Julia this is going to be so beautiful.

Wow, julia, you're so resourceful to reuse your Siena for a new (and lovely) tank. I tried to make the Prairie Tunic too and it is still unfinished. I made it when I was still following patterns slavishly and so didn't realized the errata on the front shaping. And the yarn I made it in is so lovely (Artfibers Hana, a handdyed fingering weight silk) that I really should reclaim it.

Hi Sydney,

Hee hee! That's exactly why I weighted my skeins in the beginning, too. Thwacking them mightily, violently, whatever, will take the curlicues out of them and "set" the twist, so you don't have to worry - your yarn won't be curly. Usually just the weight of the skein will do it. I've been told that people who sell their handspun either weight or "block" it to give it a professional appearance - a straighter, smoother look. The thing is that I really do think it stresses the yarn more and takes some of the resilience out of it, so if its a choice between perfectly smooth on the one hand and strong and resilient on the other, I come out in favor of strong and resilient. This is one of those things that is really interesting to poll. I may have to ask everyone what they do and why - it's pretty fascinating. Thanks for the conversation!

xox, J

Hi Julia- I weight down the yarn I 've made, um.. because. Because that's what I read in books and what the people in my spinning group said to do. Because it makes all the yarn consistent in it's twist. I never thought about after it's knitted into something and then washed. I guess if it's going to kink up, it would do that then, just as much as it would do it when initially made. In which case, it makes sense to NOT weigh it down. Hmmm... something to ponder. Thanks!

Thanks for the 411 on reclaiming yarn. "Thwak violently" made me laugh out loud. Hysterical, and yet sovery descriptive at the same time.

Hey Sydney - I don't weight my handspun, either. My theory is that the yarn and gauge will be more consistent if I don't weight the skeins. I won't weight down the FO when I block it, so I don't want to weight the skeins. Theoretically, if they get the same treatment, they will more closely resemble each other throughout. Practically speaking, I'm not sure if it makes a lot of difference or not. It's just something I picked up when reading Priscilla-Gibson Roberts, and the idea made sense to me. Many spinners will tell you to do the exact opposite, and when I first started spinning, I did use light weights. I just figure this puts less stress on the fibers and keeps them truer to their final form. Why do you weight yours? I'd love to hear!
xox, J

Hi-
so I have a question... why do you not weight frogged yarn in the drying process? Just wondering. I spin my own yarn (when I can) and when I dry my hanks, I weight them. But I've never set frogged yarn (lord knows I can.. I have so many ufo's - geesh!), so I would love to know the why's behind your process.
Thanks - Sydney

Mames - I think that Siena makes gauge for Orangina (Knit and Tonic Wendy made her Orangina from it). Could be cute!

xox, J

i have a plethora of that yarn too (waaay back i was knitting the tunic and found it woefully misshapen). i look forward to the completion of said tux tank to see how it works out. any other patterns that use the siena?...i bought yarn for two. sometimes i get a little overzealous with online purchases. thanks for the unknitting tutorial, i do like the yarn itself so it will eventually become something. smart move with lil' knitter.

Thank you for giving me/us the instructions to wash yarn that's been frogged. Someone told me I should have done that on another project, and I had no idea what to do. I'm a newer knitter, so I'm scared to do anything that ruins the yarn. So thanks!

Pre-coffee reactions: Thanks for the little tutorial! I have some gorgeous Cash Iroha that needs to be reclaimed. I always have to go down in needle size for cotton, weirdly. The knitting machine sure sounds handy!

Ooh, I'm jealous that you have a machine to take care of the mind-numbing parts. Looks like it's going to be a gorgeous top!

That is totally a cute top. Not really me, but cute nonetheless. I could see it with a totally fly blazer and some of those frilly cuffs out the sleeves.

Love that pattern! Can't wait to see you whip it out!

yummy pattern! sooo cute and romantic and feminine. can't wait to see you knitted all up!

Go little knitter go!

Me + tuxedo ruffles = no go, but I bet it's going to look adorable on you and will be such a nice layering piece. I simply love that center lace panel and always stop at that page in my BW.

If you are still muddling through the seaming when I next see you, you know you can delegate some of it to me.