Sock it to Me

Finished my first pair of handknit socks!! Can I get a whoop whoop?

They actually weren't NEARLY as difficult as I thought they'd be. I don't know. I'm not much of a knitter, preferring spinning or weaving. But I wanted a portable project to take home with me to Florida for Christmas, and so I decided to learn to knit socks.



The yarn is Plymouth Sockin' Sox, which is a superwash merino/bamboo/nylon blend, contains enough yarn for two socks, and was on sale for about $10 at my local yarn shop, Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins . I loved working with this soft yarn, though there were a couple of knots inside the ball that drove me a bit batty.



Anyway, I followed Silver's Sock Class , which I highly recommend, using size 2 DPNs and casting on 64 stitches with the Long Tail Cast On. The toe section on the first sock ended up rather wonky, but the second sock turned out a-ok. After blocking, they expanded a little and don't fit like a glove anymore, but after their first actual wash I'm hoping they'll firm up again.


I'm so proud of these socks!! I've already cast on for my second pair, this time with Plymouth Happy Feet in a nice wine color, on size 1 DPNs, hoping to have them fit a little better.

Two Below, Honey

It's cold here. Very very cold. Frigid, in fact. And so I am PUMPED about my upcoming trip home to Florida! Not just because I'm ruminating on the relative warmth...I'm also extremely excited about seeing mi familia.

Every year I make a point to go home for Christmas. I've just gotta go. Nothing will hold me back. If I can't take off for work, I quit (yes, I am highly mature). If the plane tickets cost $1,800 for both me and Josh, I pay it off over the next 5 months (yes, this has happened before). I simply must go. It's the one time of year that my whole family comes together, even if Little and Pedro are only there for a nanosecond (Christmas Eve and Day, like last year).

This year, everyone will be there. Me and Mr. LaPamf (aka Josh). My sisters KK and The Little, and their significant others Ben and Pete. My parents, Mamasita and Dade. My grandma Mimi. And this year everyone will be there for a whole week!! Whoo hoo!! It will be a whole week of weirdo cookie-making contests (most psychadelic, anyone? How about "most fishy"?), cheesy Christmas movie watching, luminaria-making, last-minute Christmas shopping, searching nooks and crannies for an appropriate white elephant gift (which, per the rules, must come from somewhere within the house...one year I got a shoe phone. Remember those?), cracker-snapping, and laughing over the absolutely bizarre stocking stuffers. Oh, the stocking stuffers. I have some doozies for this year.

I can't wait. I CAN'T WAIT! But I must. Because between now and Sunday when we leave I must finish the 3-yard-long handspun/handwoven scarf for Alison, make a homemade ornament for...uh...tonight's guild Christmas party, warp the loom again and weave another present, spin 2 yarns for another gift and maybe some sock yarn for myself (who am I kidding??), finish shopping for my dad and stepmom and mail their package, mail Josh's family's packages, finish worshipping the Patrick Green carder I have on loan and return it (sob!) , and...I think that's it? Wow. Turns out the trip will really be a vacation after all!

More on Milkweed

Naturally, after the last post, I made an excuse to go back out to Quantum's farm. I know, twist my arm. I wanted to obtain more than a handful of milkweed this time. Well, Micah and Kelly (being vegans and much happier when I express an interest in veggie fibers) were all over this idea.

We walked along the ditch and scanned around for milkweed. Micah and Josh plunged down into the ditch to pull the fiber from quite a few plants. I, not having the correct shoes to just sink my foot into Who Knows What, kept to the dirt road, pilfering the pods that grew up and out a bit.

In the end we managed to get two gallon-sized Ziploc bags crammed full with milkweed fiber. Whoo hoo! I didn't feel too environmental-unfriendly, since we left most of the plants alone and just helped ourselves to the fiber that was already pretty much drifting down the road. Now all I have to do is gin the fibers of their seeds and we're in business. I don't have any fiber reactive dyes at the moment, so the milkweed will stay white for the time being. I think I'll make some blends with merino and other soft fibers. My handcards are (unfortunately) not made for carding the finest fibers, so the first time I tried to blend, milkweed went flying every which way. Hopefully, I'll have greater success this next time!

Spinning from the Land

Last weekend when Josh and I went to meet my sis-in-law Kelly's new horse, Quantum, I spotted something as we were cruising down the dirt lane, on our way home. There were interesting-looking plants in the ditch, sprouting fuzzy stuff at their tips.

"Stop!" I yelled to Micah, who was driving. He pulled to a stop and I hopped out to examine the plant. Sure enough, as far as I could tell, these were milkweed plants, their pods already blown out and rife with delicate, silky floss-like fibers. The fibers act much like dandelion fluff...wind picks up the silk and blows it (with the seed) down the ditch a ways. The pods were big...some were as large as my hand. Since they had already burst for the season, I simply grabbed some handfuls off the tips (saying a little thanks to the plant, of course), jumped back into the car, and we were on our way.

I examined my find. The staple length was very, very short...about an inch, on par with cotton. The fiber itself was ridiculously silky. In fact, it really resembled silk in its sheen and feel. The seeds were about .5 mm in length and separated easily from the fibers. Since I'd only grabbed a couple of fistfuls, I didn't have much, which was alright since it would be difficult to spin a pure milkweed yarn anyway.

I decided to incorporate the milkweed in a yarn I was spinning for Kelly. I blended natural ecru, lime, and baby blue merino (colors she picked to match her skis) with soysilk, green flash angelina, and the milkweed with my handcards and then spun them into a chunky yarn. The yarn might be too bulky to contain the milkweed for long - it pokes out of the yarn in a couple of places - but I'd already started the project when I found the fiber, and thought the inclusion of the milkweed would be special for her. Now if only I could find a hat pattern I liked! :)