Too Much Wool

what not to knit

So, rather than being like [normal?] people and worrying about what clothes to bring on a trip - okay, I've been doing that a bit, but not so much - I've been worrying about what to knit.

Having the misinformation dispelled that I couldn't knit on the plane, I then had to find something that was flight-friendly. You know, with wooden needles and maybe not too many of them.

I've been finding, especially given that my last few projects were sweaters on big needles, that tiny needles feel fiddly these days. Tiny being below 2.75mm/US2(?).

As I mentioned recently, I am currently obsessed with the Lace Ribbon Scarf (previously linked) and so I was focused on that as a project. Super simple lace, 3.25mm (or larger) needles. Sounds good.

I trawled through stash, extensively. I didn't want to work with laceweight (if I had, I have five million yards of handspun just mouldering in stash), and was finding it hard to locate any fingering weight yarns that were neither a. superwash or b. too tightly twisted. It seems like most of what I have in that weight is sock appropriate, but not something I'd want for a scarf.

Then I found this:

It's over 1,000 yds of cashmere singles, in a gorgeous tweedy golden yellow. I tried (oh, how I tried) to make it work. Well, actually it did kind of work, but ... well, I found the fine singles and the delicate yarn just a little too fiddly. Certainly too fiddly for flying, and stuffing into and out of purses as a take-along project.

Which is really kind of sad, because the lower part of this picture is what it looks like once it's washed. But I think the cashmere will best be saved for some enormous shawl, exquisitely light, airy and warm.

What (I think) I've decided upon is this:

It's Caravan from Just Our Yarn, a 65/35 wool/camel down blend. I only have one skein - a mere 300 yards - but I've reduced the width of the scarf from 53 to 35 stitches, which will make it narrower and (hopefully) longer. I've also gone up to a 3.75mm needle.

This pairing of yarn and pattern also has a benefit that the yellow cashmere (sob) does not. It's finite. I'll run out of yarn and then the scarf is done. I somehow delusionally think that I can get it done before I get home. 

Do you know when you swatch (and swatch, and swatch) until you either want to cry or give up? Well, this wasn't like that, at least not after I tried working with the Caravan yarn. From the cast on, it just flowed. It felt ... right. So right in fact that when I identified the feeling as possibly being knitting nirvana, I took the whole thing and stuck it in the purse I'm bringing on the plane. For fear I'd have trouble stopping.

getting ready

Dear Everyone,

I'm afraid I've been thinking about Iceland and getting ready to go so much that it's been pretty much impossible for me to take the time to blog. Well, that and the fact that I haven't done any knitting have contributed to the silence.

The good news is, I've got everything together for my trip. The bad news is, I don't know what I'm going to bring along for knitting.

I was thinking of bringing two projects, one sock and one simple (but lace) scarf. I was thinking of doing the Lace Ribbon Scarf from Knitty, but when I swatched with the specified yarn (which was already in stash, I might add) I found it a teeny bit scratchier than I want in a scarf. So I'm thinking to use cashmere/silk - but I don't actually own the yarn I want to use for it yet. So right now the needles and pattern are in a bag, waiting for the yarn to come home.

As far as the take-along sock project goes, I'm really struggling. I've swatched with at least three yarns, and nothing is making me happy right now. Probably because the weather has been too hot for knitting (with the exception of yesterday). I may just bring sock needles and find something on my trip.

Sadly, the brown sweater isn't finished. I'm less than 20 rows away from the end, actually ready to start the yoke pattern. [Oh, and a few people asked what the pattern is - it's a free Garnstudio pattern and it's here.] Possibly being on the delusional side, I still think I can get it finished before I go. But time is really running out, and ... I don't have buttons for it yet either.

So, the next few days are going to find me running around like a headless chicken, doing last minute things. I actually love flying, so I think I'll calm down once I get on the plane.

I'll definitely be blogging from Iceland, though. And maybe once there I'll have something more substantial to say.

still spinning

Now, although I haven't joined the Tour de Fleece, it's not like spinning has been absent here.

Actually, I've been posting so little lately that I've missed blogging about a couple of finished spinning projects.

The first is one I started shortly after returning from Mass. S&W (Cummington) in May:

It's a Spunky Eclectic batt (three of them, actually) that I bought from Amy at Cummington. And yes, it's quite definitely blue - but a nice blue (if there is such a thing). It's BFL and silk (maybe something else too? I've lost the pertinent labels), and was a really nice treat to spin.

