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:



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!



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



Yarn



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)