I know, I know. I'm supposed to be fixing up my mom's house and also cleaning-purging-packing at my house. I know. But, despite the fact that I have three small knitting projects going to keep me sane, I'm silently freaking out because I don't have a sweater project going. I'm working on the Malicious Salad fiber very slowly, but while the yarn is absolutely gorgeous, I don't know if it's suited for a sweater. I might use it for very cute socks/hats/mittens instead; it would be great for those because I've plied it to be self-striping and the merino wool will be so soft next to the skin, just like my Nuclear Pumpkin sweater. (It's the same fiber; I bought four pounds of it.)
Not having a sweater in progress is really making me nervous. Really. Nervous. But can I justify buying and dyeing more "sweater" wool while I have so many smaller batches of unspun fiber and unfinished knitting projects filling up my house? On the other hand, the sweater on the cover of the last Interweave Knits is begging me to knit it. Can I justify ignoring it? I mean, how do you think that makes my unborn sweater feel, knowing that I'm refusing to bring it to life? Poor sweater. And that whole winter IK issue was about tweed, and I'm so wanting to learn how to spin something tweedy, and the challenge of spinning for a specific project would be so delicious.
I could do it slowly, too. I could pick out a nice, scrunchy wool and dye it and then I could work on it over the summer. I could let it dry and slowly work on prepping it before I move, and then begin spinning it when we transfer our crap to the other house. I could knit it over the late summer and have it ready for when the weather turns chilly again.
Some of you are asking: Why don't I just get on the innernets and order the yarn used in the pattern and start knitting? There are two answers: 1. Because that yarn, in the quantity needed for my ginormous plus-size sweater, will cost more than bailing out Wall Street. Spinning will save me money. 2. Spinning the yarn myself will bring me great joy. It's more about the yarn itself than the object made with the yarn.
Also, I've been letting my savings account build up, and after we move I am thinking of rewarding myself with a second wheel. I would love to spin for this sweater on my new wheel. I just have to decide which one. There's several candidates out there, and I may have to make the trip to Yarn Barn in Lawrence, KS and test drive some of them.
The Place of the Living Part 2
6 months ago
9 comments:
Let's go now! I need some of those small carders.
A second wheel or a new wheel?
A new wheel which will be my second wheel because I already have a first wheel.
Wiseass.
What I was trying to ascertain is whether or not you have a use for two wheels, or if the new one will simply replace the old one.
I think it would be nice to have both, and since my mom was instrumental in purchasing the Kiwi for me, I'd like to hold on to it for awhile. Sentimentality and all that. Plus, while the Kiwi doesn't do everything, it does a LOT and it a really good wheel. I'm quite fond of it.
I also might loan my Kiwi to Scott because he wants to shave himself and make yarn out of his own chest hair, and I am so not touching that. So to speak.
Well that mental image will teach me to ask questions...
*wonders if it's possible to make yarn out of dryer lint*
It's really difficult because the lint fibers are so short and don't have any "grip", and the resulting yarn is not very strong. Not that I've tried, of course. Ahem.
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