cosmicpluto knits!

silk, silk, everywhere

I finally, finally (after ripping and reknitting several times) finished the little shrug I was working on before TNNA, out of Sweetgeorgia Merino Silk DK. The yarn stood up surprisingly well to the ripping, not a pill anywhere!

Unfortunately it’s too big for me. I made a bit of a math error and although it’s proportional and everything, it’s just about a size too big. I’ve blocked it and woven in the ends already (denying to myself the fact that it was too big) and I don’t want to rip again. So it’ll go off to a friend and I’ll work up another one. At least this time it’ll be even faster since it’ll be smaller?

In latest spinning news, I pulled out some tussah silk that I’d started spinning well over a year ago.

It’s Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks, definitely purchased at Rhinebeck – maybe the first time I went? I had spun up the first half of the fibre and it was just sitting on the bobbin all this time. I spun up the second half fairly quickly (not very evenly, really) and plied it together to get 430 yards of laceweight (2oz). Should be enough for a little shawlette! I love the colour.

I think my last bit of Tour spinning will be this silk/camel. It spins like a dream, but the pink comes off on my fingertips a bit. Super soft though! I’m planning to spin up the whole 4oz and chain ply by the end of the week.

After the Tour is over, I’m definitely going to keep spinning – it’s really given me that kick to get back to the wheel. It’s meditative, doesn’t require math (like my knitting always does) and it’s a good break from working on my knitting like I always am!

Have you achieved your Tour de Fleece goals? What are you planning to do with your spinning after it’s all over?

post-TNNA recap

There are a couple of main reasons why I attend the National Needlework Association trade show in Columbus (this was my second year). A big one is, of course, to see the show floor – new products, be they yarn, notions, bags, patterns, random other stuff for fall. Touching the new yarns, trying on sample sweaters, talking to yarn industry people! I helped out in Ysolda’s supercute booth this year, putting together Ikea furniture, helping people take photos in the photobooth, serving tea and cake at the afternoon tea parties.

Then there are the other reasons I go – the people. Hanging out with my yarny internet friends that I might talk to all the time but see in person only a couple times a year. The parties are great (the Ravelry Ice Cream Social was super fun!) but even more fun to me are the quieter gatherings that happen organically all over the place during TNNA – at North Market, at the bar, on the street. So many awesome people, old friends and new ones.

And then there’s the Jeni’s! I’m not sure if it’s the best ice cream in the world, but that’s just because I haven’t tasted all the ice cream in the world! It’s damn good, and I made a point of trying as many flavours as I possibly could in my 5 days in Columbus – I did pretty well at that, and had half scoops of TWELVE flavours! And yep, they were all delicious.

I just got home this evening, and already I can’t wait for next year.

P.S. If you’re curious about all the great new stuff coming out this year, check out Hello TNNA!. The roving Ravelry reporters did an awesome job walking the floor, talking to people and blogging it all for you!

winner!

Wow, the comments on that Vogue giveaway post were awesome. I loved reading about all the types of lace you guys love. A few non-scientific popular trends from the comments, off the top of my head:

- Estonian lace (nupps!)
- large scale lace (I love this too)
- shawlettes (is anyone surprised?)
- floral/organic/leafy shapes

The Random Number Generator has spoken and the winner is comment number 404, from Eliza: “I actually had to read the comments to determine what different types of lace there are! I like to knit lace shawls, but I’m also working on a large format lace cardigan.”

To cap off this post, a little bit of fingering weight lace I was working on this week (man this colour is hard to photograph – it’s the Sliver Moon Farm stuff from a couple posts ago):

Thanks for playing everyone!

saturday morning coffee

I really can’t handle the caffeine from coffee or tea (boooooo) so I’ve just not been drinking them. Then I realized that do have some nice decaf beans! Hurrah! Made some strong espresso in the mokapot and having it in my favourite mug from Anthropologie.

Starting a new swatch, too – Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Douglas Fir.

v-neck

Took a few tries (had to rip back a bit due to shoulder miscalculation) but I finished knitting up the yoke the other night and joined the shoulders with a three-needle bindoff. Something about the shape of the neckline in this particular sweater really tickles my fancy!

Then came some nice twisted ribbing. Works really well with this tweedy yarn. Too bad the dressform kind of lacks shoulders, it makes it look like they’re falling off! Needs a good blocking to help everything relax.

The seamless set-in sleeve technique that I’m using is from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitting Workshop.

button, button

Finally made it to Fabricland for some cheap ‘n’ cheerful buttons. I love fancy ones, but sometimes pewter or ceramic are just too heavy.