Spinning yarn four ways, endless granny squares, knitting slump
The Cuttle Corner – August 30, 2023
Welcome to the first edition of The Cuttle Corner! A small look into all the craftiness I have going on from week to week. This week has yarn spinning four ways, a crochet granny square WIP, and a little knitting.
Grab a snack and your favorite drink and let’s get creative! I hope you have fun!
What’s going on
I had a rough couple of weeks lately, but things have started to get back to normal. As part of my getting back to normal, I have spent a lot of time crafting to help me feel more grounded.
What I’m working on this week
Spinning
I have been spinning so much lately! I actually have four different spinning projects going across two wheels and two drop spindles.
White mystery yarn

My oldest spinning WIP is a bobbin full of white singles that is taking a break to let the spin relax before plying. I don’t remember what the fiber content is, but I know I purchased it from Horse ‘n’ Round Studio. The single-ply was spun worsted on my trusty Ladybug spinning wheel. After I get this plied up and will be dying this yarn.
Dark Pink Polwarth/Tussah

While that project was waiting its turn I started to spin this beautifully dyed 85% Polwarth 15% tussah silk fiber from BJS Fiber Creations on my Ladybug. I found this fiber to be a bit tricky to draft so I decided to spin this from the fold. It was all going great until I sliced the knuckle that put my fiber over when I was washing dishes. It wasn’t a terrible injury but enough to put spinning over the fold on hold for a while.
Blue Heathered Merino

The first spinning I ever attempted on a Kromski Drop spindle before I ever used a spinning wheel. It did not go great and once I got my hands on my ladybug I never looked back.
For some reason, I decided to go ahead and try to spin on spindles again. Even though I don’t consider myself a spindle spinner I have a small collection of three top whorl drop spindles. I had a lovely braid of merino roving in shades of blues and purples that I thought would be the perfect fiber to give spindle spinning another try.
To give myself even more of a spinning boost I decided to take the time to card the fiber into rolags. Something about doing my own fiber prep gives me extra motivation to spin.
I decided to spin on my smallest spindle. It didn’t take very long for me to get a fairly even spin. The time I’ve spent spinning on a wheel definitely helped me spin on a spindle.
This spindle doesn’t hold a ton of yarn before it fills up. I’ve spun a couple rounds of singles then made a yarn bracelet and used an Andean plying technique on my Kromski spindle.
I’ve finished two rounds of singles and plying the last of the fiber should fit on the spindle.
Teal Merino

My newest spinning project is some lovely teal merino that I purchased from Horse ‘n’ Round Studio.
You may be asking, “Laura, you already had so many spinning projects, why did you start another one?”
The answer is I started a new spinning project because I wanted to spend some time getting to know my new spinning wheel! I won’t go into too much detail here, but keep an eye out here for a new post all about this newest addition to my crafting arsenal.
As for the spinning, this is a simple worsted spun yarn straight from the purchased fiber. I haven’t decided how I will ply it yet.
Crochet
A few years ago I purchased a Stranger Things yarn advent calendar from Yarn Cafe Creations. This means I have had 24 gorgeous 20-gram mini skeins of fingering-weight yarn that have been begging to be used. These mini skeins plus a bunch of leftover fingering weight yarn from various socks, shawls, and sweaters meant I had quite a bit of small bits of yarn to work with.

To use up this yarn and make something I think will be exceptionally gorgeous I have been using the stitch pattern from the Hygge Burst Granny Square Blanket from Nautikrall Crochet. Since this pattern was written for worsted weight yarn I am using a 3.0mm hook instead of the recommended 5.0mm hook. I will also be making way more squares than the original pattern called for.
I have quite a few squares made up already. Because there are so many yarn ends to weave in I have been alternating making granny squares with weaving in ends. This way I don’t have to weave in all the ends at once.

I think the final blanket will be stunning, but it is definitely a marathon project, not a sprint.

Knitting
I have not had a lot of knitting inspiration lately. For years knitting has been my go-to craft but for the past year or two, I just haven’t pulled out my needles like I used to.
Second Sock-itis
To try to get back in the habit I cast on a pair of socks with gorgeous yarn from Geektastic Fibers. This was at least three months ago.
I was working on the socks fairly regularly, although slowly until I managed to mess up the heel of my second sock. That was enough of a setback that these socks went immediately into time out and I didn’t work on them for weeks.
This week I decided it was time to finish the half sock I had left. I ripped back that heel, re-knit the heel without issue, and finished the foot in a matter of days.

The Search for the Next Knitting Project
With my only active knitting project done it is time to look for another one.
This sock knitting project may have been the spark I needed to rekindle my knitting love. I am excited about what I will be knitting next.
I have a sweater’s amount of some gorgeous yarn from Abundant Earth Fiber and the beginning of Fall seems like the perfect time to cast on a sweater.
Until next time, keep Cuttle-ing!
What are you working on? I’d love to hear about your projects in the comments below!
that granny square blanket is going to be phenomenal, can’t wait to watch it come together
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all of that fiber is spinning up beautifully, I think my favorite is the dark pink polwarth, absolutely gorgeous
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she’s so photogenic (the new wheel)