Friday, September 09, 2011

Fall Flavored Handspun

Hi Knitters,
I am leaving you this week with a new hank of fall flavored handspun finished a few days ago. I tell you this fall-like weather is a dream for drying handspun outside. No humidity and a light crisp breeze makes for some fast drying time.
This alpaca/fine wool blend is a gift from my Kentucky fiber friend, Dianne of Sheep Dreams. She lives on Tanglewood Farm in Versailles, Kentucky and she is a fiber talent to be reckoned with. Dianne sent me a few 4 oz. bags of this beautiful roving with shades of green and rusty reds. It is the perfect fall spinning. I still have one bag left. I used the first 4 oz. bag up right after I started spinning and I spun that into a beginner's thick and thin yarn, which I love.
My second attempt to spin this fiber was fairly successful. I got a whopping 582 yards out of a tiny bit over 4 ounces of roving. I actually weighed the finished hank when I was done spinning because I couldn't believe the amount of yardage I had in the end. It's all true!
The singles spun so quickly and finely. I did a simple 2-ply and I think with the alpaca/wool blend and the yardage this will have to be a shawl of some sort. It is a fingering weight yarn. My other thought is to spin up the other 4 oz. bag and see what my total yards would be with both bags.
With the unspun roving included I might even have enough for some kind of fingering weight cardigan (like this one that takes 800-1000 yards) when I am done. That could be fun.

I am leaving you today with links to my knitting podcast playlist read directly off my iPod and in alphabetical order (I LOVE them all and have recently added some new ones to the list):

All of these podcasts are available through iTunes. I want to send out a huge thank you to all of the dedicated podcasters for their time and hard work. They keep me company on a daily basis while I work, knit and exercise. I am so happy every time I see a new episode pop up and if there isn't a new episode to listen to I often listen to old episodes over and over.

Have a great weekend, Knitters. See you bright and early next week. I did a fantastic nature hike with TC that I will share next week.
best, susie
p.s. I am starting a caridgan knitalong later this month. Click here for the details. Next week, I am adding more larger cardigan sizes than are available in the original pattern if you are interested.

17 comments:

Stefanie said...

Love those colors. Your spun yarn always looks so soft.

Anonymous said...

Oh very pretty, just love the colours. You must make something very special with that.

rav id -mommytofive

Miss Julep said...

Wow!

Katrina @ Pics, Pages & Purls said...

THOSE colors of that yarn are very awesome...I wouldn't mind them at all! :)

Liz Peters said...

Thank you so much for listing the podcasts you listen to. I have heard about several through you and enjoy them. Now I get to discover some more! I, too, listen while exercising, knitting, and everything else! Love your blog and patterns - thanks for all the inspiration.

Unknown said...

Pretty, pretty, pretty!

Danelle said...

Wonderful colors and beautifully spun! I hope you post a picture of the end product...

Brittany said...

Susan,
Thanks so much for your kind words about our podcast, and for listening!

Also, I LOVE that handspun. Absolutely gorgeous!

Julie P. said...

That handspun is gorgeous! Makes me want to load up my two rovings and send them to you. But, no, one day I am gonna try spinning it myself. It is amazing how pretty it turns out to be once it is spun.
RAV: Tanknit

Allegra said...

Bravo Susan, the yarn is beautiful! I cannot wait to see what you knit with it!

Sara said...

Now that's some great spinning! Will you be at Guild tomorrow night. Change of venue and time...6:30. I know that's a little early for you...
Sara

Martine (iMake) said...

Hiya! I just wanted to say thanks for mentioning my podcast (iMake) - that is really kind of you. Also your handspun is divine! Great blog too :-)

Martine

Naycha said...

Gorgeous yarn and that cardi would look fabulous knit in it!!

LoriOnLTB said...

Thanks for the podcast list! I am a big fan of Cast On, and I usually listen on days I don't have a walking partner. (The podcast and my iTouch help me stay committed to my 2-mile loop.) I'm running low on Cast On podcasts, so it'll be interesting to check out something new!

Dianne@sheepdreams said...

Can't believe how quickly you've gone from beginner's thick and thin to fingering weight. Your yarn is beautiful. You were meant to be a spinner!

kathy b said...

LOVE your spun yarn...love it.
WHich is the funniest of the podcasts???

lucyinthesky1 said...

Oh, that is so mean of you to post these gorgeous pictures! ;)
I'm green with envy. These are my favourite colours, the ones that look best on me, and the yarn is wonderfully spun. I want it, I want it, I want it! But I'm no spinner and I live in Germany, so I guess there's no way for me to get yarn like this without paying a fortune... sigh. (You see what I mean?)
Well I guess I'm just going to drool over whatever you make with it. I'm looking forward to it!

Juliane (Llule on ravelry)