Ebony won yarn! I like spit!
Congratulations to Ebony! She won yarn!
Ebony, you just have to choose whether you want the green Knittery sock yarn, or the stripey Vesper. Send me an email with your preference and your address, and the yarn will be headed your way toot sweet.
Thanks to everybody who entered my little blogthday contest! Your answers were funny and kind and helpful.
And the results are this:
- I’m SO gonna cut that sweater.
- re: lifelines, Laziness trumps fear. For the moment. Until I have a major catastrophe and am scarred enough to pull out the dental floss.
- You suggested a number of really useful sources for learning Intarsia, as I knew you would.
- I’m going to make two small, lacy neckwarmers from my grandmother’s angora yarn (one for each of my sisters).
And, since I’m giving yarn away, I had to replace it twice over. Not my intention, but that seems to be how things work, stashwise.
Sundara sock yarn in Crimson, for Twisted Flower
Madeline Tosh sock in KaleSome friends and I are leaving tomorrow morning on a road trip to Minnesota, for a wedding and some serious reunion-ing. And since complicated charts don’t make for good car knitting, I’m setting aside the Peacock shawl and the autumn aran socks (now past the heel on sock #1), and bringing a new project.
Joy, by Kim Hargreaves, from Rowan Vintage Knits. My first fingering-weight sweater, knit on US3 needles. I’ve knit about 2.5 more inches on the back since this photo was taken.
The yarn is Rowanspun 4 ply, and it kicks ass.** I’d heard about breakage issues with the 4 ply weight, but so far have had none. One great thing about Rowanspun in general (besides the fact that all the weights of it transform into a supersoft, lightweight, cohesive, highly snuggleable fabric upon washing), is that it spit-splices like a dream. (Classier knitters may call this a “felted join,” and suggest using tap water, or fresh morning dew collected from faerie wings. I use actual spit, and see no reason to sugar coat that fact.)
My very ambitious goal for the weekend is to finish knitting the back of Joy. I’m a slow knitter, but it’s a 12-hour drive each way, and I’m only responsible for 1/3 of the driving. And I intend to selflessly volunteer for all of the nighttime driving, which will both please my friends and maximize my daylight carknitting hours.
**of course this means that it’s been discontinued.
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October 4th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Hi there,
I am with you - Say it loud and say it proud: I spit, I knit, huzzah! And, fingering weight sweater? You are a braver knitter than I.
Best,
esmerelda
October 4th, 2007 at 11:59 am
I managed to pick up some of the Rowan 4 ply about two years ago when Elann had it for about 15 minutes. (It was my first experience of “put it in your cart and buy it before someone else does”.) It is now sitting in my stash waiting for the perfect project. I do love the yarn.
Happy trip knitting. Long car rides are the best for making real progress.
October 4th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Rowanspun has always been one of my favorite Rowan yarns, and I’m so sad that it’s discontinued. I’ve been considering buying a bag of the 4 ply for this very project, so I will be curious to hear if your mind changes on it as you finish the back this weekend (like the knitting champ you are, of course)!
October 4th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
I’m a spit splice type of girl, too. BUT, when I teach the trick to others and I’m doing it with their project, I always get a glass of water. But I do admit to spitting on my own stuff and tell them to feel free to do so as well. A glass of water or faerie wings aren’t always readily available…
October 4th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
i thought using spit was the norm. who doesn’t, honestly?
that madeline tosh yarn looks so delectable. yum.
have fun at the wedding!
October 4th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
I spit spliced in the middle of a lecture the other day. I wasn’t stealth enough and the professor saw me. He says, “Elizabeth! Are you *eating* your yarn?”
I ended up giving a “demonstration” to the whole class on spit splicing. It was a little weird.
October 4th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
spit is the only way to go for splicing - those extra enzymes make the join that much stronger! love rowanspun. my sweater is comfy cozy and i am really annoyed that they discontinued it!
October 4th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
I just finished my Molly Ringwald vest and can I tell you how much I loved spit slicing the yarn? No bulk, no weaving in, no tools needed? Its perfect!
Ptooey!
October 4th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Enjoy your trip! One time I tried knitting in the back seat of a car at night and tried using the headlights of the car behind me for light. It didn’t really work and my eyes got tired. I think your plan is better!
October 4th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Oh my god faerie wing dew. Thanks for making my day.
