handspun | Little Miss Drama Pants

November 28, 2011
by lilMDP 2 Comments

And Then I Totally Effed That Oh

Back in 2008 (April 6th to be exact), I went to see the Yarn Harlot in Atlanta and ended up with 6 ounces of soy silk. Oh, and I also saw the Yarn Harlot. On July 5, 2011 I finally decided to spin it up. On July 13, 2011 I finished plying it and promptly did not record how many yards I spun. Seriously. How did I not do that? WHY did I not do that?!

Then in October, before leaving for SAFF, I decided that I needed to knit up the circus roving turned yarn into something. So I made myself a little handspun yarn cake and took it with me to Asheville, NC. On October 21, 2011 I bought Trillion (Ravelry link) at SAFF. I also promptly began knitting it. It’s a really simple knit and shows off my handspun yarn really nicely.

It’s a fantastic knit when you’re hanging with friends, drinking and not always paying attention to what your hands are doing. The two-row repeat is really easy to memorize. I highly recommend this pattern for when you need some easy but still enchanting to knit. And because I had no clue what the yardage was on my yarn cake, there was that element of danger as to whether or not I would run out of yarn before I had a wearable…Trillion.

And I still can’t help but wonder if I could have fit in one more row.

Neckerchief?

Wanna hear something kind of hypocritical? Even though I am technically half “yellow” I don’t actually like the color yellow. Since I’m half yellow and half white does that actually make me…beige? Either way, I still don’t love the color yellow.

Photobombed by My Own Husband

But when I wrapped the Trillion around my neck, the yellow is not so noticeable and I can live with that. This is not the best picture of how to wear the Trillion, but you’ll just have to use your imagination. Also, I feel that this is a completely acceptable reason to buy a dressform – to take photos of hand knits draped across it. Sans photobombers. And that is actually B photobombing me. I didn’t photoshop him in or anything. Clearly nothing is sacred to him. And yes, this is me wearing exactly NO makeup. (Note to self: get an under eye cream for dark circles.)

December 28, 2010
by lilMDP 4 Comments

Tuesdays Are for Lists

I am borrowing a page from the Yarn Harlot: Tuesdays are (also) for spinning. Tonight I have finished winding off several bobbins and have a nice big fat pile of yarn and no picture to prove my efforts. Maybe later. I also started plying some gorgeous Gale’s BFL that I spun up shortly after I got back from SAFF. I’m hoping I have enough for a pair of socks. Fingers crossed!
If I have enough hands-on from my Gale’s BFL, then that very well may be one of my projects. Maybe I’ll make it February’s.
My first project to finish for January (which I’m totally cheating by having already started back on it) will be my Stardust (Rav link).I’ve got the back and the left front done. I’ve started the right front only to realize that I forgot to knit the second tie. I’ll have to remedy that tomorrow.
I’m thinking about being overly ambitious in also finishing a spinning project each month. Though, if Tuesdays are for spinning then this shouldn’t be too difficult. Right?
I still really want a loom.
I have an irrational fear of my sewing machine. I need a good “get over your fear of sewing” book. Or maybe I should take a class. I want to sew, I’m just scared to because…well, I guess I’m afraid of sucking at it. And also because I don’t think I know enough about my sewing machine to really feel comfortable with it.
I should get over being afraid of my sewing machine.
Knowledge is power!

September 22, 2010
by lilMDP 6 Comments

Janna's Fleece Transformed

Back in 2008, I went to SAFF for the third year in a row and decided it was finally time to buy a fleece. I actually ended up purchasing 1.5 fleeces (I split a baby alpaca fleece with Regan) but this story is about the 6.13 lb fleece of a Lincoln Longwool Sheep named Janna. When I saw it, it was love at first sight. I mean, who wouldn’t love this beauty?

Look at those lovely lady locks! And I honestly don’t remember how much it was, but I’m pretty sure I got it for a steal. I brought home this amazing fleece and then promptly did nothing with it for TWO YEARS. What I didn’t realize is that subconsciously, I was waiting for Jen and Jared to get Fleury Sheep & Wool off the ground so I could send them my fleece.

