MalabrigoMarch | Woolen Diversions

I’m having one of those weeks that is just racing right by me. Perhaps it’s because the Fiasco and I have been devouring Game of Thrones on DVD (being a season behind is always so painful) and I’ve simultaneously been devouring Outlander books at an alarming rate any free second I get. (What the heck am I going to do when those are over?! * cue panic *) Throughout all this voracious fiction consumption, I’ve been knitting a bit and spinning a bit, too.

MalMarch Sundry:

WIPWed #85: Days Go By | Woolen Diversions

Malabrigo Dos, colorways Turquesa and Indigo. Click for project page.

I’ve been uncharacteristically monogamous with my one-and-only Malabrigo March knitting project, and if we’re being totally honest, it’s starting to get to me. The yarn is an unquestionable delight and the slipped garter stitch pattern is fun… but it’s still just garter stitch, and alternating colors every couple of rows is always a pain in the ass for me. Plus, those rows are getting long, and the length of time to the end of the month is growing short. I have little confidence that I will finish by the 31st, I’m probably about 50% right now.

MalMarch Nube Cable:

Malabrigo Nube (Merino wool), colorway Persia. Click for handspun page.

If I do say so myself, the single that I’m spinning longdraw from my hand-carded rolags is looking fine, isn’t it? It’s so fluffy! That’s just 1 oz of fiber but it nearly fills the bobbin. I’ve carded up the next ounce and think the spinning will go relatively quickly once I just sit down with it. I’m planning to ply this as a cabled yarn, where you make 2 sets of 2-ply yarns with extra twist, and then ply them together in the opposite direction. It should be fun. And I’m planning a ‘how to card wool’ photo tutorial, once I get the photos properly organized.

Spindle Experiment:

Subterranean Woodworks Medium (holly & purpleheart)

Subterranean Woodworks Small (dyed curly maple)

I needed a bit of a break from all that blue so I revisited the spindle experiment I’ve been casually working on with some merino/silk fiber from Louet North America. I’m having lots of fun seeing the different characteristics of the ‘default’ 2-ply yarns I produce on each tool. More details when I finish, I still have a few I want to do.

That about sums up all my making this week. In other news, I’ve had over 80 people respond to my Sweet Sheep Product Survey and am getting some great ideas and inspiration for future products! Here’s a plot of scent preferences from the data as it stood a few days ago:

Data!

I’m fascinated about people’s scent preferences. I really had no idea that ‘fresh’ scents were so popular, and I’ve frankly been a little surprised at how well things like Spearmint and Green Tea sell because I prefer sweet and spicy scents, myself. I’m also a little surprised that woodsy scents are showing up as least preferred, as Sandalwood Vanilla has been one of my most consistent sellers. In truth, though, I doubt there’s a statistical difference between most of the categories, but I haven’t done an analysis. What do you prefer?

Linking up for Yarnalong.

You know how frustrating it is when you just can’t find something? You know you had it, but you can’t remember the last time you’ve seen it, and you desperately want it back, but you have no clue where it could possibly be? I admittedly get that feeling a lot, usually for something small that I’ve put in a very obvious place, and the Fiasco prides himself on always being able to find what I’ve lost in about 2 seconds flat. In fact, he put finding-my-lost-things in his wedding vows, that’s how often this situation occurs. But this time, this time… I had lost my brand new favorite project bag, along with a nearly finished knitting project, for EIGHT ENTIRE MONTHS.

It is found, huzzah!

The last time I saw that thing was just after my wedding in July. I had knit up a bunch of lovely jewelry frames as gifts for my even lovelier bridesmaids, and I wanted to make one for myself with the leftover yarn. I searched high and low, on and off, for the last several months to no avail. I even put out a plea on Facebook to see if I perhaps left it in a relative’s car or something… nada. This weekend, the Fiasco decided to do a bunch of laundry and rearrange his closet and this morning, I found a trash bag he had placed near the bed filled with a few things including a purse and the missing project bag! How the heck this project ended up in a trash bag in the depths of his closet for 8 months, I’ll never know, BUT OH BOY, RICHARD, YOU’RE LUCKY YOU’RE CUTE.

It Was Him All Along | Woolen Diversions

Malabrigo Nube, colorway Persia.

In other news, I attended the monthly meeting of the Rhode Island Spinner’s Guild yesterday and learned how to make proper rolags with hand cards. I’d been fumbling along with a half-assed technique I had cobbled together from articles and videos, but it was something else altogether to have some watch me card and correct my form. Which is great, because carding has always been hell on my wrists and I’d suspected I’d been doing it wrong. Part of the problem is likely my super heavy, flat-backed hand cards that I’ve hated since day one. So I caved and ordered a new set of Strauch curved wool cards from The Woolery and am anxiously waiting for them to arrive so I can continue my Malabrigo March spinning project. I’m clearly insane, as I’ve decided to both card rolags and make a 4-ply yarn using longdraw drafting for this project, which has a deadline of the end of the month. But see how thinly the Nube is spinning up? That’s the thinnest I’ve ever spun on a wheel, and the combination of fluffy rolags and rhthymic longdraw is making me happy, so I’m going for it anyway.

So tell me, where is the strangest place you’ve found a previously lost item, and how long did it take you to find it?

(P.S. Please check out the bottom of Friday’s post for details about a Sweet Sheep product survey and giveaway I’m currently running, and thanks to all who have responded so far, you should have received your coupon codes via e-mail over the weekend!)

(P.P.S. This post contains affiliate links to The Woolery, an excellent spinning shop that I am happy to support. If you make a purchase through these links, I will receive a small percentage that goes towards the running of this blog, but all opinions are honest and my own. That said, check out this crazy sale on BFL fiber they’re having… $11 for 8 oz, must resist!)