The moral of my ode is this:
beauty is twice beauty
and what is good is doubly good
when it is a matter of two socks . . .
beauty is twice beauty
and what is good is doubly good
when it is a matter of two socks . . .
Pablo Neruda
There's nothing better, in my opinion, than making a pair of socks. The entire process is engaging, meditative and beautiful. The finished product keeps you warm and cozy for many years to come. The snow may finally be melting around here, but that hasn't curbed my desire to finish this pair of socks. Hope you are all enjoying the weekend.
That colorway was beautiful when you spun it up - the socks even more so. Looks like you are enjoying your Saturday. Happy knitting....
ReplyDeleteGreat socks - I've thought about spinning some wool for socks - how do you find they last without nylon in them? Any tricks to it? I also like the look of your spinning wheel, what sort is it? Thanks. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Taryn. I have a Louet S51/DT double treadle spinning wheel - and I love it. I think there is is trick to spinning sock yarn - you have to make sure that you put a lot of "spin" in it. This can get tricky, because the yarn gets twisty when you take it off the bobbin, but that extra twist makes the yarn stronger. I spin with the yarn from my mother's CVM romeldale sheep. I think our wool is pretty durable too. I made a pair of socks this past fall with less twist and they wore out after six wears . . .now I only spin single-ply finely twisted yarn for my socks. Hope this helps . . . it takes a bit of experimentation - but I'm willing to put in the effort. If I spin some yarn that I'm intending to make socks out of but it doesn't look durable enough for socks . . . I knit something else out of it. We have never combined nylon with our wool, I know it makes it more durable, but if you spin your plies tight enough that makes it durable too.
DeleteGood luck!
Thanks for that!
DeleteWe have some romney sheep (bought from my parents) but ours are mostly meat breeds like texel and suffolk. We've had the odd hogget through that's been a mid micron producer so I've got some of that stashed away for spinning.
I live near Ashburton - and the factory for Ashford spinning wheels is there. I remember being on my overseas experience and seeing an Ashford machine in an unusual place (maybe Turkey, or France or???).
Keep up the beautiful work! :-)
Jillian, as always - beautiful colors! Such pretty compositions!
ReplyDeleteSuch pretty colours, so inspiring for warmer brighter spring days ahead.
ReplyDelete