You Spin Me Right Round, Baby

Hand spun yarn on a PVC pipe niddy noddy

Waiting to be plied 

Recently I ordered a niddy noddy from a shop on Etsy called La Tea Da Designs.  It's made from PVC pipe and is fully submersible in water.

You can see some of my latest hand spun yarn prior to soaking it.  I found out after I tied the skein that I did that wrong.  You're supposed to do a figure 8 tie on it, but I only found that out after I'd already tied my skein.  At least I know for next time!  I have since removed the yarn and I'm looking for a pattern to knit up my first real skein of hand spun yarn.  I only have about 90 yards so I can't make anything too big.  I was thinking of maybe a small cowl or a small scarf, but I don't know yet.

The yarn to the right is just a single of merino. It's so soft!  I spun this before the yarn above and I am going to ply it with more yarn that I spin later.  I don't have any more of the yellow, but I was thinking of plying it with a bright green or cream colour.

My spinning is getting much better as I practice (I think that's the key).  I still get a few thicker pieces here and there, but they aren't nearly as thick as they used to be.  The yarn I'm spinning currently (not shown) has an even more consistent spin to it.  I'll post a picture when I get it plied, which will probably be in a few days after I let it rest.

I also ordered some fibre from another shop on Etsy called Fashion Touch Supplies.  It came yesterday and I haven't had a chance to upload the photo (it is on my Instagram though.  The colour isn't something I'd normally choose, but I decided to branch out and expand my colour horizons!  I'm looking forward to spinning that and can't wait to see how it turns out.

Well, that's my latest update. I hope you have a great day, and happy knitting/spinning!

The Post With Actual Knitting Content

 I've been meaning to post a photo of the neck warmer I had been working on for awhile now.  I finally finished it a week or so ago (still not blocked though), and I think it turned out great.  I don't have a photo with it around my neck because it's been so stinkin' hot around here lately.

To the right is a close up of the pattern (there are mistakes in it, so don't look too closely) which I got free when I bought the yarn earlier in the summer.  I'll try to get a link to the pattern as I think it was something they found online.  The yarn is Clara from Manos del Uruguay and is 100% merino - super soft and smooshy! I loved working with this yarn!

I've also been working on my Old Shale scarf which I started back around the beginning of the year.  I'm using Debbie Bliss Angel Prints in the Kahlo colourway (#15807).  This pattern is super easy to knit (another free one with the purchase of the yarn) and I am enjoying the way it looks with this yarn.

The only thing about this yarn is that it is so fine that I can really only knit with it during the day (the light at my mom's isn't the best for this type of knitting) - and that's usually only when I'm not in the mood for knitting or surfing the web!

I don't have a lot left on the Old Shale scarf and I probably should have gotten another ball of this colour to make it long.  However, I suppose I could end up sewing the ends together and turning it into a cowl  -thought I don't now how well that would turn out.  I do have another ball of this yarn in a different colourway but I haven't decided if I'll make another scarf in this pattern or find a different pattern.

Close up of the pattern and yarn

I've also been continuing with my spinning lately and will have a post with that content soon.  I'm also in search of the next knitting pattern to do while I'm at my mom's.  I don't know if I have any DPNs here so I can make socks (I did bring sock yarn thinking I might have the DPNs here, but haven't looked yet).  Since I joined Instagram (my name there is shelley.snyder) I've been seeing so many pictures and posts about socks that I'm getting in the sock knitting mood again!

So, until the next post, happy knitting and spinning!