Saturday, February 10, 2007

Progress...but not much

I'm almost done with one of the Anemoi Mittens. I just need to do the three needle bind off at the top and finish the thumb! Part of me wants spring to come, but part of me also wants winter to last a little longer so I can have a chance to wear my mittens! I've decided to save my allowance to buy a spinning wheel. Depending on which wheel I get, I could either have one by April or June. These are my top three picks:
1. The Schacht Matchless DT
2. Lendrum DT
3. The Majacraft Rose
4. The Kromski Sonata
I've heard the double treadle action is better, and I like folding wheels. I haven't actually tried any wheels, but I'm hoping I can try some out in Atlanta, when we visit my family for Robby's 100 day celebration. Alas, I have added another project to the roster, some really good friends of ours are having a baby, so there is a definite timeline to this project. It is Pariha's Snug as a Bug baby blanket. I'm using Louet Opal. I love the colors, but the pattern called for a size 7 needle to use with sportweight/DK yarn and I'm not too happy with the density of the fabric. And I don't like the way my picked up stitches look, it just doesn't look pretty, too loose. Especially after it's blocked and gets stretched out more, it's going to look really hole-y. I'm contemplating ripping it out and working it on a size 5 or size 6 needle. What do you guys think? I'm still early enough in the project where it doesn't kill me to do that. Here are a couple pictures with the fabric stretched out, I'm curious to see what other people's entrelac looks like. I think if I work it on smaller needles, the fabric won't look quite so hole-y on the edges where I pick up stitches.

In other news, I won a contest!!! Noolie had a contest on her blog to come up with a funny caption for a picture of Mr. Mugatoo, her big, beautamous cat, and guess his weight. Through the magic of the random number generator, a copy of Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles is making its way to meeee!!! Yayyy, thanks to Noolie for her generosity and her encouraging comments on me blog!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bea, I have a Majacraft Rose and I've never taken to it, but only because I'm a die-hard spindler. I should have tried spinning on a wheel before buying one cuz now it's sitting in my living room gathering dust. Okay, it does look pretty. :)

It's not that double treadle is better; it's a matter of preference. I am in a spinning guild and there are people swearing by either model. The trick is trying out several types of wheels. If you can spend some time doing that, you'll end up happier with your purchase. Some shops let you rent a wheel by the week or month and then deduct the rental cost from a subsequent purchase.
Try to figure out what you want from your wheel. Do you pretty much know that you will want to spin only a certain type of fiber or thickness, for instance, or do you want versatility? The answer to this question will determine what you need in terms of speeds and ratios.

Here is some advice on how to choose a wheel:
http://www.woolery.com/Pages/selectwheel.html

Something I've never seen mentioned, but is important to me, even though it has nothing to do with performance or portability, is sound. Wheels make very different sounds and some are very soothing while others can drive you crazy.

You could also subscribe to a spinning mailing list and ask for advice there. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Wow, your Anemois and Entrelac is looking amazing. I don't know anything about spinning so can't help there.