The other has taken most of the last month or so of my evening spinning time -

I think it measures up as a true laceweight (although it's not really all that evenly spun) and was made from two Burnished batts from Redstone Yarns. And yes, I've fallen prey yet again to the sparklies - I mean, it's natural merino/silk/cashmere with just a touch of Angelina. And I love it. It's washed and dried, but I haven't counted the yardage I got out of the two batts yet. Honestly, after I struggled to finish spinning it in the heat, it was more than I could do to touch it again and count the yardage. It will have to wait for cooler weather.

Ah yes - speaking of cooler weather. It's 11-12 days, depending on how you count these things, until I leave for Iceland. I'm still debating which spindle to bring (I'm having fun playing with lots of them and making a choice), and what yarn and sock to start to knit on the plane. Or maybe I'll work on a scarf? Bigger needles might be good, and right now knitting is so far from the forefront that I may wind up just stuffing some supplies in a tote bag and deciding later on.

Other than that, and the ever-odious heat, I've been playing a lot here. It's a series of Icelandic phrases, done on video and (I think) very good). Sonja found the link for this site for me, and it's been a lot of fun. Now, although I know quite well that it's a bit of an exercise in futility (more or less everyone there speaks English), I've enjoyed stretching my brain and tongue to play around with this. One of the things I've always wanted to do, for as long as I can remember, was to study languages. Although I admit that Icelandic probably has limited usefulness in a general sort of way, it's a wonderful stretch for me mentally.

I'm more than a little excited about the upcoming trip, but other than that it's really the dog days of summer here. I've also been a bit preoccupied with my kid's trials in India this summer. I haven't spoken of this very much before, but having a 20 year old a half a world away, suffering a bit from homesickness and knowing that I can't even really call her, has been difficult. I've been encouraged by the fact that she's doing amazing volunteer work, teaching English to tribal children in a remote area. [Oh yeah, and she hasn't gotten dreadfully ill yet in the 6 weeks she's been there - a huge relief.] And me, with all of my whining about the weather - I should be ashamed.

This is all to say that it really ... makes you think. Yes, I raised her. But somewhere between there and now, she's made decisions about what to do with her life and her time that make me so proud I almost can't talk about it. And somehow the contrast of going on "vacation" to a first-world nation while my daughter is biking to work at a rural school in a "third" world country every day just makes me feel a bit - off kilter somehow.

I give up

Since I seem to have nothing to say, I might as well post and say it.

The heat. The heat is slowly melting me. The house is full of wool, everywhere I turn is wool, and I can't touch it. I tried spinning in air conditioning today and I started to felt the merino. If I even pick up the brown sweater, my hands immediately start to sweat.

Now, this is a whole lot of weather-whining from someone who's headed to a wonderfully cool place in two weeks. But I just can't handle hot weather (not to mention the air, which is so thick today it's totally visible. Freaky.)

PS - I just gave in a little while ago, and am blasting air conditioning. Hopefully I'll feel better soon. And maybe be able to knit (I hope).

firsts

Apparently, it takes all of my (admittedly, pathetic) levels of concentration to knit a sweater. I haven't been blogging, haven't read blogs. I've just been focused on - yet another - sweater for Iceland.

Almost there. I'm up to the yoke and I think that 2+ weeks is plenty of time to finish that, and weave in ends. [Please not: LONG sleeves. It seems that the threat of cold summer weather can turn me into a sleeve knitter.]

Whilst in the midst of the great gray fog that is sweater-knitting (for me, at any rate), I somehow missed that my friend The Tsock Tsarina had been sucked into the abyss that is spinning.

Given a recent, haphazard stash reorganization, I am therefore able to show you this -

This ... is my very first spinning. I thought it would be an interesting contrast to what The Tsarina recently posted of her first spinning. Ahem.

In the same bag was what (more or less, I'm sure there's a bunch missing) came next:

All spindle spun. I only had spindles for about two years, before I got my first wheel.

And just to prove a point (the point about spinning and black holes), I took this picture:

Umm... yeah. Speaking of which, I'm thinking of bringing along a spindle to Iceland. I have trouble imagining no spinning for two whole weeks. The only trick will be choosing one....

in the realm of thought...

