It's a brioche rib scarf for Andy's mom. It's also the first item off my Christmas knitting list. (Okay, the list has a total of 5 items, but ... y'know, done is done.) And it's the first thing I knit from my handspun. I didn't dye it myself though, it was lovely space-dyed merino from the Wollfabrik (wool factory).
I won't be able to blog about the rest of the Christmas fiber activities, because the recipients do read the blog occasionally, but there's going to be more handspun involved.
It was a rather busy week. I finished a book and a fashion catalogue, so, frankly, I didn't want to write anything else when I was done at night. I love finishing book translations, it gives me a great sense of accomplishment. Much more so than the small stuff I work on every day, even though a book is nothing but lots of small files, once you break it down. A bit like knitting lace versus knitting, say, a scarf out of really bulky yarn. The next book awaits (modern architecture, I'm looking forward to that one), but it has a rather generous deadline, so I guess there will be some knitting, spinning and blogging room.
My secret pal struck again with an amazing early St. Nicholas box :o). She sent me a skein of wonderful Adriafil laceweight (absolutely VLT-bound), Kool-Aid, which I can't get here, some soft-to-die-for blue and green roving (she reminded me that I'm a knitter and should not get too obsessed with spinning, but she sent the fiber anyway. I like the way she thinks :o), a DIY candle in a glass bowl called "Burning Snow" (very, very pretty), and a chocolate K. No, really, the letter. The nicest thing about it all? The communication. It's what fascinates me most about SP. And we're even neighbours, so to speak. Although with a bit of a stretch of the imagination, Alison is a neighbour, too. There's just really a lot of water between us. The interesting thing? Both my pals live in countries where I feel the need to apologize for our rude tourists. If a future pal of mine should live in Spain, the triad of embarrassment would be complete. But I digress.
Is there anybody out there who isn't absolutely thrilled with Victorian Lace Today? Is it even possible not to love this book? Even muggles would not be able to keep their eyes off the photos. I'm not going to cast on for anything right now - and that takes up all my willpower, forget about not eating too many Christmas cookies - because there is Christmas stuff do be done, and I do have a languishing lace UFO. But soon. Very soon. Maybe I could swatch a little ...
Spinning did occur over the past week.
Top to bottom: a ball of the SP roving, plied and all, thinking about what it wants to be when it grows up. Next to it, a ball of brown Shetland single (the other half of that two-ply is on Emma right now). Next up, more SP ply, just not balled yet. A home-dyed rose and green merino two-ply, raaather chunky, but I have hopes for that tea cozy. The dark stuff is more Wollfabrik merino destined for some top-secret Christmas knitting that will involve entrelac (just put me out of my misery now), and bringing up the bottom is more home-dyed merino, the thinnest single I have been able to produce so far. If I keep this up, it will be fine fingering weight, earmarked for a pair of really impractical socks (it's not superwash).
I've been afraid to try spinning the gorgeous green silk that somehow made its way into the Wollfabrik delivery (ahem). What if I mess it up??? Well, at least I'm not goofing off on the wheel all by myself anymore. I consulted the master. Alden Amos. I splurged on the Big Book of Handspinning, so now the spinner of spinners is telling me what to do, rather sternly I might add. The first thing I learned was that Emma is only going to take me that far, what with her tiny bobbin and one, completely unchangeable ratio. Whatever, I love her all the same.
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