goodies.

I picked up a sock set in her her Naiad colorway and a beaded unicorn stitch marker. The sock yarn is BFL/nylon mix and I envision it will be socks some day. I have already put my stitch marker on my current Stark Effect Socks.

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Stark Effect Socks

After finishing my shorties last week, I found myself with no socks on the needles and a date night planned with my hubby. I conned him into taking me to The Lost City with Sandra Bulluck and Channing Tatum. So I hurriedly grabbed the first sock yarn I found and got a sock toe cast on.

This is a skein of String Theory Inertia Self Striping in the Stark Effect colorway. Its very neon and very spring/easter-y. I LOVE IT. And this much sock is exactly one movie’s worth of stockinette in the round.

I think I will knit a sock tube and cuff and then add an all black heel as a contrast. This project is just making me so happy. I will be sad when this one is over and might have to order another skein of this colorway…..

Happy Knitting!!!

FO Friday: Paintbox Socks, Take Two

The second heel breezed right along this week and now I have a FO to share! My Paintbox Socks, Take Two are done and ready for the sock drawer.

Pattern: A basic 64 stitch vanilla sock make a sock snake/tube

Yarn: Stranded Dyeworks OOAK Paintbox color

Needles: US 1s for cuffs, toes and heels

I used up almost every bit of the remaining sock snake that equated to roughly 195 yards of the main color. The contrast heels are from a Knitting Fever Teenie Weenie Wool mini where I used about 30 yards. So all in all, these shorties are just over 200 yards.

The fit is pretty good but like the first pair, I need to test these in some shoes to see how they perform. And in the meantime, I need to find my next pair of socks to start knitting! Happy Knitting!!