Dr. Who Scarf

So I agreed to knit a Dr. Who scarf for someone. What was I thinking?

At first I thought, “Where will I start?! How long will it take me to find the right colors to match the original?” Then I remembered I live in the 21st century and started perusing the internet. Whew.
It eventually led me to Ravelry (duh) and this very helpful person, Tara Carstensen. Her website is wittylittleknitter.com. There’s a wealth of information on Tara’s website for all the Dr. Who scarf knitters out there. She went to the trouble of working out the colors in different yarn brands and for the different seasons of the show. I didn’t even know Dr. Who had multiple scarves of different lengths, widths and color combinations. Turns out I am knitting the season 12 version.

I went with an acrylic version. An easy care scarf was key. AND THE FIRST TIME I’VE KNIT WITH ACRYLIC YARN IN 15 YEARS. Crazy. I got the colors Tara specified and I cast on. It’s been several weeks now and I’m about two-thirds done. It’s easy knitting, good to do while chatting with friends. Although, I must admit, I am ready for it to be over.

Also, I can’t say I am looking forward to weaving in all the ends…

Thanks for reading this far.
dk

a NEW thing

So, I started a new thing. I felt the void that finishing a sweater leaves me with. It’s such a BIG void sometimes isn’t it? Like “I’ll just die if I leave the house without something to knit ” or “I MUST cast something on NOW- I don’t care how late I am” big. BIG.
Obviously I filled the void quickly with yarn. I stuffed it right in there.

Generally, I like to have a sweater/top project going at all times, with smaller side projects throughout for variety…and sometimes it’s just about a NEW thing. This new thing will be a tank top. I am sort of following a pattern by Amie Gavin Glasgow called Iris Side to Side Sleeveless Top in The Knitter’s Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes. It’s a simple top that is knit from side to side and I’ve been wanting to make that kind of thing for a while.

I’m using a reclaimed thrift store sweater yarn from at least eight years ago. Yes, you read that correctly, eight years. It’s a silk and cotton blend, I believe.

I am using the silk hankies I told you about here for a little color variety. I really wanted to start knitting with the hankies- another excuse for starting a new thing. I’m alternating purl rows for some textural variety. The original pattern is multicolored and in stockinette stitch. Like I said, I’m sort of following it.

Thanks for reading this far.
dk

Ending a spinning hiatus

Going to the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat certainly inspired me to get back behind the wheel and spindle and get out of the spinning doldrums I have been living in since mid-January or so.

I went back to spinning a small bit of fiber I’ve had on this spindle for months… okay, call it a year. It’s a selected section from a braid of hand dyed roving. Spindles are ideal for spinning small bits.

I also finished up this blue and gray-brown yarn. This is drum carded mystery fiber, kind of coarse, with merino-silk cocoons spun in. I am not altogether good at this cocoon technique, but I will keep trying. I do like the juxtaposition of the dull gray-brown yarn and the shiny bright cocoons.

This is made of a drum carded mystery fiber that I dyed with bits of dyed raw silk. I do like the tweedy-ness.

On the knitting front – I’ve finished my blue sweater. I think it’s one of my more successful ones.

Thanks for reading this far.

dk

Silk hankies

A few years ago I purchased some silk hankies to give them a whirl on my wheel. I did not care for the experience. I found the drafting difficult and it didn’t feel good on my hands. Additionally, once I did draft a hankie, it seemed like yarn already. I wondered why I was bothering to spin it at all. I got frustrated and moved on. I will give it another try sometime; experience and skill were lacking at the time.

I knew I was skipping the spinning this time when I bought these lovelies at Madrona. There were several people knitting them as is at the retreat. Stephanie Pearl McPhee has taught classes on the process. It’s been around for years, probably centuries.

Here’s my go at it. The technique is very simple.

Peel away one hankie from your stack. Here’s one hung on my wheel. It is unbelievably thin.

Poke a hole in the center of it and stretch it.

When its thin enough, break it.

Continue to pull/draft the strand until you are happy with the thickness and roll it into a ball.

That’s it! You are ready to cast on.

A word of advice though; silk is strong, really strong. If you are having a hard time stretching out the hankie at any point, move your hands further apart until you feel the fibers slip and break past each other. Don’t hurt your hands.

Thanks for reading this far.
dk

Madrona 2013 Part II

Is it just me, or does it seem like Lambchop had a rough night?

