Honestly, I’m in love. How could I not be? Just look!
Spindle is a lovely lace spindle from Spinsanity on Etsy. It’s a wonderful spindle, and I can’t stop playing with it!
Fiber is some fine merino from Copper Moose, on eBay. Just dreamy – it’s like playing with cotton candy. Except my fingers don’t get all sticky, which is generally a plus.
Warning: Visual Wonkiness because I tried to prettify the blog after I wrote the post, since I was all jealous of Turtlegirl’s pretty, pretty blog. Yeah, she generally does get m up off my shebs to get to work…
You know you must be a fiber geek when this is what you use to weight a drying skein: For the less geeky, that’s the controller for the Nintendo Wii, lending a bit of weight to my first skein spun by spindle.
Here’s a closer look:
I obviously still need work, but I’m not unhappy with my first attempt. I think learning the basics on the wheel helped a lot - I didn’t have so many new concepts to worry about. And speaking of spinning wheels, I have these products from my last two nights of class. First, some much better looking singles than before: 
Grainy, poorly color-corrected closeup:
And from tonight, my first plied yarn! Bit of a mix of everything, honestly. Wool of different kinds and colors, and some bamboo (which tastes funny, at least to me). Kali (otherwise known as Jabba) had to help out with the photos. I guess she knows that cat pictures are fairly obligatory for knitting blogs. 
I’ll actually show some knitting soon. At the moment spinning in the “Ohh, shiny!” craft. And not just shiny, but Shiny! Hey, you all saw the Jayne hat. You know I’m a Browncoat!
Okay, so…
I was going to start the April sock kit. However, the yarn is currently drying after an unfortuntate incident with a can of Coke.
Luckily, the June kit arrived yesterday, and so I’ll start with that. It’s appropriate. Find out why after the jump.
First up, probably the most frustrating socks I’ve ever knitted:
You can see them both ways. I like the version on the right better. I think the frustration was mostly me. Stress + tight cables = lots of snapped size 1 needles. Some sort of memorial service may be in order.
Pattern: Inside-Out Socks from Blue Mountain Fiber Arts Rockin’ Sock Club.
Needles: Foot knit on size 0 Inox metal needles. Not fond of these - I’m used to the length of the Brittany Birch needles, and metal doesn’t feel as good as wood, to me.
Leg knit on Brittany Birch size 1 needles. Lots of them. (Again, pretty sure this is my fault.)
Yarn: Blue Mountain Fiber Arts Socks that Rock, sock club colorway Monsoon
New techniques for me: Toe-Up socks, and short row toe and heel. Also used a sewn bind-off for the first time. I’m used to grafting toes, not binding off cuffs!
Next, a pair of socks that you may have seen in various incarnations. It took me almost a year to knit, due to depression and just being plain unhappy with them at any given time.Pattern: My default sock pattern, the Universal Sock PatternNeedles: Size 0 Inox metal needles.Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in Black PurlNew techniques for me: None on the actual finished sock, but there was, at one point, a picot edge, so this sock is where I figured out how to do that, and a provisional cast-on.
And now the “And more!” part:I’ve spent part of this past week taking a class I’ve been thinking about for a long time. Springwater Fiber Workshop’s Introduction to the Spinning Wheel. And I’m in love.
Of course, my first skein of yarn is nothing to be proud of:
Second one is better, somewhat:
Coiled
Uncoiled
The orange bits in the second skein are from some wool that we learned to hand-card on. And as you may be able to see, the second skein is more consistent, but also filled with knots. There were quite a few points where I was underspinning thicker parts, and it caused breaks.
Also, the first skein has been washed and whuzzed, the second skein hasn’t. We did the first in class, and the second I’m waiting for the right time to freak out the neighbors. Something about swinging around a bunch of wet fiber is good for the soul.
But I’ve done some knititng! Who wants to see pictures?
Socks for Becky’s birthday. Which was in January. I still have to mail them out…
Regia Silk, size 0 needles, K3p1 ribbing. Not my favorite yarn to work with - it’s rather splitty to me.
Wicked in its finished state, allegedly. I’m seriously considering frogging it and knitting one size smaller.
Inside-Out Socks from the Rockin’ Sock Club. Yes, this was the February kit. At least I’m almost finished, and can start the April kit.Probably right as the June kit arrives.
More soon. Ravelry and new medication has me interesting again!