I believe I mentioned in April or May that I had bought a spindle and was (struggling) to learn how to spin, yes?  Like pretty much everything else I was doing this summer, the subject wasn’t really mentioned here again. But there’s been developments. Oh yes, there’s been developments.

That, my friends, is my new Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel. (And please pay no mind to the footprints I’ve already made on the pedals. It’s one of the bad things about always being barefoot.) While I was in the deepest trenches of the sucky portion of this summer, I broke down and bought it. I wanted to spin, but every time I picked up the spindle it was just horrible and awkward for me, and no fun at all. Plus, I was admittedly a bit cranky that most everyone I knew was busy traveling around the world, while I was stuck at home watching The People’s Court and looking at grad schools. So I took a risk and plopped down 300 bucks on the chance that spinning with a wheel would be both easier and more enjoyable for me.

Happily, it immediately was.

I sped through my first yarn, not really paying any attention to technique or thickness variation or twist; I was just too excited to be bothered by the details. I ended up with roughly 80 yards of severely thick-and-thin yarn (we’re talking about super bulky suddenly becoming lace weight, here)–horrifyingly overtwisted, barely usable single-ply yarn.

I’m still proud.

But with my second bunch of roving, I was much more careful. This time, I worked on slowing down and perfecting my technique a bit more. My goal was (and still is, seeing as how I haven’t finished it) a 2-ply fingering weight, hopefully enough to make a pair of socks. I’m nearly done with the first singles, and I have to say that I’m impressed with how quickly I’ve improved (if you ignore the bad lighting):

I took this picture a couple weeks ago, so there’s much more on the bobbin now, and my spinning has become more even, even since then!

I’m loving my new hobby, and I can’t wait until I get to ply my first yarn. So there we have it: the first part of my catch-up series.

Next up: some truly epic stash acquisition porn. Quite possibly the most that’s ever been legally broadcast on a blog before.

Today started innocuously enough. I woke up, had a muffin, and continued knitting on my Very First Sock, which I started yesterday while watching Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (awesome, by the way). I was babbling to my brother about my sock and my courage in attempting it, when I mentioned that the yarn–a very cheap acrylic, not the nice kind of acrylic that is a poor college student’s best friend–was rather rough, especially for something to be worn directly on the skin. I let him reach out and feel it, during which he exclaimed, “Dear God! I thought you wanted to be able to wear these.” A couple minutes later, my sympathetic and ever-indulgent brother agreed to not only take me to two yarn stores to buy softer, better sock yarn, but to trade in the aluminum cans we’ve been waiting to recycle and give me the money so I could actually buy it.

Soon, we were on our way. We traded a ridiculous amount of cans ($30 worth, which if you know anything about recycling is a crapload of cans), then headed toward a yarn store a city or two away that I had never been to. I loved it because it was friendly and warm; I loved it so much, in fact, that I let the lady talk me into buying what I have since dubbed the Crack Yarn:

Adriafil’s Knitcol, #048 (Lot 0002), merino
And I bought this fully knowing that I would be heading to a yarn store that had a wider selection of sock yarn, too. Alas, I am now committed to it at this point.

So we headed to the next yarn store, where the selection is wonderful but the people are not-so-friendly. I looked around a bit, but not much because I was afraid of making eye contact with the unfriendly people. I saw a yarn I liked, grabbed it, and paid for it while fending off the cashier’s Addi Turbo advances ($17.50 for one pair of needles that I could buy on KnitPicks for $5, while matching the ones I already have?! No thanks.).

And then. I saw the yarn I had been looking at online. These gorgeous Lorna’s Laces colorways (pictures from their site):

Happy Valley

Rainbow

So beautiful. As I quickly realized my oversight, I also realized that my previous purchase was already being wound into a ball and that I feared the wrath of the yarn ladies, so, I did not buy the yarn that I had actually set out to buy and loved more than either of my actual purchases. Sigh. However, I do love the yarn I did end up buying at the second store:

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, Java (Lot 216), merino

At least it’s a color scheme that fits the weather and my style a bit more. I’ve promised myself, though, that if I manage to finish knitting the socks I’ve started on this yarn, I will allow myself to buy the other two yarns I covet.
And that is all for my adventures in knitting today.

After having a knitting slow spell these last few weeks, this weekend I really (and accidentally) kicked things up a notch by starting and finishing not one but two projects. It felt awesome.

By the time I decided to share this, though, it was already too dark to take pictures. Of course, since when has my artistic integrity stopped me from doing anything? So I present shitty webcam-quality pictures of my two knitting FO’s from this weekend, with my biggest achievement first:

A! Cabled! Headband! I repeat: CABLES! This a massive knitting step forward for me. I improvised what I was doing, and it totally worked out. Yay me!

My first hat! A simple roll brim one, not a lot to it really. But I’m still delighted with myself. (Also, this picture is not even close to being color representitive at all. I am also not cross-eyed, as this picture would have you believe. Damn webcam, conspiring against me.)

Also, remember my bald polymer clay sculpture from this entry way back in March? I’m thisclose to being done with it; I just need to paint her eyes on, and she’ll be done. I know, I’m possibly the worst procrastinator of all time, even when it comes to fun times. In light of that, you can understand why finishing two knitting projects in one weekend thrills the hell out of me. I am truly at the height of productiveness.
Aw, what the heck, one more time before I go everybody:

Cables!

So I have been rather naughty and completely avoiding my HP sculpture. Why, why does the perfection of the left eye elude me? Though this will probably jinx me and prevent me from finishing it forever, I shall give you a teaser angle:

Can you guess who it is? Probably.

Instead of working on it more, I have been playing around on Ravelry (I’m TheGeekMystique there, if anyone would like to add me) and started trying to knit my first hat. As seems to be tradition around these parts, I don’t have any pictures to show of what I’m currently working on, just pictures of things I finished weeks ago.

So I present to you another piece from my crafting past: the third thing I ever knit (I’m only on my like, sixth thing, but oh well). It’s just a plain grey Panta, knit from this pattern with Bernat Softee Chunky yarn. Being one of my first projects, it’s flawed, but I love it nonetheless. If only it weren’t 100+ degrees here in California, I would wear it often.

It’s all about perspective, baby.

I really must see about going to grad school in a cold state, so I can see what it’s like to wear and use something you’ve knit.

Finally, in “I have crafting ADD news”, I am currently dreaming of experimenting with stained glass and resin casting. Oh, if only I had the time and energy for all of the artsy things I would like to be doing.

So I have officially caught the knitting bug.