knitnmore

When in doubt, read the instructions

2012-02-12T11:49:00.000-06:00

After my good start on the bobin lace project, things went badly wrong and I ended up with a mess. I obviously hadn't gotten the hang of making the main stitch of the project. So, out came the book and the basic lesson on Scandanavian holes. After going through the practice piece, I realized what I'd been doing wrong. Now it was time to go back to the drawing board:

You can see at the top right the mangled piece. To the left is the practice piece and the bottom right is the finished piece which was done properly. This is the most complex piece I've completed that was actually done right so I'm feeling quite the sense of accomplishment.

Bobbin lace is quite as addictive as any patterned knitting. It's that feeling of, I can't lay it down because I just need to see what it will look like through this section. Just one more stitch. It's the eternal cry of the addicted.

It's been quite a saving grace for me this week to have this puzzle in front of me, having to pay strict attention to every single stitch. Other parts of life have been so frustrating and maddening that having to pay such deep attention to something has saved me from playing the craziness over and over in my head.

Not bad, getting therapy and achievement, all in one go!

Excuse me while I go rewind my bobbins and prick the next pattern.

50 Steps Back

2012-02-07T22:32:00.000-06:00

I got the hankering to try a new bobbin lace project. I've actually got a multi-craft project in mind and wanted to try some things out. I looked through several of my bobbin lace books and found a little mat in my copy of "The Torchon Lace Workbook" (Bridget M. Cook).

Isn't that pretty? And it's a fairly small project that only calls for 14 pairs of bobbins. The pattern is called Scandinavian paperweight because the main stitch pattern is called Scandinavian holes (and fans - the fans are around the outside, Scandinavian holes on the inside).

It took me several days to get everything together, pattern pricked, bobbins wound, etc. and I finally got started on it late Sunday night. The very beginning was kind of a challenge but I got it started and the first section went easy as pie. But now I've had to turn the pillow a quarter turn to start working on the second side and it's not working so well.

I haven't been able to do too much because I didn't get home until after 7pm but what time I've had has been spent undoing stitches. I think I've made about 10 stitches and taken out about 20. I've had a look back at the intro lesson on making this stitch so I think I understand where I was going wrong. That'sto be considered the right direction. I think. I'll let you know.

I'm using my English bobbins that I handstained and spangled and wound using size 80 mercerized cotton. It's not actually fine by bobbin lace standards (and lacemakers prefer to use linen thread which I don't have) but it's plenty fine for me. This is the same stuff I used to knit the doilies with the quad zero knitting needles. I like the way it holds its shape.

Speaking of cotton, I finally got a photo of the tahkli-spun cotton skein I finished this weekend.

I wish you could feel how squishy soft this stuff is. It's not very consistent but that will improve with practice. I ended up with about 69 yards our of 1/8 oz (2g) of cotton.

Try, try again

2012-02-02T21:28:00.000-06:00

This post is mostly about not giving up on things when they don't go right the first time. Or the second time. Or the... (you get the idea).

When I first started trying to spin with a tahkli spindle, it was a miserable failure. So I put it away and decided that the tahkli spindle wasn't for me. Part of the problem was not being able to do the long draw very well and part of it was managing the spinning of the spindle.

The next time I tried it, I at least got some yarn made but it wasn't very good. In fact, I threw it away because it was so bad.

Then I've tried it several other times when I was trying to show people how it worked (in theory because I did more 'splainin' that spinnin').

In all my classes, I always tell people they have permission to suck at whatever they're learning because they don't know how to do it. It's like Captain Picard said, "Things are only impossible until they're not." Once they're not impossible (because we've invested some time in them) then they're possible. N'est pas?

Recently I've been working with the beautiful support spindles my friend made for me and some angora fiber that I'd had in my stash for a while. Like this, for example. Working with this fiber and these spindles has helped me heaps in learning how to prepare my fiber and how to keep the spindle under control.

So the other day I got an email from a local teacher asking me to be involved in an arts day they're planning for local school kids. I'd taken part in a program they did a couple of years ago at a local school and had a blast. Now she's got some grant money and wants to "go big" with a Saturday gig at the Hoogeland Center for the Arts for kids from a lot of different schools.

I was thinking how fun it would be to do something with cotton since it's definitely something they can relate to and I have plenty that I can let the kids have a cotton seed and see it in the boll, on the seed, spun into yarn, and made into something. It's educational and yet fun. Of course that sparked me to pull out and dust off the old tahkli and give it another try. I predrafted and opened up the fibers like I'd been doing with the angora and started to spin.

It was like magic - it suddenly all came together in my brain and my hands and this is what happened:

Over a couple of evenings (and early mornings), I spun a section about the size of the raw cotton on the right of the photo and got what's on the spindle. Cotton goes unbelievably far. I plied just a little strip of the yarn as a sample (which you can see in the middle). The comparison sample is some size 12 perle cotton (on the far left). Here's a photo to show the comparison of the two:

It has spun so fine and I swear to you it was all by magic. Who said I couldn't do this? I can totally do this! If I play my cards right, this might be the perfect handspun cotton to knit a doily with. I love it when a plan comes together....bwahahahahaha.

The Bounciest Yarn

2012-01-29T20:59:00.000-06:00

Last year when I was in Kentucky, I was given a Polypay fleece. I was going to use it as my Tour de Fleece project but didn't get too far on it. I've recently pulled it out again and started working on it again. I put it through an initial wash last year but the tips were still quite dirty so I decided to flick open the tips and wash it in batches which has really done the trick.

The stuff in the basket is how it came out when I washed it in large batches. The stuff in the box is washed after flicking the ends open and ready to be combed. Once it is combed, it's a loverly juberly fluffy mass.

I spun a little sample the other day and was shocked at how bouncy the sample was. Just laid out, it was about 30 inches but it stretched to over 36 inches. I took it to knit night so I could show everyone this bouncy yarn. The funny thing is that, while you can really get some bounce when you card and spin a wool yarn worsted, you don't usually get that same kind of performance when the fiber has been combed and spun short draw. This sample was combed and spun short draw and still had that kind of bounce. This post has a picture of the lock (the one on the right).

I'm spinning it on my Kromski Minstrel on the 8.5:1 whorl so it's kind of medium speed. As usual, I have it set up to spin with scotch tension and I've got a fairly hard draw in. I'm trying to get enough twist in to hold it together well but not enough for it to lose its soft and bounce. I am planning to ply using the next higher ratio of 12:1 to help that process, too. I'm still learning a lot about ratio and how to use it to best effect so that may change once I get to that part of the process.

Right now I'm spinning it pretty fine, although I may try to 3 or 4 ply it for a heavier finished yarn. I don't know, though. I think I like the lace weight. I'll have to experiment a little with that, too. I would love to have something made with it before I go back to Kentucky this year. Wouldn't that be fun?

On the knitting front, I finally made the big step and ripped back the body on the bohus. I ended up decreasing by about 30 stitches which should equate to about 5 inches and I think it's going to be much better now. From the finished body, here's where I am now:

I never seem to be able to get a good photo of this sweater but here's where I'm at. I got about 3-4 inches done this weekend and, of course, the stockinette goes really fast in the round so I think now that I've got it working, it won't take long now.

Upcoming dates

2012-01-23T22:23:00.000-06:00

Just a quick post to give you some upcoming dates.

Lace Class
In February, I'll be doing a 2-session introduction to lace class at Lincoln Land Community College. It will be 2 Friday night sessions (2/10 & 2/17) and we'll do a sampler scarf so we can play with different lace patterns.

Knitting With Jewelry Wire and Beads
In April, I'll be doing a 1-session class at Lincoln Land on knitting with the fine jewelry wire and beads. Everyone should be able to complete either a bracelet or a pendant during the class. April 6.

Spinning Long and Short
I just heard that I've been accepted to teach a spinning class at the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival in Lexington, KY. On Saturday May 19th, I'll be doing a 4-hour class covering the various types of "draws" in spinning from short draw to long draw (and in between). I taught a spinning for lace class at this festival last year and I had so much fun. There are a gagillion vendors there, too. Everything from wheels to fleece to roving to gadgets. It's a magical place.

Keep an eye on the web link above as they begin to post classes and vendors for the Festival. The Festival itself is Thursday-Sunday and is linked to the Sheepdog trials. So not only can you buy sheepy things, you can go watch them being chased around a field by some very talented dogs!

