Break

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It used to be that when March Break came along I’d swing into high gear. (For my American friends "March Break" is our equivalent to "Spring Break" except for we don’t call it that on account of there’s a decent chance you’ll spend it shovelling snow. There’s an equal chance that you’ll be able to forgo the mittens, this time of year is ridiculously unpredictable.)  I don’t know what all kids are like, but I can tell you that my children had an agenda – or  maybe it was really just a commitment, to having the world in absolute chaos all around them.   I always found that their natural inclination towards disorder could only be met with an equal measure of order if we were going to get through the March Break together without me locking myself in the loo for a four hour bath made entirely of my tears.  Planning, structure, things to do. That was the whole way I pulled that holiday off, year after year. I was a pretty orderly mum to start with, but if you’re going to lock a load of winter weary people together for days of crap weather, then you better start with a schedule of events, a strict bedtime and a cookie cutter collection that includes a few dinosaurs and maybe a moose.  Toss in there my secondary rule, which is that only crazy people go to the ROM during the break and we all got through it smiling.

I woke up this morning and instantly reacted. It’s day one of March Break, I thought, and the part of my brain responsible for self-defence screamed "WHAT IS YOUR PLAN?"  It was a few conditioned minutes of panic before I remembered that Sam’s taking off today for five days with Yvonne, and that means… well. It means that for the very first time, I am not responsible for any part of a March Break plan.  My contribution has been dwindling for years as the girls have grown and gone, but still…  the idea shook me, and I’m still not down with it – it feels like the whole week could come unglued any minute now, because I don’t have the thing laid out like a high school science project. 

I’m going to stick with the spin-a-thon.  I plied the funky batt singles together, and I love the yarn I got. I’m enchanted by the shifting colours and the way that they play against each other.

Isn’t it a lovely thing? It’s funny to me that these batts are consistently my favourite thing to spin, and make yarn that’s my all time favourite to look at, and frankly, my least favourite thing to knit – I’m always at a loss for what they intend to become, beyond enchanting yarn. They seem finished as soon as I’m done spinning.

This batt made about 160m of a soft sport weight yarn, and as much as I love it, I have no plan for it at all. More mittens? A little hat? A tiny scarf?

What to do… what to do.  I’ll be spinning while I think it over. That’s my whole March Break plan.  For those of you who still need the focus of a ninja to get through this week, may the force be with you. 

158 thoughts on “Break”

  1. i never got the whole, I’m first thing until this very moment when I think I hit it! It is like i am psychicly (sp?) connected to the Yarn Harlot. Be still my heart. That yarn is gorgeous!!

  3. Gorgeous yarn! Why not have a giveaway (ahem); couple it with a donation drive for Doctors Without Borders, perhaps?

  4. Try using it as an accent yarn in a handwoven scarf/shawl/blanket. A few threads here and there with something a little less vivid as the ground.

  5. Spin one or two more complementary batts and knit them all into something bigger with stripes! ^_^ It makes me happy just thinking about it!

  6. That looks like weaving yarn to me. It looks like it wants to be a woven scarf. It doesn’t look like knitting much.

  7. I love to make funky little baby bolero style sweaters with this kind of thing–very simple, for a newborn, with one big button that sort of anchors the colors in some way. The yarn could also be used as one of a set of solids for a striped something or another. Or you could give it to one of your friends who does love to knit this kind of thing. A gift of handspun? It would be an amazing thing to get! Lovely stuff. Stephanie.

  10. I agree with Dita, above. Whether knitting or weaving, I love to use a solid, muggle yarn to highlight the magicosity of something really special.

  11. Gorgeous yarn – but I’m not very good at planning what to do, I just like to look at it!! And, I’m with you about March break – this is the first one without any kidlets to play with/keep occupied – they are both away at university (sigh)

  12. a decorative addition to a lovely small-person-of-your-choice sweater! Or if there is enough, one for you! So lovely….

