Mellow yellow

Spring colors mean new life.  It was mere coincidence that the baby blanket, now an FO, matched the ONLY thing blooming in the garden.

Pattern:  Estonian Lullaby Baby Blanket, Fibertrends, Evelyn Clark   Yarn:  Shelridge Farms Superwash worsted, colorway Mango, four skeins (same dye lot)  x 200 yards each, dimensions 29" x 42"

Multiple pictures seem appropriate for a WIP that took so much knitting time.  It was remarkably easy for something that looks unique and special.  I'm pleased with the results.

The tides of winter are receding.  The sere landscape releases a beacon of promise.  This is what is visible when the earth breathes a sigh of relief, then the frost and rime and snow are gone.  I'm not the only creature waiting for the spring garden.  The lone crocuses (croci) blooming near the front door show evidence of residual rabbits.

I have 1700 feet of sweater-worthy Coopworth spun on one bobbin.  I mini-swatched early.  As several commenters noticed, the grist was too small for my three-ply worsted goal, so I increased the diameter of the yarn.  I plyed back multiple times, checking consistency, and mini-swatched close to the end of the bobbin.  Five stitches per inch switched from fantasy to reality, and it was good.

I'm finding it challenging to maintain a good, consistent grist.  It is difficult to maintain the visual memory of what the fibers look like in the drafting zone for a given yarn goal over yards and yards of spinning time.  I speculated whether I was overly obsessing about consistent grist.  Caroline M offered some veritable wisdom:

"The only way that you get good at doing something is by doing it.  By the time (you've) finished the last bobbin (you'll) be much better at spinning a sweater weight single than (you) are now...At the end of the day it doesn't matter if the yarn isn't perfect, it is enough that it is fit for its purpose... 'Perfection' is something to aim for but 'good enough' works for now."

That just stopped me dead in my tracks.  I'm much calmer about this project as a result.   The bobbin below has my finger for scale.  I'll be the first to point out the absence of manicure.  I left that fingernail long on purpose.  It's the one that picks out the VM from the fleece.

Comments

[Paula]

That baby blanket makes me sleepy. So wavy, and rocking and murmuring lullabies... zzz

[Manise]

Beautiful blanket! I love the color and pattern- very different from most I've seen making it even more special. The spun up Coopworth is lovely and what wise words to follow. It looks better than " good enough" from here. Just sayin'. And lastly- you crack me up with the purpose of the long fingernail! Priceless.

[Kathy]

I LOVE the blanket and so will the baby! I think that Caroline's wisdom is the spinner's version of "just do it!" And yet, I can totally relate to wanting to think about it a lot before doing it!

[Teresa C]

Lovely blanket!

When I took my spinning class up at Elegant Ewe, Marci had a little bit to say about spinning and perfectionism. Something like, the two don't really go together. I wondered if it is possible that it might not be an appropriate activity for me. I'm looking forward to seeing how you move forward on this.

[Norma]

Such a lovely mangoey blanket.

[Grace in VT]

Dear Laurie, I won't tell you what happened to my long nail used for the same purpose.. but it is not pretty!
Oh i really enjoyed how the gorgeous lace blanket matched the crocuses. here in VT we are still in snow and ice.
I love the wool you have going on the wheel for your dh's sweater, you are a kind goodly woman!
Oh and could you let me know more about your woolee winder, Have never seen nor heard of one and it sounds GREAT!
wonderful fun at your blog,
blessings, grace

[Janine]

That blanket is so pretty, and I love the colour of those singles - a really soft grey:-)

[Janine]

That blanket is so pretty, and I love the colour of those singles - a really soft grey:-)

[maryse]

that blanket is gorgeous.

[Carole]

The blanket is beautiful - the stitch is really nice. The thing I've noticed about knitting with handspun is that even when I think it's crap - uneven, thick and thin, whatever - it winds up knitting up very nice. Yours will, too, I'm sure.

[Marcy]

Love the crocus blankie!

Something you can do to help maintain uniformity of your spinning it to hang a length of the spun yarn that you like from the wheel near the orifice. Feeling it regularly with your fingers with help train your fingers and your brain that that is the weight you want. After all, it's your fingers doing the spinning, not your eyes. ;-D

[Lucia]

That is one lucky baby. And one lucky husband, too.

