Friday, November 11, 2011

Slack

Sorry I’ve been slack in updating the blog. Between the chickens, Nerd Wars knitting, and life generally, I’ve been a little bit busy!

However, last month I did complete two further items (well, three) for Nerd Wars, and I’ve submitted some yarn I spun for this month too. So let’s start with a little finished items display!

Baby Hats
These were for the colourtastic challenge, simple but effective:

Baby Hats Baby Hats

Pattern: Basic Baby Hat
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Pure Cotton (white and lime), King Cole Bamboo (blue and brown)
Needles: 4mm
Modifications: None! I knit one newborn and one 0-3month sizes
Verdict: Nice pattern, ends up with a nice enough hat. Basic, simple, quick – and most important sweet!

Neckwarmer
This was for the “best dressed nerds” challenge!

Cowl Headband

Pattern: Easy Neckwarmer Headband
Yarn: Llama yarn my mum brought back from America!
Needles: 5mm
Modifications: None!
Verdict: I like it! It’s actually a bit loose for a headband for me, as I don’t have a lot of hair. I’m considering running a strand around one end and pulling it tight for a hat. But for now, it’s a good neckwarmer! It needs a bath too, hopefully that will soften the yarn a bit!

And then for this round of the tournament:
For the “nerd culture” topic we have to make something related to another nerdery. I picked Doctor Who, and made some Yarn which reminds me of the Sixth doctor. It’s called LCARS after the Star Trek information panels.

Fibre

Felt Studio Wensleydale LCARS

Yarn

Felt Studio Wensleydale LCARS

Fiber: Felt Studio UK Wensleydale
Colourway: Multi
Spun using: Ashford Traveller, middle ratio
Spin direction: Z (wheel turning anticlockwise, spin to the left)
Plying type/direction: 3ply, Navajo, S-plied (wheel turning clockwise, spin to the right)
Yarn Stats: ~100g / 117yds (approx. DK)
Verdict: I took some merino I was spinning off the wheel to begin this. I expected to spend a couple of days on it, but in reality I spun the yarn in an afternoon. (woo!) I decided to aim for a slightly thicker yarn, partly because I wanted a quicker project and partly because the fibre felt better when I did that. The colours in this braid were fantastic, so I knew I had to Navajo ply from the beginning. The result is a lovely slow stripe passing through the colours in a really pretty way. It’s lovely smooshy yarn too. Now I just have to figure out what to knit with it! (a recurring theme with handspun, I find)