Bordello Scarf FO: On Knitting with Homemade Yarn

Here's a recent FO, a scarf made with yarn I plied and dyed after reclaiming it from two thrift store sweaters. The pattern is "Noro Silk Garden Scarf" by Karen Baumer at Angel Yarns. It's a short-row multi-directional scarf that shows off the Noro striping. Since the "Bordello" yarn that I made is striped, I decided to try it out with this pattern. Here's the yarn:


And here's how the scarf turned out:


I think it looks great. But more importantly, there was a strangely powerful satisfaction that came from knitting with yarn I'd made. When I worked on this one in public, and someone inquired about it (because hey, knitting just screams, "Come talk to me, strangers." Why? Why is this?), it felt great to say that I made the yarn.

Plus, the scarf is actually butch enough for my husband to wear.

Quant FO and New Yarns

I plied and dyed a bunch of wool and alpaca--the yarn I started spinning in an earlier post. Mostly I'm experimenting with color--Kool-Aid and food coloring. I'm scared of non-edible dyes. And I'm having the most fun making up names.

Here's PryalSpun 50-50, color "Bordello." I'm thinking sexy armwarmers for this:


Color "Fireworks":


Color "Easter Egg" that has now been made into Quant:


Another view, on my head: