Scarlet Fever

ScarletFever1, originally uploaded by ontheroundfiberart.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and it has made it very apparent that I am missing a certain color in my shop...RED!

I love red, it just doesn't seem to be a color that I work with a lot. It's probably because it is VERY difficult to work with! I find the color to be very inconsistent with the particular dye I use, plus (until now) I've been unable to find just the right shade, and don't even get me started on photographing it!

This weekend I decided to put all those problems aside and instead focus on finding a solution to my red shortage. I carded, I over-dyed, I plied, and I played and was able to make 8 different red skeins.

The result, Scarlet Fever!

I'll be listing the red beauties in my Shop starting tonight and finishing tomorrow. So be sure to stop by and check them out.

Also, a reminder that you can use the coupon code WELCOMEBACK for 10% off any handspun yarn in my shop from now until Sunday!

WIP: V is for Villeray

Villeray1, originally uploaded by ontheroundfiberart.

I've recently cast on Villeray, by by Ariane Caron-Lacoste, of Falling Stitches. This is a great beginner lace project and seems to be working out for my late night TV knitting. The pattern is fairly easy to memorize so I don't have to look down too much, and where it's a scarf there is no difficult shaping!

I am knitting it in some beautiful green Egyptian Cotton yarn that has been kicking around my stash for years. I bought it originally to knit a onsie while I was pregnant with my first. The impracticality of that project became quickly evident and I ripped it out probably 20 rows in. I'm glad I kept the yarn around though, because it is working out very nicely for this pattern.

I've still got a LONG way to go on it...hopefully I can persevere!

34 Weeks

34Weeks, originally uploaded by ontheroundfiberart.

It's the Little Things...

SaroyanProgress (1), originally uploaded by ontheroundfiberart.

This weekend I did a considerable amount of organizing in my knitting life. I went through all of my knitting needles and rubber banded all my sets, I dug out all my projects that needed finishing and sewed in all my loose ends, I updated my Ravelry project list, and began organizing my stash and ripping out unworthy projects.

One such project that got ripped out was this terrible triangle "shawl" that I knit years ago using some yarn that my Aunt gave me for Christmas. I knew the yarn was fabulous when I received it, but this was before Ravelry and it was only 2 skeins, and well...I just didn't really know what to do with it, but i knew I wanted to knit it.

As I pulled out each stitch I thought back on my old knitting days. Back when there was no Ravelry, in fact, you could barely find any patterns online. My Nana who had taught me to knit originally had long since passed away, and I had a particularly negative experience with the owner of one of the LYS' in town so I kept my distance. I became a process knitter. I didn't really care what I knit, as long as I was knitting, I was happy. I knit lots of mittens, since that's something that my Nana originally taught me, miles of garter stitch scarves, and hats over and over again. If I actually finished something I would give it away or donate it, the finished product never really meant that much to me. Mostly, I just played. I would knit and rip knit and rip. What was the point of the finished project, I just wanted to be knitting. That was all I knew, and that's what kind of knitter I was.

Fast forward to this weekend. As I ripped out my project I quickly recognized this yarn as Malabrigo Merino Worsted~ 2 skeins worth! I couldn't really be mad at myself for using such beautiful yarn so poorly, only because at least I had the good sense to keep this mess of a project, and at least I never cut the yarn or did anything particularly cleaver with it that would have made it difficult to rip out! So here I was with two skeins of perfect merino wool yarn in beautiful variegated blues and greens, and a serious need to start knitting (I have 3 gift knits that are due to go out ASAP). So I did what most knitters do nowadays, and I turned to Ravelry. I started my search by looking up Malabrigo Yarn and then I began searching through the 73,432 projects using this yarn. I didn't look for long before finding the Saroyan Shawl pattern, which has been in my favorites for quite a long time. It was perfect, and free! Within an hour I had found 2 skeins of beautiful yarn, the perfect pattern for just the amount of yarn that I had, and was casting on with a set of size 10 needles from my perfectly organized needle stash, all while barely getting up from my rocking chair! I get goose bumps just thinking about it. Sheer knitting perfection.

I'm not sure when exactly this knitting evolution took place for me, but I'm happy it did. It's not 2 even days later and I'm almost done with my Saroyan Shawl and still just tickled pink by the whole experience. It really is the little things....

Happy Saturday

SaturdayShetland (4), originally uploaded by ontheroundfiberart.

Today I will be plying more Shetland to be listed in the shop at the beginning of next week. I have 6 semi-solid colorways available as well as natural brown.

I LOVE Shetland. It is save to say it is my favorite wool to work with. It is soft and durable, takes dye beautifully and is incredible to knit with. If you have never worked with Shetland, I cannot encourage you enough to give it a try!

Happy Saturday!

Featured Yarn: Murmur

Murmur (3), originally uploaded by ontheroundfiberart.

Good morning friends!

I listed some new yarn in my shop yesterday. This is a corespun beauty called Murmur that I spun quite a while ago. Murmur has actually been out in the world on a book tour. More details on that to come, but you should know she is a famous skein of yarn.

I'm not much of a pink girl, but this Murmur is definitely up my ally! It is full of soft and deep pinks~ and LOTS of gold, my personal favorite!

I envision this skein becoming a sassy EZ Snail Hat or a cowl- like this cowl I knit for my sister using a similar corespun bulky weight (with fiber from Lacey, of Moonrover). It's bulky weight would make it a fun fast knit that you could be wearing in no time!

That's all for now folks, time to dye up some beautiful Finn wool for spinning this weekend...and of course more Shetland spinning!

Have a beautiful day!

r

January 1, 2012

Cresent Beach 1/1/12, originally uploaded by ontheroundfiberart.

This is going to be a great year.