Hand spun goodness



I spin all the time.  But finding the time to actually knit is another challenge.  But one I'm determined to change in 2016.  While I don't make resolutions as a whole I am determined as my life changes to find more enjoyment for me.  And right now that is knitting with my handspun.  So I spun up a beautiful, new to me fiber, from Ginny of FatCatKnits.  It is a wool/linen blend.  She dyed up a colorway for me called Uranus in a long gradient.  It goes from teal green to teal blue to navy blue to red wine to purple merlot, to black.  Gorgeous! 

The grey neutral is also the wool/linen blend.  It is the perfect foil to make the colors glow.  The pattern is the Crazed Scandinavian Cowl by Wendy Johnson.  What is not to love knitting a huge variety of fair isle patterns?  It is a long infinity loop type of cowl.  However, as I've been working, I think I'm leaning towards finishing it as a scarf.  The pattern calls for fingering weight and my handspun isn't quite that weight, just a bit heavier so I'm not sure if it will lay nicely after being wound a couple times around my neck.  Since it is knit as a tube, in the round, it is two layers thick.  No howling Minnesota winter wind will penetrate this baby! 

I do think it is a great sample for my yarn.  I will have it done in time for my fiber festivals this year.  Yarnover is fast approaching in April.  It will be finished and hanging in my booth so look for it there.  I need to keep spinning each night too so I will have plenty of completed skeins for upcoming fiber fests.  I'm thinking of spinning more of the same yarn and selling it as a kit for those fiber fests.  Considering you need 900 yards each of the two colorways that is both a big time and cost investment.  I'm still thinking on it.  I don't see a huge down side for me because if the kit doesn't sell I can break it up and simple sell the individual skeins.  But I often hear from people they would like to knit with exactly the same yarn as one of my samples so maybe I will put the 8 skeins in a package and see what happens. 

As I've worked on it, I fall into the "just one more row" as I see a pattern developing with each row completed.  That is the fun part.  Then watching how the colors are shifting brings another level of anticipation. Who needs sleep! I'm about half way done now.  I started it over the holidays.  Hoping to finish it in another month. 

This has been the perfect project this week as Emily had her tonsils out last Friday and I've been home with her.  Her medicine is every six hours, so I've been up late in the night and then early in the morning.  Amazingly, even sleep deprived, I've knit on.  With some help.  Virginia decided I was going to blow away or something so decided she needed to anchor me down on the couch.  She did a mighty fine job.  smile...must keep spinning...(or knitting as the case may be)