Plying

I've got my first bobbin plied!  This is the Malabrigo Cloud fiber in Aniversario.  I showed you the singles earlier this week.  In the singles there are some very dark shades and some very pale tones.  The plying bringss those extremes visually more to the medium portion of the spectrum.  There's still a lot going on with the various hues, but Aniversario is a pretty busy colorway.  I'm thrilled with how this is looking so far!  I have to give credit to Obi as well because he decided to lay in my lap while I plied.  I spin on the sofa, so he climbed up next to me and put his head in my lap.  Apparently treadling is soothing to giant Labradors because he fell asleep there and wasn't even bothered when I'd pause to change hooks on the flyer.

Hopefully I can get more done this weekend.  I know from experience not to spin while I watch Formula 1 (I treadle too fast!), but I think I can spin during the two final World Cup games.  I'm not really emotionally invested in any of the teams so I'll see how it goes.

Of course, as I'm plying my brain is thinking about what to spin next.  I'm thinking about a smaller project, but I'm really not sure what yet.  I'll have to go through the stash to decide.  I'm sure Mr. Noodle will be happy to help select some fiber!  Have a great weekend! 

You Can Never Have Enough Hats, Gloves, and Shoes

I'm making a new hat.  For Caleb, who has many hats, but as his mother I remain concerned that he might get cold.  So, another hat.  This one will go in his stocking at Christmas.  

It's another Musselburgh (great hat pattern, this is my fifth one) in fingering weight yarn (which is plenty warm for Texas).  This is Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball Crazy in 1535 Stone Washed.  It ranges from dark navy, all the way to a light denim color, which I thought would work with Caleb's navy jackets.  He doesn't technically have a coat.  When things get coat worthy here, we layer.  It's usually only for 72 hours or so.

Yes, we live in a region that doesn't require a coat, but I still get concerned enough about keeping my son warm that he must have wool hats!  Many, many hats!  I never claimed to be quite right in the head! 

Spinning!

It has definitely been a minute or two since I've done any spinning!  This is 16 ounces of Malabrigo Cloud fiber (100% Superwash Merino) in Aniversario.  I divided it evenly by weight over six bobbins for the singles, which were spun on my Schacht Flatiron.  This project was begun in March of 2023 and I got five bobbins of single spun that year, and a very tiny bit started on the last bobbin.  Then life happened and I put it away.  I'm pretty sure I didn't spin at all in 2025 and 2025.

Last week I got out the tent* and brought down the wheel and the fiber.  Thank heavens for muscle memory, because my hands knew what to do, and I had notes to verify ratios and wraps per inch.  Over the last few days I've been re-acquainting myself with the wheel and I finished spinning the last bobbin of singles for this project.  I'm going to start plying this week (leaving the final bobbin to settle its twist for a couple more days).  My goal for this fiber is a three ply, fingering weight yarn with enough yardage for a sweater.

*Mr. Noodle has an obsession with wool, so if the spinning wheel is downstairs, it has to live in a tent.  Yes, we have a small tent set up inside the formal dining room right now.  The tent protects the spinning wheel and the fiber from the cat (and the cat from the fiber, because he does like to eat it, and boy is that an expensive day at the vet's!)  Fortunately, Mr. Noodle isn't offended by the tent, he plays on it, and under it, and inside it when I have everything out of it for spinning.  He's adaptable! 

A Little Palatte Cleanser

The last two weeks were Spirit Week at Eat.Sleep.Knit (it's usually just one week, but they gave us a second week to finish the mascots).  I decided to make a mascot stuffie partway through, so here is Confetti, the balloon dog!  (I'm in the Puppy Floats Team.)

The pattern is Snooker the Balloon Dog, and he's knit and then folded together just like an actual balloon dog!  I used Malabrigo Sock in the Parade colorway.  It takes less than 50 yards.  The knitting is easy, but there are some fiddly parts because you need to knit it tightly so the stuffing doesn't come out.  The directions are clear, and I would absolutely make another one at some point. 

Still Sweatering

My Kuffel pullover has been patiently waiting for me, and I've finally gotten back to it!  I was in the place where the sleeves were about to be separated from the body and the final colorwork section was about to begin and I knew there would be counting and Things That Needed My Full Attention, and I just kept putting it off.  It was easier to grab my other projects than to figure things out with this pullover.  Also, it's an oversized, worsted weight, stranded pullover - it's a little warm to sit under in Texas in June.

Anyway, I did finally take the time to work through everything and it wasn't as bad in reality as I had made it out to be in my head.  The pattern is very well written, and I did have to pay attention, and it did take some time to get through all of that, but I'm on my way again now!  Like all top down sweaters, getting the sleeve stitches on stitch holders so I can just work on the body means each round feels so much faster than before.  

I hope you all have a great weekend!  I'm hoping to finish this last colorwork section (of the body, I'll still have to work it on the sleeves). 

Hexagon Update

I am moving right along with my hexagons for my scrappy English Paper Pieced quilt.  I have 450 basted hexagons now!  I don't know for sure how many I will need for a lap quilt, but I'm guessing 1500-2000.  I don't think that's going to be an issue.  This began as a way to use up quilting scraps and I was inspired by the Buttonbox Throw blanket that I finished at the first of the year.  I had so much fun using up leftover sock yarn scraps, I decided to start another scrap sock yarn blanket (the Virus blanket), and decided to start this English Paper Piecing quilt to put a dent in my quilting fabric scraps.

Initially my plan was to get some hexagons basted (they're basted around die cut, cardstock hexagons so they're all the same size), and then sew them together, and then baste some more, and so on.  I realized that that would mean the different fabrics wouldn't be scattered around the quilt if I did it that way.  So the current plan is to keep basting until I run out of scraps (I have a tote filled with them and I'm just cutting them in batches as I go).  Once they're all basted, I'll toss them into a bag or something and mix them all up before I start sewing them together.  I'm stacking them in a plastic organizer box in rows of 150 in the meantime.  I'm not fussy cutting any of the scraps, but I did end up with a bear on one of them! 

It's Getting Bigger!

My little Virus Blanket made of scraps is moving right along!  It's just eating up these leftovers and I'm really happy with the way it looks.  Working in fingering weight scraps means it's not growing very quickly, but this wasn't started as a project I need to finish quickly.  I started it to get sock leftovers under control and have something pretty when I'm done.  The pattern is easy to work (the video included with the free pattern is very helpful for clearing up anything that isn't quite clear in the written pattern), and easy to memorize.  Since I'm working with leftovers, I just join the next color wherever the previous color runs out.  As I've got kind of a fade going, it's not super obvious where I switch, and I'm able to use every inch of my yarns. 

Since I last blogged about this project, I've added Three Irish Girls Adorn Luxe in My Cherie Amour and I'm now crocheting with Farmer's Daughter Fibers Rocky Mountain Purls in Strawberry Shortcake. I've got two more yarns planned for this, and I might or might not use a darker color for the very end, just so the edges aren't white, but I haven't decided yet.

Have a great weekend, and stay hydrated!