Monday, December 14, 2009

A yen to knit laceweight ?

I haven't knitted any proper laceweight for quite some time now but I have so loved spinning this silk I bought from Oliver Twist at Wonderwool this year. Their silk has to be the softest silk I have ever bought and spun and I don't know what they rinse it in but it also smells divine It took quite some time to spin this and practically one day to ply it. I also messed up on the Andean plying for what was left on one bobbin so I lost another 9 gms of it :( but I am sure I will use it when I do some more felting.


There are 936yds to play with and I am thinking maybe the Aeolian shawl. There are so many lovely shawls to choose from these days but personally I don't like the ones that seem to have every stitch pattern thrown at them and in my opinion they look too fussy . I am aiming to get this knitted up before the next Wonderwool so that I can justify buying more ;)
I have been busy spinning some fibre purchases I made at the Trefriw Christmas Market we went to last weekend ; they too are destined for a shawl but a simple mindless one. The 'Faraway so Close' one and I am thinking of using up different plum/purple/pink colours of handspun that I have accumulated .

I also had a lovely parcel from my Secret Santa on UK Fleece Group on Ravelry and I just couldn't resist opening it ; well I had to have treat as this head cold is driving me insane atm :(
It has inspired me to order more grey shetland and some grey alpaca/silk to dye up so that I can make a garment with it all . Thank you Secret Santa ;)




On my Louet I am still spinning the Teeswater x Jacob for this vest I am knitting. I fear that I may not have enough fleece to finish it :( I bought this at Woolfest and on reflection it was a mistake. It was already washed and it looked lovely and indeed parts of it are beautiful but there is so much VM in it plus its been felted in the washing so there is huge wastage. Never again will I buy pre washed fleece ; my excuse is I had a migraine at the time of buying it and I was seduced by the lovely colour. X fingers I will have enough to finish it and the patience to card it all up !!!
Thank you all for your lovely comments, its so lovely that even after such a long abscenece folks still care enough to post. Thank you :)

8 comments:

Ambermoggie, a fragrant soul said...

lush silk me dear and I love your secret santa package as well:)

Linda said...

It is nice to read you again, I am behind in blog reading and everything at the moment! That lace is lovely, an amazing yardage!

Jody said...

What beautiful silk....that must have taken a long time to spin all that!!

Claire said...

Fantastic laceweight... I'm having a go with some Oliver Twist Silk in the New Year, but am in awe at the yardage you've got! Aeolian's a lovely pattern to knit too - enjoy!

Jean said...

OOOOOH the silk yarn looks wonderful and I love the color of it. Am interested to see what you spin, home spun yarn just fascinates me. Here is the leg warmer info http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring08/PATTmosey.html They keep my legs nice and warm and I like the fact they fit over shoes.

Caroline M said...

The colours are lovely, I will wait with interest to see what it grows into.

gonga said...

I think the silk top that ended up in my bag at woolfest was from Oliver twists (that just makes me sound like some kind of woolly shop lifter!!) If I can get it to look half as delicious as yours I will be happy!! I have finished my jacobxTeeswater coat. I ran out of fleece which was a pain, but was kindly given some more from Stephanie. I think I would agree with you, the pre washed was definitely harder to work with than the in grease fleece I bought. This could be for many reasons, but I;m wondering whether the heat in the sheds at woolfest had something to do with it? Keep working at it. It will be worth it.
Hope you have a fantastic Christmas. See you next year. Becky

cyndy said...

Your silk is lovely! What a perfect color for the dreary winter months! Your Aeolian shawl will be beautiful!