Goblin Lace Scarf

The fiber color was called “Goblin Elbow Blue” and the pattern is the Lace Ribbon Scarf from Knitty, so hence I’m calling it my Goblin Lace Scarf.

My Goblin Lace Scarf

It’s coming along a lot faster than I thought.  There’s only about 2 1/2 pattern repeats there, but it grows quickly.  Very gratifying.

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Knitting Up Handspun

I finished this handspun over the weekend…

Handspun 100% merino

It’s 100% merino, single-ply lace weight.  I spun it from roving dyed by The Dyeing Arts, which I purchased from The Loopy Ewe.  It was an absolute dream to spin.  I’ve spun merino-blends before, but never 100% merino.  I really think I’m in love.  When I pre-drafted it, I couldn’t get over how incredibly soft it was.  I just wanted to curl up in the basket of fiber.

Yarn and PatternThere’s just over 450 yards on the skein, so finally I have enough yardage to actually knit something!  I washed it Tuesday night to set the twist, and tonight it was finally dry enough to use.  I decided to cast on a new project with it, even though I have tons of other projects on the needles already.

I didn’t even have to debate or search for a pattern: the yarn immediately told me it wanted to become the Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery. The thought of having this super-soft merino knitted into a simple, airy lace scarf to drape around my neck is just heavenly.  It seemed the perfect match-up of yarn and pattern.

Handspun Wound to Knit WithSo I wound a center-pull ball.  It was exciting to wind my own handspun for the first time.  It’s far from perfect; as I wound it, I could feel occasional lumps and bumps sliding through my fingers.  It’s okay though.  I’m hoping it will give my scarf some unique character.

I only knit about three rows on it tonight, so unfortunately I can’t see the pattern taking shape yet.  I’m really eager to see how the yarn and this pattern interact.  I’ve already ripped it back once because the recommended size 3 needles were a bit to small for my liking.  (I tend to be a very tight knitter too.)  So I cast on again with 4’s and that seems to be going much better.

I think this will become the next project that travels with me.  I’m almost done with the socks I’ve been knitting during lunchtime at work, so this will replace them, I think.  But unlike those socks, I think I’ll bring this home with me everyday rather than leaving it in my desk drawer.  I want to finish it as quickly as possible because I can’t wait to wear it!

And don’t think because I’ve cast on some of my handspun that I’ve abandoned spinning more.  I got an entire pound of natural dark BFL fiber in the mail from Hello Yarn today.  I’m thinking perhaps it will become a shawl or maybe a project from A Fine Fleece.  I’ll have to see how it spins up.  Here are a couple other skeins I’ve spun recently…

Corriedale from Sakina Needles

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