Hummingbird Focus

Sometimes I feel like my mind is a hummingbird, flitting its attention from blossom to blossom. It makes following a project from beginning to completion a little difficult... but it does combat boredom! Also, I have had the Flu this week, and have concentrated on healing and comfort. Here is a recap of textile pursuits since last I posted:

Weaving... I warped, wove, and completed another project in January. This one reminds me of fall gourds, with oranges and greens. I used Moda Dea 'Cache' novelty yarn as the weft, and Knitpicks 'Palette' wool as the warp. It feels a bit rough, like upholstery, not soft as I would like for a scarf to be. 54" long, 8" wide. There was virtually no draw-in this time, and the selvedges were much more even. I enjoyed the color changes in the weft yarn as I wove it. I switched to a new 10" cherry shuttle I bought at Roc Day - the shorter shuttle makes a big difference in shot return time. This will become a fall table runner.



Next up: a cotton warp, intended to be my first dishtowel attempt.

Spinning... Cheryl from Guild gave me some samples of Finn from her friend in Pennsylvania, a little more than .5 oz each of undyed and dyed. I spun it up woolen, with no real plan but to sample it, and plied it together as it came. It's quite soft, and I hope to get some more when the shearing is done in the spring.

Also I spun 4 oz of merino from Abbysyarns in 'Bluebell' - very soft 2-ply, ready for socks.


And a double-subscription batch (8 oz) of icelandic wool from Spunky Eclectic's fiber club in 'Snow Squall' - scratchy but warm, it will become stripes in outerwear of some sort, perhaps a vest.
Finally, on the wheel now, 4 oz. of a merino/bamboo blend from Spunky Eclectic in 'Walking on the Sun' - half done.
Knitting... I completed a scarf in January, knitted from handspun wool, using Jackie E-S' pattern 'Morning Surf'. I liked this pattern very much, and will use it again. The scarf is 60"x6". I like the color changes, and the windowpane effect.
In progress: a Forest Canopy shawl, knit using my first handspun from the Schacht wheel, spun back in May 2007. Yay for using up stash! This is spun from Crown Mountain Farms corriedale pencil roving, 2-ply, 12 wpi. It will be soft and warm. And bright!