Friday, January 14, 2011

FO Friday

Some of you may not consider this to be an FO.  Depending on whether it decides what it wants to be, it just might be an FO in it's current state.  Sometimes after I finish spinning or dying a yarn it stops there.  The yarn doesn't seem to want to be anything more than what it is.  Often times, I will then give it away, others I let stay for awhile longer.


Last night, I finished Navajo plying the BFL from last month, so I could have my third bobbin free.  I dyed this a couple years ago, with rose pink, lavender, and Copenhagen blue with long stretches of color.


From Knitting Kitties
From Knitting Kitties


This still needs to be soaked and thwacked to set the twist.  Unless I plan to use the yarn right away, I let my spun yarn pile up for awhile.  For those times people stress me out and I could use a good thwacking session to let me frustrations out.  Heaven help the person that put me in such a state if they interrupt me, or they might find themselves being thwacked with the yarn.  (Thwacking is the process of setting and smoothing the twist by smacking the wet yarn against a smooth hard surface.)


From Knitting Kitties


This is the skeins older brother that I spun a couple years ago.  I'm thinking about pairing them with a semi-solid for some fair isle.  They think they might want to go with the BFL/silk I'm currently spinning.  The BFL/silk says it's not too sure about that right now.  The natural colored fiber could be a snob, it might be the silk.

Being that as time goes on this year, FO's are going to be scarcer on this blog.  I'm a process person so I like long entailed projects as they give me the most bang for my buck.  I've been thinking about doing a Family Heirloom Friday postings.  To show the things that haven't made it to the blog or so long ago many of you haven't seen them.  There many things I hope to become family heirlooms.  I don't know if they will, as I'm still alive and I don't know if future generations will treasure what I made or not.

To start, I'll show you a true family heirloom I found in one of my totes.  My mother gave me some of my grandmother's linens after she passed. To keep them safe, I stuffed them into one of my many project totes and sadly forgot about them.


From Knitting Kitties


She must have made these before I was born.  I don't remember her doing embroidery except to teach me.  Her crocheting at that time was sweaters, afghans, hats and scarfs for the family.  This one has some spots that I will have to look up on how to properly treat them.


From Knitting Kitties


Such delicate crochet.  It looks like she used size 20 or 30 crochet cotton.

The birdies aren't looking much different today.  Most of the growth seems to be in making feathers.  I'll lock up the cats and take them all out for a photo shoot tomorrow.  So, I'll leave you with a picture of Herbie dozing with his head by the doorway after his morning outing.


From Knitting Kitties


9 comments:

Daniele said...

OMGoodness! Hi Herbie!!

As for the hand-spun - love those pastels. So pretty! Fair Isle must be on everyone's brain lately. I've been thinking about starting the Ivy League Vest (ravelry). I might even have all the yarn picked out and the pattern and needles ready. Maybe..... ;)

Tami Klockau said...

Aww, Herbie is adorable. I can't get enough of the baby birdies!

Of course the hand-spun yarn counts as a FO! I love the colors. Pastels are so hard to get in dying and I can't wait to see your WIP with it.

Anonymous said...

Such wonderful heirloom items to own. I'm sure that now you've recovered them they'll be cherished.

I like your idea of using the newly-finished yarn for Fair Isle/stranded. I think it would look best against a dark yarn to really make the most of the colours.
I hope the BFL/Silk behaves itself for you.

Chrissy said...

I love that yarn so much. It's so pretty. I had no idea you had beat handspun into submission. You learn something new everyday. I bet it can really get rid of tension.

Marushka C. said...

I have some heirloom pieces from my grandmothers/great-grandmothers -- embroidered, quilted, or crocheted -- and I treasure them all. It would be great to see yours here, both the ones that you are passing down and the ones that have already come down to you.

Melissa said...

I just love Herbie's little head poking out. It makes me smile.

Now I know I'm going to have to learn how to spin and dye yarn just so I can thwack it! That sounds so therapeutic...and productive at the same time. You gotta love that!

Your grandmother's linens are beautiful. I love that kind of stuff, I think because it's so delicate and I'm not :) Have a great weekend!

Affiknitty said...

Definitely an FO! And very beautiful as well! Thwacking sounds like fun. . . I'll have to try that someday. Pretty linens too. How nice to have those family items.

Delusional Knitter said...

I just recently started spinning and when I learned that you thwack the heck out of the yarn once you are done I almost fainted! I think I'll either need a really bad day or a good, stiff drink the first time I go beating up the yarn I just spent hours spinning, LOL!

- said...

Beautiful work. I have some left from my grandmother and mother too. I find it is a shame in many families that such heirlooms get overlooked and likely thrown away!