Drastic

The ponytail formerly known as my hair:

12 inch (30 cm.) ruler added for scale.

It's all for a good cause, though.

A bit of randomness

Random tidbit #1:

Have you ever noticed how people who are newly in love delight in telling everyone they know about their newfound happiness? Well, I have a new love.

Fiber: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sheep 2 Shoe kit (superwash merino), "Puck's Mischief"
3 ply
860 yards
226 grams

This may be the dreamiest superwash merino I have ever spun. Seriously. I can hardly describe how smoothly it drafted. The only negative comment I have about the stuff is that when I finished spinning it, I only wanted more. (And as luck would have it, I do have more.)

Random tidbit #2:

A while back Dave posted about some "ugly socks" he was knitting. While I don't think his socks are ugly at all, I do have a contribution of my own to the Ugly Socks Brigade.

I knitted these from some yarn I dyed nearly two years ago (my first yarn dyeing experience, in fact). My feelings about these socks are so mixed. Since I dyed the yarn myself, I feel a little guilty about calling the socks ugly. And really, I don't really think they're ugly...but nor do I think they're particularly attractive. I like the colors individually. I like the way the short color repeats knitted up. But there's just something not quite right about the overall effect. I can't even begin to articulate why I feel that way, but there it is.

When I was trying to figure out what to call these socks, all I could think was "Rastafarian camouflage." It's a bit ridiculous, but henceforth these will be my "Rastaflage" socks.

On the upside, I'm pretty happy with the yarn base (Kraemer Yarns Jeannie). The yarn itself is not overly soft, but the longer I knit, the more I appreciate sturdy sock yarns. Jeannie has lovely stitch definition, and I think it will wear like a champ.

Random tidbit #3:

If I'm in love with BMFA superwash merino, it's fair to say that I have more than a mild crush on Fiber Optic's 80% superwash merino 20% nylon pencil roving.

Colorway: "Lazy River"
3 ply
380 yards
110 grams

While pencil roving is never going to be my favorite form of fiber to spin, I'll make an exception for this stuff. It's silky smooth, and the colors are intense. And I really love that it has nylon in it. Commercially prepared wool/nylon blends are surprisingly hard to come by, especially dyed ones.

Random tidbit #4:

I'm off this week to visit my BFF in Washington, DC. Well, the main purpose of the visit is to see my friend, but I will admit to scheduling it this weekend so that I could go to Maryland Sheep & Wool. I'm only human, after all, and my friend is extremely understanding and supportive. I may have to knit her some more socks, though.

All Spun Up

As I was trying to hammer out some blog material, I realized that a couple of my recent yarns have fallen through the cracks (as far as documentation is concerned, anyway). Please allow me to remedy that situation now.

It's no secret that my favorite indie fiber dyer is Kristin of All Spun Up. I'm sure I go on and on about her fabulous fibers as if she's paying me for advertising, but honestly, I just can't help but gush. For instance, I started out with this:

It was so pretty in fiber form that it almost seemed a shame to spin it up. But I'm a spinner, so I spun it.

Fiber: merino combed top
3 ply
550 yards
110 grams

This is currently my favorite skein of handspun. I can't get over how happy it makes me. (Love those peeks of orange!) Now I just need to come up with a worthy project for it. Socks are my default, of course, but do I really want to put all that loveliness in my shoes?

I also finished up a skein from the most recent installment of the ASU SAL. For this round the fiber was BFL.

3 ply
380 yards
108 grams

Although I'm slightly disappointed with my yardage—my goal was 400 yards—I can hardly hold the yarn responsible for my own shortcomings. The blue is so brilliantly vivid that everyone who sees it in person comments about it. One or two have already tried to make off with it. I suppose that's a success, yes?