Snail Spirals

I finally got back to spinning the Ashland Bay colonial top (colorway Northern Lights) that I started in Friday Harbor this past summer, and finished it up this weekend. I spun this much (much, much) thicker than anything else I've spun in recent memory. Years, even. I wanted a nice heavy yarn, possibly suitable for an outdoor sweater for Emma. I'm not sure there's enough here for a sweater, but there's definitely enough for a vest for Emma or a hat for Shaun (if he wants one) plus leftovers.



505 yards
16 oz
3-ply
6 wpi (after washing)
24 wpi singles

It's 3-ply, a nice squooshy round knitting yarn, and can I just say again- MUCH thicker than I usually spin! I'm actually pretty proud of myself, because this is so far out of my comfort range. I have a much harder time spinning thick than thin.



Despite the thickness (only 6 wpi!!), I managed to keep it soft, and it feels great. It's balanced, and poofed up nicely in the wash. It was weird going from spinning the froghair fine Merino x Columbia I just did, to this. My smallest whorl to my biggest.

I have also started another lace knitting project, another mystery-along. I came across a mention on Ravelry of the Mystic Waters shawl, and joined on up. (Actually, I also signed up for the Secret of the Stole mystery-along, and had the first clue knitted, but I wasn't feeling much love for the design or the needle size I was using, so it's been frogged already. I'll wait to see the whole thing done, and if I decide I like it, I'll start again on smaller needles. I especially didn't like the two points on the end. Three might have been OK, but two wasn't working for me. I like odd numbers.) (Aside #2: Why am I signing up for all these "alongs" all of a sudden?)

Anyway, I have started Mystic Waters. I waited for the first two clues to be released to see if I liked the way the pattern was shaping up. I did, so I cast on. I'm using the Princess Blue merino/silk laceweight I spun over the summer, and it's working beautifully. I have finished the first chart.



I modified the pattern by adding beads (8/0 midnight blue metallic iris) to the border diamonds. I think the beads added a lot to the Mystery Stole, just that little bit of weight that made it drape beautifully. As of right now, I'm not planning to add the beads anywhere except the border, because I don't want them to overpower the handspun yarn or the design. This is on US2 Addi Lace needles, though I could probably have gone down to US1's. I'll finish the first clue or two, and if it looks too open, I am committed to starting over. This is special yarn, and I don't want to knit something with it that I'm not perfectly happy about.

This is the larger of the two skeins, 1825 yards. That's more than enough for Mystic Waters (1300 yds recommended), and with the leftovers and the second skein (832 yds) I should still have enough for the warp or weft of a woven shawl.