Tour De Fleece, Day 22

I managed to finish my singles and ply them. The finished product is now drying. The gauge is much smaller then I planned. I don't know if I will knit this as is or try and cable ply it with some commercial lace weight I have lying around. The BFL/silk is a little lifeless and stiff imo. It was a bit itchy on the hands while spinning, so I don't know if will comfortable next to the skin. I'll wear the hank around the neck to check it out when it's dry. It is a lot more even then some of my previous attempts and more balanced.

For the challenge day, I used some of the same roving to spin thick and thin on Serenity (my Majacraft Rose) and it was indeed a challenge. I think I'll have to re-adjust my whorl as I cannot keep the drive band on at slower speeds. I ended doing the coiling part on my Bosworth. For the plying I used some silk spun on the Bosworth from a silk hankie. I gave up pretty quickly.

I am so in awe of Naomi's wonderful art yarn after my failed attempts!

Screaming Blue Capelet

Pattern: Cranberry Capelet by Thea Colman
Yarn: Madelinetosh Worsted, Baltic colorway
Needles: size 8 for the CO and half the turtle neck, size 7 for the rest.

Mods: I CO for size large and made the turtle neck one inch shorter. I knit the length in size medium.

Comments. The pattern is very easy to follow and well written. It has a very cute shape. The yarn is very cushy and warm. I love the color. It screamed a lot more on the skein, thus the name, but after knitting it is seemed darker and a bit more toned down. I tried hard to take a self photo with the capelet on but none of them came out in focus.

Out in the patio, the lovely red cereus bloomed for the first time since I got the plant. It was neglected for a long time and though it didn't die it didn't grow either. I finally transplanted it into a very tiny pot and gave it a little nourishment and was very surprised when it sent out a giant shoot. It is a wonderful red and quite large! My mom is already plotting on how to rescue the plant from me and make it bigger and better!

Regarding Tour de Fleece...I am on bobbin two, but I'm not sure it will be done in time to ply. I'm still planning some thick and thin and coils for Friday.

Day 11, Tour de Fleece , Granola Muffins

Day 11 of the Tour...I realize now in a fit of fear of failure, that I set my goals pretty low and I quickly saw that I would fall far short of spinning half of my braid of roving. The finished skeins posted on Ravelry where piling up quickly the prizes were being won, and I caught a bit of that spirit of competition. My daily photos paled by comparison, in fact I'm pretty sure I got one of those magical never-ending braids. So I stepped it up and it finally barely touches the floor! I'm so tempted to stop at the half way mark, rewind the one bobbin on two and ply already.

I found a nice video on you tube on how to spin coils, so I may try this.



On an entirely different note...Granola muffins.

Awhile back, I found a Great Granola Recipe on the USA Weekend site. For some reason I occasionally set the oven temp to 250 deg instead of 275 deg and it doesn't dry out enough. If I put the fruit in too soon it burns, so cooking it longer does not usually work. Sooo...I found this equally wonderful Granola Muffin Recipe! I like it because it use two cups of granola. This last batch I forgot to dress it up with a bit of granola before baking, and just to be decadent, added a few chocolate chips. It's to tempt the oatmeal-phobic Landcaster I tell you, and I have to use those chocolate chips in the freezer up.

Pookiwookie

Pookiwookie, a photo by acornbud on Flickr.

The last of the Pookie Star Wars adaptations. He looks a bit like a a cross between Cousin Itt and a brown version of the muppet Animal. I was wondering if my hair stylist could make him look more Chewbacca looking.

Yarn: Sirdar Foxy
Hand painted blue safety eyes from OliverBoliver.

Pookiewok

Pookiewok, a photo by acornbud on Flickr.

Pattern: Pookies by Barbara Prime
Yarn: Berroco Chinchilla

Comments: His ears are a bit big and his hood needs some work. The ultrasuede is a bit stiff to work with.

I practiced intarsia in the round. It is getting a little bit easier.

Tour de Fleece Ravelry Team Rookie

I'm joining Team Rookie on Ravelry Tour de Fleece.

My goals are simple. Spin 15 minutes per day during the tour. I have my Huckleberry Knits fiber I purchased at Madrona. I plan a two ply sport weight or thinner. On Friday, the 22nd, if I'm up to it I'll try and spin a thick thin yarn or if I'm not up to that I'll work on some cocoons from blogless Sandy and spin them on my drop spindle.

I'm late in joining. Tomorrow the fun begins!