Mr X’s handspun sweater has been on the to-do list for a few years, and because of Spinzilla it is now on the needles! I needed lots of fiber to spin for the week of Spinzilla, so I dug out the fiber I had been stock piling for Mr. X’s sweater. I hadn’t decided on a pattern, or yarn size prior to spinning. I went with that time trusted method and let the fiber decide what it wanted to be.
I started with the Black BFL Wool…..well they call it Black but it sure looks Brown to me:) Either way I love the fiber. It has a nice crimp and about a 4 inch staple length. It was crying out to be a big lofty fluffy spin, but knowing it was going to be used for durable sweater I put a bit more twist in the yarn, but kept it a little on the fluffy side. I knew I wanted to ply this with another color so that the yarn would have a bit of a tweedy look when knit up.
Some of the fiber I had set aside for this project was rejects from a custom dye order. Some times I get the dye job just right on the first try, some times it takes a few test. A while back I was testing several colors on a combination of fibers to see how differently the fibers took up the dye. I ended up with a lot of test bits all in the same colors, colors that would be just purrrrrrrfect for Mr. X’s sweater. The only problem was that there wasn’t enough of the Greens to ply with the Brown/Black. As you can see from this picture I solved that problem…..
but it wasn’t easy! I used one ply of the Black/Brown BFL and plied it against the 2 shades of green BFL and the natural BFL. I rotated through the 3 colors 8 feet at a time. VERY time consuming and a whole lot of joining to do, but it was soooo worth it in the end. This heavy DK weight handspun yarn is exactly what I envisioned.
I hate weaving in ends so I always make my skeins LONG. That did get me into a little trouble with my yarn bowl….big ball doesn’t fit…lol . Fortunately for me the small ball of 3 ply merino/silk fits just fine. I did a higher twist and a Navajo 3 ply to keep this a tight smooth yarn. It will be used for the ribbing on the cuffs, neck band and waist band, all areas that take a lot of abuse . I wanted a good strong yarn that would stand up to years of abuse.
After the frogging of my first attempt at the sweater things are going along well. I’m still a little concerned that it may be a little bit large, but according to the numbers is should be fine….I hope:)
Anne’s pattern Aztec Maze is a fun knit. I did have a bit of a surprise when I opened up the pattern and saw that it was charts……ummm I don’t do charts! I have managed to do a little with color work charts, but this was looking scary. I knew I still couldn’t follow a chart while knitting, but I knew I could read it. Well if I can read it then I must be able to write out what I read. Boy was I grateful that it is a fairly simple pattern containing only knits and purls. I wrote out the patten and all is smooth sailing.
Almost time to split off and make arm holes, and before you know it I will be casting on some arms! Work is progressing on the Just add Knitter Kits, a few more test knits to finish, then I should have pictures next posting. I’m still trying to schedule in time for some knitting videoing so I can show off my cool new pit knitter circulars. I am LOVING them!
The New Hue and Newhouse Yarn -A- Long is gearing up over on Ravelry. Come on over and check it out. There is only 1 Rule.
Rule #1 You must use some product made by New Hue Handspuns or Newhouse Needles. That is the ONLY RULE:) You can spin any New Hue Fiber, knit with any New Hue Handspun Yarn , Felt , weave, crochet, or what ever you use yarn/fiber for. You can knit any pattern with Newhouse Needles using any yarn. Last but not least you can knit one of my FREE Patterns, using any yarn and needles.
If this sounds fun to you and you like to win prizes Click HERE . The more that play the more prizes. If you check out the Yarn -a – Long thread you will find a coupon code for a $5 savings at New Hue Handspuns .
Until next time Happy Knitting and Spinning,
Cheryl <^..^>