Sunday, June 20, 2010

Mid June Progress


Thank you everyone, for your concern and suggestions on how to heal my hands! They are doing better. In an attempt to do things other than knitting, I went horse back riding a few weeks ago. Fun, but really hard on the wrists! Ooops.


Those of you who are riders will surely see many things wrong in my form, but considering I haven't been riding in over 20 years, I was amazed I could stay on the horse, post a trot and keep him moving. Tonka is half draft horse and I really like how solid he feels and how nicely he moves! If my hands can stand it, it might be killer fun to work with this guy, doing a bit of basic Dressage training, something we could learn together.

In the meantime, I bought a brace for my right hand and wearing that for a few days really helped. The pain and numbness is mostly in the thumb. I'm trying to knit without putting too much pressure on the right thumb, which is sometimes rather comical and all the time awkward feeling. Mostly I knit in much smaller bursts.

So that sweater I'm making? It's moving along very slowly (13 inches of the body and nearly one full sleeve completed). All my other knitting projects are just not happening right now. There is some crochet, a small project that takes little time and doesn't put too much strain on my hands.

Coasters WIP

These coasters are going to be a set of six, intended as a house gift for my boss later this summer.

I am spinning. Thankfully I am able to do that in slightly bigger bursts, and if I use a long draw, then things move along quite nicely. I'm trying to fill up and then clear off all my bobbins before the big July event, Le Tour de Fleece.

Hello Yarn - Parritch - 3 Ply

This bobbin set contains the Hello Yarn Targhee in the Parritch colorway As you can see it will be 3 ply when I put the jumbo flyer on the wheel. I loved spinning this fiber, though because I was doing a worsted draw, it caused me some pain, thus it took a little longer to reach this stage. I wanted to really control the gauge on these singles in order to achieve a nice, well rounded yarn. So far, so good.

Knot My Day Job - progress

This bobbin contains half of the Knot My Day Job red batt that I started back in January. I got distracted, took the bobbin off the wheel and then forgot about it. Now I want to finish it! Of course, I don't have a sample nor any notes so when I put it back on the wheel I had no recollection on how to set my whorl and brake band. Oh well, I decided to go with what I wanted now, so 2/3 of this bobbin are heavier singles than the first 1/3. I'm doing a supported long draw and moving rather quickly, as it doesn't strain my right wrist as much. The second bobbin is well underway; it won't be long before we see how this yarn turns out.

Rolags close up

But before I put the jumbo flyer on and start plying, I want to fill up one more set of bobbins. These wonderful rolags are from 4 oz. of Romney locks dyed using wonderful natural dyes in pinks and magentas. The fiber comes from one of my newer clubs, and one I haven't discussed on this blog to date. This is the April offering from Natchwoolie Steady Dye It club. Six months of dyed fibers and rovings using all natural dyes.

Natchwoolie Steady Dye It Club - April 2010 - Rose Wine, Romney Fleece

Most of the club shipments have been Merino, either top or roving. This one was locks and it was intriguing to me. It necessitated buying hand carders to process. In about a month's time I carded up the locks into a lovely pile of rolags. I found carding to be a pleasant chore, unlike combing which for some reason I do not relish in the same way.

Romney Rolags

All of this needs to be finished before July 3, the start of the Tour de Fleece. I have my fibers selected and I have an idea on how I will spin most of them. Maybe I can find some time later this week to show you what I want to do.

In the meantime, I want to get outside and enjoy the 7th Avenue Street Fair. Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there.

10 comments:

barefootrooster said...

man -- you have been busy! all of this is gorgeous. love seeing the natchwoolie stuff and the way you've prepped it. and parritch! swoon. i just keep petting mine...

happy sunday!

Cookie said...

Look at you! I think you look wonderful. So does the spinning and that lovely fluff!

xo

Oiyi said...

The horse is beautiful! And wow, you have a lot of beautiful fiber to spin up. Excellent carding! Your rolags look so pretty lined up waiting to be spun.

knottygnome said...

that fiber club looks really cool! thanks for linking.

Chris said...

Gorgeous spinning! I look forward to see the finished yarns. Take care with your hands.

Knitting Out Loud said...

Horseback riding!!! What fun!!!

Susie said...

Did you go riding in Brooklyn? Where! Hope your wrists are better soon!

Sarah B. said...

Gosh, I haven't been riding since high school. Now you've made me miss it. Guess I should probably wait until my big preggo belly isn't in the way anymore....

craftivore said...

Bummer about your wrist, though it looks like you're still managing to have some wonderful fiber adventures. I used to ride and still miss it, 20 plus years later, what a thrill it must be to get back to it.

Marie said...

How stiff were you after your ride? I always hobble around for two days after a serious ride with years inbetween...was this in Prospect Park?