  13. I’m starting to feel nostalgic. It’s either that or aphasic. Is it that time of year again? The time where you spin a beautiful batt into lovely singles and I sit here wondering why you don’t Navajo/chain ply it and you ply it on itself and it’s beautiful and baffling and there we are? I vaguely remember that one issue is that the three ply comes out shorter, which lands us in a spinning koan: which is worse, a beautiful,coughUSABLEcough short skein, or a longer skein destined to swell the ranks of the yarn stash? (This year’s suggestion — Wurm, with this as the knit bands and something solid as the purl bands.)
    Pretty yarn, kid. God, you’re stubborn.

  15. I have a couple skeins of yarn which I adore. Any time I think of making them into something, I panic! If they become “something” they are no longer a lovely skein of yarn. I’m thinking it is okay to have a couple skeins of yarn simply because they are lovely to look at – kindof like a lovely rock or pinecone.

  16. Elizabet @3:10– If magicosity isn’t in the dictionary already, it certainly ought to be! New favorite word!
    And Steph…the yarn is gorgeous. I have several similar skeins that just don’t seem to want to turn into anything in particular…so I have them draped decoratively in a basket on my coffee table.

  17. It might be enough for a Purl Beret. It’s the simplest pattern, and looks good with a variety of yarn types. The first one I knit is probably the hand-knit I’ve got the most compliments on. I just finished knitting a little one for my 2-year old son. Now I’m using some hand-spun from a friend to knit myself another one.

  20. I’ve been against taking up the spinning thing because there aren’t nearly enough hours in the day already for the knitting I want to do, much less family, housework, etc. But to someday be able to make yarn as beautiful as yours would be amazing. You must stop this, I can’t resist much longer…..

  22. I think you should auction the lovlies off and the proceeds go to MSF. You can thin out the stash that way and make money for a great cause. It’s a win/win. Not so much for me, I am flat broke, but I like to read about the action you can stir up.

  23. Make fingerless mitts, which you can wear while working on the computer, knitting, doing errands, etc. That way, you’ve both put your lovely yarn to good use and kept it in your line of sight, where you can regularly admire how beautiful it is.

  24. What fun to see what the batt became. I like the necklace idea…hmmm, how would you slide on a few big, chunky beads?
    Don’t you hate it that the kids grow up, and you are left with Pavlov reaction to all the holidays that you “used to have”…and they have moved on and you are the only one left that even thinks about it?
    Which is why September is the start of the year…not January? Seriously, who can tell the difference between December 31 and January 2nd?

  25. That thing screams Linen Stich to me. What could you do with 160m of linen stitch?

  27. I love how the yarn looks. I have never spun from a batt before, only from roving. How does it compare? Do you have to do anything differently than when you spin from a braid of fibre?

  28. Brilliant suggestions to use this as an accent yarn to something quieter.
    My daughter is two and only just started school two mornings a week. I can’t even imagine a day when every day won’t require careful planning and plenty of deep breaths. Then again, I can’t imagine when she won’t be sitting here in a smock with a snack of strawberries and mulberries…

  29. I see that Stitchnerd on Ravelry is starting a mystery KAL for a handspun shawl; the handspun is mixed with some other yarn. She does some lovely patterns so that may well be worth a look.

  34. Who cares what you make with it?! It’s gorgeous as is, and honestly, you’ve already made something so, you know…you can wind it into a skein and know that it’s already been made 🙂

  35. I miss all the great stories about your girls and their antics!! The yarn is beautiful, but I keep thinking “No more stories about water balloons….or wool pigs.” I know it happens in every family, including mine, but there is something a teeny bit sad about watching all the kids become adults.
    Oh well. The knitting and spinning you’ll find time for will be fabulous for all of us.

  36. Oh, my. Ohmyohmyohmy!! That is some gorgeous yardage. I have faith in you, Steph. You will figure out the perfect thing for it, what it WANTS to be!!

