Will start with my last project of 2008, suddenly found a nice pattern for some yarn I'd had knocking around in my stash since Black Sheep had a closing down sale, it was 50p a skein for Rowan R2 Braid, so its like a soft ribbon, very soft, but kinda hard to find a pattern for. Me being me, I'd bought all the black and white ones, and whilst browsing that wonderful resource that is Ravelry, I saw some one elses project that involved making a bag and I was like, aha! Thats the one for me! Just a simple bag, I finished it in a day, big drumstick needles job, its been christened the Guinness bag, for obvious reasons...
I've finally managed to finish my Japanese Feathers scarf which was nice to finally get done, seen as its been on the needles since last March! Its not as long as I probably should have done it, but I was attempting to be creative-ish, I cast on when the yarn was in a dark stripe phase and I've knitted it until its gone through the whole sequence back to dark again at the other end, it looks good, just not hugely long. Picutures are not brilliant but the light quality at the moment is just pitiful and the flash just bleeches out the lovely blues, but you'll get the idea.
Since Christmas I've also been trying to perfect my spinning, I'd started on this blue merino before christmas and it was looking good, and apart from a few wheel problems (I'm still getting used to adjusting it!) I've done some thing that compares to aran weight! It was entirely spun and plied on Evangeline (yes I know I said Sorsha but there is a reason for that!)
The pic below shows what I'm aiming for, its what Jamman did on my wheel before I arrived and it looks so thin and even, I can only dream! The blue is what I had left over from plying and makes a good comparrison, I can dream, but it is some thing to aim for. I'm assuming its all down to how I draft, and at the moment I predraft every thing so I only have to concentrate on one thing at once, I did have a go at drafting as I spun but I was letting the wheel take it before it was spun enough and when it broke, I couldn't get it going again, so went back to predrafting. It will all come with practise I'm sure.
And last but not least, I mentioned in a previous blog that I was going to call my wheel Sorsha, like a character in my fav book who has to spin shirts out of a stinging plant to save her 6 brothers, but it never felt quite right, I liked the idea, but it didn't fit the wheel and my ashford traddy being a dark finish, struck me more as a gothy one and I've lent more towards calling her Evangline for a while, and I think I know why, cause this is Sorsha...
A dinky double drive pre 1999 Kromski, which is very much like the current Mazurka from their range. Its so small in comparrison to my traddy but spins very nicely and I was totally smitten on first sight! Kate was lovely (as was her cat, Sabbath!) and I even got a bag of fibre to play with as well, so thats me busy for a while. Good day today! Must make time for knitting tho..