Back to spinning! Finally, after a long break due to work demands. Mentally, spinning produces its own inertia, but it seems the opposite is also true: spinning back up again requires extra energy.

I'm currently working on a 50/50 husky/wool blend in a fine gauge on my e-spinner, attempting to match the gauge of 100% husky singles spun on my Turkish spindle. My plan is to ply the two together, gaining some elasticity and memory from the wool strand.

And ultimately I want to match the 100% (Rio) husky wool heather gray that I spun up over a year ago, for some very subtle colorwork, preserving this special yarn.

(Rio was our first husky, and the only one we've had to produce gray undercoat. This is all we have of that color.)

#HandSpinning #Chiengora @fiberarts

Some people claim that garments knit with dog-fur yarn are too warm.

I have no complaints!

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I have a new FO! (nearly)

Yesterday, I was making good progress on my Harlow Worsted brioche hat, so I just kept going (even though I had other things I SHOULD have been working on). With the basic decrease pattern for the crown now well understood, the main thing slowing me down was working in ever-smaller circles. 4.0 mm DPNs would probably have worked best, but I didn't have any. BUT I did have fauxlexis in 4.0 mm and while not great, they did the job.

As you can see, I was also playing yarn chicken with the Oni 1.1 ball that I'd started with. I had 1.2 ready to go, but fortunately it wasn't needed!

It is so fuzzy! And I really like how the contrasting brim works with brioche in either orientation.

#Knitting @knitting #Chiengora

Quick progress update!

After a couple more false starts, I finally got the Harlow Worsted hat past the cast on stage, all the way through the 3" brim, added a lifeline at this point, and then continued on to the body of the hat. All the previous practice was painful and frustrating, but was ultimately worth it.

As you can see, I have NOT switched to the Wheat orange yarn as the contrast color. I really love the effect of the rustic wool against the fuzzy Tibetan Mastiff fur, both inside and out. I'm going to do the whole hat in these yarns! I think the two sides will work well together when you turn the brim back.

I've got quite a few more simple rounds to do before my next adventure: brioche cable decreases!

Final photo: I tried to get Tonttu in one of the photos, but he was not amused...

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This may actually turn into a hat!

Third time's a charm, I hope! Practice makes perfect and all that.

If you recall, I have leftover orange Wheat and abundant gray Smoke yarn that I want to combine with this hat's use of brioche stitch.

At first (1st photo), I thought I'd do the brim in just gray, saving orange for the crown. Probably a good design choice, but bad for first-time brioche! It's difficult to read the pattern in the chunky, fuzzy, speckled yarn, and I made many mistakes. So I frogged back.

What could I do to add in some contrast? Oni the Tibetan Mastiff to the rescue! My first yarn from her fur is close to worsted weight, and sufficiently different in color. But again, I made mistakes, including one round of P that should have been K! Tinking with all the YOs was not going to work, so frog #2 happened.

Now, on try #3, and I think this just might work! I like how the gray ribs stand out amid the fuzzy brown on the side with gray as main color, while on the reverse, it's just a brown fuzzy soft surface with a touch of texture.

@knitting #knitting #Chiengora