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Is it Monday already?
Posted on | March 26, 2007 | 10 Comments
Where did the weekend go? And why do they always go so FAST?
Accomplishments this weekend were on the small side of the scale. I plied the Tamale Pie roving from Abby:
I’m so glad I decided to make chained singles with this! It will definitely knit up in stripes and I plied very slowly and carefully (it took me over two hours!) I ended up with 310 yards (there’s still a tiny bit left on the bobbin where the over-tensioned single broke and then got tangled up and I was impatient and thought I’ll ply that later). I didn’t do a WIP or weigh it, but it’s enough for a pair of socks and so I’m happy! Gorgeous stuff, and it’s all because the roving was just incredible.
Speaking of chained singles (aka navajo plying), I have a question for you spinners out there. It’s more of a “this is how I’m doing it, is this how you do it?” question.
The majority of the time that I’m plying, my hands are like this:
But when I need to incorporate the chain “bump” into the yarn, I turn my plying hand like this:
I’ve found that doing this opens up the chain a bit more, which makes the “bump” smoother and less noticeable in the finished yarn. Do you guys do that too? Just curious.
That was pretty much my main accomplishment this weekend. I needed to work on my cardi but I didn’t feel like looking at charts and taking measurements and doing MATH. Because y’all, it was HOT here this weekend. Like 87 degrees HOT. And for some reason, I need to keep it simple when it’s that hot.
So I opted for some mindless knitting. I made a hot pad for the kitchen.
Three wash cycles and it still has stitch definition. With time and use, however, it should felt more.
I also made a hat out of some spindle spun-and-plied really thick yarn, knit it on size 13 straight needles and seamed it. (What? Doesn’t everyone make wool hats when it’s almost 90?) Pictures later because what I took didn’t turn out AT ALL. I think I’m going to make another one tonight! Very fast and satisfying knit.
Other weekend stuff included making a fluffy oven omelet, cutting my son’s hair (the teenage years aren’t too far off – he didn’t want it cut because he wants to look “cool”), starting a new bobbin of the Corriedale I dyed last weekend (it’s coming out like vintage paisley handkerchiefs - faded blues and reds with little touches of lilac/gray, quite pretty), and taking the boy to see TMNT. I don’t know why, but I expected more from the Turtles.
What did you guys do this weekend?
Comments
10 Responses to “Is it Monday already?”
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March 26th, 2007 @ 10:43 am
You have SOOOO got to start selling your yarn…..this one is SOOOOO pretty!!!!!!!!
Not much knitting this weekend….I’m with you…TOO HOT!!
March 26th, 2007 @ 11:11 am
So I tried to call you about dyeing, but obviously we are both much better about *talking* about getting together than actually, you know, getting together. :-) Maybe soon? Heh.
March 26th, 2007 @ 11:15 am
It’s terrible, but I haven’t spun in so long, I don’t remember what I do when I Navajo ply…. Your yarn is inspiring me to get the wheel out. since it is technically spring break i think i will take an afternoon off to spend with the wheel.
And I am so sorry to hear the the turtles diappointed you. That’s not like them.
March 26th, 2007 @ 12:39 pm
I’m having a hard time focusing today! Monday…bleh. Thanks for showing your hands! It’s so hard to explain and to see how you work will help others! VERY NICE YARN, too!!
March 26th, 2007 @ 1:39 pm
Thanks for the tip! I only tried Navajo plying for the first time yesterday, so now I need to try it again, your way — I had no idea what to do to not get a bump. (Luckily I was just ‘sperimenting with a wee bit of leftovers.)
March 26th, 2007 @ 5:06 pm
your tamalie pie is lovely :-)
March 26th, 2007 @ 6:21 pm
Your yarn is amazing. I will stick to buying it ready-made. Already have too many plans for my retirement!
March 26th, 2007 @ 8:33 pm
Amen! Down here in the south when we say hot, we mean 75 degrees makes you sweat. Those folks from Texas like to refer to themselves as “the south,” but seriously, they know nothing of The South. They have dry heat. Ha! I laugh at dry heat. I know nothing about spinning, so I’ll just skip that section, but it looks like all the hours you put into your spinning is paying off. That skien up top looks Be-U-tiful!
March 26th, 2007 @ 8:57 pm
Oh, I’m knitting with wool in 80+ degree temps too — I figured that SOMEWHERE it’s cold, so why not?
I guess I’m a pushover – my 9-year old son didn’t want his hair cut (though it needs it BADLY), and I’m just going to let him see how long it’ll get before he can’t stand it anymore. This could get ugly! LOL!
TMNT wasn’t good? I was THIS CLOSE to going to see it this weekend!
March 28th, 2007 @ 1:11 am
Gorgeous yarn! I really couldn’t tell you how I hold my hands when I Navajo ply – I don’t do it much, and don’t like it much, and honestly – am not even good at it. But it does come in handy to have in your toolbox when you need it.
I painted my living room this weekend. What a lot of work! I’m happy with how it turned out though. My funky little place looks a lot better than it did, that’s for sure!
My son tends to just take the buzzer to himself – he does a good job! But there was the time that he let his sister cut his hair, and somehow she ended up shaving him completely bald – with a razor! Oh, my god – the shock – the horror! So he just does it himself, much safer that way.