FO: Milo Socks

Technical details
Ravelry project page
Pattern: Milo Socks, from Sock Innovation, by Cookie A.
Yarn: Yarn d'Amour Rhea, in the colourway Silverado, dyed specifically for me! Yarn is Cotton & Tencel, sheepless sock yarn.
Needles: 2.75 mm
Notes: I love cables. I love love love cables.
Socks went really fast, and I didn't have too much trouble memorising the cable pattern. Will knit again once these ones wear off (I haven't worn them yet, though).

Pirate code monkey

The code monkey is a valuable member of our team. I'm not kidding: only one user can run a particular set of tests at a time, so only the person that has the monkey is allowed to use the simulator. Code monkey don't like testing.
Because the monkey is passed around quite often, one of the eyes was coming loose. We could have, of course, reglued it. But we didn't have glue, we had duct-tape. Cue Pirate Code Monkey!

Some...

Some new yarn

Quo Vadis handyed yarn,
using Berroco Comfort sock as a base

Some current spinning

My spinning is getting more and more even

Some future spinning

Tussah silk top in Copper from Wildcraft

Some delicious!

My chilli plant has a chilli!

One more!

I have spun 80 m of fingering/sport weight. Frustrated by the low yield of my previous batch, I decided to try to spin quite thin, which did in fact gave me a higher yield.


The yarn is one single plied unto itself using a centre pull ball, guaranteeing no left-over yarn from two singles. I spun the single as long as I could, until it got too unwieldy. I could only spin about half of that the first time I tried (the yarn kept slipping off the hook), but I learned a little trick to secure it so that it doesn't spin around the whorl as I'm spindling, which has doubled the output of one spindle-full.


The yarn is a lot more constant in thickness: it doesn't deviate from mean thickness for too long, and it doesn't deviate too much. It should be mostly good to knit with!


It is not easy to gauge the thickness of the yarn in these pictures. While I knew why people put pennies in their pictures, I never really realised their importance until now! The yarn is very similar in thickness to the grey tie in the first picture (which is a fingering weight).


I still have some more of the carbonised bamboo, and plan to spin another skein of about the same thickness, hopefully using it all up. If I can get the same yield, I should be able to do something with 160 m of bamboo, maybe a little bag or some little wristlets. Any suggestions?

FO: Tuscany

I began knitting through the internet. A bit after I did, with a couple of FOs under my wing, I decided to invest more into it, and bought a book, No Sheep for You (rav). No Sheep seemed like a great choice, because I can't wear animal hair either. It has proven an invaluable resource over the years, and has helped me find suitable yarn substitutions.

Ever since I got it, I have wanted to make Tuscany. However, it is very difficult to find DK silk, and more so if you are attached to both your kidneys, as I am! Having discovered the wonderful yarns of Colourmart, I could finally do it!



Technical details
Ravelry project page
Pattern: Tuscany, by Amy Singer
Yarn: ColourMart Silk 20/60NM DK Weight, in Mid Brown
Needles: 3.75 mm
Notes: I am unbelievably glad I took the shawl out of my bag the day my lunch box, full of Thai curry, spilled inside it. I could have cried.


I found the pattern really easy to memorise. While I still carried the chart with me, I barely needed it, and had no problem knitting in the bus.
The shawl used about 1 1/4 cones (exact yardage still TBD, but about 1 1/4 to 1 1/3 cones), so I still have plenty of delicious silk to make something else. This makes me happy.