One Year of Fibery Bliss

Thank you, everyone, for your comments! (I know I don't say this nearly enough but they all mean so much to me!)

I learned to spin exactly one year ago (thank you Kristin!). And on this special anniversary, I am very proud to present my first pair of handspun socks.
handspun socks stained glass

I love the colors.
handspun socks stained glass 2

And the feeling of the fabric.
handspun socks stained glass 3

I know it's not the pair I showed you in my last post. But when I spun the merino-alpaca blend to navajoplied yarn, I had to knit it right away.
stained glass merino-alpaca sock yarn 3

I just had to.
stained glass merino-alpaca sock yarn 4

If the socks look like they're not the exact same size, you're right. The other one is slightly bigger. It seems I somehow managed to spin the second half of the skein a little bit thicker. I blame Lord of the Rings. Kristin and I spun madly on Friday, with the help of the Fellowship of the Ring and some wine. Wine and hobbits lead to uneven yarn.

I stayed away from both, and got a really pretty skein of the same blend in different colors.
calico merino-alpaca sock yarn
I tried to make sure I had 3 lumps of fiber, all same size, but for some reason there were a lot of leftover singles, which I navajoplied. The bigger skein is a regular 3-ply. I like the way the colors show differently in the skeins. These will be a skein of socks for me (and yes, I have cast on already).

And finally, we have some sun in Washington! So I went outside and played with my camera. I don't know what these are called, but the flowers were so pretty, I had to take pictures.
kukkia pensaissa

kukkia puissa 2

kukkia puissa 1

Old Friend Returns to Rule the Lair

I love knitting my own yarn.

Ittekehrättyä on sitten lysti tikutella.
punainen SW merino sukkapari
I would probably never buy this kind of heavily marbled yarn in a yarn store, but when it is handspun, it's suddenly the greatest thing ever.

En varmana ostaisi tämmöistä hurjan marmoroitua lankaa kaupasta, mutta kun se on oman rukin rullalta lähtenyttä, se on jotenkin hyvin erikoista ja kaunista.
punainen SW merino sukkapari 2
I forgot to photograph the skein, but it's 100g/3.5 oz of hand dyed (in the Lair) superwash merino, and there is 500 yards of it. This is my first true 3-ply skein, and it's also the very first skein where I got exactly the yardage I was going for. I love the look of 3-ply, and knitting this yarn is a pleasure, although superwash fibers have a weird feel to them - they don't feel quite natural. Still, I can't wait to finish these, but there is a good chance I will be distracted by this beauty:

Unohin kuvata vyyhdin, mutta sain aikaiseksi 100g ja 450m aitoa kolmisäikeistä lankaa. Ensimmäistä kertaa tein kolmisäikeistä "normaalisti" (enkä navajokertaamalla), ja sain justiinsa sen verran metrejä kuin aioinkin. Kolmisäikeinen on tosi kauniin näköistä lankana, ja vyyhti on yllättävän kivaa neulottavaa, vaikka superwash-kuidut tuntuvatkin aika oudolta ja luonnottomalta kehrätä. Haluaisin nämä heti valmiiksi mutta nurkissa huutelee jo uusi ihanuus:
merinosilkki 607m
Nevermind the uneven plying, I still love this 2-ply 80% merino, 20% silk yarn. It's roughly laceweight, there are some 670 yards of this, and I have another 3 oz of it if I run out of yarn. I think the Swallowtail Shawl would look nice in these spring-like colors.

Ei haittaa vaikka kertaus ei aivan osunut nappiin, merino-silkki-sekoite on aina kaunista lankana. Sain 100 grammasta noin 607 metriä, sen pitäisi piisata keväiseen huiviin. Ja kaapissa on tätä vielä vähän lisää jos loppuu kesken.

The reason for this recent spinning mania (apart from avoiding things I should do) is that I have my wheel back. Sylvie is back!

