Month: October 2014
The spinning situation (and Sea Breeze Test-Knit!)
I realized this week that I have not touched my spinning wheel since the end of the Tour de Fleece in July, even though a had such a large quantity of really nice rovings just laying around in my living room. I did the math, I have 62.5 ounces of fiber just there, waiting for me in a box. 62.5 ounces!!!!! And I haven’t touched it in months. So a few days ago, I decided to take a breather from my Cosmo Shawl and my Frosted Rose cardigan to work a little spin, using a really nice fractal roving I bought a couple months ago at the Twist Festival. It’s a 100% corriedale roving in color Periwinkle.
I thought I would be rusty from not spinning for such a long time, and I was sincerely expecting a little struggle as I started the project. But surprisingly enough, it seems my hands and feet remember the motions very well, my singles were very fine and constant, and the finished product exceeded all my expectations. Yay! It is so fine in fact that I was able to make over 400 yards of light fingering weight yarn with a 4 oz package of fiber, which is about 50% more that the longest yardage I have been able to make so far. I’m so exited! I feel like it really took forever, but it was just so worth it! I have also started the hip increases on my Frosted Rose cardigan, so things have been going pretty smoothly. 🙂
On another note, I’m very excited to announce that I finally finished writing the pattern for my Sea Breeze Sweater, yay!! I’ll have it test-knitted throughout the next few weeks, so if you feel like joining in (because, let’s face it : a couple more testers would definitely be more than welcome!) just send me an email at craftyeffie@outlook.com, and I’ll fill you in on the details 🙂
October blues
Well, it’s this time of the year. The time when days become shorter, temperature keeps getting colder and colder and the rain and clouds replace the sun in the sky. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a real bummer for me, and although we (at least) had a sunny and warm Thanksgiving weekend last week, I’m still not completely at ease with the idea that summer’s over.
To lift my spirits a little, I have been using my brand new ball winder and swift that were generously gifted to me on my birthday. So nice!
I have also been keeping myself very busy working on a couple different knitting projects, namely my Cosmo Shawl and a new pink cardigan I just started, my Frosted Rose.
The shawl has been progressing pretty quickly, I am now about halfway through. The pattern is called “Bamboo Wedding Shawl“, from Purl Soho. I have made this pattern once before for my mom, and I decided to do it again since it was such a nice, easy lace project to do. It’s a 12 row geometrical lace pattern that can be memorized very quickly. It’s an easy, relaxing knit, and I think the blue yarn really makes it pop – I’m very happy with the result!
The cardigan, on the other side, was a real love story. I fell in love with it at first sight, about a week after it was published on Ravelry. The pattern is called Tau, and it is designed by Melanie Berg from Mairlynd. I fell in love with the pattern, and I just happened to have the perfect yarn for it just laying around in my bins so I cast on right away.
The yarn I used is call Chroma Silk, it’s a wonderful 100% silk yarn in a light fingering weight, the color I’m using is “Frosted Rose”. This yarn is hand dyed by an artisan here in Montreal, and it is an exclusive product from Artfil Yarn Shop & Craft Café. I simply LOVE working with it, it’s nice, soft, strong, luscious, and very decently priced for a 100% silk yarn. I’m in love!
Finally published!!
I am so very excited… My first design is finally up for sale! Yay! It took me a while, but I’m finally done editing, and I am proud to present you the Sunny Summer Stripe pattern! *Screams of joy*
Crafty Effie 