An FO. And a call for spinning advice.

I finished hubby's henry while were were away, which makes it a 2007 FO - maybe. But then I didn't wash and block it (i.e. truly finish it) until we returned home, which would make it a 2008 FO, right? Oh well, either way, it's an FO and he loves it.

I managed to time the finishing perfectly for the warm spell we've had. It looks as though winter will recommence next week, so Mr B will get a chance to wear it without sweating bullets.


On the whole, the scarf is a winner for me, I love how it looks more woven than hand knit, and the fact that the recipient loves it is the most important factor - oh! and it's soooo soft. It was knit with ColourMart Cashmere 2/7NM DK weight, full details here (ravelry link). However, it wouldn't be fair of me if I didn't share the negatives. This scarf was NOT FUN to knit, in fact I do believe that it may have played a part in the disappearance of my knitting mojo.


It also doesn't have the finish I wanted. I tried the tubular bind-off, I must have done it too tight, because when I went to tug the scarf, the bind-off snapped in several places. I won't tell you how much fun it was to unravel that bind off and pick up the 450+ stitches again. There was no way I was going to risk trying it again, so I used EZ's sewn bind off. I think that the edge is so-so. Biggest disappointment for me is the ends, which are kind of... well, for want of a better word... frilly. Mr. B says it's fine, but I'm not the least bit pleased about them, and considering the special yarn and pattern, I guess I expected perfection, or something close. But no amount of tweaking, tugging, squishing or pulling during blocking could fix the 'frill'.


So, with the knitting mojo MIA, I decided to do a little more spinning. I finished 3 bobbins of some roving I bought at Rhinebeck from Little Barn. I couldn't wait to start plying, so I added the jumbo flyer and tried to get started, but this is where I need help from any fellow Lendrum owners, the wheel keeps jamming, I just can't spin it at all. I've tried all sorts of tensions but I just can't wrap my head around what I'm doing wrong. Could it be that I have to use the second belt provided? It seems to be the same diameter as the one already on there, but I could be wrong. Even if I had to change it, I can't quite figure it out, I'm supposed to take the wheel off? Or is there something else entirely different that I'm not doing? Any help/suggestions would be gratefully appreciated. It's figured out, thanks to some advice from Kristi and in the process of looking, I found that the wheel had come loose. So I changed the drive band and tightened the bolt, and have now finished plying my first 3-ply on the Lendrum :)


Since things have halted, I'm thinking that today might actually be the day I finally finish Sheldon, who has been in this sorry state of unfinished for a couple of months, poor thing.