Snail Spirals

So what am I going to be doing this summer? This:



I didn't bring a lot, but most of what I did bring is time consuming. Because that's how I get the biggest bang for my fiber buck, dontcha know. Clockwise from the top left, I have spinning, spinning, knitting, crochet, crochet, and crochet. The merino scarf you've seen before, and the ball of white thread next to it is for crocheting bookmarks like the one shown (to sell at the Fair), or possible a doily. The two balls of cotton yarn are for crocheting a potholder. (Which is already done, see below. This was not one of the time consuming projects.)

As for the rest, first there is 8 oz. of Louet 80/20 merino/silk in the colorway "Princess Blue," which is a gorgeous streaky blend of dark dark dark midnight blue wool and white silk:



(This picture makes the blue look brighter than it really is. In real life it's almost black.)

Next is 16 oz. of Ashland Bay colonial top, in the colorway "Northern Lights," which is one of their beautiful multicolored mixes. This one has black as the base color, with generous streaks of teal, royal blue, chestnut brown, emerald green, tan, gray, and just a bit of lavender.



(Again, this is brighter and more colorful in the picture than in real life.) My sister gave these two delightful bundles of fiber to me last Christmas, and it's high time I dove into them. I'm thinking laceweight 2-ply for the merino/silk, and sportweight 3-ply for the Ashland Bay. I haven't made Emma her yearly sweater yet.....

I also brought a cone of Jaggerspun Zephyr laceweight and a range of needles for swatching. Somewhat to my surprise, I found myself joining the Mystery Stole 3 over at Pink Lemon Twist. I've never done an "along" before, and I'm not entirely sure what came over me. I'm not usually a lemming. But her other designs are pretty, and I figured this was a good summer project. Not having to tax my brain to design the pattern will be nice- I can just knit it. (Me and the other 1464 knitters who have signed up so far..... )

I haven't mentioned it before, but I'm teaching an "Introduction to Crochet" class this weekend, so I've been making samples and getting my handout together. Perhaps it would have been better to start this more than three weeks before the class, but what can I say- I'm a procrastinator. I'm nervous but not too worried. I haven't taught a class since grad school (12 years) but I can crochet in my sleep.

One of the samples I made last night is this potholder:



Front and back. It's Tunisian crochet (afghan stitch), very basic. Just chain 30 stitches, work even for 26 rows, make another the same, and attach them with single crochet around the outside. I used Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn and an H afghan hook. It took me about two hours total. These are great potholders. I have several at home that I use all the time (hence the need to make a new, unstained one for the class) and I've never gotten burned or even felt the heat of a pan. They are super thick and sturdy.

This is the first time I made one with variegated yarn, and I really like the way it turned out. Each side is a different colorway, and I especially like the way the blue/green/yellow side came out.



Because of the way the afghan stitch is worked, the colors are mixed more than in regular crochet, and it looks more shaded than color-blocky. A nice effect.