It’s knitted in Falkland wool, a 2-ply, fingering weight yarns in beautiful shades of blue that I spun from fiber I bought from Unwind Yarn Company in a colorway called Dog Days Are Gone.

Hitchhiker is a very simple pattern to knit. It’s mostly garter stitch–there are the occasional purl stitches, and regular kfb increases–but it never gets boring. I love watching how the colors of the yarn stacked and flowed.

And now that my scarf is finished, the weather is way too warm for a wool scarf, so I will have to wait for fall to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Pinko Knitter, the unknowing might say, Wool and mohair? Really? You call that variety? And isn’t mohair just itchy, fuzzy wool? But those of you who are knitters, spinners, and/or weavers know what I’m talking about. I have spun Shetland wool, Peruvian wool, Merino, Falkland (which comes from mostly Merino sheep raised on the Falkland Islands), Finn, Polwarth, Bluefaced Leicester (BFL), Wensleydale, Corriedale, and Cormo, a Corriedale-Merino cross. Each wool has its own characteristics; each one spins up a little differently, knits up a little differently, wears a little differently.

I’m somewhat partial to spinning Falkland. It’s very soft and has a fairly long staple, has enough crimp to keep the fibers from drifting apart, but not so much that it isn’t easy to draft. And the finished yarn is cushy and great to knit with. But I have to admit that spinning BFL (“biffle” in spinner talk) is an incredibly wonderful experience. The fiber is soft, silky, and lustrous and practically spins itself. When I spin BFL, I swear all I do is treadle my wheel and the fiber drafts itself. BFL yarn is next-to-the-skin soft and seems to glow from its own internal light. I love spinning BFL.

And that’s why I am so happy that the 2013 Roving of the Month Club from Sunset Fibers is featuring BFL. I just finished spinning and plying the March and April selections; I plied the March and April colorways together to get a gorgeous 2-ply. Because I had a total of 8 ounces of singles, I ended up with 2-4 ounce skeins.

When I took the yarn in the picture above off the niddy noddy, it looked like this.

Yarn straight off the niddy noddy

Notice how curly it is? That’s the energy my wheel put into the yarn. It’s called the twist. As you can see from the picture, there is a lot of twist in the yarn.

The next step in making yarn is setting the twist. For wool yarn, this is done by soaking it in water. I soak my yarn for 20 minutes or so in hot water with a little wool wash or shampoo added. After draining the water and squeezing out the excess, I refill the sink with hot water and let the yarn soak again to remove any detergent residue. This step isn’t necessary if you use a no-rinse wool wash.

After squeezing (not wringing) out the excess water, I lay the skein out on a towel, fold it all up, then walk on it. This removes a lot of the remaining water. Then I usually “thwack” the yarn to full it a little and to remove some more of the twist by beating the hell out of the bathtub with the skein. This step scares my poor kitty every time. LOL Then I hang the skein to dry.

When the highly-energized skein of yarn hits the water, I can actually feel the yarn relax. The water seems to dissipate a lot of the energy in the yarn, so it’s a good thing to have a skein of  yarn that wants to twist around itself when it comes off the niddy noddy. If the yarn doesn’t have a lot of twist in it after spinning, plying, and setting, it will be limp and splitty and yucky to knit with.

The goal usually is to get a balanced yarn–one that hangs straight instead of curling to either the left or right. I like my finished yarn to be just slightly over-twisted, so that the skein wants to curl ever so slightly to the left when it is hanging to dry because when I knit, I remove a little bit more of the twist.

Now that the twist has been set, my curly skein now looks like this.

The twist has been set.

I know it isn’t magic, but it sure seems like it.

By the way, mohair comes from goats, not sheep. It’s a very strong fiber that can be scratchy or soft, depending, and fuzzy or smooth, also depending.

We’re making progress!

This 2-ply handspun is lovely to knit with. I love the effect of the color changes. Dana of Unwind Yarn Company is a brilliant dyer.

On the sweater front, Cassidy now has a back and two fronts,

She’s starting to look like a sweater.

and the first sleeve is underway. If I were a monogamous knitter, Cassidy would probably be finished already. But I simply cannot bring myself to stick to one project at a time, and there’s no rush to finish Cassidy because she’s definitely a winter sweater, and winter is still a long way off here in the Northern Hemisphere.

On the spinning front, I’m spinning some lovely red Falkland wool on a drop spindle.

Unwind Yarn Company Falkland in O-Neg on one of my Goldings

My progress is slow, but I try to spin on it at least a little every day.