Kehruuvimmaan on ihan oikea syy (muukin kuin Oikeiden Hommien välttely). Sylvie on takaisin kehruukunnossa!
sylvie finished
I thought I had some "before" pictures, but I can't find them. Anyway, Sylvie came to me last May, and she had some dents and scratches, and desperately needed new parts. Since then, I have replaced the driveband, brakeband, and both driveband and brakeband tension knobs. I also bought a new sliding hook flyer and a lace flyer, several bobbins, and a double-treadle kit. She really feels like a new wheel now, with all her new parts.

En löytänyt koneelta "ennen"-kuvia, vaikka otin ne kyllä. Joka tapauksessa, Sylvie tuli viime keväänä aika hurjan näköisenä meille, ja tiesin jo silloin että uutta pintaa ja uusia osia tarvitaan. Alkuperäisiä osia ei ole montaa, lähinnä kaikki tukirakenteet ja pyörä. Heti alkuun ostin uuden nyörin, jarrunyörin, molemmille nyöreille tapit, ja uusia rullia. Sittemmin olen hommannut uuden pitsilyhdyn, liukuvakoukkuisen (hieno sana, eikö?) lyhdyn, ja kaksoispoljinsysteemin. Ja kaikki kolinat ja kitinät on nyt poissa, ja Sylvie on kuin uusi rukki.
sylvie finished 2
And she looks like a new wheel, too. I took her completely apart, removed the 30-year old stain, sanded everything, and refinished her. And added some cherry blossoms too.

Sylvie myös näyttää uudelta. Otin ja hajotin Sylvien aivan osiin, poistin vanhan pinnan, hioin ja petsasin. Ennen lakkaa maalasin vielä vähän kirsikankukkia, jotka muuten kukkii just nyt.
sylvie detail front leg

sylvie detail back

sylvie detail front

I have spent hours and hours just playing with her. I really love the sliding hook flyer, it's so nice to use.

Viime aikoina olen oikeastaan istunut leikkimässä Sylvien kanssa. Uusi lyhty on parhautta, sitä on tosi mukava käyttää.
sylvie flyer and bobbin
Ashford owners will notice that's not an Ashford bobbin. I noticed the sliding hook flyer "arms" sit further apart than in the regular flyer, and I had a Majacraft bobbin (for the Pocket Wheel) sitting around. The Majacraft bobbins are the same length as the Ashford ones, but wider, and they have a bigger hole in them. I glued two washers to my Majacraft bobbin, and ta-da! Fits perfectly. Now I have big plying bobbins to go with the new flyer!

Ashfordien omistajat hoksinevat että kuvan rulla ei ole alkuperäinen Ashford. Se on itseasiassa Majacraft-rulla, hankin niitä 3 taskurukkia varten. Majacraftin rullat ovat samanmittaisia mutta leveämpiä kuin Ashfordit, ja normilyhtyyn ne eivät sovi. Tuossa liukuvakoukkuisessa nuo sivut ovat leveämmällä kuin normilyhdyssä, ja Majacraftin rulla sopii siihen kuin nakutettu (jahka lisää pienet prikat molempiin päihin, Majacraftin rullan aukko on isompi kuin Ashfordien). Aivan loistavia kertaamiseen, rullalle sopii melkein parisataa grammaa lankaa.

Here's a picture of the fiber I am spinning right now, some superwash merino and alpaca blend from Allspunup. Both I and Sylvie love this, and we're almost done with spinning it. Hopefully it'll make a pretty pair of socks.

Loppuun kuva rullalla olevasta villasta, Allspunupin merino-alpakka-sekoitusta. Sylvien kanssa ollaan tää melkein jo tahkottu valmiiksi, tästä tulee varmaan aika lystikäs sukkapari sitten joskus.
ASU merino-alpaca

Immediate Knitting

I had a pair of gloves. So far I have only needed one pair of gloves, for my daily use, but since I have used them quite a bit, there were some pilling issues, and finally, last week, a hole. The fabric was already quite worn so I decided I needed a new pair, at once. I even had the yarn in my stash, some hand dyed and handspun BFL. However, I wasn't sure the yarn would knit up nicely - the ball made the yarn look a touch dirty.

