Monday, May 19, 2008

Fibers of springtime

Lately, my knitting and spinning has all been geared around the weather: a mohair sweater perfect for those ever-fewer still-cool mornings, or a braid of roving aptly named "Lilac" by the lovely folks at Three Waters Farm.  (I bought some of their Lavendar-Oatmeal Goat's Milk Soap at SAFF last year, and it is divine!  Come to think of it, I knit a stole/shawl for my mom out of their merino in that same colorway!)  Here is what it looks like, however, in roving and unplied singles of a merino-tencel blend (purchased at Yarns Etc. in Carrboro):

Lilac roving Lilac singles

I've also been trying to knit the trees and sky and trails that I've been hiking on these last few weekends. It seems every time I get out into the woods, I start thinking of knitting a stole to wear when I'm inside a cold, air-conditioned library thinking about being outside in those woods. I finally screwed up my courage this weekend to learn a new cast on (a basic provisional cast on) and start the stole, ideas for which have been roaming around in my mind these last few weeks.

Pisgah stole too small

While I like how it's going so far, unblocked it is only 14" wide. I don't think blocking will quite get this to a respectable 18-plus inches for a stole, so off to the frog pond it'll head shortly - unless a bunch of you tell me that it's likely to grow that much. Knowing how I tend to block lace (which is usually not as vigorously as is likely possible, due to lack of blocking wires and frustration with many tiny poky pins), even if it's technically possible, I doubt it'll work for me, so I expect that before too long, it's froggie-frog we go!

7 comments:

Jessica said...

So many pretty colors! Have you tried blocking using string in place of wires for straight edges? It works pretty well and involves less pins. Sounds like you may need a few more repeats for your stole though. It's very pretty so far!

sgeddes said...

the fiber looks nice I have some from Mary Ann hat I still haven't spun yet.

I love your stole. What pattern are you using?

Diane said...

I second Jessica's idea of using strings instead of wires for blocking. It's not nearly as annoying as simply using pins.

Beautiful fiber! I love the singles you made, especially the bobbin that looks mostly blue..

Sheepish Annie said...

String? I never thought of that! Gosh...I may actually block something right for a change.

I do love all those springy colors!

Greta_Jane said...

By gosh, I think she's done it. Looks to me like you have found a really good color for your woods shawl--much more blue that I was envisioning as you described, but I think that was me not remembering a couple of basic things about YOU!

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

The stole looks fabu! I just love how they change so much with blocking:)

Elizabeth said...

Gorgeous! Is that the 'Clover' pattern? Love the colors, you are an amazing spinner!