I spend a lot more time spinning on my wheel, so my progress there is a lot faster. I’m currently working on some lovely “swirl” BFL, a blend of black and white BFL that is then dyed to create colors that spin up into a beautifully heathered yarn. I love the way this particular colorway spins up.

Sunset Fibers BFL on the Ladybug

I divided the roving into thirds and plan to spin 3 bobbins of singles, then make a 3-ply yarn. I’m kind of in love with 3-ply handspun.

Be sure to check out other works in progress on Tami’s WIP Wednesday.

211 Ways is printed on heavy, glossy paper and has a wire binding underneath a hard cover.

front cover

wire binding

It is a very large book, approximately 11.5 inches by 9 inches; the thick, glossy paper feels substantial and gives the impression that this is a book that will hold up under constant use. The wire binding means that the book lies flat when open. However, the large format of the book makes it clunky to use. It cannot be tucked into a project back, and when opened, it needs a large, flat surface to lie on. I don’t know about you, but when I’m knitting, I don’t have a large, flat surface on which to lay a large book, and it just doesn’t fit well on my lap. The large size of the book also makes it a little awkward to turn the pages and difficult to just flip through the book.

table of contents

The book has an index in the back that makes it easy to find a specific cast-on or bind-off or a specific type of cast-on or bind-off, e.g. provisional, tubular, stretchy, etc. The charts in the beginning of the book make it quick and easy to find cast-ons and bind-offs with the characteristics the knitter is looking for and to find a cast-on and bind-off that match.

handy charts in the front of the book

The step-by-step instructions are illustrated with drawings, and there is a photograph of a knitted swatch of each cast-on and bind-off. In my opinion, drawings tend to be better for illustrating techniques than photographs because they show more detail. But there’s no substitute for photographs of knitted swatches to show exactly what the cast-on or bind-off will look like.

Unfortunately, the knitted swatches were done in heathered and tonal yarns and just don’t show the detail as clearly as light, solid-colored yarn would have.

As one might expect, a large book with a hard cover, wire binding, high-quality paper, and lots of color illustrations doesn’t come cheap. The list price of Cast On, Bind Off: 211 Ways to Begin and End Your Knitting is $27.99 US which is a lot higher than the list price of Bestor’s book ($16.95 US), but if you buy from Amazon, Sease’s book is a very reasonable $19.99 US.

The difference in size is substantial.

So, what would I recommend? If you are into collecting knitting reference books, both of these books are worth purchasing. If you just want a book that is a guide to different cast-ons and bind-offs and when to use them, Bestor’s book wins hands down. It’s compact size makes it perfect for tucking into your project bag. It’s layout makes it easier to use because the pictures and instructions are side by side. Here’s a picture of how the same cast-on is treated in both books.

No, you really don’t need 211 cast-ons and bind-offs. Fifty-four are plenty for any knitter. Bestor’s book is not only a better value, it’s a better book.

Lately I have been doing most of my spinning (and plying) on my Schacht Ladybug spinning wheel, although I do have one project going on a drop spindle that I have been working on for a few minutes every day. But right now, my wheel is my obsession, second only to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

My current spinning project was inspired by the March and April selections of Woolgatherings’ ROTM.

The April and March 2013 selections of Sunset Fibers BFL

These two beautiful bumps of BFL in soft, spring colors told  me that they wanted to join together in fiber matrimony to become a 2-ply laceweight yarn. So I spun each one up on a separate bobbin

Beautiful singles on the bobbins

and now I am plying them together.

Two become one: the magic that is plying.

The yarn looks very much like JoJoLand Harmony variegated laceweight yarn, although my handspun isn’t quite as fine as Harmony.

JoJoLand Harmony

I probably should be trying to expand my spinning horizons, but I have really been enjoying spinning teeny-tiny singles and then plying them together, 2, 3, or 4 at a time. I haven’t tried a 5-ply yet because I have only five bobbins and my kate holds only four bobbins. And I’m still having fun trying different fibers and working on improving my consistency both with spinning and plying. That’s plenty to challenge me for now. Down the road, I hope to get other wheels–I have my eye on a Lendrum and a Matchless–and some more bobbins and a high speed pulley for my Ladybug. But for now, I’m happy to keep spinning away on the Bug.

I divided 4 ounces of natural Cormo fiber that I bought from Woolgatherings into 1-ounce bumps and spun each bump onto a separate bobbin on my Ladybug. This fiber, which is a Corriedale-Merino cross, loves to be spun very fine. After I had spun up all the fiber, I then plied it on the Ladybug to create a lovely 4-ply. The result is approximately 380 yards of sumptuously soft sportweight yarn that just screams to be next to my skin.

