October was another big spinning month for me. I finished spinning my 12 lbs! And I also got to try out some new dyers and fibers that I haven’t worked with before or that I haven’t worked MUCH with.
The first yarns pictured are fingering weight singles spun from 8oz of Shetland in “Jazzy” colorway from Southern Cross Fibre. I am in love with the deep, rich, semi-solid magenta of this fiber. I had originally planned to knit an Orchid Thief shawl but after starting the project, I felt that the yarn was calling for garter stitch. It really sparkles when knit into garter stitch so I frogged my shawl and started on Stonecrop which is absolutely perfect for this yarn. I’m still knitting Orchid Thief but I’ chosen a lovely bamboo yarn from my stash that it working out great.
My next spin was 4oz of Finn in “Feast Of Kings” colorway by Two If By Hand. It was my first time spinning Finn and it was very fun. It yields a bouncy, light, springy single which I put some extra twist into because this fun fiber had socks written all over it. And it is shaping up into fantastic socks indeed! You can see my WIP shot here.
Next was 4oz of Polwarth in “Going Bush” colorway by Southern Cross Fibre. I love the bright autumn-y hues in in this colorway. It makes me think of falling leaves, pumpkins, and crisp fall air. This yarn is also destined to become some awesome socks.
These skeins above were my first of two spins for October of BFL/silk and let me tell ya, if you haven’t spun this yet … do it, do it, DO IT! This 4oz was spun up as fingering weight singles with a bit of extra twist in the colorway “Medieval” by Southern Cross Fibre and you guessed it, this yarn will someday soon be transformed into socks. I might have a serious sock spinning/knitting addiction. lol
This yarn above was spin #2 of BFL/silk for October. It is 6oz of the Spunky Eclectic Club Fiber colorway “Pheasant” spun up as a light fingering weight. This yarn has shawl or stole written all over it! It is drapey and delightful. I haven’t picked out a pattern for it yet but it will tell me what it wants to be eventually.
And the last skein for October was 4oz of light fingering weight singles spun from a natural, creamy BFL. This baby has shawl plans as well and it might even hit the dye pot too! I’m thinking something Stephen West-ish for this yarn …
So October was a very productive spinning month for me. Lots of fun new yarns and fibery daydreams … a big goal achieved … and more yummy sock yarn for my sock-yarn-deficient stash. Even though I reach my 12 lb fiber goal, I’m not stopping yet. Stay tuned for my November handspun post next month to see all the goodies I’ve been working on. I’m might be working on my hand carding and woolen spinning, playing with some sparkley fiber batts, and dying up some fun in my kitchen …
So what kinds of projects do you have on the go now? Are you knitting, crocheting, spinning or dying up anything extra special? I’d love to hear all about it!
Wow! They are all gorgous! I espically love the first one. I just bought a drop spindle, I can’t wait to try it, maybe someday I’ll get a spinning wheel. I’m crocheting a cowl that I want to finish before I try the drop spindle to make sure I finish it.
Yay Judy! I’m excited that you’re going to start spinning. Good luck on your cowl and I’d love to see finished pics of it
finished! different pattern than the hat, but same color so I think they look ok together. I don’t know how to attach the pic here,
I’m not really sure either! (How terrible is that!) But your could post a link so we can all oooh and ahhh over your new project
I don’t lnow how to do that either! lol I sent u a pic in a seperate link so you can opost it for me if you want or I’ll get my sister to show me in a few days. Thanks
I’m gonna try some mittens to match using your mitten pattern
Oh what beautiful spinning Simone ! I love them all but really love the look of Pheasant. I’ve noticed that you’ve been spinning a lot in singles and I’m curious to ask, how hard is it to control your spinning doing singles? I really would like to do more in singles, simply for the yardage factor and instant gratification so to speak.
Thank you Tina. Spinning for singles is a snap!
If I plan on using my singles for a shawl (or something that isn’t going to see a ton of wearing/friction) I use my largest whorl and moderate amount of intake, and then spin,rest, wash, and hang up to dry. This gives a nice smooth single that is close to being balanced and is a dream to knit.
For singles that are going to be socks, I drop down a whorl so that I get more twist. These singles are pretty curly and crazy when they’re finished but the extra twist works very well in making socks.
Love them all, when do you have the time???
Thanks Corinne
so much gorgeous spinny goodness! I love them all, especially the Finn, that is stunning :O)
Thanks so much! I really enjoyed my first experience with Finn and I’m eager to try it out again.
Luscious colors and they turned out to be really pretty handspun. Great wip also! I love the colors. Did you handspin all these? Or did you use a wheel also? Handspun is so gratifying to knit, I just started knitting some singles I’ve spun with a spindle. Its so fun to see the handspun turn into something! Great colors and projects, Simone.
Martha, I’m so excited to hear you’re knitting with your handspun! Congrats and I hope that you can share some pics with us all when you’re done!
So much lovely handspun there! At the moment I am spinning some brown alpacca white silk mix, I had since the ancient times (since I started spinning), also have some green/yellow/orange single waitig to be navajo plied. As for knitting I just finished some obligatory, must finish knitting and I am free to start whatever I want…
Your handspun sounds lovely! I’m also eager to see what project you start next
Lovely spinning. I’m jealous that you actually had so much SCF — I keep missing his updates.
Thank you Susan. I actually got some of the SCF from the ISO thread in his Ravelry group as I tend to miss his updates as well.
Just had a look at you yarns and they are so beautiful. Very motivating and inspiring. Thsnkuou for sharing. I always look forward to your posts.
Thanks so much Rosa!