New Shawl - Maya

I am making a shawl from Kristin Omdahl's Wrapped in Crochet for my sister in law.

I am making this using Sublime Tussah silk yarn in Mulberry - I have no idea why it is called mulberry, its not purple at all, at a push it has a slightly blueish tint.

The yarn is a 50% Tussah silk/50% viscose blend.  I hope you can see from this photograph how wonderfully shiny the tussah is.

I'm not that far through making it, I've got the medallion band at the bottom done so far.

Its difficult to see the effect of the yarn in the wider shot, so I took a close-up as well.  I think it was a good yarn choice.

Crochet Instruction Guide 1

This will hopefully be the first in a sequence of instruction guides for some basic, and some not so basic, crochet stitches.

Firstly the apologies .... I'm not that proficient with my videoing yet, so sorry for disappearing out of frame occasionally, hopefully that doesn't detract too much.  Also, I'm still working up to narration - so I have subtitled :)

I use US terms for stitches, since I think they make more sense - even though I am from the UK!!

I start off with single crochet (known as double crochet in the UK), then half-double & double stitches.  I also show front post and back post crochet stitches - in this video they are double stitches.  Then to finish I have shown a popcorn stitch.

I hope this video is useful, feel free to comment on this video or request further stitch instruction.

New pattern - will need a stitch guide

I am finally getting round to putting together the pattern for my kindle cover ..

I have used some "aran" style crochet to make this. When I started to crochet I never knew that you could do this sort of thing with  hook - I thought aran was the preserve of knitters.

For my cover I use  a sort of roaming cable, that drifts back and to across the front ....

And a sort of vines & berries pattern on the back

I've started writing out the pattern, but without photographs of what I mean by a "front post double crochet worked in front of the previously  missed stitch" its going to be almost unintelligible !

I think that this is providing me with the perfect opportunity to create a proper stitch guide that I can add to all my patterns & also include here.

Hopefully next update will be to say the pattern is finished & I have a full (or at least the start of) my stitch guide.

Finished the Crocodile shawl

I finally finished it !  It has taken more than 1300m (1.3 km) of yarn to finish the main body of the shawl and 130m of yarn for the tassels.  It measures 160cm across the top and 100cm along the sides.

I hand spun all of the yarn for this.  It has been made with 3ply Blueface Leicester for the shawl and 2ply kid mohair for the tassels.

Crocodile stitch

I ran out of yarn again, so I thought I'd make myself useful and show you how I am making the shawl and update progress.

I've captured a few stills from my video below to explain what I am doing - I'm not confident enough to speak on my videos yet ... I'm working up to that, you can just enjoy the birdsong and not have to listen to me droning on.

A crocodile stitch is created over two rows, a row of triangles (created by  DC, CH, DC in a single chain space) and then the second row creates the crocodile scales by working into these triangles.  The image below shows the triangles row.  To get to the overlapping scales look you skip one triangle and work into the next.

The stitches are worked around the posts of the DC stitches of the triangle.  Each half of the scale is 6 DC stitches.

Once the 6 DC are worked, then you need to work 6 more DC round the second DC of the triangle. 

I find that if I fold the rest of the work under so that I am just holding the stitch I am working around it is easier.

When you have done the second 6 DC you have created your crocodile stitch scale - ta da!

And here it is as a video, you get a great view of my chubby hands .... enjoy (I don't think Stephen Spielberg has anything to worry about)

This is how far I have got with my shawl so far ... I think another 10 or so rows should do it once I have spun up enough yarn.

Crocodile Stitch Shawl

Since spring has failed to arrive in the UK, and I hold out very little hope of having a summer I decided that I would crochet myself a warm shawl.  This is the one I decided on, its a crocodile stitch shawl from Annies Attic 

Its lovely, isn't it?  The pattern calls for fingering weight yarn and a large hook to get the drape.  So I, in my wisdom, have ignored that :)

I decided I would spin my own yarn for this one.  I am using blueface Leicester and making my usual 3 ply yarn - so definitely not fingering weight! It is turning into a labour of love.  So far I've had to spin up 8 batches of yarn !! and I'm not done yet. 

