Friday 26 February 2010

Socks

I love knitting socks. Absolutely LOVE it. The almost-instant gratification of a small project that knits up in such a short space of time that someone will actually wear is enough to make me go all fuzzy inside. I always knit on dpns and tend to stick to top-down sock knitting because it just makes more sense to me (although I have knitted toe-up socks with success in the past). Yesterday, however, I decided I'd see what all the fuss was about knitting socks using the magic loop method on circular needles. I ended up frogging the 3 rows I managed because I had dropped a stitch somewhere and, although I immediately cast on to my double points. I will head back to the circulars over the weekend, possibly for the second sock, although right now I can definitely say I prefer knitting socks over 4 dpns.

Thursday 25 February 2010

Inspiration

I have a LOT of fibre to dye. It's just, now, going to be a case of finding just a smidgen of time in which to pull out the dyes and my steamer. Steaming the dyed fibre works best for me, seeing as my space is limited. I am so inspired by the new rendition of Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton. All of the pictures I've seen show these dark and moody but incredibly saturated colours which just look so opulent and fantastic:

The colours in these images have really struck a chord with me, and I can't wait to get in the kitchen and start experimenting!

Wednesday 24 February 2010

Bedtime reading

I got home to an Amazon surprise; "Intertwined", by Lexi Boeger, better known as Pluckyfluff. The book is absolutely lovely, with great images of some incredible art yarns, covering everything from thick and thin yarns to coils and corespinning with patterns for each of them. While I am less likely to obtain masses of inspiration from spinning shredded paper, the book is definitely a worthwhile addition to any spinner's library. Now I'm off to bed, new book in tow!

Tuesday 16 February 2010

Hand spun

Well, it has taken me longer than I had hoped to post some of my yarns and fibres but a full time job means that I have much less time to spin and dye than I would like. I have, however, got some hand spun and hand painted yarns to show you:

This is hand painted Falkland wool, spun to a heavy DK to Aran weight. I have called this Mephisoto's Magik and it is one of a kind. There's approximately 200g here (I will update the post with the exact weight).


Aphrodite's Arboretum is also hand painted Falkland wool, hand spun to a sport/DK weight yarn. Also soft and squooshy and approximately 200g.


Lastly, this is hand painted Falkland wool hand spun and plied with hand spun Yak down. This is so, SO soft. It's chunky weight and again, approximately 200g.


A lot (although not all!) of my hand spun yarns are Falkland wool. It's a hardy sheep of mainly Corriedale (and, more recently, Polwarth ancestry) and I like it not only for its softness but also for its staple length and the fact that it will knit up very comfortably as singles just as it does plied. It really is my favourite wool to spin.

All of these yarns are for sale. I have not priced them yet, as I haven't got the exact weights to hand, but this info will be available very shortly. If you're interested in these, or any other yarns or hand-dyed fibres for spinning, I am generally able to accommodate! Please contact me at lavendercottagefibres(at)googlemail(dot)com with any queries.