the Akamai Knitter

Between errands and some frenetic housekeeping, I was able to get some spinning done over the weekend. I mostly plied the blue Colonial into a 2-ply yarn.

At first I thought that I would never fill the bobbin up. Just when I thought I was stuck in the blackhole of plying, I managed to achieve escape velocity and fill up a bobbin. I even wound it all onto the niddy noddy!

I’m fairly happy with the way it turned out. I still think that I could have spun a more consistent single and plied more consistently as well. I’m hoping that I’ll be happier once I give the yarn a bath.

Here’s a final shot of the yarn with my finger in it. I’m happy with the weight and I think I’ll be able to get away with knitting a shawl out of it. I’m just undecided on which pattern to use. I’m thinking either the Flower Basket Shawl or the Seraphim.

I still have about half a bobbins worth of singles left on both bobbins so it’s back to plying!

Some friends are steadfast and reliable. Other friends are fickle and you never quite know what kind of reception you’ll receive when you see them. My relationship with spinning is a lot like the latter. Sometimes I just can’t get enough and other times when I sit at the wheel nothing goes right. I end up spinning much too thin or I can’t seem to get enough twist into the yarn, so it keeps breaking.

This past week, my wheel has reentered my life and boy have I had a blast with it. I think that my lack of enthusiasm for the whole act of spinning has centered on the fact that I’ve been working on a huge project. In an effort to live up to my resolution to knit with what I spin, I decided to spin up some laceweight to fingering weight yarn for a shawl.

I chose some Colonial Blue that I’ve had in my stash for years. Unfortunately I acquired this wool early in my spinning career and did not realize that unspun wool needs to breathe. Storing them in plastic bags within plastic bins is a strict no-no.

You know what happens next.The wool became slightly felted and I had to do a lot of preconditioning to loosen up the fibres. The first two bobbins has taken me months to complete. When I finally had them done, I knew I deserved a treat. I chose some roving from the Yarn Wench.

It’s called Roots and it’s a Falkland wool roving. You can see more pictures of this gorgeous roving here. Using the method I learned from Kristi, I split the roving into 3 parts lengthwise. My plan is to spin enough up for a 3-ply yarn for socks.

Once I started I could. Not. Stop. I got 1/3 of the roving done the very day I started it. When I was done, I mourned the fact that I did not have any empty bobbins to continue.

Now at least, I have better incentive to finish plying the Colonial Blue.

Soon after I finished the Blue Sand Ripple Afghan, I realized the madness of ripple mania had not abated. So I started another the very next day.

This was originally meant to be my first ripple, but I simply could not wait for the yarn to arrive. I have to admit to a certain disappointment once the yarn came though. The sage or light green you see is a bit too bright for my taste. I was really hoping for a sage green like this and not something like mint chocolate chip.

I decided to go ahead and see how the mint green worked with the other colours anyway. Today was the first day I really laid it out on my bed to see how it all worked out. When I see it with all the other colours, the lighter green doesn’t annoy me like it does all by its lonesome.

I’m using the same pattern as I did with the last blanket. It’s wonderfully relaxing and a treat to knit while watching television. The yarn is Caron Simply Soft. I probably should have mentioned that sooner rather then later. As far as acrylics go, it’s a good deal. It’s inexpensive with minimal squeak and soft to the touch.

The best part of it all is that the ripple is not losing any of its magical force. I’m still deeply enthralled by the process. So much so that I already have some yarn lined up for a third blanket and I have succumbed to the lure of the book 200 Ripple Stitch Patterns. I should be having a good mail day coming up soon.
I do feel slightly insane with this mad love of blankets while there’s all this hot weather going on, but I figure you gotta follow your bliss. Anyway, isn’t that what fans and air conditioners are for?

PS Did you know Woodland Woolworks is having a 2-day sock yarn sale? It’s on for today and tomorrow and it’s 20% off on all their sock yarn. Gah. There goes my budget. It goes *splat!*

Earlier this month a friend asked me to test knit a pattern for her. Despite my best intentions of a speedy start, I only got around to starting them this weekend. So while I watched Deja Vu and The Devil Wears Prada (both excellent movies), I got busy with my first project as a test knitter.

Despite my dislike for the yarn, I’m really enjoying the Periwinkle Sock Pattern. It has just the right amount of lace to keep me interested, yet it’s easily memorized so that I can easily work on them with my attention divided. Even though I switched to a size 2.0mm needle from a size 2.5mm after 4 repeats, this sock is a winner as the fit is fantastic.

Speaking of needles, did you all see that Knitpicks has started carrying size 2.25mm needles? I am so elated that I even forked over the money for their pricey shipping to Hawaii. I figured out that even with the shipping the needles would come out to about $7 a pop, since I bought 4 pairs. That still makes them a better buy then Addi Turbos.

I do have a question for all of you, have you ever tried Lisa Souza’s sock yarn? What does it compare to? I have been suffering from some serious sock yarn lust lately, but I’d like to make some informed decisions before I take the plunge. I’m trying to stay away from too many impulse buys, but who knows how long that will last.

Also, I read the new book by the Yarn Harlot over the weekend and I absolutely loved it. She really knows the depths of passion and the overwhelming obsession we knitters have and I was so sad when the book ended. I wished it were a never ending story.

I wanted to run out to show all my non-knitting friends excerpts of the book so they could understand me. This is what I what I have been trying to say all these years, people! How I wish I had a quarter of her writing talent. Maybe I’ll just buy extra copies of the book as presents for my muggle friends. I’m sure they’ll all be extraordinarily delighted with my thoughtfulness.

When I mentioned this idea to Quincy, he kinda gave me a look. Hrm. What do you think he’s trying to say?

Last week, when I went to Hilo, I started yet another pair of Pomatomus socks. Between waiting for planes and waiting in the hospital, I was able to finish the leg of the sock.

Back on Oahu, I was able to work on the foot during my routine trips to the doctors. Finally, this past Thursday, I finished the first sock.

After working on the LSD Monkey Socks, the Lagoon Pomatomus sock were a real treat to the senses. The yarn is soft and springy and the colours are deep and restful. The pattern is just the right amount of interesting yet soothing. Now I just need to knit its mate, which I started at the Aloha Knitters meeting on Thursday.

Not only is this a great companion project while being out and about, it also impressed the hell out of my relatives. ;-)