Tag Archives: merino

More Skeins Ready For A Bath

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As predicted my mystery tweedy alpaca singles very quickly passed through my wheel. And while those singles were resting I managed to get a whole other fiber bat spun up.

I ignored my household chores of laundry and dishes to spend a whole glorious evening plying my singles and watching Vlogmas videos from my favorite knitters. I ended up with these two pretty skeins.

They don’t hang completely straight and have a small amount of twist which means I might have overplied them. But that should wash out when I soak and whack these skeins. But now I need to catch up the laundry and washing line so I have room to wash and dry yarn!

Happy spinning!!

Finished: Alpaca Blend 2-ply

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My spinning mojo is still chugging right along. I finished up the alpaca blend singles I had on the wheel. I did a pretty simple process of spinning a bobbin of singles and then wound into a center pull cake. I then plied by pulling from both the inside and outside of the cake. A wash and whack after that and I have a VERY soft finishd skein of yarn!

Skein: Merino/Alpaca 2-ply (Rav Link)

Size: I ended up with an 83 gram skein of 128 yards. So this is a bulky skein for the most part.

What will I do with this one? I have zero clue, lol. I am just starting a handspun section of my yarn stash to hoard all my treasures!

Happy Spinning!!

Let’s Spin Some Purple

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I couldn’t let my wheel sit with no fiber on it after my spinning lessons now could I? So I grabbed the purple roving I purchased and set off.

This roving is a merino, bamboo and nylon blend. My teacher told me that spinners should never be intimidated by any fiber. Anything can be spun by any spinner, it just may take some extra time and adjustments. So I am going to be fearless (maybe clueless) and take off!

Wish me luck! Happy Spinning!!

FO Friday: Prism Break Hat

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I got fed up and no shocker, I decided to finish my Prism Break Hat. I didn’t get to the pattern recommended length but I got to “good enough” and put the decreases in. I was ready to have a finished object, lol.

Pattern: Sockhead Slouch by Kelly McClure

Yarn: Wichita Woolery 100% Merino 4-ply in Prism Break Colorway

Needles: US 2s and US 3s

Mods: I got bored and didn’t knit to the full “traditional” slouch length and just finished the darn thing.

I am really pleased with how the colors pooled on this project. I got a really cool micro-stripe effect with the gauge I settled on. And the hat fits pretty nicely as well!

I only used about 60% of the skein of yarn. So I have plenty of yarn for my memory blanket and maybe even a contrast color for a second project? I have made like five of these hats and I have a full hat drawer but I can’t quit this pattern. It’s so soothing when my brain needs some auto pilot.

Bonus….I get a cool hat when I’m done!

Dare I Crop?

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When I digging around in my yarn stash the other day I came across something unexpected and yet spectacular. I found three skeins of DK weight superwash yarn all from the same indie dyer. I had picked these up at different times from her over  the past year when I had the money saved up around the time of her updates.

The dyer is Moonstone Dyeworks out of Acadia California and she has an amazing podcast that enables me all the time. I realized that the skeins really blended and coordinated quite well as I stared at them in my drawer. Almost, dare I say, a really fantastic fade? From left to right they are Falling, Hard Cider and Wild Honey.

I did some pattern searching on Ravelry and found that I might be able to eek out a Party Top by AbbyeKnits in my size. I would JUST have enough yarn if I managed my fade very precisely. This is a cropped sweater and I’m not sure I’ll like it but I can’t put it out of my head. I can just feel this pattern wanting to jump on my needles. I even went so far to research the pattern comments on Ravelry and found a knitter who made a similar faded option in a bigger size than I.

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I literally have two other sweaters quantities wound up and ready to jump on my needles for a Weekender and a Radiate. Why am I so drawn to this when I haven’t even cast on either of those sweaters? My wishful knitting is just on overdrive lately!!

What is a knitter to do!?

Coordinating Accessories

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My Kindness accessories are complete! Below you can see my Kindness KAL 2019 Shawl, my Kindness Mitts and my Kindness Double Brim Hat.  These beauties used three golden skeins of Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK from my stash.