  37. Give away, that says Give Me Away for sure. Bonus for KWB donation, or baby sweater in the Preggy lady stash?

  40. I agree Roby — weave something with it. Then give that away.
    (Just kidding about the second part.)

  41. I like to make a cowl with these short bits of fat, soft stuff. More oompth than a hat, even in Canada you need a cowl longer, fairly fitted so you have enough, and will go fine with the rest of your clothes as long as you have a neutral set of hat/mittens to set if off.
    Congratulations on surviving childhood(s) in a really major way :-).

  42. That’s not yarn to make something with.
    That’s artwork to hang up and admire.
    On the wall behind your wheel,
    lest anyone ask what’s this used for.

  43. I think you buy it with spinning in mind. Once spun, in your mind, it is done. You did with it what you intended. Don’t sweat its future. If it is to be knit by you, something will make itself known. Otherwise, you could throw it in one of those giveaways/auctions you do for your various charitable efforts. I’m sure there’s a knitter somewhere who would be happy to cast the winning bid!

  46. So many options…there’s always sox, or a cowl or a wee shawlette..but my vote given its “March Madness”-how about some lovely cabled boot toppers to wear with your break up boots? The well dressed harlot needs a handknit fashion statement while slogging thru slush, freezing water, small ice dams etc .(sorry-had to say it-I’m in Alaska-I know your pain) (and the toppers postpone the winter legscaping)
    Given the tapestry quality when knit up, whatever you choose will need some strong lines via openwork or stitch pattern or all those lovely colors will melt together.
    Can’t wait to see how it knots up and what it wants to become….

  48. You do paint a great picture with your words…a bath made entirely of your tears. I know exactly how you felt! I’m sure you’ll find something to do with your beautiful yarn, or just use it to feed the stash.

  49. That is very lovely yarn! Great work!
    Maybe a March Break auction/raffle would be a good idea after the week is out, with proceeds going to Drs. Without Borders or something equally fabulous.

  50. LOVE the yarn.
    Not loving the ‘week off’ so far – it’s more like a week of extra work, and that’s coming from a homeschooler!!
    Rainy Mondays should be illegal. 🙂

  51. Nice yarn. Go weave a scarf with it. Use pick up sticks and put some texture in it. Jane Patrick wrote a really good book on the subject of weaving with a rigid heddle loom.

  52. Mittens! They would be so nice and soft against your hands, plus you can rub your cheeks and revel in the softness even more.

  53. I don’t spin – but given your experience – I think it might be like singing:
    There are things that are SO MUCH fun to sing, but not that great to listen to.
    There are things that people love to listen to, that are not actually that fun or interesting to sing.
    Maybe this yarn is fun to spin.
    (period. the end. Kind of like a piece that is fun to sing.)

  54. LOVE the give away idea – because I live in hope! But I think a mobius cowl, like Sivia’s design, would be wonderful. Or a necklace! Or an art piece as suggested. It is beautiful enough to just look at and enjoy. I’m going to have to step out of my comfort zone and try something wild like this. You are a motivator!!

  55. Weave a scarf with this silk at either end, and a similar content commercial yarn for the greater bits – or a cowl, but don’t know if you are a ‘cowl sort of person’. Delish, delish.
    I am still getting used to the lack of washing one less child in the family makes when they go away to university, the reduction in food is taking some getting used to as well. No doubt it will fall on me when she returns.

  56. Another advantage to homeschooling – you have that “all the kids are home all day” chaos all year long, so it doesn’t jump out at you once a year. You’re just used to it.
    I agree that that beautiful, beautiful yarn should be given away. Set it aside for your next karma balancing event.

  58. It’s only one week for Ontario?!?! That’s no fair 🙁 Here in B.C. it’s a 2 week March Break and next year they’re talking about making it 3 weeks o_O I’ll be working for the whole 2 week break so both of my boys will be in daycare which results in an extra $400 in childcare expenses for the month.
    Hmm… I many have to start looking for job opportunities farther east 😉

  60. Hmmmm..174 yards of unexpected fun. What to do?
    Design a sweater around the colors of the yarn and let the creativity spring from there. The sweater will create itself..just as the batt did. Use the hand spun as an accent..but use the main colors to construct the sweater.
    If that is not good…make a cowl for your neck.

