Friday, December 31, 2010

Fiber-forward into a new year

I'm working on several little things right now, with an eye on bigger things ahead.

First, there's this little swatch. It's a 3"x3" garter stitch square knit on 3.25mm Addi Turbos from the two-ply longwool yarn I spun on my mS. (Can someone tell me what gives with a garter stitch swatch that is seriously curling? I thought garter stitch isn't supposed to curl!) This will go in my next load of laundry to see how it fulls. If it fulls nicely, then I'll get to work knitting a spindle quiver and a purse from this yarn.

Still knitting itty-bitty sweaters out of scrap yarn; I have a feeling this will be an ongoing pastime. They are quick and easy, make great little ornaments and gift embellishments, and nothing satisfies my thrifty soul like using up every last bit of something.

My miniSpinner and I are working on a new fiber. This is some Jacob wool I traded for some of my Shetland. Shannon said she really liked my roving, and now I can say I really like her batts! Love the color variations and it is softer than I expected (Jacob is a medium-wool breed). I'm thinking it would make a lovely, tweedy vest, plied on itself or with white wool or alpaca.

Things are not all fleecy-keen in our world; we just heard this morning that one of my cousins died in his sleep last night and was found by his 11-year-old son, whom he was raising alone. Heartbreak all around; please keep my cousin's parents, sister, older daughters and especially his young son in your prayers at this time.

That's it for 2010 from . . .

14 comments:

Tiggeriffic said...

Oh my heart was sad when I heard that the 11 year old boy found his father gone.. Oh my...I'll pray for him and everyone else that you mentioned..
I love those little sweaters you are making. You should sell them ~ I would take one...They are so sweet and little.
Good luck with your swatch.. Have a great last day of 2010.
ta ta for now from Iowa...foggy, 40 degrees with the promise of freezing ice and snow.

Nancy K. said...

How sad for that poor boy! I can't even begine to image how scary things seem to him right now...

Becky Utecht said...

My deepest sympathy on the loss of your cousin. My heart goes out to his son and the rest of his family.
Love those little sweaters, what a great way to use up your yarn scraps.
Are you using energized singles on the garter stitch square? That's all I could think of that would make it curl up on you. Good luck.

Becky Utecht said...

Oops, I just reread your post and see that you're using two ply on your swatch - never mind (as Roseanne Roseanna Danna would say).

~~Sittin.n.Spinnin said...

I was also thinking that your yarn would be the culprit, maybe over plied? How does it hang?
Horrible thing for a young boy to endure.

Michelle said...

Becky, I haven't washed the skein but it hangs nice and straight; go figure.

Mom L said...

My heart goes out to your family for the sudden death of your cousin. I can't imagine how frightening the world must seem right now to his son.

May 2011 bring happier times to all.

Nancy in Iowa

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry to hear about your cousin and his son. My niece found my sister on the floor, having suffered a severe stroke, when she was 14 (the niece), and it was a huge mental blow to her. I am sending prayers out to the son and your family!

Take care!

Anonymous said...

I am so heart-broken for your cousin's son... How tragic. My prayers go out to him and the rest of your family.

Happy New Year Michelle, and love the mini-sweaters. :)

~TigereyeSal~ said...

Oh, how my heart aches for your family just now. I so hope that there are loving arms wrapped around your cousin's boy at the moment. Love will go a long way to helping him heal. Big hugs...

Marie said...

So sorry to hear about your cousin. I hope his boy will be ok. What a hard thing to deal with at that age.

I love those little sweaters!

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry to hear about your cousin and his family. My prayers go out to all of them and you.

Your little sweaters are just adorable!

I am glad to see that you are enjoying the jacob wool. Jacob 'can' be soft. A vest would be beautiful!

Laura said...

Becky's right - garter shouldn't curl, so your yarn is likely to blame. I'm thinking that the MS spins/plys so quickly, you aren't able to make sure it's balanced? Using garter stitch or a combination of knit and purl is how you "normally" cure a over/under-plied yarn's tendency to bias when knit.

So sorry to hear about your cousin, and especially his son - how awful. I hope the family is stepping in to help (as I'm sure they are...).

Kelly said...

Sorry to hear of your family's lose. Prayers go out to you and your family.