Spinalcat's Crafty Adventures

Green and black Merino/bamboo sock yarn from Fiber Fiend roving. I think this was my fastest spinning project yet. I started at the last meeting of the Spinnity Spinners. I had a goal of knitting Tofutsies socks for Bryan by our anniversary (June 1) and spinning and knitting socks from this fiber by his birthday (August 22). I finished the socks in about 2 weeks (yay, stockinette and not having to look!), and finished the spinning for these socks. My new goal is to knit socks for both of us by our anniversary. I spun up the Mars colorway of the same Fiber Fiend Merino/bamboo 2 years ago. I chain plied the red yarn, and it weighs 104g. I decided to try something new with the green roving. It was dyed in a sequence that repeated a little over 3 times. I put each repeat on a separate bobbin, and spun from the whole width without splitting or pre-drafting. The leftover roving had 2 repeats of a short sequence. I split it in half width-wise, and stripped it so each bobbin would g...

Aran/heavy worsted weight Bluefaced Leicester wool yarn. Approx 160 yds per 100g skein. This is a nice sturdy, round yarn that would be great for knitting soakers or felting.

I finished these toe-up knee socks in my handspun from the Lorna's Laces top in Ravenswood. I've got the formula down pretty well now. It'll be published in some form or another eventually. You can see my post about my first handspun knee socks for a general idea. I'm doing a less stumpy heel turn these days.

My mosaic bag pattern, Creeping Jenny , appears in the new Beltane issue of The Anticraft ! They showcase crafts of all kind, and this bag calls for a bit of fun with leather and a heavy-duty hole punch. This design had its start in the summer of 2007, worked in black and white wool. It was actually the first thing I ever designed! The bag was resurrected in Rowan All-Seasons Cotton last spring after I found the original prototype to be damaged. All-Seasons Cotton is a fabulous cotton/acrylic blend that will satisfy even the most die-hard cotton haters (like me). It is sturdy and smooth, but has enough bounce that you won't be tearing out your hair over tension issues in color work. Ravelry pattern page here .

New spinning fiber in the shop . Top left is superwash Merino/bamboo, others are 100% Merino from the Falkland Islands. More Merino/bamboo and BFL coming soon! Any requests?

Normally I don't release 2 patterns in 2 days, but I'm trying to get a few things out into the world before a big surprise next week. ;) This scarf is the class project for my "my first lace scarf" class at Yarndogs. I've taught it 3 or so times already, and have had a great time! I love seeing people expand their horizons a little bit. I think there's nothing in knitting that is as scary as people think right before they try it. (Except for that bird's eye lace pattern. That is just plain hard.) I decided to make a professionally edited version of the pattern available for purchase to the rest of the world. There's only 3 different rows in the entire pattern, and one of those is a resting row! It uses sock yarn to help make lace a little less intimidating, and the strong lines of the pattern help it remain visible in even wildly handpainted yarns. When I get stuck on naming, I go to Wikipedia and click around. Before "pink" was a co...