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
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
Hi guys.
I’m almost done. For realz this time. Just a few signatures left. I was hoping to get one last update to the shop up before xmas, but that is not going to happen. At this rate I’ll be lucky to get everything I have to get done, done in time.
I’ve got boss’ signature on my dissertation and then all the printing and official paperwork left. Then I’m done with that, and all that’s left is getting car insurance and health insurance signed up for/redirected/etc.
In the meantime, here’s a project I finished ages ago, but couldn’t tell you about at the time, and then things got insane.
This was what I did for the Fiber to Scarf Exchange 2009. Basically, you send out fiber, and it goes to someone (you don’t know who until after) and they spin it up and knit (or crochet or weave) a scarf or cowl out of it and send it back. You’ll remember a ways back when I posted the lovely alpaca scarf I got from my fiber.
What I got was some lovely purple/blue corriedale/romney from BlackBunny Fibers. I spun it up on both my ashford and my (at the time) new SR30.
2-ply, spun more-or-less with a point of twist sort-of-short draw.
(Photo by Joe)
I decided to knit without a pattern, because I like torturing myself, or something. Also, I’m really poor at following patterns.
So I designed this pattern, though I’m fairly certain it’s been done before by others. It’s essentially just a 3×3 diagonal rib (not a cabled diagonal like koolhaus or the like). I liked the effect, and think it came out pretty well. It scrunches nicely.
(Photo by Joe)
Here it is on me before I sent it out…
Then I sent it to the awesome QueerJoe (who’s fiber it was, and who took the better photos you’ve seen here)
And he loved it. Thank goodness. I’m always worried when crafting for other people.
Ok, back to forms.
~The Gnome
No really!
Dissertation is turned in. Working on my defense presentation now. That happens next Monday. I’ll be more human after that, I promise.
Shop update.
Polwarth
Finn
Dorset
Jacob
Wensleydale
Romney
Have more to update with, in terms of yarns for the shop, stuff I’ve knitted, stuff I’ve received but… defense.
~The Gnome