Tag Archives: handspun

A Bulky Warm Mitt

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Happy New Year!! I am starting 2024 off with some handspun. Hoping this year brings me joy and different challenges than 2023.

I finished most of my first Handspun Mitts and cast on the second. I ended up using a 48 stitch count for the first mitt and it is pretty bulky and loose. It’s not horrible but not what I intended. So I have not yet added the thumb.

For the second mitt, I switched to 40 stitches to see if the smaller mitt is a better fit. When I get both done and figure out which one I like better I plan to frog the loser and reknit to that matching stitch count.

It really didn’t take me long to make this mitt after the holiday hubbub died down. And this handspun is super nice so I won’t mind knitting this again. I’m excited to have super fun handspun mitts that coordinate with my new dress coat!

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Handpun Mitts

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I could not get the idea of black sparkly handspun mitts out of my mind. So here I am casting on!

This handspun is thicker than the pattern calls for. So due to the rules of gauge, I am going up in needle size and down in stitch count to get a Women’s Med/Lg size mitt at the end. Did I swatch? No. But these are quick knits and I plan to treat the first mitt as a swatch.

If I have to rip back and start again? No biggie, just means more New Years knitting time for me! Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Blue And Gold Handspun Hat

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My handspun Musselburgh is DONE and Jellybean helped me model it. This has been done for awhile but I got swept away by deadlines and holiday to-dos and forgot to get this photographed. I have even worn this once to hang Christmas lights in 28 degree weather.

Pattern: My own loose recipe based on the principals of the Musselburgh hat by Ysolda Teauge

Needles: US 8s

Yarn: My own worsted/bulky handspun and a TEENY but of mystery DK to finish the final decreases

This hat came out to an Adult Medium and fits either me or Jellybean quite nicely. I used the 80 stitch count and it worked out nicely. I used every inch of handspun and this is a deliciously warm hat with two layers of worsted.

I can see the benefits of this pattern/recipe for my single skeins of heavier weight handspun. There might be more of these in my future!

Happy Knitting!

Yarn Chicken Lost

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As predicted by my spidey senses, I am losing at yarn chicken. I will not have enough handspun to cast off this hat. But the good news about Musselburgh is that since it tucks inside itself….I can hack the system.

I did a quick search of my scraps and found some DK weight teal mystery yarn that coordinates color with the handspun. I am a little worried about mixing the fiber types but it’s time to live on the edge.

I am so excited to finish this hat!! It’s cold here and my head needs to be cozy. Happy Knitting!

That’s Better

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This feels better! My hat is back to normal human sized and zooming right along. The fireplace feels toasty on my feet and the puppy doesn’t understand why I get to bring sticks in the house and he cannot.

Right now this project is cruising along until I get to the right length so the hat will be the right size when doubled inside itself. I MIGHT be playing yarn chicken but again that is a problem for future Rachelle.

It’s also December 1st so I get to start both sock advents today!!! Happy Knitting

Well Shoot….

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Last night at golf lessons (indoor, thank goodness) I finally set about looking at my Handspun hat gauge. Doesn’t it look great!

My gauge in this handspun is WILDLY too big. I mean this hat is almost two hand spans! So I pulled the needles out and took a big chug of water for courage.

By the end of the lesson I had the hat ripped back and the needles back into the decreases. This time around I took out 16 stitches and moved this hat down to an 80 stitch count.

So, time to persevere and redo this hat. The silver lining is that my handspun is holding up really well to the knitting and ripping back!

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Blue And Gold Handspun Hat

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I know, I already have a hat on the needles. But this handspun has been caked up and waiting on my desk for months. I decided to start a hat but from the crown worked down so I can maximize the use of the yarn.

I am using 8US dpns and I cast on 8 stitches and started increases at the end of each needles. This will create four lines of increase. Based on the size large hat I just finished for my coworker, I am going to work up to 96 stitches.

Once this gets up to full stitch count I will switch to a 16 inch circular in the same needle size. I don’t know how I will finish the brim. That is a problem for future Rachelle!

Happy Knitting!!

Finished Spotted Circus

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My Spotted Circus spin is complete!

The larger skein is my 2-ply intended spin. I got 255 yards to 100 grams so I’m likely in the light worsted arena. I think this was 12 (ish) wraps per inch but I forgot to write it down. Based on the singles I was hoping for a finer yarn but it really plumped during washing. Probably should have suspected based on the alpaca and nylon content. This yarn came out barber poled/marled and its lovely

The smaller skein was the singles I had leftover chain plied back to them selves. This skein was 18 yards over 17 grams so a worsted/bulky. It’s finish is more self striping since the colors folded back in on themselves.

These are off to a nice nap in my handspun bin while I plan my next spinning project! Happy Friday!

Plying and Puppy

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The singles from my Spotted Circus singles are finished and thoughtfully rested several days. So I sat down a perfectly cold beer and Welcome to Wrexham and got to plying last night.

The puppy is now half grown and FULL teenager phase. Spinning requires tiring him out before hand and making sure lots of toys are on hand.

The finished bobbin is resting and I hope to find some time later tonight to wash and whack it. It is a fairly fine 2-ply and has a nice marl in places. There was some more singles left on one bobbin so I chain plied a little mini skein of a 3-ply. But its a wee baby of a skein. I haven’t done any measurements on the 2-ply so I am ballpark guessing at heavy DK?

I need to pick my next fiber to spin so I don’t lose steam! Happy Spinning!!

Spinning Sunshine

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The oppressive heat has finally broke for a brief minute here in Kansas so I broke out my dusty AF wheel. I still have my Spotted Circus fiber on the wheel from this past June.

I got several hours of peaceful spinning in whilst watching PB splash about and throw reusable water balloons. We literally had to drag her in for bath and bedtime at the end of the day. I managed to get almost all of the first bobbin spun up.

Duke even got in on the action and got VERY wet by getting too close to PB’s splash zone.

Nothing beats the last rays of sunshine in the day and some simple family fun. Happy Spinning!!