For now, those are the only events that I've got booked. Last year got way too crazy so I'm trying to be a little smarter this year about my time. Of course that probably means I'll get 10-12 more things booked before summer. Sigh....

Fabulous

2012-01-18T20:01:00.000-06:00

Oooh, you just have to look at this:

Isn't that the most beauooootiful spindle you've ever seen? It was made, all in one piece, by my friend Cindy. Her spindles are just getting better and better. It's the most beautiful wood and it spins like a dream. The middle section there is being filled with the angora that I starting spinning on it last night.

It's taller than the other support spindles I have but it's so balanced and feels so great in the hand.

Slowly but surely

2012-01-16T00:09:00.000-06:00

I'm not making very quick progress on the various sweaters and cardigans I've been working on. I'm still on the second sleeve of the Kauni cardi, I'm getting ready to rip the body of the bohus but I've finished the body on the Fibonacci cardi and have started on the sleeves. I made a mistake at the beginning with the ribbing so I'll have to redo it but I love the way the body has come out. As you may remember, this was knit in a tube so I had to sew the openings for the front and back neck and each sleeve. It would have been easy to felt those areas but I didn't want to wait for it to dry so I just used the sewing machine. I won't cut the front until I get ready for the button bands. Make it much easier to work the sleeves to leave it in the tube.

If you think there's a weird shift of the rows, you're right but it won't matter once I steek it and get the button bands on. I decided to just do regular sleeves, knit from the top down. I thought I had the same number of balls of each color but when I had a look, I must have only had 2 of the turquoise and the green but I had 5 of the blue. So I decided to do the sleeves in a solid blue color with small color stripes when then coincide with the small color stripes on the sweater. I think that will hit about the elbow and then I'll repeat them at the cuff. I think that will keep the stipes interesting instead of distracting.

There's no pattern for this, I'm just winging it, so it makes the progress so much more satisfying! Hopefully I should be able to write the instructions down at the end, once I get it all figured out.

Come on Along

2012-01-11T22:10:00.000-06:00

If you're in the Springfield area on Saturday, January 21st, be sure to sign up for a class (or 2 or 3) at the Lincoln Land "Needle in a Haystack" event. It's a little hard to get to the information but here's the easiest way to do it:

Go to the Lincoln Land website.
Click on the image for the Forward magazine.
Just below the magazine is a page number box. Click in that box and then type "60" in the box and hit enter.
This will open the magazine to the page showing more information about the day.

They have added classes since this was published but I don't see anywhere on their website where they've updated the list. You can certainly call the Community Education office to get an updated list - 217-786-2430. I know one of the classes is for needle felting and the lady teaching that class is FABULOUS (and, yes, I meant to shout that). There will also be some advertising in the Springfield paper so you can keep an eye out for that.

If you see the class(es) you want to sign up for (and don't miss out on the lunchtime presentation on "Loving Lace" - all kinds of lace!), you can either register by phone at or you can register online here.

There will also be vendors and demonstrators all day long so if you need some yarn or needles or fabric or fiber, this is your day. It will be a great event to bring the kids out to as there will be plenty of hands-on things to try.

I'm teaching the Mitten class and a class on learning to spin using a drop spindle but the rest of the day I'll be demonstrating bobbin lace. I'm not that great but I can do the basics and I'll have a pillow set up so you can try your hand on the basic stitches, too.

Break's Over

2012-01-09T21:46:00.000-06:00

Hope you had a wonderful holiday season. As you can tell, I took a little break and it's been a little hard to get back into the swing of things.

When last we visited the in process sweaters, there was a Red Palm Bohus with the yoke finished and the body started. While I was at my Mom's this happened:

This is the Bohus with the yoke and body done (all except the ribbing) and one sleeve finished (all but the ribbing. I had enough yarn to start the second sleeve but since I need to spin a little more for that sleeve, I decided to wait so I could work the new yarn into the existing yarn. I haven't done the ribbing yet because I haven't made up my mind exactly what I want to do with it. The body is really blousier than I wanted it.

I just don't think I was ready to say done because there's every chance that I'm going to go to rip-ville and slim the body down some. I was really hoping for a more fitted look.

But at the time, I'd just done this heroic thing (it felt heroic to get all that done) and I couldn't contemplate the thought of ripping. Now that I've got a little perspective, I think I'm closer to doing it so that I can get the sweater I wanted. After all the work spinning and knitting, I want to want to wear the silly thing.

While I'm contemplating (and spinning more merino), though, I came across this pattern:

In this book:

I went to the yarn shop and found some yarn I'd never heard of before called Stoccarda. There were only 6 balls of the yarn, each with 82 yards. The pattern called for Bear Brand Supra Mohair held 2 strands together, using 10 balls, knitted at 2.5 stitches to the inch. I had no idea what the yardage was supposed to be with that yarn (although I now know that they were ***TADAAAAA*** 80 yards per skein. Holding 2 strands together means I would have needed 5 balls of the Stoccarda. See how this is all shaping up?

I've taken the picture while I was in the middle of putting it together so I could show the interesting construction. It's worked from side to side, as you can probably see. The pattern is worked in sections to mimic the fur stole look of the time (1961). You knit across until you get ready for the first sleeve. Then you knit the bottom underarm section and put the stitches on a stitch holder. Next, you cast on the extra stitches for the sleeves, and knit the sleeve section. Once the sleeve section is done, you bind off the extra sleeve stitches, pick up the underarm section and work across the back. You do the same thing on the other sleeve and work to the finish.

Once you've finished off the final edgin section, you close up the little end, sew all the seams together and you have yourself a fabulous vintage stole. 2.5 stitches to the inch on US size 13 needles. No time at all.

And, in case you're interested, I did have enough yarn. In fact I only used about 2 yards of the last ball. Maybe I'll use it to make a Russian-style pillbox with the fuzzy border and white top. I have some Cormo that needs to be used. That sounds interesting.

Actually, knitting this has given me all sorts of ideas for adapting this construction but I'd better get the ideas written down so I don't forget.

I'm off to finish the other side so I can wash and be ready to wear with a fetching chocolate brown outfit I've got. I think it will be just right!

The 3 Cardis

2011-12-19T20:11:00.001-06:00

You've heard of the 3 Tenors, now let me introduce you to the 3 Cardis.

You've already met the Red Palm Bohus taking center stage here. She's being made from merino and bluefaced leicester handspun yarn and is now on the round and round and round never-ending stockinette in the round stage. It would probably be considered boring if it weren't for the yummy softness of the merino yarn.

To the Red Palm Bohus' right, please welcome the Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Fibonacci Cardi. This is yarn I bought at Athena Fibers in Sioux Falls, SD, a few years ago. When I bought these wonderful colors (worsted weight single ply 75%wool/25%alpaca), I bought them for the express purpose of knitting a Fibonacci stripe sweater from them. Every time I've seen them in my stash, I've reminded them that one day they would become a wonderful, happy Fibonacci striped sweater. The day has finally arrived.

I know the tube above doesn't look like much now because it will have to be steeked before it becomes a cardigan but just you wait. I realized I needed to steek it at the point I realized that the nature of Fibonacci means that I would have odd numbers of rows every other time and there would be no way of syncing the working ends without either steeking or having to work in a thousand ends. Naturally, faced with that choice, steeking was a no brainer. I don't have a pattern for it but the plan is to knit for a little while longer (I'm about 2 inches past the armhole shaping) and then set it up for saddle shoulder sleeves and a crew neck. It's all part of the adventure.

The great thing about this yarn (other than it's obvious fabulousness) is that it's fairly chunky and is knitting up super fast.

And last, but definitely not least, on stage left, is the Kauni Cardi. This pattern made the rounds a couple of years ago and I found it interesting but I always fall into these things late in the game so I've just started mine. Actually, I started it a couple of months ago and got most of it done really quickly. For some reason, I've stalled on the second sleeve and just need to get my butt in gear and get it finished.

I find this pattern fascinating because it uses two multiple color (honking big) skeins of yarn. Same yarn but you start at different points of the colorway so you're only ever working with 2 strands of yarn. The color effects come from the changes in the colors in the yarn. Isn't that a great effect?

If you choose to work this pattern, be prepared to have to fill in a lot of blanks or just kind of go your own way. The pattern is, at best, just a sketch of what you will do. But for this sweater, it's worth the effort.