I have not yet selected a pattern for this yarn, so if you have any suggestions, I love to hear them.

Be sure to visit Tami’s website to see other FOs on this lovely Friday.

If you don’t believe me when I say I have been knitting and spinning up a storm, here’s the proof. First, the FOs:

The Bayside Pullover is completed and fits its recipient perfectly.

Reversible Rib Mitts (Ravelry pattern) in Lang Jawoll sport weight sock yarn in Spice colorway

My recently completed handspun yarn

And the WIP:

Greg’s 3 x 2 ribbed socks (The heel of the second sock was turned last night, but I’m too lazy to take another picture.)

James’s top-down raglan

Emily’s Cassidy, back and left front

Trekking 2 x 2 ribbed sock

Next week I will write about these projects in more detail. I promise.

And don’t forget to check out Tami’s FO Friday.

My new dining room curtains

Yep, I put up ruffled sheer priscilla curtains in my dining room. Old lady curtains.

I know that it’s been a while since I’ve published a blog post. The DH and  I have been busy recently doing some super-serious spring cleaning which has been taking up a lot of my time. We are almost finished now; there are just a few odds and ends to finish up, but here is a recap of all the work we have done.

We moved a lot of the furniture out of two bedrooms and emptied the closets, one of which is a fairly large walk-in, and painted both bedrooms and both closets.

We also moved most of the furniture and other stuff out of the dining room, removed the wallpaper border from the walls, and painted.

We also moved the bookcases and some of the other furniture from the living room, and had Stanley Steemer clean the carpets in the bedrooms, dining room, and living room, as well as the stairs and hallway.

Almost everything is back in place now, but there are still a few odds and ends to take care of. A lot of work and a fair amount of inconvenience were involved, but, trust me, it was worth it. Our 30-year-old carpeting looks much better now, and nothing brightens up a room quite like fresh paint. We also did some decluttering, and I did some destashing, too. I think that clear plastic storage bins are the greatest invention ever. They are a boon to organizing and storing all the stuff one accumulates in a lifetime that one just cannot yet bear to part with.

Although all the painting, cleaning, and organizing has kept me busy recently, I have still found time for watching hockey and knitting. I’ll sum it all up with pictures.

James’s top-down raglan sweater

The back of Emily’s Cassidy almost to the underarms

Greg’s second 3 x 2 ribbed sock is well under way.

Trekking 2 x 2 ribbed socks

Please check out Tami’s WIP Wednesday.

Watching so many games, I am gobsmacked by the number of players in the NHL who hail from Finland. Oh, everyone knows Teemu Salanne, who plays for the Anaheim Ducks. He’s a superstar player who has been in the league forever and at 40 shows no sign of slowing down. But are you aware of how many starting netminders are Finns? Miika Kiprusoff of the Flames; Pekka Rinne of the Preds; Tuuka Rask, aka The Romulan, who plays for the Bruins; Antii Niemi, who won a Cup with the Blackhawks and who now plays for the Sharks; Kari Lehtonen of the Stars; Niklas Backstrom of the Wild (not to be confused with the Swede of the same name who plays forward for the Caps). There are brothers Saku and Mikko Koivu, who play for the Ducks and the Wild, respectively, and Olli Jokinen of the Jets and Jussi Jokinen of the Canes, who are not related.  Forwards Valtteri Filppula (Red Wings), Lauri Korpikoski (Coyotes), Antii Miettinen (Jets, who came back from an injury, only to get injured again), and Sean Bergenheim (Panthers), and defensemen Sami Salo (Lightning), Kimmo Timonen (F^%ers), Joni Pitkanen (Canes), and Toni Lydman (Ducks) round things out. And there are a couple of Finnish players who are out for the season because of injuries, like Ville Leino of the Sabres. (Disclaimer: This list is for entertainment purposes only and is not necessarily exhaustive but it is accurate to the best of my knowledge.)

But hockey players are not the only great thing North America has imported from Finland. Finnsheep have also been imported, and from Finnsheep, we get Finn wool. When I first started spinning, I bought a 4-oz braid of Finn wool from The Cloistered Lamb. I wanted to try different breeds of wool, and I had read good things about Finn wool. The fiber rested in my stash for months until last week, when I decided it was time to give it a spin. (Get it? Give it a spin? LOL)

The first thing I noticed about the Finn wool was that it is very soft. It has a nice staple length and a lot of crimp, similar to Corriedale, but there is something that really sets the Finn wool apart from any of the fibers I have spun so far. It has a wonderful luster that continues to show through even after the wool is spun.

