Well, I'm back.

I've been MIA while finishing this puppy:



My first sweater just for me! It's as scratchy as a sack of cats, but I love it :)

I've had the yarn for more than a year - it was the Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm mohair/wool blend that I was so allergic to. I hadn't made anything with it because it was so scratchy and lanolin-filled, but when I saw the Yarn Harlot making a Dale sweater for the Knitting Olympics, I knew what I had to do. I can't believe it went from this:





to this:



in just 11 days. DP loved it, and he said I should make a short-sleeved version for spring/summer. The waist shaping is amazing - it fits perfectly, even though I didn't really tweak the pattern at all.

I also have both bohus wristlets finished:



I ran out of one of the colors halfway through the second mitt. It was probably my gauge that was at fault...since I never swatched! I had enough yarn to finish them, even if the colors aren't quite right. They are so soft and warm that I had to wear them to bed a couple of times. Now I really want to make a bohus sweater!

I also got my Bosworth charkha. Zowie. It's an amazing piece of engineering, and I can't wait to show it to my dad. I haven't done too much spinning on it, mainly because I've been working on my sweater.

I'm also working on socks for DP:



This is Mirasol Hacho in Northern Lights. The yarn is awesome - springy and soft. However the yardage is abysmal. I'm not even going to be able to get a pair out of two skeins of the stuff. I'm going toe up, and the ribbing at the top will have to be something else, once I figure out what will match. DP wants black at the tops, but I actually have no plain black yarn, much less black yarn in the same gauge. The fabric is nice though, and I think DP will enjoy them once they're done.

Back to it!

Correction and ruminations

I found out that the part of the cuff that I thought might have a mistake in it did have a tiny mistake...so at least I wasn't going crazy. I'm almost halfway through the second guld cuff and loving every stitch. Now I really want to make one of those sweaters :)

I'm also thinking about maybe trying to make a regular v-neck sweater for myself. I'm running low on sweaters and the stores have already switched over to spring and summer clothes. I was thinking of basing it on Pink by Wendy Bernard, adding in some stripes at the top to make sure I have enough yarn to finish it. I'll see what I have and what I need to do, but mayhap...

In crazy good news, my Bosworth book charkha may ship next week - eek! I'm so excited to get this puppy. I have some silk/cashmere that I want to spin up, and some bison that I'd like to try to spin without blending. I'll be sure to post pics when I get it, assuming my camera behaves. It's been sucking down batteries lately, and I have to remove the batteries after every photo shoot so that they're not drained by the next time I use the camera. Sigh.

My swap package arrived!

Check it out:



and a closeup of the mitts:



The generosity of a complete stranger is amazing. The work that went into these mitts, and the attention to detail it shows, makes me feel like the human race isn't all bad :) I hope that doesn't sound too mercenary!

My partner even made me 3 knitted bookmarks that I'm going to use for the LotR readalong in March. The sock needle holders will get some use with my second guld wristlet.

Speaking of guld wristlets, here's a process shot of the first one (now finished):



I think the dark needle holder will look perfect with the wristlet.

Hooray!

Out for delivery

My swap partner's package is out for delivery - eek!