Whoops

First, a mea culpa about the website. I tried to make something better, but I broke it instead. That’s on me. I’ll do my best not to do that again. Or at least… I’ll try to keep future down time to under a day. I can’t in good faith promise I won’t tinker more than I should have ever again. I’m not somebody who is terrible at this technology stuff – I actually do quite a bit of techie stuff at work, across a wide range of platforms.

In fact, I’m something much much worse: a person who knows just enough to get into big trouble. You don’t know how to swim? You probably won’t leap off the boat into the ocean. You learned how to swim at the local pool and maybe spent a year or two on the swim team? You’re the one who is going to dive in and learn about rip currants and giant waves the hard way.

Anyways, I’ve scrambled back to shore, dragging the site behind me and we’re each in one piece.

So what have I been up to, yarn-wise? A couple cool things actually!

First, I’ve made some more real progress on the dark red 3ply I’m spinning up for TheEnabler’s brioche scarf. I finally finished plying the first skein of it and I’ve finished another cop of singles:

I’m even well under way towards finishing a second cop of singles.

Now, I still absolutely love the fiber and it’s color (oh, and it smells nice and sheepy too!) but “variety is the spice of life” and all that… so I pulled out a completely different fiber and a spindle that was feeling a bit neglected:

I hear what you’re thinking: “ok, so the color is pretty different, but it’s still a warm one… also, are those more fine singles? How is this different?” But hear me out!

First, that color is completely different in vibe. Whereas the pomegranate red is elegant, dark, and steady, this is bright, cheerful and loud. Every few minutes, I have a new shade in front of me. I’m spinning thin singles because I want to make a 3ply sock yarn, but while that sounds the same, I have to tell you – the fiber really makes this a completely different animal. Well, breed of sheep.

The John Arbon Pomegranate is a smooth top made of Falkland Merino and Zwartbles. Drafting it takes concentration to ensure I get enough twist before the fibers slide apart. The Charollais is much grabbier, and it’s a more chaotic roving. I can tell I’m working with a completely different fiber and it’s a very different spinning experience.

Lastly, I’ve picked up the socks I started last fall again. When I neared the heel a little while ago, I set them aside because I wasn’t sure yet how I wanted to handle the heel flap and gusset yet. I finally decided what I wanted to do.

I’m pretty happy with my heel flap design and figured out how I’m tackling the gusset decreases – I’ll show you that next time. Even though I’m now actively working on them again, progress is still slower than usual. I do have to figure out what I’m doing next, which adds time over following a pattern. But the real cause for slower going is that I’m trying to write up the pattern for these so that I can share it.

Even once I finish this pair, it’s going to take a bit. One of my pet peeves is finding a gorgeous sock pattern only to find it’s only available in a single size (or, even worse, they suggest just changing your gauge to achieve other sizes – I don’t need saggy socks that wear because I make the gauge too loose!) So, I’m working out charts and instructions to make these available from 56st all the way up through 84 st around. I also want to provide both charts for the main components (which I’ll be honest is easier for me) and written instructions for those who don’t like or can’t work from charts. Thus, I’m going to have to ask for your patience as I work it all out*.

The good news? I have a five day weekend this weekend and I’m taking a few more days off in June so I get some more crafting time. We aren’t traveling anywhere anytime soon, so I can’t feel guilty about using up vacation time to sit at home and play with yarn.

*why yes, I realize you wouldn’t need to be patient if I hadn’t told you I was planning to issue a pattern. But where is the fun in that?