Knitting with Handspun

February 13th, 2008 at 9:59 am (Finished Items, Spinning, Works in progress)

Yes, I’ve actually knit something with my handspun yarn! Don’t all fall over from the shock, okay? I had this skein of sparkly red yarn sitting in the closet for about a year, and due to the motivation provided by a knitting stash game (we get points for the amount of yarn knit up over the course of the game, and there are prizes!) I pulled it out and knit it up. Plus there’s the whole Minnesota winter thing - I really did need a scarf.

I thought Argosy would be a neat pattern to try out, and it was - very fun. I knit the scarf up over the course of 2 days or so, so it was a great quick knit. I think I might’ve liked the scarf wider than it turned out, but since I wasn’t sure exactly how much yarn I had I just knit the pattern as written. I ended up running out of yarn about 3 rows from the end, so that last little square is a little less than square, but hey - I used up the entire skein and didn’t even have to trim the ends after they were woven in! Now *that* is efficiency.

Wool, mohair, and sparkly stuff, knit up on a US 5 needle

The picture that convinced me of the immediate need for a haircut - it’s much better now!

Thanks to the lovely (ha!) weather we’re having, I’ve gotten lots of use out of the scarf. It is nice and warm, certainly, but the mohair is scratchier than I’d prefer. I did put some conditioner in the rinse water when I washed it, but that didn’t completely take care of it. Any suggestions?

Oh, and only 5 more edging repeats on the blanket! I hope to have an FO report tomorrow, but of course the kids’ behavior will determine whether I get it done today.

9 Comments

  1. jess said,

    February 13, 2008 at 11:07 am

    yay! congrats on knitting up your own handspun. :) Argosy looks great — what a cool pattern!

  2. jessica said,

    February 13, 2008 at 12:00 pm

    Great scarf! I *heart* pink and sparkly makes it even better!

  3. Chris said,

    February 13, 2008 at 12:02 pm

    It’s lovely! No suggestions on mohair, alas - I can’t wear it on my neck, period. :(

  4. Deb said,

    February 13, 2008 at 12:20 pm

    —and wow! It’s a knit for you– not for hubby or the kids. Yay! I’m glad you decided to treat yourself. :)

  5. Holly Jo said,

    February 13, 2008 at 2:25 pm

    Looks great! It is so hard to think of stuff to knit with the handspun.

  6. Amy said,

    February 13, 2008 at 4:24 pm

    Yay! Looks great!

  7. Julie McC said,

    February 13, 2008 at 4:45 pm

    Looks beautiful! So glad I’m not the only one feeling the call to knit myself a treat.

  8. Deb said,

    February 13, 2008 at 6:23 pm

    Beautiful! Thanks for the “gift” of Shelley! She’s wonderful and I’m having a blast with her, in addition to learning a ton!

  9. knittymama said,

    February 18, 2008 at 12:06 pm

    So, so pretty!!!