There is a part of me who can not believe that it is 2015 already – where did 2014 go?! I swear I blinked and it was gone. It was a whirlwind year and while it was a very trying year, we celebrated the birth of our second child, our daughter, which means 2014 will always be a very special year for our family. Towards the end of the year, I knew I really needed a break from the Internets. From social media, this small space I keep and Ravelry. I had been asked to do a couple of larger commissions, which I am pleased to report are done. One of them will be blogged later in the month and the other, you can find here. I was insanely pleased with both results and each recipient was very pleased.
One of the highlights of 2014 for me was reconnecting with my spinning wheel. I have a Kromski Minstrel that I purchased from Gemini Fibres (which was located at that time in Alberta but has since relocated to Ontario) in 2009. It was unfinished and I stained it with a cedar stain. I was never really happy with it – but didn’t feel particularly happy on any spinning wheels for several reasons. The main reason was due to my inability to ‘fix’ something if it went wrong: Too much or little uptake? No idea. Too much or little twist? No idea. The list went on and on.
I bought this bag of Hedgehog Fibres from one of my LYS’s back in the summer. I started working on it right away. Almost immediately I realised I am not a huge fan of 50/50 Merino + Silk. It had been a very difficult fibre for me to spin waaaay back when I was first learning (and eventually abandoned) spinning. I spun a small sample, navajo-plied it and set it aside.
I absolutely loved the sample results and started just tearing off small samples. Over the course of the last 5 months, I slowly worked my way through the rest of the 123 grams of fibre! Finally, over the Christmas holidays, I was able to finish the second bobbin and spent two evenings plying.
That broken bobbin has been like that since almost the first day I bought it (back in 2009) and I always put it in the bottom of my bobbin basket … how does it always end up back on my wheel?! Sneaky bugger …
Because I worked on this fibre over so many months and my spinning improved significantly in that time, the bobbins were quite different. The consistency of my spinning improved as I worked my way through the fibre and the results are slightly inconsistent. It was a great illustration to show me how much my spinning really has improved since getting back to my wheel back in June.
Fibre: Hedgehog Fibres 50/50 Merino + Silk, 125g
Finished yarn: 433 yards, navajo-plied, 12 WPI (sport)
Grist: 1777 YPP
I have absolutely no idea what this beautiful skein will be but for now, it will sit in one of my glass vases on our mantel so I can stare at it. Because I don’t have an insane amount of yardage, I think I might do a toque and matching fingerless mitts for next winter.
What did you improve on during 2014 that you are proud of? Any goals or plans for 2015? I’d love to hear about them!
Happy knitting & spinning :)
Really lovely result and great yardage, considering it’s a 3 ply and the silk is dense. They are nice generous sizes. I have some hedgehog fibres, but I haven’t spun it yet. I would love to retain the colours, but the dye is so random. Navaho Ply looks like a great idea!