Moving On
With my spinning progress, that is. I spin sporadically, and even though I’ve been doing it since August last year, I’ve only got two small skeins of yarn I actually finished – both spun and plied on spindles. And I’ve never knit with my handspun.
Until now.
This is my second skein of yarn, pink and yellow mixed batting of unknown species that I spun on a top whorl spindle. Last night, I got out my digital scale and yarn winder, divided it into two (approximately) equal balls, did a quick gauge swatch, and began knitting a pair of fingerless mitts.
I love how the colors are coming out. The yarn itself is obviously over twisted in places, but then, it was my second yarn ever, and it’s actually pretty good for that. I’m knitting from the finger edge down towards the wrist, but there may still not be enough yarn for full mitts, so I have some purple Galway standing in the wings to add on as necessary.
The pattern is, well – sort of my Fingerless Mitts pattern (PDF), except that I’m not referring to the pattern at all and just winging it as I go. Which is more than good enough for a simple tube with a modified buttonhole!
So how does it feel to be knitting with yarn I made myself? Fantastic! I can’t wait until I get past my “using up the roving I have in the house” phase, and start routinely planning specific projects from the wool all the way to the finished object!
There we have it, folks. It’s a small milestone, but a milestone nonetheless. And hopefully, only the tip of the iceberg of things to come!