Purple Haze Tredegar Scarflette - Finished!

I finished this up Saturday morning while watching the rest of the Fleece and Harmony wool cast, and more PLY Guild videos, and immediately blocked it.

It is funny, but when I was working on it, I thought it would be longer, based on the amount of yarn that I had, but actually it ended up only slightly (about 4 inches) longer than the pattern called for.  In the end I did 15 repeats of the pattern, with 7.7 grams of yarn left over, definitely not enough for another repeat - no yarn chicken here.  I’ll use up that remnant on my Zoom loom and add the squares to my growing stash of squares that one day will become something.

I found some suitable buttons in my voluminous button stash and sewed them on this morning.  I’m still figuring out how to wear/style it, but I am very happy with how it came out.  The cables are nice and plump even though this is only a 2-ply yarn.

This is the cozy styling, but I will probably wear it with the top edge turned down.

Pattern:  Tredegar Scarflette by Jo-Anne Klim

Yarn:  Rosie’s Multicolor Merino Top, handspun by me

Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm) for the very beginning and ending, US 6 (4.0) for the main part

 

Purple Haze Tredegar Scarflette - Nine Repeats Done!

After finishing my Foxglove Cassie, I decided to finish up one or two other projects that I have on the needles before casting on another Cassie, even though I have the yarn all caked up and it is sitting there looking absolutely gorgeous.  So I grabbed my Tredegar Scarflette and focused on that next.  At this point I am past the halfway point on the amount of yarn that I have, and have enough yarn for 5 more repeats (not counting the partial one that you can see in the photo).  I could potentially get six more repeats, but that might involve some yarn chicken, so I will see when I get there.  So far I am very happy with how this is turning out.

Pattern:  Tredegar Scarflette by Jo-Anne Klim

Yarn:  Rosie’s Multicolor Merino Top, handspun by me

Needle:  US 6 (4.5 mm)

Purple Haze Tredegar Scarflette - Four Repeats Done

I have also been making progress on my Tredegar Scarflette, although it isn’t very interesting, just more repeats of the cable pattern, which is a very nice cable pattern, and which the yarn does show off very nicely, despite being a 2-ply.  I mean, what’s not to like?   I love Celtic knots, and I love purple, and the fact that the yarn is my handspun just makes it that much sweeter.  The pattern calls for this to be just long enough to wrap once around the neck, calling for a finished length of 30 inches.  I am already one-third of the way there, and still have lots of yarn left, so I’m going to be making mine longer.  We’ll see how long it ends up being.  The pattern also has you make button holes in the far end before you bind off, and then sew buttons along the long side at the cast on end, so the ends meet at a right angle under you chin.  I’m thinking of putting buttons on the short side of the cast on end so I can turn it into a cowl, or wear it as a scarf.  I may also add buttons along the long side at the cast on end, as the pattern calls for, just to give me more wearing options.  We shall see.

Pattern:  Tredegar Scarflette by Jo-Anne Klim

Yarn:  Rosie’s Multi-colored Merino top, handspun by me

Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm)

Purple Haze Tredegar Scarflette - Cast On!

As part of my efforts to rekindle my knitting mojo I also pulled out some of my handspun skeins.  I do really enjoy working with my handspun yarn.  This yarn is what is left of the three spins that I used in the Practically Handspun vest.  This is spin 13, and I have another full skein, besides the partial in the picture, over 250 yards total.

Here is a picture of the original set of skeins.  I used about half in the Practically Handspun vest, and I really loved working with it.  I spent some time yesterday going through my Ravelry library looking for a pattern that I vaguely remembered buying at some point that I thought would be perfect for this yarn, and I finally found it - The Tredegar Scarflette by Jo-Anne Klim.  I’m very happy with how it is knitting up, even though the yarn is a 2-ply my cables are popping quite nicely.

Pattern:  Tredegar Scarflette by Jo-Anne Klim

Yarn:  Handspun Rosie’s Multicolor Merino Top in Purple Haze

Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm) for the border, US 6 (4.0 mm) for the cable pattern

Practically Handspun - Finished!

I finished the knitting this past Saturday, and did the bind off and blocking Sunday morning.  I still have some of the purple and the orange left over.  The lighter purple that forms the main body is all used up.  The length came out perfect - it just comes down to my knees.  I am delighted with it, my first garment out of handspun yarn.  It wasn’t super consistent yarn either, but it wasn’t bad.  The knitting looks good.

