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Spinning and knitting

For my first day not on sick leave, I had an annual leave day to do a class at the Spinners and Weavers Guild . They run a summer school, and I thought it would be fun to improve my skills and learn some new stuff. I was right! I did a class on spinning silk and learnt quite a lot, not just about the different types of silk - oh mulberry, how I love you - but also about how to blend, how to use a hackle and how to raise silkworms, if I should be so inclined.
I also bought this pretty red tussah silk

which I am planning to spin with this Stranded in Oz Fibre to make 198 Yards of Heaven. Shawls are definitely my current obsession Although when I am going to spin this is the question - I seem to have collected a lot of fibre in a short time, and have a "to spin" list that will take me well beyond the middle of this year.
Also I finished the first German Stocking.
The top of the cable is one of the more complex things I have knit, not difficult as such, but very fiddly. Once I was past those very slow 36 rows the pattern is relatively straight forward, with an easy to memorise twelve row repeat. Until I tried it on I was rather wondering if it was worth the effort, but now I've seen it on my leg I know that every painful, cabled, splitty stitch was worth it.
right, now I'm off to watch an episode of ER and cast on the second sock.

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  1. Sonia12 January, 2011

    Jealousness x100, that is one good looking sock.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous13 January, 2011

    Divine sock and divine fibre, I am sooo jealous.

    ReplyDelete

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