Dry Falls

I want to introduce you to my latest pattern, Dry Falls.....

This is a garter stitch, crescent shaped shawl that absolutely flew off my needles.  I had so much fun with this project and the work really did just flow from my heart to the needles...I loved knitting it, and I love wearing it even more.  As usual, Emma is the perfect model...

I used Plymouth Encore DK for this one, and I have to say that it seemed to be more of a sport weight to me, so I think if this was knit in a true DK weight, it would be somewhat larger. 

This shawl could be knit at any gauge, though I could only suggest fingering/sport/dk or worsted.  I am offering it for sale here, on my blog, or at Ravelry.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

The lace edging on this piece reminds me of water cascading down, so, here's a picture of the inspiration for this shawlette, Dry Falls in Highlands, NC.  This waterfall is beautiful to view year round, and is just off Hwy. 64, so there is no great hike to see it. It is called Dry Falls, because you can walk behind it and stay dry.  

Spinning....

I told you a couple weeks ago about my new-to-me Ashford Traditional Spinning Wheel. When I bought it, it was a little rough...meaning it was missing parts, dirty and the wood needed conditioning...badly.  I cleaned it up with the help of DH and my flyer and bobbins came in last Wednesday.  So, now I have a working spinning wheel and have been able to sit down with it and learn to spin.  First, I'd like to thank Mary Ann Pagano of Three Waters Farm.  When I posted a pic of the used wheel and asked for advice about buying it to my local fiber arts group, she was the only one to respond, so I gave her my order for the standard flyer and bobbins.  She has been very kind and helpful. I brought my wheel to her shop, and she helped me attach the necessary parts and teach me how to adjust them and the basics of spinning on a wheel.  Emma was with me and I have said this before and will say it again...they fiber arts community has always presented the finest examples of kindness and helpfulness to my daughter, for which I am truly grateful.

Spinning with a drop spindle over the years has made learning to spin at the wheel much easier than it might have been.  Mostly because I am already practiced at drafting and plying with the spindle, so transferring those skills to a spinning wheel was pretty easy. The only thing that required practice was keeping the wheel turning with my foot and drafting out my fibers at the same time.  A rhythm is necessary to accomplish that feat, but a few sessions of practice has yielded a few nice skeins of plied yarn.

This is Merino top that I bought at Unplanned Peacock.  I realize that Merino isn't as easy to spin as BFL, and this fiber was bought in 2011 and is still in the braid, so it required more pre-drafting than usual, but the singles are bouncy and soft and I am happy with the yarn I made.  I am going to spin the rest on one bobbin and ply that from a center pull ball, just like I did these.  I spun these with a z twist and plied with an s twist. The color in these pics really isn't quite right, either...it is really more of a deep teal.   I think this will probably become a hat...we'll see:0)

Dryer Balls

Just want to quickly share a project with all of you. I saw these dryer balls on Pinterest and was intrigued.  These balls are sold at various online stores and locally for anywhere from $15 to $34.
They are meant to replace fabric softener sheets, and liquids and also claim to reduce drying time by 25% for large loads to 30-40% for small loads.  I had several skeins of 100% wool yarn, so I decided to make some for myself to try relatively cost free.
I used Brown Sheep Lambs Pride Bulky in my stash.  I had about half a skein which made five 2 1/2" balls.

All I did was wind each ball by hand, place them in a large sock separating each ball with a rubber band, and wash them in hot water on a heavy duty cycle, then throw them in a nice hot dryer, and they felted beautifully. (I should note that, when winding each ball, I used a crochet hook to pull the yarn ends into the center of the ball before I felted them.)



They do reduce drying time somewhat, and are nice to have when you just need to throw one item in the dryer to remove wrinkles but I can't tell that they soften my clothes all that much.  Still I keep mine in my dryer, which can be somewhat of a challenge sometimes, as there are four of us in my family, who do laundry, and not everyone is careful about keeping them out of just dried clothes and in the dryer.  So often, I go searching.....I have heard that you can add a few drops of essential oil to these to make your laundry smell nice. I haven't tried it, though.