Author: Sonia Knits

Keeping up with the Spinners

| Sonia Knits

This weekend I finished plying my first sock fibre club installment, and in not a moment too soon. You see the next installment is more than likely to show up on Monday. Had that arrived before I had finished the first batch, I would have felt a world of doom on my shoulders. It may surprise you to hear, I won’t be knitting up this beautifully spun fibre (if I do say so myself). It’s going in the gift box for a special someone.

I also turned around a quick little project for a colleague. It is a smooshy hat made from some left-over yarn from my cabled-hoody vest. I often deflect requests for knitted items, but this time I relented. My friend really needs an awesome hat, she lives somewhere very very cold and she makes awesome cake. But that’s not why I made it for her (I don’t expect things in return). I made it for her because I know she’ll appreciate it. I can’t wait to give it to her!

I’m up to the sleeves on Folded. I’ve just wound up my third wollmeise skein. The reason I’m using the third skein is because at the end of the day it is a hand dyed yarn, the possibility of having a horrible changeover when the sleeves are joined in to the body without knitting from two skeins is too great. See, I can learn…

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An expanding family

| Sonia Knits

As some of you may have heard (the squees were that loud) my new spinning wheel arrived this week. Last year for my birthday I received a Majacraft Little Gem, it has been a wonderful wheel and indeed experience. My very first wheel and it will not be forgotten. The LG is a ‘travel wheel’, which suits my purposes very well. Have wheel, will travel. It’s almost as convenient as a spindle!

This year I decided it was time for a full-size wheel. Not because my LG wasn’t doing anything I wanted it to. But just because. I test-drove the Suzie Pro whilst at the Bendigo show last year; in fact I tried out ALL of their wheels, it was the Suzie Pro that tugged at my heart springs. I meet one of the owners/makers Owen. Who watched me spin, and be totally blissed out; in fact I think a lot of people watched my bliss fullness and if I recall correctly Susanne even took a photo!

Whilst my birthday is still a few weeks away, I wanted to make sure it arrived in plenty of time (I may have overshot the mark there). The fabulous Spun-out let me test-drive a few wheels (I wanted to be sure) and the Suzie was still an absolute winner, how could I have doubted it?

My wheel arrived this week, and one of the first things I did was to check the base for the signature of the maker of my wheel… It was one of Owen’s! This made me even happier (if that were possible). I’m going to try to abstain from using it proper before my birthday; call me weird but I like to feel like it’s my birthday ON my birthday.

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Yarn high

| Sonia Knits

Something unexpected happened last night. I bought yarn. Now most of you won’t believe me when I say I had no intention to buy three skeins of wollmeise in ‘heavy metal’. But really it’s true.

I plan to make a very wearable work cardigan from it, more than likely it will be by Veera, and most probably it will be Slow Line .

Hence, I have to get ‘Folded’ knit, before it arrives, I estimate a week and a half… Then the guilt of buying more wm will have subsided. The stars were aligned last night, it was meant to be, and I let it happen.

In my defence:
I didn’t know when the update was on, I just happen to be in the right place at the right time.

I wasn’t even logged in when the screen went grey.

I had forgotten my password (it’s been that long), finally after 3 goes I was in.

I dwelled on the array of greys I had to choose from, clicking on photos on the overloaded wm site to decide. Crazy right? Asking for trouble

I made it to checkout… After all that!

This yarn was meant to be mine.

Here’s a peek at Folded’s progress, finally I think I’m excited about knitting it again.

Happy long weekend all!

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Things I’m bad at

| Sonia Knits

It’s a well-known fact that we enjoy doing the things we are good at and detest dislike the things we don’t do so well at.

I was reminded of this last night, when I thought it would be ‘fun’ to take a dance class as part of my new exercise regime. Until last night, I was pretty indifferent to ‘dancing’, couldn’t say I hated it, couldn’t say I loved it. It’s been something I do on the odd occasion whilst out socialising. I can now say I’m no longer on the fence about my feelings towards dancing. I suspect if I actually sang whilst sober and not at the end of a karaoke night, I’d rather suck at singing too.

Lucky for me there are things I’m good at. It’s a shame knitting or spinning doesn’t equate to slimmer thighs though, I guess you can’t have it all.