I gave them my fleece on August 7 and got it back today. I didn’t expect my roving until SAFF so I’m basically getting it a whole MONTH before I expected it. Really, this is just Christmas in September as far as I’m concerned. So anyway, I sent in 6.13 pounds of fleece and got back 4.03 pounds of roving.

Let that sink in for a minute.

FOUR POUNDS OF ROVING.

What does FOUR POUNDS OF ROVING look like? Why, it looks like this:

Y’all, that is A LOT OF ROVING. A lot of really pretty roving.

Heaps of pretty roving.

Mmmmmmm….

I would roll around in it, but it’s not dissimilar to mohair and I prefer at least a thin layer of clothing between the roving and myself.

Of course I had to spin up a bobbin to see how it looks as yarn. I started out with my faster flyer and it was too fast, so I switched to my lower ratio to spin a larger single. I’m thinking that with FOUR POUNDS OF ROVING (there is really no other way to say it. Seriously.) I have enough yarn to spin up aran or maybe even bulky weight yarn. And I should have enough yarn spun up when it’s all said and done to make a sweater. I’ll probably have WAY MORE than enough yarn for a sweater. But right now? I’m focusing on spinning enough for one sweater. I’m thinking maybe an oversized cardigan. I’m also thinking about kettle dyeing the yarn once I have enough spun up. I’m thinking green.

I know, I know, you want to see YARN! So behold.

I know it’s a little washed out around the edges, but the center is pretty true to color. And now that I’m spinning at a slower ratio, it’s an absolute dream to spin. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got empty bobbins begging to be draped in Lincoln.

July 30, 2010
by lilMDP 5 Comments

Sidetracked

I really intended to just work on my shawl this week and finish the edging. Really. I want to finish this shawl so I can wear it (when it gets cooler and less humid) and so I can brag on how it only took me 2 years to finish. OK. So I can just brag that I finished it and we won’t mention that it took me 2 years. But whatever.

Anyway, the point is that I just hit a wall and couldn’t knit on it anymore. I was chomping at the bit to start any other project so long as it didn’t involve lace weight yarn and beads. Lots and lots of shiny beads. Ooh! SHINY!

Digressing!

Awhile back I dyed some mill end roving I got from Sheep Shed Studio.

This was not one of my better attempts as the roving got slightly felted. One very important lesson I learned from this dye attempt is that you CANNOT rush the process. Especially the part where you let the roving cool down on it’s own and don’t “help” it by immersing it in cold water. That’s what causes the felting.

But despite being ever so slightly felted, I really liked the way the colors turned out. I let them dry on their own (to not felt them anymore than they already were), petted them a bit, braided them up and then stuck them in my roving cabinet. And essentially forgot about them for awhile.

But then yesterday, because I was going a little crazy from knitting the same thing over and over and over and over and over, I decided that I needed to do something else completely different. Anything different. But I was feeling a little guilty about abandoning the shawl until my good friend Elizabeth reminded me that if you spin to get away from the knitting, it’s not cheating. Because, hello! It’s spinning, not knitting. I immediately felt better about my need to be sidetracked with a diversion. That’s right! It’s a diversion!

Mmmm....Diversion! Sidetrackery!

It’d been a ridiculously long time since I’d playing with roving and my spinning wheel. Like an embarrassingly long time. So this was an excellent diversion. And while we got off to a little bit of a rough start, it ended up being a lot like riding a bike. Once you get back into the rhythm of it all, piece of cake. Mostly.

I actually dyed two different colorways and then spun them both up together. The blue/green colorway is really easy to see, but the other is roving that I “spot” dyed with blue/green/purple and is so much more subtle when it spins up. The spots sort of bled together a bit, but I really like how it turned out. Here it is in its unspun glory.

