Fiber Arts Friday: Cozy Stripes Sweater, part 12

In part 11, I had nearly completed the large brown block on Sleeve #1 (104 of the 108 row goal).  Today, I am not quite in the same place on Sleeve #2...  97 of 108 row goal for the block.

The difference could be in gauge, where I started the skein, and/or deltas between winding of skeins at the mill.

After trying on the sweater, I have decided to continue with the plan as written with the 14g remaining on Skein #7.

I maybe should have made the body a little longer.... it is fine in the back, but the collar makes the front pull up a bit.  I can fix some of that with blocking and folding the collar down.  So we'll see how it is when everything is finished.

Skein duration:

• #1 (11/2/24 - 12/10/24) 5 wks 3 days
• #2 (12/10/24 - 12/30/24) 2 wks 6 days
• #3 (12/30/24 - 1/6/25) 1 wk
• #4 (1/6/25 - 1/18/25) 1 wk 5 days
• #5 (1/18/25 - 2/5/25) - 2 wks 4 days - 14 g remain

• Green (2/5/25 - 2/6/25) - 2 days - 22 g remain (begin body stripes)
• Orange (2/6/25 - 2/8/25) - 3 days - 23g remain
• #5 (2/8/25 - 2/9/25) - 2 days - 11 g remain
• Orange (2/9/25) - 1day - 18 g remain
• Green (2/10/25 - 2/14/25) - 5 days - 17 g remain (complete body stripes)

• #5 (2/14/25 - 2/20/25) - 6 days (begin hem)
• #6 (2/20/25 - 2/25/25) - 5 days - 20g remain (complete hem, bind off pending)

• TINK Body Hem (2/27/25 - 3/6/25)  - 8 days
• #5 (3/6/25 - 3/22/25) - 2 wks 2 days (begin re-Knitting Body Hem with smaller needles, US3)
• #6 (3/22/25 - 3/23/25) - 2 days (complete and bind-off Body Hem) - 19g remain

• Pickup Collar/Button Band Stitches (3/24/25 - 3/30/25) - 6 days
• #6 (3/30/25 - 4/10/25) - 11 days (begin Button Band/Collar, US3)
• #7 (4/10/25 - 4/22/25) - 12 days (complete Button Band/Collar and Bind off) - 14g remain

• #8 (4/23/25 - 6/4/25) - 6 wks (begin Sleeve #1, on hold for the summer) - 10g remain
• #8 (9/14/25 - 9/22/25) - 8 days (restart Sleeve #1, large brown section nearly complete)

• #9 (9/23/25 - 10/13/25) - 3wks (begin Sleeve #2)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Rainbow Vanilla Socks, part 4

Last time, in part 3, I had just completed the second foot of this project.

In this episode, I have completed the set up for the Afterthought Heel on both socks and am ready to begin a whole lot of Leg knitting... :-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Long Draw Spinning Practice - 2025, part 4

For Part 4 - I chose a 3-color Gradient of Blue, Black, and Yellow.

This one is interesting because the Black is placed through out and the gradient is between the Blue and Yellow.

The good news is that I have an even number of Rolags (6), so I have a better chance of getting the colors to mirror in the single, and therefore match in the finished yarn.  *fingers crossed*

These continue to be better made Rolags and these are spinning quite fine.

 

I do find myself slipping back into short-forward draw, so I need to focus more on pulling my left hand back.  I will say that allowing the spin to reach between my hands feels a lot less weird and out of control than it did in part 1.

Also since I've come up with a loose plan on how to use these yarns in a project together, this one decided to spin much finer, so my plan won't work.  lol.

The quality of the singles are still pretty poor, but I did not have any over-spun sections, tho one section was plied tighter than the rest.  I also did not break the yarn this time.

1 oz (29g), 65.5 yards of 2-ply.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Cozy Stripes Sweater, part 11

Whence last we left this project it was June 2025 and there was one and a half arms, buttons, and weaving in ends to go.

It's been a hot summer.... so I haven't made much progress on my Rainbow Vanilla Socks either, but I have been spinning (TdF, Long Draw).  :-)

We are finally getting more regular, cooler, weather, which means I finally picked up The Cozy Stripes Sweater on September 14th!

In the last week or so, I was able to mostly complete the large brown block on Sleeve #1.  The goal is 108 rows, but I ran out of Skein #8 at 104 rows.

So I plan to leave it as is until Sleeve #2 reaches the same place.  Then I will try the sweater on and reassess when to begin the stripes for the end of the sleeves.

