I've been watching a yarn like that at my LYS. And then I noticed that the supply was dwindling without being replenished. And then I started a spinning class there, which gave me a 10% discount on everything in the store. It was time to make my move. Here's what I bought:
It's Toasty Toes, from Interlacements, in color 212, 100% superwash merino, hand-dyed by Judy L. Ditmore. It's hard for the photo to do justice: coppery golds, warm red-browns, complex dark greens and grays, and some lighter bluish bits for punctuation. Truth to tell, it wasn't my favorite colorway. That one (magentas, golds, and purples) already sold out, and the LYS isn't planning on restocking it. But hey, now that I know I'm carrying a boy, what better reason to buy a soft, washable yarn for making a masculine-but-beautiful baby sweater? I have in mind Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket, though if the yarn's dye spacing doesn't like that pattern, I'll do something else. I'd love to put some yummy buttons on it, but I fear that DS will find them literally yummy, so I'll probably go for something low-profile and really securely attached.
Now here's the lashing-myself-to-the-mast part: I'm not going to let myself start this project until my current socks are done. Just having the Toasty Toes sitting where I can see it, singing its song to me, makes me want to knit and knit and knit so I can get done, even though the left twist stitches in the second sock are pretty much kicking my butt. Someday maybe I'll learn a smoother way to do this stitch. For now, I'll finish the socks and see if washing or fiddling in other ways evens things out a bit. See, the twisted stitch comes every other row. In the right-twisting sock, it was easy to make the twisted stitches and the intervening stitches look the same. Just an easy pattern all the way around. But the left twist is just difficult to do, and it makes big stitches that contrast with the little knit stitches on straight rows. Bleah. I like this pattern, but if I do another pair, I'll just make them both right-twisting unless I find an easier method for LT. (In case you're well-versed in LT lore and can offer a suggestion, here's the one I'm using: knit through the back of the second stitch on the left needle, but don't drop it from the needle. Then knit through the backs of the first two stitches on the left needle together. This would probably be easier for a looser knitter, but that's not me.)
Here's my progress:
I've turned the heel, so I have 10 pattern reps down and 10 to go. Only the last ten have ten horizontal repeats per row instead of four. Oh, well. This is why a lot of my projects are dead simple: I need time to recuperate from stitches like this LT.
With all this whining, you wouldn't think I'm enjoying it. I am, actually, and I'll love having this pair of socks ready to wear. That Toasty Toes is just calling my name, louder and louder, and spurring me on.
I did a little more spinning today, with more greasy Lincoln fleece, while my washed-last-night Lincoln and Corriedale dries. I was reading an online description of drop-spindle spinning because I suspected there was something weird about my draw. I mean, it was working all right, but it was slow, and I was having a hard time seeing how I could use it for fatter or softer yarns. It turns out that, compared at least to the part of the spinning world that writes online and posts videos on YouTube, I was spinning in a weird way, using my top hand (the one holding the predrafted fiber) to add spin to the spindle instead of my bottom hand (the one controlling the upward travel of the twist). This meant the predrafted fiber had to be draped over my shoulder instead of around my arm, and it was prone to falling off and getting caught up in the hanging yarn or the spindle. Too much trouble! So I carded up some more rolags and tried it the other way. It seems much faster and more versatile. I think I'll stick with it.
The spinning is fun -- so much that I want to spin up this whole bag of fleece, which I suspect is meant to last me most or all of the six-week class. Hmm. I may have to see if I can buy another fleece if I'm having too much fun and run out! Next week I have a date with DD's preschool teacher to sit and knit in her class during free play time (Waldorf, dontcha know?). What do you wanna bet she'll be happy if I show up equipped for carding and spinning? Cool beans, I tell you, cool beans.
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