Kathryn's Brain

Long Draw Spinning Practice - 2025, part 7

2026-01-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

For the last set of rolags from my recent fiber preparation classes is this grey.

It is a blend of alpaca and wool.

I did have the option to spin a little from one of my fellow students at the Estes Park Wool Market earlier this year, as she had a demonstration booth set up.... so I'm excited to spin this one.

I don't feel I'm proficient with the Long Draw Technique yet, but I am feeling less uncomfortable with it... I found this blend to be more sticky than the others and thus I think I overspun these singles.

However, in looking at the energy in this yarn after plying, I realized I plied in the same direction as the singles. Oy, I have not had a yarn look like this in a very, long time... what a novice mistake! sigh.

It does look better after washing, but all of that energy will return as soon as this yarn gets wet again.

What a bummer for such a lovely blend. sigh. I am thinking about plying back with a complementary thread, but for now that's just a note for later.

1 oz (30g), 46 yards of 2-ply.

I have several more fibers from classes that are prepared in batts and rovings that I think I will commit to improving this skill, but they will have to wait. Because for now, this Project is concluded.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday.

Long Draw Spinning Practice - 2025, part 6

2026-01-09T07:00:00.001-07:00

For Part 6 - I chose a 4-color gradient with Tussah Silk sandwiched between the layers. I did not take notes on the wool nor do I remember how these were given to us. I assume it was piles of the individual colors.

My rolag sorting last time worked better, so I repeated that this time... to the best of my ability. ;-)

I did break the single again, and was able to fix it.

I'm also doing better about pulling the fibers from the full diameter of the rolag, rather than just the center. This is easier with the smaller diameter rolags. Will have to keep that in mind for when I make more.

1 1/8 oz (31g), 68 yards of 2-ply.

I like this colorway better than most of the others so far... but they do look nice with each other.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Long Draw Spinning Practice - 2025, part 5

2026-01-02T07:00:00.001-07:00

For Part 5 - I chose an unknown Indie-dyed Braid with added Bamboo...

It occurred to me while I was laying these rolags out that while I had been placing them in an order that made sense, I have been spinning them out of that order. So I placed these in one line and they will be spun from left-to-right. Hopefully that will turn into a more pleasing colorway.

... and of course, I am reminding myself that this entire project is about learning and operating outside of my preference... and so what ever happens is what it happens to be.

I did break the single once, but was able to join it... so that's an improvement. ;-)

1 1/8 oz (32g), 69 yards of 2-ply.

I find this yarn pleasing.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Crazy Funky Grandpa Cardigan, part 5

2025-12-26T07:00:00.004-07:00

Last time I had just completed the join. Today, I have completed the Neck and body increases.

I find it interesting (unusual for the patterns I've made so far) that the body increases are around the bust, rather than the hips. I think this might be a good idea.

Next up is a whole lot of body knitting.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Crazy Funky Grandpa Cardigan, part 4

2025-12-19T07:00:00.003-07:00

Here in Episode #4, I have joined the two fronts with the back.

First everything is on the needles.

Then everything is joined, armpit increases are completed, and everything is facing the correct way with no twisting.

It's doesn't look much different than Part 3, but I feel this is a significant accomplishment. WooHoo!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Crazy Funky Grandpa Cardigan, part 3

2025-12-12T07:00:00.004-07:00

In part 3, I have completed the LEFT Upper Front.

Next step is joining all three of these pieces and to begin working on the Lower Body. Eek.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Crazy Funky Grandpa Cardigan, part 2

2025-12-05T07:00:00.004-07:00

In this edition we are covering the first Shoulder Saddle and Upper Front...

It took me a bit to get this section started... the instructions talk about the RIGHT Upper Front... but to my tired brain, the stitch instructions looked like they were for the LEFT Upper Front... Anyway, the instructions are correct and I was confused, so I have a slight start on the LEFT Upper Front, but below is the RIGHT Upper Front.

The managing of this portion of the project has been an exercise in keeping the details straight... between the two cakes, all of the rolling pieces, and the changing increases.... I've been keeping detailed notes for each of the smallest instruction sections... which seems to be working thus far.

