May Day Spinning and Knitting

 

Gosh, there is a lot of stuff going on around here including only a little knitting this week, and work on two upcoming patterns.  

The patterns are coming along nicely, Spring weather has arrived and although I had to wait on more yarn to arrive to finish up the pattern projects, I am finally knitting the last version and putting the final touches on the first pattern. 

The "Grasshopper" colorway Madeline Tosh Merino Light yarn shown in the photo above is one I've been working with for this pattern and it positively shouts "Spring!" to me and makes me smile.

The non-knitting parts of my life are a bit chaotic right now, and I feel like my head is spinning sometimes, so I decided this would be a good time to take a short timeout from work on the patterns and do some spinning.

I've finished a bobbin of fingering weight singles in the beige Coopworth and decided I needed to work on something with a little color.  

The beige will eventually be multi-plied to knit some sort of coat or jacket from it, but that yarn will most likely take me the rest of the year to complete since I plan to intersperse working on it with other, more vibrant fibers.

  

Craving some cheerful color, I went stash diving.  I didn't have anything light-colored (wool festival anyone?), but I did pull this pretty BFL hand-painted roving from Handwoven by Tina in the "Wildflower" colorway out of my stash to play with.  

 

OK, all you expert spinners out there, please keep in mind I'm not super experienced as a spinner and be kind in your assessment of my spinning.  Our little spinning group at Temptations seems to have become defunct, and I miss having other spinners to consult with for advice.  I'm mostly learning from videos, Youtube and written materials.

The fiber is soft and well-prepared, and very easy to spin, great for the relaxation I was seeking.  After deciding I wanted to knit a shawl with the finished yarn, I split the 4 oz. bundle into two even portions, then split those into five thinner sections each before drafting them to spin.  

One end is much darker than the other.  

Although the singles is slightly different than I expected, I love the way the colors are blending in the twist and can't wait to see how it looks when knit up. 

This has certainly whetted my appetite for colorful spinning and knitting and I'm looking forward to attending the 16th annual Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster, Ohio at the end of this month.  

Held May 28th and 29th at a fairgrounds about an hour south of Cleveland, this show features workshops in knitting, crochet, weaving, spinning, tatting, carding fibers, felting and more, competitions for fleeces and handspun yarns, multiple buildings filled with vendors, demonstrations, a sheep show and sale, and loads of other fun things to see and do.  

Our dog always has a great time riding in her backpack.

Every year that I attend Great Lakes, I see lots of beautiful fiber and yarn, take tons of photos, and leave with great memories.  

This year I'll definitely be on the lookout for some fresh, light colorways, inspired by the beautiful, native wildflowers.  Although I live in a densely populated, semi-urban area, my city is ringed by many beautiful parks featuring wooded nature trails.  My husband and I try to visit all the different parks, and this is where I get many of my photos, shared here on this blog.

This weekend I was able to snap a few more examples of our local flora, including this  Geranium maculatum, commonly known as Wild, or Cranesbill, geranium.  

Violets of every color are abundant.

Jack in the pulpit is a more unusual sight.

And this blue beauty is a stunner, but I'm not familiar with it's name.

I hope you are enjoying Spring wherever you are, happy knitting and happy May Day!