Update-Spinning, Dyeing, etc. & Very Cute Stitch Markers

(see below for info on these Hide and Sheep markers)

Had another spinning lesson today. Sandy, bless her heart, tried to teach me how to "navajo ply." As I understand it, navajo plying is done with a single strand of yarn when you want to ply it back on itself. It strengthens and thickens the yarn.

One hand is pulling, one hand is pushing, one hand is throwing the yarn around -- yikes. I only have two hands, and they are currently not on speaking terms. To make a long story short, I am now doing what I've come to think of as the " 'ho ply" -- it's a third of a navajo ply, but easier and much less attractive. I will have to work on it on my . . . new spinning wheel.

Gulp.

I am having some serious buyer's remorse, but I found an Ashford Joy on e-bay that was a very, very good deal. Spinning wheels do hold their value, so I could sell it for what I paid for it. If necessary. You can see that my justification strategy is still a little wobbly. Anyway, it is supposed to be here tomorrow, but here's a picture:

How could I not buy this??

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Here are some updates on recent dying / spinning / knitting projects:

I over-dyed the lettuce-y green silk/cashmere blend. I'm much happier with the new color:

What color is this? Basil? Oregano?
Sour cream found at the back of the fridge with a 2006 "best if bought by date" ?

Spun some bea -u- tiful plum colored Blue Face Leicester roving, then plied it with a multi-color merino single:

I like this. Not sure what I'm going to do with it. Don't have a yarn meter, so have no idea what the yardage is. Enough to make a hat, maybe.

Here's the 2-ply I made with the roving I dyed. I like the yarn more than I liked the roving:

Not a color I'd normally wear, but several in my family would like it. Hmmm.

And I'm 50 rows into the first chart of clue five for MS3. I **love** the new direction the design is taking. It is so unexpected and fresh. However, I am knitting at the speed of an arthritic sloth. Hopefully I will speed up as I get accustomed to the new pattern/design.

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Got another one of those lumpy bags in the mail today. Just love those. Inside were some of the prettiest stitch markers I've ever seen. I treated myself to these because, since I've started knitting lace, most of my stitch markers are way too big (see photo below -- the yellow ring is one of my old stitch markers).

I chanced upon an Etsy company that makes these rings. I love the minimalistic design -- nothing to catch your yarn because the metal "join" is under the bead. Prices are reasonable (I paid $10 for both sets of markers, including shipping). Some rings are funky, some traditional, and each set comes in its own little tin:

Based on what I've seen (haven't used them yet), I am giving Hide and Sheep lace stitch markers five tinks on the tink-o-meter!