This all started with my Mothers Day Cast on and I was addicted I couldn’t stop knitting this yarn! Now they all just need to be washed and tucked away for the 100+ degree Kansas summers and wait patiently for Fall.

Don’t you just love when a plan comes together! Plus they make my eyes look blue, lol. Happy Knitting!!

FO Friday: Kindness Double Brim Hat

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My Kindness Double Brim Hat is complete! And I won at yarn chicken!!

My Aunt Barb happened to be around when I finished it and she helped me snap some photos. Now she is probably one of the last people in the United States to have not used a smart phone. So our photos were….interesting. But we did manage the above photo. My hat is a decent size that fits comfortably around with just a touch of slouch.

Pattern: (Heavily Modified Version of) Double Thick Cuff Hat by Staci Perry

Yarn: Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK in Ink and Salty Tales

Needles: US 6s

Mods: I did not work the double cuff and I knit the hat portion according to how much yarn I had. I really just used this wonderful pattern for stitch counts and crown decreases

This hat consumed about 150 yards of DK weight yarn. And I only had the tiniest balls of yarn left above. Not too shabby if you ask me! I might tuck these away for potential knit repairs….or I may let Jellybean  have them for his “crafts”. All in all I’m super pleased to have used these golden skeins of Hedgehog fibers to make some super special accessories for me!

I had Aunt Barb take some photos of the complete set and I’ll share those next week! Happy Knitting!!

How Tall Should A Hat Be?

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Well, I finally settled on a plan for my Kindness Double Brim Hat. I went with coordinating two row stripes to match the Kindness KAL 2019 shawl. I put in six Salty Tales stripes before I decided it looked good enough. I have a tiny ball of yarn left but I think I’ll save that in case I need it to close up the hat.

What I really need to decide is how tall to make the hat! I have a pretty small ball of the Ink (blue) color left. And I am balancing between making a well fitting hat and playing yarn chicken again. I mean I could be bothered to get my scale out and weigh my yarn and track how much yarn each row is consuming. But that seems like a lot of work and I am trying to get this knit done after kiddos bedtimes. My brain is mush at that point!

I think I’ll knit another couple of straight rows and then start decreasing. I can always fudge a few extra decreases here and there if I start running out of yarn right? The husband said I should just quite and make it a messy bun hat. That would be genius but I don’t have enough hair for a messy bun!

Happy Knitting!!

Cast On: Kindness Double Brim Hat

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Last week I finished my Kindness Mitts out of my last skein of Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK. And I have about 80 grams of yarn left between my two colors. So I did some pattern searching and I found pattern to start a hat. I am using Staci Perry’s Double Thick Brim Hat.

Now I’m just using this pattern as loose guide. I definitely don’t have enough yarn to knit a double thick brim or to make it exceedingly slouchy. But I like the stitch count and gauge enough I think I can modify it enough for my purposes.

I’ve completed about 3 inches (ish) of ribbing and I’m starting the stockinette portion. The next trick will be to decide how to work in the Salty Tales (grey speckle) color into my hat to maximize my hat size. I am deciding between small stripes to match my Kindness KAL 2019 shawl or one thick band/stripe just to be done faster.

Happy Knitting!

FO Friday: Kindness Mitts

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Here are my Kindness Mitts in all their unblocked glory! 

Pattern: Fingerless Mitts by Cheryl Goyer

Yarn: Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK in Ink

Needles: US 5s

Mods: I didn’t work the full thumb as prescribed in the pattern. I knit until it looked good enough and cast off.

 

 

As predicted the fit is pretty baggy. But they don’t fall off so I’m calling it a win. I used 125 yards or roughly 65 grams of yarn for these two mitts. I knit the first one to pattern measurements and then I knit the second one by counting the rows in the first one. I felt pretty smart doing that. They ended up almost identical!

What I’m really pleased about is that they will smashing with my Kindness KAL 2019 shawl as matching accessories. And I’m currently weighing my leftovers of this last skein of Ink and my Salty Tales to see if I have enough to eeek out a matching hat! Stay tuned….

Happy Knitting!!