Well, I managed to power through the miles-long bindoff in two sittings last weekend, no small portion of the credit for which goes to my mom, who was in town to "visit" (read: help wrangle the boys/help me maintain my sanity). Fellow knitting enthusiasts understand that occasionally getting a project off the needles goes a long way toward feeling like oneself, especially after a major life change like adding an extra human to the family. Substitute the appropriate vocabulary for your particular brand of nerdiness as necessary.
The yarn was spindle-spun singles, from my first bump of Loop fiber. I purchased it at Rhinebeck 2014. I'm counting 15 months from fiber to FO as a win. The spinning experience was lovely until I got down to about the last quarter of it. I pulled from the center of the bump and had been dragging it around with me for months, so by the time I got to the outer layers of fiber they were pretty badly compacted. I chucked the very last of it, much to my chagrin. Despite the wasted bits, the finished yarn still clocked in at about 900 yards. As for the pattern, I semi-followed Stephen West's Bolting, which was pleasantly mindless and very customizable.
Specs:
Pattern: Bolting by Stephen West
Yarn: About 900 yds handspun singles, light fingering-ish weight. Fiber from Loop; merino-bamboo-silk; colorway Mums.
Mods: Kept on knitting the zigzags till my yarn was almost gone - got through 11 altogether. Shortened garter st section to 6 rows. Knit a light fingering weight yarn on US 5s; pattern calls for worsted weight.
The yarn was spindle-spun singles, from my first bump of Loop fiber. I purchased it at Rhinebeck 2014. I'm counting 15 months from fiber to FO as a win. The spinning experience was lovely until I got down to about the last quarter of it. I pulled from the center of the bump and had been dragging it around with me for months, so by the time I got to the outer layers of fiber they were pretty badly compacted. I chucked the very last of it, much to my chagrin. Despite the wasted bits, the finished yarn still clocked in at about 900 yards. As for the pattern, I semi-followed Stephen West's Bolting, which was pleasantly mindless and very customizable.
Specs:
Pattern: Bolting by Stephen West
Yarn: About 900 yds handspun singles, light fingering-ish weight. Fiber from Loop; merino-bamboo-silk; colorway Mums.
Mods: Kept on knitting the zigzags till my yarn was almost gone - got through 11 altogether. Shortened garter st section to 6 rows. Knit a light fingering weight yarn on US 5s; pattern calls for worsted weight.