Maia Spins

Bits & Pieces

You may have seen the cover of the current Spin-Off (yeah, yeah, I know, it came out weeks ago).  There is an awesome bag on said cover made by Nancy Roberts of Machine Knitting to Dye For.  She uses a knitting machine to knit fabric, paints them, and then reknits them by hand.  It is a great technique for creating self striping yarns, mock fair isle, and soooo much more.  She is very talented.  She is also a great instructor and extremely well organized.  I took a small one-day workshop with her last winter and color me impressed (yeah, pun intended - sorry).  If you have a chance to take a class with her, DO IT! 

Have you ever wondered just what the heck is superwash yarn?  I know I have. Well, hop on over to Isis Rising for a nice bit of research on the topic.  Ah, I love the smell of science in the morning.

Despite my lack of posts in the last few days, I have been knitting.  Socks, that is.  I am making the second cable sock.  The first is not cast-off; I plan to work both to maximize the length. 

I started on another sock in some yummy Sock! yarn from Lisa Souza.  More details on both socks later.

I'll leave you with a shot of my old man, Toby.  (Behind him is my wonderful Schacht Matchless DT spinning wheel, slightly neglected at the moment, and my knitting/spinning command center.)  I realize that he is sleeping in most of the pictures I post of him.  Truth in advertising  blogging folks.  He is about 12 years old, sleeping is his number one hobby.  Such a cute face.  I need to go kiss it now.

Cable Embrace

Here is the latest Red Scarf off the needles.  I am calling it Cable Embrace because the zig zags seem to embrace the center cable and the name gives me the warm-fuzzies.

The free pattern is posted in the left side bar or you can click here.

I never got bored of this scarf and I bore easily.  It is not a coincidence that I make a lot of small projects.

The yarn is a 100% Superwash wool called Bazic Wool from Classic Elite.  It is a very nice heavy worsted weight yarn comprised of thick and thin singles plied together and then 3 of these plied again.  The result is a springy yarn that has a bit of a twist to it when knit up.  It is a delight to knit with, doesn't split, and makes a nice firm and wefty fabric.  My only complaint is that it is a bit pricey.

A close-up you say?  Why sure.

Errata:
Tami pointed out that the directions say cast on 35 sts when you really need to cast on 37 sts.  Thank you for catching that Tami.  A corrected version posted on 10/17/2006.

Cable Scarf

I have started another Red Scarf.  This time I am going with cables.  After much swatching, I came up with this combination.  The sides are formed by cables, something I have always loved.  I also like the staggered crossings.  Blocking will definitely make things pop.

It needs a good name.  So far it is known as "cable scarf".  Dull.  Bland.  Uninspired.  Names are not my forte.  I welcome any and all suggestions.

Tomorrow I plan to post two finished Red Scarves and the pattern for them.  They are knit in the round with a steek. 

Editted to add that I have cross-posted this to the Fall Cable KAL 2006.