Tuesday, July 14, 2009

One sock done....

The first sock is done. Yea! Didn't turn out too bad. Unfortunately it was a bit snug for my hubby, but fit his father beautifully. So the socks will end up going to his father. Then I get to knit a second pair for his mother. Will most likely use a different pattern though....so they can tell their socks apart. :.) I will be using the same yarn.....which is nice since I have enough for a second pair of socks.....and since she really likes the yarn used in this sock.

As for the second sock...it has been started. The cuff is done and I've got a good start on the leg. I'm hoping to have it finished in about a week. I have to finish it in about a week. If I don't, then I won't have enough time to get a second pair of socks knitted before hubby's parents leave. And I really want to finish up that second pair before they leave.

Switching gears....from socks to fiber......here are pictures of Jack's lamb fleece. I know I've shared pictures of this fleece before, but I just couldn't help myself. It's so pretty!! I washed his fleece up a couple of days ago and the colors are even more vibrant. It's a very stunning fleece. In fact, I was so excited about it that I washed up a single lock and then spun it on my drop spindle. The yarn turned out amazing! All that color variation came through in the yarn. Now I have to decide how I want to spin the fleece. Do I want to spin the entire thing lock by lock? Or will I blend some of it with another fiber? I just got some very lovely true black alpaca fiber in the mail. It would look stunning blended with Jack's fiber. Or do I card it and hope the colors don't blend so much that I end up with an all gray batt. Decisions, decisions, decisions!!!!

One the drum carder is a lovely blend that I hope to get pictures of soon. The wool is from my ewe, Willow. She is this lovely soft moorit color. Her fleece tips tend to get lighter...almost a honey colored blonde. Very pretty against the soft moorit coloring. Well, her 2009 fleece was one of the first ones to sell this year. As I was skirting it I noticed that all the skirtings were really clean....and rather pretty. So I set it aside for myself. Washed it all up and have been playing with it. It's mostly britch, so it's not as soft as the rest of her fleece....and will end up being made into socks. I recently bought some very pretty cinnamon colored llama wool that I decided to blend with Willow's fiber. Thought the red would make for a pretty accent against the soft moorit coloring. Then I decided to blend in a bit of honey colored soy silk.....to give the finished yarn a bit of strength since I know it will be used for socks. What I didn't plan on was how pretty the completed batt looks. The llama picks up the red coloring the wool while the soy silk highlights the honey blonde tips. Really , really pretty! I can't wait to finish carding up the rest of it so I can start spinning. There's nothing like being pleasantly surprised by a blend. :.)

2 comments:

  1. And no photos of that test yarn or pretty batting? You're so mean! :-)

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  2. :.)The test yarn was outside drying. I will get pics just as soon as it's done. As for the pretty batts....pics are also on the way. I think I have about 3 ounces left to card and then it will all be ready for spinning. Must confess, I really enjoy working with the britch wool. :.)

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