A Little Creativity

After a long day last night, I allowed myself the pleasure to create a little. The results were 2 beautiful 4 oz rovings, one inspired by Scottish tartans in tones of blues and greens. Such boldness always makes me smile.

The other, was at the opposite end of the spectrum.It is as subtle as the first roving was bold. It is inspired by the paintings of Chagall. Soft corals, aquas, almond greens and plum greys seem to echo the love in Chagall's paintings.

I just added these rovings to my Etsy Store. I am dyeing some glorious Worsted Merino in ochres today. I have been thinking of perfect yarns for the February Lady Sweater. (After I finish Mr SockPixie's socks, I will knit a February Lady Sweater.) I will show you tomorrow.

Fall Rovings

Today I played with rovings in fall tones. I used my 2 step process to dye the rovings, dyeing them once, and then using shibori techniques overdyeing them in a gentle color bath. I cannot tell you how much I love the richness of the colors. I also love the fact, that each batch is unique. Each day I dye fibers is a unique experience for me.

This week has been a busy week for me, as Miss SockPixie left to study in France for the next three years. I will miss my dear friend with whom I shared so many special moments talking about her dreams or mine. I am adjusting...

Kimono

You have heard many times about my favorite possession, my vintage kimono. Today it inspied a roving colorway. I simply called it Kimomo

I won't say anything more. I will just let you enjoy the color...

Monet Rovings

There is nothing like the subtle colors of Monet. I felt better yesterday, and worked on some rovings inspired by my favorite paintings of his. I dyed these rovings in a 2 step process, first applying a base color, and then using Shibori techniques, overdyed them, thus leaving some of the original colors visible.  I love the results. They are subtle, and share the watery quality of Monet's paintings.

I jus added them to my Etsy Store and hope you will enjoy them!

No Dollhouse Yet

I know you must have been hoping that this post would be about the dollhouse and that I would be showing you pictures. I am afraid I have to disappoint you. You see, in order to take the pictures, I have to transport the house to that one corner of the house where the light is just perfect, which means that Little Miss SockPixie would have to relinquish the house to me for a few moments.

She will be out tomorrow, playing with friends... If the light is good, I should be able to take the pictures, which means tomorrow's post should be about the dollhouse!

In the meantime here is a color treat for you, some superwash Merino Venitian Sunset Roving I dyed yesterday.

My heart is beating a little faster just looking at it! I guess that's what color does to me!

Tour de Fleece

I joined the Tour de Fleece a few days late, but since I have been spinning every day lately, I thought I could just hop on my "wheels" and get going.

Growing up in France, I followed the progress of the Tour de France everyday on TV. Raymond Poulidor was my favorite racer. I can still hear myself screaming at the top of my lungs "Allez Poupou!!!" I loved him, even though he never won.

I worked really hard yesterday to spin the midnight blue yarn to be plied with my 4th of July single ply. I finished the midnight blue strand last night.

Let me tell you it was no small feat. It was swelteringly hot here in Boston, and I was pushing on these "pedals" as hard as I could. Who knew spinnning could be so physical! With each push, I mentally cheered, "Allez, Caro, Allez Caro, Allez!" (Caro was the nickname given to me by my childhood buddies.)

Tomorrow's "étape" plying in the heat! You know I just realized a funny thing while writing this post, the colors of the rovings I picked match the Tour de Fleece logo really well. The socks I knit up from the yarn will be my Tour de Fleece socks!

Singles

Though I have been quiet in the blog world since my return from Paris, I have not been idle. I have been spinning a storm.

I have fallen in love with spinning worsted weight singles. I love that the colors retain their brilliant contrast.
Though I love plied yarn, I find that the colors are attenuated by the plying.
With singles I get to spin a usable yarn in a shorter amount of time, and the colors delight me. Imagine an hour and one half of relaxed spinning and a glorious skein to show for it.

Here is one of the many singles skeins I have spun. It is spun out of a Blue Face Leicester I hand-dyed a few months ago.

When spinnning singles you intend to use as singles, it is important to not overtwist. I set my wheel on the largest whorl in order for less twist to be put in the yarn. I also set the wheel so that it will have a fast uptake. I also make an effort to treadle slowly (I usually put apeaceful music on with a slow beat, somehow that helps remind me to go slowly.) I try not to hang on to the yarn too long, but rather let it slide quickly between my fingers.