It is sort of funny to me that the above photo WILL turn into a sweater. LOL!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Rainbow Vanilla Socks, part 5

2025-11-28T07:00:00.004-07:00

Whence last we last saw this project in mid-October 2025, I had completed the setup for the Afterthought Heels and was ready to embark upon a whole lot of leg knitting....

Between the two socks, I have completed about 5 of 12 inches of leg knitting.

I have 1 extra stitch on one of the socks, so that's why the color pattern slightly different between the two socks.

This project has been good for waiting-around-knitting, my-mind-is-too-tired-to-count-knitting, and just-pick-up-which-ever-is-on-top knitting. Which is good for now, but I feel like it will take me a year to finish these socks. Which, of course, does not matter. :-)

Anyway, I still have a lot of leg knitting to go.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Crazy Funky Grandpa Cardigan

2025-11-21T07:00:00.004-07:00

Years ago, I had a grey cardigan that I called my Grandpa Sweater. I called it my Grandpa Sweater because it reminded me of one that my Grandfather wore nearly every day.

So when I came across this pattern (apparently in 2013), it made me smile. I knew I would make it one day so it stayed toward the top of my queue for several years.

In early 2022 I thought I might use my crazy StitchesWest yarn to make the sweater but there is not enough of it. So I needed to find a suitable background color, fiber, and gauge. Therefore one of my goals at the Estes Park Wool Market in June 2022 was to find the right yarn.

I tried to find a non-grey color since the sample in the pattern is grey, but ultimately it was the one available that went best with the existing crazy yarn. I also like that it has a purple undertone, so it is not a flat grey, and that the color has some movement.

Then as February 2023 began, both of my active projects were approaching completion (SOS, Clown Fish). With a couple of events coming up, I thought it was a good time to get this project set up. So I caked everything, except the one grey that is a different dye lot, and began swatching.

Swatching resulted in US1 needles and gauge of 6.67 sts/inch. Prescribed gauge is 6.125 sts/inch. Coupling that with my personal measurements, I decided to make a size M...

Then due to other higher priority projects, this sat in the queue again until October 2025, when I finally cast-on.

In double-checking my measurements, I am continuing with my plan for a size M, which should result in an over-sized sweater with plenty of ease for layering.

What you see below is the Upper Back and Arm Shaping. Each color repeat is ~1 inch.

One of the things about Stockinette Stitch is that the fabric rolls... this has been getting annoying. So I'm looking forward to having both front sides complete and joining everything together. ;-)

Manning two cakes of yarn has been going fine, but it also means that this project is an at-home-only project.

finally, I am glad to have this project underway since it has literally been on my mind for 12 years and ready to go for nearly three years. :-)

Next up is the first Upper Front.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Portland Frog Hat

2025-11-14T07:00:00.004-07:00

I happened to see a post from PDX Knitterati on Social Media on Sunday, October 26, 2025 about her Frog Hat.

With it being similar to the Pussy Hats from the first regime and the joy of the Portland Inflatable Frogs from the No Kings March on October 18th, I knew I had to make at least one of these.

I had suitable yarn in my stash and stopped by one of the Big Box Craft Stores to get some Googly Eyes.

I love this yarn so much.... it has a Hygge feeling for me... the color, the softness, the squishy-ness... mmm. It was acquired from the Apothefaery in 2022 at the Estes Park Wool Market.

I did not figure out a good way to attach the Googly Eyes that wasn't far too fiddly while also being secure and washable.

So I stopped at a couple of local shops and picked up some felt and buttons as recommended in the pattern.

And ultimately just used the buttons, which are wood so they will air dry.

I am ready for the next demonstration.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Cozy Stripes Sweater, part 15

2025-11-07T07:00:00.004-07:00

In the last week I finished up the annoying little details and my Cozy Stripes Sweater is now complete!

I have not blocked yet, because I'm too excited to wear it now!

The weaving in of ends took the longest and is my least favorite thing to do. lol.

There ended up being two dropped stitches that I had marked, Both are now fixed.

The sewing on of buttons went quickly and the button holes are nearly invisible... I remember thinking this when I made them, so I (may) spend some time making them more apparent with stitching... later

Ultimately this project took 8.25 months of work, with a 3.5 month summer break leading to one week shy of 12 months from start to finish and just shy of 1300 total yards.

