The ends are tucked in and this sweater is ready to be worn just in time for summer. That’s ok, it will be winter soon enough. The yarn is Himalaya Yarn Tibet 60%Wool/40% Recycled Silk. It’s a hand spun bulky single so the swatches skewed when I washed them. It’s pure luck that I did since washing my swatch is a new thing.
Actually I had learned a new trick just that day and wanted to try it out. Wash your swatch and gently squeeze out the water. Lay it between 2 damp paper towels. Then steam it in the microwave in short 30 second bursts until the swatch is dry. It only works for natural fibers but is just the slickest think ever. What I found to work the best is to set it for 30 seconds and walk away. Come back at the next commercial break and set it for another 30 seconds. It takes about 3 to 5 times to be completely dry and ready to check the gauge. The steam the billows out when the microwave door is opened tickles me to no end.
My ribbing and seed stitch swatches didn’t skew so those are the stitches I used. The sweater is knit top down using my own design. It has short row bust and lower back shaping. I’m pleased with it.
Here take a look close up.
Every time I knit socks for me I have a good sized chunk of yarn left over. Not enough for a sock much less a pair but too much to throw away. I have a large bag of sock yarn bits waiting for some of the colors to look good together so I can knit stripes or heels and toes or anything. But my tastes are eclectic and so far they all clash. I’m not ready for knitting clashing socks. Not yet.
When I saw sandal socks I couldn’t wait to knit a pair. What a great way to wear hand knit socks in the summer and to keep those pesky sandal blisters away. I thought they wouldn’t stay in place but they are doing ok. The do tickle the bottom of the foot a little. I’m going to make another pair that will protect the toes from the thong part. But I have a little secret. I rarely get sandal blisters and am wearing them because I think they are supper cute.
After finishing two projects and deciding I was dedicating Friday to Finishing I sat down and gave a big push to finish spinning this yarn. I have been working on (and denying its existence whenever I couldn’t take it anymore) this project since November. It was several pounds (at least it looks like several pounds I forgot how much it was long ago) of natural brown CVM roving from Little Barn. I dyed the roving with WashFast acid dyes and spun it loosely using a modified long draw. It turned out nice and I’m very pleased with the yarn, but I’m glad to be done with it. Can you believe I thought it would only take a week or two to spin it all?
No comments:
Post a Comment