Blog has Moved!
Come visit the wool blog at its new address:
SheepCam!
If you want to see who’s hangin’ in the shed, go check the sheepcam!
It won’t be at that address for long- it’s a site I’ve been working on for a web design class.
Still a work in progress, but I hope to move the site to a permanent home sometime soon.
The Right Tools for the Job
I normally prefer wood or bamboo knitting needles.
But in size one (2.25 mm), I’ve found them to be a little troublesome.
Probably because I do not hold them with a light touch.
This week I broke 2 wooden needles, and I knew I had to make a change.
But I’ve never liked metal because they are so slippery, and in the winter I knew they would feel too cold.
So I’ve gone high tech-
Carbon Fiber
They have metal tips that are slick, but the whole rest of the needle is carbon fiber, and they are light, strong, and smooth but not slippery.
And they have changed my whole attitude about size 1 needles.
I’m a little behind on my sock project (was hoping to get one done per week)- but now that I’m properly equipped, I’m hoping to get back on track.
Oh- and I also wanted to share a fleece acquisition that I made a couple of weeks ago-
It’s a little jumbled, so you don’t get a good look at the lock structure or length there, but it is a beautiful black border leicester fleece from Jonasson Farms. Even came with its blue ribbon from the state fair this past spring 🙂
I just couldn’t resist.
Just got one lovely skein navajo plied and washed-
As much as I love Shetland wool, I do have a soft spot for border leicester.
Variety is the spice of life, after all
(just don’t tell the boys!)
Sock Progress
I can think of nothing particularly clever to say about these socks.
But they are coming along nicely.
And for now, that is enough.
The yarn is a blend of Felix (for the light color and soft fluffiness) and Griff (for elasticity and strength).
It is nice to knit with, and I hope that it will wear well.
Only time will tell on the latter, I suppose.
Knitting up pretty tight on size 1 needles.
I really don’t like size 1 needles, but you do what ya gotta do, right?
Griff Goes Glam
As much as I love the natural color wools,,,
I do sometimes crave a shot of dyed mohair to add some spice.
So I got busy with the carder.
Here they are in different light.
Griff’s lightest wool is kind of oatmeal-colored, and makes such a nice base for blending and showing off different colors. Lots of nice crimp, too, so it gives the yarn a lot of body, despite the fairly high mohair content.
It’s like wool candy.
Mmmmmmm.
And here is the Coincidental Cowl and Mitts set that I finished this week-
Turned out pretty cute I think, but they weren’t really meant to be a set.
A couple of single skeins were just hanging out in my bag, and happened to get together.
It’s all pretty casual.
Doggin’ It
Saturday we had an errand to run down south, so we turned it into a trip to our favorite dogpark!
Marymoor Park in Redmond, WA has an awesome off-leash area. It’s something like 40 acres and has trails, open grassy space and water features.
It was a beautiful day, and we all had a great time. (I think I like going to the park as much as the pups do!)
We walked, and met all kinds of cool dogs and their people,
Went and got some lunch, then
Yep, we came back and walked some more!
The second time, Sadie and Skye both took the plunge and did a little paddling-
Hey hey! Who’s a happy girl?
Good Dog Day.
New Favorite Hat
A quick and satisfying little knit (from the bottom skein in the pile from 3 posts ago)-
and a perfect fit!
Thanks to a little afterthought earband.
Which makes it snug and secure.
I can tell we are going to have lots of good times, me and my new favorite hat-
Winter is right around the corner, and it’s already gettin’ kinda nippy.
Next up, some toasty and hopefully hard-wearing mitts!
Tonight’s Poll
If you only had time tonight to do one of the following, which would it be?
1. Spin
2. Blog
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.
.
Exactly.
Sorry Blog.
I owe you one.
Denise
Walk-Ins Welcome
Just take a little off the front, ok?
It was a beautiful sunny day (might be our last for a while), so I jumped right on getting the partial fleece washed up and dried
I wish he would have stuck around for a more complete haircut, but he seems pretty pleased with the style- and the other guys know better than to poke fun at Edgar. 🙂
In other news, I spun up some of that Mr. Fancypants Chone+dyed mohair blend from my carding extravaganza a couple weeks back-
And am so pleased with the results!
In the bus-knitting category, the teal/green/chartreuse skein skein got the nod.
It is well on it’s way to being a light and smooshy feather and fan stitch cowl.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Or maybe lime squeezy?
in Sheeps Clothing 