Handspun Update

I have some handspun to share with you today!

Two of these I finished in the fall around the time when I started going to all the woolly events. I ran out of time for photos and organizing a post together, so they kind of fell by the wayside while I was going to different places. One of these I finished last week, so I thought I ought to get the photos together and post them all at once.


Dark Brown Alpaca Handspun



I bought this wool from a local craft fair. I can't remember the name of the vendor or if they even had a card, but it was 2 oz of dark brown alpaca from a farm only a town or two from where I live. It was a lovely wool to spin - very smooth - and I hope to see more from this farm in the future.



Monochrome Handspun



Over the summer, my family and I went down to Pennsylvania for some vacation time. My parents and youngest brother went down to visit some family and meet us down in a little town where we were staying for the Renaissance Faire. While my parents were there, they bought us all a gift and they bought me 3 oz of 100% pure wool in white, grey, and black, which was fun to spin.



Nevada Sands Handspun



This yarn was spun out of Burgis Brook alpaca that I picked up at the Coventry Farmer's Market this past September. One 2 oz bag was white and the other 2 oz back was white with little dyed spots of orange and yellow. This was a beautiful spin. It was really interesting to see how the colors spun up.



I have more wool on the wheel, which I'm really excited to show you. Also, I have a couple of different colorways in the works since I got new bobbins for Christmas! :D



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Under the Sea Handspun

I finished some handspun a while back. This was spun from some alpaca wool I bought from Green Paca at the Coventry Farmer's Market last fall. I bought 4 oz of the white wool and 1 oz packs of purple, green, and blue-green.

This was the first time I tried blending the different colored wools with my wool combs. The green and the blue-green blended wonderfully and really worked as a gradient transition between the two colors on that ply, but the purple and the blue-green didn't quite work out the way I planned. The resulting color was a little too dark to really work as a transition, but the color still looks good plied in there. I'm pleased with it overall.

This will be in the Etsy shop in the next major update!





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Shop Update Tomorrow!

Hey all!

I mentioned this past week that I was aiming for a shop update? It's going to be TOMORROW. Everything new should be up by 7 pm EST. The shop will be restocked with all the stitch markers and embroidered moleskines that have been sold out and the new Star Trek TOS stitch markers will be up for the first time!

There will also be some brand new items up in the shop, including the following:

1. 21 ft. Doctor Who Scarf




2. Mahna-Mahna Handspun






3. Sir Didymus Handspun







And I ended up with some extra from the Sir Didymus handspun, so I Navajo plied it for myself. It really fluffed up when I washed it. This one's not for sale, but I thought I'd show it off with its sibling.




So, yes. There will be new things up in the shop and that's exciting. I think I'm going to try to keep updating the shop at the end of each month, so stay tuned for that. And remember to check the shop for what will be up there tomorrow at 7 pm EST!

Handspun

Oh. Man.

I may have mentioned that the spinning's gone a little bit out of control. To the point to elbow injury. You know. As you do.

But it's just so nice to do it on the wheel. I can't help myself. And I'm sure anyone following my Instagram has had enough spinning updates, but I'm still thrilled with the amount of yarn I've spun over the past couple of weeks.


Blue/Green Handspun





This is spun from those two little 1 oz balls of roving that were included in my Christmas stocking. I thought it was appropriate to spin these little suckers first. You can tell the yarn's a little chunkier than I normally spin, but I would get ahead of myself when I was learning how to pedal and draft at the same time.



Bard





This roving was wonderfully plush. It was a dream to spin and it fluffed right up after plying and soaking. This one will be up for sale at my Etsy shop when I next do a shop update.



Current WIP



This is my current WIP. I've plied about half of each spool so far, but my poor twinging elbow forced me to take a break from spinning for a bit. I'm interested to see how this will turn out.

Monster Chunks, Chubby Chirps, and Sock Ornaments

And some more gifts! These were the gifts I gave to my friends and to my friend's kids.


Pattern: Monster Chunks
Needles: US 2 - 2.75 mm
Yarn: Jo-Ann Sensations Cuddle Muffin in White/Turquoise/Grey, Jo-Ann Sensations Cuddle Brown, Jo-Ann Sensations Cuddle Light Green



I made these for Eddie, who's about 2 and half, now. He was pretty thrilled with these little guys. I made them small enough that he could stick them in toy tractors and trucks and things. Or just chuck 'em around. Whatever. He's two.




Pattern: Chubby-Chirps
Needles: US 5 - 3.75 mm
Yarn: Jo-Ann Sensations Cuddle Muffin in White/Turquoise/Grey, Jo-Ann Sensations Cuddle Brown, Jo-Ann Sensations Cuddle Light Green



And I made this for Elliot, who is now 9-ish months old. This guy's about as big as a fat pear, which big enough for Elliot to grab and squish. He was a bit preoccupied with chewing on the box I wrapped it in because he's teething, but Brandy thought it was fun, so that's enough for me.




And these are the little gift boxes I made up for some of my friends:




1 mini-sock ornament, 1 paper ruler, and 1 card to be redeemed for a pair of custom socks. I really enjoyed making those little sock ornaments, so I'm thinking about making those throughout the year to put up on the Etsy shop next season.



BONUS:

I almost forgot about this! I wasn't quite sure what to give my mom for Christmas, but I worked on some handspun in August that turned out to be in some of my mom's favourite colours.


I call it "Night Bus" because my mom's a huge Harry Potter nerd.

Handspun Leftovers, Yarn Swift, and Horn Straps

1. Handspun Leftovers

So, the Last Son of Krypton handspun was spun using one type of roving in yellow and red and another in shades of blue. I ended up spinning the blue out longer than the yellow/red, so I had extra of the blue ply. I decided to practice my Navajo plying with the extra.


I like the way it turned out. I just need to figure out a use for it now.


2. Yarn Swift

I recently purchased a yarn swift. I ended up spending 6 hours on a Saturday untangling a skein of yarn I was trying to get going on my yarn winder and decided that I wasn't going to be doing that anymore. I had two skeins from Gnome Acres still in the skein, so I tested it out and it was wonderful.




Oh, Dining Room Table. There's always something on there. Those patterns, power drill, Wheat Thins, and cookie sheet have been there for months. It's kind of no man's land. When everyone's home, the table ends up covered under college stuff. When everyone's off at college/moving out, we all fit in the kitchen and don't use the dining room to eat, so it becomes an office/storage area. And until my sister's completely moved out, it's where I'll be winding yarn skeins because it's the perfect sized table for this.


3. Horn Straps

I have this horn that I bought at a Renaissance Faire years ago. I used to wear it all the time and sound it on command at the faires, but it started slipping out of its flimsy suede strap.


I determined that I could make a better, more secure strap for this horn.


I'm pleased with it, but I don't think I'll be crocheting with suede again. That stuff's hard on the hands.

The Last Son of Krypton

(This is available for sale on my Etsy store, if you're interested.)

I finished some handspun. I'm really proud of this one. It was a gamble to throw these two roving colors together, but it turned out better than I imagined.

Messenger Bag and WIPs

1. Wool Messenger Bag

























Pattern: "DJ Bag" by Stephanie Gourley in Son of Stitch 'n Bitch: 45 Projects to Knit and Crochet for Men
Needles: US 11 - 8.0 mm
Yarn: Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool Nature's Brown


2. Current WIPs