al dente crafting

all my TDF 2026 yarns. 1200 grams in total, a ridiculous amount of yardage, all of it still needs to be washed, tagged, and hoarded

and its sister, "You can still do that even though the pattern doesn't tell you to"

I was unknowingly working on a 35 foot long blanket for years

I started a blanket 10 years ago and put it down shortly after starting. It was on 30” circulars and I just kept casting on until I couldn’t fit anymore stitches. I was new to the hobby so I figured it would just be “blanket sized.”

I picked it back up about 6 months ago determined to finally finish this thing. I transferred it to 60” circulars to give myself more working space, and during that transfer I counted 450ish stitches, but that would just be a big king sized blanket right? So I kept going. But after about 9 balls of yarn and only 2 feet in length finished, I gave up and decided I would just crochet the blanket instead.

Halfway through my crocheted version, I ran out of yarn and made the sad decision to frog the knitted project for salvage yarn. After removing the circular needles, I thought it’d be interesting to see how wide the blanket actually was.

After straightening it all out I stared at my work, utterly dumbfounded, that I had been working on a 35 foot wide blanket this whole time. I am SO GLAD I did not finish this project as I would’ve cried at the monster I had brought into the world.

tl;dr - You should really pay attention to the size reference chart on your yarn and count the stitches when free-handing as a newbie.

And finally, the blanket:

Thhe cop had gone slack at the top for some reason and was causing problems so I woubd off the muga silk early. Very early, as can bs seen by comparing the size to the finished tussah silk!

[In the close up the tussah is the larger skein, whiter and brighter, and a mix of thick and thin yarn. The muga silk isnt a quarter of the size, more golden, and very finely spun.]

This is the grand total of my output for tour de fleece. Whatever. Having a serious "I made that moment!" The muga silk is so fine!!!

Walnut tablet weaving cards, thoroughly sanded and oiled. Made in collaboration with a good friend who had the wood and the tools to cut it.

They are so smooth and soft to the touch, and I really look forward to working with them!

Got a lot done over the weekend!

First, I finished the 3rd ply on my 6oz fractal spin. Going to let them rest for a couple of days so the test evens out, planning to ply on Tuesday.

Finished the first ply of mystery fiber on my eew nano. Going to start the second ply tomorrow while I wait for the singles of the fractal spin to rest. I think theyre a little thicker than when I started, but that made it easier to spin so I dont care that its ever so slightly thicker. Im definitely still getting used to this wheel.