Mulla on ollu käytössä vain yksi ainoa pari hanskoja. Pari vuotta ne uskollisesti palvelivat, mutta olivat reppanat kovin kuluneet ja nyppyiset ja hiutuneet. Viime viikolla, peukunpäähän tuli vielä reikäkin, joten uudelle parille oli suorastaan välitön tarve. Lankaakin oli ihan kaapissa, joskaan en ollut aivan varma että millaista jälkeä tulee. Kerällä lanka näytti vähän suttuiselta ja oudosti likaiselta.
BFL hanskat 6
Happily, I was wrong.

Onneksi olin väärässä.
BFL hanskat 2
The gloves turned out quite nice, with subtle shades of blue, silvery gray and warm white.

Näistä tuli aika kivat, tykkään erityisesti sinisen ja hopean ja lämpimän valkoisen sävyistä.
BFL hanskat 5
The fit is quite snug, which is exactly what I wanted. Knitting them was fun, seeing the colors pop up, and the yarn is very soft. I used 62 grams (some 2.2 oz) and 240m (270 yards) of yarn for these on size #0 needles.

Kätöseen sopivat aika napakasti (mallikäsi on paljon pienempi kuin omani, siksi ne näyttää noin suurilta). Neulominen oli hauskaa, tosin lankojen päättelyssä vierähti Idols-jakson verran. Lanka sinänsä on tosi pehmoista, nurja puoli varsinkin on ihanan pörheä ja pehmeä. Lankaa meni 62 g ja noin 240 metriä kakkosen tikuilla.
BFL hanskat 3
I also finished spinning the gray Shetland wool you saw in my last post. It might be my favorite skein so far.

Sain Shetlannin villankin kehrättyä. Tämä vyyhti on ehkä viehkoin mitä on rukilta toistaiseksi tullut.
shetlanninvilla 6
It's thin, very very thin. Cobweb, even.

Ohuenohutta.
shetlanninvilla 5
There's 67 g or 2.4 oz of it, and I got 750 m or 833 yds of yarn. If this was a full 114g/4 oz skein, I might have gotten some 1300 m or 1450 yds of really fine yarn. I hope the 830 yds will be enough for a Shetland stole though, this was all of the fiber I found at my LYS. Although, I did buy some white Shetland wool from Paradise Fibers, I wanted to spin for a bigger rectangular shawl too. But before I tackle such a big project, I want to knit this!

Lankaa on noin 750m 67 grammassa, joten täysi sadan gramman vyyhti olisi ollut toista kilometriä, jos villaa vaan oisi ollut. Ostin kaikki mitä tätä lankakaupassa oli, mutta retkahdin netin houkutusten äärellä ja tilasin shetlantilaista vähän lisää, ihan oikean kokoiseen neliöhuiviin. Sitä ennen tikuttelen tämän kapeaksi huiviksi, toivottavasti lanka piisaa.
shetlanninvilla 7
And as Niina noticed, I made some labels for yarns that are spun or dyed here in the Lair. I started labeling my wool and yarn merely because after the fiber or yarn is lost to the depths of the Lair, no one remembers what it is or how much there is of it. So I needed labels, and I felt very crafty the other day so I made my own. And what I spin or dye for friends and swap pals, I label them too. And as I am so lazy as a spinner and dyer, these labels are definitely collectors items :D

Ja Niina hoksasi kuvista oikein, Luolalla on omia lappusia lankojen ja villojen merkkaamiseen. Aloin merkitä villojen ja lankojen koostumusta ihan siksi, että kun villa kerran katoaa Luolan mustiin nurkkiin, kukaan ei enää muista mitä se on tai paljonko sitä on, joten laput ovat tarpeen. Ja sitten reippaana hetkenä tein niitä läjän, että voin panna niitä omiin ja lahjaksi meneviin vyyhteihin ja villoihin. Nää on kyllä keräilyaarteita jos tämmöisen saa, kun olen niin hidas ja laiska värjäämään ja kehräämään :D

Soon, though, I can attach another label.

Pian, tosin, on taas uuden lapun aika.
keväistä merinosilkkiä

New Love

This is in English only as I feel very lazy today.

