Cast-ons with multi yarns

Going through my stash of hand-spun yarns.
Several dyed and undyed hanks and balls in several places.
Plan is to bring them all together and see what they "want to be".

They are selected to participate in a striped floor mat:

Some for fingerless mitts:

This is a small amount (about 57 gas) of lumpy-bumpy yarn I spun using a silver thread plied with a blend of my sheep wall and some Angora rabbit fibre. It feels pretty nice but it is quite thin so I tested several stitch types to get one that would add bulk to the fabric and went for a slip-stitch pattern I found (above) in an old magazine.
There is not enough for two full mitts so the ribs, top and bottom, will be knit from some another remnant of arty-type wool which is hanging around looking for a home.

Like so much else, here TO BE CONTINUED

Cat's Paw lace knit

Using a lace-weight single  I spun from one of my sheep fleece, I cast on to knit the Cats Paw pattern.
This is a traditional Shetland knitting pattern which is fairly easy to master.

After soaking, I pinned it out to block dry it.

As can be seen, it is not very big - 30 cm wide by 78 cm long. 

I've not decided which of three possible uses to put it to: a neck warmer, a table runner, both of which need a lining or to mount it as a wall hanging.

Christmassy little tote bag

Used up several Christmassy coloured remenants of my hand-spun and hand-dyed yards - I hate to throw them out even if there is not enough for a hat or mat (my usual knitted items).

For the shoulder strap, I warped the rigid heddle,10 dent, with singles - knowing I would not be to use the heddle to beat them and they would fray. Used a little plastic ruler to press the wefts down. Two of the warps did fall apart but I have no problem fixing that with another length of yearn. The hardest part was actually passing the weft as that is a very thin yarn, so thin I had to use it doubled and pass it twice for each pick, wrapping it around the outer warp yarn before returning. This worked OK and I like the resulting strap - I like these straps so much that I wish I had an excuse to make more.

I got a remnant of silky curtain material from "Material World" in Athlone, The assistant there was very good and didn't make me feel like a bigger when I bought just 2 Euros work of remnant instead of a large order of her beautiful materials.

The knitting pattern was fairly easy, with slip-stitch rather than fair isle and is based on XXXXXXXX' pattern (I'll add the right name later).

Bag is 8"deep, 11.5" wide and hangs down about 21" shoulder to hip

Long narrow stripy yarn-memory scarf

I' loath to discard the small amounts of hand-spun and hand-dyed yarns I have left over from various projects.
SO, I knit them into long, long narrow stripy scarves such as this one below, which is 7ft 7 inches/231 cm long and only 3 - 4 inches/7.5 - 10 cm wide.
Worn doubled, it is so warm and neat and the different bars on it remind me of the fibres I spun e.f. Wensleydale sheep fleece, grey and white alpaca, my own buxom wellies and the soft light orange-brown doggydown from my red Border Collie.

HiggeldyPiggeldy Hothead Hat

From my multicolour yarn, I've made an HiggeldyPiggeldy Hothead hat.

I quite like how it came out - squishy, warm and textured.

Details of the simple pattern below.

PATTERN

HiggeldyPiggeldy Hothead Hat

Yarn weighed 107 grams (3.7oz)  and the hat weighed 86 grams (3 oz), leaving enough for a small bobble if required

Yarn weight was 8 wraps per inch, 

Needles: 5 mm circular, 20 inches long or more

Yarn weight: Aran weight, 8 wraps / inch or per 2.54 cm

KNITTING

Cast On: 80 stitches leaving a 4 inch tail

Using 2 X 2 rib (k2, P2) repeat, work 2 rows flat

3rd row, join in the round and continue k2, p2 rib until the work measures

8 - 8.5 inches.

Begin decrease rows for the crown:

1. (K2 p2 together) repeat to the end
2. (k2 p1) repeat to the end
3. (k2 together, p1) repeat to the end
4. (k1 p1) repeat to end
5. (k2 together, p2 together) repeat to the end
6. (k1 p1) repeat to the end
7. (k2 together p2 together) repeat to the end

10 stitches remain

Break threat, leaving a tail.

Thread yarn on big-eyed needle and pass through the stitches and pull to close the gap

fasten off, weave in the ends and seam firs 2 rows using the needle and the cast-on tail.

This is a stretchy hat which should fit a good range of head sizes and the brim can be folded up to suit the wearer.

Oval Mat - "Carnival" - finished

Finished this garter stitch oval mat.
It is very "primary colours" and reminds me of Carnivals and clowns.
It measures 80 cm on the longer side, from tip to tip and 63 cm on the narrower side.
It weighs 562 grams.
It is very hand-spun looking - which is appropriate as it IS hand-spun and hand-dyed too.

