Spring Fiber Handling

This week, I didn't get much knitting in. Darn work keeps getting in the way.

However, I did get to do some dyeing and some spinning. I am continuing to work on my Pinkerton Shawl. There isn't much to see because I am still doing the stockinette stitch portion, but it is a very nice project to take to knit night or any other social situation.

I spun fiber all week. I was able to finish a project that I had started a couple years ago. I was spinning some black alpaca from Coldwater Alpaca Ranch. I have finally spun through all of what I had. Now, I have figure out my yardage and choose a project that I can knit with it. It will likely be a shawlette of some sort. I am very happy with the results. I blended in some crystal firestar as I spun it, so one strand has some

sparkle and the other is straight black.

I also spun more of the fall colored fiber that I purchased at Wool, Warp, and Wheel. These may sound vaguely like somethings I finished last week. In fact, they are. I am working to finish off this ball of roving as well. In fact, I hope to have it spun up by next weekend so I have a finished yarn to show. It will be nice to finish off these outstanding projects.

Yesterday, I participated in the dyeing party and my LYS, Hank of Yarn. We had some very interesting yarns dyed up. Turquoise and bright green, purple and chartreuse, red and salmon. Everyone's turned out beautiful. I used baby alpaca glow from Plymouth as my base. I chose fuchsia, turquoise, and purple for my colors. I call to final product "Supernova." The sparkle of the angelina makes me think of the night sky with this color blend.

Next week, I hope to have the search for the perfect bead completed. At that point, I will be able to start my In Dreams http://afewstitchesshort.blogspot.com/shawl. I have seen so many beautiful projects that have been started, I can hardly wait to start mine.

I also have made a purchase this week. I purchased the "Japanese Garden" shawl from Wendy Johnson at Wendy Knits http://wendyknits.net/. She has raised an amazing $3400 for Japan from purchases of this pattern. I encourage everyone to go to Ravelry or her website and purchase the pattern for yourself. It is a beautiful pattern and directly benefits those who are going through this horrible disaster.

That is all for this week. Time to get ready to face the new work week. TTFN.