  63. 3 weeks of March break? i’d have to kill myself! lol, If I ever mention that I am moving to BC, please someone hit me over the head with a frying pan.
    one week was plenty and my kids are grown now and gone, but i also still remember the fun we used to have. Yes, it did include a lot of planning, what if the weather didn’t agree with my plan? then is was all shot to hell and I’d have very whiney kids on my hands. Ahhh…the good ole days.
    PS. the yarn turned out beautiful. I think a shawl with this as an accent would be amazing.

  64. Oh, yes, arm-warmers (wrist warmers, fingerless mitts, whatever you want to call them) would be a wonderful use for this yarn; then you can see it all the time, and it will be used and used and used, so you can love it all the more.
    The skein of thought (yes, I know it’s really train of thought but I’m a spinner too, you see) that thinks it could be auctioned off to the benefit of MSF is also a really really good idea.
    I have a few skeins that I thought would always be skeins, that, left alone long enough for objectivity to prevail, became neckwarmers/cowls – because that is about the right amount of knitting for that kind of yarn.
    Oddly, the idea of a scarf never appeals to me for yarn that I have made, but then again I’m not really a weaver except in the most cursory and amateur way; and it’s all wrong for a knitted scarf.
    Whatever you decide, it’s lovely yarn and for now maybe that’s all it needs to be.

  65. What about a “Noro” stripe scarf using a dark charcoal grey? You could also make a nice little cowl for a pop of colour against a neutral coat!

  67. oh my goodness, that’s stunning. I’d personally shadow-knit or thin stripe it with a plain skein in that same sort of brown.

  68. I completely understand about the yarn. I spin, and have several hanks awaiting my needles, but I can’t settle on what to do with them. They look so lovely, but one tends to over-think what might be appropriate. Meanwhile, it IS nice to look at them.

  70. I think stripes, but it might also be good for baby stuff. It is spring, after all, and people seem to especially fertile this time of year…
    Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be GORGEOUS!

  71. Another vote for fingerless mitts. I’d go for something really simple, like Leslie Friend’s Toasty, so the yarn can sing.

  72. That yarn would be lovely woven into a piece of fabric. A pillow top, a bag to carry projects, a hat…. endless possibilities.

  73. This is my first year with a no one in school, everyone is graduated and so are doing their own things. It’s strange not having to get people up and moving in the morning, except I still get up when I could sleep in.The yarn is gorgeous a pair of fingerless mitts seems like a good idea, Barb had the right idea.

  75. Chances are that if you do read the comments you won’t get this far down… However I can see that yarn as a beautiful cowl/shawl/drapey collar on top of a black vest. Sort of built in jewellery for evening top. I don’t get out much but I think people could wear it with black pants at some party with champagne flutes. Or maybe you could knit mittens.

  76. The two ideas I like the most are use it in a project as an accent with a neutral yarn. And just wear it as jewelry like necklace or maybe get the best of both worlds and use it in a knit or woven project as an accent and hold back enough to make a simple yarn bracelet. It is absolutely beautiful/yummy and I wish I could cuddle i, it looks so squishy!

  77. I think it would be nice to knit your handspuns into strips, stripes or blocks for a slow-growing blanket. Simple seed stitch or linen stitch squares would be squishily lovely.

  78. Your ROM comment made me laugh…I drove by there today and was so confused when I saw the long line out the door, and then I remembered…March break!

  79. I’ve discovered that beautiful hand spun yarns make smashing hand woven scarves. You possess the technology…

  80. I am turning all my less than 200 yard funky handspun skeins into funky fingerless mitts. They take about as long to knit as the skein took to spin so with my short attention span, I can be immersed in the next batch of glorious color quickly without feeling that Instead of immense piles of fiber, I now have immense bags of handspun yarn. In the spirit of your previous post, these will all be gifted to my handspinning fiber friends.

  81. That yarn is beautiful! I feel the same way about such colors: I love them, but I don’t know what to do with them. The difference is that I can’t make them, just admire them!