 

My best handspun so far

| Sonia Knits

I still consider myself a novice at spinning. I have found the joy of spinning is when plying and finishing a yarn and having the feeling that perhaps, maybe perhaps, this yarn is probably the best thing I’ve ever spun… so far. The joy is when this happens on a regular basis (which is not always the case).

In my quest to use what I bought at Bendigo last year, before Bendigo this year, I’ve been spinning up some Kathy’s Fibres BFL/Kid Mohair. Here are the two colourways:

I loved the pink, purple, green colourway, but unfortunately that was her last one so I teamed it with the brown and orange. I split these three ways as my intention was to spin for 3 ply socks. I don’t always know what I’m spinning for, so I call this one planned. These are the singles:

And here is the finished yarn (after plying but before washing):

I can’t wait to turn this into ‘Vanilla’ Socks. My bobbins are now clear for The Thylacine’s Sock Fibre Spin/Knit along. I received my first installment this week, and I have to say I wasn’t disappointed. I know a few of you have already started, I would be super impressed and full of hate envy if anyone shows up with finished socks on Monday night. But then again, it’s going to be a wet weekend.

About last weekend

| Sonia Knits

Last weekend I went away to Hepburn Springs with 9 crafting girlfriends. It is a running joke amongst my friends from The Richmond Knitting group, about the craft affairs I have away from them… you see I belong to 3 craft friendship groups. Whilst the common thread is craft, they are all quite different. I have managed to cross-pollinate a few members and this has worked to great effect. It means I get to see more of them, more often 🙂

I didn’t photo document the weekend whilst I was there, I was too much in awe of everything that was going on and slothful for that.

This was the second time in six months, yes 6 months I’ve been away with this ‘other’ group of girlfriends; let’s call them ‘the quilters’. Everyone apart from myself, did some quilt sewing, planning, cutting of some sort. But not me. I was tempted, oh boy was I tempted. Stepping away from that awesome sewing room, with it’s quilting wall (where you can place your fabric patches up on some batting hanging from the wall and step back to see your quilt taking shape), I realised what attracted me to the new craft.

1. The fabric – it goes without saying, the printed fabrics were stunning, the colours and shapes, appeals to the designer in me.

2. That quilting wall – the arranging, the re-arranging, the playing with colour, pattern, design; hook, line & sinker.

BUT WAIT…

oh that’s right, I don’t like using a sewing machine. Phew… that was one close call.

Instead of sewing, I did some spinning and I knitted on my flying saucer socks. I’m spinning some of Kathy’s Fibres: BFL/Kid Mohair, to make 3 ply socks. This is my first attempt at spinning for socks, I’m hoping it won’t be a complete balls-up. Afterall, I’ve joined The Thylacine’s Sock Fibre Club, there is more sock spinning in my future.

The weekend was a feast for the senses. Not only was I witnessing some amazing projects come together, every meal was like eating at a 5 star restaurant. After lunch on Saturday, I had to have a lay down to recover. Who knew spinning and eating and take it out of you? 

Everything is new again

| Sonia Knits

Dear blog readers,

For some time now I’ve been thinking about taking some drastic action with regards to my blog. Apart from it looking ‘pretty’, there was nothing easy about it. I could only publish from one computer. It was clunky and slow. Things were rarely smooth. So here I am in WordPress land. May my blogs be interesting to read and frequent. My old blog is gone. I’m not sad about having a fresh start and beginning something new. I’m excited, aren’t you?

Onward and upward

| Sonia Knits

I cast-on a pair of flying saucer socks this week. They’re called flying saucer socks because of the way the colours pool. ‘Pooling’ in socks is not always welcome, just ask poor Melanie. I purchased the yarn from Morris and Sons in town, in probably the only colourway I think I could wear, even if it’s just around the house. They are a little hideous, but they are pink and green none-the-less.

My next sweater project is going to be ‘Folded’ by Veera Valimaki. In fact every sweater project this year is going to be one of her designs, I’m sure of it. I love her design sensibilities, I love the wearability and most of all, her designs are mainly knit in one piece. So it means I’m casting on another 4ply jumper on the tail of Tempest failure (lets just call a spade, a spade). I’m a little nervous and hurt, but I’m going to get back on the horse. Wish me luck.