The heat is on

The second bobbin of Bone Dry is done--I need to finish the third bobbin and ply the yarn before Saturday, the start of Tour de Fleece.


Bone Dry

Training for the Tour de Fleece

The Tour de Fleece is a spin-along during the Tour de France. The concept is simple--they spin, we spin. It's a real spinning themed spin-along.

This year the Tour de Fleece starts Saturday July 3rd and runs until Sunday July 25th, 2010.

Guidelines (NOT RULES):

• Spin every day the Tour rides, if possible. Saturday July 3rd through Sunday July 25th. Days of rest: Monday July 12th, Wednesday July 21st, just like the actual tour.
  
• Spin something challenging Thursday July 22nd. (The Tour’s toughest mountain stage from Pau up the legendary Col du Tourmalet)
  
• Wear yellow on Sunday July 25th to announce victory. Why not wear yellow on any day you feel particularly successful? (Yellow is the color of the race leader in the Tour - but here we are all ‘race leaders’)
  
• Other colors if desired: Green (sprinter - think FAST), Polka-dot (climber - as in uphill), and white (rookie)
  

This year I'm participating in the TDF and am currently in training. Training? Okay, well for me that just means I'm keeping my wheel close at hand and I've been spinning every other day or so.

Here's the latest, an RSB colorway called "Bone Dry".


Superwash BFL


First bobbin

Bone Dry is a treat for the senses--



Bone Dry
The Roger Steen Band
Guitar & Vocals: Roger Steen
Bass Guitar & Vocals: Hank Gibson
Keyboards & Vocals: Bill Walker
Drums: David Rapaport
Vocals: Janice Kang
Engineer: Wally Sound
Photos: The Rapaports, Bill Walker, and Amy Klimt
Music & Lyrics: Roger Steen

HKF

It's Hand Knit Friday. Shout if you're wearing hand knits!

I'm wearing

Tahoe Broadripple socks
Project details on Ravelry

Tiny and tasty

We nabbed the first tomato off our upside-down plants--


Tiny and tasty

Sliced thin on a piece of Manchego with fresh picked basil was a perfect opening to dinner from the Weber.


Arranging the coals


Grilled chokes


Grilled zukes


TJ's chicken

And ending with a bang--


Berries cloaked in Ghirardelli

I made more, but most were eaten before I remembered to take a photo. These were the last 3.

A beautiful Sunday

Today was a beautiful day--sunny and warm with a nice breeze.

The morning started with plying Daughter of the Sea:


Daughter of the Sea


Daughter of the Sea
320 yds 3-ply fingering wt


Daughter of the Sea
320 yds 3-ply fingering wt

Then we spent the afternoon at the Picchetti Winery in Cupertino listening to jazz outside:


Bill Walker & Roger Steen at the Picchetti Winery

We had a table of knitters and friends who spent the afternoon visiting, making loops with yarn, and enjoying the music. I finished the BSJ with i-cord buttons and wove in all the ends. It's ready to be mailed to baby Evelyn:


Evelyn's Pink Granite BSJ
Project details on Ravelry


Evelyn's Pink Granite BSJ

BSJ mods--
Made the neck opening a little bigger by binding off 2 additional sts at the beg of those 2 rows. For the buttonbands, I worked 3 ridges then launched into a 3 st i-cord edging adding buttonholes where the i-cord meets the sweater. Edged the cuffs with 3 st i-cord and picked up sts and made 3 st i-cord knotted buttons.

Jazz and an FO--it was an enjoyable afternoon. But next time (July 11), I'll put on sunscreen. Ouchie!

HKF

It's Hand Knit Friday! What hand knits do you have on today?

I'm wearing

Basket Stitch Cardigan
Project details on Ravelry

and

Free Pattern

EZ, you are a genius

Remember this handspun?


Big hank, little hank

Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sheep to Shoe kit in Pink Granite ->
664+ yds / 226 gms 3-ply fingering wt superwash Merino, plus a small hank of 2-ply lace wt for Sam.

I had my mind set on knitting 2 knee-highs at a time on 2 circulars, toe up. I started the socks and got to the gusset increases and then the project went into hibernation. I ran into a problem. The yarn from the center of the ball was noticeably thinner than the yarn from the outside of the ball. Therefore, one sock was noticeably thinner than the other. I thought they'd even out after a while or that it wouldn't/shouldn't bother me, but the fact that the project was temporarily abandoned tells you how successful that was.

