The best part about being an empty nester is that I can hang freshly spun yarn in the kids bathroom for as long as I want. I get to look at the new skeins and decide what they should be. Even think about if I should stash dive for similar color ways to spin more for a bigger project. With absolutely no one saying that they need the shower, you have to move your yarn.
The monotony of COVID19 has settled in. Get up. Walk around the block. Eat breakfast. Do chores. Knit a hat. Maybe spin some yarn. Eat lunch . Listen to a book and knit. Eat dinner. Go for a walk around the block. Also binge watching television shows, some from the last century. 3 months down about 18 months to go. Can I do this, that depends on the day. Really it does. I am almost out of deep cleaning. I am waiting for cooler temperatures to tackle the garage. How is everyone one else doing?
I spent the day relaxing. I played chicken with a bobbin of yarn that I was plying and won. I washed enough hand spun yarn for a nice woven shawl. I spent a lot of time spinning. I am thinking of using the lighter colors for a sweater, but do I start it now or when I reach the next size down? I even found time to knit a little.
Our big treat of the day was a trip to the post office to mail some letters. When then drove around to see what was still open. We lead such an exciting life.
I published 2 new knitting patterns this week. They are available on Raverly and LoveKnitting.com.
The first is called Square Dance. Pictured below. This is a scarf with 3 special yarns dyed by Lily of Merinoyvino on Etsy. Only one skein is needed unless you want a longer scarf.
The second is called Trisha’s Shawl. This started out as a table runner but morphed into a shawl for summer. The yarn is called Anne and is available at Grandma’s Spinning Wheel in Tucson, Arizona. If you don’t live locally in Tucson, Vicky will ship the yarn to you.
These are fun and easy projects that would make great holiday gifts.
Well it is that time again. I have worn out another set of U.S. size 13 (9.0mm) rosewood double pointed knitting needles. Because I knit so many hats a year my wooden knitting needles tend to wear out fairly quickly. I like rosewood because they last longer than the much less expensive bamboo needles. I usually can get 50 to 60 hats out of the bamboo knitting needles. I can usually get a 2 to 3 of years out of the rosewood knitting needles.
By worn out I really mean that the wood is splintering. No amount of sanding or beeswax will fix them at this point. I really hate splinters and I don’t want the kids to get them either. So I pulled out my spares and will throw out the much loved double pointed knitting needles. Then I will look for a good sale to replace my spares.
I am busy knitting scrappy hats for the kids. I decided not to pull a big tub out for the small leftover bits of yarn this year. When I reached 2 project bags full of small balls of yarn it was scrappy hat time. I am almost 3/4 way through the first bag. I finished my 75th hat for the year tonight and have 3 more in progress on the knitting needles.
I am also on a spinning binge. I am currently using the last of my Louet Victoria bobbins. I suggested to John that he make me a few more. He gently suggested that I ply and skein up the yarn to get more bobbin space. So after I finish filling my last bobbin, I will set up my Louet Victoria for plying.
You all know that this will lead to more weaving of shawls and scarf's. I am not sure what I will do with most of them, as I do not see any art shows or gallery showings in my future. Oh well, it's not like we have any travel plans in the near future. I have got to keep myself busy. Besides shawls, hats and scarfs take up less space than fiber or yarn.
The next 15 hats are finished. This brings me up to 70 hand knit hats for the year, of which 65 go to the kids clothing bank. This batch is all cotton.
