Ups and Downs; Strikes and Gutters

Well, I reckon I've spun about three quarters of the merino wool I brought with me and started in September. In that time, my spinning has improved so much that I know I won't use the first big batch of yarn I made; it's too thick. It's about fingering weight, and I want (and now have) lace weight for a grand Shetland scarf I've imagined. So, I thought I'd use the thick stuff to swatch, something I never do. So, here is an edging I made. I decided to turn it into a scarf. The brown is alpaca from Knit Picks that I've doubled up. When I'm out of alpaca, I'll knit another lace edging, and single crochet along the edges with the remaining blue merino.



Here is another sample. Again, this is in my hand spun that is fingering weight. I like this pattern so much. I've made two scarves of this pattern, and I think I will eventually make another when I'm through spinning the merino. I'm going to try and make myself finish spinning the merino before I begin knitting something out of it. I want a good idea about how much yarn I have before I decided on the width of a scarf.


Now for the bad news. These socks, that I just made in December, are khlass. I always prefer socks made of real wool, as opposed to superwash, but I think I may change my mind about that. I took good care of these, and I wore them only with shoes that are well broken in, or with my shoes that have no heel to rub on socks, and still! I love the color, and they are felted a bit and comfortable, but they are history after only about 2 months.