no, it's not abandoned

Sorry to be so long between posts. Yes, I am still knitting and spinning. I'm working on a Braids cardigan using some old Brown Sheep yarn. (If you remember the old "Can this sweater be saved" pages, it used to be on that.) I've got one arm started and the body is complete. I'm also working on some socks for Jeffrey. I'm using Opal for these. I'll have to see how it wears. The pattern is not as clear with this yarn as it is with Regia. Wish I could have bought sock yarn yesterday. Speaking of that, I went to Oregon Flock and Fiber with a co-worker. Didn't buy a thing but it was fun anyway. She is not a spinner so I was able to give her too much information about all things spinning.

As for my spinning, most of it is done by spindle these days. The wheel takes up a lot of room in the trailer. I'm making progress on a sock yarn project. I think I may take the wheel over to a house we are caretaking and do some spinning this week. I need to do some thick singles for a Cowhichan sweater that I want to make for a friend.

I've joined Ravelry, so I hope that it will encourage me to put some effort into this blog. Really, it needs pictures badly. I'll see what I can do.

Knitting update

I've not posted much on this blog. Mostly, it's because I haven't done much fiber work. I've got a sweater in progress, the Braids cardigan from Cabin Fever. I'll try to take a picture of it this weekend. I haven't been spinning at all. Things will likely change as the seasons do. I've got some sweaters I want to make that require some bulky singles. I'll need to dig out the wheel and get started on that. Maybe next month.

Update

The thoreau site is temporarily missing in action. Should be back up next week. Not a lot of fiber stuff going on. It's been too hot and we've been working on things around the place. I may be getting another goat soon. And I'm keeping one of the orphan goat kids, which makes me very happy.

Braids Cardigan

So the Braids cardigan is moving right along. I just love that pattern. In fact, I should pick up some more Cabin Fever patterns. I've made two of their kits. The sweaters fit well. They aren't terribly complicated but that's okay. They look good. The Braids cardigan has square armholes and a square neck that is rounded by the ribbing. It's not a true cable, more like travelling stitches.

It's good to use this yarn. I got this back when my friend Joy was alive and we did custom knitting for Cascade Yarns. I always took my pay out of Joy's yarn shop and let her have my credits for yarn from Cascade. I'm still working through the stuff I got from her. I drive by her old place going home and think about her. She decided to end her life several years ago, when Crohn's disease got the better of her.

Reknitting

I just took apart an old project (one of the "can this sweater be saved projects"). I like reusing yarn. Sometimes I'd rather do that than knit with new yarn. I'm going to do The Braids cardigan. The one I did originally in Patons wool got attacked by moths. This Brown Sheep yarn seems to have been mothproofed so it's a good choice. I've got lots of the stuff that hasn't been used either. I think it's been 25-30 years since I got this yarn in exchange for some pattern knitting for Cascade Yarns. It brings back a few memories.

I was also looking through some old Knitters magazines at patterns I've wanted to do for some time. Now I am committed to doing more with handspun. So I think I will make a list of these patterns and start spinning with a project in mind.

I may be bringing some of my old archives back into Blogger. I don't know why anyone would want to read them, but I might as well give it a try.

Hip knitting

I am so tired of the idea of "hip knitting". In practice, it seems to mean knitting rather basic drop shoulder sweaters in glitzy yarns. It's great to see new knitters but honestly, isn't it time to progress a bit? Learn how to shape garments and make a better fitting sweater. Learn to do colorwork and fancy stitches. Don't be satisfied with doing the same thing over and over.

I am starting to feel the weight of unused commercial yarns. I've gotten rid of most of that stash but there is still a bit in storage. I think I will prune it back even further. I really want to focus on handspun for now and get completely away from commercial stuff. I've not been able to do a lot of spinning recently although I am carrying a spindle with me just in case. I sometimes spin a bit at the laundromat.