Handspun Crocheted Scarf - More Details

First of all, thank you to everyone for the compliments on my handspun scarf! :) As a new spinner, I'm really proud of the project because it's the first one using one of my handspuns...an early handspun at that. It seems I've gotten several comments asking for more information regarding the scarf. So, here is more info:

It is a crocheted scarf, and no, I didn't come up with the pattern on my own. It is a pattern from M.K. Carroll. If you are on Ravelry, you can purchase the pattern here, and if you aren't on Ravelry, you can find the pattern here for purchase. It comes to you as a PDF.

As far as how the yarn was spun, here are some more details regarding that:

I bought a 4 oz. bag of "Scrappies" from Funky Carolina. The bag contained several little balls of "scrap" roving that was leftover from making braids for her shop or spinning projects or whatever. I didn't choose the colors or anything....just simply decided to use them all in one yarn. To ensure that there was consistency across the entire skein and not just a blob of bright red here and some pastel-ish stuff there, I split each little scrappy ball into 3 pieces and formed 3 separate piles of pieces, trying to maintain the same color order (although, I don't know that I did that perfectly because my cat got into the fiber :-P). Then, I just spun one full pile after the other as a worsted weight single. I blocked the yarn and voila! a useable skein.

Then, it took me about a month to match the pattern to the yarn. I have made this scarf before and enjoyed the pattern as an easy, instant gratification sort of thing, so I thought it would be fun to try it with this yarn. As it turns out, it worked out pretty well! :) I will say that my yarn had several thick/thin sections and some overspun/underspun parts, but the pattern seems to have just taken that all away. Oh, and one other tip with the pattern...I didn't block my first Anne scarf, but this one, I spent the time putting all those pins in the little flowery parts. Blocking was very worth it, and I would highly recommend that if you try this scarf yourself. The other way is pretty too, but the lace truly stands out with blocking.

I hope this has given everyone the info they needed/wanted on the scarf and that it's not too much information! :) Thank you again for the compliments!

First project using my handspun...

The first project using my handspun is now featured in my blog title, but here are a few other pics to show off the details. It's a scarf crocheted from the skein I spun using Funky Carolina "scrappies" (the yarn pictured at the top of my last post). I'm totally in love with this scarf! It goes with everything, it's soft, and it's all mine from start to finish :)

More yarn for my stash...

I haven't posted in awhile, but here are the latest yarns I've spun to add to the stash.

Fiber: Funky Carolina Scrappies
Yardage: 151 yds singles
Weight: Worsted/Aran

Fiber: Funky Carolina Blue-Faced Leicester in colorway, Snap
Yardage: 240 yds, 2 ply
Weight: Fingering
Fiber: Funky Carolina Blue-Faced Leicester in colorway Warm Lips
Yardage: 396 yds, 2-ply
Weight: Light Fingering


Fiber: Spunky Eclectic 100% Organic Merino in colorway Twilight (January 2009 Fiber Club)
Yardage: 161 yds., 2-ply
Weight: Aran

Yeah, so I suppose I should actually start knitting some stuff with my handspun. Right now, I'm just enthralled with it enough that I want to just sit and look at it. Plus, there is a desire to find the perfect project for it. Plus, yeah, knitting has taken a backseat to spinning right now (shhh...don't tell my unfinished projects). This is only because spinning is so new to me.

It looks like real yarn!

Well, here it is...the first yarn I did on my wheel, and it looks like real yarn! Hooray! The picture at the top of my blog is the first yarn I ever did on a wheel. It's a fun novelty yarn, but I'm so excited to be creating stuff that looks more like it should. Hooray! Now, I just need to find something to knit with it.

I guess I should blog

Everyone seems to be doing it, so I might as well jump on the band wagon. I'm not usually good about keeping up with blogs, but I will try with this one. I suppose I should start with the title and its significance. Quite simply, my grandmother used to call me Doodlebug. She's been gone since 1997, but I was close to her. The older I get the more I realize how wise she was. So, "Doodlebug" is my way of honoring her.

Random meanderings about my fiber frenzied life....

Well, I had a bit of a yarn binge this past week...handspun, yarn for a sweater, sock yarn, fiber...yep I got it all. And, on top of that, I even bought a spinning wheel!! :) It's shipping tomorrow. Photos to come this week once it arrives. I'm super excited!