Progress?

Very little to report. Or it could be thought of as "more of the same".....

The other sock? Yeah, I haven't cast-on for that yet. Oh, but I will! Maybe this weekend. I promise.

I've been working a fair amount on the Icarus Shawl, though you wouldn't know to look at it. This shawl is triangular, and knit from the top center down, with 4 increases every other row. So it groooooows. But at a very very slow pace. The portion of the shawl that I am currently working on is dead boring as well - it has just enough going on that you have to pay a wee bit of attention, but it is not exciting at all. I want to get to the fun stuff! I want to get to the crazy lacey bits! But no - I think I have about 8 more rows to go of this first chart, which doesn't seem too bad, but when each row takes seemingly forever, it could be next month before I get there. I present this photo, which looks very similar to an earlier photo posted, but I swear I have been working on this:I have also hit the point in where I am starting to panic about if I will have enough yarn. This is Misti Alpaca (it is LOVELY to work with) and I think I have *just* what the pattern calls for (okay, just checked - I actually have one yard LESS than what the pattern calls for - 875 yds - but I think I may run out for REAL, not just by one yard) and I have read reports of people having run out. I'm not super concerned at this point - I know where I got this, it's pretty cheap, etc. etc. I just want. to. get. to. the. good. stuff. Dammit!

When not busy slogging through the dreadful boredom that is chart 1 of this shawl (almost as boring as socks!) I've been spinning spinning spinning like a mad woman! I'm working my way through the mystery wool from Amy, and working towards a thinner yarn. I *feel* like I am beginning to understand this spinning business a bit more - like I am on the road to owning it, but that road is very very long. Since this bag of fiber is kind of a mystery, I'm learning a bit about different fibers and how they want to behave for me. What I've really come to believe is the secret of spinning is this: tension. I feel if you can just get the tension of these 8 different things to all work together perfectly, things are golden. You just need the planets to align! And I would like to believe that I am working towards that. I've made a mini-skein of something resembling Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift, which, if you have not worked with this yarn it is wonderful, and then I tried out some Navajo Plying which is pretty interesting, and I am pleased with the results of that as well. I can see what I would like to improve on in both of these, and now I just have to figure out exactly how to do that. Max has suggested that I spin at HER place, as she likes the smooth whir whir whir of the wheel. There will be pictures soon - it's tough to get clear pics that will give you some sense of the weight and texture of the wool.

This has all left me even more excited about Rhinebeck this year; I'll try not to come back with any animals.

Yellow Jersey, Crazy Hat

I'm continuing along with my Tour de Fleece spinning. I've got about 500 yards so far, and it seems to be fairly consistent! I thought I would show some of what I spun to prior to working on my TdF goal - you know, just to get my spinning mojo back:
Amy gave me a bundle of different colored oddments of fleece - about 10 or so different colors. I thought I would spin a bit of every color, in random order, and ply some of it together as well. It came out pretty well, except for the fact that it was around 120 yards of stripey crazy colored yarn! What to do? So I figure the only thing that it COULD be was a hat:
It's a very loose knit, and I had a few yards leftover. But it's fun! And got me into thinking that I could really truly do this Tour de Fleece. I don't have more pictures of what I've completed, but it basically all looks just like those other 2 hanks. I'll get some pics of the pile when I have it done.......

Block de Force

A beautiful Saturday.......and some taking care of business.
I finally got around to blocking the big triangle shawl that I finished in November (I can't remember the actual name of it; I'll look it up at some point). This was my first major piece of lacey-lace work. Of course, the Mayor was there to help......One of my co-workers passed on these awesomely huge blocking boards to me - it was time to put them to use! Sadly, someone had pushed all of my pins flush into the tomato (pin cushion, that is). So it took a bit of work to get things out, and the blocking itself took a bit of time, but I did it! Pictures of completed piece to come......

Afterwards, I thought about working on the Clown Vomit sweater, but it was curiously unavailable to me.....

So! I figured this would be the finest of opportunities to get going on the Tour de Fleece 2007! I love watching the Tour de France, and I figured what better way to get more involved in my spinning? I have dabbled a bit here and there, and at some point started spinning for what will (hopefully) ultimately be enough wool for a sweater, but I have been rather lax in my spinning duties.......

Enter the Tour de Fleece! First thing, set a goal for the yellow jersey! Starting today (well, in this case, I suppose continuing, as it's basically been a slog up until now.......), I have to complete the spinning of this specific fleece by the end of the Tour de France. So I've got from July 7th until July 29th to get through this pound or so of wool. I started today with one hank (about 125 yards or so, 2-ply, maybe sport weight), and I got a lot done!
I don't know enough about wool to inform you more on what type of animal this came from, only to say that it has been a joy to spin. It's a lovely blend of blues and greens, with a bit of white and yellow highlights. My spinning has been (shockingly!) consistent; the yarn itself seems to be like "real" yarn. Now I just have to spin....well, a ton more. But! But! I have 2 complete hanks (125 yards and 118 yards, or so...) along with 2 bobbins ready for me to ply.

I'll keep you posted with progress - I enjoy watching the Tour de France, and I enjoy the spinning, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue to keep up. Check the side button for other people's progress. I have high enough hopes that I am already thinking about what my goal will be to get the green jersey as well..............