I like the way the color blocking worked.  Please pardon the hall-way selfie, it is too hot to model this outdoors.

Pattern:  Practically by Kelly Herdrich

Yarn:  Handspun Merino Top

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

Practically Handspun - Six Skeins Done!

My Practically Handspun keeps growing.  When I’m working on it and dealing with the bulk of the knitting that is completed I start to have second thoughts about my plans, but then I try it on or put it on my dress make dummy for a photo and think that it is going to work out the way I imagine it.  I think it will look great with black leggings, a black turtleneck and boots, and then I can add a dramatic necklace.  I am on the last set of skeins - Purple Haze - and they are a pretty nice set of skeins, which keeps tempting me to go do something else with them.  But I do think I should stay the course on this one.

I am doing increases on the sides every 10 rows to give it an A-line shape.

Pattern:  Practically by Kelly Herdrich 

Yarn:  Handspun Merino Top from The Woolery

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

Practically Handspun - 2 Skeins Done!

I finished up Skein 11d, and started working with Skein 12b.  The transition between Skein 11d and Skein 12b worked out perfectly at the end of a row.  If I had been thinking things through a little more I might have started with Skein 12b, and then worked either Skein 11d or Skein 12c.  That would have me working from the thickest yarn to the thinnest.  But that is not what I did, and I think it looks just fine as it is.  At this point I had finished Skein 12b, and have cast off the stitches for the sleeve caps.  I am now working with Skein 12c, then I’ll use Skein 12a.  If I still need more length I’ll use Skein 11c.  I am enjoying the knitting.  There is something extra special about working with your handspun, imperfect though it may be.

This is a nice shot of the yoke that I forgot to post.  I like the garter stitch bands.

I have enough yarn that I can make a second vest using up Skein 11 and all of Skein 13.

Pattern:  Practically by Kelly Herdrich 

Yarn:  Handspun Merino Top

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

Practically Handspun - Cast On!

Having used up Skeins 7 and 10 of my handspun yarns I looked to the next set of skeins that I had spun:    Skein 11.  Skein 11 is actually 4 skeins, spun from 250 grams of Rosie’s Multicolor Merino Top in the colorway Cornucopia bought from The Woolery.

The four skeins are, from left to right:

Skein 11a - 26 grams, 49 yards or 1.88 yd/g

Skein11b - 44 grams, 76 yards or 1.73 yd/g

Skein 11c - 89 grams, 145 yards or 1.62 yd/g

Skein 11d - 89 grams, 130 yards or 1.46 yd/g

As you can see from the numbers, my singles and my finished yarn were getting thicker as I spun this top up and settled into a good single thickness.  I have been trying to decided for some time now what to make out of this yarn, along with the other three of the Rosie’s tops that I had spun up.  I had pretty much settled on a vest based upon the yardage, but I still couldn’t settle on a design that would maximize the usage and minimize the work of figuring out how to use it.  Yesterday I decided that I was just overthinking the whole thing and so I cast on another Practically vest by Kelly Herdrich, my 12th time making this pattern.  What can I say?  It is an easy knit, looks great on, and is a great way to use up those precious skeins.  I pulled out Skein 11d and caked it up yesterday and cast on.  When I use up that skein I will actually switch to Skein 12, which is really 3 skeins, and is also from 250 grams of Rosie’s Multicolor Merino Top, in colorway Valentine.

For this spin I was focusing on consistency, and having settled into that slightly thicker single on Skein 11d, they all have a similar thickness to that skein.  From left to right:

Skein 12a - 79 grams, 115 yards or 1.46 yd/g

Skein 12b - 79.6 grams, 111 yards or 1.4 yd/g

Skein 12c - 84.3 grams, 121 yards or 1.44 yd/g

If I still need more length I will grab Skein 11c to finish, although I would kind of like to do something else with Skeins 11b and 11c.  Skein 11d I am thinking of weaving up on my Zoom Loom.  I think the colors would like nice with the plum squares that I wove up from Skein 10.

Pattern:  Practically by Kelly Herdrich

Yarn:  Handspun Rosie’s Multicolor Merino Top

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm)