Monday, May 3, 2010

road not taken

a basket of homespun yarn

wool, compliments of jubilee, shetland ewe


i found a beautiful book at the library called: a fine fleece: knitting with handspun yarns by lisa lloyd. it is filled with beautiful patterns and insights into knitting with these special yarns. one pattern in particular caught my eye, a lacy scarf which the author called "road not taken". it calls for a fine yarn, but all of my yarns are thick and woolly. so rather than try to spin up a new skein, i decided to use a single strand already on the bobbin instead of a plied yarn. i was not sure how my experiment would turn out since plying a yarn causes a counter twist which balances the yarn. you can see in the picture how the yarn has a little kink to it.

but it was worth a try. i found the pattern to be very forgiving of that extra kink, the variations in yarn thickness, and my mistakes. i loved spinning jubilee's oatmeal colored wool and found it just as nice to knit. i am so thrilled with the outcome!

the author's comments on the pattern inspired me, "...I realized that the zig-zag pattern represents the different directions and roads that we can take with knitting and spinning. I am always thinking of alternate versions of garments and wonder just how many different roads could be explored. small projects such as this scarf allow unlimited possibilities. So many choices, so many roads to take."

and yes, i had to go out and buy the book! if you know me, that does not surprise you!

the finished product

everyday gift: learning new stitches

4 comments:

Patty said...

I am so incredibly impressed by your skill! What a gift and blessing. I'm interested in spinning (among TONS of other interests), but haven't begun to try it yet. I have access to my great grandmother's spinning wheel (and I think it might still work). One of these days I hope to meet someone who has a well developed skill like yours and learn.
I'm so glad to see you've posted again! Thanks for sharing your gift with us!

stacy said...

wow! how wonderful to have your great grandmother's spinning wheel! when you are ready to give a whirl, check your area for a spinning guild. my local guild has been a wealth of information.

Tonya said...

very nice and I can't see the kink...

Anonymous said...

Stacy, Your scarf turned out just gorgeous! You should enter it ...somewhere?? I mean it! It's definitely a work of art. So glad to be....your mom! Love you