A weekend for making stuff

"I'm going home to make stuff" I said to Kristine of A Verb For Keeping Warm as I departed from Glimakra Weaving Studio yesterday, clutching the yarn I had just bought from her. Kristine, Brooke and Maia of Tactile Fiber Arts were participating in the Open Studio weekend at Maj-Britt Morbrand's studio. I bought 3 skeins of BFL from Kristine; two skeins of "The Best Blue" and one of "Northerner". Glimakra Weaving Studio isn't all that large and was stuffed to gills with wonderful fiber-y stuff. I wanted to stay and take it all in, but I had to go home and start making stuff.

As soon I got home, I wound one skein of "The Best Blue" into a ball and started to knit Clara Parks' Maine Morning Mitts. These are going to be a Christmas gift. This first one was knit while watching A Midsummer Night's Dream and part of Chocolat. Since I'm not knitting much in the way of Christmas gifts, the second one will be done in no time.

While I was working on the mitt, I poached some pears. I got these from one of the attorneys I work with. They have a wonderful flavor on their own, but I like poached pears. These are dead simple to make and make your house smell wonderfully spicy. First, make a simple syrup of 2 parts water to 1 part sugar. Throw in some cinnamon sticks, whole allspice and fresh ginger. Add the peeled and halved pears and cook over medium low heat until tender. Cool.

I also started the second twisted rib sock. After knitting the Maine Morning Mitt on a US 7 going down to a US 1 felt a bit weird. I normally knit on small needles and was surprised that I couldn't get my coordination right. So, I didn't get as much done on the second sock as I'd thought I would. But that is okay because these are for me and I'm in no rush to finish them.

I set today aside for spinning. I started spinning this merino/tencel up at the last pot luck Sunday spinning day at Maia's. I finished spinning 2 oz. today and will start on the second 2 oz. later this week. This fiber was one of my solar dyeing experiments from this summer. I love that the colors are softer than they would have been had I steam set the dye. I also started spinning the Targhee I bought in September. It is turning out a lovely oatmeal color. I've spun up 1 oz. and have 5 oz. left. I'm thinking of making a 3-ply for a hat.

Speaking of 3-ply, I made my first successful 3-ply late last week. I ended up with approximately 1.9 oz. and 190 yards. I dyed three separate pieces of merino top in three strengths of Jacquard Black using a low-water immersion technique. I'm going to use this to make another Purl Bee Beret.