Weaving Wednesday: Handspun & Handwoven

This scarf has been off the loom for quite some time, but I procrastinated the finishing touches (weaving in the ends, tying off the fringe, and blocking). I used the leftover yarn from a few of my previous weaving projects (one of which is also still in the finishing pile, oops!) to create another fun multicolored scarf. The warp is a gray commercially spun merino yarn, and the weft is mostly handspun, with a little commercially-spun yarn mixed in here and there.

I'm not sure if I will keep this one or not; yellow really isn't my color, but I do like how it turned out!

I also warped for another project over the weekend while my parents were visiting. My dad has been thinking about taking up weaving when he retires, so I thought I would show him the process, step-by-step!

This is my first attempt at a handwoven cotton towel of some sort, and I think I probably should have gone down a heddle size (oops!) - it seems like a towel should be a bit more tightly woven to be effective, right? Then again, a looser weave might be easier at the start, since I have never worked with cotton on the loom before, and it's a lot less flexible and elastic than the wool and wool blends I've been using. I'm also not sure about the shrinkage factor, so perhaps it will all work out in the end (and if it doesn't turn out as planned, I've learned a valuable lesson).

And now that we've all kind of forgotten about Spinzilla, the results have been announced! My team took second place, which I think is pretty darn good. Threepeating is tough! You can check out all of the results here, if you are so inclined.

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Overdyeing A Finished Knit

Even after just a few years of knitting or crocheting, you're bound to have some finished projects lying around that never get worn or used. After 10+ years of crafting, I have more than just "some" or "a few"....and with my ongoing quest to declutter my house this year, I've become obsessed with going through these forlorn projects and making some Big Decisions. Sometimes, they are perfectly fine and just need a new and loving home. Other projects may have not turned out quite right: there might have been some mistakes in the knitting that I thought I could live with, or the yarn was gorgeous but not well-matched to the pattern, or my taste has drastically changed since I finished making the project...in any case, why on earth did I keep knitting?! Who knows, but I don't feel good about gifting anything that falls into this category to someone else. These projects have been relegated to the "frog pile" (or should I say, frog pond?), to b...

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Australian Superfine Merino Yarn Review & Giveaway

After more than ten years of knitting, I can still have new experiences - even with well-covered territory such as merino yarn! This recent merino experience actually took me by surprise: I've spun with it, I've dyed it, I've knit with it, and I've even crocheted with it...I was pretty sure I knew all there was to know about merino! Turns out, there are four different classifications of merino fiber, sorted by micron count range . At the bottom of the spectrum is Strong Merino , which ranges from 26-22.9 microns; above that is Fine Merino , which ranges from 20.1-23 microns; next up is Extra Fine Merino, which ranges from 20-15.6 microns; and at the very top of the heap is Superfine Merino Wool , with a micron range of 18.5-15.6. If you're into numbers and wondering how these four classes stack up against other fibers you may be familiar with, here are a few for comparison's sake: BFL (Blue-Faced Leicester) has a micron range of 24-28, Cashmere goat down ...

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