I think mainly because I am using much thicker yarn the shawl is crocheting up smaller than the picture.  I so far have 5 additional crocodile rows compared with the pattern and I am thinking I will need another 5 extra on top to get to the length I want.

Once I finish I'm going to have to weigh the shawl, it is already quite weighty.  I think perhaps this will end up being a winter shawl rather than a spring/autumn one ....

Handspun kid mohair

So I finished that kid mohair, if I'm going to be honest I finished it a while ago .... but I've been cracking on with spinning more yarn - for the socks, and for a shawl I'm making (seemed like a good idea when I started!)

Anyway, back to the mohair.  If I say so myself I am really pleased with it.  It was lovely to spin, even with the fluff getting everywhere.

I decided to 3 ply it, 3 ply is rapidly becoming my standard.  I know that it takes a bit more time and a lot more spinning, but I really like the results.

I didn't make very much yarn, I only really had a small amount of fibre (100g).  I think that this is destined to be tassels on my new shawl ... but we'll see.

Almost 100% handmade socks

I say almost because I didn't dye the yarn, rear the sheep or cultivate the silk worms ... but otherwise they are 100% handmade.

I handspun the yarn, which is a merino and silk blend.  Then made a 3ply yarn from it .... and had to spin up some more when I didn't quite have enough to finish the job!

If you look at the close up you can see the little shiny silk threads in the yarn.

And I then hand crochet the socks. They are from an Annies Attic pattern that I had to adjust slightly as I made these for my husband and the pattern is not really "man size". It took a few goes with different size hooks to get the size right.  The yarn I made is 12wip and the hook size I eventually settled on was 5mm.

Handspun Kid Mohair

I got some new fibres to spin, Mohair, more silk (because I want to do better at spinning silk) and some Alpaca.

I've started to try to spin the Mohair, its difficult to know how to spin it "right".  I have been doing a bit of research and there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer to should it be spun worsted or woolen.  I decided to spin it worsted, for these reasons.  The staple length is pretty long, its between 4" and 5", so its definitely long enough for worsted, the preparation is combed top.

Here's what I've got ...

I've just started really, but you can see how fluffy it is already. It really has a lovely feel, although the fluff does get EVERYWHERE! 

 

I wanted to see what a plyed yarn would look like so I just pulled back some of the yarn I had spun off the bobbin and let it ply back on itself (with a little help from my threading hook).   It doesn't look too bad really, I think I'll make a 3 ply in the end though.

  

Getting to grips with handspun

I've been spending quite a bit of time peddling away on my spinning wheel (Ashford Traveller), trying out various fibres and trying to get the hang of it.  I'm pretty sure I've not got a classic style or indeed spin "properly" but to be honest as long as I create something I'd be able to make something with then surely thats OK?

Here's some of my efforts, some more successful than others as you can see.  The big blue ball sitting on top is Merino/Silk blend and was lovely to spin - this is done 3 ply (as is the brown ball that its sitting on).

At the other end of the scale is the ball of silk (over on the left), that was really tricky to spin - if you have rough hands (as I do all winter!) the fibre sticks to your hands and the fluff gets everywhere.  Also I didn't realise just how much twist you need to put into silk.  For a first attempt I'm not too disappointed, its a little inconsistent and there are a fair few fluffy bits in the yarn - but overall its OK, and good enough for me to try making a little lacy scarf with it.  I'll post the results of that adventure when I get closer to finishing.

The others are camel - right at the front, merino in the middle, generic "wool" at the back and the black one at the right side is black shetland.

I'll post again with close up photos of the yarns when I get a moment.

Handspun baby socks

I wanted to make a pair of socks for my husbands cousins (relatively) new baby.