  82. One year I made my daughter do the classroom part of her DriversEd at March break.She hated that I ruined her holiday till she got her license, mother right again. Beautiful yarn.

  83. That yarn is whispering ‘I want to be an Airy Spring Cowl’ – can’t you hear it? I love that yarn.

  84. Hmmm, on the other hand, it might be whispering ‘I just want to sit in a yarn bowl and look pretty…..’

  85. It’s lovely. I vote for a pair of mitts, which can possibly be saved for someone else’s holiday present.

  87. I think it would make a lovely cowl in a simple stitch pattern to let the colors speak for themselves. You could get an early start on Christmas!

  89. I well remember that the forces of entropy X2 (X3 in your case) required a very great counter force for order. Very tiring. How do teachers do it every day?

  92. This is my first year of not having to worry about March break either. Does seem strange. Enjoy your week of spinning!

  93. I love the yarn as well. The multicolored yarn such as this has always enchanted me as well, but I am never sure what to make with it.
    As for the March break… I’m right with you sister. My boys went to Australia to visit their cousin for spring break, but I miss them horribly. The best part is that we can keep up with their adventures on Facebook, but I still miss them.

  95. your fence is my fence’s long lost twin…resisting the urge to run out there in the dark, in my pjs to break the news!

  96. You know, you could always sell or better yet give it to one if us, who may not know what to do with it either, but who would love it for its beauty and because you made it. Just kidding? Not really. Just a thought. (Please ont ban me from the blog.)

  97. a tiny scarf…. but woven, not knitted!! the colours are beautiful and imho a woven scarf would really show them off….

  99. There is a wonderful little Mystery KAL going on right now in the Stitchnerd group on Rav. Just for around 150 yds of handspun. I don’t know what the finished product looks like yet, but it seems like the perfect use of a beautiful yarn.

  100. I think it needs to become a baby/toddler shrug. Something a la Taylor by Theresa Lasichak on Ravelry. I know you don’t have girl babies to play with, but maybe little Lou will become a big brother sometime or you will (gasp) become a grandmother someday and you can have it ready for that, instead of having your usual “OMG I’m not going to finish in time!” catastrophe. 🙂
    But of course, then you wouldn’t be able to blog about it and amuse us.

  101. I think the psychedelic hedgehogs Willa Slater (March 11, 2013 @3:26 PM) suggested would be adorable!

  102. Fabulous yarn, Stephanie. I agree that it is complete in itself and doesn’t need to be knit in order to fulfill its purpose in life.
    Which makes me think of my stash, constantly growing without sufficient knitting to account for it. Lately I have stopped describing myself as a Knitter, and instead refer to myself as a Yarn Collector who occasionally knits some of it. I love to take out a skein or two to admire and pet, and then put it back and take out something else. Is there any hope for me? 🙂

  103. Wow, beautiful stuff Steph! The color combination of the plys twisting around each other are so perfectly compatible. I see what you mean that it seems finished and complete already.
    How about a hat? Something jaunty with a brim. That seems to be the style right now. Although, this yarn might be too colorful for that. Hmmm, sometimes I wish we could just loop a beautiful skein around our neck like a cowl, but that would probably look too crazy. 🙂

  104. OOOOooo, that’s really pretty.
    I just moved to a new apartment and don’t have money to buy things to put on the walls. DH suggested we put hooks and hang yarn. He said this with a completely straight face and not the tiniest bit of sarcasm. I think he thinks my yarn is beautiful.
    Maybe we should just, decorate with it. *shrug*

  105. That’s the kind of yarn that goes on display and is admired, without thought of what it should be, because it just is. Perhaps someday it will speak to you of a different outcome, but for now, it just is……something quite beautiful.

  107. I love the idea of mitts. It gives them a dual function! And if, perchance, they should come out a tad too large for your petite hands (say, in a size eight or thereabouts)….

  108. I had similar yarn and made myself a kindle cover from it….. bought a lovely button and off you go.
    Alternatively, why not a laptop or i-pad cover. It could be the start of Christmas knitting that way, LOL!