See what you think

2011-12-13T19:46:00.000-06:00

After delays created by the need to spin more of 3 of the colors (and ply and wash and dry) and the sheer number of stitches (430 or so), I'm almost finished with the yoke of the bohus cardi. I love the colors and the effect but it's come out much more dense than I expected and I'm not sure I'm going to like that. The shaping looks a bit weird here but that's just because it's not blocked out yet. I've decided to keep going for a little while to see how it's going to work out. The rest of the sweater will be the red that you see in the collar.

I can't say I'm enamoured of the way the pattern is written but I'm a big girl so I'll get it figured out (or at least make something up!).

Just Gotta Show Someone

2011-12-06T22:10:00.000-06:00

After buying the book, Poems of Color a few months back, I've had a plan to knit a bohus sweater. But I decided I wanted to spin the yarn for it. The pattern that took my spinning fancy was called the Red Palm. Even though the pattern was geared more to the pink side of the color wheel, I'm not so much of a pink girl so I wanted to do something more with to the orange/yellow side. That led me to combine a color study I wanted to do with the project of spinning the colors for the yoke of the sweater. See here.

Next on the plan was to spin the red merino top from Ashland Bay. About 800 yards of fingering weight 2-ply yarn was completed and, although not enough for the whole sweater, I thought it would be a good start. Then I found out it was top down, which allows me the satisfaction of seeing the yoke come to life to support me through the long days of knitting a mile of stockinette. Granted it will be red merino stockinette but nevertheless the fascination of the yoke will help the journey.

The other night I finally got started down that road and here's what I've come up with:

You can see the pattern as displayed in the hat pattern, although each bohus pattern in the book contains a pattern for a jacket, a sweater, a cardigan and a hat. I'm making the cardigan. You might need to click on the photo to see the color blends a little better but I'm really pleased with the effect so far and you can see my colors floating around there in back. I love the way the strategically placed purl stitches do to add texture to it. Add to that the "texture" of the not very well spun yarns and it's all I could have hoped for.

(Just a word about the less than perfect yarns. They started out as a color study where I carded varying amounts of white, yellow, red and black yarns to make the gradual color changes. I'd never done very well at long draw - which is what you generally do with rolags - which are what come off hand cards. Add to that the fact that the yarn used was blue-faced leicester and merino - both longer stapled wool - which isn't as conducive to long draw. It was a recipe for uneven yarn - even though I really like the effect in this project - and I've learned tons and did a way better job on the red merino.)

It's not something at this point that I can sit and work on for hours because the yoke is knit on size 1 needles which makes a dense fabric for the yoke but is a little hard on the fingers. Like any kind of colorwork, though, it's mesmerizing to see the pattern develop. Once I get through the yoke I should be able to work through the rest of it pretty quickly. After all it's just stockinette with red merino.

My Favorite

2011-12-02T18:16:00.000-06:00

I know you're not supposed to have favorites but this hat and scarf are my favorites of all the ones I've made this year. This started out as part of the attempt to knit my handspun stash. The yarn is handspun from the cloud (a type of fiber preparation, for the unitiated) from a mix of alpace, silk and merino wool that I bought several years ago. I love the gradations of the yarn and it's really, really soft.

Anyway, I started the scarf just using a little lozenge pattern I found in a book somewhere. I don't even remember which pattern or where I found it because I started it QUITE a long time ago. I got tired of knitting the scarf so I decided it was long enough and I was finished. But I still had half a ball left. What to do?

At the time, I was in the middle of the great hat fever of 2011 so it seemed logical to make a hat to match the scarf. Nothing could go with that, right? Actually, for once, that was right and I threw some stitches on the needles, and started knitting. Like anything that you do by instinct without thinking too much about it, it ended up fitting perfectly. I made it extra long so it would slouch a little and when I got to the end, I decreased over 3 rounds to make it bunch up at the top and there you have it:

I wasn't that excited about the scarf until I remembered that it was, indeed, a lace pattern that would not be harmed by a little blocking. Classic duck to swan transformation followed and now I love it. I suspect that I'm going to wear these every day. No matter how many hats or scarves I may have now or in the future, none of them can hold the candle to these. The standard is now set.

If you're interested in a quick and dirty pattern, here goes:

Scarf
I think I used size 3 needles and my yarn is fingering weight (more or less) so you'll need to work that out for the yarn you use, especially for the hat. Sorry, the needles had already gone back into the stash before I though to write this down. I didn't really work out a gauge (which is why this is "quick and dirty") but the best I can tell is that the ribbing on the hat is about 6 stitches to the inch.

Cast on 50 stiches and knit in seed stich for 6-8 rows (or however many you want).
For every row, there's a border of 5 stitches knit in seed stitch. I won't repeat that on the rows below but you'll know to just do it. (Seed stitch is just knitting K1, P1 across the base row and then on each subsequent row, you purl the knit stitches and knit the purl stitches.)
(Pattern is a 6 stitch repeat)
Row 1: 5 border stitches in seed stitch, yarn over (YO), *SSK, K1, K2tog, YO, K1, YO* Repeat from * to * to last 5 stitches, do the 5 border stitches.
Row 2 and all even rows: Border, Purl to end, border
Row 3: Repeat row 1.
Row 5: Repeat row 1. How many tmes you repeat row 1 will determine how long your lozenge is.
Row 7: Border, *YO, slip 1, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over, YO, K3* Repeat from * to * to last 5 stitches, border (this is a transition row)
Row 9: Border, K2tog, *YO, K1, YO, SSK, K1, K2tog* Repeat * to * to last 7 stitches, K1, SSK, border.
Rows 11&13: Repeat Row 9.

And so forth until it's as long as you want. Do remember that with this lace pattern, it will block significantly longer than it appears. I would say mine extended about a third again longer.

Hat
I casted on about 108 stitches and knitted about 2 inches of K2/P1 ribbing before starting the pattern.

I worked the above pattern until the hat reached about 9 inches from the beginning and then I decreased this way. The lace pattern is basically in sections of 3. So on the first round of the decrease, I slipped 1 stitch, knit 2 together and passed the slipped stitch over. Then I knit a round plain. Then I knit 2 together all the way around. Then I cut the end and used a darning needle to thread the tail through the remaining stitches, pulled them in and I was done. Usually when I pull the yarn through the stitches like this, especially here where it's a pretty drastic decrease, I use the needle to thread the yarn through several times just to strengthen it. After that, you just work in the ends as per usual and you're good. Here's a shot of how the top is gathered.

I blocked the scarf but not the hat. I like the way the hat fits so I don't plan to block it. You could do, though, if your hat seems too snug. Enjoy!

Better than expected

2011-11-29T20:00:00.000-06:00

Just a short note to say that I've ended up with just about 800 yards from my 3 bobbin and mighty pleased I am at how it's come out. It been washed and rinsed and is hanging to dry now. I'll post pics of the finished stuff and the sample that comes from it once it's dry. 800 yards! I'll probably only need about 400 more. No worries.

Nothing like a bloom

2011-11-28T20:23:00.000-06:00

There's nothing like coming home after a hard day of work and seeing this greeting you on the way in the door:

I brought in several of my plants when it started getting colder. This one hadn't bloomed for quite a while but now it's got several new little growths and blooms ready to pop. It was so cheery to be greeted by this little guy.

While I've not been accomplishing too much, I've managed to get a good little way on the main yarn for my bohus sweater.

This is a red Ashland Bay Merino wool that I've been spinning at a fingering weight. Once it gets washed it should be just right for the cardigan. I'm hoping this lot will get me at least 5-600 yards along the way. I started swatching this weekend with the first skein I spun a while ago. Maybe I'll be able to get it started this weekend.

And So I Do

2011-11-20T15:51:00.000-06:00

I predicted in the last post that, since I loved the singles and wasn't so crazy about the skeined yarn, that I would love the knitted product. It's been really difficult to get a picture that really shows the color in the socks. For some reason, the striping showed much more definitely in the picture than in real life but here goes:

The first two photos were outside and the third inside. The last shows the colors a little better but makes the poor little sock look deformed because it's propped up against the skein. Anyway, you get the idea.

This was an unusual yarn for me to use for socks, being a little bit thicker than I would normally use and being a littel more tightly spun than I've used in the past. The colors remind me of the beautiful colors in the Lion Brand Homespun yarns, the one every beginner buys because the colors are so rich and beautiful and which every knitter who's ever worked with it curses because it's so splitty and hard to knit with. It has those same rich colors that blend so wonderfully.