Skein duration:

#1 (11/2/24 - 12/10/24) 5 wks 3 days
#2 (12/10/24 - 12/30/24) 2 wks 6 days
#3 (12/30/24 - 1/6/25) 1 wk
#4 (1/6/25 - 1/18/25) 1 wk 5 days
#5 (1/18/25 - 2/5/25) - 2 wks 4 days - 14 g remain

Green (2/5/25 - 2/6/25) - 2 days - 22 g remain (begin body stripes)
Orange (2/6/25 - 2/8/25) - 3 days - 23g remain
#5 (2/8/25 - 2/9/25) - 2 days - 11 g remain
Orange (2/9/25) - 1day - 18 g remain
Green (2/10/25 - 2/14/25) - 5 days - 17 g remain (complete body stripes)

#5 (2/14/25 - 2/20/25) - 6 days (begin hem)
#6 (2/20/25 - 2/25/25) - 5 days - 20g remain (complete hem, bind off pending)

TINK Body Hem (2/27/25 - 3/6/25) - 8 days
#5 (3/6/25 - 3/22/25) - 2 wks 2 days (begin re-Knitting Body Hem with smaller needles, US3)
#6 (3/22/25 - 3/23/25) - 2 days (complete and bind-off Body Hem) - 19g remain

Pickup Collar/Button Band Stitches (3/24/25 - 3/30/25) - 6 days
#6 (3/30/25 - 4/10/25) - 11 days (begin Button Band/Collar, US3)
#7 (4/10/25 - 4/22/25) - 12 days (complete Button Band/Collar and Bind off) - 14g remain

#8 (4/23/25 - 6/4/25) - 6 wks (begin Sleeve #1, on hold for the summer) - 10g remain
#8 (9/14/25 - 9/22/25) - 8 days (restart Sleeve #1, large brown section nearly complete)

#9 (9/23/25 - 10/13/25) - 3wks (begin Sleeve #2)
#7 (10/13/25 - 10/18/25) - 5 days (complete Sleeve #2) - 7 g remain
Green (10/14/25 - 10/16/25) - 3 days (sleeve stripes) - 15 g remain
Orange (10/15/25 - 10/16/25) - 2 days (sleeve stripes) - 17 g remain
#7 (10/19/25 - 10/20/25) - 2 days (complete Sleeve #1) - 3 g remain
Green (10/19/20) - 1 day (sleeve stripes) - 14 g remain
Orange (10/19/20) - 1 day (sleeve stripes) - 14 g remain

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Cozy Stripes Sweater, part 14

2025-10-31T07:00:00.004-06:00

At the beginning of this edition, I had 7g remaining of Brown Skein #7. I had used 7g to complete the remainder of the first sleeve, and this sleeve has 7 fewer rounds to complete, so I took the risk and began the remainder of the second sleeve with the 7g of Brown Skein #7.

That's a lot of 7s. ;-)

I finished out with about 3 g of Skein #7 remaining.

At this point, all of the knitting is complete, the sweater fits nicely, and I have just a few things left to do:

fixing one (1) dropped stitch
sewing on buttons
weaving in ends
blocking

Skein duration:

#1 (11/2/24 - 12/10/24) 5 wks 3 days
#2 (12/10/24 - 12/30/24) 2 wks 6 days
#3 (12/30/24 - 1/6/25) 1 wk
#4 (1/6/25 - 1/18/25) 1 wk 5 days
#5 (1/18/25 - 2/5/25) - 2 wks 4 days - 14 g remain

Green (2/5/25 - 2/6/25) - 2 days - 22 g remain (begin body stripes)
Orange (2/6/25 - 2/8/25) - 3 days - 23g remain
#5 (2/8/25 - 2/9/25) - 2 days - 11 g remain
Orange (2/9/25) - 1day - 18 g remain
Green (2/10/25 - 2/14/25) - 5 days - 17 g remain (complete body stripes)

#5 (2/14/25 - 2/20/25) - 6 days (begin hem)
#6 (2/20/25 - 2/25/25) - 5 days - 20g remain (complete hem, bind off pending)

