What I don't Enjoy..

I finally finished knitting my little neckerchief (Lacy Baktus). It's a bit smaller than the sample photo listed on Ravelry, but it's nice because you can make it any size depending on how much yarn you have. The pattern is relatively easy to memorize which makes for good train knitting.

However, I did have to frog several rows because I was screwing up decreases AND because I was running out of yarn and had to be more aggressive in decreasing rows. But, it's my first FO from spun to knit.

And, because I need for something to work on while on the train, I started knitting up my very first cardigan using Cascade Eco Baby Alpaca. OMG, this stuff is amazingly soft and an absolute pleasure to knit up.

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Spinning
This past weekend, I actually managed to get a bit of spinning done. I had several small samples of non-wool fibers; I thought to give them a try.

The samples ranged from bamboo, mulberry silk, tussah silk, etc, mixed with nylon or alpaca. And because the samples were relatively small in size (anywhere from 1/8 - 3/8 oz) they spun up relatively quickly on the drop spindle.



The colors aren't what I would have chosen for myself (pink, a pinky salmon, and a pink/blue combo), but three of the samples from different fiber artists actually meshed reallly well together. So, I did my first 3-ply, which actually came out very nicely. I was rather pleased.

Each of the samples was spun to laceweight (yaay!), and I managed to pull about 15-20 yards out of each one (depending on weight). The 3-ply after the twist had been set came out to a fingering/DK weight (Yaay) @ 20 yards. For now, it'll just act as a sample skein for a 3-ply.

I'm rather pleased with the whole experiment that I can attempt to do a nice sock yarn and knit that up. :-)

I tried two other samples, including one that uses a combination of bamboo, mulberry silk, and sea cel, and I had to put it away because I ended up fighting with it and did *not* enjoy it at all. I think partially because each different fiber was just 'laid' ontop of each other and not blended well.

Note to self:
I did not enjoy a straight mulberry silk, straight bamboo, or straight tussah silk.

AND I do not enjoy roving where different colored fibers are just "laid" ontop of each other ESPECIALLY if each of the colored fibers are actually different fibers. It makes drafting a PITA. However, I did enjoy a really good blended roving (like the alpaca/silk/bamboo combination)