Yes, I’m still knitting but having a difficult time blogging after taking a week off to help with funeral arrangements.
Last night I just completed Pretty Comfy Sock .
Last weekend I did take pictures of how I worked the short row heels but it took much longer then expected to put together.
I’m still working on it but here’s what I have so far -> Short Row Heels.
My next small project will be the Flared Lace Smoke Ring from HeartStrings knitted in Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool.
Thanks for all your kind thoughts through this difficult time. In honor of my brother, I plan to donate many pairs of socks every year to a worthy charity.
I tried working on Irish Moss last week but didn’t get far before I ripped out what I had done. Needless to say, It is not the best project to work on during a stressful time.
I’m happy to report that despite my initial problems achieving correct tension on my swatches, the width of this front piece seems to be fine.
While Irish Moss languished, I did make progress on Pretty Comfy Socks. The lace pattern is really quite easy to remember thus making it easy to pick up during a few spare moments. The second foot is coming along quickly so hopefully this weekend I can take some pictures to show how to work this short-row heel.
February 26, 1963 – October 7, 2004
I love you.
~ your sister, Melinda
Yep, I’m still working on perfecting my merino spinning skills to develop enough confidence to start spinning for the Spin-Off sweater. I’ve split yard-long lengths of roving into thin strips, pre-draft these thin strips well and then spin with moderate twist. The singles are spun on a 9:1 ratio whorl and plied on a 7 1/2:1 ratio whorl.
I found that the long fibers of the tussah silk in this mixed merino/silk roving helped make it much easier to spin than a pure merino roving. Although I initially liked the mix of colors in pre-spun fiber once spun, I started finding that the red didn’t show up much in the singles. So after finishing a bobbin of singles I decided to ply the silk/merino singles with another bobbin of red merino singles to create a barber pole type yarn. The swatch in the top left corner was made from this barber pole yarn and the swatch below it was made from pure merino yarn.
While I haven’t been spending as much time online lately, I definitely find time to do something fiber related almost everyday. When I’m not knitting or spinning, I research patterns and try to think about design something simple. It all takes so much time so it doesn’t always translate into tangible results that I can post.
Washing hand knit wool clothing
Have you ever been tempted to throw your hand knit item in a front-loading washing machine? Last week I threw in my Merino Lace Socks (Interweave Knits, Summer 2003) and my first hand knit sweater made out of shrink resistant merino. It wasn’t the first time for the socks and I swear the sweater has been in before.
Well, the socks came out great but the sweater felted and shrank a bit. I should have known better. I’m not quite sure what I did differently that would cause the sweater felt. Perhaps I forgot to use the delicate cycle.
Luckily, this mistake wasn’t a total disaster. I can still wear the sweater but the fabric is no longer soft and springy. I’ve learned my lesson, from now on I’m hand washing all my hand knit items except socks make out of Koigu. Don’t you just love Koigu? These socks still look great even after a year mild wear and tear.
Irish Moss
I’ve managed to finish the front ribbing plus two rows on Irish Moss. After the first few rows I was able to get rid of the markers and do the rest by memory. If you look carefully you’ll see that the ribbing has several zigzag columns between 1/1 cross-stitch ribbing.
Purlwise 