Fortunately it's much better to work with. I was worried at first that I wouldn't have enough for a whole pair of socks. Now, I know there are ways to split the yarn out so you work all you've got for one and have the same amount for the second. Too fiddly. And you can knit them from the toe up, two at a time, and know you're going to have enough. I don't like knitting toe up socks.

I began by making the cuff really short thinking that I could always add to the top, if needed. But someone at knit night commented she thought they were too short (and I agreed, although I didn't admit it at the time). But as soon as I got home, I ripped out what I'd done on the heel (fortunately just the heel flap) and made the cuff a little longer. As someone else said that night, you can always make the toes a different color and who will know.

Now I"m at the stage, having finished the heel in the second sock, that I think I'm going to have plenty of yarn. But I know enough about life to know that by the time I get to the middle of the foot that I'm going to start monitoring my remaining yarn and be convinced that I'll never be able to finish. So I choose to live in the denial of the moment and believe that I'll have plenty of yarn left over.

In fact, maybe I'll have enough for mittens!

Finished yarn

2011-11-15T13:41:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to post this pic of the finished yarn. As usual, really different from the singles. I'm not terribly crazy about the barber poling but, based on past experience, I'll probably LOVE the socks. Just don't know when I'll be able to start them.

Bluegrass Weekend

2011-11-14T20:32:00.000-06:00

I hadn't planned to spend the weekend with bluegrass pickers but I did and boy did I have a ball. The Friday night concert was fabulous. I love bluegrass music but I don't really know any of the bands or many of the players. There are some that I knew about from living in Nashville but I know a few of the names now. The band that knocked my socks off was Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper. I can still barely breathe thinking about them. I also saw the mandolin of my dreams. Natural wood, with rounded edges, beautiful tone. Fortunately it was almost $300 so the temptation only went so far!

In fact the concerts were so exciting that I finished a pair of socks, one Friday night and one Saturday night. Of course, the concerts went from about 7pm to after 11:30 and the pattern was plain Jane but I will still pretty amazed at how quickly they came off the needles.

This was wool yarn I'd bought at 365 Days on a Farm in IA over the summer. I bought it particularly to make socks but I cast on about 4 times before I got something I liked. (That was totally on me because the yarn is gorgeous and soft and wonderful.) I'm afraid I can't remember the name of the yarn but I do know it's yarn made in the US because that's all 365 Days carries. I knit them on size 2 needles and even though it really is a fingering/dk weight, it's so lightly spun that I could have used a size 1 needle and not worried.

I've even got a spinning project going. This was 4 oz of blue-faced leicester fiber I bought at Bishophill particularly to spin for sock yarn but once I got the singles spun, I wasn't sure I wanted to lose my yardage. The colors are so amazing that I really wished I had enough for a sweater. Here's the bobbins of singles:

How beautiful is that? But, as you can see, I decided to go for the 3-ply after all. It will be very interesting to see how the various colors play together. Of course, I could have kept the color bands but the changes would be too short and I didn't want to do a Navajo ply for the socks. I wanted a true 3-ply and I think it's going to be very interesting. The singles were spun with about an 8:1 ratio and I'm plying using the 12:1 ratio whorl to see if I can reproduce my recent experimentation results. I'll let you know when I get this washed.

Samples away

2011-11-08T22:14:00.001-06:00

Spurred on by my preparations for a program for our local spinning/weaving guild, Prairie Weavers, I have been doing a ton of experimentation regarding the effect of varying amounts of twist used for plying yarns (I'm not the best judge, but I think the program tonight went really well, thanks for asking). I won't go too much into it yet because I'm planning on a whole post with pics of my samples, etc. a little later on as I have time to process it. But I did want to show this:

(For those who are interested, this was spun on my Kromski Minstrel - singles on 12:1 ratio; ply on 16:1. Fiber is KnitPicks Gloss roving.)

This is 38 grams of a silk/merino laceweight yarn before washing. Before washing, it was 368 yards of yumminess. After washing (for reasons that are plain to those who were at the guild meeting for the program), it was 332 yards of squishy yummi-numminess. Why? All will be made clear when the post about my little experimentation hits the stands. I've found out why much of my laceweight yarn has been just yummy instead of squishy yummi-nummi. It all makes so much sense now!

I've also been working with some of my recently (within the last year) acquired fleeces.

On the left is a sample skein of the bfl/suffolk cross. (By the way, I realized today that I'd misspelled Suffolk all through the last post. I really do know how to spell it and every time I typed it I knew I was misspelling it but I just couldn't stop it.) Next to it is a lock of the fleece. Long staple - not unusual for a sheep with bfl in its heritage. There's still a bit of lanolin in the fleece so I'm working on finding the best preparation for spinning.

On the right is a lock and a sample from the Polypay fleece I got earlier this year in Kentucky. You can see the staple is only about half that of the bfl/suffolk and it has a finer crimp. I really like the sample I spun when I combed the fleece. It's a little more work but I got a much nicer end results. Actually, I only had to do one or two passes with the combs because it opened up so wonderfully. I would love to have enough of this spun to make something to wear when I go to Kentucky next year.

Best Fleece

2011-11-06T21:46:00.000-06:00

I told you about the BFL/Suffolk cross fleece I got a few weeks ago but haven't been able to post any photos yet. This fleece is just beautiful. Every person I've talked to about this cross (everyone who knows that there is more than one type of sheep, that is) has raised their eyebrows about the odd mix. But it's a wonderful fleece and washed so beautifully. And much of that is hats off to the shepherd.

It started drying out on the porch but later had to move indoors because my poor fleece was getting cold. But here's what I was left with.

How great is that?

I haven't gotten too much of it spun because I've been working on some things for the Prairie Weaver's program on Tuesday night (a lot of things) but I did do a little sample spinning straight from the lock. No photos exist because the experiment didn't go all that well, to be honest. So I changed and decided to try to comb a bit of it and see how that worked.

I didn't need more than 1 pass, really, with the combs for it all to jump open so now that I've done my little experiment, I think I can get the rest of it prepared pretty quickly. I spun it fairly thin, although not extremely so because I want to get a finished sock weight (fingering weight) 3 ply yarn from it. Here is the singles waiting to be plied and washed.

I'm very excited to get this working, although it's going to take a lot more attention that just spinning from prepared roving. There's just something so tactile and satisfying about starting from the beginning and getting something to be proud of out of it. It's what I love so much about spinning cotton from the seed. It's basic, elemental and so satisfying to complete the cycle.

More than one way to skin a skein

2011-10-28T07:21:00.002-05:00

I’ve started working on a post over the last couple of weeks but just haven’t been able to get everything together at one time.

I’m not going to go through the new hats but here’s a picture of the collection. I gave away the alpaca fair isle one to a friend but I’ve got plenty more where that came from so I think there is one more hat in my future but for the most part I think it’s over. For now. Except the one I’ve got going to match the scarf I made with the last of the Kickapoo Creek silk/merino/alpaca. That’s all. I think.

I had a great time once again at the Bishophill Spin-In. There were some unexpected surprises and some intoxicating fibers. The 2 big surprises (no, make that 3) came from a stall run by a couple who were disposing of an estate that comprised 7 storage lockers of crafting treasures. From them I obtained some very rare and exciting bobbin lace books (scoooore!), a Schacht warping board (20 yard warping board that probably cost over $200 for $35) and a bobbin lace bobbin winder (that usually costs more than $100 for $30).

Wasn’t expecting those at all. I’d been pricing warping boards because the only one I have is a small one on the back of my rigid heddle loom. Problem is if I have that loom warped (which I do), I can’t use the warping board.

But, on to the fiber, which is the whole reason for going there. I’ll tell you more about the fleece I got another time but I also got the most beautiful roving from a local farm. The sheep is Blue-faced Leicester. It is the best prepared roving I’ve ever had. It’s from Floya’s Fleece (sorry, no website link can I find). She’s from Chana, IL, and her fiber is fabulous. I got a mixture of white, med brown and dark brown and I’m going to do something special with it. I’m just itching to spin it but I don’t want to be rushed with other things. I want to just enjoy the process.

