Silky Smooth

I mentioned in my last post that I purchased some pieces of pure silk to spin at the Knitting and Stitching show. I have spun up the silk caps and spinning silk is by far the weirdest facet of fiber arts that I have experienced. From peeling apart the silk layers to drafting the sticky fibers, silk has got to be the most fascinating fiber at a spinner’s disposal. I love how organic and natural it feels while I spin and the glistening yarn it produces is really satisfying to see as a product of the effort put into it. I did a lot of pre-drafting with the cap layers so the thickness of the single is somewhat uniform but there are quite a few places where the silk wanted to spin thicker or thinner and I just let it happen. I’m not really aiming for any specific type of yarn with this fiber I’m just enjoying the experience and letting the silk tell me what kind of yarn it wants to be. I’m going to start on the silk brick in the same colorway soon and I’m really excited to see how this type of preparation effects my spinning.

On the knitting front, I started and completed some more Christmas knitting. It is a simple raglan pullover for my little sister. She is incredibly thin and tall so hopefully this women’s small won’t look too ridiculous on her! (sorry about the photo, I’ve yet to block this piece) I used the pattern Brick by Clare Lee as a base and added a few mods.

 

 

I’ve also begun another sweater for my mom. Hopefully this one will be more suited to her tastes. I’m using Shapely Boyfriend by Stephanie Japel as a base and modifying the length of the body, length of the sleeves, and adding a shawl collar. I’m about a third through the body if you can’t tell in this mess of a photo.