Betcha thought I had given up on my Hanne Falkenberg Ballerina jacket. But no! I am still working on it. I started knitting it in January 2008, so it is nearly two years into its gestation period, but I am making some progress.
I made a good start on it back in that January through March, getting the front done, one sleeve done, and started working around the back. Then I just stopped working on it for about a year. Funny how no progress is made on things when I don't touch them.
I picked it up again sometime in August, so I guess that was more than a year hiatus, but in just the last couple of months, I have completed the back and I am pleased to report that I just started the second sleeve tonight! Yay! I have only the second sleeve, right front, front band (kind of a kimono style band finishes the collar and front edges), and sleeve cuffs. I see the end in sight! I will be wearing this sweater soon! I am shooting to have it done to wear it on Thanksgiving. I am quite pleased with myself!
I'll get pictures as soon as I can.
I'm still spinning the Bermuda tencel/merino fiber for my Bermuda socks. I got the first sock done, but to be honest, I have done very little spindle spinning for months.
I am working on a dark red cashmere scarf using Springtide Farms fingering weight cashmere, and it does feel yummy. I am knitting the Heather Lace Scarf pattern by Rebecca Hatcher, which I purchased as a download on Ravelry. The cashmere is one of my SPA 2009 purchases.
I am halfway done spinning the orange and purply/blue alpaca/merino/silk fiber I got at SPA 2009 from Ball & Skein. I picked two completely opposite colors and am spinning them together, one ply of each, and then plying the 2 colors together, as you saw in my previous post. Half the fiber is spun. I am using the small spinning wheel my father in law made me; I treasure it. I count having the fiber spun as a completion of the fiber as a project, but I am spinning it into sock yarn, and socks are what I'll make with it. I'll say again, it is amazing how different the color is with the two colors plied together, as compared to how it looks in separate bags.
So here is what I have left to finish from my SPA and Fiber Frolic purchases this year, so far untouched:
- 400 yards of yummy cashmere blend fingering blue/turquoisey/purpley yarn from String Theory, that I got at the Fiber Frolic
- 4 oz. of End of the World Farm worsted weight wool, hand dyed, purchased at the SPA 2009.
- 4 oz. of tencel/merino fiber, color "Aspen" that I got at Spunky Eclectic's booth at the SPA.
- 4 oz. of BFL fiber, color "Galaxy", that I also got at Spunky Eclectic's booth at the SPA.
I think that's it. I spun the Grafton Fiber batt that I got at the SPA a couple weeks ago; I spun a 2 ply worsted weight, using Amy King's book Spin Control for inspiration. I never usually spin anything that thick, I always make this threadlike little yarn, 2 ply fingering weight or maybe a 3 ply dk weight. What an enlightenment to discover that if I spin a 2 ply worsted weight, I can spin ALL of a 4 oz. bag of fluff in one evening! If I use a spinning wheel instead of a spindle, and spin thickly, its a whole new world. It is possible to spin enough yarn to make a sweater in 7 to 10 days, in my spare time. It's kind of a miracle, really. There is new hope for all the fluff currently living upstairs in my house. Don't tell my husband. He thinks it is just there for insulation.
I've knit a couple hats that flew under the radar, including the hat I made from the Grafton batt that I spun so quickly. I think it is too garish for me, but maybe I can donate it to the Ships Project at the SPA in February 2010.
Ok, off to knit a sleeve on my Ballerina...