Princess Sole sock comments

Thanks for the compliments on the new sock.

Val asked about where the purl stitches are. I started them right when I began turning the heel and continued until the last two rows of the bottom of the toe. I kept the pattern on the instep but everything else was purled so the entire sole of the foot is purled.

dipsy doodle, if you're thinking about getting Charlene Schurch's sock book I would highly recommend it. There are so many possibilities from what she presents and the socks can be easily custom-knit to fit. And, rest assured, that Austin and Robbie may look scary but it's just play - lots of chasing, snarling, and gnashing and a good time had by all.

handspun

I Navaho plied a bit of my first homespun yarn. It's pretty but has the all of the tactile appeal of twine. Hmmm, probably too much twist both in the singles spinning and in the plying. It would be fine for weaving but not soft enough for knitting. I'll have to try plying some more of it in the regular way and see if it is softer. I Navaho plied it to keep the color sequence but I can see some of the colors intertwined in the places where I joined new colors and I kind of like the effect. It will be interesting to see how the next bit plies.

A broken vow...

I broke my vow about not buying new yarn and I'm not sorry. Is this not worth a broken vow? It's Sea Silk, 70% silk and 30% sea cell which is a fiber made from sea weed. It's beautiful and sensuous and, when you sniff it, you smell a heady mix of silk and ocean breezes. It would make a lovely lace shawl but I really can't picture myself wearing a lace shawl anywhere. I'm more of a jeans person. Besides, a lace shawl would last about 2 minutes around my dogs. So I'm thinking about making the Silk Smoke cowl on the KnitNet site.

camera-happy

It's a beautiful day, the shelties were romping, and I had my camera. From the top, Austin, Harrison, Robbie, and Austin and Robbie playing.

Princess Sole sock done

I finished the first Princess Sole sock with Socks That Rock wool in Peaseblossom. I used the baby cable rib stitch from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I started purling all the stitches after knitting the heel flap, substituting SSP for SSK and P2tog for k2tog. I knitted the top of the toe and purled the bottom until the last couple of rows where I knitted both. I wanted to be able to graft the toe with the stitches purl to purl. I find that this sock is much more comfortable underfoot. I guess that I have ultra sensitive feet. I'll be making all of my socks this way.

It's Here!

I have been having so much fun spinning! My Ashford Joy arrived on Tuesday. I'm spinning short sections of the colored rovings together randomly so will have a variegated yarn when done. I'll have to see what the final effect will be after plying. I'd like to try the Navaho 3-ply but I may have to practice 2-ply before attempting it. I'm getting a more consistent yarn with practice. This little wheel is so smooth it's wonderful to use and it's very portable as it's light and it folds up.

I started saving sheltie undercoat and will try to spin that too. Harrison's furry butt snuck into the picture, I see, but Robbie is the one who keeps walking across the treadle when I'm preparing the fibre causing it to suck into the orifice when I least expect it. He's giving me lots of practice doing joins.

Only one more week until I'm back at school. The Royal Red Arabian Horse Show is in town this week so I'll be going to watch and drooling over all of the beautiful horses. Well, not literally. If I had been born wealthy I would do the horse thing.

I can spin after all!

Sharon at Golden Willow Natural Fiber brought in a line of dyes and has been having a great time playing with them. After hearing her talk about how strong the dyes are I got to thinking that maybe dyeing is the reason that I can work with Philosopher's Wool but not natural wool. She kindly lent me her wheel again and I tried spinning with dyed roving and, voila, no allergies! I then tried again with some natural wool and the allergies kicked in. I guess that the chemicals in the dyes kill whatever vegetable matter in the wool that is allergenic to me. So I have a lovely Ashford Joy wheel ordered which should be in this week sometime! I'll post pics when I get it. In the meantime, I still have Sharon's Kiwi wheel for practice. Luckily for me, Sharon loves dyeing fiber and can keep me supplied with whatever color my little heart desires. Right now I'm spinning some blue that I'm alternating with periwinkle and lavender in random order. This is so much fun!