I also got a fiber mixture from Fae Ridge Farm which I wasn’t at all convinced I really wanted but I have a very pushy friend. Never go shopping with Mary if you don’t have an iron will. I’m just saying. Anyway, I’ve lost the tag that gives all the fibers mixed for this roving but I just wasn’t convinced except I really liked the colors. Definitely not love at first sight but the second I started spinning, I started getting courted. Then I plied and got wooed. And then I washed and I was hooked.

It was in a cloud preparation, which I 'm particularly fond of, and I’ve spun it to a 3-ply almost worsted weight. So far I have about 200 yards with probably another 100 to go and, although the intention was to spin a sock yarn, I’m not sure that’s what this lovely stuff wants to be. It’s predominantly Border Leicester so it’s not totally soft (although it’s really pretty wonderful) and it’s a little chunkier than I would normally have for socks…we’ll have to see.

But the thing I look forward to every year is the dyed silk hankies from Lone Tree Wools. I get them every year and every year they’re the first thing I spin and I can’t wait until the next year to get more.

You know I love to spin hankies. I spin them corner to corner and have posted a video to show how I do it (in case you’re interested). But I’ve discovered that it doesn’t do very well as a 2-ply yarn. I really like it to have 3 plies – gives it a bit of structure. I’ve had this discussion with several friends lately and seem to have some support on this but I’ve never looked up the discussions on Ravelry to see what the wider opinion is. I don’t guess it really matters, it’s my yarn and I’ll make it like it want to.

But this brings us to a dilemma that every spinner faces from time to time. How many plies? After you’ve spent all this time spinning the singles, do you go for the yardage or do you go for the perfect yarn? Of course, with every ply you add, you decrease your yardage by a significant amount. Having the perfect yarn, though…

So I decided on a 3-ply but I didn’t want to do a Navajo ply with this because silk doesn’t absorb that little bump you get at the end of each chain like wool can. I tried to guestimate* how much to spin onto each bobbin and got pretty close on the first 2 but the third bobbin was a lot more. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. It just was.

I tried to figure out how best to do it so that I could spin a true 3-ply off of my 3 uneven bobbins and here’s what I came up with.

I had 2 pretty even bobbins so I left the singles on those bobbins.

Then I wound the 3^rd bobbin into a ball.

To begin with, I spun with the inside and outside ends of the ball along with one of the bobbins – 3 strands. I continued that until I realized I was going to run out of the ball then I started using 1 strand from the ball with strands from each of the bobbins. I did that until the ball ran out. At that point, I was close to the end but I had about twice as much on one bobbin as I had on the other. So I wound the long bobbin strand on my hand and Andean plied the hand strand with the remaining bobbin strand until I was finished.

It worked out beautifully. Once the strand on my hand was finished, I had about 4 inches on the remaining bobbin. Pretty darn close. Can’t wait to wind this off and get it washed!

The moral of the story is there’s more than one way to get a 3 ply yarn.

* Just a little note to say that an organized spinner would have separated her fiber out before she started spinning so that all 3 bobbins were even to begin with. I had my reasons.

The hats just keep coming

2011-10-09T15:44:00.000-05:00

The hat thing hasn't lifted yet although it is starting to slow down, I think. That's because I'm almost finished with the first skein of red merino so I can start swatching for my Bohus sweater. But while I"m at it...

I had some gray alpaca left over from the hat for my friend's aunt and I had some blue left over from my blue hat.

Bam! How cool is that?! I love this hat. I adore this hat. Alpaca and Blue faced leicester, 2 of the softest, coziest fibers in the known universe. The electric blue against the gray. I love this hat so much that I've been wearing it around the house. I have to take off from time to time because, of course, it's not cool enough yet to wear this hat for real and my head gets too hot. So I take it off until I'm cooled off and then it goes right back on.

Then, for something different, I decided I would make a hat from the Entre to Entrelac book by Gwen Bortner. She's got some cool stuff in the book which I think is worth the effort to understand the patterns and techniques. It is an effort to follow the shorthand used and you will need to refer to 2 or 3 sections of the book at once so keep some sticky notes handy so you don't lose your place but what you get out of it will entertain, intrigue and delight you.

For me, it was the hat pattern that I wanted to try.

The brown is alpaca/merino/silk that I got from Kickapoo Creek Farms that no longer exists. It was such a lovely preparation. Wish I could find more of it. The black was supposed to be alpaca but wasn't. Alpaca would have been better - this isn't nearly as soft.

For the first part of the hat, I used each of the yarns double since it was such a large needle size (for me - US size 7). I don't like it and wish I hadn't done it but by the time I'd decided that, it was too late and I wasn't up for undoing it. So for the entrelac section, although I used the basics of the pattern in the book, I did my own thing and did it with single strands. The pattern called for decreasing stitches down to make six entrelac panels. I didn't decrease; I made eight. The pattern called for just 3 sections, I made 4, repeating the brown for the final section.

To me, that kept the poofy quality of the entrelac and made it a better fit for me. I obviously have a way bigger head than most hats patterns are written for. One really clever thing the pattern did was calling for the sections to be stitches together at the top. I love that feature of the hat. The only thing I decided it needed, though, was the little black section to close up the hole and to finish the hat off. Having just the brown there looked too unfinished. All I did was crochet some stitches around for a couple of rounds and then closed it up. That helped a lot.

I think this is a hugely creative use of entrelac and I will definitely want to do this hat again. Next time, though, I may just go for a solid color all the way through. I think first, though, I need to hit the fiber stash and spin a little more because I've used up almost all my handspun. Mon Dieu, what shall I do?

I know, next Saturday is Bishop Hill Spin-In. Maybe I need some more fiber....

Hat, hats and more hats

2011-10-03T21:43:00.000-05:00

And a cowl. And gloves.

First of all, let me reiterate that I'm not really a hat person. I like them but I tend to look pretty silly in them. In saying that, I have no idea why I'm so into hats right now. Can't get enough of the them. Need hats. Need more hats.

Part of the seduction (for seduction it is), I think, is that it's a good project for handspun. You don't typically have tons of yardage out of your handspun unless you're spinning for a particular project and a hat is a good project that doesn't take loads of yarn. But that's always been true and this has only descended on me over the past couple of months. Hummm...

So, here's the latest in the line and it comes with a bit of a silly story.

I saw this pattern in the magazine. But like any lazy knitter, I saw the pretty picture, didn't read the pattern and chose the yarn I wanted to use. I sat down with said pattern and said yarn and needles to go with said yarn only to discover that the pattern called for a worsted weight yarn and US size 6 & 7 needles. Said yarn was lace weight and chosen needles were US size 3 & 4.

Not to worry, the band is made flat, you just repeat the pattern until it's long enough to go around the head. No problem, right? Actually there wasn't a problem with that part. What was the problem is that said yarn was actually this slightly variegated bfl yarn AND another handspun lace weight corriedale in a solid color that I thought would go with it. I made the band, sewed it together, picked up the stitches for the crown with the solid color, knit the crown (only not floppy like this - it was more fitted), finished the hat and decided the colors definitely did NOT go together. They were sort of the same ball park but off enough to set your teeth on edge.

For some reason I didn't want to rip it out so I went back and picked up stitches with the same yarn I'd used for the band and upped the needle size to the size 4 and I finished the crown. Again. What I ended up with was a double layer hat with a lacy edging and I really quite fancy it!

But before I'd even got the hat finished (the second time), I knew there had to be gloves. I love gloves and the lace weight was the perfect weight for good gloves that you can wear and still move your fingers in. So I used my basic glove pattern working in the lace pattern from the hat band into the back of the glove. You can't see it very well in the photos but just look at the hat. It's the same pattern.

The other thing I finished this weekend as I watched the first three seasons of Leverage (which I am totally addicted to, by the way) is the Tilting Tardis Cowl. This was a hugely clever pattern posted on Ravelry by Marilyn Phillippi. She adapted a Barbara Walker lace pattern to look like little Tardises (Tardi?) hurtling through space and time and I just couldn't resist. I'd started this ages ago but it was one of those projects that gets buried in the stash until the proper time. It made it to the surface this weekend as I cleaned and organized the craft room (and watched the first 3 seasons of Leverage) and I had to finish it.

I don't think it was supposed to be big enough to cover the head but after it was washed, it became this size and I couldn't be more thrilled because I do love this kind of option to cover one's head but then be able to drop it around the neck for storage, as it were. I think I'll be wearing this a lot in the coming months.

