Another Sunday and Project Finishing

Finished the first Guernsey Wrap in Knit Picks overspun sportweight wool in the colourway Ash; and it is now drying. Followed the instructions and did a sewn bind off. Loved, loved, loved knitting this pattern. Can't wait to make it again.

Next off the needles is Ishbel, which will be blocked tomorrow.

Sad News: 62 Degrees North has shut down. I managed to score a few skeins before they closed.

Watched The Tudors. The sex was tiring; the historical inaccuracies were jarring and the graphic, but often accurate, grusome executions gave me nightmares. Usually the character of Henry VIII dominates films where he is the subject. But the actors who played, Anne Boleyn, Sir Thomas More, Earl of Surrey, Cromwell totally overshadowed the actor who played Henry. Even though I knew the fate of the other characters as well as Henry's, they acted their characters so well I wasn't distracted wanting them to get on with what was suppose to happen next.

What a Difference A Yarn Makes

I'm knitting the Guernsey Wrap by Jared Flood. I started this in Knit Picks Merino Style. That yarn is being discontinued. Rather than invest more in another discontinued yarn line and colourway, I turned to 62 Degrees North Faroes Island wool 2ply light worsted in light brown. .

I'm loving the stitch definition and the general sheepiness of the yarn. It smells like sheep and after completing a few rows, there's the sheen of lanolin from the wool on my hands. I'm actually itching to get this off the needles to soak and block it, but I have another four skeins to knit.

Also on the needles is another Ishobel. This one has been commissioned and will be a gift. I'm knitting it using the same, now discontinued, KP Essential Sock Yarn. This is the third time I have knit this pattern and I have to say, I'm enjoying this knit immensely because of my increased ability to read my stitches. Still having the same stitch count issues, but I've got them under better control.

Spinning Day Two

Pulled out the Faroe Islands carded wool from 62 Degrees North and started to spin with it tonight. It's less "hairy" than the alpaca/silk yarn and several times tonight I was actually able to get enough spin in the spindle that it spun on it's own. What a whoopie moment the first time the spindle was going clockwise without my intervention. Spent about an hour spinning. The Faroe Islands carded wool and indeed all the natural colour wool yarns from 62 Degrees North are complete organic and full of lanolin. Very sheepy smelling and rich with lanolin. Prices are dead reasonable for the high quality of the yarn.

The Maggie Casey book: Start Spinning arrived yesterday. Almost missed my stop this morning on the bus, I was so into it.

Action packed weekend ahead with the Dalai Lama on the mall tomorrow and then the teachings beginning on Sunday. Have a coordinator's class on Sunday morning. And all the ubiquitous household chores and laundry.

But in a few minutes, I'm going to curl up in bed with some knitting and watch to TV news talk shows on PBS.

Sock KAL

Toupie foraging in the plants.

I've started my sock, from the toe up. I tried and failed (again) to do Judy's Magic Cast-on. Even watching three You Tube videos demonstrating the technique didn't help my success. So I just did a provision cast on (the Hyacinth coloured yarn at the top of the toe) and soldiered on. By the time the increases for the toe were finished, I'd learned to read my knitting so that I knew without using a coiless saftey pin to mark the increase rows.

I read a customer review on the 62 Degrees North website about the comfort and beauty of socks knitted with their yarn. So my goal is to master sock knitting and making a pair with Faroe Island yarn from 62 Degrees North.

Coiless Safety Pins: I first learned about this from EZ and bought a package when I saw it in the tools section at Looped Yarn Works. I'd previously been using the Knit Picks plastic safety pin markers, but those do have a tendency to break. The nice thing about the Coiless pins is they are metal, thin, and because of they are silver they don't fade into the yarn. They aren't as bulky as the plastic markers and they don't break if you accidently squeeze them too hard.

I am still working on the Nomad Hat and Scarf. I really need to pay more attention to ribbing instructions. I always seem to do k1p1 when I should be doing k2p2 and vice versa. So instead of k1p1 on the scarf, I did k2p2. I thought about frogging and bagged the idea. Changing to the larger sized needles (US10.5) is making the work go a bit faster.

We had another wintry mix event today. I don't do ice or freezing rain so that day was a cat-filled telework day for me. The problem with telework is I am so comfortable, can control the background noise (no wafting co-worker convos about weekend concerts etc.,) that I just beaver away for more hours than if I were in the office. I was so done in by 5:15 this evening, that I had a nap before putting in another hour. My only interruptions were Toupie demanding cuddles.

This Week

This weekend has been fractured. I steamed blocked the straight edges of the Cabled Hat Flaps. I just haven't had a large unfractured bit of time to pin and start to sew them.

I started the Nomad Hat in the meantime and am at the point of knitting the first scarf part. This is a really easy pattern. I'm not that wild about the yarn I chose. The colour is perfect for the purple coat but the yarn is tubular and has just enough viscose and nylon in it to dampen the spring of the merino and cashmere.

Mail was delayed by Wednesday's snow. So my order from 62 Degrees North arrived yesterday. 62 Degrees North yarn is organically produced, undyed Faroes Island yarn. I bought one skein of the light worsted and 100 grams of carded wool to start working with my drop spindle. I love the packaging. The wrapping for the yarn and the wool is brown paper. Both came wrapped in tissue paper with dark brown wool for the tie. I'm going to knit a sample from the tie. Both feel and smell of lanolin.