TINK Body Hem (2/27/25 - 3/6/25) - 8 days
#5 (3/6/25 - 3/22/25) - 2 wks 2 days (begin re-Knitting Body Hem with smaller needles, US3)
#6 (3/22/25 - 3/23/25) - 2 days (complete and bind-off Body Hem) - 19g remain

Pickup Collar/Button Band Stitches (3/24/25 - 3/30/25) - 6 days
#6 (3/30/25 - 4/10/25) - 11 days (begin Button Band/Collar, US3)
#7 (4/10/25 - 4/22/25) - 12 days (complete Button Band/Collar and Bind off) - 14g remain

#8 (4/23/25 - 6/4/25) - 6 wks (begin Sleeve #1, on hold for the summer) - 10g remain
#8 (9/14/25 - 9/22/25) - 8 days (restart Sleeve #1, large brown section nearly complete)

#9 (9/23/25 - 10/13/25) - 3wks (begin Sleeve #2)
#7 (10/13/25 - 10/18/25) - 5 days (complete Sleeve #2) - 7 g remain
Green (10/14/25 - 10/16/25) - 3 days (sleeve stripes) - 15 g remain
Orange (10/15/25 - 10/16/25) - 2 days (sleeve stripes) - 17 g remain
#7 (10/19/25 - 10/20/25) - 2 days (complete Sleeve #1) - 3 g remain
Green (10/19/20) - 1 day (sleeve stripes) - 14 g remain
Orange (10/19/20) - 1 day (sleeve stripes) - 14 g remain

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Cozy Stripes Sweater, part 13

2025-10-24T07:00:00.004-06:00

In part 12 I had run out of brown yarn on both sleeves with a few to several rows remaining in each block before starting the stripes.

In this episode, I continued Sleeve #2 with the remaining 14g of Skein #7.

I then completed the stripes with the started Orange and Green Skeins used on the body.

The last couple of sleeve decreases where completed closer together to ensure I had a divisible-by-4 stitch count in time for the cuff (40 sts), and then I stepped down to US3 needles for the cuff.

This sweater is finally getting close.... :-)

I have the:

remainder of the second sleeve,
weaving in ends,
fixing one (1) dropped stitch,
sewing on buttons, and then
blocking to go.

I'm pretty excited to be this close after nearly a year of work.

Skein duration:

#1 (11/2/24 - 12/10/24) 5 wks 3 days
#2 (12/10/24 - 12/30/24) 2 wks 6 days
#3 (12/30/24 - 1/6/25) 1 wk
#4 (1/6/25 - 1/18/25) 1 wk 5 days
#5 (1/18/25 - 2/5/25) - 2 wks 4 days - 14 g remain

Green (2/5/25 - 2/6/25) - 2 days - 22 g remain (begin body stripes)
Orange (2/6/25 - 2/8/25) - 3 days - 23g remain
#5 (2/8/25 - 2/9/25) - 2 days - 11 g remain
Orange (2/9/25) - 1day - 18 g remain
Green (2/10/25 - 2/14/25) - 5 days - 17 g remain (complete body stripes)

#5 (2/14/25 - 2/20/25) - 6 days (begin hem)
#6 (2/20/25 - 2/25/25) - 5 days - 20g remain (complete hem, bind off pending)

TINK Body Hem (2/27/25 - 3/6/25) - 8 days
#5 (3/6/25 - 3/22/25) - 2 wks 2 days (begin re-Knitting Body Hem with smaller needles, US3)
#6 (3/22/25 - 3/23/25) - 2 days (complete and bind-off Body Hem) - 19g remain

Pickup Collar/Button Band Stitches (3/24/25 - 3/30/25) - 6 days
#6 (3/30/25 - 4/10/25) - 11 days (begin Button Band/Collar, US3)
#7 (4/10/25 - 4/22/25) - 12 days (complete Button Band/Collar and Bind off) - 14g remain

#8 (4/23/25 - 6/4/25) - 6 wks (begin Sleeve #1, on hold for the summer) - 10g remain
#8 (9/14/25 - 9/22/25) - 8 days (restart Sleeve #1, large brown section nearly complete)

#9 (9/23/25 - 10/13/25) - 3wks (begin Sleeve #2)
#7 (10/13/25 - 10/18/25) - 5 days (complete Sleeve #2) - 7 g remain
Green (10/14/25 - 10/16/25) - 3 days (sleeve stripes) - 15 g remain
Orange (10/15/25 - 10/16/25) - 2 days (sleeve stripes) - 17 g remain

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Cozy Stripes Sweater, part 12

2025-10-17T07:00:00.005-06:00

In part 11, I had nearly completed the large brown block on Sleeve #1 (104 of the 108 row goal). Today, I am not quite in the same place on Sleeve #2... 97 of 108 row goal for the block.

