Tag: Corespun

Blogging in Space

I’m not really blogging in space, but what a thought:

“I started knitting these socks last night.  I asked the replicator to produce some cellulose fibre yarn like the bamboo yarns produced in the 21st century.  It manages these types of yarns quite well, but it struggles to produce yarn with the feel and natural bounce of real wool.  I’ll have to wait until we get to the next planet with animals that produce a wool like coat before I can get anything like that…”

On the space theme, last night I finally cast on for the shawl using the bowtie yarn I started spinning during the Tour de Fleece.  The shawl is growing quickly.  I started knitting it on the Lantern Moon needles I bought at Fibre East, as it grew I transferred it to the circulars I have, then transferred it straight back to the straight needles.  Though the Lantern Moon needles are very heavy (they are 15mm) the stitches slide over the polished surface really well, and the point is beautifully shaped.  So, for the moment I’ll put up with the weight and knit in short sessions.

The shawl will be triangular and I’m knitting it from the neck down (starting with a garter stitch tab), with increases for shape in the middle and at the edges of the rows.  The weather has made photography difficult today, but here is progress so far:

bowties.jpg

And what set me off on the space theme?  Well, after my posts on Saturday my web host emailed to say I was getting close to using up the space I’m allocated.  Initially I thought that wasn’t a big problem, just upgrade to the next package, but it turns out that costs nearly three times as much!  So, I’m going to have to do some serious web and blog management in the near future.   Not only do I still need to fix the look and feel of the blog which got broken after I upgraded WordPress, but I now either need to streamline my blogging or find a new affordable home for it!  So, if I suddenly go quiet on the spinning and knitting front, that’s a likely reason!

Now, where did I park my TARDIS?

An Introduction and 3 Finished Objects!

Firstly, I’d like to introduce Harriette.  She’s my new assistant and will be modelling finished articles on my blog.  Within hours of starting her new job she was demanding a new hand-sewn skirt – so I suspect she may be trouble!!!  Anyway, here she is modelling the first of my finished objects (and also the new skirt):

shawl-finished

This is the Purple Paradise shawl I started weaving in March with hand-spun yarns for both the warp and the weft.  It came off the loom in May.  I’ve finished it off by making a twisted fringe from the warp-ends.  Here I am starting to use the twisted fringe maker on the shawl:

starting

The second finished object is also being modelled by Harriette:

core-spun-mobius

This is a Mobius cowl knitted from my first core-spun yarn.

Finally, I have finished spinning the “Bowties are Cool” Doctor Who inspired yarn.  This isn’t being modelled by Harriette as she objected to juggling the three large skeins.  So instead I’ve draped them on the back of a chair.  However, I hope this gives an idea of the scale of this yarn, which is fairly light (being core-spun) but very bulky:

three-skeins

It’s been a nice few days finishing off knitting, weaving and spinning.  But as you’ve probably noticed I still have lots of active projects I really must get on with (though I’m very tempted to immediately cast on a shawl with the bowties yarn)!