Author Archives: atangledyarn84

Cast On: GFOA Conference Hat

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While tromping around Texas at my work conference, I found Hill Country Weavers and fell into some yarn. While killing time in the airport I cast on a basic worsted hat using some the Uneek Worsted yarn I bought.

I used 80 stitches on a US 8 needle and started working in stockinette. My plan is to have a folded hem and make a basic beanie from my own “recipe’. I only managed about two inches of brim during my flight as my isle mate was very talkative.

Still, I am loving how this hat is starting to work up! The yarn is very subtly striped and the colors are uniquely coordinate. I think this will be a very cool hat. Stay tuned!!

Happy Knitting!!

Wash and Drying

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I managed to finish spinning the singles for my merino/cashmere singles this past week after I got back from my travel. I wound the singles into a cake so that I could ply from the inside and outside. IT…WAS….A….MESS!! I neglected to understand how badly the singles would get tangled. I had to break and and untangle my singles many times. But in the end, I made a skein!

The skein had a little over twist from plying as it didn’t hang completely straight off the plying bobbin. But I had confidence that a bath would fix it right up!

And I was right, a bath and a whack had this skein nicely balanced. Since it is 90+ degrees in Kansas now I set this skein outside in the sun to dry. And boy howdy, it dried in four hours! I need to take the time to weigh and measure this skein to find out what kind of yarn I made.

This finished yarn is SUPER soft and might the thinnest spinning I have made to date. I can’t wait to see what this measure out to be! I really feel the need to find a project to fit this spectacularly yarn….

Happy Spinning!!

Hill Country Weavers Yarn Shop

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While in Texas, I had half a day to kill before my flight left for home. I hopped into an Uber and found the closest yarn store which happened to be Hill Country Weavers. Y’all…this shop was the bomb!

This shop had all kinds of yarn brands that I haven’t been able to lay hands on yet. I touched La Bien Aimee, Life in the Long Grass, Madeline Tosh and many more. Even the bathroom had a life size sheep painting!

I might have spent my budget plush some but it was totally worth it. I grabbed a mix of sock yarn, DK and worsted. I had some Uneek Worsted in a self striping pattern (top), La Bien Aimee BFL Sock, Life In the Long Grass Fine Sock, Madeline Tosh DK, Madelinetosh Pashmina, and two skeins of Spin Cycle!

Truth be told, other than the hat I cast on with the Uneek Worsted, I have zero plans for this yarn. I just wanted some special/souvenir pieces to add to my collection and stash. These are yarns I don’t normally get to lay hands on. Definitely yarn to remember!!

Happy Knitting!!

Conference Knitting

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I finished my first Celebrate The Night sock tube on the plane, which meant sock number two is all I had left for session knitting. In my hotel I got the self striping added to the solid toe I already had started.

Day one was a blur and I didn’t get much added. But three stripes isn’t anything to sneeze at. Day two and three made made more substantial progress. I finished the first repeat of stripes and I’m halfway through the second.

I didn’t get any funny looks and a few people stopped to talk and ask questions. It was nice to have something in my hands to offset the social anxiety of being around 6,100 people in a post-COVID world.

The trip was a much needed break from a chaotic work schedule and from being a 24/7 mom. I met up with some work friends and coworkers and we might have lit up Texas a tiny bit. I was a soul recharging trip, even with the heat index of 110!

Happy Knitting!!

Stripes On A Plane

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I recently had the opportunity travel for a work conference. I decided to take my Celebrate The Night socks with me as my travel knitting. I had kind of a long way around to get from Kansas to Texas so I was flying for 10 hours. I managed A LOT of stripes.

By the time I touched down in Texas, I had a finished cuff on sock number one. Felt really good! I purposely used my nine inch wooden circular needles and left my DPNs in my checked bag to avoid security questions. I decided the afterthought heel was best left for my return home.

Stay tuned for my conference update and a last minute yarn shop trip. Happy Knitting!!

Trusting The Pattern

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My Catbells is growing. I managed to get both fronts added to the back section. I am not sure how I feel about how this is looking. I need to trust the pattern but I feel dubious about how this will turn into a sweater.

I am now working in the body section, but back and forth. So I get one “lace” row and one rest row of plain knit. Its close to 200 stitches in the row so it takes me a minute to get back and forth.

I’m now in the slog of 27 inches of body….I think I will be here for a minute, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Let’s Get Saucy

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The summer garden season is upon us and I needed to clean out my freezer from last year’s tomatoes. I had four bags that were a mix of roma and summer slicers. I got the skins off and thawed out into pots. By 10 am, I had one pot of bubbling tomato water.

By the end of the day, I had half a pot of luscious tomato sauce. I used my immersion blender to smooth out the sauce. I didn’t screen out the seed so there are still some spots. But I mixed in some garlic, onion, salt and pepper to season my red sauce.

The family enjoyed half of this made into tomato soup for grilled cheese sandwiches and the second half is slated for spaghetti sauce. I CAN’T wait!

Happy Summer!!

It’s CASHMERE!

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My spinning of that farm/rustic lamb roving didn’t last. I just couldn’t find the drive to work with it. And some merino/silk/cashmere from Hipstrings may have show up in my mailbox this week, so the lamb got pulled off my wheel and this heavenly cloud is on!

I have never spun anything this soft or delicious. It’s a joy to work with. I only have four ounces to work with so I will fill a single bobbin. I hope then to be able to wind those single into a center pull ball to ply with.

Happy Spinning!!

Another Set Of Stripes

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My latest vanilla socks have made a surprisingly lot of progress. I was keeping my Celebrate The Night socks for travel knitting but I can’t stop working on them!

I just completed the second progression of the stripes. Turns out my assumption was correct and these are muted rainbow with black to break up the colors. I like it, its rainbow but doesn’t slap you in the face like my Stark Effect socks.

I think I am going to complete a third progression of the colors with four increases worked in evenly. Then I’ll add the cuff in contrast color. Happy Knitting!!

Plying On A Hitchhiker

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My targhee singles are sufficiently rested and ready to ply. I decided to be crafty since my Kiwi wheel currently has lamb singles on it and pull out my Hitchhiker wheel. This was my first wheel but I never got the hang of the single treadle. But I’m a little more seasoned now and decided to give it a whirl!

Turns out, a lot easier to use once my brain and body understand the mechanics of spinning! I was able to successfully ply. I did put on the jumbo flyer and jumbo bobbin in order to get all four ounces in one shot.

I ended up with a lovely barber pole yarn. I will let the yarn sit overnight and then give a wash and a thwack. I’m interested to see what kind of twist I created with this wheel since I am less familiar with it. This should be a fun skein!

Happy Spinning!!