Southern Cross Fibre

Fibre: Polwarth Top in “Green Tea” from Southern Cross Fibre
Spinning method: Woollen spun 3-ply from rolags (see post here for details)
Yardage: 2100 yards / 1930 metres
Weight: 39 ounces / 1100 grams
Yards per Pound: 920 ypp average (Heavy Worsted/Aran weight)

I feel like I’m finally making some progress on my Ravelympics project. Over half of the fibre is now spun and I have a pound of 3-ply Aran weight yarn.

I cast on the band of the Fog Sweater, but frogged it a few inches in because the band was curling. It has been a while since I’ve knitted such a wide rib and forgot how much long tail cast on can curl. I cast on again with German Twisted Long Tail cast on and it is looking a lot better. The band is done and I’m about to start the endless 1×1 rib of the body.

The last week has rushed by in the blur of mayhem and chaos that is shop update and club packing week. I did manage to find time to get a 86 gram (3 ounce) sample spun, washed and dried.

Fibre: Polwarth Top in “Green Tea” from Southern Cross Fibre
Spinning method: Woollen spun 3-ply from rolags (see post here for details)
Yardage: 174 yards / 160 metres
Weight: 3 ounces / 86 grams
Yards per Pound: 927 ypp (Heavy Worsted/Aran weight)

This yarn should be a good substitute for Cascade Eco Wool, so it is time to cast on and get busy spinning the rest of the fibre.

There is a lot of 1×1 ribbing in the Fog Sweater, so I’m almost tempted to suck it up swatch in continental to see how bad my gauge is.  Almost.

I’m happy to report that my fibre (a kilo of Polwarth in “Green Tea”) dried in time for the start of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Hooray!

Australians aren’t big on winter sports. After all, a very small percentage of the country actually gets any snow in the winter, requiring most of our Winter Olympics athletes to train overseas. But we are known for our sportsmanship, so we give it a red-hot go anyway. Go Aussies and good luck to all of the athletes from around the world competing at the games.

I’ve been in two minds about participating in the Ravelympics event on Ravelry. Why? I wanted to enter the sweater event, but I started spinning two pounds of Hello Yarn Targhee “Parritch” for a sweater a couple of weeks back. I really should have waited and used that as my Ravelympics project, but the fibre is so yummy that I couldn’t wait to start spinning it.

I woke up this morning and thought that I’d enter regardless (since one sweater project is never enough) and set about looking for the right pattern and fibre. I ended up deciding on “The Fog Sweater” (Ravelry Link) in “Green Tea” Polwarth. I dyed a kilo of fibre this afternoon and I’m waiting patiently for it to cool enough before rinsing.

Nothing like leaving things to the last minute.

One of my favourite drafting methods is English Long Draw (aka Traditional Long Draw aka Double Drafting). Nothing beats spinning long draw from rolags. I also enjoy watching the changing colours slide through my fingers when spinning from handpainted top. Here is the method I came up with to have the best of both worlds.

Get yourself some combed top. I’m using Falkland top in the “Katoomba” colourway from Southern Cross Fibre. This technique will cause some of the colours to overlap, resulting in heathered sections in the finished yarn where the colours have blended. If you want a clean, crisp colour progression, then this technique is probably not for you.

If your top has been sitting around for a while, it may need loosening up. Compressed or sticky top makes for bad rolags. Most top is a flat length of fibre that has been rolled and twisted to hold it together. We’re going to undo the rolling and twisting to turn it back into a flat length of fibre. You should see a definite fold line along your top. Gently work your way along the top and open it up along the fold.

Next, you’re going to loosen up the fibres. Press down firmly across the full width of the top with one hand and pull gently with the other until the fibres just start to move. That’s it. No more. You just want to loosen the fibres, not draft them.

Move your hands about a staple length and repeat. Here’s what you’ll end up with:

Next, we’ll make the rolags. I use an old wooden rolling pin. It is well worn from years of use, has no rough edges and is a nice diameter for rolag-making. If you’re using a piece of dowel, ensure it is completely smooth by sanding it with fine sandpaper before use.

Wind the top around the rolling pin once as shown in the photo below:

Press down on the rolling pin with one hand and pull apart with the other. Roll up the remaining piece of fibre and slide it off the rolling pin.

That’s it. Rinse and repeat.

Happy Spinning!

While I was staying with Adrian after Rhinebeck (October 2009), I “encouraged” Adrian to start a new mitten pattern. After a shopping trip to WEBS, we spent a few days sitting around the dining room table armed with Adrian’s extensive mitten library, graph paper and pencils. Adrian’s awesome Squirrel Sampler Mittens and my Northman Mittens are the result.