So, on Saturday night I attended the Banquet Dinner where we were treated to a talk and slide presentation by Clara Parkes. She talked about her life experiences in the fiber world, how she got to where she is today and her current adventure of making yarn.

I also managed to meet my two favorite podcasters. I chatted with Brenda Dayne on a couple of occasions during the weekend. I even got her some water because she was thirsty! I helped! I had the pleasure of meeting her last year in NYC at Lion Brand Yarn Studio. I also met Sasha Torres, the host of Spindoctor. Both these talented women have lovely voices. I’d be happy to listen to them discoursing on any subject.

In the rotunda I spotted this fearless knitter. Brian Kohler is on a mission to knit twelve pairs of socks at the same time. His blog is The Red Toe Diaries where he is chronicling his progress. He has himself well-organized and set up with this wall of yarn.

And now I will share photos of stuff that makes folks like us just drool.

Shouldn’t everyone’s livingroom look like this?

General deliciousness from The Artful Ewe.

The Habu Texiles booth.

The Chameleon Colorworks booth.

A little bit of the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth.

The Sincere Sheep booth.

The Abstract Fiber booth.

Looking forward to doing it again next year!

Thanks for reading this far.
dk

Madrona 2013 Part I

I had the best time ever! My experience at the Madrona Winter Retreat this year was unlike my previous ones. It was fun, I mean REALLY fun. Not that previous years weren’t, it’s just that when you take classes you are preoccupied by them, possibly stressed by them and can get burnt out by information overload. Since I took no classes this time I was free to hang out.

I shared a lovely room with a knitting buddy. This was our view:

We arrived on Friday afternoon, checked in and got some food. We spent the evening enjoying a slide presentation and talk by Donna Druchunas about Arctic lace, the Artic musk ox and its super soft, fine and expensive fiber, qiviut. She also talked about the Oomingmak Cooperative. When the talk was over we walked to the other side of the room and checked out the Teachers Gallery where these talented people, these rock stars of the fiber world, were showcasing their creations. So inspiring and so many lovely things.

After that it was knitting and drinking until 11pm while hanging around the bar and lobby. It was a real knitting party. I was thrilled to pieces.

After breakfast on Saturday we went on to the market place. We spent about two hours doing the initial walk through (time flies!), taking mental notes on what we would go back to buy, chat with the vendors and, in my case, give the Pocket Wheel yet another go. I found out recently and quite by accident that there is one in my future (!!!!), more on that when the time comes. After lunch we went back to shop. Here’s my haul:

The Handsome Man colorway of this Polworth top by Blue Moon Fiber Arts just grabbed me.

I also got this very nice BFL yarn in a manly colorway, Pining 4 Ewe, as I purchased it with my sweetheart in mind.

As far as material for a new spinning experience goes, I purchased this little nest of hemp top from Opulent Fibers.

A lovely package of hand painted silk hankies from NW Handspun Yarns also found its way into my shopping bag.

You can see where I began to separate the layers. I will not be spinning this stuff, but knitting with it directly. I’ll show you that in a later post.

I learned from an extremely knowledgeable knitter that Catherine Lowe‘s book, The Ravell’d Sleeve, is a necessary addition to a serious knitter’s library so I added it to mine.This IS serious folks- it’s a knitting book with NO pictures. NOT-A-ONE. I am looking forward to diving in.

I think I’ve gone on long enough for this post. I’ll finish up my story next time.

Thanks for reading this far. dk

Happy 2nd Blogiversary!

I can’t believe it’s been two years. What can I go on about for that long??!!?

Like it does, this blog’s anniversary falls very close to the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat. I am taking a different approach this year: I have not registered for any classes; I will be staying at the hotel; I’ll be attending the Friday night festivities and the Saturday night banquet. I plan to knit, spin, hang out with buddies, meet some folks and make a general nuisance of myself. I am hoping to meet my favorite podcaster. Squeeeeeeee! We’ll see if I manage to get up the courage to say anything at all. Of course there is the market place- I’ll be spending some time there too.

There has been no spinning or dyeing at all since my last post and very little progress on the knitting front. I didn’t take any new pictures of my sweater as there isn’t any noticeable progress in it- except I did finish my hat. I really like the hat.

I’ll give you a run down of my experience at Madrona next time.

Thanks for reading this far.
dk