Two Projects Here

There are actually TWO new projects here in these pictures.  The topmost pretty pink on the spindle is my supported spindle project on a Texas Jeans russian walnut spindle.  The spindle is magnificent to spin as the flicking tip is very fine and spins incredibly fast and easily.  The fiber is a blend of merino and tencel in pink, peach, and silky white and is gorgeous.  The spindle is resting on my handspun raglan cardigan, in progress.  It will be a top-down cardigan with a shawl collar.  The yarn is 3-ply handspun polwarth and silk wool and is about a sport weight.  The pictures were taken last night in the fading sunlight on my boat as we travel up the Chesapeake Bay on our way to St. Michaels.

Handspun Percy Shawl

This was my first supported spindle handspun yarn.  I took a class in February with Ms. fleegle, and made this with one of her batts.  It is merino with a little glitz in it, and I got 810 yards of 2-ply from 2.3 oz.  It is perhaps the best and finest yarn I have spun to date.
The pattern is Percy Shawl and may be downloaded for free.  Some of the pattern is actually real knitted lace, with a pattern on both sides, instead of simple purling back.  Keeps you on your toes!  I used about 610 yards of the ball. 

First Diantha Shawl

This was the first Diantha shawl I knit, and was set up as a mystery knit-along.  The yarn was handspun from a beloved natural gray fleece given to me by my friend Tammy.  The sheep lived in Colonial Beach VA on a small farm.  I spun the yarn and then knit it into this wonderful shawl, with a few pretty beads.  I sent it back to Tammy a couple of weeks ago,  as a surprise gift to her.

Crimson to Onyx Gradient Shawl

I finished this piece a few days ago.  The bottom braid shows the wool before I spun it into a 2-ply light fingering yarn.  I wanted to use up all the yarn so I searched in ravelry's database and found a gorgeous design called "Cloud Illusions" by Boo Knits and can be found through ravelry.  I used up almost all of the yarn and the shawl has been well-received by all who have seen it.   The lovely wool top is from Fiber Optics Yarn and is the merino/silk gradient.

Midnight La La Scarf

This piece is handspun merino wool which is extremely soft, almost like cashmere. The coloring is so much like faded denim jeans which I wear almost every day, that I HAD to make myself a little neck scarf. I have been enamored of garter stitch lately so it pleases me in many ways.

Pansy Smoke Ring Completed

Here she is, all finished. It fits me very well, and it easy to put on over my head. I am seriously happy with the final product.

Honeysuckle Rose Socks from Start to Finish

This roving is from FiberOptics etsy shop and is the softest, most wonderful stuff. Comprised of 80% merino and 20% it should hold up for socks, which is a good thing since I am wearing them right now.

The socks started out as a wonderful roving, and then spun and made into a 2-ply. I only got 222 yards out of the 4 oz roving because my spinning was not fine enough, but they made great toe-up socks. You can see where the two socks are still attached to the skein, so that I could use up every last inch. The final picture shows the only yarn left over, and those are the pieces from the toes where I cast on, after I had woven the ends in.

Matching Wristwarmers

These wristwarmers match my beret! I made them on #0 dpns, and cast on 64 stitches around, just like socks! The yarn is a luscious color called Scottish Lichen from Interlacements, and it is a merino/silk blend which I spun up a few years ago. My spinning leaves a lot to be desired and is quite inconsistent. I got about 18-22 wraps per inch depending on where I measured. Sigh.

I made these to wear inside when it gets cold. The pictures above show the front and the back of the mitts.

I have another skein of this yarn, and it is spun even finer. I'm thinking that I may knit some socks. The silk makes it quite strong.

Winter in Virginia Beret

I found a wonderful lace pattern beret on ravelry by Kate Gagnon, called Springtime in Philadelphia Canopy, and made my interpretation of the hat out of handspun wool and silk. The roving is from Interlacements and is the Scottish Lichen colorway, which I absolutely love. My spinning, (completed a few years ago) is extremely inconsistent in size and was a bit of a problem but it came out pretty well. The tam is knit from the top down - so cool.

It has a very nice hand to it, and is quite lightweight.