Tag Archives: bfl

Fiber Under The Tree

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There was a little fiber under the tree for me this year. I told my dad that I would spin anything from Three Waters Farm and he selected these lovely mixes.

Both bags are 4 ounces of Bluefaced Leicester top in the Winter Beats and Storm Cloud Over Flowers. I think the colors actually go nicely together. I may pull out the roving lay it out side by side and compare the colors. I may be able to rip up the fiber and plan some color sequencing.

For disclaimer, I’m not a trained spinner. I have basic mechanics to spin singles and ply yarn thanks to lessons from over a year ago. Everything else I do is pure experimentation based on years of watching and listening to podcasts and just making stuff up. A podcast once told me “If you are having fun, you are doing it right”. And that’s kind of my crafty mantra.

But I still have Finn on my wheel and a tub of fiber in the basement. This might take a minute to get on my wheel. Happy Spinning!!

FO Friday: Victorian Mauve Vanilla Socks

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I was scheduled for not one but TWO four hour block meetings this week. That means my Victorian Mauve Socks are DONE!

Pattern: My own 68 stitch toe up vanilla sock recipe

Needles: US 1

Yarn: La Bien Aimee Tough Sock in Victorian Mauve colorway

I couldn’t be happier with the finished product on these socks. They fit great and the BFL really feels like its going to hold up well over time. I need to give them a good bath and get them tucked in my sock drawer for winter!

I used 62 grams or roughly 288 yards of the 400 yard skein. I have PLENTY of yarn leftover for my memory blanket and probably another scrappy project. This yarn was yummy to work with and the speckles are some of the bests I have worked with.

Now I need to plan my next pair of socks for next week’s four hour block. Happy Knitting!!

Same Seat, Different Sock

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Another week, another gymnastics lesson. This time Jellybean decided to tag along, mostly for the reward snacks at the end! This session had me working on my second Victorian Mauve Socks. I finished the first during my cold medicine haze and owe you and update.

The math held true and I managed to add about 3/4 of an inch of sock during a 40 minute class. Jellybean brought a new book but spent most of the class keeping an eagle eye out for his sister. He’s a natural protector.

All this planned knitting time seems to be reigniting my knitting mojo. Spinning has just been easier these days but these socks are very mindful and helpful. And this BFL from La Bien Aimee is worth ever cent. This fabric is soft yet firm which should lead to hard wearing socks!

Happy Knitting!!

Coffee Sock

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Back to school germs got me. I am down for the count with a sore throat and headache. Thankfully its not COVID, just normal non-flu germs so should pass quickly. But for now I am going to sip frozen coffee and knit my Victorian Mauve Sock while binging Netflix.

I am almost done with the leg and need to start my increases for the upper leg and cuff section. We will see if the cold meds allow such brain power.

Happy Knitting!!

One Of Two Complete

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My blue BFL spinning has been progressing nicely. I have spun through the first four ounces and filled my first bobbin of this spin.

Because of the compacted nature of this fiber I have been having trouble keeping my singles thin and consistent. However, as my current spinning tack is to just let the fiber do what it wants see what kind of yarn I end up with. I am not currently spinning with the end product in mind.

Now I just need to pop open the second bag of this spin and get the second bobbin cooking! Happy Spinning!!

Starting A Solid

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The sun is shining, my children are away for the weekend and my wheel was empty. So of course I needed a new spin!

I pulled eight ounces of blue BFL roving from my stash and started on the wheel. This fiber was vacuum packed and a little felted. So I am having to work a little harder to predraft this fiber to get it to spin nicely.

But for now I leave you all as I plan to spin while the shade and my iced coffee last. Happy Spinning!!

Singles To A 3-ply

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My blue BFL gradient spinning is ALL DONE. The singles are shown on the left and I ended with the deepest, most navy of the five colors.

I ignored my children and responsibilities for roughly an hour and a half so I could chain ply the results. The singles had rested about three days before plying. The process had a few hiccups and breaks but I managed a pretty decent finished bobbin.

I am going to let that sit for at least a day and then I’ll give the skein a wash and a whack. So excited to get this off the bobbin so I can see how the gradient turned out! Happy Spinning!!

Knitting Poolside

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For our recent vacation travel, I also took my Victorian Mauve sock with me. I used this as poolside time killer as I made sure PB didn’t die on the toddler slides.

I think I managed to add roughly an inch of sock over two days of poolside knitting? I did end up getting in the pool with the kiddos so my knitting time was limited. But any progress counts!

Side note: I tried to be the cool mom for Jellybean and I regret all my life choices. I did all the slides and stair climbing he asked for. Every cell in my body is sore and he better know how much I love him! Legitimately made a Target run mid vacation to buy ibuprofen and icy hot, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

A Victorian Mauve Toe

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I had the kiddos help me hand wind my La Bien Aimee skein of BFL sock so that I could get the first toe of my Victorian Mauve sock.

With my toe up socks, I use DPNs to do a magic 8 cast on and then work across those two needles until I get to my total number of stitches. Then I switch over to my nine inch circular to work up the foot.

This is my first time working with a BFL sock yarn that is as fine/thin as this one is. I would categorize this as a light fingering weight instead of regular fingering. Should make a really light but warm finished fabric. I did make one small mistake with an errant yarn over that created a hole. I couldn’t be bothered to rip back so I’ll just sew it closed later, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Midway in The Gradient

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My BFL gradient is moving along. I am in the third of three total colors and its a kind of nice solid blue.

The first color was a very bright teal that rubbed off on my fingers and the second was a very light or pale blue. This gradient should develop nicely! I hope to get all these singles spun onto one bobbin and then 3-ply/chain ply the singles to maintain the gradient.

The trick is going to be finding time to spin with the hectic buzz of summer and children’s activities. Happy Spinning!!