  110. A wee bag for notions (dare I say measuring tapes and darning needles…) made out of linen stitch, either bicolour with another plainer yarn, or straight linen stitch. Made such a thing myself from blue Exmoor Horn blend (from the excellent Natural Dye Studio people in Devon UK, and grey North Ronaldsay commercial from NR. Fab lined in recycled linen cloth for that extra fibre gag. Instructions from my beloved Mon Tricot circa 1965. Although maybe the big bumps / uneven texture might drive you mad trying to get the linen stitch vaguely even. So maybe not linen stitch, but a wee bag some other how might still be good.
    A gal can never have too many little bags to keep things in I say.

  111. How about working it in with coordinating yarns for a shawl? Or do a cowl. Beautiful yarn! Gonna have to get some of those batts…

  112. What about a bag? Or at least the front of a bag. Practical, shows off the yarn and goes with all your clothes. Ooh, now I want it!!

  115. A Luis sized BSJ with lovely dark yellow accents if the yardage needs to be boosted?

  117. I scanned some of the messages and agree with weave a scarf or trim a larger project. I do think the woven scarf will show off the yarn the best.

  118. I have spun the same sort of yarn. It is wonderful, I agree. I got the most “funky spun yarn bang” for my knit in one of the biased/multi-directional scarves. Lovely! Your yarn is beautiful.

  119. You know, head bands are the rage this year. Maybe a little headband with a knitted flower on it? Keep your ears warm, and if the yarn is soft enough, it will be gorgeous!

  120. You could make a wee little wallet & phone purse or clutch with a simple one stitch cable or something and long thin braided swingy strap. Then line it with a silk or fake silk fabric that matches one of the colors in your yarn. Then find a really rad button that ties the whole project together. It would be the dress up purse for a fancy hippy/pagan May Day party.
    Or you could save it for one of your fund raiser motivators. 🙂

  121. You could use it in a two-color shawl, with a neutral as the main color, or collar/cuff colorwork on an otherwise plain sweater. It’s lovely stuff.

  122. If that were MY yarn, I’d sleep with it wrapping my body and a HUGE SMILE on my face. It would have to be on a light sensitive pedestal, illuminated to show its’ magnificence. Then it would go on world tour, properly guarded …its maker all expenses paid, then home to the stash of the most toothsome, enchanting batts spun. Just saying….

  123. This is what I call “yarn doodling” – just spinning to see what you get rather than going into it with a plan. And some doodles stop at just being doodles and some doodles become something else. Some get pinned to the fridge and some sit in the bottom of a drawer until they are found years later. I think we get way too hung up on whether something is “usable”. Art, like people, is precious because it exists not because it’s “useful”.

  125. I’m with Ellen at 5:58. Weave. I’m not a weaver, but that was my first and only thought when I saw that gorgeous yarn.

  126. Silly girl…doesn’t matter what you knit, it will feel terrific knitting it and the recipient will love it…it is unique. Cowls are nice, quick and all that color on this gray, gray day in Maine.

  127. Your comment about the ROM is spot-on. I work at a large museum where we get both the Québec and Ontario breaks, which are consective weeks. Every year, the building is packed! And forget about getting a seat in the cafeteria at lunchtime…
    To whoever posted that hedghog pattern, thank you! Those are genius and adorable!

  128. I hear you – I think this lovely yarn may work better as a woven scarf than a knitted item! A plain warp, then your beautiful yarn as weft!!!!

  129. Yes, I have the same problem with my yarn.
    …almost all of it.
    Beautiful-Beautiful spinning you have there; I’d be happy to stare at it for you. It looks like a meadow filled with a rainbow of wildflowers

  130. I think you should pair it with a solid. It would be a lovely accent on a shawl.

  131. Beautiful yarn!! (BTW: in BC it’s also called Spring Break and starts next week. Our plan is to have grandparents come for a visit.)