[Anne]

The blanket is really wonderful. And easy you said? Pfft - I would never have believed it. It looks very rich and complicated.

[Cassie]

I just need to know - are you swearing off knitting blankets from now on? (jk, it looks gorgeous, well worth all the time).

I like Caroline's thought - "good enough works for now". Words to live by.

[Beth S.]

Ah, that beautiful silvery single!... You're off to an excellent start. :-)

And manicures are a waste of time and money anyway, or so I happen to think.

[Lorette]

Lovely baby blankie! I have that pattern, but haven't made one yet, I love your yellow version.
Manicure, what's that? I wash my hands about 9000 times a day, so nail polish is sort of pointless. I wouldn't last past noon.

[LaurieM]

That's very good advice. It heartened me up some just when I needed it.

Awesome baby blanket, and the color means that it will always be easy to spot. I wonder if it will be loved to a thread, or folded away in tissue to be savored for generations. Both are good, which do you prefer?

[bev]

Beautiful comparison shot of the blanket and the flower. Beautiful blanket all by its lonesome.

Can't wait to see the sweater you are spinning. Looking forward to more pics.

[Caroline M]

I like the blanket, mango is such an appropriate name for such a fruity colour. The oatmeal is a lovely colour too and very even. I can't wait to see the yarn (and the sweater too).

I imagine that you have to be a perfectionist in your professional career, it's an area where "good enough" doesn't cut it.

[Kim]

The blanket is perfect! I love the color and the pattern!

Caroline's words are wise....in the end when you start knitting, you won't notice the little differences too much....it will give a bit of texture to the sweater :-)

[elizabeth]

What wonderful advice! I'm going to try to remember that. The baby blanket is lovely! I especially like the deep, rich yellow - so much prettier than your typical pastels!

[Monica]

The blanket looks wonderful, lucky baby! Congrats on spinning a sweater's worth of yarn!

[Juno]

wait, that's YELLOW. beautiful, sunny, yellow.
And that is good advice. Like enlightenment, some few of us may achieve perfection - for a moment perhaps. But how much of the beauty of things is in the flaw that makes it real and human and lovely?

[--Deb]

Beautiful. All of it!

[Teyani]

what a lovely baby blanket - absolutely dreamy and soft looking.
and the spinning? looks pretty wonderful to me! I love Caroline's philosophy. Most handspun yarn is imperfect, yet it is that very imperfection that gives the finished project vitality. Spin on and enjoy the ride :-)

[Ruth]

Marvelous baby blanket ... the pattern, but especially the color. Babies should be surrounded by color.

[June]

Mmm, wonderful baby blanket. We have no flowers yet - fat flakes of snow are descending as I type.

I did write about spinning for consistency a year or so ago (http://www.twosheep.com/blog/?p=384), if you're interested.

[beth]

I tell my spinning students to do the same thing that June suggested. We use 3x5 cards and attach the singles as well as a plyed sample. I also ask them to write the type of fiber, treadles per draft (goes with twists per inch), approximate length of each draft, and what whorl ratio they are using.
All of this information comes in handy later too as you put it together in a little photo album or scrap book. You can look back, see your progress and find a yarn you may want to replicate for another project.
Hope this helps.
www.thespinnigloft.com

[Judy]

That's a great pattern. Beautiful happy color and a wonderful job. Someone is very lucky.
That's what you get for spinning frog hair so well. It must be terrific plied.

[margene]

Can't for the life of me figure out how this post got by me! Bloglines? WTF?
In any case, I'm happy to be here now and see the beautiful, as Norma said, mango colored blanket. After seeing the first few inches in person I feel connected to it;-)
Your spinning is beautiful. It's very hard for me to maintain consistency in grist or twist. Practice will surely make a difference, but I'm not really striving for perfection (it's not my thing) and the reason I love spinning. It really can be wonderful without being perfect.

[Birdsong]

You have almost made me like yellow... what a fantastic job you did. I hope this blanket will be treasured. Thanks for sharing the spinning wisdom. DH looked at the yarn I was plying yesterday and astutely observed "that kinda evens out the rough spots, doesn't it"

[vanessa]

yummy yummy yellow!