Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Spinning

I've been doing some spinning when I can, and trying more than anything to create more consistency in my drafting. I recently bought Start Spinning (from Interweave Press), which has been a big help in at least improving my vocabulary for describing what I'm doing. It would appear that I've developed a short forward draw, without really knowing that's what I'm doing. At this point, it's working, but I know that I'll need to try other kinds of drafting for different materials. I think it's developed at least partly in response to a need to control this more slippery yarn (the tencel has something to do with that, I believe). Here are the results of my latest spinning and plying.
I may be fooling myself, but this looks much more consistent to me than my first batch of yarn spun from this roving. At this point, it looks like I have about 350-4o0 yards of this, so I need to figure out the best thing to do with it. I'm seriously considering knitting a cover for a throw pillow, which I think would be soft and pretty, without needing the kind of consistently spun yarn that a garment might need (maybe one side from the first batch of this yarn, and the other side from the second batch?). We'll see.

In the world of knitting, I'm still working on both Boing! and the triangular shawl. Most of my effort has been focused on Boing! (I take a certain childish glee in writing that name, so please forgive me), as my self-imposed deadline for that one is next Monday night, when I am planning to give it to a friend. I'll write more about the whys and wherefores of that tomorrow. This means that I've set the triangular shawl aside for a few days. This little scarf is a nice palate cleanser, as it goes quickly, and the rows don't get any longer (!). Rick and I did some math, and I figure that I've got about another 20-24 hours of knitting on the triangular shawl, given the increasing length of the rows. We'll see. I'll be glad to get back to it, as I'm dying to see it blocked!

All of this means that I don't have much to show for all the knitting I've been doing (the pictures just look the same, which is somewhat depressing). So I'll distract you with a card that I bought for myself years ago, and which I haul out from time to time when I've had a year like the one I've just had. I thought it might amuse some of you.

9 comments:

Willow said...

I'm sorry you've had 'a year like that'. But I'm glad to see that you can still find humor in some part of it.

The spinning and plying does look more even.

When I first started spinning I didn't know there were other ways to draft than the short draw. I can't seem to get away from it. I think I do the short draw because I feel like I have more control of the fiber and I'm a real control freak.

Pillow cover? Sounds like a good idea. The added bonus is that you can spend hours, days and years touching the softness of it.

Anne said...

Yes. Me too.

Anonymous said...

Poor kitty,,, I hope your year was not so bad!

NTK said...

Oh, amen to that card!

I'm glad your year is almost done, too. Mine has now boiled down to no small amount of grading and the daunting tasks of cleaning out my office and cleaning off my computer.

Anonymous said...

Well, by the looks of the spinning, the year is ending on a positive note. Very nice!

Bea said...

Oh the yarn is beautiful. My thought is that you should knit that pillow cover. I think the handspun would be gorgeous to grace a pillow on a favorite seating spot. Soft and comfy is always good.

Anonymous said...

That is a perfect card. I want one framed and placed on top of my computer. Maybe it would remind me to work on getting out of the jar?

Throw pillow is a great idea. I've got a pillow cover my mom wove and I love having it on the couch.

gwen

Anonymous said...

Boing! is such a great name. Knit.

Cats. Typical. That's perfect!

Stell said...

i can so relate to that cat, many of my life's decisions seem to have got me to a similar space ... "what was it I wanted to do here again?". That hand spun looks beautiful - you should be proud. I know with me - the short draw came first, now my short draw is getting longer as my hands and fingers and feet work better together. familiarity