Two Scarves and Some Socks

Yesterday I finally finished a pair of socks I've been working on for about 5 months and wove in the ends to a scarf that I spent just 2 days on.

First, here are my July Mystery Socks.  It was a great, easy pattern and I love how the heel was done!  They are toe-up with a short-row heel, but also have a gusset.  It really cuts down on the awkward holes from a straight short-row heel.  As you can see from the WIP Post for these socks, I have been working on these for months!  I got distracted by making gifts for people and put them aside.  This week, though, I finally finished!

 

 Here is a close-up of the pattern.  The repeat for the main pattern is only 4 rows, so I was able to memorize it and didn't have to keep looking at the chart (yay!).  I decided to make them short socks because I live in California, and wool socks are almost always a little warm anyways!

 

Here is my 2-day scarf!  I used some handspun that I made during the summer and knit it up in garter stitch on size 15's.  Here is a post about the Mermaid Handspun.

The whole scarf.  As I had intended, the yarn knit up in long stripes of color.  Each of the colors was hand-dyed by me, so this scarf is truly handmade from start to finish.

 

Right now, I am working on a new LARGE project... The Beekeeper's Quilt!

Mermaid Handspun Yarn

Spun more than three weeks ago, but just getting the pics now! 

When spinning this yarn, I was aiming for a "super thin yarn"...so it ended up about sport weight.  A combination of my Louet and my patience means that most yarn ends up worsted to bulky, but I wanted something a little closer to sock yarn.

 

Mermaid transitions from red violet to lime green, with no repeat.  I was trying to do something similar to Noro yarns, that have long color stretches that blend seamlessly.

Above, you can see it as a skein.  I just want to stroke it and hold it and never actually knit it!  Ever since I started spinning, I've had trouble actually breaking into a skein to knit.  That means I have a lot of "decorative" skeins lying around.

Obligatory quarter shot!  Gives an idea of the differences in thickness.

In knitting news, I am half of the way through a pair of socks and now trudging along diligently.  The start of school and my new job means less sit-in-front-of-the-computer-and-knit time.  I suppose that's good, since Netflix was running out of documentaries to watch.

Jack-o-Lantern 2-ply Handspun

I love a good, colorful 2-ply!  It's something that you almost never see in commercial yarn.  I love that I can make yarn that is unique and in my favorite colors.  It's also great to just randomly order the colors and be surprised by the combinations that result from the plying.

Here it is, Jack-o-Lantern!  I just chose 5 colors, and was surprised when it turned into a super-Halloweeny yarn.  You can see the the Ravelry page here.   Click for a major close-up of the gorgeous yarn!

Jack-o-Lantern is 172 yards and 3.5 ounces.  It has purple, yellow, lime green, orange, and black in it and varies from about sport to worsted weight. 

Above you can see a picture of the entire skein.  There are a lot of places where the colors matched up, so it will have solid stripes when you knit it up.  I honestly don't know what I'd knit with this, though, because it is just so awesome as is.

This is the center-pull ball that I made in order to ply the yarn.  This is my favorite method of plying because you don't end up with an extra, like you would if you had two bobbins.

Castle in the Clouds Handspun Yarn

Last week, for the first time in months, I picked up some wool and spun it.  I had a beautiful batt that I carded with different hand-dyed wool and sparkle fibers (Angelina, I think) a while ago.  I spun it up thick and plied it, which made a bulky, squishy yarn.  My go-to method of plying is Navajo plying, which is also called chain plying, and creates a 3-ply.  I love this because you don't have to worry about spinning 2 exact amounts like in 2-ply, or alternatively making a center-pull ball to ply ends together.  It gives great stripes, even when there are only subtle differences in the colors. 

Click for larger!

This yarn is 2.5 ounces and about 50 yards.  I think it would be perfect for a headband or wristwarmers, though probably not enough for a scarf.  The colors remind me of fairy tales and the sky, hence "Castle in the Clouds".  

 

I have a couple more batts that I'm wanting to spin.  I am in awe of the spinners who consistently spin beautiful sock yarn.  I simply don't have that kind of patience!  Also, my Louet seems better suited for worsted weight and up.

As for the Rainbow Striped Sock, I am still working on it!  Right now I am increasing for the heel, so a little under half of the way done.  Hopefully I'll get it finished in the next week before school starts and everything gets crazy again!