Spin.Knit.Kids.School.Repeat

Well, since I've been MIA for a bit I should probably update what I've done lately:

May:

I finished my MIL's scarf/stole/shawl thingy.  I used 2 skeins of Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock yarn in Mulberry Spice and Sweet Clementine. (-2)

I was asked to weave a scarf for a friend after she'd seen one I'd done in the same yarn. Woven using Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock in New Moon Alice.



I spun this yarn and knit a Haruni:
Spun from 2 Sunshine Yarns SW Merino Rovings.  Un-Birthday Party and Patronus.  I spun these on the new lace flyer I got and ended up with around 880 yards of 2 ply fingering yarn. (-2 +1-.5 = +1/2)


Picture of the yarn preknitting:


I spun this yarn for a friend.  Sunshine Yarns SW Merino in Blood Red, spun into a 2 ply sport weight 300 yards.  She made this into a gorgeous shawl.



In June I finished:
Char's Birthday Boheme.  Made with Sunshine Yarns Worsted in Ever After.
The pattern is written for sport weight, with sizes up to 18 months.  I was able to modify using some tips from other project pages to make a 4t using worsted weight yarn.  She is very happy with it.  (Please don't pay any attention to the mess in the background!  The kids' toybox was confiscated and redeposited in the middle of my office floor.)  Buttons are by BlueManateeButtons on Etsy.  (-2)

In June I also started 2 pairs of socks...brilliant me made each on a set of DPNs instead of my usual 2 at a time using magic loop knitting.  So I  have 1 of each.

Skew:  Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock in Alice (WIP 1)

Rivendell: Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock in Forest Mist. (WIP 1)

And spun this yarn:  Sunshine Yarns SW Merino, Potronus, 2 ply light fingering, 500 yards.

Yesterday was the mystery challenge.  One of those do as much as you can in 1 day sort of things.
One person from each house and year is chosen to participate.  I was that person for the Slytherin 4th years.

I spun the Sunshine Yarns Tonks from the earlier post and knit it into this little baby hat:

Then I spun some yarn for a present, the Gaia's Colours top I mentioned before:
And then I knit up some little baby mittens to go to a friend:

Well, it's being posted late but I did spin on Days 3 & 4. 

Day 3:
Bonkers: Funky Greens (Merino/Tencle blend) into a 2 ply worsted/bulky yarn

Day 4:
Spinning today coincided with the Harry Potter Knitting/Crocheting House Cup Quidditch Mystery Challenge that I was chosen to participate in for Slytherin 4th years.

Here's the spinning that was done for the projects:
Gaia's Colours Fibre Arts: Samovila Top (50 Merino/50Tencel) in Pollack, 2 ply worsted yarn

Sunshine Yarns SW Merino in Tonks spun into a crazy thick and thin

The Tour de Fleece is a project on Ravelry coinciding with the Tour de France for spinners. 

Here is my Day 1 spinning:
1/3 of Love Triangle

So you want to spin...I can help a bit as long as it's on a wheel.  Spindling was not for me!  I have uber-respect for those who can do it, it just wasn't working for me.

So this is what you got when your roving showed up:

Start splitting the roving.  You can be as thick or thin as you want dependent on your desired finished product. This should start out pretty easy at first.  The roving will split easily in spots where it 'wants' to split.
Now you are ready to spin.
Fray the end of your lead on piece a bit then overlap the start off the fiber and the lead.  Let the twist take.  As you build up some twist, pull small amount out from the fiber end of the piece you are working on and then let the twist slip up this part.  This is drafting!
Keep this pattern up. Get some twist gathered up, slip a little of the fiber out, let the twist travel up, and let the bobbin take in the spun yarn.  You're spinning!

Now when you get about 6 inches from the end of your current piece you need to get a second piece ready to go.  Pull a bit of the fiber out of the next piece and lay it against the end of your previous piece.
Start spinning again and let the twist take in the new piece while continuing the drafting process.  Then you just keep going.

The next instillation of the dreaded tally for 2010!  The second for February...I've been bad, very bad!

Yarn In includes purchases and trades that came in.
Yarn Out includes finished objects, yarn I sold or traded out.
Limbo Yarn includes yarn that is currently being used.

So our starting total was: 120 skeins respectively
January's Total was: 132 skeins

February (first installment still listed first with second additions following):

Yarn In:
1 (+1) = trades/gifted
2 (+8 rovings + 4 skeins) = my purchases

Yarn Out:
3(+1) = Finished Objects
16 (+4)= Sold / Traded / Gifted

Limbo Yarn:
33 skeins are currently devoted to projects in progress! (21 of those are the Doomsday Bag and 7 are the Wicked Sweater.)

End total: 118 (-5+13) =  127 (but do rovings really count since they are for the shop? so really -8 from the total gives me 119 so I'm still under the years starting point!?! Or is that cheating?)

So, here's the second installment of what came in in February:

Purchases:

Another custom spin for a fellow yarnie:

Sundance
200 yards
14 WPI, Fingering weight

So in all my destashing and the whole 'end the year with less yarn than I have now' thing, I have to ask...Does roving count?

I also did a little spinning last month.  Mostly a custom for a fellow yarnie.  Her sister had sent her some gorgeous wool & mohair blend rovings from New Zealand.  They were a dream to spin!

Satin Roses:
183 yards of worsted 2 ply.