Snail Spirals

The daffodil runner continues to grow, and is about 3 1/2 inches high now, unstretched. This is 48 1/2 rows (out of 260) completed, and approximately 25 hours of crocheting. Each row takes half an hour.



Here's a crochet tip that I especially like with fine thread: Use a safety pin (coil-less is best, but mine seem to have all disappeared) to hold the working loop when you put the project down. That way, there's absolutely no chance that it will start unravelling while you're gone. I've found that there is a law of probability similar to Murphy's, which states that the finer the thread and the smaller the stitches, the more likely a catastrophic, unplanned frogging is to occur.

I also knit a bit on the urchin shawl yesterday, but I'll spare you another picture of the lace blob. It looks essentially the same as it did here.

Last night, because I was tired of tiny yarns and intricate lace, I started this (and finished this morning):



A child's hat, knit from Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (color is Jungle, and not quite as shockingly green it may appear. I had to fiddle in Photoshop because my camera wanted the yarn to be blue). This was knit on #6US Addi circs, the design is original. It will probably fit a 7-9 year old. I need to find one of those to try it on, because it's too big for Emma and too small for me.

I like the top of the hat because it lays flat when it's not on a head, even in its unblocked state (as it is in these pictures).



With this yarn, these needles, and my gauge, decreasing every other round at nine points gives a flat circle.

I've also been spinning a bit recently, though (amazingly) not Ashland Bay top. We've begun the Sheep-to-Shawl warp! We do a practice shawl at the Fourth of July celebration, and so like to have the warp spun and ready for dressing the loom by the middle of June.



This year, we're doing a blended yarn. It's 60% Romney ewe lamb and 40% baby alpaca. Both these animals live on the island at local farms, the fiber was shorn by an islander, and it will be washed, carded, spun, and woven by my spinning group, so the shawl will be truly an island original. (Hey, Liz! does this count for anything toward the Eat Local Challenge? Maybe it's Spin Local! Supporting local fiber farmers... ) I love Sheep-to-Shawl.



It's really amazing what the addition of the alpaca does to the Romney wool. I find Romney, even Romney lamb, to be on the coarse and scratchy side. But that bit of alpaca changes the hand of the fiber to something soft, puffy, and incredibly luxurious. It's a dream to spin.