The Whisper Stripe Sweater

This is my new sweater, that I'm going to make. You can find the pattern at http://www.interweavestore.com/Knitting/Patterns/Whisper-Stripe-Pullover.html?a=ke091230

I have 3 hanks of mohair done and will do another one just to be sure I have enough. I'd hate to run out because matching a color would not be possible. I started spinning some cashmere though for a change of pace. I have to put a lot more twist in the cashmere to hold it together because the fibers are very short, less than 2" long, closer to an inch really. If I don't twist it well, it just pulls back apart. So I will also ply the cashmere for strength and hope plying softens up the yarn enough that it will bloom a little bit. It is so very soft as roving. I just love feeling it slip through my fingers but it is challenging to spin. The silk will be tricky too because of the length of the fibers and the fact they tend to clump a bit from the roving. I will probably pre-draft both the cashmere and silk, and pull the rovings into thinner pieces to help make it easier to spin. That seems to help with the cashmere and I believe it will help with the silk too. I have spun it before.

I'm going to dye all the fibers the same color, they will just be more or less intense because of their fiber content and density. The mohair should be fairly see through and the cashmere and silk will not be. The silk will be shiny and the cashmere will be more satin finish. I can't think of the right word now. But I am still waiting to see what color will inspire me. I am leaning toward periwinkle, or a blue purple because that is my favorite color and looks great on me. It always brings out the color of my eyes. I love the color of the scarf I am making but would I be sick of it after knitting both pieces? Probably not. But the other sweater I made is a soft periwinkle and I do not want all my sweaters to be the same color. That would be unimaginative! So I wait to see what catches my eye after I get everything spun up and get out my dyes. Then we will see.

I can't wait!

Happy New Year

I am spinning out the old year and in the new one. I am working on my next project. That is happiness for me. I am tired of people asking me if I made my sweater when I have to say no. So I found a new pattern I would like to make and I am spinning up the yarn for it. It is all luxury yarns with mohair, and silk and cashmere. So I am spinning up those fibers which I have in abundance, thanks to Kathy Withers. And I will be knitting a new sweater before you know it. I will have to get more dye though. I wonder what color to make it?

I also washed some icelandic fleece today. One less bag of the smelly stuff. It was looking bad and I was worried that it was molding or something. It washed up lovely, soft and mostly snowy white. So all is well and I just have to decide what to do with all that icelandic fleece. It's pretty nice but how much icelandic can you spin?

Time to go to bed and dream of my new sweater. Some of the yarn is already drying in the bathroom. I will make more tomorrow.