Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Welcome to I’ll Knit (& Spin!) If I want To! I asked y’all to send in some of your questions (from everything from fiber arts, to designing and on!) so I could put together a little video for y’all every Friday doing my best to answer your questions!
Sign up for my newsletter here: Sign up for the DRK Newsletter: eepurl.com/diPxsr
In this week’s episode we cover:
1. I took the plunge and made a 3 ply combo spin for a potential jaunty. (It will be my second handspun jaunty!) I thought I was doing a good job picking 3 braids that would go well together-- they all had purples and blues, and there were also shared contrasts of earthiness: brown/green/yellow. (Specifically, the braids were all Hello Yarn, and I chose Hair Raising, Odd Moments and Besotted). Well, while I was plying it together, I started to have doubts. I love certain parts, but other parts look rather muddy. Is this normal with a combo spin, or should I have looked for different attributes when choosing my braids? Is this going to look like a muddy mess, or a marled masterpiece? I think I'm going to cast on regardless and see how it turns out, but I'm worried about being disappointed with how it turns out. Any future tips for future bravery with a 3 ply combo spin would be appreciated!
2. Thank you for all of your wonderful patterns and for keeping us all inspired every week with your podcast! My question is whether sock blockers are necessary, and what the downside is if they are not used.
3. My daughter has gotten into photography and wants to do a photo shoot of me and my husband at our house when we get our first snow this winter. I figure this will be a perfect time to showcase some of my hand knits and I'm wondering if you could share some tips and ideas on how to style our knits for photos. I'm making the Hoarfrost Shawl with Neon Lilac color way of Fluff by the Wandering Flock for this occasion! I just don't know what to wear it with! Do I wear a coat? No coat, or just a sweater, a cream one? Snow boots or tall boots? Help!! Thank you so much
4. Helloooo! First I’d like to thank you for putting together weekly videos, they are an added bonus to looking forward to Fridays 😊. You have inspired me to get back into my spinning with your jaunty along! I just received an e-spinner for Christmas and wow what a difference compared to a traditional wheel! Do you have any tips or tricks from going from a traditional wheel to an e-spinner? Also, how are you liking your new e-spinner? Any major pros or cons? Once again thank you and I hope you have a great
5. I’m a seasoned knitter but I’ve never knit myself a sweater. I have a very specific cardigan in mind, I want to do a cardigan with a V neck and shawl collar, but I want to use the stitch pattern and cabled raglan from the Gibb sweater, what cardigan would work for the that I could swap in the stitch pattern and cabled raglan for?
Oxbow Cardigan: ravelry.com/patterns/library/oxbow-cardigan
Today I am wearing the Traveler Hood:
Ravelry: ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-traveler-hood
My Website: dreareneeknits.com/shop/the-traveler-hood
Honey Girl Tee: paradisepatterns.com/products/honeygirl-tee-pdf-sewing-pattern-for-100-cotton-pointelle-and-rib-knits-b-cup-d-cup-options-long-short-sleeve-two-necklines
Arthur pants: sewliberated.com/products/arthur-pants-digital-sewing-pattern
Jaunty SAL with Daedalus: ravelry.com/discuss/dreareneeknits/topics/4386868
Jaunty-along intro video: youtu.be/JU1eu0G4Sl8
Ask a question for next week’s Q&A:
https://forms.gle/pKM9gF9SixkdQwmS7
Welcome to I’ll Knit (& Spin!) If I want To! I asked y’all to send in some of your questions (from everything from fiber arts, to designing and on!) so I could put together a little video for y’all every Friday doing my best to answer your questions!
Sign up for my newsletter here: Sign up for the DRK Newsletter: eepurl.com/diPxsr
In this week’s episode we cover:
1. I took the plunge and made a 3 ply combo spin for a potential jaunty. (It will be my second handspun jaunty!) I thought I was doing a good job picking 3 braids that would go well together-- they all had purples and blues, and there were also shared contrasts of earthiness: brown/green/yellow. (Specifically, the braids were all Hello Yarn, and I chose Hair Raising, Odd Moments and Besotted). Well, while I was plying it together, I started to have doubts. I love certain parts, but other parts look rather muddy. Is this normal with a combo spin, or should I have looked for different attributes when choosing my braids? Is this going to look like a muddy mess, or a marled masterpiece? I think I'm going to cast on regardless and see how it turns out, but I'm worried about being disappointed with how it turns out. Any future tips for future bravery with a 3 ply combo spin would be appreciated!
2. Thank you for all of your wonderful patterns and for keeping us all inspired every week with your podcast! My question is whether sock blockers are necessary, and what the downside is if they are not used.
3. My daughter has gotten into photography and wants to do a photo shoot of me and my husband at our house when we get our first snow this winter. I figure this will be a perfect time to showcase some of my hand knits and I'm wondering if you could share some tips and ideas on how to style our knits for photos. I'm making the Hoarfrost Shawl with Neon Lilac color way of Fluff by the Wandering Flock for this occasion! I just don't know what to wear it with! Do I wear a coat? No coat, or just a sweater, a cream one? Snow boots or tall boots? Help!! Thank you so much
4. Helloooo! First I’d like to thank you for putting together weekly videos, they are an added bonus to looking forward to Fridays 😊. You have inspired me to get back into my spinning with your jaunty along! I just received an e-spinner for Christmas and wow what a difference compared to a traditional wheel! Do you have any tips or tricks from going from a traditional wheel to an e-spinner? Also, how are you liking your new e-spinner? Any major pros or cons? Once again thank you and I hope you have a great
5. I’m a seasoned knitter but I’ve never knit myself a sweater. I have a very specific cardigan in mind, I want to do a cardigan with a V neck and shawl collar, but I want to use the stitch pattern and cabled raglan from the Gibb sweater, what cardigan would work for the that I could swap in the stitch pattern and cabled raglan for?
Oxbow Cardigan: ravelry.com/patterns/library/oxbow-cardigan
Today I am wearing the Traveler Hood:
Ravelry: ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-traveler-hood
My Website: dreareneeknits.com/shop/the-traveler-hood
Honey Girl Tee: paradisepatterns.com/products/honeygirl-tee-pdf-sewing-pattern-for-100-cotton-pointelle-and-rib-knits-b-cup-d-cup-options-long-short-sleeve-two-necklines
Arthur pants: sewliberated.com/products/arthur-pants-digital-sewing-pattern
Jaunty SAL with Daedalus: ravelry.com/discuss/dreareneeknits/topics/4386868
Jaunty-along intro video: youtu.be/JU1eu0G4Sl8
Ask a question for next week’s Q&A:
https://forms.gle/pKM9gF9SixkdQwmS7
