deadline knitting for November is coming up. I have calculated that I need 10 rows a day to finish on time, but gosh do I want to start something else. Or at least work on something like my sweater or socks.
I sneakily picked up some old spinning. It's a bunch of green pencil roving of mysterious fiber source that I was gifted by an LSG friend some time ago. I've been spinning it pretty thin and I think this might end up as my first true laceweight, even if it fluctuates between light and heavy laceweight.
The spindle I am using is really too heavy for it which is part of why it is taking me so long--with how thin I'm drafting it, the staple length of the mystery fiber, the partially felted status of the fiber, and the medium/heavy spindle (I think it's 1-1.5 oz?), I draft only about an inch or two of fiber at a time. I put lots of twist in it, drafting carefully (I think... I'm doing a short backwards draw? long draw works as well but doesn't seem to hold the twist and I'm not as consistent in thickness with long draw), until I've got a foot or so and then I usually put it down (on the bed), prop my foot on it gently, and finish drafting until I've got the amount of twist I want in it. So, park-and-draft, essentially. It's been a while since I've done that but it works well with this stuff. I also didn't do much prep at all with it. Normally I divide the fiber, then open it up a bit, then usually I open it up again before I spin it. This time I divided the fiber and I may have done just a wee bit of adjusting. Mostly I am drafting from the dense, partially felted fiber. Which is useful because the short staple means that the felting helps keep it from breaking.
every once and a while I get distracted, don't put in enough twist, try to make it too thin (especially now as the spindle is getting heavier), and the whole thing snaps and rolls off under the bed, shaking off twist as it goes. and the cats get interested.
holiday gifts planned: 7
holiday gifts finished: 1
holiday gifts started: 3
holiday gifts unplanned: 2
um. eep.
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