Surely there is grandeur in knowing that in the realm of thought, at least, you are without a chain; that you have the right to explore all heights and depth; that there are no walls nor fences, nor prohibited places, nor sacred corners in all the vast expanse of thought.

- Robert Green Ingersoll

seriously now, folks

Okay, the insanity of last week has abated. I promise. Apparently, when you put me + lace + red together, really scary things happen. [See the "not" Kerry shawl I made in March '06 for additional proof.]

In spite of it being way too hot, I attempted a self-photo shoot. None of the pictures are great, but there's no way I'm putting on a wool sweater again right now, so this is what you get:

Pattern: Liesl by Ysolde Teague
Yarn: Blackberry Ridge 75% wool/25% silk, medium weight 3 ply, Red Poppy, 2 skeins
Needles: 6.5mm Knitpicks Harmony
Size: 34", but I think my gauge was a little tight
Mods: made body and sleeves longer, omitted purl ridges after yoke on body & sleeves
Started: June 30
Finished July 3

After I spent two days icing my right arm and taking copious quantities of anti-inflammatory drugs, it became obvious to me that I had overdone it ... just a bit. But it was a less than three day sweater, it fits, and I love it. I fear it's almost totally useless for the Iceland trip (the sweater has holes, Iceland has wind - not such a good combo), but whatever.

Oh, and I'm almost done with the second sleeve of the chocolate brown cardigan that I started months ago. This time, I'm pacing myself.

fine

The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine!
Feels at each thread, and lives along the line.

~Alexander Pope

breaking news

In early morning news today: The mysterious appearance of a fast-growing and ominous object is baffling law enforcement officials and scientists alike.

"We don't know what it is," said an anonymous official from the Fiber Bureau of Investigation, "but it's growing at an alarming rate of speed and we are very concerned. We have our top scientists working on the problem at this time. We've never seen anything like it, and we're not sure what to make of it."

The head of the Craft Investigation Agency, rarely seen to appear at a press conference, gave this statement:

At this time, we have our top agents working on this worrying development. It appears to be red, wool and silk, and growing very quickly. There are concerns that it could continue to grow, to spread, and we are very worried about the repercussions. This is no little thing, it's big and growing faster than we can measure it. With blocking, it could increase even faster in size - there's no telling where it will stop.

Authorities have been on the lookout for a mystery suspect, known only as Y. Teague, who may be involved somehow in the spread of the creature, which a scientist (who declined to be named) is calling a "liesl" for reasons unknown to us at this time. The same scientist pointed out that it appeared to be sprouting arms or appendages of some kind, at a speed almost unheard of in the area of Brooklyn where it was found.

"We'd like every concerned citizen to be on the lookout for further incidents of this type of rapid, maniacal growth, which may be the first sign of a serious proliferation of these so-called 'liesls'," said an official from the Department of Woolland Security. "It indicates to us that there may be a movement afoot, one of grave concern to us here at home, and also to our allies abroad. There is evidence that a group, known to us as 'Ravelry', may be spreading these around the world. The people of this nation should remain alert, on guard at all times, and report any sightings of these and similar suspicious objects to the authorities."

Officials from all of the agencies involved in the investigation have released this photo to help galvanize public awareness of the situation:

The head of the Fiber Emergency Management Authority has also said that they are working on the situation, but that progress has been slow.

And to update yesterday's story about a possible abduction - it seems that the search for Cassie Toomuchwool has been suspended, as all local and federal authorities are at present involved in the search for more mysterious outbreaks of 'liesls'. Her family and friends are outraged, and remain concerned about her well-being and whereabouts.

Stay tuned to W-ULL for further updates on this important story.

abducted?

At approximately 16:00 EST  on Sunday June 29, Cassie Toomuchwool disappeared from her usual haunts and has not been seen since.

A mysterious object was found in the ensuing search, at 16:00 EST on Monday -

This object appears, for all intents and purposes, to be some type of garment. Being red and 75% wool, it seems to be closely linked to Ms. Toomuchwool, and may lead to further clues about her disappearance.

At 10:00 EST on Tuesday, the evidence had mysteriously morphed into this

Which has led investigators to believe that the apparent abduction may be related to alien life forms or a possible hostage situation.

Anyone with any knowledge of Cassie Toomuchwool's whereabouts is requested to contact the proper authorities without delay.