More Drop Spindle Spinning

Good morning, readers! I’m whipping up a short update post before getting ready and heading for work. I promised myself I would get better at taking photos which I put up on the blog, instagram, etc. I will make an effort! But that effort has not yet been made, so please excuse the blurriness etc. I do promise better photos soon! Here’s another look at Jessie’s girl. I wore it once to work so far and it’s a comfy and flattering tee. Nowadays, I wear tunics and tights most days, dresses other days. Which is why I lengthened the tee a bit to make it more of a tunic. I’m happy with it. I’ve been spinning on my drop spindle quite a bit. Here’s my re-spun (I spun it badly, then fixed the slubby parts) and two-plied Corriedale, I think it is: It’s amazing to see the transformation that happens after washing. People say the yarn “blooms” and I see what they mean! My latest spinning is approximately 3 oz of Romney undyed combed top – my first ever 3 ply. This office chair was used as a makeshift skein maker: and here is the 3-ply hand spun (spindle spun!) yarn: It’s not easy to ply such a length on a drop spindle, just because of the weight of it all. But I am proud of myself for doing it. I’ve been spinning more consistently and drafting flows much better now. This is the above 3-ply yarn, before plying – I spun it into a 3-ply ball as Abby Franquemont suggests. Here’s one of the singles being spun: I am contemplating getting a Hansen miniSpinner. It’s so expensive, but it seems like a great tool. Gotta run!

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Jessie’s Girl, casually blocked

I finished knitting up Jessie’s Girl – a lovely, simple pattern, with short rows at the shoulders. I needed to make adjustments for my stitch count, so that slowed me down for a bit (lots of pen and paper and ruffled brows) – but it gave me a chance to practice making those adjustments and understanding the pattern better. Short rows are still rather new to me.

The instructions were great, and I enjoyed making it. I lengthened the hem by 10 cm (4 inches), but otherwise followed the instructions for size M (except for my different gauge). I really love patterns that are simple but are still so wearable and lovely. I gave the pattern 5 stars.

The yarn (100% cotton, teal) is of a uniform color – the fluctuations in color are some weird digital artifact. The tee is photographed here inside-out, so you can see some woven in ends. Please disregard! :-)

No pins (because the cats like them too much) and no blocking wires (because they are way too expensive! They’re just wires! I cannot bring myself to buy them). The garter stitch rows stretched apart very easily, and I like to casually block anyway. I don’t like to go too crazy with blocking or else I will hate doing it.

Now for the hardest part – waiting for it to dry!

Jessie’s Girl, by Elizabeth Smith

a hint of summer – completed (April 2015)

I can’t believe I finished it in 2 1/2 weeks.

I made it tunic length, much longer than the pattern calls for (53 cm / 21″ down from armhole instead of 40 cm / 16″).

…a hint of summer by Isabell Kraemer

It’s quite a heavy tee, as the 100% cotton thread is rather dense. I am happy with it! I would love to make another variation of this excellent versatile pattern again soon.

I had only one skein (50 grams) of the light blue yarn, and obviously it ran out mid-sweater. No worries, I just improvised with some this ginger-brown cotton yarn from my mom’s stash. Improvising and letting go of always being in control is therapeutic for me… And it’s fun, too.

The pattern calls for a finer yarn, to be knit on larger needles and blocked somewhat open. But I decided to use the cotton yarn I had on hand – in any case, since this is meant to be worn in summertime, I figured a yarn with any wool content just won’t do.

The hem is a 1×1 rib. The provisional crochet cast on and short rows at the shoulder were cool to learn and use for the first time.

Tell me what you think!

East End Tunic – completed (March 2015)

Sorry for the blurry photo :|

It ended up being more of a dress than a tunic – I figured I might as well finish all 7 skeins of yarn.

Looks much better with a finished neckline:

I didn’t know how to avoid this hole while picking up stitches, so I just fixed it by stitching it up in the end.

The beginning of the seed stitch is like the pattern instructs, but the rest is improvised.

See how soft and velvety the fabric is?

All in all, I’m happy with it, though there are things I’d like to do better next time, and I am sorry to say I prefer more informative pattern instructions than these.