Getting through the pile

2011-09-27T21:45:00.000-05:00

A while back I decided to try to start knitting through my handspun stash and I'm finally making a dent. The other thing I've had a hankering for is knitting hats. I'm not really sure why because I'm not a big hat person but for some reason I have this craving for hats. Here's the latest:

You can't see it so well but there is a cabled band around the bottom edge. The advantage of this, which I feel is going to pay off later, is the double thickness of cushy BFL around my ears.

There really is just not enough time to do everything but this is where I'm at on my bobbin lace bookmark:

Some of it has been a little more successful than others but I think it will be pretty. If I ever get it finished, that is. I've got a couple of days off coming up so maybe I can get this finished up and make a dent in my yardage piece. I'm up to 22 inches on that, I think. Or is it 24. But do you think I can find a tape measure? When you only own 15 tape measures, you can't expect to always be able to put your hand on one.

I'm going hunting...

Bits and Bobs

2011-09-18T20:56:00.000-05:00

There's nothing organized about this post, just some things that got started, some things that got finished and some things that are in progress.

First of all, one of the challenges of spinning is figuring out what you're going to do with the yarn and if you have enough for what you'd like to do. A couple of weeks ago, I spun some yarn from batt. I wasn't that thrilled with the yarn but decided I would do a scarf/snood/whatever it came out to be. I cast on in the round and started working up. I decided on the way up that I'd cast on too many stitches so I did some decreases and then started a nice little lace pattern. My mistake in casting on turned out to be a really nice little collar that lays flat across the shoulders. Nice. Once I got to the lace pattern, I decided I would just knit until the yarn finished and then I would stop. Here's what I got:

I'm still not that crazy about the yarn but I've very happy with the final result. The only problem is that it's not quite long enough to cover the whole head. Never mind. It makes a nice scarf anyway.

The second project came out of a conversation I had on Saturday at a birthday party. We were waiting for the birthday girl when I got talking to a lady. In the course of the conversation, we talked about alpacas and how if someone is allergic to wool, they can often wear alpaca. Later in the conversation, we were talking about the cold weather and she made the comment that she looked for a knitted hat last winter and the only one she could find made her itch because it had wool in it. She added that she was always looking for a knit hat with a pom-pom on the top like she had growing up.

Now, as a spinner and knitter, how could I not take up that challenge? It's our goal in life that those lacking in fiber shall have it in the form and manner that would give them most joy. When I got home, I had a look through my handspun stash to see if I had any alpaca that would serve. What I found was a skein of medium grey alpaca singles that I'd spun probably 5 or 6 years ago - 460 yards of it! I decided to go ahead and ply it and then use it for a knit hat - with a pom-pom. I just used a basic recipe for a knit hat and whipped it up. It doesn't yet have the pom-pom because I'm waiting for it to dry but I'm happy with how it came out and I think she'll like it.

This photo is not very good color but it shows the style anyway. You can see the true color in the photo of the snood since it's fitted underneath it on the model. If you're interested in the hat pattern, here's what I did.

With US size 4 needles and a yarn that was probably equivalent to DK or a light worsted, I cast on 80 stitches. I worked knit 2/purl 2 ribbing for about 3 inches. I then changed to US size 5 needles and knit in stockinette for about 6.5 inches more (9.5 inches in all). Once I got it long enough so that it could be turned up at the cuff, I did the decrease this way:

Round 1: Knit 2 together. Repeat around.
Round 2: Knit around
Repeat these 2 rows 2 more times (10 stitches remain)

Cut the thread, leaving a tail of about 10 inches. Using a tapestry needle, thread the yarn through all the stitches twice. I left the tail because I'll use that to help tack down the pom-pom. That's all there is to it. I used double pointed needles but, of course, you could use any technique you prefer.

I have been back working on my bobbin lace projects, too. One of them is an attempt to make an entire yard of a bobbin lace pattern - a challenge instituted by the LACE group I'm in in Chicago.

I've got about 20 inches so far and I feel like a big girl lacer! I'm working on a travel pillow that I made myself using some travel bobbins. Although the pattern is a simple one (as befits my exceedingly amature status), I've had to do things like take out sections where I'd made mistakes, move the pattern on the pillow (which isn't as simple as it sounds) and add new threads as the bobbins have run out of thread.

Colors

2011-09-11T20:56:00.000-05:00

When I was in Kentucky earlier this year, I got a copy of the book, "Poems of Color: Knitting in the Bohus Tradition" by Wendy Keele. I'd heard of this style of knitting but didn't know too much about it. Reading about it and seeing the patterns made me absolutely want to knit one (or 10). The one that intrigued me was one that has a solid color body and a yoke knit with a number of shades of a color, sort of shimmering back and forth through the shades. I'd been wanting to play with blending colors with my hand cards (since I don't have a drum carder) so this seemed like the perfect project.

I decided to do the body in red and do the colors shaded from a yellowish white through to red and back. Seven shades. Like this:

To add to the project, I decided I needed to spin this yarn in the proper woolen manner, which I'm not very good at. The base fiber I used for these colors was blue-faced leicester which I found to be really too long a staple to spin very well from the rolag. You may disagree but keep in mind my lack of experience is a factor here.

I have been practicing other than these skeins with spinning from the fold and spinning from rolags and I think I'm getting better but I definitely need to get some help. When I get some time I need to hunt through YouTube to see some examples of people spinning woolen from rolags because I want to be a little better before I start spinning for the body of this sweater. I reckon I'm going to need at least 1,200 yards of the main red color for the body. Best way to learn is to have a goal, though, so I'm hoping my technique will improve with practice.

Back to the book, the thing I love about this book is that for each of the 7 or 8 styles they have patterns for, each style has a pattern for pullover, cardigan, jacket and hat. I love the flexibility that gives you to explore each pattern. If you want to explore Bohus Stickening (Bohus Knitting) more, start here or do a search on it and see examples of the patterns. Warning: You'll definitely want one!

It's all a Dream

2011-09-10T10:09:00.000-05:00

I had a dream last night. In my dream, I was in a plant room. There were several people there but I don't think I knew them. The lady whose plants they were was playing hostess, answering the various questions about the plants. As the visit was winding down, I found myself asking her questions like, "What's the most unusual way you've obtained a plant?" "Which plant surprises or surprised you the most?" "Which plant gives you the most pleasure?" "Which plant is the most meaningful?"

The questions surprised her and as she started answering them, the plant room, all of a sudden, became more personal. She became more thoughtful and softer as she let the questions take her back to her encounter with each of the plants. She told me the plant she'd obtained in the most unusual way was a little ground plant. As she pointed out a little plant, close to the ground with pinkish, red leaves or blooms or whatever they were, she began to tell me the story of how she was in a cab one day and began to talk to the cab driver, as you do. They got on to plants and talked plants until they arrived at her destination. As she was getting out and paying him for her trip, he reached down into the floorboard, brought up this little plant and gave it to her. He didn't tell her anything about it or why he would have a plant in his cab but he said he wanted her to have it because he knew she would appreciate it.

I could tell that this gesture touched her deeply as her eyes began to moisten. She got hold of herself and continued with her story but I knew that when I asked her which plant was the most meaningful to her, this would be the one she would go back to.

For the rest of the tour through her room and the stories she told me in response to my various questions, she has a deep, satisfied expression on her face. The gift the cabbie gave her that day was working its magic all over again. From that point, too, she was more animated about the history of the various plants, giving the proper and common names for each. (I should tell you that I know nothing about plants and have no idea what names she used - it was probably one of those dream things where I heard whaaa, whaaa, whaa but knew that's what she was telling me.)

I actually remembered the dream when I woke up, although it's fading now, but what I took from it was this. Whatever your passion is, whether it be yarn or fiber, spinning wheels or looms, coins or angels or books, salt and pepper shakers or music or figurines, whatever that thing you have gathered around you, go and pull it out or look around your display cases or pull out your displays, and remember why you started collecting. Really look at it again and remember where you got some of the items. Do they remind you of a wonderful vacation or a dear friend or loved one who gave it to you to feed your passion? Did you just love the colors or the feel of it? Let it give you again, that feeling your first had when you saw it. Was it excitement or satisfaction or humor or love or being loved? Appreciate it all over again.

And if it doesn't give you that same thrill, why not pass it on to someone else and start over with something that you do feel passionate about now, right now, in your life. In the immortal words of Rob Thomas, "No one said we have to keep the things we get." Don't let sentiment hold you back. Keep your fresh passion fresh abd let someone else appreciate the things that once thrilled you.

