So, it is time to reveal the scarf that I made. Yes! I received words this morning that it had arrived safely at Katherine’s. Phew! When you mail something one-of-a-kind, good or bad, there’s a fear that it might get lost somewhere along the way. Now I can relax a little. As for how she likes it, you gonna have to read it on her blog.

Here’s the story. (Did you read Ted’s Fiber to Scarf post?) Katherine sent Ted about 8 oz of dyed Polwarth fiber. (Sorry, I lost the post draft when I moved my blog to the current address. Trying my best to recollect details.) Randomly, Ted picked me to spin and knit a scarf for her. I was only given the info of the fiber (which she bought in New Hamburg, Ontario), and the person’s gender that the scarf will be for. So I thought I wanted something lacy for a lady. But I don’t want it too airy with too many holes, either. So I picked Liesel and started spinning the yarn with this pattern in mind. I aimed for a Worsted weight so that the scarf would feel more substantial. I also wanted it to be more woolen than worsted. I used a drafting style that I would call semi-worsted. The yarn turned out quite soft and bouncy. It’s about 12-13 wpi, DK weight. Over 800 yards I think. Lost that bit of info in that post draft.

After a few inches into knitting Liesel, I found it still too lacy to my liking. So I looked through the backup plans and decided on Brooke’s Column of Leaves. I chose to work on a pair of Clover bamboo straight needles, US size 7. I quite like the finished scarf. Still soft and bouncy, and it drapes really well. I stopped knitting at about 74″. It blocked out to be about 88″ or 89″. (Lucky numbers!) I didn’t use pins because I didn’t want it to stretch out too much and become… too lacy. I spread the scarf out on the blocking tiles and just let it bounce back a little when drying.

Polwarth is super luxurious. It has a micron count of 26-21. According to the book In Sheep’s Clothing, Polwarth fiber is suitable for use in baby clothing. Now that is soft! Does anyone have a good source for Polwarth? I really want some for myself. The book also says that the yarn is best spun worsted or worsted-type technique for durability. Does semi-worsted count? Oh, what do I know. I am really only a beginning spinner. This is actually my first knitted project with something I spun. I think a lot of luck was involved.

I took some progress photos along the way. Here are some of them:

Well, that’s pretty much what I did in the last few months with all that family and work issues. What’s next?

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Yesterday was a beautiful day for outdoor fun. A perfect day for Dye Fest. Sitting under the trees on a bright sunny day, carding and chitchatting away. I could almost take a nap, too. Thanks to Garen, who opens up her home to host Dye Fest year after year. (She has a beautiful, spacious American Craftsman Style home with lots of big trees outside.) I don’t know how she does it. I would be a nervous wreck!

Unfortunately, the mini dye classes didn’t happen. That didn’t stop the fun, though. There were dye already mixed. There were steaming baskets and dye pots, both natural and chemical. And there were plenty of experts there. People just went at it. I ended up not doing any dyeing at all. (Yes Chris, that means the Shetland and BFL are safe. ) I wanted to do a more controlled experiment and thought I’d take up too much time and space. So, I just watched and tried to pick up as many ideas as I could. I also spent a lot of time carding cotton.

Not sure if I mentioned this. I was given bags and bags of unginned cotton about a year ago. I took some to Garen’s house to try carding them. The carding went well. I was beginning to get the feel for it. But I think I might have to let go of the cotton that I have. It’s filled with bits and pieces of crushed cotton bur. My guess is that it was machine harvested and the burs were crushed in the process. Carding did not take them out. I had to pick them out by hand a little bit at a time. Too time consuming. They may fall off when spun. But I think I’ll just get more CLEAN cotton to play with. I really do enjoy carding and making punis. One day I’ll have some cotton plants, too. Here’s a photo of the punis I made. Note the dirty bits:

I’ll be looking for takli spindles to buy. I tried spinning cotton with a small support spindle. Taklis will make plying easier. Just need to have something that will hold several spindles. I think I know just the person to ask to make one.

Below are some photos of Dye Fest. More can be found here.

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Yes I am! A package arrived last Friday, all the way from Canada. It was a scarf. And it was from Ted, aka Knitterguy. Bwah-ha-ha-ha! Oops. Was that a triumphal laugh, or an evil laugh??? Seriously, I am not bragging. It is just that it felt like winning the lottery, hitting the jackpot. I’ve been in awe of Ted’s knitting and spinning skills ever since I met him online. Now to receive a scarf that’s both spun and knitted by Ted. Bwah-ha-ha-ha! Oops. Here I go again. But it feels great!

I think that I can blog about this. I am not giving anything away. The person that I spun and knitted a scarf for already knows that it’s on its way. So there’s no secret there. And anyway, I am only talking about MY, all mine, scarf. Bwah-ha-ha-ha! (Are you tired of that?)

