All I want for Christmas is an Alpaca

I have officially started Christmas knitting. The counter on the left tells me I’d better get my butt in gear. I’m not sure how much I’ll actually be able to do this year because of personal commitments and trying to keep my hands healthy, but I’d feel better if I made at least one project for someone. It just doesn’t seem like Christmas to me if I’m not giving handmade gifts.

So here’s the start. I really think that this is the perfect pairing of pattern and yarn. The striping is as if it was planned out. This is my first time with STR, and I really like the tight twist of the yarn. I see how people get hooked on this yarn.

Pattern: Jaywalker Socks
Yarn: Socks that Rock.
Colourway Backstabber (don’t tell them that’s what it’s called!)
Needle size 2.25mm

I finished off some long neglected spinning  yesterday. This is my first time spinning alpaca and…well…it was interesting. Note to self: don’t try to spin alpaca outdoors on windy days.

I think I may have overspun it a bit, but that’s because it kept falling apart if I didn’t. It feels a bit “crunchy”, so I’m giving it another bath in Eucalan and will hang it on the line to dry this afternoon. I forgot to measure the WPI, so I’ll do that once it’s dry again – sometimes that changes anyway.

I love knitting with alpaca so much that I’ve tried to convince the Boy that we should get one for a pet. Not having so much luck on that front. I mean really – how cute are these?