When I started spinning the Finn wool on my Ladybug, I learned very quickly that it wanted to be spun thicker than I normally spin. I generally spin singles that are very fine, in the neighborhood of cobweb to laceweight. But the Finn just wouldn’t hold together when I spun it that thin. So I spun the singles a bit thicker–fingering weight–and two-plied the yarn. I ended up with approximately 200 yards of worsted weight yarn, and I think it’s the best yarn I’ve done to date.

Skein of Finn wool handspun drying on my fancy skein dryer

A very pretty green

The finished Finnish yarn snuggling up with the label

I haven’t decided what this yarn will be when it grows up, but I’m thinking a cowl would be nice because the yarn is definitely next-to-the-skin soft.

Another reason is that, because the hockey season is shortened to only 48 games, every game is important, so every team is giving its all in every game. Just last night, two games went to a shoot out. The Bruins were trailing the Rags Rangers 0-3 going into the third period, but Boston came on strong and tied the game, sending it to OT. They ended up losing in the SO, but at least they got a point out of it. Then, later in the evening, the Blackhawks and Ducks went to a shootout. Unfortunately for me, the Blackhawks lost, but at least they got a point. In this shortened season, every point counts. Big.

Of course, while my eyes were busy watching these exciting and entertaining hockey games, my hands were busy knitting. I’ve been working almost exclusively on the Bayside Pullover. It is definitely autopilot knitting and a great project for hockey knitting. I’ve progressed quite rapidly on the sweater, but there have been a few bumps along the way.

Bump Number One

When my 40-cm Aero circular needle became overcrowded with stitches, I wanted to switch to my 60-cm Aero circular needle. But it is AWOL, and I have no idea where it could be. So I grabbed the handiest 3.5mm circular, which happened to be Knit Picks Zephyr acrylic needles that were on exactly the size cable I needed. I had bought one pair of Zephyr tips when they first came out so that I could give them a try, and this was the first time I had used them. I went to work on the sweater, and I was loving the Zephyrs, when this happened.

Can you see it? If not, here’s a picture that is a little more “in your face.” You can’t miss it.

Yes, the point of the needle broke off and went flying. Where it landed, nobody knows. Crap. I had to search for yet another needle. I ended up using Knit Picks Options, which are really nice needles, as long as the cable doesn’t decide to do something funky, like separate from the bushing while you are mid-row. So far, the cable is holding up just fine, and I’m doing everything in my power not to anger the knitting gods.

Bump Number Two

The second road bump was a little more serious. I’m knitting this sweater in linen, and the only way to be certain about your gauge is to knit a gauge swatch, then wash and dry it. I did that, and was using the swatch and my rudimentary but adequate math skills to determine how many rounds I would need to knit to get the correct length. The pattern is knitted at a gauge of 9 rows per inch, and my gauge swatch was 8.5 rows per inch.

The yoke is supposed to be knitted to 7.75 inches long from the cast on edge, at which point the sleeve stitches are places on holders and the underarm stitches are cast on. I did the math–simple multiplication–and knitted the yoke until there were 66 rows (8.5 rows per inch times 7.75 inches equal 65.875 rows), then put the sleeve stitches on holders, cast on the underarm stitches, and knitted several rounds of the body.

The yoke, of course, was not 7.75 inches long from the cast on edge, but the swatch told me it would be, once the sweater was washed. But, damn, it sure looked way too short to me. I just wasn’t trusting the swatch. So I did what any knitter would do when faced with nagging doubts. When I came to the end of the working ball of yarn, I put the stitches on holders and washed my work in progress. When it was dry, I measured and remeasured, and while my stitch gauge jibed with the swatch, my row gauge did not. In fact, my row gauge was 9 stitches per inch. This means that I can simply go by the measurements in the pattern. I don’t have to make any adjustments whatsoever because my gauge, both stitch and row, is spot on.

So I ripped out the five or six rounds I had completed after casting on for the underarm and continued knitting the yoke until it measured 7.75 inches. I cast on the underarm stitches and kept knitting round and round, and now I have nearly reached the body decrease round. If you look closely at the picture, you can see where the washed section ends and the unwashed section begins. The fabric changes a lot when it is washed.

The Bayside Pullover as of February 13, 2013

This pattern is a lot of fun to knit. I will probably knit it up in wool for myself sometime down the road. And if Em likes her linen version, she, too, might get one in wool.

Check out Tami’s WIP Wednesday to see what other clever folks are up to.