Sorry for the delay, the light was awful yesterday and I couldn’t get good photos. But, I got good ones today and spent the day getting them all set up just for you!
16 new items
We have…
Wensleydale Top!
Clun Forest Roving!
50/50 Merino/Tencel Top!
Cotswold Roving!
Ramboulliet Top!
Finn Top!
Targhee Top!
Shetland Top!
Tussah Silk Top!
That’s all for now!
~The Gnome
So clearly I’m way behind on blogging. This means that I have the freedom to choose among several topics for a while.
But first, the shop. So it was updated, and has been quickly being depleted. I will be updating it again soon. I will be updating again on Monday, assuming we don’t get hit with a snowstorm… Which is a pretty fair assumption since we’re at less than half the usual snow for our area. DC has stolen all our snow, and more since they have wetter air. Going to be really rough on our water table.
Until then, here’s an actual knitting project I did. It’s a hat that I started on the plane down to my New Years Eve get together in the Outer Banks. I didn’t have any pattern or anything, so I cast on from memory, and unfortunately misremembered the size of a head. I thought I was casting on an extra 10 stitches, to account for the cabling, but instead I cast on 10 less than normal. Doh.
My own pattern, and mostly a proof of concept for doing separated cables. It came out very well.
See? I was pretty happy. Unfortunately, those missing ten stitches are a full pattern repeat, and make the hat rather… small for my fat head. Doh! So, I couldn’t wear it. Luckily, I have friends with kids. So, I dyed it. Red!
Here, you can see why I couldn’t wear it myself. Look how it pulls all to heck around the eyes of the cables.
You can also see why people strongly suggest dyeing the yarn, not the finished item. I worked pretty hard (and I’m pretty sure the recipient doesn’t mind) but getting the dye in under the cables is almost impossible. I should, however, have added more salt (to slow dye reaction) which might have helped. But it still came out pretty well, no?
I used about 150 yards or so of some grey Cascade 220 I happened to have lying around.
As I said, it’s a proof of concept hat. I’m working on two patterns based on it. One that’s still fairly conservative and one that’s requiring a rather extensive charting. More updates on those as they progress.
That’s all for now. See you soon!
~The Gnome
Hello again. Dyeing continues apace, and I’ve actually finally gotten to something I’ve wanted to do for the site for a while now.
I’ve added a reference page for breeds and fibers that Gnomespun has carried. It includes classifications of the breed, general descriptions of loft, fineness, softness, good purpose, etc.
As I note in the page, it’s not unbiased. It’s totally affected by what things I find each fiber to be well suited for, which sometimes does not match with what other people think.
So, here you go. Let me know if you see any problems or have any questions.
More updates coming!
~The Gnome
That’s right. I know, it’s been 2 months since the last restock.
Well, I have a degree sitting on my desk, an actual physical piece of magic paper. I have finished, defended, edited, and graduated. And now I have also moved everything I own to my parents while I apply for jobs.
So, I’m finally in a position to dye things again, which means you get new fiber again!
So, here’s the first major update. More to come.
We have… Polwarth, Finn, Romney, Border Leicester, Dorset, Jacob, and Clun Forest!
Enjoy!
More updates, entirely new stuff, knitting, and more all on the way!
But that’s all for now.
~The Gnome