It is my favorite time of the year, fall. As a both a knitter and spinner I selfishly feel that this is the beginning of a new year, perhaps the beginning of the new year for a knitter.

The leaves will start changing soon, pumpkin flavored everything will be upon us and it will finally be time to light candles at night, put a fire in the hearth, and wear the hand knits that we have been working on all year.

The mornings are starting to be a little cooler and the number of flowers in bloom is starting decrease.

The Plucky Knitters knitting retreat is taking place next week on Bainbridge Island and they will have a shop open to the general public open for yarn during the day on Friday 1-5 PM and 10AM-5PMSaturday.

It’s a fun place to shop, sit, knit, check out knitwear, and enjoy fall in the Pacific Northwest.

 

 

I never expected how important spinning would become to me six months ago when I started. I went through all of the excuses of not wanting to start a new hobby. The biggest and best one is that I have too much yarn as it is so why would I do something that would make that problem or blessing( this depends on how you look at this) worse.

I will even admit that I did’t think handspun was particularly something I wanted to knit with, I tend to like over saturated solid yarns, with the occasional speckle or self striping yarn.
I haven’t been shy about my love for spinning, feel very passionate about it. I think that it amplifies all of the reasons I love knitting, but it goes beyond, because the simplicity of handspinning yarn is something that is meditative and is centering.

I did’t think that I would consider knitting a complicated activity, but with the relatively few motions in operating a spinning wheel it makes me understand how many steps there are to the activity of knitting, reading the pattern, turning your work, adjusting stitches manipulating the needles for more complex stitch motifs, looking down at the chart, counting the stitches…. and well with spinning, its just focusing on the drafting and the treadling.

So it seemed completely reasonable that with the meditative nature of this craft I would name my new spinning wheel “Meditation”.

Meditation is a TINA II spring wheel that is made in Wisconsin by Jerry Jensen and it made of birdseye maple with the halfspokes made using walnut as accents. I know that I will treasure her for years to come.

I have post pictures far and wide of my sankaku shawl, I am ridiculously proud of it…

 

 

I finished about 29 days before my deadline which simply amazes me. I think that  knitting during Olympics definitely helped. I was able to just focus on the stitch, I mean its not as if its colorwork and I had to keep looking down at a chart, I just need to memorize the pattern and listen to an audiobook or watch something on TV.

I also realized that the biggest knitting projects that I have done are both pink wraps. I wouldn’t describe myself as a big lover of pink, so I was really surprised when I noticed this. I think I might swear of pink wraps for the next year.

So after finishing Sanaku I had the following options:

 

Door number 1: Finish colorwork mittens ( need separate some yarn I have held together on a ball.. ughh)

Door number 2: Crochet some squares for a condolence blanket I committed to helping support

Door number 3: Continue the 4 ounces of Nest Fiber I started last month.

Door number 4: Cast on something new.

So I am doing a mix of doors, 2,3,and 4 because I could’t decide.. I do have a confession I am  trying to do a project in 2 color brioche and it is not going well… The learning part… well and the knitting part too.  I think I just need to do a deeper dive of the Craftsy  class I’ve been watching and the Youtube videos online.