Knitting with Handspun Yarn . . . ahhh! and "No-Snag" Stitch Markers

Dad's birthday hat

Semi-woolen spun Targhee top

I've posted a fair amount about my delight in spinning, and a little bit about knitting with my own handspun. I spent yesterday finishing a hat for my granddaughter Alice, using some lovely commercial lambswool yarn. Then I got adventurous and knit up a second hat. I had spun some Targhee top on my drop spindles (in this case, the now sold Grafton Mala and the not-yet-sold Arana's Little Wheel). I spun one strand very thin (on the Mala) and one very thick -- at least for me -- on the Arana. I plied the yarn and then dyed it in the microwave with food coloring. I did two dye sets -- one a very pale blue base color, and then an overdye with blue and black. This yielded some darker blue coloring in spots and some very faded black. Mixed with the blue, the black spots faded to a sort of silverish-purplish-grey. It's lovely. I was aiming for semi-woolen in my spinning, and achieved my results. I wanted semi-woolen for the spring and warmth, and for the ability to retain some "sheen". Yay! I love it when I get what I want.
     I've learned a lot knitting with my own handspun. I .E. things that I do when I'm spinning really impact the finished knit goods (duh, a no-brainer, but not as easy for a beginning spinner to focus on when worrying about drafting, dropping -- or trying not to drop! -- the spindle, or treadling the wheel. I love seeing the progression in my skills as I spin more and more, and it's no where more obvious than in the finished goods. Every little flaw in the spinning that one thinks "oh, quit knit-picking, it's not that big a deal" can become an issue in knitting.
     I think I've approached both knitting and spinning with a right-brain, anything goes mindset. While this has been really good for creativity, and has helped me tame the beast of perfectionism, it's not a good for precision in finished product. One could argue that precision is not the be-all, end-all of a handknit project. However, precision may be an important part of the difference between "hand-made" and "home-made". So I guess my new goal for this time of my life is to become more "intentional" in my spinning and in my knitting . . . to have the satisfaction of "hand-made" with high quality vs. "home-made" with lesser quality. In saying this I hope I've defined my meanings very clearly . . . I love making things, but want quality that's actually better than what can be purchased already made (cooking, apparel, whatever). Okay, enough of that rant.
     I've also been making stitch markers. I looked at a set in a LYS, similar to ones I've made in the past, and realized that they would snag an unwary knitter's yarn. In fact, my previous ones did occasionally snag my yarn -- not a big issue when I was working solely in right brain mode and with lesser quality yarns. However, as my knitting skills have increased, my desire for fine yarns has also increased. And I have quite a collection, but that's yet another story. Anyway, looking at snagging stitch markers got me thinking. I did some internet research, and found a way (with materials I had in my beading cabinet -- which is also another story) to make "No-snag stitch markers". I've been successful selling them to three local yarn stores  . . . and have  been thinking about selling them on Etsy and Ebay. The competition there is pretty fierce, and I'm not sure how to contain both time and materials cost so as to actually turn a small profit. It may not be possible, because making the darn things is pretty time intense, and puts a lot of stress on my right shoulder. but anyway, here they are . . .

      I've been making them in sets of 8. 7 alike and a beginning of row bead that's either larger, or different in some way. It's been rewarding in an unexpected way: the ones that I like the most are the ones that others seem to like the most, and the ones that sell the most quickly. The ones that I find questionable, some others really like, and some pass over quickly. I make them in three sizes: small (to fit needles 0-6), medium (to fit needles 7-11) and large (to fit needles up to size 15). I was talking to an LYS owner the other day, and we mutually agreed that anyone knitting with size 17s or larger is in all likelihood NOT knitting anything that would require stitch markers.

     I've also been contemplating learning how to turn wood. There is a local branch of Woodcrafts here in town, and they offer monthly classes. There are some really fine woodturners "out there" selling really fine products. I doubt that I could hope to compete with them in any serious way for some time to come . . . However, I do have some creative ideas that could be made manifest in wood and I believe that folks would like them as much as I like the idea  . . . 

Besides, I'm not only a collector of spindles and knitting needles, I'm really dangerous in the Home Depot handtool section . . . and should be on a leash and a tight budget when I go to Harbor Freight . . . I shudder to think what kind of damage I can do to the budget in Woodcrafts . . . 




More later . . .