I have two Brown Skeins remaining plus ~14g of Skein #7. 

I am happy to be working on this project again.

Skein duration:

• #1 (11/2/24 - 12/10/24) 5wks 3days
• #2 (12/10/24 - 12/30/24) 2wks 6days
• #3 (12/30/24 - 1/6/25) 1 week
• #4 (1/6/25 - 1/18/25) 1wk 5days
• #5 (1/18/25 - 2/5/25) - 2wks 4days - 14 g remain

• Green (2/5/25 - 2/6/25) - 2days - 22 g remain (begin body stripes)
• Orange (2/6/25 - 2/8/25) - 3days - 23g remain
• #5 (2/8/25 - 2/9/25) - 2days - 11 g remain
• Orange (2/9/25) - 1day - 18 g remain
• Green (2/10/25 - 2/14/25) - 5days - 17 g remain (complete body stripes)

• #5 (2/14/25 - 2/20/25) - 6days (begin hem)
• #6 (2/20/25 - 2/25/25) - 5days - 20g remain (complete hem, bind off pending)

• TINK Body Hem (2/27/25 - 3/6/25)  - 8days
• #5 (3/6/25 - 3/22/25) - 2 wks 2 days (begin re-Knitting Body Hem with smaller needles, US3)
• #6 (3/22/25 - 3/23/25) - 2 days (complete and bind-off Body Hem) - 19g remain

• Pickup Collar/Button Band Stitches (3/24/25 - 3/30/25) - 6days
• #6 (3/30/25 - 4/10/25) - 11days (begin Button Band/Collar, US3)
• #7 (4/10/25 - 4/22/25) - 12days (complete Button Band/Collar and Bind off) - 14g remain

• #8 (4/23/25 - 6/4/25) - 6wks (begin Sleeve #1, on hold for the summer) - 10g remain
• #8 (9/14/25 - 9/22/25) - 8 days (restart Sleeve #1, large brown section nearly complete)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Long Draw Spinning Practice - 2025, part 3

For Part 3 - I chose a 2-color gradient of Black and Yellow, made from unknown wool.

I am planning a 2-ply yarn and want the colors to line up.  So I organized the Rolags similarly to part 2.  These are more consistent Rolags than in Part 1 and 2, so I'm hopeful the resulting yarn will be better... only spinning and plying will tell.  ;-)

Of course, there is an odd number of Rolags (7), which means the colors are not mirrored from end to end.... The single starts with Black and ends with Yellow.  sigh.

So, I have accepted the fact that this yarn will be mostly Barber Poled.

One of the good things about working with colors and fibers that are provided, rather than selected, is that it means I have to work outside of my preference.  This often leads to good, or at least interesting outcomes.

1 1/8 oz (30g), 56 yards of 2-ply.

I don't imagine that I would have ever made this yarn on purpose.  lol.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Rainbow Vanilla Socks, part 3

In episode 3, I have been working on the feet of these Rainbow Vanilla Socks.

Simple Socks are the best for waiting around knitting.  

• They are small, therefore portable.
• They can be stopped at any time.
• It's easy to pick up at any time and know where you are in the pattern.  

So far, I have worked on these while waiting for:

• warranty work on my truck,
• while travelling to an Invitational Dog Show
• while waiting for events at said Invitational Dog Show
• at the DMV
• Waiting for a yoga class to start

I completed the foot for Sock #1 on 7/11/25 and began working on the foot for Sock #2.

As of today, finally in mid-September 2025, I have completed foot #2.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Long Draw Spinning Practice - 2025, part 2

For Part 2 - I chose BFL again.  This is a blue and green colorway where the colors were placed on the Blending Board in 1/4 sections.

Since I intend to make a 2-ply, I need to be clear about which end I start from for each rolag.  So I matched the rolags by approximate weight, then placed them in order of spinning and reversed the second half.

I did break the single twice, so I ended up with 3 cakes for plying.  This will be interesting to see how well I keep things in order. lol.

I put ties on the ends I need to start plying.  The middle cake will end up being a game-time decision, since I will end up plying from both ends if it.

For the most part each color change included some Barber Poling, which is to be expected.  There was one very long section of Barber Pole and one change that occurred at exactly the same time.  It will be interesting to see how this knits up.

7/8 oz (25g), 58.5 yards of 2-ply.

As a side note, I don't like how the yarn looks on the bobbin.... it is fuzzy and indistinct.  I assume this is a feature that I will grow to appreciate... eventually.  But they don't look so bad from this vantage point. lol

Happy Fiber Arts Friday