Besides, I wasn't in love with the socks. The color changes in the yarn turned out the way I planned, but the patterning of the knitted fabric wasn't blowing me away. Darn.


Ex-sock

Plan B.

There's a little girl who is expected to enter this world this week.

Sweater! Baby Surprise Jacket!

I thought about what yarn to use--the days are getting warmer, so making a newborn size didn't make sense. I had to make a larger sweater, one she could wear later this year and into next. Well, the huge ball of BMFA Pink Granite fit the bill and the garter st BSJ would show off the color changes. But would it look good?

You tell me.


Pink Granite BSJ

I am totally in love with this sweater and the yarn is perfect for it. Does it scream Pink Granite or what? This is my first real BSJ and I have to say what many knitters before me have said, "Elizabeth Zimmermann, you are a genius."

Our phone rang yesterday. Welcome to the world Evelyn! (Honestly, I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard that yes in fact she is a girl.)

The sweater is blocking. Once dry I'll sew up the shoulder seams, finish the icord edging, and sew on buttons. Happy happy joy joy!


Pink Granite BSJ

BFL love

I forgot how nice BFL is to spin--I love the long staple length.


Daughter of the Sea

HKF

It's Hand Knit Friday! What hand knits do you have on today?

I'm wearing

Almost Baroque
Project details on Ravelry

No rest for the Lendrum

Daughter of the Sea

Creature of the black lagoon
hiding bags of gold doubloons
Serpentine in turpentine
holding on this love of mine
Ocean beach is home to her
pounding waves of foam I hear
Making wild horses manes
painting the girl insane
    --Daughter of the Sea, The Roger Steen Band

I love how Daughter of the Sea is spinning up--I just hope the resulting 3-ply is just as pretty. 1 bobbin down, 2 to go.

A whole lotta pretty

A whole lotta = 825 yards / 106 grams.


825 yds / 106 gms, 2 ply lace weight
Silk/Merino Top from Lisa Souza Dyeworks

That might be typical for some spinners, but I was surprised when I counted the rounds on the niddy noddy. So surprised that I had to count them again just to make sure.


825 yds / 106 gms, 2 ply lace weight

I really like Merino Silk blends. The singles were so thin in spots that they resembled sewing thread and still didn't break. Using my handy dandy Spinner's Control Card, I measured the singles at 36-40+ wpi.


Spinner's Control Card

Neither of the singles broke during plying until I got close to the center of the first bobbin, then I had 3 breaks in about 40 yds. For some reason I didn't put enough twist in that section--maybe I was tired and wasn't treadling fast enough. I'm not good at joining during plying, so when I was winding off I cut that piece out.

I don't have definite plans for the yarn, but I have some ideas. More about that later. For now, I'm happy to admire the hank and to tag this post with the word "yarn".

Ready for plying

Progress in pictures featuring fiber from Lisa Souza Dyeworks:


Lisa Souza Silk/Merino Top
50/50 Bombyx Silk / Fine Merino
Color: Winter


Bobbin 1


Bobbin 1


Singles ready for plying

HKF

It's Hand Knit Friday! What hand knits do you have on today?

I'm wearing cotton blend socks.

Primavera socks
Project details on Ravelry

7th Veil

The head-sized ball of Superwash BFL that I bought from from Carolina Homespun at Stitches West is naked no more.


1 lb Superwash BFL

On Sunday I took out the dye stock that I had mixed up from the Mother MacKenzie's Miracle Dye Mix and went to work.


Mother MacKenzie's Miracle Dye Mix

I glugged together various colors in squeeze bottles (very scientific, huh?). Fortunately or not, that means that some of these colors are not easily reproducible. In my mind, they're "one of a kind".


Winging it

I was only able to dye one bump at a time so every time I laid out a fresh hunk of fiber I had a clean slate. What I find very funny (and perhaps revealing) is that I didn't remember what I had dyed before so I ended up with 2 bumps that are very close in colorway and another 2 bumps that are also closely related, but both pairs are very different. Schizophrenic much?


Love Me Baby


Bone Dry


Daughter of the Sea


7th Veil

Each bump is ~120 gms. I considered (4 x 100 gms) + 80 gms, but an 80 gm bump wasn't something I was excited about so I went with more = better.

Naming these was difficult until I thought of a theme last night at band rehearsal. Why not name them after RSB songs? Also if I continue with that thinking then maybe (just maybe) I won't always end up with the same 2 colorway families.

More fiber! More fiber!