The difference could be in gauge, where I started the skein, and/or deltas between winding of skeins at the mill.

After trying on the sweater, I have decided to continue with the plan as written with the 14g remaining on Skein #7.

I maybe should have made the body a little longer.... it is fine in the back, but the collar makes the front pull up a bit. I can fix some of that with blocking and folding the collar down. So we'll see how it is when everything is finished.

Skein duration:

#1 (11/2/24 - 12/10/24) 5 wks 3 days
#2 (12/10/24 - 12/30/24) 2 wks 6 days
#3 (12/30/24 - 1/6/25) 1 wk
#4 (1/6/25 - 1/18/25) 1 wk 5 days
#5 (1/18/25 - 2/5/25) - 2 wks 4 days - 14 g remain

Green (2/5/25 - 2/6/25) - 2 days - 22 g remain (begin body stripes)
Orange (2/6/25 - 2/8/25) - 3 days - 23g remain
#5 (2/8/25 - 2/9/25) - 2 days - 11 g remain
Orange (2/9/25) - 1day - 18 g remain
Green (2/10/25 - 2/14/25) - 5 days - 17 g remain (complete body stripes)

#5 (2/14/25 - 2/20/25) - 6 days (begin hem)
#6 (2/20/25 - 2/25/25) - 5 days - 20g remain (complete hem, bind off pending)

TINK Body Hem (2/27/25 - 3/6/25) - 8 days
#5 (3/6/25 - 3/22/25) - 2 wks 2 days (begin re-Knitting Body Hem with smaller needles, US3)
#6 (3/22/25 - 3/23/25) - 2 days (complete and bind-off Body Hem) - 19g remain

Pickup Collar/Button Band Stitches (3/24/25 - 3/30/25) - 6 days
#6 (3/30/25 - 4/10/25) - 11 days (begin Button Band/Collar, US3)
#7 (4/10/25 - 4/22/25) - 12 days (complete Button Band/Collar and Bind off) - 14g remain

#8 (4/23/25 - 6/4/25) - 6 wks (begin Sleeve #1, on hold for the summer) - 10g remain
#8 (9/14/25 - 9/22/25) - 8 days (restart Sleeve #1, large brown section nearly complete)

#9 (9/23/25 - 10/13/25) - 3wks (begin Sleeve #2)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Rainbow Vanilla Socks, part 4

2025-10-10T07:00:00.006-06:00

Last time, in part 3, I had just completed the second foot of this project.

In this episode, I have completed the set up for the Afterthought Heel on both socks and am ready to begin a whole lot of Leg knitting... :-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Long Draw Spinning Practice - 2025, part 4

2025-10-03T07:00:00.001-06:00

For Part 4 - I chose a 3-color Gradient of Blue, Black, and Yellow.

This one is interesting because the Black is placed through out and the gradient is between the Blue and Yellow.

The good news is that I have an even number of Rolags (6), so I have a better chance of getting the colors to mirror in the single, and therefore match in the finished yarn. *fingers crossed*

These continue to be better made Rolags and these are spinning quite fine.

I do find myself slipping back into short-forward draw, so I need to focus more on pulling my left hand back. I will say that allowing the spin to reach between my hands feels a lot less weird and out of control than it did in part 1.

Also since I've come up with a loose plan on how to use these yarns in a project together, this one decided to spin much finer, so my plan won't work. lol.

The quality of the singles are still pretty poor, but I did not have any over-spun sections, tho one section was plied tighter than the rest. I also did not break the yarn this time.

