Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

I finished my 12 ounces of Hello Yarn "Blossom" on Finn, for a total of 898 yards. The photo is pre-washing, but I made it before the end of the last day! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Two full bobbins of Hello Yarn "Blossom." (Four ounces, total.) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Yesterday was a rest day (which I needed). I've just started my second bobbin of Hello Yarn "Blossom" on Finn. Today is another weaving day, so no more spinning, today! I'm very excited about weaving lessons, today. I've finished threading and wound onto the back beam last week. I'm ready to tie onto the front beam and begin weaving, tonight. Yay! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Here is a group shot of all six of the Ivy League Kit yarns: And the first two ounces of Hello Yarn, "Blossom" on Finn, the May 2013 club fiber. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

"Cactus" is done! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I've missed a couple days of posting, but I've been spinning at least a bit every day. I've got two full bobbins of "Cactus" ready to ply. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Day 10 was a rest day, along with the bikers. Next Monday will, also. I did spin a bit in the evening, though, and I just popped in this morning to post progress... Today is a weaving lesson day, so I won't be spinning any more, tonight. Here is Oasis, washed and fluffed, and the first bobbin of Cactus on the wheel. This will be the last of six colors in the Ivy League Vest, and then I'll move on to something else... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I spun a whole bump of my Ivy League Kit, and I even plied it this afternoon, though I haven't washed it or taken photos, yet. One color to go! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

"Pebble" is washed and fluffed, and I finished the second bobbin of "Cornstalk." Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I'm trucking along on my Ivy League Kit, just finishing the third color and starting the fourth. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Yesterday and today I spun another bump of the Ivy League Kit. If I ply it this evening, I'll be half done with the six colors in the kit. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I've plied the "Toffee," and I have 282 yards, just the same as the "Red Dahlia." That is strangely consistent, for me. I'm usually all over the place from one skein to the next. We'll see how the next four colors go... That's all the spinning for me, today. I have a weaving lesson after work, today. I have been getting home from lessons after normal bed time. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

My second bobbin of "Toffee." Tomorrow is weaving night (lessons), so I may not get much done. Perhaps I can get "Toffee" plied tonight and tomorrow morning... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I plied my "Red Dahlia" (282 yards) and spun my first bobbin (2 oz) of "Toffee." Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Today was the first day of this year's Tour de Fleece, the spinning event during the Tour de France. I had a false start, yesterday, thinking it was the first day. When I went to post my first day's progress, I realized I was a day ahead. So, I have now spun for two days, a half a bump each day of Southern Cross Fibre's "Red Dahlia" on Shetland, part of a six-color " Ivy League Kit." :) I guess only one of the bobbins "counts." Here's the kit: Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I plied Two If By Hand "Block Party" last night, washed it, and hung it to dry. It is about 218 yards of worsted. It seems like a happy colorway! I also received a TdF prize from Hello Yarn and Southern Cross Fibre. It is "vintage" Hello Yarn Rambouillet in the colorway "Burrows." Yay! Happy Spinning, Lisa Kay

I spun one last yarn for TdF, today, Southern Cross Fibre "Hawk Dreaming" on Masham, yielding about 440 yards of fingering weight singles. I took a group shot of all my TdF yarns. 1. HY/SCF "Shadows Half Seen" on Shetland, five bumps, 365 yards purple, 546 yards brown, 720 yards green 2. SCF "Longest Night" on Cheviot, six bumps, 1250 yards 3. SCF "Hunter" on Southdown, two bumps, 650 yards 4. SCF "Apprentice" on Southdown, two bumps, 650 yards 5. SCF "Hunter Valley" on Wensleydale, one bump, 345 yards 6. SCF "Carder Food" mixed breeds, ~1.3 bumps, 275 yards 7. SCF "Hawk Dreaming" on Masham, one bump, 440 yards The total weight is a little over 4.5 pounds, and total yardage is 5241. Happy Spinning, Lisa Kay

I finished all the singles and the plying for the SCF Carder food. It is about 275 yards, with the last 15 yards just orange, n-plied after I ran out of purple. I seem to have spun the orange a bit finer than the purple. Tomorrow is the last day of the Tour! Happy Spinning,

I took a better-lit picture of Hunter Valley. It shows the colors a little better. Today, I plied both Hunter and Apprentice. There is about 650 yards of each color. I also started my next spin, which is Southern Cross Fibre " Carder Food ." I have 52 grams of the orange and 104 grams of the purple, so it will work out well as a 3-ply... exactly twice as much of one as the other... Happy Spinning, Lisa Kay

I finished my Hunter Vally, 345 yards of fingering single-ply. With regard to the "worsted" spinning I mentioned in the previous post, for folks who aren't spinners or who are unfamiliar with Wensleydale, below is a closeup. The Wensleydale fibers are rather thick, and you can see in the photo that they are more or less parallel, which is the "worsted" part. A woolen spin, which I blogged about here , means to have the fibers all different directions going into the yarn. A good way to "jumble" the fibers is to roll the roving into rolags and spin from the tip. Because Wensleydale has long, thick fibers, it tends to make knots when spun woolen. Happy Spinning, Lisa Kay