Plenty o' Cotton

2011-09-05T21:57:00.000-05:00

I've finally gotten a chance to spin some of the cotton my Mom grew for me last year. I keep saying that it's pretty astounding to see how much cotton fiber is on one little bitty cotton seed. I spun a handfun (about 200 seeds) of the homegrown cotton. Have a look at this:

This is the 2-ply skein of about 175 yards of cotton and the seeds it came from. Since it was about 200 seeds, that means, on average, there was almost 2 yards of fiber on each seed. Granted that this has be spun pretty finely but still.

The other interesting thing about this cotton is how much silkier it was than the commercial stuff. I tried to get a photo that would show how silky it looked but I just couldn't get it to show up. This stuff was silky and bright white.

This is the cotton up against the while cormo that's waiting to be spun. I hope the color shows up on the screen. LOVE IT.

Checking in

2011-08-25T22:02:00.000-05:00

It won't stay this way long but for a few days, at least, I've got my life back a little. And no one can say that I'm not making hay while the sun shines.

I finished a spinning project:

I don't really like Etsy. I find it hard to navigate and even when I search on a specfic vendor, I can never get it to come up. But I was on the site the other day and came across this listing. Who could pass that up. I've never spun from a batt and wanted to try it out. A batt, by the way, is simply a form of preparation that comes directly off the drum carder in a sheet like this picture shows. The batt was made up of multiple shades of green merino with tons of silk tossed in for good measure.

I can't say it was the easiest preparation I've ever spun from but I know that's totally from my inexperience, not the fiber preparation. I really didn't aim for a specific type of wool and I had no plans for what to make from it. I just let it be. And you can see what it be. I wish you could feel how soft and squishy it came out.

Now that it's here, I think I'm going to do a winter cowl. Size 7 needles or so, a 1x1 ribbing, in the round, just go until it's gone. Yep, I think that will do nicely.

The other thing I've been rocking is my bobbin lace. I've got several projects in process, including a sampler bookmark and yardage of a simple, beginner edging (since I'm a beginner!). The lace group I've been meeting with from time to time over the past 9 months or so, started a yardage club. To gain entry, you have to complete a yard or two yards (can't remember what they settled on - I'll need to check that) of any bobbin lace pattern you want. Takes more time that you might think but it's a great idea to stretch beyond the old comfort zone. I'm currently at about 10 inches and when I hit halfway, I'll get a photo posted here.

The other thing I decided to try is a beginner project that came in my LACE welcome pack. This is also a wonderful idea. When you join the guild, you get an envelope that has information about the guild like the bylaws, etc., a membership list, a vendor list and this little pattern for a bookmark. I'd never had a chance to try it so tonight I got my bobbins set up, the pattern pricked and ready and here's what happened:

Isn't it cute?! I did that. With my own little hands! It's kind of wonky because I made the rookie move of taking all the pins out right away and spritzing water on it to iron. Just like in blocking a lace shawl, you should really let the project sit under the tension of the pins for at least 24 hours. Most of the time I'm pretty good about that, but for this I just couldn't wait! I'll definitely make this again. Only took a few hours and it's a nice little giftie.

Chance Encounter

2011-08-22T20:59:00.000-05:00

We have a local auction house that has regular auctions on Friday nights. I don't go a lot but I do enjoy going from time to time. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed on their weekly email that they had a "small loom." That was the only description and there was no picture posted. So, after I got finished at work, I headed over to see what this "small loom" was. I knew the area that it would be in so when I got there I made a beeline to that area but I couldn't see it. I looked high and I looked low. Nothing. Of course, the thought that came to my head was, "Small loom is right!"

I eventually found it hidden behind a basket and it was this:

It's a 9" Dick Blick Artcraft 4-shaft loom. The gleam in this little guy's daddy's eye was a design developed by the Structo Company back in 1922. Initially they were toys but came with all the fixings, including prepared warping spools and an instruction manual written by Mary Meigs Atwater, a most venerated weaver of the time. After World War II, I believe, when Structo had changed it's manufacturing output, the loom was put aside. In the 1970s, Dick Blick (the artist supply place) bought the design and put out its version for a number of years. It's all metal and this one had been sitting around a looooong time. I took it completely apart and cleaned every little piece, put it back together and, Bob's your uncle, a truely portable loom.

The last time I was at Yarn Barn, I bought some blue and white linen because I wanted to do a twill study and I thought that would make it interesting. I don't yet have a proper warping board (except on the back of my rigid heddle loom that was unavailable because it's got a project on it) but I realized tha the old weasel yarn winder I picked up at a local antique mall wound the yarn to 94 inches. Well, I didn't need any more than that, so I just wound the warp on the weasel and got the thing warped right away. I even got my twill study started. (to everything there is a time....)

I'm not a very good weaver and I'm more interested in learning about weaving at this point than about making something perfect, so combining what little I know with this nice compact loom has been a perfect match. It can be stored in the corner and brought out when I have a few minutes to work on the study. Ideal!

p.s. If you want to find out a little more about the Structo and Dick Blick Artcraft loom, click here. And here. And here. And here.

Most talented friends in the world

2011-08-17T18:26:00.000-05:00

I have some of the most talented friends on the whole planet. Don't believe me? See what my friend, Cindy, made for me:

This is a Russian-style spindle turned using ebony wood. It's so beautiful and elegant and the wood is super dense giving it a good weight. It has such a wonderful feel to it. We believe this is Macassar Ebony which is why it's not black. All I can say is I'm totally smitten. It's beyond what I ever hoped for.

I picked out the wood when we were at a woodworking shop in Champaign a couple of weeks ago and she gave it to me at spin club last night. I fell so deeply in love that I kicked it up last night with some fiber I had on me and got what you see on the green bobbin done just from last night and a little bit this afternoon. If you want to see how a Russian spindle works (from someone who really knows what they're doing with it), have a look at this video from YouTube:

Or this one:

She also made the Navajo spindle I use most often. She's been making the most beautiful spindles and is getting us all started with this style of support spindle. She's getting so clever with her lathe that it's not leaving her much time to spin! or weave. or sew. The price of fame is often steep!

If Fiber Were Liquor

2011-08-12T21:47:00.000-05:00

This would be smooth 12 year old Scotch.

Since I don't drink, fiber becomes the stress reliever of choice. Last weekend, in an effort to deal with work stress, I started on this tri-color organic, naturally-colored cotton. The previous picture was prior to washing and this is what it looked like after it got boiled with the washing soda:

The difference in color is more about how the cotton darkens after it's washing that about the difference in photo lighting. 250 yards of smooshy, cushy cotton. Hummm...now, what can I make with it?

While I was busy spinning the cotton, there was something busy spinning other things around here:

Yep, and it was really as big as it looks.

Big as a Log

2011-08-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

One of the advantages of knitting things with those really tiny needles is that when you get to do a project with US size 6 needles, they feel like logs and the knitting goes really, really fast. Like this:

The variegated yarn is the Frabjous Fibers silk/merino/cashmere that I spun to (almost) worsted weight and the white is the KnitPicks Gloss (merino/silk) fiber spun to worsted weight. Both were spun on my Kromski Symphony as 3-ply (Navajo plied) yarn with a high degree of grist. I spun them fairly tight with the singles so that the final yarn would have that nice tight twist look. I was disappointed because I lost of some of the softness of the fiber spinning it like this. However, once it was knit up, dang if that softness didn't perk right back up.

I wanted to do a fair isle pattern for the hat but when I did, the colored yarn had enough really light sections that you realy lost the pattern. I discovered that after I'd completely knit the sides of the hat - which was the second knitting of the hat because the first time was using US size 5 needles which proved to be way too small for the project. So I basically knit 3 hats and a pair of mittens in the time it took to watch To Have and Have Not (first pairing of Bogey and Bacall - love that movie) and a couple of episodes of Psych (including the Duel Spires episode which I think is may favorite episode of the whole series - that's for another day, however). Fast.

If you want to make the hat, I used size 6 needles, cast on 90 stitches. I knit 3 rounds and then turned the hat inside out (to get the little brim). I then knit 3 rounds white, 1 round color, 1 round of 2 stitches color, 2 stitches white, 1 round color.

Then I did 3 rounds white, 2 rounds color, 2 rounds of 2 stitches color/2 stitches white, 2 rounds of color.

