Remaining Rambo

Finally got a scale and broke down the last of my "bale" of Rambouliet Fiber that I had purchased a while back.  I ended up with 9 balls of four ounce fiber.  The task of spinning it up doesn't look at daunting this way.  It is spinning up so nice.  Can't wait to see how much I end up with once I ply it.

Handspun Keyhole Scarf

 I was working on last minute knitted gifts for my mom and sister and forgot about this hand spun merino that I had purchased in Lancaster County, PA three years ago.  I loved the color way and immediately purchased it.  It was handspun on a 1.5 ounce spindle and it yielded a little under 200 yards of fingering weight yarn.  This was my first handspun gift for my mom and she loved it.  I still have some of this merino left over and can maybe do one more small project out of it; maybe a cup sleeve. 

Corriedale Fingerless Mitts

I purchased this corriedale fiber from the CT Sheep and Wool Festival.  After spinning and plying, I ended up with almost 200 yards of fingering yarn.  This was the perfect amount to make my sister these fingerless mittens for her birthday.  I used size one needles for a really dense knitted fabric.  These mittens were knit from the top down with a thumb gussett decrease.  It was very interesting to work them up this way and it went very quickly.  My sister loved her birthday present.

Creatively Dyed Bamboo

In the previous post, I had featured some bamboo/merino blend that I purchased from the Creatively Dyed booth at the 2011 New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York.  I really love the way the blues and unexpected greens popped up while I was spinning it up.  I navajo plied the yarn and came up with just under 200 yards.  I found this "Abstract Leaves Cowl" on ravelry.com for free.  The yarn is super soft and light.  It will look nice against my purple pea coat this winter.  The design of the pattern began with larger needles with the last two rounds of the pattern done in a smaller size needle for the graduated decrease effect.  This helps it hug the neck.  I will definitely be visiting the Creatively Dyed booth at Rhinebeck this October.

Bamboo Blend

My mantra at Rhinebeck 2011 was "Step out of your comfort zone."  I resisted all the colors I usually reach for like greens, browns and teals.  I found this pink, gray and black colorway from Creatively Dyed fiber in South Carolina.  Two years ago I had got some fiber from this vendor in a beautiful carmel colorway.  As I began to spin it up,  I saw that it also had some deep dark blue in it also. After navajo plying, I ended up with 142 yards of yarn.  I think it's a heavy fingering/sport weight.  I haven't measured the WPI.  I had meant to two ply it using the andean method, but I was impatient. I think I can get a nice scarf or fingerless mitts out of this that will compliment my purple coat.

Time For A Big Project

I found this Rambouleit at the Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival.  I wanted to do a  BIG project and this 2.45 pounds of fiber had such a great price tag.  It was hard choosing from the many different colors this vendor offered, but I settled on this chocolate with bright blue running through it.  I have almost one spool spun up and am nowhere near finished.  I posted a challenge on Facebook to all my friends.  Whoever guesses the closest yardage I end up with (without going over) will win a had knit scarf from me.  If you find me from just surfing the web, you may also enter to win.  Let the games begin.  While you're here, subscribe to my blog so you can see how the progress is going.  
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Outside the Comfort Zone

Ok I admit that I have 3lbs of Ramboulliet from the 2010 Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival, but I couldn't wait to get spinning on this fiber I bought from Rhinebeck.  I instructed my BKFF, Mary to make me step out of  my comfort zone and get colors that I don't usually get.  This meant no purples or blues.  I can't remember if this is Alpaca or Merino, but it is spinning up like a dream.  I purchased 8oz and plan on two-plying it to have more yardage and a finer yarn.  I see a nice shawlette or scarf.  This color will look great against my purple coat.