Pair #t 3 are done!

Yep, done, done, done

Now I am going to knit a pair for me.

Life is Good!

Especially if you are a squirrel chez moi.

Hmm.. Is it lunch time yet?

Now where are the peanuts?

There are the peanuts.  Finally!!

Ahhh..

Life is good...

A match made in heaven!

I love my Matchless.
This has to be the most beautiful yarn I have made to date.

This is 50% Blue-faced Leicester and 50% silk fiber from Julie Spins.  The original braid looks like this:

Five ounces of gradient dyed beauty.  I simply split the braid lengthwise and spun it worsted.  I spun the singles with the Scotch tension on the Matchless, but plied using the Double Drive feature.  The result is a two-ply, light fingering weight yarn, about 18 wraps per inch gradient yarn.  I got an amazing 600 yards out of this.  I think it is the high silk content that contributed to the high yardage.

It is so pretty.

I love BFL.
I love the Matchless.
I could not get enough of this!

It could have been a dandelion

I would have been equally happy knowing I am loved.

Here comes number two

Second pair of socks done!

These are the biggest socks ever!  They were made for Geo, who is 6-3 and wears size 12 shoes.  I was afraid I was going to run out of yarn I opted for black heels and toes.  Good thing I did because I would not have had enough yarn otherwise.  Finished and delivered to the birthday boy on Superbowl Sunday.

Onto pair number three:

 
These are for Geo's little sister Callie, who is not small either.  Well, these are being knitted from Wollmeise which is over 500 yards in a skein so I should have plenty of yarn. 

It is only February and I am on socks #3.  However, I haven't got a pair to keep  yet!  Everybody and his brother is asking for socks!

In the meantime I am spinning up an absolutely gorgeous 50 % BFL (blue-faced Leicester) and 50% silk fiber from Juliespins.  The colorway is Ice Eyes.

 I have two 5-oz braids of this beauty, but one should be enough for a good sized shawl.  I am spinning it on my new Sidekick. 

Did I tell you about my new Sidekick?

The latest folding, traveling wheel from the Schacht company.  She weighs only 13 pounds and folds up to fit in the overhead compartment of a Boeing.  Not that I plan to haul her anywhere except for the spinning open house at Uniquities.    In fact I love it so much that two weeks after I bought her I sold by Aura back to the shop and bought her bigger sister, the very aptly named Matchless.  Now I have the dynamic duo!

Just need more hours in the day to spin!  :-)

Where are the kittens?

Cause here are more mittens!

Mitten number two.  Wheel-spun leftover yarn from a BLF/silk braid from Bee Mice Elf (pronounced:  "Be myself").

And then there are three.

Mitten three was spindle-spun!  Yeah!!  Merino/silk from Fluff Fibers.
I am on a roll.  And I almost finished socks #2 too.  And it's not even February yet.

Spindling fun

One of my new year's spinning/knitting resolutions is that I am determined to become proficient in spindling.  Unlike most spinners, I did not start with a spindle but jumped right on to the wheel.I decided I would try spindling during last year's Tour de Fleece and got bit by the spindle bug --  mostly in collecting the spindles.  This year,however, I am determined to put them to use.

Two events helped reallized this.  The first one is the "monthly spinning club" on the Spindle Candy group on Ravelry.  You pick a fiber, a spindle, set to work and post your picture on the group thread.  The second one is that my Snobby Spinners group on Ravelry has launched a "handspun smitten mittens swap."  These miniatures mittens are based on a free pattern "Smitten" on the Knitpicks website.   Each mitten only takes about 20 feet of yarn.  I figured this would be perfect for leftover handspun scraps and, more importantly, practicing my spindling!  I only need  to start small and got almost an instant gratification that would encourage me on.

The first spindling  was done in a couple of days.

Less than an ounce of merino/camel/silk batt from Corgi Hill Farm was spun on a Bosworth Midi, Mini and a Golding spindles.  The three singles were plied on my brand new Schacht Matchless Wheel.

I was surprised how much yarn I got - almost 50 yards, three-ply, light-worsted weight.  And here is the first mitten:

I have enough yarn left for another mitten.   We are supposed to knit one mitten a week, to have enough to exchange in the fall to make a holiday garland.  At the rate I am going I could have several garlands.