I have been spinning. I bought some Shetland wool, and it wanted to be spun. So I spun some.
shetlanninvilla 1
And even as the sun came out, I spun it.
shetlanninvilla 2
I fell in love with the coarse, but yet strangely soft fiber. The silver grey color, which has an unbelievable glow and warmth to it. The texture of the singles. I even love the little hairs poking out, even if they will be scratchy. And most of all, I love to spin this fiber. It's smooth and easy to spin, not sticky at all, and it just wants to be really, really fine.
shetlanninvilla 3
And yes, I do love looking at pictures of a spinning project in progress!
shetlanninvilla 4
I noticed the thread I spun looks a lot like the GGH Kid Melange I bought this weekend. I seem to have a thing for gray, which is quite alright now that the spring seems to be finally here and one can see other shades of color except only gray. And gray yarn never goes out of style. Right?
ggh kid melange
So did you notice? Did you see some odd bugs in there? Look closely, we have spiders in The Lair!
sukkalangat
Notice the spiders, nevermind the sock yarn I bought. (Ahem. Yes, another skein of sock yarn.) And yellow, of all things. Although technically, it's mustard-y, so not yellow at all. Right? (I have serious issues with yellow..)

The spiders, however. They're awfully cute! And they brought their cute little fox friend too! A friend of mine sent me this surprise from Finland, her MIL makes these cute little things. She was inspired by the spider logo of the Lair, so hence the two spiders. They're adorable! (Spiders are very adorable, with the exception being black widows which are just nasty. They're creepy, and make hundreds of babies behind your boiler and scare you out of your wits at 6am in the bathroom. Black widows are nasty.)
hämyrit ja kettu

I have been knitting my dad's sweater, which is now almost done. I still need to work on the sleeves but it's getting heavy and uncomfortable to knit. So I have been spinning.

First, green merinosilk became some very soft and squishy singles, which have a gorgeous glow to them when closely inspected.
vihreä merinosilkki
I spun the 4oz/110g top to some 478 yards of singles which average at sport weight.
vihreä merinosilkki kehrättynä

And after the purple merinosilk, which was some 640 yards, I tried to spin a little thicker yarn. I got 4 oz and 570 yards of this red beauty (but it isn't technically thick, it's light fingering weight). The original top had a lot of red, but some specks of silver popped out when spinning it. I liked the way it turned out!
punainen merinosilkki

Finally, Villa Lankala and Mari have awarded The Lair with the Kreativ Blogger award. Thank you girls! It means a lot to me to hear you like my blog! I can't forward this to anyone, there are so many great blogs out there. So I would like to give this to all of you who stop by at The Lair :)

Laminaria for a Friend

I dyed this.

Värjäsin.
lila merinosilkki
And spun it into this.

Kehräsin.
violetti vyyhti
And then knit it into this.

Neuloin.
laminaria 2
And found lace to be too difficult to photograph.

Havaitsin pitsin olevan kamalaa kuvattavaa.
laminaria 1
But the shawl is pretty.

Mutta huivi on viehko.
laminaria 3
It's Laminaria from Knitty, for a friend of mine. In September 2008, I ordered my Pocket Wheel and it was supposed to arrive before August 2009, but there were delays and it started to look it wouldn’t arrive by that date and would have to be shipped halfway across the world (which was a scary thought).

I dyed some merino-silk for this shawl, and it was the first skein I spun on the wheel. I got a decent amount of yards, and I had been wanting to knit the Laminaria Shawl since it was published, and luckily the yardage was enough for the smaller size. I gave the shawl to Karin to thank her for giving me her spot. The color was gorgeous on her :)

Huivi on Laminaria Knittystä. Neuloin sen ystävälle joka antoi oman paikkansa Pocket Wheel-jonotuslistalla minulle. Vyyhti on ensimmäinen taskurukilla kehrätty. Tykkäsin neuloa huivia, reunakuvio oli vähän omituinen mutta kokonaisuutena huivi on aika viehko. Tein täsmälleen pienen huivin ohjeella, mutta lankaa meni oudosti enempi. Värit sopivat huiviin ja saajalle hyvin, ja saaja tykkäsi huivista kovasti :)