 Quite like this one :0.

Multicolor batt

I planned to visit Moat agricultural show August to spin along with another sinner, Grainne, as an exhibit there.
I decided to have some fun with a multi-coloured batt to spin on my Traveler wheel so I took out some of the ends of coloured fibre I had stashed for some time.

The plan is to from-card the misty grey stiff with smaller amounts of other colours and spin one spool then to spin longer stretches of solid colours and ply the two together (60 gas on each spool).

I did get the multi-colour batt spun at the show and half of the solid ones. I'll continue on to the plying stage then add some more photos.

COLORS TO MIX WITH THE MISTY GREY FIBERS

AFTER THE FIRST PASS ON THE DRUM

AFTER TH SECOND PASS ON THE DRUM

 I didn't want more passes as the colours might mix and I would have mud colour

Craggauowen visit '18

Really enjoyed my visit to Craggauowen heritage site yesterday.
It was held in the castle for fear of rain - 'though it did not rain at all that afternoon there.

Plenty of visitors, spinning wheels, fleece and yarn crafts there and glad to meet other frequent fibre event attendees again.

Some photos:

WHEEL TALK

HAND-SPU HANKS

A GOOD DISPLAY OF FLEECE FROM DIFFERENT SHEEP TYPES

LIZ'S BLISS SPINNING WHEEL

NATUREL DYES

SPRANG

VERY LOVELY WOVEN RIBBINS MADE WITH A BASIC HEDDLE 

WHEN IN USE, TIED BETWEEN BODY AND A POST AND SHEDS MADE BY LIFING AND LOWERING HEDDLE

Also, I re-discovered how to spin with the stick-spinner I got from Ehe Feral Spinner while at the Roscommon fair this year. Thanks for reminding me Lindy - I tend to forget as I kinda can't believe it works - even when it does :).

Oval Garter stitch - change of plan

I've changed my mind about lacing the green strip directly against the blue in the mat. Not sure why - just seemed wrong when I pinned it out to see how it went. I'm planning on using a lighter version of the Red ocrs which is in the centre. Quite a nice old-rose sort of cool and for some unknown reason I like it against the blue and the green. There may be a "colour theory" about why that is or it may just be my idiosyncrasy.
here it be:

The green ring for the Garter Stitch oval mat

Around 340 gms of aran weight dyed for the next ring in this garter-stitch oval mat.
I had to redo the short rows I knit to fit the blue strip around the centre piece on one side as it was bulging out. I'm hoping the next strip, when knitted, will be easier to fit around the now shooter edge of the previous piece.
I'm using the dark green - well fairly dark - as it seems to be of the same value and... I don't know, it just seems right to me.
Knit on.

Alpaca Oval Mat

I made this about 1 month ago from raw Alpaca fleece that my knitting buddy gave me.
It was fairly tough to prep (these are DUSTY little beasts!). I dyed it and knitted it into an oval mat. It feels lovely and I do like the colours too - it was worth the effort in the end.

  No Connie, I know you like knitted matts but you can't sit on this one!

Beginning a new garter-stitch oval matt

I've spun around 650 grams of my woolly sheep's fleece and spun and plied it to around aran weight.
The plan is to knit it into a garter-stitch oval shaped matt.

Her's a hank draining after being washed.

I've knitted a swatch and chosen dyes. I've done the maths and guess what? it's "off" as usual when I try to relate how much of each yarn needs to be dyed for each ring n the oval. Never mind, I'll dye-as-I go.

The centre oval is dyed and knitted:

 The dye is "red acre", centre in progress, now complete and measured.

I like this colour against the blue so I've dyed the next hank a deep blue colour.

Finishing drying on the swift, the next circle:

 

Here it is, wound to a centre-pull ball:

Ready to knit doube-stranded strip to add to the center-piece.

TBC

E-Spinning along

Planning a new knitted mat so spinning from a stored medium-weight, medium staple length fleece. I sheared ti from one of my woolly ewes some years ago and washed and kept it 'til now.
I plan to spin most of this fleece aran weight on the e-spinner and then dye it in progressively longer lengths of different colours to knit into an oval shape.

The dying will be the most fun but right now it's just comb/spin/ply repeat.

So far, 327 grams spun and plied

Combs and nests

Plying n the E-Spinner - adding another 320 gas of plied aran-weight.

Meanwhile, leaving one's car door open can invite cheeky occupants (and may bring her toy with her):