These were my first experiments and I really had beginner's luck. I sewed the swatches together to make a bag. It still needs a handle. Perhaps a braided I cord, maybe a cannibalized strap from a thrift store purse and if that doesn't work I guess it will have to be purchased.
I began blending more muted colors and I'm not getting as much contrast as I'd like.
I've been using the Barbara Walker short row pattern that I found on Knitty's Lizard Ridge pattern. I've been switching off colors from skein to skein so it really brings in an element of complete chance. I thought this was a good idea for me to juxtapose colors that I wouldn't conceive of either for the good or the bad. The idea for me is to bring more color ideas into my mind. While the effect is sometimes pleasing and at other times not, I consider it valuable. There are always parts of a swatch that combine colors in a way foreign to me.
I combined the skeins again haphazardly and got a less interesting result.
I realize the dark navy is very strong but I like the contrast of brighter colors here and there that I ended up with in my first swatches. Namely the magenta and turquoise.
I have an idea of incorporating these swatches into a sweater so I'll just continue to card, spin and knit as I learn more about color, i.e. how to blend interesting colors and then how to combine them in a way that appeals to me.
It is fun even when I hit these sticky spots.
I did finally get to the end of my alpaca sweater. I pulled off the turtleneck to rework but I did get to try it on as an almost finished piece and realized that it wasn't something I was really proud of. I'm pretty sure I'm going to rip it out and do something more interesting. When I use my handspun, I really want something that I'm proud of. So goodbye to this one.
I spun up this 2 ply for socks using the fractal stripe idea from Janel Laidman. I wanted to make socks for my son but I burned a skein simmering in a pot so I guess it will just have to be socks for me.(I have smaller feet.) That is if I can stop doing those swatches with those singles I'm using for color experiments. They're addicting though with the color changes the socks should keep me engaged as well.
My plan was to wash all the fleeces I bought at the thrift store on the island. Luckily, they all seem to be pretty clean so I'm lucky. This one is really beautiful. When it was wet from it's wash, I decided it would be a good time to dye it. I wanted eggplant and I'm happy with the color. It did seem to take up dye differently but blended on the carder it will be uniform but still interesting. The sun wasn't out today so the color appears lighter than it is.
Picking is a big job but I'm finding just to do a little bit at a time in between things.
