More New Stuff

Okay, a list of things I want to post about today:
*Pictures of qiviut/scarf, socks, tencel, and skeinwinder/wheel
*Staining (and naming!) my wheel
*The skeinwinder I built

Here we go!


Here are two pictures of the qiviut scarf as it stands now. It's half done and quite obviously needs some blocking, but as you can see, the pattern is intact. I also finished the other half of the qiviut yarn this afternoon:

Also, I discovered that Joel's camera phone takes WAY better pictures than his digital camera:


(I have never gotten a good picture of this skein, with accurate colors and all. This is a fantastic discovery, and after we move, much re-shooting will be done!)

And, the tencel from NaturalObsessions on Etsy:


This is her "Lovebirds" colorway. The yarn has a slight amount of excess twist, but it will wear longer that way (and also makes it prepped for plying). I love the sheen of tencel. The colors are pretty fantastic, too. I just wish there were a little more blue and green (but then it'd be more like tropical birds than lovebirds, wouldn't it?). I haven't decided what to name this yarn yet but I'm leaning towards something with circus or clown in the name. We'll see. I'd better decide soon, because I want to list it on Artfire!



On another note, I can't believe I forgot to post about my wheel last time. After over two years of owning it, I decided to stain it! It's a gorgeous reddish-brown and it's dark and it makes me happy. I also painted the kiwi engraving with gold enamel paint. I may decide later to paint over it with white or bright green, but for now, I'm content with gold. Pictures:


I also got REALLY sick of not having a skeinwinder. A niddy noddy works alright for a certain amount of yarn, but I do so many bulky yarns that it was way too small, and my skeins looked like blobs of yarn. This skeinwinder is adjustable -- I can have skeins that are just under 4, 5, 6, and 7 feet in circumference. And, it attaches to my wheel! The first skeinwinder I ever used was one from Louet that was designed to attach to the wheel (thanks, Grandma!). I don't like floor skeinwinders for several reasons, including the need for more floor space, and the less optimal angle at which the yarn unwinds. This one isn't perfect, especially since we had no proper power tools (just a hand saw and a cordless drill), but it's functional, and I love it.



One more thing: Here's a picture of the socks I mentioned a couple of posts ago (mini mochi plus kid mohair from Crystal Palace Yarns).



That's all for now! I'm hoping to make one or two more posts before we skedadle to Washington.

New parts, new yarns, and new projects.

Well. I guess I've been kind of busy, although it doesn't feel like it.

I agreed to participate in that crochet-along, and here's my first block (two are done, out of four for the month):
I still can't decide if I will do four of each block, or use some of the 2008 blocks as fillers, or do four of the blocks I like and only two of the ones I don't (with fillers added). Possibly the last. Oh, here are all the yarns I've purchased for the project so far (I need more creams):
There's actually a dark purple missing from that picture, but I've got a lot of medium tones and a couple of darks. I definitely need to find a couple of lights to balance everything out.


My SO bought me a jumbo flyer for my wheel, and here's what it looks like all installed:



I spun my first corespun yarn last night on my newly modified wheel! I think I like the technique.

Here's the bamboo I spun up to knit with the red romney:


And, last but not least, I'm over halfway done knitting the romney and bamboo into a scarf for my lovely!