Both of these yarns are spun from merino tops.  I created the first by plying together one black and one white single yarn.  The second was  made by spinning a sea green and light blue top together to create the singles & then plying those together.



And here are my little socks.  They are sized for 6 to 12 months.


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There is a slight gauge difference between the yarns - my consistency is getting better, but its not there yet.  Even with the difference I think that they look OK.



They are pretty cosy.  Hopefully the little fella will like them.



Next batch of yarn

I've been spinning again.  I liked how the two colour pink yarn came out so much I made a two coloured green one.

I think I am starting to get more consistent with my spinning - not perfect yet, but getting better.  I think that getting near perfect will take many years :)

I made this two coloured yarn the same way as the pink, by spinning the singles in  each in a colour and then combining them by plying.  I've not settled on a project for this little ball of yarn yet, perhaps another set of booties - ideas are welcome.

Completed booties

I have completed my booties now. 

My first finished project with my own, handspun yarn.  I confess I am quite pleased with myself.

Now I just need to package these up and send them to my friend.

In the mean time I am spinning like fury to create more yarn for more projects.

My handspun booties

As promised .... here are the booties I am making for my friend.

So far I have just finished the body of the booties.



I still need to sew up the fronts so that they sit in the correct position, add the piping, flower and fastening.



You can see in the background my little ball of handspun yarn.  In the end I did have enough to finish my project - and even a little to spare :)



I think that, although I actually spun this in the wrong way - clockwise for the singles and anti-clockwise for the ply.  I think it turned out pretty well. 

The consistency is not bad, and it worked up quite nicely into the booties.

Finally making something with my yarn

I finally got round to starting a project with some of my hand spun yarn.

My friend as recently had a new baby daughter so I thought I'd have a go at crocheting these from a pattern selection I got from Annies Attic called Beautiful Baby shoes

I got a selection of merino fibres from forestfibres

I have plyed the pink and pinky-grey colours together to make a 2 ply yarn and have started my little project.  I'm not sure I'll have enough yarn to finish so I have another one of these selection packs on order in case I need to spin up another batch.

I'll post the results of my endeavour when I get a chance to take some photos.

My first attempts at spining

I have had my spinning wheel for almost 1 month and now that I have worked out how to setup it up I am starting to get into actually spinning some yarn.

 One of my first attempts is this generic wool top.



Its pretty inconsistent and lumpy .....



You can see some of the areas look like actual yarn, but others are pretty fluffy!

But I don't like to give up so I kept on going and spun this from some Grey Suffolk wool tops.



I think I am getting a little better with my consistency



Don't get me wrong, I know its a long way from perfect and I still have a LOT to learn about plying but I feel like I am making some progress - what do you think?

I'll keep posting with further progress or if I actually make anything with this yarn I am creating :)

Second frame coin purse

As promised, here is my second frame coin purse.  Using the same Sirdar Baby bamboo yarn, but this time using  both strands together rather than in stripes.



I kept the base the same, as a circle



But I altered the shaping of the purse a little so it came out more squat and puffy.



I think I prefer the shape and colour of this one.

My new Niddy Noddy

Now that I am becoming (will become - eventually) a seasoned yarn spinner I need to gradually build up my kit ... so I have purchased my first Niddy Noddy.

Firstly - what a great name !!! Niddy Noddy :) I love it

I put a bit of thought into this purchase.  Originally I was going to get an Ashford niddy noddy (that name again!) but they come in 2 sizes and are not adjustable, so I wasn't sure if I should get the small one now - because my capacity for creating yarn is pretty small right now - or if I would "out grow" that one and then have to just go and get the large one.

So I did a little research and found the Louët Niddy Noddy (below) which is adjustable - it can either be a 90cm or 180cm length.  So I get both sizes with one device, happy days.

It comes in 4 sections, the two end pieces and two middle sections that can be fitted together to adjust from the smaller to larger size.

I got mine from the lovely people at ForestFibres.

I am looking forward to joyfully niddying and indeed noddying with my newly created yarns :)