1 oz (29g), 65.5 yards of 2-ply.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Cozy Stripes Sweater, part 11

2025-09-26T07:00:00.004-06:00

Whence last we left this project it was June 2025 and there was one and a half arms, buttons, and weaving in ends to go.

It's been a hot summer.... so I haven't made much progress on my Rainbow Vanilla Socks either, but I have been spinning (TdF, Long Draw). :-)

We are finally getting more regular, cooler, weather, which means I finally picked up The Cozy Stripes Sweater on September 14th!

In the last week or so, I was able to mostly complete the large brown block on Sleeve #1. The goal is 108 rows, but I ran out of Skein #8 at 104 rows.

So I plan to leave it as is until Sleeve #2 reaches the same place. Then I will try the sweater on and reassess when to begin the stripes for the end of the sleeves.

I have two Brown Skeins remaining plus ~14g of Skein #7.

I am happy to be working on this project again.

Skein duration:

#1 (11/2/24 - 12/10/24) 5wks 3days
#2 (12/10/24 - 12/30/24) 2wks 6days
#3 (12/30/24 - 1/6/25) 1 week
#4 (1/6/25 - 1/18/25) 1wk 5days
#5 (1/18/25 - 2/5/25) - 2wks 4days - 14 g remain

Green (2/5/25 - 2/6/25) - 2days - 22 g remain (begin body stripes)
Orange (2/6/25 - 2/8/25) - 3days - 23g remain
#5 (2/8/25 - 2/9/25) - 2days - 11 g remain
Orange (2/9/25) - 1day - 18 g remain
Green (2/10/25 - 2/14/25) - 5days - 17 g remain (complete body stripes)

#5 (2/14/25 - 2/20/25) - 6days (begin hem)
#6 (2/20/25 - 2/25/25) - 5days - 20g remain (complete hem, bind off pending)

TINK Body Hem (2/27/25 - 3/6/25) - 8days
#5 (3/6/25 - 3/22/25) - 2 wks 2 days (begin re-Knitting Body Hem with smaller needles, US3)
#6 (3/22/25 - 3/23/25) - 2 days (complete and bind-off Body Hem) - 19g remain

Pickup Collar/Button Band Stitches (3/24/25 - 3/30/25) - 6days
#6 (3/30/25 - 4/10/25) - 11days (begin Button Band/Collar, US3)
#7 (4/10/25 - 4/22/25) - 12days (complete Button Band/Collar and Bind off) - 14g remain

#8 (4/23/25 - 6/4/25) - 6wks (begin Sleeve #1, on hold for the summer) - 10g remain
#8 (9/14/25 - 9/22/25) - 8 days (restart Sleeve #1, large brown section nearly complete)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Long Draw Spinning Practice - 2025, part 3

2025-09-19T07:00:00.002-06:00

For Part 3 - I chose a 2-color gradient of Black and Yellow, made from unknown wool.

I am planning a 2-ply yarn and want the colors to line up. So I organized the Rolags similarly to part 2. These are more consistent Rolags than in Part 1 and 2, so I'm hopeful the resulting yarn will be better... only spinning and plying will tell. ;-)

Of course, there is an odd number of Rolags (7), which means the colors are not mirrored from end to end.... The single starts with Black and ends with Yellow. sigh.

So, I have accepted the fact that this yarn will be mostly Barber Poled.

One of the good things about working with colors and fibers that are provided, rather than selected, is that it means I have to work outside of my preference. This often leads to good, or at least interesting outcomes.

1 1/8 oz (30g), 56 yards of 2-ply.

I don't imagine that I would have ever made this yarn on purpose. lol.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Rainbow Vanilla Socks, part 3

2025-09-12T07:00:00.008-06:00

In episode 3, I have been working on the feet of these Rainbow Vanilla Socks.

Simple Socks are the best for waiting around knitting.

They are small, therefore portable.
They can be stopped at any time.
It's easy to pick up at any time and know where you are in the pattern.

So far, I have worked on these while waiting for:

warranty work on my truck,
while travelling to an Invitational Dog Show
while waiting for events at said Invitational Dog Show
at the DMV
Waiting for a yoga class to start

I completed the foot for Sock #1 on 7/11/25 and began working on the foot for Sock #2.

