Author Archives: atangledyarn84

A Self Care Haircut

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My curly locks had gotten down to my shoulder blades but maybe wasn’t in the best of shape. I had some damaged ends that were split and some chunks that didn’t want to curl. My stylist asked if she could clean up the damage and I said sure.

I lost quite a bit of length but she cut it while curly and I ended up with a mop that was much more bouncy and easy to style. It was refreshing and I got a ton of complements at work the next week. Lesson learned, sometimes you just gotta let go of the damage parts!

Happy Monday!!

FO Friday: Cotton Candy Yarn

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Whelp, I have another finished skein! This is a VERY energetic 3-ply skein that my 4 year old has proclaimed BEAUTIFUL!

This calculated out to be an aran to bulky weight skein. I got 84 yards in a 78 gram skein. After plying and washing, the yarn is still twisting back on itself. Which means I overplied it. I can run this skein back through my wheel in the opposite direction to let some that relax. But for now, I’m done touching cotton candy and I need to spin something else.

This fiber is great and it was cool for a mystery grab bag, but it’s not my jam. So I feel grateful for the learning experience and I’m on to the next thing!

Happy Spinning!!

Newly Divided Sweater

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My Super Simple Summer Sweater is now fully divided for sleeves!

I am making the size 2XL but with a smaller gauge to land somewhere between a finished XL to XXL garment. Before dividing I had 500 stitches on the needles! Now I’m just cruising down the body for inches and inches.

The only thing I need to pay attention to is adding in my new yarn, this Malabrigo yarn has BIG differences in color so I am coordinating and alternating skeins to avoid pooling. Still might have some noticeable changes in the finished garment but I am doing the best with what I have.

Happy Knitting!!

Perpetual Hope Is Going To The Frog Pond

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I did some tossing of my WIPs and came across my Perpetual Hope from last Christmas started from my 2021 Queen City Yarn advent calendar. It is a beautiful pattern but it didn’t click with me.

I have a different idea for this yarn to make a longer wrap. The kiddos really like curling up under my shawls and wraps in the winter when do movie time. Of course I still have 1,000 other projects in my brain and about 10 more on the needles. So I am not sure when I will get this yarn back on the needles, but it felt good to let this one go!

Happy Knitting!!

Conference Knitting 2022

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I recently found myself at my annual fall conference for my state professional agency. I was a lot busier at this conference than previous years but I did sneak in some sock knitting. I have the second Victorian Mauve Sock not only started but well into the foot.

I need to measure and/or count my rows to see if I am ready to start the heel increases. It would be peachy if both socks were generally the same size, lol!

Happy Sock Knitting!!

A Long Overdue Knit Night

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I haven’t been very good at taking time for myself or prioritizing my own self care lately. Work is perpetually crazy with no end in sight. So I put my size 10 foot down and carved out space for myself.

Yesterday was a virtual knit night for a knitting patreon I follow and I joined. I told my family they were on their own an I needed couple hours to myself. I am really working through my Super Simple Summer Sweater and well into the yoke increases.

I started helical knitting to alternate my yarn since this is Malabrigo and has a high likelihood of pooling or flashing. It makes me pay attention but will be worth it in the finished product! The conversation was nice and I really enjoyed having some time to “be with my people”. I really need to do that more often!

Happy Knitting!!

Finished Cotton Candy Singles

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My big floofy bat is all the way spun. I had a very interesting time with this fiber blend that looked like mixed up cotton candy.

The bat was three ounces in total and a blend of merino, rambioullet, mulberry silk, angelina, firestar and targhee. The bat was made by Melissa’s Yarn Barn and it didn’t come with composition percentages. I could feel the silk come up and be very slippery meanwhile the merino drafted very differently from the rambioullet and targhee.

All the fiber fit on one bobbin and I plan to chain play the whole thing. Which means I will end up smaller and thicker skein. But these colors aren’t my usual jam so this might be a donation skein or end up being a winter hat.

Happy Spinning!!

Fiber In The Wild

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PB and I had a chance this past weekend to have a girls only weekend. We went to a festival, got pedicures and snuggled to a Frozen movie marathon.

At the festival we found ourselves a petting zoo next to the bounce houses. PB had a chance to pet a camel, wallaby and kangaroo. Normally I HATE these kinds of things but these animals were so chill and the staff made sure people didn’t mess with any of their furry friends.

I was especially keen to see the alpaca and sheep, naturally. They looked like they were really starting to get their winter woolies grown in. The managers said the fiber they get isn’t fine enough to do anything with. But they do use it for mulching garden beds and insulation in their smaller chicken houses and such. Nice to see resourcefulness!

Hope I made some memories with PB!

Enough For A Blanket

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I have had this niggling idea in my brain for awhile now. I have a fiber fondness for The Corner of Craft and her Chromatic Yarn (inspired by Dungeons and Dragons). I felt like I had developed a nice amount of her DK stashed up, and I was correct.

Through various purchases I have a total of 10 skeins of DK. Six skeins are from her Resistance collection last year and the others have been standalone purchases. Looking at it all laid out, I think I have a really cute blanket to be made here! I arranged the skeins in a fade with two darker skeins for a border.

Looking at the photo now, I may move a couple of the purples around. But I am torn between a crochet project and knitted project. And do I find a pattern or just make something up as I go to be my own designer?

So many possibilities and so many ideas!!

Spinning Cotton Candy Batt

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Next up on my wheel is some beyond bonkers cotton candy looking mixed fiber. I am calling this my Cotton Candy spinning because it looks like someone mashed together blue and pink cotton candy.

This fiber is a 3 ounce mystery batt. The note says it includes merino, rambioullet, mulberry silk, Angelina, Firestar and targhee. It’s not spinning the finest or the smoothest because of the fiber prep and the mix of wools. But I am just letting the fiber be what it wants to be!

I haven’t decided it I will spin this on to multiple bobbins or spin it all on one and ply from a cake. I’m leaning towards the second but I am fresh off my “learning” experiences from the last time I did that! Happy Spinning!!