November Already, What happened to October!

October has come and gone and I didn't write a dang thing but boy did I spin, knit and cook. Mostly the first 2. I signed up for a challenge through the National NeedleArts Association, called Spinzilla. It was a community-wide event where competing teams challenged each other to see who could spin the most yarn in a one week period. So the first week of October I planned and prep fiber to spin. Spinning started at midnight on Oct. 7 and ended at midnight on Oct. 13. 

Great Graphics

For me it was a online community event. I joined Team Storey Publishing because it is the publisher of the Fiber Source Book I am using and it was based in Denver Colorado, so at least in the same time zone. It was a time to focus on spinning everyday, to meet other spinners around the country and to learn a few things. Well my goals were all met and one was exceeded. I meet lots of great spinners, I learned a lot, and I spun everyday and did improve. The goal I exceeded was that amount I would spin, based on what I had spun I figured it would be good if I spun 1000 yards for the week. Well in the end my total was 3,374 yards, and our team ended up placing 3rd overall. 

Spinzilla 2013 Team Storey Publishing 3,374 yards

After spinning for a week straight I needed a break and I also had a lot of yarn to wash, set the twist and knit. So the first few days were spent washing all the yarn and getting them into even yardage skeins and tagged. 

Washed and Ready to Knit

Then I spent a good deal of time searching Raverly for knitting patterns. It was time to knit. Because I am working on this breed study the first knitting was sample swatches of each breed. 

Breed Study Samples

It was really fun to see how the different breeds spun and then how the yarn knitted up. Each has its appropriate end use. So far I have about 9 different breeds completed and about 6 more in some stage of completion. I have my favorites and this one pictured would be one of them. Blue Face Leicester, It makes a nice soft and warm yarn spun up in a great DK weight yarn, (the samples were knit on a size 6 needle). I am now enjoying some cool November days of just knitting by the fire. With a few days of spinning here and there.