The result is a beautiful, soft, yarn that holds together well. I do not full my worsted weight singles as there is enough fiber in them for them to hold well on their own.

I usually let the freshly spun singles sit on the bobbin for at least 24 hours, and then set them. To set them, after winding them into a skein, I soaked them in a lukewarm bath with a little soap. I let the skeins soak for about 30 minutes. I then rinse the skeins in cool water. I gently squeeze the water out, I thwack them, and then hang them with a weight at the bottom.

Et voila! Delicious yarn to be eyed, petted and knit up!

Knitting Pam Allen's Indian Floral Vest

Yes, I am finally knitting Pam Allen's Indian Floral Vest! I started yesterday afternoon. I actually started with the left front. (I know you should start with the back, but I just felt like knitting the fronts!)

The left front is finished and I have marked the location of the buttons in order to place the buttonholes properly on the right front. (I am looking forward to making the buttons, they are crochet buttons!)



The detail on the vest is beautiful. I love how Pam Allen worked the bottom edge. It is so feminine, and the waist shaping will be so flattering. And the way my red handspun Shetland is knitting up is making me so happy!



Before I go, I wanted to tell you Mr. SockPixie loved his Moth Mittens, and wore them for the first time today!

Swatching

I worked on Mr. SockPixie's Moth Mittens last night, and then I knit a swatch with my newly spun red Shetland roving...Yum...I thought knitting the yarn would be bliss, and it definitely is.



My yarn is a little finer than the yarn called for in the pattern, and so I will be making some adjustments, but that's just part of the fun, isn't it?

I am off to finish the mittens. I might just be able to put in a few minutes of knitting before I teach French Conversation in the Brookline adult ed tonight. Tonight we are discussing campaign financing in France! There is nothing like the calming effect of knitting before discussing a hot topic like campaign financing!

Plying Brings Me One Step Closer to Knitting

I just finished plying the first skein of the red Shetland roving for the Floral Vest. I chose a simple worsted 2 ply .



I think the color is even more striking in its final form, the heathery tones just glow.

Knitting the vest is going to be pure bliss!

Tempted to Spin

I was resolved yesterday to finish Mr. SockPixie's socks before starting to spin the delicious red roving for the Indian Floral Vest... The best I can say is I tried...

In my defense I will say that I turned the heel on the second sock. That counts as a good effort right? But there was all this Shetland fiber sitting there next to me, tempting me...

So there, I started spinning, but only a little bit...



I have a perfectly rational explanation, I needed to spin to get going on my swatches, so that I could start spinning the yarn for the vest as soon as the socks were done, and... like the great Mark Twain, I deal with temptation by yielding to it! There!

A Fern Beret for Miss SockPixie

A few weeks ago, I posted a picture of some handspun, a Merino Silk blend. I spun the yarn as a light worsted singles using a short forward draw. The result was a yarn with very little fuzz, great shine, and body.



I had about 4 oz of yarn which left me if two choices: mittens, or a hat. I thought the yarn would be to feminine for a boy, and its "crispness" would allow for stitch play.

Berets are great to show off a stitch pattern as they have a large section that sits in a disc fashion on the head, whitout being stretched or distorted.
I picked a lace pattern that radiates toward the center of the beret, it actually reminds me of ferns. I blocked the beret gently to open up the lace. I love the color, the slight silky luster, and the timelessness of the style.


The beret is now Miss SockPixie's.

More Handspinning

Ishbel is finished and is being blocked. In the mean time I spun some more yarn. I spun wensleydale for the first time. The staples were soooo long! I first spun a multicolored roving in firy tones (you know how much I like bold colors!) The result: soft fingering weight singles.



I then chose a contrasting roving, a practically solid lavender. When I placed them together, I instantly fell in love, and though it was way too late, I spun all the lavender I knew I would need.



It was a good thing it was so late when I finished, because that forced me to let my singles sit overnight before being plyed.



I love the result! The lavender brings some calm to the fire. I can't wait to knit it! I am thinking really hard about a good project.