Regenerate

{Yarning along with Ginny this week. Won't you join us?}

This is the sock I brought with me to Stitches Midwest last weekend. When I left on Thursday it had about 8 rows of cuff on it, and when I pulled into the driveway Sunday night it was about half way down the foot. Not bad for the knitting conference where I didn't really spend my time knitting!


The pattern is House Targaryen Socks by Avalanche Designs and the yarn is Nerd Girl Yarns base Astral on the colorway Regenerate. I love the little bit of sparkle in the yarn.

I finished Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon and started immediately back at the beginning of the series on Outlander. I have a few other books going too. I need to dedicate some time to finishing up the stack of half finished books.

What are you knitting and reading this week?

Home

After being gone for four days the house is better than I left it thanks to my husband. Online things can hold, but kids cannot, and I don't want them to. I spent 15+ hours in the car, but brought back fun things from Stitches Midwest and a brain FULL of class notes and ideas.

We are supposed to have a half day of school today, full days start tomorrow.

Do I dare start potty training today too?

No, I'm not crazy.



I will be back in this space shortly. For now I'm sorting out the yarn goodies from the laundry in my suitcase and getting myself back in the swing of home.

Again with the Socks

More socks.

I know.

This is really strange to me, because until 2014 I *wanted* to knit more socks but didn't. And this is the first year I didn't set a focused on goal on socks, and yet.... socks. Eight pair, so far, seven for in my own drawers, and another two pair on the needles. I don't dare set a goal for the rest of the year, because I've already blown out my previous yearly sock knitting totals by quite a ways.


I finished these vanilla socks Sunday night while watching the first episode of Outlander, and had to cast on for the House Targaryen Socks as soon as I freed up the needles. I'm trying to move away from vanilla socks for a bit and into some patterned things, but nothing too scary yet. I love pattern suggestions!


I'm about 25% from the end of Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon on the kindle, and not really sure what I will move on to read once I'm finished with it- I've been reading the series since around the first of the year (with some other books in between), but once I finish this current one (which came out last month) it will likely be 4-5 years before the next one comes out. It's been nice to be invested in a significant series like this, but it always leaves me longing for another series to read.

Midnight Fiber and Fabric Podcast, Episode 17: Making All the Plans

I'm still working on spinning the grey Shetland (from Spunky Eclectic) for the SPAKAL project.

I finished my Bright Lights Socks (Nerd Girl Yarns colorway: Glassical Phantasm)
working to free up needles so that I can work on the Braid Hills cardigan by Kate Davies that I mentioned in Episode 11. My new travel knit is House Targaryen in the NGY colorway Regenerate on the Astral base.

I *love* habitrpg- gaming for your daily accomplishments.


I'm excited to have the opportunity to go to Stitches Midwest this next weekend! I'm planning on two classes, one about pattern design and another about sleeve caps. The hardest decision has been how to pack my bags- I'm so excited for all the possibilities here!


My New Things this week are the NGY Random Fandom Yarn Club and hunting for sock patterns. I mention a few patterns:  Sock Recipe: A Good Plain Sock,  Leyburn Socks, Nutkin, Hermione's Every Day Socks, and Baroque. Please share your favorite sock patterns in comments!

You can join in on the podcast conversation on:

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Tour De Fleece: Final Tally

Tour de Fleece finished up on Sunday and I learned so much about my spinning over the course of this event. I am so very happy with my progress!

By the Numbers:

:: I started with 32 ounces of grey Shetland from Spunky Eclectic.

:: I decided on a 3 ply, and I'm still very happy with this decision The yarn is wonderfully round, which is exactly what I wanted.

:: I decided to ply as I went on the advice of a more experienced spinning friend, and I am really glad I did.

:: I was able to spin 24 ounces and it is all plied.

:: I still have 8 ounces to spin, and my goal is to finish that by August 6.

What I Learned:

1. I'm still spinning fairly densely. Even though my yarn is the desired worsted weight when plied, it is *dense* and won't give me the yardage I had hoped for. I will get better at this as I go, but this means that Harvest is likely off the table as a project for this yarn. I'm completely fine with that and I'm looking for a different project instead.


2. While this felt like a gigantic project up front, it really hasn't been. I worried that I'd be bored with the fiber after spinning 6-8 ounces of it, but that hasn't been a problem. In fact, it's been a beautiful and calming part of my day to sit at the wheel without figuring out the next steps or watching color work it's magic. It's a much-needed meditation with this fiber.


3. Making spinning a priority lessened my time for other creative pursuits, but in a way I am happy with. In fact, I'm working on fall schedule things and building very regular spinning time in is part of that fall build.

How did your spinning work during the tour? 

Did you accomplish as much as you hoped for?