Spinning the Sky

I was so excited today, thought I had finished spinning all the fleece from my eBay purchase in december 2010. Only to realize I'd only finished the lighter fleece, I still have the black to spin.

But I had promised myself that when I finished what was in the bag I could spin some colored roving, and I wasn't going to deprive myself.

I'm using www.kathysfibres.com fine merino in the Colorway Sky. It is 100g and so soft. I have split the roving multiple times so I have a basket full of small balls of thin roving. I have decided that I want the three shades of blue to all combine for a Varigated yarn when finished. I was going to aim for a gradiated skein, but decided that the blending of three shades of the one color would bd beautiful.

I had a few problems as I began spinning, getting the tension right, my hands and treading speed. Because the merino is so fine I have had to slow down a lot otherwise it would spin too fine and break. But I'm in a rhythm now. I still haven't decided if I want 2 ply or Navajo ply, either way, I'm sure the sky is destined to be a shawl.

Beginning Brambles

I have been eyeing the Brambles pattern from Knitty for a very long time now. As I have multiple stockinette projects on the needles I decided what better time to start a new hat, than now. I plan to knit the longest version, I like as much slouch as possible. I'm looking forward to knitting the pattern, it looks very interesting and like a lot of fun.

I'm using Cleckheaton perfect day 8ply wool. It's a 70% merino 30% alpaca blend, completely natural with no dyes used in the coloring. The yarn is a lovely light brown/grey color and so soft. Definitely going to be an enjoyable knit.