I recently started cross stitching because it’s too hot for knitting and spinning does not travel so well. I’m happy with the results so far, but I really have no idea what I’m doing. I remember that I learned the basic concept of cross stitch when I was in preschool. We used to use use gingham and big blunt needles. I think I’m patient now, and have more appreciation for the irony of cross stitch pixel art.

From: Corgi Hill Farms (etsy)
Fiber: Merino, Silk, Firestar
Ply: 2ply
Approx. Yardage: 121yds

From: Corgi Hill Farms (etsy)
Fiber: 50% Merino, 25% Cashmere, 25% Silk and a bit of Firestar
Ply: 2ply
Approx. Yardage: 243yds

I bought these two batts from Corgi Hill Farms on Etsy. I can’t really recommend the seller because both the bats had large clumps of Firestar and silk that just refused to spin smoothly. The green one is super soft though and very cuddly. I wish it was more my color.

From: Rogue Adventures (etsy)
Fiber: 100% Polwarth
Ply: Single
Approx. Yardage: 286yds (over two equal-ish skeins)

First time spinning polwarth and what a lovely fiber. It’s so squishy and soft and bouncy. The roving was kind of matted from being dyed in the braid, but after some predrafting it spun great.

From: Crown Mountain Farms
Fiber: 100% Superwash Merino
Ply: 3ply, navajo
Approx. Yardage: 220yds

I bought this roving last year and spun half of it. Then I moved to Japan and didn’t have a wheel for eight months. I had it sent over and immediately started spinning. I love the colors, but I have no idea what I would make with it. This is one of my first navajo plied yarns, and I’m really happy with how the colors came out.

I bought a Louet Victoria (S95) spinning wheel with my tax return and after six weeks of waiting for it to arrive on the slow boat from Europe I can say it suits me very well. One of the first fibers I spun on it was from RogueAdventures on Etsy. The merino fiber was dyed in the braid, and required a ton of predrafting to get it ready to spin. I can’t say I recommend the seller, but I wouldn’t discourage buying from them either. Once it was loosened up, I had no plan. I just spun and spun and spun, then two plied it and ended up with a thickish lace weight. No idea what the yardage was either.

The yarn sat for about a month and then I started knitting it into the Citron from Knitty.

I love the way this turned out. The ruffles are so cute and though it’s a bit stripy, but not too stripy. It’s also a fantastic size, that’s perfect for wrapping around your neck and shoulders, and the thickness is perfect. There are some helpful notes on Ravelry on expanding the design past the written five sections, so I added two more. In the end I think I used all but a few yards of my yarn, so I’m quite quite happy.

I don’t think I’ll knit this again anytime soon. It’s fun and easy, but kind of tedious, and I really don’t like the way the pattern is written. I’m strongly of the opinion that now that we have computers and copy and paste, no pattern should every say “work blah blah rows as bleh bleh rows” just write the damn thing out! I really really don’t understand how a notation like that makes pattern writing or knitting any easier. End rant.

Hemlock Ring Blanket!

Status: Done! Knit in two weeks at the beginning of February.
Yarn/needle size: Cascade Eco Wool/US 10.5
Comments: Love, love, love this blanket, but I’m a little concerned with how ripply it still is after blocking. I’m giving it to my cousin and her fiance for their wedding, and they’re not knitters so just telling them to block it doesn’t really work. Oh well, I have till May to figure it out. As for the pattern, it’s ok. I’m not in love with the mishmash of vintage book, and Brooklyn Tweed chart and randomness. It went together easy enough though, and I would not call this hard.

Jaywalker Socks! (On Ravelry)

Status: Done! Started in early January and Knit through part of February.
Yarn/needle size: Regia Crazy Colors 4ply/US size 1 dpns
Comments: My first real socks. I don’t have much to say other then they feel great and I need to knit more socks.

Swatch (from This pattern)

Status: Ummm, It’s a swatch. It’s done I guess.
Yarn/needle size: Hand spun from Crown Mountain Farms/US size 5
Comments: I knit this as a swatch for a shawl that I wanted to give to a woman in Japan. Unfortunately when I actually starting knitting the full sized piece it turned out super stripey and I hated it. I ripped the whole thing out and started it over as a Clapotis. I really like the way the swatch looks though, so I’m saving it. Here’s how the shawl was starting to look but I didn’t take any pictures of the stripey horror.

Boyfriend Socks for the Boyfriend

I’m going to try to finish these before I leave for Japan.

That’s all the recent stuff. Whoo!

It’s in decent shape, and may date back to the 70s. I still need to spruce it up a little but as things stand it works well enough to spin, and boy have I been spinning. If I was doing the other kind of spinning I would have lost 20lbs and developed a huge muscular butt! The yarn has turned out ok so far, and I’ll have pictures after it’s done drying.

Here is my next project, it’s for a spin along on Ravelry:

That’s half a pound of super wash merino from Crown Mountain Farms. I spun a little of it and am pretty happy with the results.

If you can’t tell, I’m obsessed with yarn.