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!

While Visiting My Mom

 Over the weekend I managed to finish up the spinning I had been working on - well, at least the first spin.

I did get more consistent as I went, which I know will come with practice.  It's still not as nice as I would like it to be, but overall I think it's OK.  I can't wait to see what it's like after I ply it.

I was working on the spinning a lot while I was visiting my mom in the hospital.  I had some of the nurses and a couple of my mom's room mates ask what I was doing, and even had some comments on how much it looked like cotton candy.  I agreed. It's probably a good thing it isn't cotton candy, though. I'd probably have it all eaten up before it got anywhere close to spinning...

What you see behind the spindle is Northern Lights Wool Top, dyed.  It doesn't have a colour listed on it, but I thought it looked pretty.  That's what I plan on trying to spin next.

To the right, and below, is the newest knitting project I've begun, also while visiting my mom in the hospital.  I only  have about three repeats of the pattern completed so far.

The pattern is the Twisted Rib Neckwarmer, (super easy, btw) which I got free when I purchased the yarn (Clara by Manos Del Uruguay in the 5 Sandia colourway).  This yarn is a single ply, a merino superwash, and is so soft!  I am enjoying working with it so far.  I can't wait to see this pattern completely finished as I think it will be lovely in this colourway.

So, that's what I've been working on lately.  What projects have you been working on? Have you used the Clara yarn by Manos Del Uruguay before, and if so, what did you think of it?  Would love to see links to pictures of your completed projects using this yarn (or this pattern).

Happy knitting!