Joy is one of my favorite patterns from that book, and my favorite sweater I’ve ever made is out of Rowanspun 4ply. It’s 4 years old now, and still wearing *beautifully*. Delicious sock yarn, too!
October 4th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
*snort* And the prize for best blog post title goes to…
I’m with you on the spit-splicing (and it looks like lots of other people are, too). Seriously, who uses water?
October 4th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Congrats Ebony!
Fingering sweater, huh? You’re a more patient woman than I…
October 4th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
are you going to incorporate beads into the pattern? i’m delurking to comment because i’ve pretty much enjoyed reading about everything you’ve knit. I too love Rowanspun, just didn’t have the foresight to snag some up for stash before they discontinued it. Oh well. That and the yorkshire tweeds.
October 4th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Glad you came to some decisions! I have the worst time making up my mind.
Joy is looking gorgeous already. Most of us call it spit-splicing, I do anyways. And also use actual spit. It’s easier than getting up and going to the faucet for water. Besides, I have kids, nobody notices when I do anything unusual or gross.
Like walk around with dried snot on my shirt.
October 4th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Oh, now I just want to do an online search for Rowan 4 ply! Joy looks very much like the Agnes cardi that I made. Good choice
I proudly spit-join too. I heard a rumor that water won’t work…
October 4th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Drive safely! That’s quite a long haul you’ve got there. But perfect for knitting time–I love it when someone else drives so I can knit! Hope you make lots of progress on Joy!
October 4th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
*snort*
Dew from fairy wings! Love it. (I use water.)
October 4th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Yay spit! I made a spit splice on the bus this morning, and drew one or two inquisitive looks.
October 4th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Damn, this post totally just brought out my competitive streak. No, not the contest…Joy. I’ve had it in my queue for awhile, now you bring yours out and my brain is all “If you start now, you may beat her to the finish.” Which is ridiculous but maybe I will use your finished one to spur me on to actually starting mine.
October 5th, 2007 at 12:45 am
Beautiful sock yarns!
I’ve read that spit is the best for splicing due to the biochemical nature of spit–highly branched sugar molecules called mucins that act as a mild glue and are what make spit viscous. Bet you’re now regretting that you have a biochemist who comments on your blog.
October 5th, 2007 at 12:55 am
hahaha, that’s possibly the most unique title to a blog post i’ve ever seen!
October 5th, 2007 at 1:05 am
Myself, I prefer to collect the condensation from a baby’s breath into a crystal bottle to use for my spit splicing. Have you tried that?
October 5th, 2007 at 1:23 am
Ooooh. I’ve been wanting to knit Joy for a while now. Cartrips became so much more fun once I started knitting.
October 5th, 2007 at 2:49 am
Have fun on your trip! I love car knitting - no guilt knitting for me.
October 5th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Oooh, Joy is gorgeous! I love it! As you know, I’m a fan of always knitting tiny gauge, so I support this wholeheartedly.
October 5th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
So glad you got some good advice on your last post b/c I had nada!! HAHA! You stumped me on all of them! :op
The Joy is similar to one of the cardi’s in Fitted Knit, but that yarn is just sublime!!!!
LOL @ dew collected from faerie wings
HA! I know it is SPIT splice afterall!! LOL
Now you know that Sundara Crimson is perfect for the CrimsonPurl! ;o)
October 5th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Who doesn’t like spit for splicing?! Have a good time!
October 5th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Listen to you getting all devious with the driving time! Great idea
I’ve read that spit works better than tap water, actually. (I’m not sure about morning dew.)
I hope you have/had a great time on your road trip/wedding adventure. I’m doing the same thing, actually!
October 5th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
heh. faeries. heh.
I love that Rowanspun too. Bye, Rowanspun!
October 6th, 2007 at 2:47 am
All hail the spit! My cat will be across the room, only considering grabbing my Rowanspun and running under the couch with it, and the yarn will break. But it’s all good, thanks to the spit splice.
October 9th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Great plan for the drive! I always take my knitting on any kind of road trip we take - even if it is 45 minutes away (everything is at least 45 minutes away with DC area traffic) but I end up getting car sick. I keep trying though!
October 11th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Weird - I was seaming up my Joy last night - using Rowanspun 4-ply. About the breakage thing, although I had no trouble during the knitting, it did snap a couple of times while I was seaming the first shoulder seam. I ended up using embroidery floss and it’s working like a dream!
(Oh - and spit splicing ROCKS)