Friday, January 13, 2012

Handspun Friday - Whisper

I still have a few handspun yarns from last year to show. One is this lovely Merino/Bamboo blend, which is incredible soft. It's from Shelby's Etsy store Spinning Awesome Good.


SAG-Whisper-merino-bamboo-4oz

I've spun it with long color runs. I love the fiber shot. The finished yarn is lovely to the touch, soft, and shiny too.

SAG-merino-bamboo-4oz-chain plied-280yds-Whisper

Spinning Awesome Good fiber: merino/bamboo, 4oz
yarn: chain plied, 280yds, colorway Whisper
SAG-merino-bamboo-4oz-chain plied-280yds-Whisper-5

SAG-merino-bamboo-4oz-chain plied-280yds-Whisper-5


***
I've been busy test knitting. It started December 31, when I was asked if I would test knit another of Stephen West's designs. I can't say NO to him, so yes, I cast on right away. Halfway through that one, I was asked to do another test knit, and I liked the shawl (yes, another one), so I said yes, since I've already gotten Stephen the information he needed, and I could finish the shawl whenever.

Then I saw a lovely shawl on Ravelry, and wouldn't you know it, test knitters were needed. I was delighted to get this one too, even though it's yet another shawl.
Never mind, that I've cast on for Sharktooth shawl, the first of Stephen's shawl club (came out in December), and a cowl (long infinity scarf), which is halfway done.

So now I have 5 WIP's in various states of being cast on, and almost finished. That's at least two WIP's too many for me, to be comfortable. I'm hoping to get one off the needles today.

I've never planned on knitting so many shawls in such a short time! And there are more new designs coming out any day now, from two shawl clubs I'm in from last year, and they are gorgeous, but I'm sure they'll have to wait. At least it's something I can look forward to.

Another thing is, I've been spinning for the Old Forge blanket by Stephen West, from his Book 3. I'm essentially done, but I've decided to use a third color for the edge. This, I still have to spin and dye, and the pattern comes out this week! Looks like I'm going to have to postpone casting on for that one for a while too.

Red Tailed Hawk

I know this is a bad picture, but I had to zoom in to get it at all. I'm pretty sure it's a Red Tailed Hawk, and he sits on the dead tree out back. Has come by for two weeks now, upsetting the local wild life population. We hear his cry once in a while, and it makes me think of Wild West movies, desert, hot, sand, barren landscape, and a skeleton of some poor creature in the sand. Anyway, it's awesome to see him fly off for the hunt. Unfortunately he's camera shy, and when I try to get closer, he's gone.

***

17 comments:

Herta Haunschmid /quer durchs leben said...

hallo Monika,
Deine Wolle ist immer so schön.
Hoffe es geht dir gut liebe Grüße aus Freistadt
Herta

2paw said...

The colour is so soft it makes me want to whisper too. It is lovely and so beautifully spun. Oh, you are so busy with all your knitting, I am glad you are enjoying it.
That's a beautiful bird.

CelticCastOn said...

Love this colour combo although I never would have thought to put purple with blue and grey.

I was thinking that was a lot of WIP's for you.

momsue84 said...

One can never have too many shawls going at once, Monika!! It's just so much fun! We have hawks here all the time, and they do upset the local wildlife. But, they also keep the mice and other critters in check. We have eagles, too. Have a good weekend.

knottygnome said...

that yarn looks so powdery soft and gorgeous--i just want to reach out and touch it!

sounds like you are going to be really busy in the near future! good luck with all of your projects.

Alexandra said...

I have the same problem with shawls, I can't stop knitting them! I already have more than I need and there are so many lovely patterns that I haven't knit yet :D Love the yarn! Have a great weekend!

Bea said...

Deine handgesponnenen Garne sind immer soooo irre gleichmäßig. Ich glaube, so gut werde ich nie.

Und viel Spaß mit 5 Projekten auf den Nadeln. Ich würde da kirre werden.

Grüßle, die Bea

Stephanie said...

I've been very monogamous with my knitting so far in 2012. I 1st finished socks for my mom, which were supposed to be a Christmas gift. Now I'm working on a hat for a friend from work. Although I usually like 2 or maybe 3 WIPs, I wouldn't say no to Stephen West either. ;-) (sjn821)

Susan said...

Okay, those are totally my colors. Gorgeous!

Mr. Puffy said...

I think you got a terrific picture of your visiting Hawk! Love your beautiful spinning and can see from the fiber how incredibly soft this yarn must be ~ perfect for a 6th WIP shawl :)

Maryse said...

Your handspun looks like ice cream to me!

AdrieneJ said...

The first photo of the fibre made me sigh with delight! You're so lucky to be in such high demand for your skills.

Rhonda said...

Wow, that's lovely handspun, soft wintery colours.

Sharon said...

Your newly spun yarn is beautiful. I love the long color runs and it just might stripe up wonderfully.

Looks like you're going to be doing 12 shawls in 2012. Yikes! All I managed to do so far is a hat!

Andi said...

Oh that hand-spun is lovely! I adore those color changes. Well done.
I have cast on 6 projects so far this year (two weeks). So I can indeed empathize with. But lordy shawls, that is just amazing. Can't wait to see your finished shawls!

Walden said...

The fiber is beautiful, as is the yarn you spun with it. It kind of has an Easter feel to it.

Good luck getting some of those WIPs off of the needles!

SusiKnitchicks said...

Deine Garne sind wie immer ein echter Hingucker.

Und wie ich sehe sind die Jungs und Maggie doch recht fit. Silvester ist aber für jedes Tier ein echter Stress. Auch bei uns in Deutschland gabe es Geknalle ohne Ende. Brauchen tue ich das auch nicht.

Ich wünsche Dir einen schönen Jahresanfang.

LG SUsi