YARN ACQUISITION AND GLOVES
The latest purchase of cool looking yarn was from Haute Knit; fingering weight in colorway Spicy Amethyst. Such a pretty hank and when caked up it lost a little of its charm, but the gloves I'm making are super fun!
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| Haute Knit sock yarn |
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| Spicy Amethyst |
The pattern is my go-to pattern from the Winter 2003 Interweave Knits issue called Progressive Gloves by Pam Allen. In this case I used size 2 Knitters Pride Karbonz circular needles. The thumb gusset has 21 stitches with a cast on of 52 with a 1x1 rib.
SOCKS
These finished socks are handspun wool from Earth Guild which I bought on a vacation several years ago. I threw in some angelina for sparkle and they are spun more like sport weight than sock weight even though it's 2 ply.
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| Finished handspun socks |
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| Round Toe |
I finished with my first ever round toe (woo hoo) and an afterthought heel with Kitchener stitch close using the 'no ears' method. I really like this way of closing off those last few stitches as it rounds out the finish.
SPINNING
I've spent some time lately watching and hanging out with my Jenkins' Turkish spindles. There's a forum online about using the spindles to try out wool from various sheep breeds.
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| Kuchulu and Romedale |
The folks are making knitted squares from each breed and they share the spinning as they go. I have bought/been gifted some wool including CVM, Targhee and Corriedale. All have very different characteristics in the roving or carded stage, but the spun yarn singles seems to be consistent. I am also trying to challenge myself to do at least 15 minutes a day. I prefer to ply on my wheels, either the Louet Victoria or the Kromski Symphony. My spindles are a Kuchulu (fav!) and two Ageans, all from Jenkins Yarntools.
PERSONAL
In 2020 we had planned to go with our church to Israel but that trip was cancelled and we opted to use our money to go out west here in the United States. In preparation for the trip I lost weight and really upped my game on the treadmill. Little by little the pounds have crept back on so I'm trying my best to count calories and keep those cute clothes I bought last year (they are getting snug). I had used Noom and they worked so well, I'm incorporating the lessons I learned to get back into shape. And just to keep things interesting, in order to avoid the news, I've jumped on the UFO craze. I really enjoyed Skywalker Ranch on Discovery Plus and there are lots of other shows like that to keep you away from the news for weeks!!