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.