What a month!

This has been a challenging month but I've made it through. I had an eye injury that pretty much filled the whole month with its presence. At times, I could use my eyes but often I just couldn't. But still spinning and knitting happened. Worsted spinning because I don't have to look at my hands and the fiber and stockinette knitting for the same reason.
I spun half the yarn for this vest in the thick of the pain and continued to plan and knit the vest up to its present state.



The darker yarn was spun earlier this year from a Crosspatch Creations batt. The lighter bluish gray is a drum carded blend of Carol Lee's Brown Sheep wool with a little silk thrown in. I spun this rather badly and plied it even worse but knitted up, it seems to work.
Changing factors like the ability to see well and sit comfortably resulted in a different yarn and a different garment. It opened me up to other possibilities. I don't know if I'll like this finished vest but I do like its fabric. I really wish I had had enough yardage for a drapey sweater or a blanket but I combined materials in a different way and it has given me ideas for future experiments with color and fiber.



I also managed to knit and plan this felted bag. The ready made handles are from Grayson E. The yarn was from a time when I began to get the hang of woolen spun singles and I was saving it for a project just like this. I'm happy with it.




The camel/silk scarf grows slowly. I felt the need to block it a bit to see if I really want to continue. I do.








And I'm playing with the idea of 2 plys. I've been pretty much only using them for lace, having heard that 3 plys are better for general knitting but I feel the need to break away from constraints for awhile even if I find out first hand why there are rules of thumb in the first place.
Here is some Louet merino/silk that I keep sampling. I have two pounds but if I keep sampling, I will be way below that mark and will reencounter the ever present question, "Will there be enough for a sweater?"

I became very excited about dyeing some camel/tussah blend I bought quite awhile back from Crown Mountain Farms. I dyed it with Jaquard acid dyes but completely forgot to add vinegar to set the dyes though they seemed to be pretty colorfast anyway. Maybe our well water is acidic enough. To be extra sure, I gave the fiber a vinegar bath.



I started spinning without thinking about what it would be. Worsted spinning is very much like a meditative act for me. I just wanted to spin. I didn't want to plan. I loved the colors and the yarn. I wanted to preserve the color sequence and since I didn't split the roving to insure the color changes would be visible after plying, I was left with 2 choices. I could navajo ply but I'd end up with a thicker yarn and probably not enough yardage to do anything with or I could use the yarn as is-unplied. I had heard that it is not necessary to have a balanced yarn to knit lace because it is blocked into shape each time it's washed so I went for that.

This will be a long term project. Lace is very rythmic and pleasant to knit but time consuming! I do like and look forward to seeing the end result. I'm realistically thinking the fall because I will not be working solely on this.
My sweater made from handspun singles is waiting for its collar. I haven't wanted to think too much lately and the sweater is getting a shawl collar. I have an eye injury that though not serious is long lasting and very wearing.



I spun the yarn so that there would be large blocks of color but I forgot that the sweater body would be worked in the round to get some symmetry with the color. The stripes are more narrow than I wanted though the sleeves are more what I wanted. I think the different widths of color band will work. I might have to pull it together with patch pockets.
I realized after I finished the sleeves that I could have easily made the color repeats longer on the body if I had just broken off the yarn and mixed and matched as one does anyway with stripes. I had this one vision of knitting the sweeater skein after skein without breaking off the yarn. I kept that vision even when I wasn't getting exactly what I wanted but I do think it will all work out fine.
I love doing these sweaters with bulky singles. I will do more of these. They are quick to spin and knit!