The Longest Project
This project has been stewing in my mind for years. I have a friend for whom I have wanted to make something. I knew it had to be red, and I knew it had to have a little bit of lace, but not too much. It took the longest time to find the right shade of red and the fact that the dyer named it Bloodstain is a bonus, as my friend writes murder mysteries.
As I mentioned before, I purchased this fiber from The Homestead Hobbyist, who has since packed up shop, moved to Seattle, and opened a new website for shopping. I've updated the link accordingly. This is 37.5% superfine Merino, 37.5% Shetland, and 25% mulberry silk. It is my favorite blend, so far, and an entire braid of it feels like kittens. It's an absolute dream to draft.
Closeup of the braid:
As soon as I found the fiber, I found the pattern, Renaissance Fan, by Nim Teasdale. The pattern was purchased, the fiber was spun (yes, I know--cart meet horse), and knitting commenced.
I do a lot of my knitting during my rotations on the night shift, as there aren't so many interruptions, but it also means that anything other than a mindless knit has to be taken slowly, or there will be a lot of knitting back. I was being extra careful, so that meant extra time. The problem with knitting with handspun is that, if you run out, you can't just trot out to the store and pick up another skein. I ran out of yarn with twenty-two rows left to go. In other words, I ran out just as I reached the edging.
Fortunately, Ken had more of this blend, and I picked up another two braids. Did I mention this is a dream to draft? It is, and it wants to be fine. And even though I used the control card, my next skein was half the size it needed to be. Head, meet desk. At this point, I set the entire project aside for a bit. Spinning my final braid in frustration wasn't going to help, so I distracted myself with another spin along.
Honestly, I wasn't sure how I was going to approach this. I really wanted to get it finished and out to its owner, but I wasn't ready to face another braid of this. (It's me, not the fiber.)
While consoling myself with some online window shopping, I opened The Homestead Hobbyist and discovered that Ken had ready-spun skeins of this colorway in his shop. I eyeballed the weights carefully, took a wild guess, and ordered a skein of DK weight. Thankfully, it matched!
Here's the final product:
As I mentioned before, I purchased this fiber from The Homestead Hobbyist, who has since packed up shop, moved to Seattle, and opened a new website for shopping. I've updated the link accordingly. This is 37.5% superfine Merino, 37.5% Shetland, and 25% mulberry silk. It is my favorite blend, so far, and an entire braid of it feels like kittens. It's an absolute dream to draft.
Closeup of the braid:
This makes a lovely, heathered, garnet-colored yarn.
I do a lot of my knitting during my rotations on the night shift, as there aren't so many interruptions, but it also means that anything other than a mindless knit has to be taken slowly, or there will be a lot of knitting back. I was being extra careful, so that meant extra time. The problem with knitting with handspun is that, if you run out, you can't just trot out to the store and pick up another skein. I ran out of yarn with twenty-two rows left to go. In other words, I ran out just as I reached the edging.
Fortunately, Ken had more of this blend, and I picked up another two braids. Did I mention this is a dream to draft? It is, and it wants to be fine. And even though I used the control card, my next skein was half the size it needed to be. Head, meet desk. At this point, I set the entire project aside for a bit. Spinning my final braid in frustration wasn't going to help, so I distracted myself with another spin along.
Honestly, I wasn't sure how I was going to approach this. I really wanted to get it finished and out to its owner, but I wasn't ready to face another braid of this. (It's me, not the fiber.)
While consoling myself with some online window shopping, I opened The Homestead Hobbyist and discovered that Ken had ready-spun skeins of this colorway in his shop. I eyeballed the weights carefully, took a wild guess, and ordered a skein of DK weight. Thankfully, it matched!
Here's the final product:
An attempt to get a better shot at the detail:
This shot was an attempt to get both detail and a better read on the color:
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This project was a long time coming to fruition, but it was so very worth it.
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