As of today, finally in mid-September 2025, I have completed foot #2.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Long Draw Spinning Practice - 2025, part 2

2025-09-05T07:00:00.001-06:00

For Part 2 - I chose BFL again. This is a blue and green colorway where the colors were placed on the Blending Board in 1/4 sections.

Since I intend to make a 2-ply, I need to be clear about which end I start from for each rolag. So I matched the rolags by approximate weight, then placed them in order of spinning and reversed the second half.

I did break the single twice, so I ended up with 3 cakes for plying. This will be interesting to see how well I keep things in order. lol.

I put ties on the ends I need to start plying. The middle cake will end up being a game-time decision, since I will end up plying from both ends if it.

For the most part each color change included some Barber Poling, which is to be expected. There was one very long section of Barber Pole and one change that occurred at exactly the same time. It will be interesting to see how this knits up.

7/8 oz (25g), 58.5 yards of 2-ply.

As a side note, I don't like how the yarn looks on the bobbin.... it is fuzzy and indistinct. I assume this is a feature that I will grow to appreciate... eventually. But they don't look so bad from this vantage point. lol

Happy Fiber Arts Friday

Long Draw Spinning Practice - 2025, part 1

2025-08-29T07:00:00.001-06:00

Last summer (2024), I acquired a Great Wheel.

She needs some repair before she can be used.... AND I need some skills before I can use her.

My upskilling finally started with a little bit of focus on the Long Draw Spinning Technique in my medium-wools class in June 2025, Spinning Goldilocks.

Several of the students requested some guidance on the Long Draw Technique, so for me it was serendipitous.

I had been working on making Rolags in my Clemes & Clemes class the day before and I had some reserved from an earlier Clemes & Clemes class.

So with a bunch of appropriately prepared materials, all I needed was time and focus for practice. :-)

With the Tour de Fleece 2025 complete, I figured now is as good a time as any...

First up is to decide which rolags to start with, and I decided on this Purple+Orange Blue Faced Leicester. The colors are layered, so it should hide my mistakes pretty well... and of course, the quality of the Rolag is pretty bad. lol.

One thing to note about this project, is that I am giving myself permission to be bad at something... AND putting it in a public space. YIKES. Not that many people are still reading this blog, but it will be discoverable by anyone. Double YIKES.

Learning is about improving skills... or at least going from a place of relative incompetence to a place of better competence in a target topic area.

So in this case, I am objectively a good spinner in Worsted techniques and I am reasonably competent now at preparing fiber for Worsted spinning... but I have spent very little time working on Woolen, or even semi-Worsted techniques. So this project is intended to chronical this journey.

It does seem to be going faster than my typical, Short-Forward-Draw, but I have much less control over the consistency of the yarn. I do expect that to improve with practice.

Even though the gauge of this yarn is all over the place, there was only one tiny bit that was over-spun. It feels lofty and squishy... which is the point of using Woolen Spinning Techniques.

I find it interesting how color plays... how a color looks depends significantly on what it is next to. The finished yarn looks Maroon+Gold rather than purple+orange.

7/8 oz (26g), 54.7 yards of 2-ply

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

County Fair 2025

2025-08-22T07:00:00.001-06:00

As in most years, I did enter a yarn.

This year it was only one Tibetan Mastiff yarn from Ramen. I have been working on this set of yarn for a few years, since I intend to make a sweater/wrap from it.

The vision is a rustic, big, warm, hug and I have finally crossed the half-way mark on the needed yarn.

I also entered a batch of Biscochito Cookies. There was a lot of cookie competition... especially in the "other" category.

Thanks to being laid off from my Day Job, I was able to spend some time watching the judging.

I think it's quite nice for the judging to be open to the public, but I've not been able to fit it into my schedule until now.

The baking judges were silent. So I had no idea what they were thinking and decided to wait for the comments.

The Spinning and Weaving Judge was very talkative about her thoughts... and thanks to that, I learned a lot about what they are actually looking for on the accompanying label that goes with each entry.

I took copious notes when I got home.... so hopefully, my yarns will be better explained in the future.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Football Knitting 2025

2025-08-15T07:00:00.001-06:00

As I begin this draft, it is August 1st.... Rabbit! Rabbit!

