New beginnings

Lots of new beginnings today so I'll just dive right in...

Welcome to March. Welcome to my weekly Wednesday postings. Most importantly, welcome to the inaugural post for my new blog, Slinging Stitches!

I've been thinking about whether I should kickstart the whole blogging thing for my fibery endeavors for a while. I had a blog, once upon a time, that saw very little traffic, due in part to the fact that I couldn't figure out exactly what to say. I think I've got that figured out now. I hope so, at least, and I hope that some of what I have to say and share and show will be interesting to others. At the very least, it'll keep me honest.

I started actively pursuing a place in the fiber business last year, round about May. I've had a couple of hiccups, but I've picked myself and dusted myself off, and I'm determined to be in it for the long haul this time. I'm one woman working out of my home with grand visions of a future that will take a lot of work but has a lot of promise to be very rewarding as well.

And I've got stubbornness down. In my other life, I'm a writer. I can promise you that there's very little else that teaches you how to put your head down and keep trying like attempting to start a writing career. If nothing else, I've got a much thicker skin, so if someone doesn't like what's coming out of my dyepots, I can take it! I think! Probably.

I figured the best way to let people know what's going on is just to share what I'm up to. That'll change from week to week. I'll probably talk about what's going on in my life. I might share the trials and travails of writing. It all depends on the Wednesday.

For this Wednesday, this is what I've got:

What I'm Dyeing

I'm a huge Shakespeare buff. No, really. When I was twelve, I handcopied the plays, one by one, into wire notebooks because I couldn't afford a collection myself. The librarians loved me. My mother insisted I was the Bard reincarnate. Me, I just liked the stories and the characters and the words. So it shouldn't surprise people who know me that I'd bring this into the fiber world, too.

My latest Shakespeare-inspired colorway is Touchstone, based on the character in As You Like It. I figured that with his wry wit, criticism and commentary couched in puns and humor, a few splashes of color with a black base would serve him well. I love it. What do you think?



What I'm Spinning

I haven't been spinning for long, but I've made good progress. I started out with drop spindles, and then lucked into a purchase off of Craigslist of an older wheel. (We think it's a Wee Peggy.) It's a little cobbled together, but it does what I want it to do for now. Do I lust after the newer, sports-carlike wheels? Oh, absolutely, but for now, I'm fine with what I have.

And we turn out some good stuff. This week, I just happen to have finished a bump of Falkland from Bee Mice Elf. This was a colorway called Dog Days and was a part of the fiber club last year. I'm a pretty slow spinner, and I have quite the stash, but I love Laurs' colorways, so I wanted to spin -something- up. I think this turned out pretty well, and I have a new love for Falkland. Always a plus.


That's about 300 yards of 14-15 wpi (wraps per inch) out of 5 ounces of fiber. I chainplied it, so it's not the best yardage I could possibly get, but I am a big fan of chain plying. It's all I ever do.

What I'm Knitting

Last but not least, I'm knitting shawls. I have a new obsession both with shawls and with lace, so I've got...way too many projects on the needles now, and more planned for the future. What can I say? Sometimes the ooh shiny factor takes control.

This week, I'm showing off the Skuld I'm working on. It's a shawl pattern by Anna Dalvi of Knit and Knag Designs and is the last of her series of patterns based on the Norns. I'm knitting this with a skein of Adorn Sock from Three Irish Girls in the Enna colorway. I had a bit of a hard time getting the openwork to show up, but the color's fairly accurate. It's going to be an interesting piece when it's finished. I'm looking forward to it.



And I think that's enough for one long and rambling post. As I said, I'll be doing my best to post every Wednesday, so be sure to come back and check in. :)

Ta for now!