Tag Archives: handspun

A Finished Emotional Support Chicken

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The Emotional Support Chicken is complete!

Pattern: Emotional Support Chicken by Annette Corsino (Rav Link)

Needles: US 7s

Yarn: My own handspun and commercial scraps

My eyeball placement could use work but I think it adds character. I ended up using up 200 grams of yarn on this project. Which didn’t use up the handspun. I think I have enough left to reverse the colors and make a second chicken. Aunt Barb wants one for her friend.

This chicken is going to my office and I think I will let my team give it a name. It’s a rough go in local government and we could use all the support we can get!

Happy Knitting!!

Almost A Chicken

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The emotional support chicken now has a beak!

I ended up finding some Malabrigo singles in a bright yellow from my hat leftover stash. I held it single and I kind wish I had held it double. Might try that on the next version. I also grabbed some red leftovers of Cashloft from the hat leftovers as well.

I just need to knit the chest piece and sew everything up! Happy Knitting!!

An Emotional Support Chicken Body

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Thick yarn on big needles really makes a project fly by! I have completed most of the body of my Emotional Support Chicken.

My crochet join of the tail region could use some work but it’s secure and I can always add more rows to cover. I am working with uneven handspun so it doesn’t hide my sins as easily as a commercial yarn.

Next up I need to start and shape the head. And see if I have any polyfill in my crafting stash. I don’t make a ton of toys so it’s not a guarantee…

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Handspun Emotional Support Chicken

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I am finally getting my Emotional Support Chicken on the needles. I have a whole bag of crunchy woolly and rough handspun that will be great for this type of project.

I chose not to swatch as I am not aiming for a specific size of finished toy. I am just making sure that I have a tight gauge to keep the stuffing on the inside. I chose US 7s and this handspun is worsted to bulky weight.

This is a lot of my early handspun that is pretty thick and thin. The dark brown is unknown wool and the lighter is romney. We will see how this knits up. I still need to track down some yellow and red accent for the beak and comb.

Happy Knitting!!

Inaugural E-Spin

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I made a pretty big leap/purchase at SSK that wasn’t fiber or yarn related. I have been saving my mad money for the past year and I decided to take a leap into an electric wheel. SSK had a “try it” room for tools and wheels as well. I was able to try several brands and versions of e-wheels and I landed on a very nice starter wheel.

This is a Daedalus Sparrow electric spinning wheel. It’s 3D printed and very compact and light. I am excited to see what this does to my spinning output. In my current phase of life I have so many kid events and our house does not have a dedicated craft space for me that I find I don’t get my Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel out very much. I have to take it out and put it away almost every time I use it. Which is a barrier to use for me.

I am hoping that this e-wheel is more portable and accessible for more day to day to use. I have it set up in my office right now so I can drop in and spin as I feel the whim. I am starting with the Fiber Pool fiber mix from SSK 2024. It’s a lot of mix of different types of fiber so I will get to “test” a lot on this new wheel.

Let’s see what I can spin now! Happy Spinning!!

Spinning Clouds

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I have been lacking craft motivation lately. I haven’t felt like doing much now that we can be outside again. To break up my doldrums, I pulled some cashmere cloud from my spinning stash to put on the wheel.

This is the Cumulus fiber from Oink Pigments that I picked up at SSK 2024. It’s 80% merino and 20% cashmere so its BUTTER soft. I split the fiber in 1/2 and I will make a 2-ply. I want something drapey and soft to make a cowl of sorts?

The fiber is spinning quite lovely. Some parts are coming out solid colors and others are marled depending on how I draft the fiber. My muscles are out of shape so I am only spinning 20 minutes at a time to get back in shape and reduce the strain on my hands. I did my default short forward draw so my hands are getting a workout.

Happy Spinning!!

Half Of My Advent Skeins

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I decided not to wait until to spin the last half of the 2024 advent spinning calendar to ply the first half. I call it spinners prerogative.

I chain plied these singles to maintain the colors. I think overall I got a heavy worsted that is mostly uniform with some thick/thin spots. I was worried about the colors being too crazy but I think they came our mostly rainbow, in a good way.

My singles were just a tiny bit overspun and a bath washed that right out. The finished skein was 181 grams and 212 yards of yarn. I am going to tuck this into the spinning bag where my other half of the fiber for motivation to finish the rest!

Happy Spinning!!

Cozy Handspun Decreases And A Finish

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My Handspun Hat is finished and oh so cozy!

Pattern: My own basic beanie “recipe” with 72 stiches

Yarn: My own bulky (thick and thin) handspun

Needles: US 10s

This hat weighs roughly 120 grams and round about 100 yards of yarn. It is sufficiently large enough for my noggin. This hat will not be going into the gift bin. This will be a Rachelle hat. I have a couple of yards of handspun left but not enough to really do anything with. I put it in my scrap bag just in case.

I need to see if I have any more skeins of handspun to make hats with! Or you know work on the sparkly handspun hat that has been languishing for AWHILE, lol.

Happy Knitting!!

Handspun Hat Progress

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I am really loving how my Handspun Hat is coming out!

I am getting close to the end of this handspun skein and probably need to start the decreases. The yarn is a 2-ply from a braid I split down the middle. I can tell where my fiber colors lined up and therefore give me solid color chunks versus the barber poling. It is giving the hat an almost striped appearance?

It’s true when they say that you should knit with your handspun so you can see what how it works up in fabric. Is it my most even yarn? Absolutely not but will make a cozy hat! I am knitting on US 10.5s and I don’t have that sized DPNs. I am just going to make due with the US 8s again and try to manually manage my gauge to finish.

Happy Knitting!!

All The Essentials

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I am finally picking back up my Deep & Meaningful Hat!

It’s cold, it’s dark and still February. So I decided to grab all the self care essentials….Diet Coke and Knitting. I am using handspun so I am VERY unsure how far I can get with this hat. Probably another project I should have done top down. But I’m not going back now. Future Rachelle might regret those words.

I did like 3.5 or 4 inches of ribbing and then folded the brim over to start the main body. I did not log the yardage of this handspun skein when I put it in Ravelry so I really don’t know what I am working with. It is 120 grams total weight and therefore I should be make a decent hat size?

Maybe I just need more Diet Coke!? Happy Knitting!!