Mim came over for a while today for a little fiber sharing since we didn't get to go to Black Sheep Gathering like many of our friends did. Mim showed me the skeins of silk/Shetland that she blended on her electric drum carder, then spun. She left with my copy of Hats, Hats, Hats to see if she can create a hat pattern for these skeins. This is what I'm currently working on. I bought the fiber at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival last year. It's from Great Balls of Fiber and is dyed by Sarah Anderson from Snohomish, Washington. The fiber is 70/30 gray colonial/tussah silk and I have about 12 ounces of it. The color pathway is Painted Desert.
I'm plying the skeins and they seem awfully bright for any desert things I've seen. But then I'm the person who owns a couple dozen khaki or putty pants and wear them with white shirts.
This is Painted Desert in Skeins and clearly not as bright as I had first thought. Time to swatch. All the time I'm wondering why I didn't buy more than 12 ounces. What does 12 ounces make?! What was I thinking??!!
Even with the flash, you can see the colors and they do indeed reflect the painted desert. The fiber has been a pleasure to spin and I'll be keeping an eye out for this vendor in the future - no web presence unfortunately.
I decided last weekend that the solution would be a modular sweater from this book. Ginger was my assigned roommate at the retreat. When they told me she had written a modular knitting book, I was worried. I had seen a modular knitting book recommended on one of the blogs I read. I got from the library and did not care for it at all. So I felt like I was seeing my friends new baby and thinking, "Would you like a banana for your monkey?" One day Ginger wore one of her short-sleeved sweaters and it was lovely. It had shape and drape. I asked her about her book and I realized I was thinking about the wrong one. I've ordered a copy from Amazon and been spinning while I wait for it to come. I'm sure my yarn will shine in a modular format. I'm not a fan of stripes that can come from rainbow-dyed yarns.
I spent some time today starting to get the warp on my loom for my lap robe and realize that I have a huge deficit of yarn needed. I thought I had enough yarn spun up, and I do - for warp. So this Painted Desert project is on hold once I ply off my current spinning. It's time to spin weft. Ugh.
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4 comments:
ugh? ugh? Ugh and spinning do not go together in the same sentence :).
Now let's hear: yay! I get to spin more yarn!
Nice painted desert yarn, and I had to laugh at the *too bright*. (Is there *too bright*?).
The Painted Desert fiber and yarn is delightful.Did you spin it from the fold?
My felted scarf is wet felted...not nuno felted. I used Merino for the base and added small pieces of mohair and wool different colored pieces.
Well....how many yards are in that 12 oz. and what kind of gauge do you get with it?
How about a vest...knit on the diagonal or modular like Ginger's designs.
Our library has Ginger's book...I took a class from her in the early '80s. She's a wonderful, encouraging teacher.
Well, that Painted Desert sure is pretty! Hope you can get back to it quickly.
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