I spun my little spinny heart out yesterday and loved every moment of it. I even stopped to take the time to draft my roving before I spun it. Mostly because, you know, I had to. You know, to unfelt the roving. I think I actually might start taking more time to draft my roving before I spin. On the whole, I seem to get more consistent yarn when I do that. Not always, but mostly. Anyway! I had about 7 small braids and did my best to spin it all up on one bobbin. I got all but a very little bit of the last braid on the bobbin. And then I Navajo plied it all.

104 yards of Nummy Yarn

I’m mighty pleased with the way it all turned out. Now I just need to set it and knit it up. I’m thinking cute, short fingerless mitts.

Squee!

And now? Now I feel like I can get back to my shawl without begrudging it. Mostly. Maybe right after I spun up some more of my stash…

September 18, 2008
by lilMDP 6 Comments

Light Box Magic

I finally made a light box last night! I tested it out on some recent handspun that I did. Of course, I would pick something red heavy, so the reds are still a little oversaturated, but damn, this is SO MUCH BETTER than what I was able to do before.
So anyway, I took these: (click to make larger)

And turned them into this:

Can I just say that I love how this yarn turned out? I spun the “black” roving on a lower ratio flyer than I did the red and ended up spinning almost a half a bobbin more of the black than the red colorway. I ended up with 402 yards of smooshy yarn, so I am not complaining. I just need to become more familir with spinning with a higher ratio flyer. But I also have 3 7/8 ounces of both rovings to do another hank so I figure I can learn with those. I have a feeling that pre-drafting will be a key element to spinning with the higher ratio flyer.

I’d say this is probably a DK weight yarn. I still need to set the twist, but right now I”m just admiring it and squishing it. A lot. I think with the second set of rovings, I’ll spin the red on the lower ratio flyer and the black on the higher ratio flyer. I’m hoping that I will end up with half a bobbin of red left over to ply with the left black yarn I have and maybe get 3 decent skeins out of it all. If that’s the case, I might even have enough to do a proper garment. Wish me luck!

September 12, 2008
by lilMDP 3 Comments

My Life Comes Down to This Now

There’s been quite a few things happening around Chez Pants, but I was waiting for the debut of the brand new blog (well, ish) before I strated blogging about it all, so this is going to be an uber long post. You might want to grab a beverage before we get started. I’ll wait.

Are you back with fortifications? Excellent.

First, I’m going to have do that soccer parent thing and show you pictures from the first game of the season. It’s a milestone year for us because they’re actually keeping score this year and they really smart uniforms with endorsements on them. Or advertising. Same difference, right? Anyway, here are pictures from the first game:

There’s also been quite a lot of dying and spinning going on as well. The Boy and I died up some yarn (His is the blue colorway) that I had spun way back in the beginning days.

[SIDENOTE] So I just went to go pick up the Boy from car pool and I convinced him (rather easily, truth be told) that he should model some roving and yarn for me.

Him: When you put the picture of my yarn, will put my name under it and underline my name?
Me: I don’t use your name on my blog.
Him: Then what do you call me?
Me: The Boy.
Him: I don’t like that name.
Me: You don’t?
Him: No. I want to be the BAD Boy.
Me: (laughing) OK.
Him: Will you put this on your blog? And tell them I want to be the BAD Boy?
Me: Absolutely.

So there you have it. [/END SIDENOTE]

He modeled the roving for me, but then it got hot so he went inside.

the colors are really close

This is some 100% wool I dyed up. These colors seem to be my calling card, because I am always drawn to them in yarn and roving. And also when I dye. That’s just under 6 ounces of roving being modeled by the BAD Boy.

Here’s what became of the roving that Emily sent me:

432 yards of squishy yarn

And this is the yarn that the BAD Boy and I dyed. His is the blue colorway.

And I think we’ll stop at that. I’ve got yarn that I bought on sale to show you, but we’ll save that for another day.

March 18, 2008
by lilMDP 9 Comments

Fiber Tease

*First and foremost, I?just want to say that knitters and my IRL friends ROCK. That you guys had my back really means a lot to me.?Thank you.*

I decided to start with the merino/bamboo/silk blend. I have a thing for purple.

