Muddy Baktus

When I went to the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show back in July, I purchased Mountain Mist Merino/Bamboo top which you can see here. It is a gorgeous top, I adore the colors and the bamboo/ merino blend was unbelieveably soft. As soon as my Mum saw the top she wanted me to spin it up for her. So I did.

I'm not sure how much I like the finish product, it is definately growing on my. I had never spun anything quite so colorful before, and I just spun it. No color seperation, no attempt at any control, just spinning. It was really pretty as a single, and one I made it a 2 ply, the colors muddied together til you were left with what you can see above, an interesting color with no obvious or distinct colors. At first I hated it, although now it has kinda grown on me.

The way it looks below appealed to me, and my sense of color. But I gave it to my mum. I knit the baktus scarf. But because of my spinning, which I mostly blame on not having spun for a long time and the fibre I was spinning, the finished product was closer to a worsted weight and certainly inconsistant. 

I did not enjoy spinning the blend, I found it very slippery, very difficult to control and it kept breaking on me. I struggled to get any consistancy within the fibre, and the thick and thin spots were as if it was a first spinning project. I think I will stick to animal fibres for my spinning. After all why spin it if you don't enjoy it? But the fibre was beautiful, and soft and I wish I had enjoyed it more. But I guess it's all part of the learning experience.

Cashmere Bush Shawl

When I went to Bendigo Sheep and Wool show in July, I managed to find and buy a gorgeous fingering weight skein of an 80% merino, 20% cashmere blend in stunning reds, from a brightish red, through to a depp maroon and crimsons. I decided to knit up a shawl with it, because honestly, what else do you do with a cashmere blend?

So I decided on the Bush Shawl by Carlotta Cecchi. It is a very simple design, which is what I was aiming for because I didn't want the colors to get lost in something complicated. I also chose this pattern because I figured it would be relatively easy to continue on past the end of the pattern so I could use up as much of the yarn as possible. It was quite a large skein, I think around 450 meters. I was able to do about an extra 6 repeats of the lace pattern rows, which I'm glad I did, because I finished up with barely any yarn left at all.

Unfortunately I could not get a photo that showed off the true beauty and depth of the colors, but you get the idea. I would definately recommend this pattern for any project that you want to show off the yarn, with enough patterning to keep your interest.

Gorgeous Green Handspun

I finished spinning up the roving I bought from the spinning guild at Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show. It is the most beautiful green, the roving consisting of dark greens, Kelly greens, teal and jade. Rather than splitting the colors up, I just spun them as they came.

The skein has turned out beautiful and pictures don't do it justice. I think it is the most gorgeous green I have seen, with the color variations giving the wool a lot of depth and personality.

I spun it on a faster speed than usual and managed to make each single a lot finer than usual. In the end, the merino became a 2 ply fingering weight at about 300m. I still have a small quantity on the bobbin, but not enough to do anything with.

I think this skein will grow up to be a small traveling woman shawl. I know it will definitely be a shawl, it is so soft and pretty it must be worn close.

Maybe I'll cast on tomorrow.......