Spin a Yarn. . .

Here's the story of a gal named Pretty / who was knitting with some very lovely yarns. . .
All of them came from a store or an online shop / and some of them came from a barn!

Here's a story of that same lady / who decided one day she should learn to spin. . .
So she bought herself a spindle and some fiber / and she decided to jump in!

She sat herself down at the dining table / with the spindle and the fiber in her hands. . .
And she made some slubby yarn and some mista-akes / and in the end she wound up 7 yards!

Which doesn't rhyme! It doesn't rhyme!
But in the end, she wound u-up Seven Yards!

There was a time, I am sure, when the farmers and their families raised the sheep, and sheared the sheep, and cleaned and combed the fleece. Then they probably spun the wool into yarn for knitting warm goodness for winter. I wonder who did the spinning. . .and I wonder what stories were told during the spinning. I have been told by the hand-spinners I know that spinning fiber into yarn is a very relaxing, almost yoga-like, experience once you have worked a few times with your spindle or wheel. . .and the phrase "spin a yarn" (meaning tell a tale) must come from somewhere!

Last Thursday, at knitting, I sat next to Stephanie who was using a spindle to make singles of brightly colored fiber. . .it was mesmerizing. I was once again motivated to look for my own simple spindle, the one I bought last summer at the Great Lakes Fiber Festival, and promptly stuffed into a box when I got home, in favor of the yarn I had also purchased.

I signed up for the Ravelympics again this year, and had pretty much ignored the fact that I had done so until yesterday. Yesterday, I actually went into the basement to dig out the spindle and the fiber that came with it. I was determined anew to actually learn how this art works. . .and I did! I am so proud of myself!

Here is what I started with: A ball of coarse fluff, with some tangles and plant material still peppered in. . .I am sure this is not what the big-city spinners use for their handspun, but I am sure it was cost-effective to include in a Learn-to-Spin kit! I know that I am not going to be making yarn-to-die-for. . .my whole goal is to become familiar with the process:
The spindle came with a yarn leader already tied on. I thought that was good, until I started trying to spin the raw fiber onto the yarn leader. After picking up the spindle several times from the floor, I slipped off the yarn, and twisted some of the fiber in my fingers to make my own leader from the fiber. This worked much better, and so I kept going. . .

Eventually, I produced some single-ply "yarn," and wound It around the spindle:

I made a total of about 15 yards of "singles". . .slubby, dirty, coarse, uneven in weight, and pretty unattractive singles. . .but I made yarn!

Later, I wound the singles into two balls, and I plied them together, spinning the spindle in the opposite direction, like the videos and Stephanie had instructed. . . On the other side, I had about 7 yards of uneven, slubby, dirty, coarse yarn! Not pretty but then, pretty was NOT my goal!

I can't wait to get my medal from Bob! Congratulations to all my fellow Ravthletes, thank you to my husband and family for supporting me in my goal to make it into the 2010 Revelympics, and to my mom and dad for, well, you know. . .having me; and to all my fellow Oddballs and TeamCKW friends who cheered me on tirelessly! I could NOT have done it without you!

In Knitting Knews, I have seamed and finished another sweater in the Baby Steps with the knitting machine project. . .here she is:

Once again, still needs buttons, but pretty cute, nonetheless, I say!

There is still a LOT of snow at Pretty Knitty's house, and I will not bore you with more photos of that, but suffice it to say that I am sooooo glad I knit myself mittens after Christmas!

I hope that you have warm mittens, and that you will Knit in Good Health!

De-de-de de-deee-de, dedede, De-de-de de-deee-deeeeee...

So goes the fanfare to the Winter Olympics! And they are off! (as of 9pm last night, EST, when the torch was lit)

And so are the Ravelympics, but I could not wait for the games. . .silly impatient knitter am I! But here's a look at how I warmed up anyway:
Gray Leg-Warmers for College Girl were finished last weekend, and mailed off on Monday. When she received the box, the warmers were donned, and a photographer commissioned to document the occasion, with the picture being sent to the knitter! The message was a resounding she loves them, and they are the perfect color!

To which the knitter replies, "Yaaayyyyyyy!," commissioning her own photographer to send the photo to College Girl.

Then off to the wannabe Ravelympic project for Ravelry, but the impatient knitter could not wait, and she cast on the Salsa Sweater on Wednesday. . .

It's a design in progress, and she is not even sure what it will eventually look like, but it is started, and the knitter is excited about the progress so far!

And the Edwardian Boat Socks are also finished. . .with more snow photos on the DIY blockers that the knitter fashioned for use on for wash day:

Whew! I ain't got no time for no stinking Ravelympic project! Wait! I do. . .at some point, before the closing ceremonies, I have vowed to learn to spin. Yeah, like I need another hobby, I know, but I at least wanna give it a try.

That's all for today folks! I hope that you are enjoying the Olympics (and the Ravelympics, if you are playing), and I hope that you will all Knit in Good Health!

Chasing My Tail. . .

Soooo, remember this sock?
Yes, I started it, blogged it on Wednesday, and was just LOVING THE KNITTING! Then, when I got to just past the heel, I decided to try it on so I could fully appreciate my knitting prowess and mastery of the sock-knitting, in general. squee! But (dissonant chords, by threes, here), the linen stitch (k1, sl1) on 6 of the panels was so inelastic that the sock would barely go on, and there was NO WAY it was going past my heel. . .(tears of a knitting clown here)

I stopped, and frogged. I did not know what the solution would be. I figured that I could either add a repeat of both panels OR I could add a stitch on either side of each linen stitch panel. . .but neither sounded foolproof (with me, really, is anything foolproof?) and I was still a bit heartsick at having to rip out a pattern that was so perfectly matched to the variegated yarn I was using. I took a moment to grieve.

And. . .then. . .it came to me!

SEED STITCH! Yes, k1, p1 in the 6-stitch panels where the linen stitch had been, then k the ps and p the ks every time I came to those panels. . .and viola!

So, I have stopped chasing this tail, at least, and the Edwardian Boating Socks are well on their way, and I think the seed stitch maintains the integrity of the colorwork this yarn provides, while being very stretchy! Yay! Actually, this picture is a little old. . .I have turned the heel, knit the foot and started the toe decreases on this sock. . .aaaand it fits!!! But, the picture of where I actually am is not as good as this one, so this is what you get for now!

As far as life, in general. . .I also feel a little like I am chasing my tail there. I have been at the same job (which I love!!!) for 10 years, part time. This year, for the first time. . .ever. . .it became an actual, full-time, 9-5 job for me! While I am soooo pleased at this new turn of events, it is an adjustment. And this week, for the first time, I am really feeling it. Sooo, back to the basics, and perhaps there will be some weeding in the garden of Pretty Knitty's life. . . Until then, I find myself treading water, chasing my tail, and feeling a little lost from time to time.

Oh, and I am going to do the Ravelympics 2010. So, I must not be that stressed! My events will be the Flying Camel Spin (I am going to attempt to teach myself to spin), and the Sweaterboard Cross (I think I am gonna knit a sweater)! Are you joining the games? Maybe I will see you there.

Knit in Good Health!