Yarn three ways: Spinning on my new wheel, a new knitting project, and more granny squares

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The Cuttle Corner – September 6, 2023

Welcome to the second edition of The Cuttle Corner! This week it’s all about yarn. Spinning it, knitting it, crochet, and swatching!

If you missed last week’s post, be sure to take a look here.

Now, lets get cozy!

four images. Left image shows a closeup of a row of light grey yarn in skeins. Top middle image shows a spinning wheel bobbin on a lazy kate full of teal single ply yarn. Top right image shows stacks of crochet granny squares. Bottom right image shows a close up of two swatches knit from the light grey yarn with a purple ruler that has a magnifying section for counting stitches. Middle green text box reads the cuttle corner septemeber six two thousand twenty three in white text.

What’s going on

It has been a very fun week. We had a family day at the zoo and met up with some friends at a local park with a nice sandy beach. It was so great to get out with the kids and do some fun things before the weather gets worse and life gets busier.

I also finally returned to living history volunteering at Fort Nisqually. There was a really fun summer event where adults could come and try different historical crafts and activities.

In true Cozy Cuttlefish fashion, I got to lead the embroidery station. We had hankies to embellish and an array of embroidery floss colors to work with.

While I don’t have any pictures (cameras not being readily available in 1855) I was so impressed with the embroidery everyone did! There was a rainbow, a dragonfly, even a D20. It was a very fun evening.

What I’m working on this week

Spinning

This week I have almost exclusively been spinning with my new spinning wheel. I’ve spun all of the teal merino wool top into yarn singles in just one week!

close up of a lazy kate on a spinning wheel with two bobbins. The bottom bobbin is partially filled with pink, brown and grey yarn. The top bobbin is completely full of teal yarn single ply.

I was a little worried about how much the bobbins would hold. They look quite a bit smaller than the bobbins for my Ladybug. While they may not hold quite as much as some modern wheel bobbins, I was pleasantly surprised how much yarn did fit. If I am remembering correctly I think it is 4oz of fiber, but I will need to double check when it is off the bobbin.

Once the singles are all spun I am planning to chain ply to make a 3-ply yarn.

Crochet

My car was overdue for an oil change so I finally did the responsible thing and took it into the shop. Waiting to get my car back ended up being the perfect time to get through some more granny squares for my Hygge Burst Granny Square Crochet Blanket. I’ve almost worked up all of the mini skeins from my Stranger Things advent calendar.

five stacks of crochet granny squares. Top left is blue and purple yarn, top middle is white, blue, orange, and green. Top right is dark blue, green, red, and yellow. Bottom left is yellow and brown, and bottom right is orange and white.

I have been avoiding weaving in ends this week. Once I get through the last few mini skeins I will weave in the ends of all the finished squares and lay everything out to see if it is time to join them all together!

Knitting

The shift in weather from summer to fall means it is sweater season. As I previously mentioned I’ve had enough Josef & Anni yarn in the Pepper colorway from Abundant Earth Fiber for quite a while. With my latest knitting project finished (don’t ask about the shawl I haven’t touched in years) it is time to pick a pattern.

image shows a dining room table with a yarn swift full of yarn in the background with a ball winder partial filled in the foreground. To the right of the image is a stack of skeins of yarn waiting to be spun.

I spent quite a bit of time on Ravelry looking through all the sport-weight sweaters. Because this is a lovely neutral yarn I knew I wanted a pattern with interest. I had originally planned to knit a pullover sweater, but I kept being drawn to the Kildalton cardigan by Kate Davies.

I think this will be the perfect pattern to showcase this yarn and be so cozy to wear this fall (if I knit fast enough) and winter. Before committing to this pattern I made a stockinette stitch swatch to see how close it is to the gauge.

Before casting on the sweater

I always do a swatch before knitting a sweater (although not for any other knitting project). In this case, it was especially important. The yarn weight for this pattern is listed as sport weight, which is what I have. The recommended yarn, however, is a DK-weight yarn and thicker than what I have.

In the end, I did two swatches. For the first swatch I used the recommended US 5/3.75mm needle. I really like the texture of the fabric this made but the gauge was a little tighter than the pattern. Tos see if I could get closer to gauge I did another swatch with a US 6/4.00mm needle. This was pretty close to the correct gauge but I don’t like how it feels knit up quite as much.

image shows a close up of a knitted swatch of light grey yarn with a purple knitting ruler laying over it to show the gauge.

My plan is to use the smaller needle and compensate by knitting a slightly larger size sweater. I am going to do a loose fitting sweater anyway, so the fit doesn’t have to be exact.

I can’t wait to cast this sweater on!

Wait, where is the sewing?

I have not had any sewing projects going on lately. My other projects have been keeping me busy, but don’t worry, there will be more sewing soon!

Until next time, keep cuttle-ing!

What are you working on? I’d love to hear about your projects in the comments below.

3 Comments

  1. fall just feels like the season for yarn based activities! warm and fuzzy.
    +
    i’m always impressed by all of the preparatory calculations/work that go into a big knitting project.
    +
    the first rule of Cuttle Club is You Don’t Ask About the Shawl

  2. I have not checked in here for some time as I thought it was getting boring, but the last few posts are great quality so I guess I will add you back to my daily bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂

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