highlandheffalump

YOP11 Week 10/52 – Casting on Winding Down

Felting

Woohoo! I managed to lay out fibres for one lampshade.  I’ve put some wool nepps on the shore line under some silk and flax and some in the sea under a fine layer of dyed Shetland wool fibre.  I’m going to felt this one first and see how it looks and how well they stick.

Fibre Prep

I finally made some time to do a bit of combing of the Shetland X I had washed.  Only a small amount so far (4 combs worth). 

Knitting

Winding Down by Heidi Kirrmaier was cast on using the West Yorkshire Spinners Croft Shetland aran yarn.  I’ve only done the collar so far and its scratchy!  Uh oh!

On the versions others have made on Ravelry it looks like the collar actually starts to be pulled down and stretched out around the yoke.  I’m not sure I’m explaining this well, but I’ve finished the collar stitches but looks like they’ll move.  Therefore if I halved the length of the collar section I’m not sure how this will affect it.

I thought I could sew some silk inside maybe…or maybe cast on at the number of stitches after the collar and do an applied icord, or knit a sample and wash it and see if it softens or buy a softer wool for this project and use this WYS croft for a project without a high neckline. Right now I’m leaning towards getting new yarn. Anyone have a favourite soft aran non-superwash non-acrylic wool or alpaca yarn they recommend? I’m currently considered Drops Air, Cascade Cantata or Malabrigo Rios.

I finished a Rose City Roller sock that I started week 1 I think! Just need to finish its buddy now.

Other News

There were two trips out on my SUP this week, on Tuesday and Thursday (a separate post about Thursday’s trip). 

It is time to do another garden diary post this coming week too.  I took some photos yesterday and have started clearing out some things. Anyway I’ll keep that for a separate update.

This is a Year of Projects post.  Officially the Group is in its 11th year, but this is my 4th year participating.  If you would like to find more about the Year of Projects Group on Ravelry.

32 comments

  1. The sock looks lovely, I still need to finish my sock mate! It’s sad about the WYS – it will probably soften up but I wouldn’t want to take the risk. I love Malabrigo, in fact one of my next projects is in that and I can’t wait!

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  5. Washing a swatch sounds like a good idea. Ironically it was just mention in a podcast I watched this week that wouldn’t it be nice if yarn stores could knit and wash swatches as a way to encourage knitters to buy yarn that might feel stiff in the skein but actually blocks up to be soft.

    I LOVE your lampshades. I would buy one but shipping to the US would probably be nuts.

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  7. Itchy collars are a big no-no. I am not help with telling you what yarn to go with. Although, I do think alpaca is a wonderful idea but then you need to get the correct grade to make sure it is soft. But dang….alpaca is super $$$. Your lampshades with the nepps in them look really neat. Hopefully they will stick after felting. You have really been having fun with your SUP. What a great way to spend time outside. But then you have a garden that helps you do that too.

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  8. I’ve never used Drops Air but I really like Drops yarns in general, they’re good quality and fit in with the budget. If you like the Malabrigo then buy it, even if it is superwash. After all, you want to end up with a sweater that will be as much fun to wear as it was to knit so a little leeway regarding your no superwash policy might not be a bad idea.
    Lovely colours in the sock, btw.

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  9. I love the blue color of the Aran, and I think using it for a sweater that won’t sit against your neck is the best idea.
    The West Yorkshire Spinners Croft Shetland aran yarn does have GREAT stitch definition!

    I’m excited to see the Malabrigo you picked! Sometimes getting something that will feel nice against the skin is worth it.

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  10. No yarn recommendations, but I hope you find something softer that you like. A scratchy neck seems like a hard way to wear a beautiful sweater. It’s a beautiful color, though, and it looks really nice with your purple coat – for whatever that’s worth.

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  11. I have several suggestions, but they are all US-based 😦 so probably super expensive to ship to you in the UK (but if I’m wrong, let me know and I’ll send you my thoughts!). The Shetland X you’re prepping looks gorgeous but whew… it’s always so much work to do all of that yourself!

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  12. You’ve been busy this week! Sorry about the sweater yarn but what a good job you found out before you put all oh that’s work in. I’m looking forward to seeing the Malabrigo. Good luck with the combing, it’s the fibre prep method I find most tiring but it’s usually worth the effort.

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  13. I made a sweater out of that Crofter yarn and it didn’t seem scratchy but I usually wear a long sleeve cotton mock turtle under it and it has a regular crew neck. I loved the yarn, and bought it at Wool in Bath, UK when I was there. But I agree with you, if it scratches you won’t wear it. Start over with something softer. What a gorgeous color though and Love the pattern!

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  15. From the comments, I see that you’ve already replaced the yarn for your sweater, even with the softer replacement, I agree … swatch then wash to see how the yarn performs. Looking forward to this F.O.

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