I was surprised earlier this week to hear them talking about football on the local news. What? Already? Yes. sigh. Although, the slightly cooler weather is welcome. :-)

So over the weekend, I put together my list of sportsing games and started to think about whether I want to focus on a particular project this year.

I think this answer is no.

I have my Cozy Stripes Sweater snoozing until the weather cools a bit more, which is very close to being complete and my Rainbow Vanilla Socks that have been getting some attention over the summer, but still moving slowly... especially during the Tour de Fleece - Hommes and Femme... and my short list of next projects is growing.

So I'm thinking that I will use this time for knitting, but not for a specific project.

Here's to cooler weather on the horizon.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Tour de Fleece, 2025 - part 6

2025-08-08T07:00:00.001-06:00

For Part 5 - - I did a bit better last week of focusing on the fun and less on the task. This week I will continue to try to focus on the fun. Changing neuropathways takes time and effort. ;-)

TdFF Stage 7 - Friday, August 1

Tibetan Mastiff:

Time Spent: 33minutes
How I felt: Nice relaxing day with respect to spinning. I completed the half-hour over 3 stints.

TdFF Stage 8 - Saturday, August 2

No spinning today

TdFF Stage 9 - Sunday, August 3

Tibetan Mastiff:

Time Spent: 68 minutes
How I felt: I did not realize today was the last day. Instead of 9 Stages, I was thinking it ended on August 9th. Oy... so at about 30 minutes into spinning, I stopped to ply.

Overall Wrap-up:

Days Spent: 23of25 +2of3 = 25of28
Time Spent: 630 minutes (10 1/2 hours) + 101 minutes (1 hr 41 minutes) = 731 minutes (12 hrs 11 minutes)
Overall Feeling: I'm feeling pretty good that I only missed 3 days in just over 4 weeks of daily spinning. The days toward the end were more about fun, but certainly this is a headspace I need to work on some more. Overall a good Tour for me. :-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Tour de Fleece, 2025 - part 5

2025-08-01T07:00:00.001-06:00

For Part 4 - - I lost a bit of focusing on the fun over the task last week. So now that I've reached my weight goal for the one skein I've started, I want to continue to practice on just having fun.

TdF Stage 20 - Friday, July 25

Tibetan Mastiff:

Time Spent: 39 minutes
How I felt: I was able to spend a little more time last night and a few different times today. I'm about half-complete with the plying. So I'm feeling confident that I will have enough time to let it dry before it needs to be dropped off. This makes me happy.

TdF Stage 21, TdFF Stage 1 - Saturday, July 26 - TdFF begins

Tibetan Mastiff:

Time Spent: 48 minutes
How I felt: I got a little more done after yesterday's post and was able to complete plying today over 3 different stints. Yay!

156 total yards of 2-ply. It's taking a bath now.

TdF Stage 22, TdFF Stage 2 - Sunday, July 27 - TdF ends

Tibetan Mastiff:

Time Spent: 32 minutes
How I felt: It's always fun starting a new skein.

TdFF Stage 3 - Monday, July 28

No spinning today

TdFF Stage 4 - Tuesday, July 29

Tibetan Mastiff:

Time Spent: 22 minutes
How I felt: After not spinning yesterday, it felt nice to spin today.

I did get my County Fair Entries delivered today, include my finished skein from earlier this week. I'm happy with how it turned out.

TdFF Stage 5 - Wednesday, July 30

Tibetan Mastiff:

Time Spent: 24 minutes
How I felt: I was able to spend much of today watching the County Fair Judging. This has been on my ToDo List for quite some time and today was the first time I was able to make it happen. I learned a lot.

TdFF Stage 6 - Thursday, July 31

Tibetan Mastiff:

Time Spent: 14 minutes
How I felt: It was fun to just spin this afternoon.

Weekly Wrap-up:

Days Spent: 17of18 +6of7 = 23of25 days thus far
Time Spent: 420 minutes (7hrs) + 210 minutes (3 1/2 hours) = 630 minutes (10 1/2 hours) thus far
Overall Feeling: I wasn't sure how to divide my work for the two days overlap between the Men's and Women's Races, so I am treating each day as one day, in and of itself.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!