Friday, March 9, 2007

Flower Baskets and Fiber...

I haven't posted in a while, mainly b/c life has been a little chaotic. My dh has been working all hours of the day and night, so I'm pretty much on my own taking care of my daughter and the house. So my free time has been a bit limited. And what time I did have, I dedicated to finally finishing this:

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Well, actually, almost finished. It still needs to be blocked. It's definitely bigger than the last one. Actually, it's pretty much the same size unblocked (28inx61in) as the last one was blocked. But this is the FiberTrends Flower Basket Shawl. Oh, and see that few yards of yarn on the left? That's how much yarn I have left from the original 8oz. Think I cut it a little tight? Actually, I can't complain. I went into it knowing that I didn't have enough and that I'd probably have to cut a round or two out. Amazingly, even though it called for 1100 yards and I only had 880 yards, I just made it with the full # of rounds! It's not getting blocked tonight... I'm babysitting for some friends, so it's been me vs. 3 kids (4, 3 and 2) all night and I'm pooped! I don't know how everyone who has 3 or more kids does it! :-D

Other than that, I also washed a small amount of the CVM and carded it:

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It's got more neps than I'd like... but I did some asking around, and I think it's because I'm using the wrong cards. So I've ordered a pair of fine fiber cards since that's predominantly what I plan on doing. I haven't decided whether I'm going to actually use these still or if I'll just work on my long draw with them. I might try a rolag or two first, see how it looks. I'd like to try and make this into a 3 ply light worsted weight yarn that I can then knit into a sweater for my dh. The nice thing about 3 ply is it hides a whole multitude of sins! :-D I know it's a huge project that will probably take me until Christmas, but I've wanted to make him a nice sweater, and I believe I have just enough of this fiber to do that.

And finally, my newest "aquisition". I swear, I have absolutely no self control when it comes to Zen String! She really does make some of the most beautiful colorways I've found anywhere... if you haven't seen her stuff, I HIGHLY recommend you go take a peak :-D. Here's what I got during her latest stocking:

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The first is 8oz of Merino/Bamboo in the Spring colorway, and the second is 4 oz of BFL in Iris. I can't wait until I can try them... I have a few items that I'm considering for the first one, but I'd like to use the second for Palette from the newest knitty. I really think it would look best Navajo-plied. And I've wanted to work on that anyways!

2 comments:

CraftyCarole said...

What kind of carders did you use and what kind do you want to get?

I love the colors on that merino.... something about blue and green that is so happy and purple and orange are my 2 fav colors. Have fun with it!

Lea said...

Well, I had a pair of Ashford. I think they are 72 tpi. But in fairness, they aren't mine! I'd like to be able to return them (although I don't think she uses them much, but still...), so it made sense to get a pair of my own. I ended up getting a pair of Strauch cotton, which are 255 tpi. Several people recommended these as being really good for fine wool as well... They arrived while I was away on vacation :-D. I hope to try them this weekend...

Aren't the colors pretty :-D. Angelina does a wonderful job!