Last night I decided to put my money where my mouth is, so to speak. The Sahara Sweater’s time had come. First I swatched with the tiny bit I had left over, to make sure that I could get gauge on my chosen project (The Lorelei tank from Yarnplay.) Here’s the sweater in its final moments (I know this is brutal… you may want to look away.)
An hour and a half later, all that remained was this.
And I was covered in little tiny bits of green fluff. It’s a tough job…
I went ahead and cast on for Lorelei (no picture yet) with the leftover yarn. So far so good. This sweater has a neat construction, it’s knit the bottom is knit sideways, seamed together, and then you pick up stitches from the top. It (obviousl) contains no shaping, so I’m trying to decide how long to make the tube in order to achieve a nice fit. The smallest size comes out to around 31″, which might be ok… we’ll see. The good part, of course, it that I can always rip back a bit if it’s too big.
I also started another sweater, the summer tweed sweater from the Rowan Kasbah collection. I know, this is a crazy number of projects for me, but I want to be careful of my hands while knitting with the nubby yarn.
At this point I will start on the chart, which is actually a really simple one that doesn’t bother me (to be honest, I only hate charts with cables and super complicated lace (the kind without rest rows.) I’m trying to convince myself that uneven ribbing is charming, and I think it’s working. Summer tweed is, after all, a very strange sort of yarn. It hasn’t hurt my hands yet, which makes me feel a bit better… I have yet another summer tweed project planned (the seafoam vest from IW Crochet I showed a few days ago.)
I need to buy a ball winder. Marc made me a motorized one out of Legos, and I love him for it, but it’s a bit temperamental with non standard yarns. I was thinking about ordering one of the winders at Joannes with the coupon, does anyone have a suggestion?
Green apples - Stitchywitch Creates 
I got my winder and swift off of ebay. They are really nice and I think I paid about $50 for both! Now if I could remember the store name……..
That’s your best bet, it really is easier to have both.
I bought mine from Joann’s with a coupon, and it was the best purchase I ever made! Not long after that, I bought the swift from Joann’s as well. The two really go hand in hand.
I was just being amused by the Alton Brown book in the background of the green sweater. Alton is one of my “heros”.
On more of a fiber topic. i have a ball winder and love it. I still need to get a swift, expecially since i want to start spinning too.
I got my ball winder from Colorsong yarns and it was one of the best knitting related purchases ever.
Also, am I the only one who is really keen to see a picture of your current ball winder? Motorized legos! How cool! (Although I can see it not being the easiest thing ever.)
I have the ball winder from Joann’s (the less expensive one of the two on the website). I love it.
I just got my ball winder from the LYS with a coupon at 50% off one item… waiting for the next coupon for the swift…I really need both.
BTW, My mom has a ball winder for sale. She just upgraded to the “motorized one”(said with all the dramatic flair you can muster). Let me know if you are interrested in the details.
I just got the Royal “Wool Winder” (mid-grade) from JoAnn’s with the 50% off coupon! I am going home tonight and try it out. I can’t wait to get some winding done. LOL