WIP Wednesday (for “Work In Progress”) is a meme where we share our current fibery projects. It was started by Nicole @ Book-Wyrm-Knits, who also reviews books at book-wyrm-reads.
Spinning
Singles spun from wool-bamboo blend roving (photo © K. Pekar 2019)
I’ve been spinning this wool-bamboo blend from Gurdy Run Woolen Mill. The wool is naturally grey and charcoal; the bamboo fiber is dyed. The wool is also a rougher, more crinkly wool than the merino, Polwarth, and Blue-faced Leicester wools I’ve worked with before, and the roving is carded rather than combed (which means the fibers are mostly but not entirely aligned), so spinning it has been a new experience… and I’m not sure yet how successful I’ve been. I’m spinning more woolen than worsted, and experimenting (not always successfully) with long draw. The result is a somewhat scratchy singles.
The color gradients are really, really long. I had planned to chain-ply to keep the colors separate, but my first attempt ended in a tangled mess, proving once again that I am absolutely hopeless at chain-plying. So instead, I will just ply the two bobbins together.
I still have a little of the Malabrigo singles I spun in February and March. Rather than trying to chain-ply it, I’m going to wind it into a center-pull ball and ply the ends together until I reach the middle. I’m determined to conquer chain-plying at some point, but I think I’ll practice on cheap store-bought acrylic until I get the hang of it!
Knitting
Helen cowl in progress (photo © K. Pekar 2019)
I started this Helen cowl for a gift, using a skein of Queensland Collection Brisbane yarn I picked up in Santa Fe a few years ago. (Knitting from the stash… what a concept!)
Sock #2 (seen here) has grown by a few more rows, but not enough to bother taking another photo, and the handspun cowl is hibernating until I finish this one.
Anne - Books of My Heart
I love seeing these!
Anne – Books of My Heart recently posted…Every Last Breath by Juno Rushdan
Lark_Bookwyrm
Thank you!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I read WIP Wednesday and thought you were going to talk about a book you were writing! Ha! (Hmmmm… that might be a fun meme.) But this is just as fun. I LOVE the yarn you’re spinning and the colors in your cowl are gorgeous!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted…The Boy Who Steals Houses by CG Drews: Review & Giveaway
Lark_Bookwyrm
I can see where the title would be misleading! My blog is mostly about books, but I decided to include my crafting (specific fiber arts), mostly as a way to share some of who I am as a person. I enjoy getting to know other bloggers through their posts about their other interests, and the inspiration for this meme is a weekly post by another “bookwyrm” knitter, Book-Wyrm-Knits. And I agree with you about the colors in the cowl—I couldn’t resist that yarn in the store, and the free pattern was literally designed for the yarn.
Mir @TBRandBeyond
OH wow, what pretty colours. That seems like a fastidious task.
Lark_Bookwyrm
I hadn’t thought of it that way… This cowl was an easy knit, so I wouldn’t call it fastidious. I suppose sock knitting could be considered fastidious work. It requires some attention to detail, but this pattern is easy other than turning the heel (which isn’t hard, but does require counting), so I’m able to get into a good rhythm with it. When I first started knitting socks, I took a little while to get used to knitting with small needles and fingering-weight yarn, but this is my sixth or seventh pair over the years, and I’m pretty comfortable with it now. As for spinning, once you get the hang of it, it’s very soothing and rhythmic.