Ted started this Fiber to Scarf Exchange 2008 in January. It was very hush hush. No one knew who else was participating. No one was suppose to blog about it online. Everyone sent in enough fiber for a scarf to Ted, he then randomly selected a participant to spin and knit the scarf. We got minimum info on whom we were making a scarf for. The identity of the recipient was revealed only after the scarf was done. (See his rules page for more rules if you are curious.)

I sent in 8 oz of Ashland Bay Mulit-colored Merino Top in Sandalwood and got back a beautiful scarf:

The pattern is Campus from the book Scarf Style. Very guy-friendly I think. It is soft, springy. Drapes really well. The color is a nice warm brown. Is it winter, yet? The yarn that he spun is so fine. I’ll post a picture to show a comparison of his yarn to the one I spun when I post about my work. For now you can read about MY scarf on his blog here and here. I was going to model the scarf myself. But the weather has been very very warm. So I used one of CB’s sculptures instead.

Needless to say, this scarf has instantly become one of my treasured possessions.

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My order from Spunky Eclectic came earlier this week. The box wasn’t particular large. But it contained pounds of wool that I had been anxiously waiting for. I am quite happy with the quality.

The above is 4 oz of Galaxy Series, hand-painted natural colored Blue-Faced Leicester wool. Colorway Saturn. The colors are wonderful. Exactly what I was hoping for. Can you guess what I want to do with it? Morning Surf. Yes, I love that scarf! I think 4 oz is enough. I just don’t know when I’ll start this project. It is getting so warm here in So. Cal.

The above is 8 oz of naturally colored Blue-Faced Leicester wool. It’s considered a dark color by the vendor. From the book In Sheep’s Clothing, Blue-Faced Leicester wool is a good choice for strong and smooth fabric. Staple length 3-6 inches. It’s micron count is 28-24. Not as fine as Merino. I’ll have to do the next-to-the-skin test. Is there a good method? I might take this to -Dye Fest. Yes, I am going! Yay! Now I have to figure out the colors that I want to try.

Above is one pound of Black Shetland wool. The color is more dark chocolate than pure black. I wonder if I’ll get a ‘raven-like’ effect when I dye this at Dye Fest. Shetland has a micron count of 30-23. Staple length 2-5 inches.

Above is one pound of gray Icelandic wool. A really nice silvery gray. Feels a bit scratchy. My guess is that it has both the outer and inner coat fiber. I am not sure. I’ll have to handle it more to see. And you know I will. It’s micron count is 31-28 for outercoat, 22-19 for undercoat. Staple length is 4-10 inches for outercoat, 2-3 inches for undercoat. The book says that the if spun softly, the fiber from both coats can be used together for garments. This really needs planning. Anyone has any suggestion? I might take this to Dye Fest, too.

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Photo from Summer 2008 issue of Spin•off

Creator: Smoking Hot Needles (Monika)
Fiber: Merino/Tencel, colorway ‘Aspen’, from Spunky Eclectic
Pattern: Morning Surf
Read the creator’s original blog post

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this scarf. It’s featured in the latest issue of Spin•off. The article presented several finished spin-to-knit scarves using the same pattern, Morning Surf. This one is my favorite. The pattern, the colors just work together very nicely. Plus the knitting is fabulous! I want one! The pattern is free. I just need to find the right fiber to spin. Oh, and time. ha ha ha

Other news. I talked to my sister in Taiwan. We are going to continue the effort of completing the hotel unless there’s a serious buyer. This means that I will most likely go to China very soon. IF there’s a serious buying interest before July, I’d be able to escape the trip. Crossing my fingers.

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Tomorrow is GLASG’s May meeting, and… HOLY SMOKES! I forgot to post last month’s photos. And, it was such a fun, colorful event that I just have to get a few pictures up.

We had a “Kitchen Sink Batt” class with Janel. We carded scraps of leftover fiber together into colorful batts to be spun into unique yarn. (I’d bet there will be a lot of interesting yarn in tomorrow’s show and tell.) Guild members brought in their drum carders to share with the whole group. People donated TONS of fiber for the class. It was so much fun. And so much fiber! But it also fed my desire of owning my own drum carder. Tempting, tempting, tempting!!!

See more photos here.

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Last Saturday was the monthly GLASG meeting. We had our usual meeting and show and tell. Plus, Randall gave an introduction to spinning wheel mechanics. I should have listened carefully and learn a few things. But I was spinning with a drop spindle and was so focused that I didn’t hear most of it. Sorry Randall.

We had lots of beautiful show and tell items:

Do you see something familiar? Well, it’s probably hard to tell, but that’s the Hugger in the middle of things. Aren’t these a colorful bunch?

Here’s Dorothy showing off her needle felting jacket.

Jerry showing off his second finished skein of hand spun:

More amazing items:

See more pictures here. Next post, a very long, but very wonderful day at the temple.

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