  132. Spring break? March break? That’s light years in my past…specifically college. I yearn for that kind of break as a grown adult with bills to pay. I may need to rebuild that part of my life again. Although this time around, my spring break would have knitting in it, spring breaks past has zilch knitting. I’m a little more grown up that way.

  133. I see that lovely yarn in stripes with an equally soft creamy yarn knitted up into a sweet spring almost here shawl.

  135. Woman, you have a loom. This yarn wants to be some luscious woven thing. A scarf, a throw, fabric for a killer top.
    That is all.

  136. Well…
    Just got bobbin 4 done and going to get more BFL. 16 more oz to spin and I will have my stated quota. Gotta hurry though. Only have till Friday!
    bjr

  137. OMG! It doesn’t matter what you choose to do with that luscious yarn. It’s beautiful and if it decides to stay as a skein and sit in a basket, that’s not a bad ending for it either.
    I’m beyond the “spring break” I’m from New England in the states and we have a “Winter break” in February and a “spring break” in April. March was just a month to get through

  139. Save up all your spinning and make yourself one of those Knit, Swirl Jackets, “Coat of Many Colors” would work.

  140. I have the same problem—I spin up the yarn, and then it lays there because I can’t commit to a project. I just finished spinning four ounces of painted roving and now have about 330 yards of sport-weight yarn. I am leaning toward something simple, like a Gap-tastic cowl, but I waivering all over the place.

  141. I knitted a similar quantity of light handspun into a slouchy head-covering now known as “mom’s bad-hair-day beret” — and those colirs would be beautiful with your hsir.

  142. I thought the same thing when I heard that our break is in 2 weeks…what to do? field trips? baking? Then I realized that my 3 are all off at college, too, and might manage to slip home and into a coma for a few days where I might see them for a few hours when they wake up from time to time. 😉 I’m a “process” spinner not a “project” spinner so I ooohhh and awwwww at my finished yarn then throw it in the basket with the other handspun and think about what to knit with it.

  143. Weave it! it will look fantastic in woven form.
    Or maybe a long loop cowl that can wrap around twice.

  144. A “Hitchhiker” scarf would be awesome-sauce with this yarn. Also, Churchmouse Yarns and Teas’ “Koigu Linen Stitch Scarf” would be great with it. Good luck!

  146. That yarn positively SCREAMS to be baby clothes!
    Spring Break IS odd now that my kids are mostly grown. I’ve released two to the wild already, and the two remaining at home are big enough to drive cars, so they don’t need tending. They can create their own organized chaos, as long as they clean the mess before I get home from work!

  149. I’m working on a Stephen West scarf–I think it’s called Spectra–with a similar handspun and a nice chocolate brown. It’s coming together beautifully. And, Steph? I was dead serious about sending you that Jennie the Potter mug.

  150. I had a basket of such pretties myself and firm plans to never use them, but that all changed when I had to actually dust them off this winter. That was just too tragic to bear and I started whipping them up into simple stockinet te moebius cowls. I get to admire the colors and squishy texture while I feel quite mathematically clever as I knit round and round. Bonus being I’ve been adorned with my gorgeous colors all winter long.

  151. The yarn is beautiful. I think I would just let it be yarn for a while rather than rushing it to be something else.

  152. Beautiful yarn! Looks like stash yarn to me.
    It’s hanging on the fence though… do you still have it? Or has the squirrel got it?

  154. I think it’s beautiful as is — full of potential, without any practicalities to mess it up.
    I find drop-stitch patterns are friendly to difficult yarns. Plenty of air to relieve the eye and let you actually see the beauty of the yarn and not end up with something that looks like an over enthusiastic finger-painting. I’d try seafoam stitch or garter stitch with a twisted drop-stitch row every 5th row (wrap twice around both needles, once around the back needle, then finish the stitch).

  156. I know exactly what you mean about the yarn seeming like a finished thing. That’s why I opened my Etsy shop. Other people know exactly what to do with my handspun, and they make some amazing projects with it.

  158. Lovely yarn.
    The first thing I thought of: fingerless mitts and a warm headband to cover the ears.

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