Special thanks to Adrian for encouraging me to design these mittens, answering my endless questions, test knitting, and giving me permission to use her Squirrel Sampler Mittens pattern as a template.

Thanks also to Stacie for her wonderful editing and test knitting skills.

Pattern: Squirrel Sampler Mittens by Adrian Bizilia
Yarn (Outer): Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift (“Peat”) and Rowan Scottish Tweed 4 Ply (“Oatmeal”)
Yarn (Lining): Misti Alpaca Lace Solids (#C743)
Needles: 3.25 mm (US3) Addi Turbo (magic loop)
Gauge: 8 sts per inch/2.5 cm
Size: Large

Pattern: Northman Mittens by David Schulz (now available on Ravelry)
Yarn (Outer): Berroco Ultra Alpaca (#6279 & #6214)
Yarn (Lining): Blue Sky Alpacas Melange (#806)
Needles: 3.5 mm (US4) Addi Turbo (magic loop)
Gauge: 6.5 sts per inch/2.5 cm
Size: Medium

Wow! Has it really been three months since my last post?

Most of August and September disappeared in a haze of dyeing and sweater-making in preparation for my holiday in the USA. I have quite a few sweater projects still on the wheel and a couple on the needles, but I managed to get a couple completed in time for my visit.

Pattern: Seamless Set-In Sleeve Sweater from “Knitting from the Top”
Yarn: Handspun Aran weight Superwash Merino in “Peat” from Hello Yarn 
Needles: 5.0 mm/US 8 and 6.0 mm/US10

Pattern: Huron by Jared Flood
Yarn: Portland Tweed from Classic Elite Yarns in “Espresso” and “Desert Sand”

The unfinished sweater projects will now likely hibernate until the end of summer.

In the meantime, it’s all about mittens! Stay tuned.

A couple of finished WIPs. First up, my Champagne sweater. It is thick, squooshy and I love it to bits. The finished sweater weighs in at 690 grams (24.3 oz).

A quick and easy cowl made from my “Enchanted” Corriedale handspun (Southern Cross Fibre Club - July 2009). The pattern was made up on the fly and can be found in the project notes of my Ravelry project. The cowl was knit at a fairly loose gauge and the resulting fabric is super squooshy but not too dense.

To finish up, yet another sweater swatch. This one is for a Duxbury Point Pullover (from Simply Shetland 4). Made from a cone of grey New Zealand lambswool that I’ve had in the stash for eons.

It turns out to be a perfect match for Jamieson’s Shetland 2-ply Spindrift. I’m in two minds about whether to proceed with the yarn I’ve used for the swatch or to spin the yarn for it using some gorgeous moorit Shetland that just arrived. Decisions, decisions.

A few people have asked me about my tweet this morning:

Even if a woodchuck could chuck wood, why would he bother? http://bit.ly/5mpFr

Before you have me committed, let me explain. I woke up with “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck…” in my head at 5 am this morning (sanity is not my strong suit). Not even knowing what a woodchuck looks like, I decided to google it. The pic appeared on the first page of hits. I figured, why would a woodchuck chuck wood when armed to the teeth like that? Seemed a bit pointless. OK. You can have me committed now.

My sock-knitting frenzy came to a screaming halt during this year’s Tour de Fleece. I spent the Tour spinning a kilo of “Champagne” from Spunky Eclectic.

A new bug has taken over - sweater knitting!

This one should be done in a couple of days and I already have plans in place for a few more.

Another bug took hold during the Tour de Fleece - felted singles.

“Selfish” Shetland felted singles from Spunky Eclectic Fibre Club:

Knit into a Forest Canopy:

The two bugs have combined into a new project. Not sure where this one will go, but it’ll definitely be a sweater of some kind.

Grey Corriedale felted singles (worsted weight):

I started knitting a swatch with it a few nights ago. I was enjoying the yarn so much I didn’t stop until I ran out. It knit up beautifully at 4.5 sts/in.

Lastly, a few shout outs:

- Amy - congratulations on the release of Spin Control. It truly is a wonderful book and I’m so very proud of you. xoxo+++

- Jared - congratulations on your “Made in Brooklyn” collection for Classic Elite. It is always a delight to see new men’s patterns on the market. Can’t wait for my copy to arrive. Huron - here we come!

- Adrian - you are the Preserve Queen of the Universe. Thanks for the daily dose of mouth-watering goodies. I’m counting the days until I get to taste some of them.