THREAD!!

Today I went to the craft store and bought some embroidery floss for my cross stitch stash.  A LOT of it, too.  Well, at least more than I've ever bought at one time before!

I was buying mostly for patterns that I have and am *attempting* to use for presents (1 week to go!).  There's also some that were just too pretty to pass up, such as that bright turquoise on the left and lime green slightly over.

Now, onward with the frantic gift cross stitching!

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.

Rainbow Striped Socks

Let's be real: rainbows are awesome.  When I found out that Knit Picks had started making a rainbow colorway for Felici, I instantly ordered some.  It's taken a while for me to use the yarn because it is just so perfect.  Any knitter, sewer, spinner, or other crafter knows the type: something that is just so awesome that you don't want to use it.  You just want to take it out every once in awhile and pet it, then put it back where it belongs.

I finally used this yarn last November, when I started these socks.  Usually, I am a monogamous knitter.  If I start another project, the first probably won't get finished.  These are an exception!

I started them around Thanksgiving of last year and knit on them off and on through December.  Christmas presents took priority, so I stopped for a couple weeks to finish them.  I even took these socks on the Most-Terrifying-Plane-Ride-of-My-Life, but didn't knit because I was busy holding on to the armrest like it would save me in the event of falling out of the sky. 

When doing a Stash Reorganization a couple weeks ago, I found the half-finished first sock and started knitting on it again.  Yesterday, the final stitch was knit, and final end woven in.

The pattern is Skew, which is free from Knitty (here's the Ravelry link).  I knit the pattern once before with a beautiful hand-painted yarn.  This time around, I wanted to do stripes of some sort.  If you've seen the beautiful Noro scarves, you know that a striped yarn looks fantastic when paired with a solid.
 

I wrote about these socks on their Ravelry page, which you can see here.  Ravelry is great for keeping track of progress, especially if you happen to put a project down for a long time. 

Above, you can see that they are almost perfectly identical.  Yay!  I commend the knitters who can make not-quite-identical socks, but I simply can't muster the will-power!  Each time I knit a pair of something, I make sure to start at the exact same spot in the yarn and compare throughout.  

Here's a picture of the first sock being blocked.  Blocking really gets these socks into the correct shape.  I had two problems with this pattern, however:

1. A little too tight across the heel/ankle.  This isn't noticeable once they are on, but getting into and removing them is a major task.  I'm really hoping they stretch out a little with wear.
2. On both socks, I had the incorrect number of stitches after the heel was formed, when it came to the mini gusset.  I know it wasn't an issue with the pattern because there was a difference in stitches between the two socks.  I need to work on keeping track of what row I'm on, apparently!

 Today I started my next pair of socks, and am hoping that it will take less than 10 months to complete this time around!

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!

Knitting Needles

I organized my knitting needle stash the other day, since they were in about 3 places and just a mess.  Seriously, what are you supposed to do with circular needles?!

Wanna know something scary? 

...This isn't even all of them.  I have a whole 'nuther bag with all my straight needles in them.  In the bag above, I have my double-pointed needles, interchangeable needles, and circular needles.  Most of my straight needles are way too long for the bag, so I stored them in a knitting needle holder that I sewed.  When I sewed the holder, I never thought I'd need another storage option!

With my reorganization, I found a WIP from last December: rainbow felici and black diagonally-striped socks.  Stay tuned for pictures of my finished sock!

BONUS! Fluffy kitty with string picture!  This handsome cat is Midnight, who is usually very poised, but couldn't resist the yarn.