I’ve actually finished spinning it all up, but I’m saving that picture for another post. Why? Because I have more than just this yarn to show you. I just need to get a decent picture of it all (as always). And since I finally get home before dark now, I might actually be able to get a decent shot of all the yummy yarny goodness.

March 10, 2008
by lilMDP 5 Comments

No Wonder I'm Tired

Friday night when I got home, my new phone had already arrived!! I have to say, T-Mobile has their shit together. Excellent customer service and fast shipping. They rock my mobile world. Hopefully the skin I made for my phone will be here soon. That would be great. And my phone! It rocks three kinds of sideways. I lurve it. I will show you pictures when?its skin arrives. That way you can see it in all its glory.

Saturday I woke up rather violently at ass crack thirty when my dad called to tell me that it had snowed and we needed to get out in it with the Boy before it all melted. B found it quite hilarious that when my phone rings that early in the morning I will actually levitate out of the bed.

Saturday afternoon involved a pizza party for a certain little boy who is turning 8 this Thursday. He won’t be at home the weekend after his birthday, so?we?had his birthday party this past Saturday.?The first?thing he asked when he knew it had snowed was, “Are the roads safe for driving?” The snow was great and all, but only so long as it didn’t interfere with his party.

A?Boy’s got to have?his priorities, you know.

I’m glad to report that the snow did not interfere with his birthday party and there was pizza making and eating for 8 boys and girls. Oh, and some cake, too. They had a blast.

The party was a huge success. The best part? Um, all of it.

Saturday night we went out to dinner with B’s brother’s family at Shogun (Japanese steakhouse)?and I obsessed about the rubber drunken?chicken pirate and his bottle of rum.

Why was it on that chef’s cart? What was the purpose? He didn’t use it in his cooking “act.” Is it a good luck charm? Why is the chicken a pirate? Where can I get one? On second review of the chicken pirate, that might not be so much a bottle of rum as maybe a spy glass. But whatever. He’s a pirate. You know he’s been drinking.

Sunday there was much cleaning, because, you know, cleanliness is close to godliness. And, well, we’re all a bunch of god-wannabees. And then there was a spin-in over at Jessi’s. (Except, whenever I was talking to B about it, I kept calling it a spin-out.) I didn’t take a single picture (Jessi remembered to take pictures. Go look at hers.)?until I got home.?When I went to get Jezebel out of the car, the lighting was perfect so I took some shots of what I had spun.

Hmmmm… Apparently I am not a?clean god. Ignore the dust on my wheel, please.

February 12, 2008
by lilMDP 7 Comments

I Changed My Mind

I’ll show you the crap photo. And really, it turns out that it’s not so much crap as maybe not quite accurate in color. It’s fairly close, though.

close

I’m just not sure that I like the way it turned out. I like that my yarn is fairly consistent in thickness and that I had 330 yards out of it all. I just don’t really care for the colors. I liked them ok as singles, but plied, they just don’t do it for me. I think it’s because the pink took on an orange quality when it was all said and done and that just killed it for me. I just don’t like orange.

January 25, 2008
by lilMDP 10 Comments

In Which I am Overly Infatuated with My Yarn

Last night after spending a little more time getting closer to saving Princess Peach, I swatched. And then I photographed my swatch like it was a supermodel. Behold:

I think you would have done the same thing, yes? And just for the record, I have always maintained that I hate pastels. However, apparently I am willing to suspend such hate when I make the pastel colors. Somehow, this makes it different and all right and even beautiful.

See?

I think I might be in love.

I knit this swatch on size 3 needles and 20 stitches across. Gauge? Um, that would be … I don’t know. It didn’t occur to me to check because I was too busy making out with my new yarn.

I think I’d like to make a lacey scarf or hat with this yarn.?Suggestions are always welcome! I believe I have around 178 yds of this yummy goodness.

Little Miss Drama Pants

a hot asiany mess

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