Stopover is done!

Hurray for Stopover!

Sometimes it all comes together.  Amanda brought home delicious Lettlopi yarn for me from her recent trip to Iceland.  I was intrigued by the 600-plus knitters who have already produced such beautiful, individual versions of Mary Jane Mucklestone's genius pattern.  I was also happy to use size 10 1/2 needles after focusing for a long time on smaller needles and sock weight yarns.
Result?  I banged out my Stopover in one week!  And it fits and satisfies!

The pattern is well thought out and includes just the right balance of straightforward stockinette with stranded color and yoke techniques.  I made a few modifications.  I did the sleeves flat instead of in the round (because I didn't feel like getting the right size DP needles).  I added an inch or so to the length.  I also finished the underarm with three needle bind off (which looks great).  Since my gauge was a little off and since I wanted a little bit more ease, I knitted one size up.
Knitting Stopover was amazing.

Now what should I knit?  Aside from the tons of other half-finished WIPs that is.....

-Chee Mee

Weekly Spin

Spinning is my new obsession ever since I learned at Webs. I love it so much I decided to start posting a "weekly spin" entry so you can see a little more of my process as it progresses.

This week I'm focusing on the amazing fiber from Nistock Farms in upstate New York.  I'm plying together charcoal and buttermilk colorways to form a chunky weight yarn.  The charcoal is my favorite (mostly Cotwold fiber) from the Nistock Farms sheep.  So happy with how this yarn is turning out.  It's truly a pleasure to spin and flows perfectly and effortlessly through my fingers.  Hands down my favorite fiber thus far!

Above you can see the small swatch I knit up on size 13 needles.  I love the looser knit look but I'm sure it will bloom and full up once it's washed in a warm Eucalan bath... but I'm getting ahead of myself.  I'm excited to improvise a bottom up sweater from the finished spun yarn (my mom is going to teach me how to improvise a pattern).  It will be supremely satisfying to see the whole process through, from the beautiful roving to the finished garment.

- Amanda

Goldenrod Part II

Before I left for Iceland I was able to finish knitting a short shrug cardigan using my handspun goldenrod dyed yarn!  It was an extremely fast knit that I would recommend. I used the Kaya Cropped Shrug pattern in small.  If I use this pattern again I will definitely size up to medium or large to get a more boxy fit.  Unfortunately I wasn't sure if I had enough yarn this time so I went with the small.  I still like it a lot but it's...fitted haha.

Currently still organizing my ICELAND photos so I will post those very soon... what an amazing trip.

PS: I was finally able to upload photos of all the sweaters my mom has knit over the years (and even a few of mine). Check them out on our ravelry profile: muslinmezzotint

-Amanda

#WIP Stopover

Amanda just returned from camping (!) in Iceland.  She brought back a ton of photos and experiences which she will share shortly.  For now I wanted to share the super Lettlopi yarn that she brought back for me to make Mary Jane Mucklestone's brilliant Stopover pullover.  I am about seven months late to the famous Mason Dixon Stopover KAL marathon where hoards of great knitters "banged" out hundreds of Stopovers" in every color combination imaginable.  I was still working then and still relatively new to the Ravelry phenomenon so my head was not in the right place.  Thanks to Amanda I can finally make my first Stopover - and with hand delivered Lettlopi!  How cool is that?

So despite the fact that I am in the midst of about four WIP (I am finally using Ravelry-speak), I cast on for Stopover yesterday and ended the day having completed six inches.  The stuff practically flies off the needles!  Maybe I can finish by this weekend.

-Chee Mee

Goldenrod Part I

Time to naturally dye that hand spun yarn I mentioned last post!  Goldenrod flowers were gathered from the front yard.  According to Jenny Dean  and her book Wild Color, the ratio of flowers to wool should be .5:1 or 1:1 for a stronger color.  I probably used .75:1 and mordanted with 8% alum sulfate and 7% cream of tartar for an hour.  Meanwhile I simmered the flowers in water for an hour and then strained the liquid. Then I added the mordanted fiber to the dye liquor and simmered that for an hour, then let it sit overnight, rinsed, then air dried.

As you can tell, it's a lot of work but it's really worth it to gather or grow your own dyestuffs. It's kind of like the farm to table food movement... but for knitting. I'm currently trying to grow marigolds and coreopsis as well. Coming up: photos of the finished knit goldenrod sweater!

-Amanda