the Akamai Knitter

So just for kicks, I thought I’d bombard you with more handspun.

Pa-pow!

The details:

Terra

100% Targhee

420 yards
18 WPI
4.1 oz

Fiber Credit – Hungry For Handspun

I got this fiber for my birthday a year or two ago. (Thanks, Jen!) I adore Targhee. Adore it! I tried to spin it spider web thin, but somehow that didn’t happen. Still, I got some pretty good yardage on it.  Enough so that a person could make a nice shawlette with it.

Pa-pow!

The details:

Woodland Faun

100% Superwash Blue Faced Leicester

185 yards
12 WPI
4.5 oz

Fiber credit – Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club

I loved loved loved spinning this up even though the colors really weren’t up my alley. I also don’t like to spin regular BFL.  But the superwash? I dig the superwash. It has a nice sheen to it and a softness the untreated BFL doesn’t seem to have.

Or maybe I’ve just been spinning the wrong BFL?

Pa-pow!

The details:

Sweet Respite

100% South African Fine
185 yards
12 WPI
4.5 oz

Fiber credit: Hungry For Handspun

I worked really hard to keep this a low twist single. I minded my treadling and I cranked up the tension. For the most part I think I did okay. Plus, South African Fine is another favorite of mine. It’s so soft! I also have crazy love for the colors. So soothing!

Another thing I have to bore you with is the same necklace I’ve shown you before. Only I tried to jazz it up a bit by adding pearls. I didn’t add a crap load of pearls, just a touch here and there.

I tried to get a shot of the necklace on my velveteen display stand, but my camera totally freaked out on me. I don’t know what happened, but it was not pretty. I’ll just save you the eyesore and skip those photos.

Sadly, I have no pretty scenic or feline shots for you. What I do have is a shot of me and my friends enjoying lunch at the Waioli Tea House this past Saturday.

Can you guess which of those lovely ladies is my mother?

Happy Thursday, everyone!Thanks for putting up with me and my zany ways!

There has been spinning.

This is the last installment of Hungry For Handspun’s 2009 Fiber Club.

It’s a blend of 60% Superwash Merino, 30% Bamboo, and 10% Nylon and it’s called “Chocolate Cabernet Tart”.

Just look at the yummy.

I’ve been spinning this laceweight thin.

I could probably spin it thinner then that, but when I do I get paranoid about it breaking.

The one thing about spinning laceweight is that it seems to take forever, so I tend to get bored because I’m the queen of craft ADD.  Luckily I can switch projects on the wheel by switching bobbins.

I plan on spinning this up to break the monotony.

That’s a 100% Merino braid called “Zuni” from Forest Fiber Works. Her fiber is so nice and soft and it really spins itself. Go. Check her out.

If you know me, you’re probably wondering why I chose those colors. All I can say to that, is that I fell in love with it and had to have it. Personally I think that we all need to jump out of our personal color comfort zones once in awhile and experiment with different things.

The cats have all gone into hiding, but I did manage to snag this picture the other day while I was out. It’s not the best picture, but a rainbow is still a rainbow!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

I have been remiss. I have been a bad blogger. So here’s me trying to catch up.

Here are another couple of skeins of handspun that have been yearning for attention.

Azurite

2-ply

200yds
12 WPI – 4.15oz
100% Merino

Fibrer Credit: Forest Fiber Works “Tidal Pool”

This is the first time I’ve tried Forest Fiber works and I gotta say it was so much fun to spin. It practically spun itself.

Only I hadn’t been at the wheel for awhile when I spun this one up so it isn’t as consistent as I would have liked it to be.

Next up, is a single.

Calypso

260 yards
18 WPI – 3.8oz
100% Finn

Fiber Credit: Zarzuela’s Fiber “Pigment”

I love Jessica and her fiber! I love Finn! I love this colorway! (Pigment.) I just don’t love how I spin singles. There are spots that are just a little too overspun for my liking.

Ah well. I’ll keep practicing. Practice makes perfect right?

Speaking of practice. I started doing something new.

I’ve been wanting to play with resin for awhile now. When I hit the last bead show there was a vendor doing a demo. That sealed my fate. I came home with some basic supplies.  Next thing you know I’m ordering more from Etsy.  I finally ended up with the above!

That was my first try.  I gotta admit. I was afraid of trying something new. The resin intimidated me. Luckily I had Tough Love Megan on the line and she gave me the support I needed to just go for it.

I’m so glad she did!

Although, there’s an air bubble on the bottom right corner. o.O

My mantra? Practice makes perfect.

Happy Thursday everyone! Friday is right around the corner!

Yesterday I got together with my friend Chiye and taught her how to knit. It went amazingly well. She was a really fast learner and before you know it she was reading stitches and zooming along.

Unfortunately I was a really bad blogger and I failed to get a photo of her doing it. :(

Although it might have been because she blinded me with the pretties. Lookie!

That beautifully soft skein is made out of sugar cane! Can you believe it? Sadly, I was too busy fondling the yarn to bother taking down who manufactured it.  Truly, I suck.

To make up for my failings, I’ve got some handspun to share.

First up is a skein that has been marinating forever. I dyed the fiber way back when I was in Pennsylvania. I think I finally finished chain plying the single two or three months ago too.

The stats:

Caribbean Blue

235 yards
18WPI
2.7oz/76.54oz

Corriedale/hand dyed by me

And another one!

The stats:

Elektra!

Corriedale and Silk Throwster’s Waste

145 yards
12 WPI
4.3 oz/121.9g

fiber from Laughing Rat Studios

I’m over spinning my singles so I discounted this skein. It’s hard for me to transition from spinning laceweight to fat singles. My feet want to go go go! With fat singles they need to mellow out and take it slow. I suppose I need to keep practicing and concentrate better.

Anyway, I see Chiye again on Saturday. Hopefully she’ll bring her knitting and hopefully I’ll remember to bring my camera.  So hopefully that will  mean photos of my star pupil and her beautiful knitting. Fingers crossed that my brain doesn’t fail me!

Also, thanks for all the well wishes. I’m feeling much better. I was able to get a lot of knitting done yesterday and my thumb did well. I also seem to be over the flu. In fact I’m so much better Lady Insomnia has returned to plague me.

Things are definitely back to normal.

Yay! :P

Look who else is awake!

Happy Tuesday everyone! Have a good one!

First I was going to make this ball of yarn into the Damson.  When that didn’t work out, I attempted the Travelling Woman. Only I was defeated by the sheer simplicity of achieving a certain amount of stitches after knitting a certain number of plain stockinette rows.

How much of an idiot am I? :P

So this sad ball of yarn,

is trying very hard to become the Sunbird (Ravelry link).

It hasn’t been easy as not only has my thumb still slowly healing, but I’ve also had the stomach flu since this past Thursday.  I’m much better now and since there are no plain stockinette rows to confuse me, the shawl is taking shape.

Hopefully the third time’s the charm. :)

Now revel in the cuteness, but excuse the late night crappy photo.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!