Next is 3 rounds of white, 1 round color, 1 round of 2 stitches color, 2 stitches white, 1 round color. 5 rounds white, 2 rounds color.

Now do 3 rounds purl (or just turn inside out and knit 3 rounds before turning it back like it was.

To decrease for the top, knit 8, k2 together then repeat all the way around. Because of the way my yarn was variegated, I knit 1 round of color and 1 round of white. You can use whatever color pattern you want. Then the next decrease round is knit 7, k2 together and repeat. I used 2 plain rounds between each decrease round and then continued to decrease as above, i.e. knit 6, k2 together; knit 5, k2 together, etc. for each decrease round. You'll have to see how you go. I continued until I had 8 stitches before I cut the edge and used a darning needle to draw the end of the yarn through all the stitches on the needles and work the end in.

I did a similar pattern for the mittens but cast on 40 stitches, knit 2 rounds white (k2/p2 ribbing) and about an inch of color yarn. I used a basic mitten recipe for the thumb and hand shaping. I did the same patterning as the hat until I got to the hands. I decided to do the color for the top of the hands to echo the color for the top of the hat.

I wasn't sure how it would go but I'm definitely pleased with the final product.

I did run into one intsy littel tinsy problem, however, on the second mitten. I'd spun the white from what I had left over from a batch of the Gloss fiber. I'd been using it for demonstrations and had done some other little things with it. And I almost made it, I really did. I almost had enough for the whole set. But I ended up being short 5 rounds on the second mitten and had to use a commercial wool yarn to finish it off. How it got finished off is a story all in itself but suffice to say, white is not white is not white. I spun some white BFL I had since it would have a similar light reflectiveness. It was white but just not white enough. I thought I wouldn't care, I just wanted the project done. But it was just too different and I couldn't live with it. Fortunately I had some commercially spun wool that was close enough to the color that really the only way you can tell the differenc eis to have a bright light to reflect off it. The silk in the fiber has that silky shimmer to it and the commercial yarn didn't have that. We'll have to see if anyone can pick out which is which!

Next day: I went in to card some blended color rolags and you'll never guess what I found. Yep, another section of the KnitPicks Gloss fiber. Don't it always happen that way. Well, as Andy Griffin said to Otis when Otis kicked the goat who'd ate himself full of dynamite out of the jail cell and made him mad: Otis, 'bout one loaded goat at a time is all we can handle. (Doesn't really apply to anything, it just makes me laugh.)

Lessons

2011-08-01T22:11:00.000-05:00

I learned something interesting yesterday when I scored at a local antiques mall. I found a vintage Weave-it (perfect condition with original instructions, needle, everything) and quite a few knitting books. I had a lot of the books on the booth but I found something interesting.

It took me a minute to realize that, although this is the same baby and the same photo shoot, it's not the same photo. You know how you look at something and know there's something odd but you just can't put your finger on it? This book initially came out published by Bear Brand yarn. Some really cute patterns. But not too far on, Bear Brand must have been bought out by Bucilla because they published a revised version. The original version was 50c and the revised was $1.25 - talk about inflation! But it kept the same volume number and the publication date is the same on both - MCML (1950 if I remember my roman numerals). It must have been a good seller for them to decide to re-publish it.

I know I don't have the most extensive collection of vintage books but I have kept my eyes open through the years. This is the first time I've seen this reworking of a publication although with all the merging, buying out and whatnot that went on with yarn companies in the 30s, 40s and 50s, it's not a complete shock. Kind of fun to see.

I haven't looked closely enough at the patterns to see if they actually updated any of them but at first glance, it appears they only adapted the list of yarns and needles you can use for each pattern.

I did finally get my new doily ironed out, having decided I didn't really need to pin block it at this point:

Can't wait to start the next one.

I thought it'd never end

2011-07-29T21:47:00.000-05:00

Knitting an edging on something round has got to be the most soulless, mind-numbing, feel like it's never, ever, ever going to end task in all the world. Worse than sitting in a traffic jam going home on Friday night until people start walking from car to car visiting with each other (I've been there. I know.). Worse than trying to watch a program that's been shown 42 times a year since 1973 on PBS during a pledge drive weekend because the tv won't turn off and you're tied to a chair with your eyes taped open (OK. I've never had that happen but there's no saying it couldn't.).

The point is that when you're knitting something in the round which ends up with 576 stitches that have to be knitted off individually, two rows to a stitch, even if those 2 rows are less than 12 stitches each, you're sure that you will never finish. It will never end and all the other knitting you did simply counts for nothing because you'll be 82 and still knitting off those stitches. And unless you're 81 when you start the edging and you're birthday is just around the bend, it feels like the ultimate unattainable.

But if you ever reach that pipe dream of having a finished project, I'm here to tell you that you don't wait to work in all the ends. You don't wait until you've washed it and you certainly don't wait until you block it. The first thing you do is this:

You lay it out on something it will stick to so it will hold its shape until you've taken the photo. Pinning out 160 tips of edging can wait. For now, now is the time for savoring.

What I love about being a spinner

2011-07-27T21:15:00.000-05:00

I got a package today. I really needed this package today. I'm so glad the postal worker stuffed this package into my mail slot today instead of giving me one of those little green slips that would have meant standing in line tomorrow morning on my way to work to pick up the package and then not be able to play with it because I was at work. I like our postal worker. She's really good about things like that.

Want to know what was in my package? This was in my package:

And this was in my package:

If you thought that looks just like the fiber I spun for my Margaret Stove shawl, good eye. It is. Just in case I don't have enough to finish the shawl (you can never quite tell with lace weight yarn).

But my story is about this:

Frabjous Fibers Moulin Rouge-colored Blue-faced Leicester. Can you see the shy little pink peeking out of the bottom and the flirty orange and the strong red holding it all together? I think I'm going to like this fiber. I've got here in front of me and this is what I love about being a spinner.

This fiber can be 4 ounces of whatever I want it to be. It could be 4 ounces of fingering weight yarn - enough for a fab pair of socks. Can you just imagine what wild things you could do with this sock yarn? My feet get excited just thinking about it.

Or it could be 4 ounces of lace weight yarn for a really sassy stole or shawl. (By the way, if you're writing the word "sassy" in a public place, be sure all the letters stay together. It's not sassy for nothing.)

Or it could be 4 ounces of a focus yarn that could be used to spice up another yarn. The spice of life, like.

The point here is, this fiber is like the world having it's oyster (and eating it, too). Anything is possible. I think I'm going to have to live with it a few days and listen closely to what it wants to be. I have a feeling that if I don't pay attention to it, it could kick my sassy. And nobody wants that.

2011-07-24T20:03:00.000-05:00

Things have been quiet here on the blog but that's about the only place there's been any quiet around here. I won't bore you with the non-fiber portion of life except to say it's trying to take over. I'm trying to put up a good fight but I'm not entirely sure I'll win.

I have been able to make a little progress on some projects and have even finished a few. Well, one.

This is the silk, merino, cashmere lace weight I spun on my Ashford drop spindle. I didn't have too much of it so I ended up making this little neckwarmer which I loved so much that I hated to give it away. It was like air. Love it.

I did manage to make a little progress on my Tour de Fleece project (although I'm pretty sure the Tour de France is probably over by now - I haven't even had a chance to check). I'm processing a Polypay fleece. I finally got about half of it washed and this morning was able to start carding it up:

All those beautiful little rolags! I've started the spinning but haven't gotten very far. I'm spinning it long draw and have a feeling it's going to be lovely and light and wonderful.

Drink of Choice

2011-07-14T20:40:00.000-05:00

I’ll say first off I’m an American. Well, I’m a Texan and they say that makes me an American. So I’m an American but I don’t like coffee, which makes some doubt my nationality. I don’t like beer and I’m not too crazy about wine. But I do like me a cup of tea. I like hot tea. Black tea. Oolong tea. White tea. I’ll even drink green tea (if pushed).

The reason I’m telling you this is to to show you this:

I can’t remember where I got this mug but I got the teapot in my visit earlier this year to Shakertown, near Lexington, KY. I love that these go together so beautifully. I love the colors and the flow of the glazing. The tans on the lip of the cup are exactly the same as the tans on the top of the teapot. It’s proof to me every day at work (when everything else testifies against it) that something beautiful feeds the soul and brings me a calmness that I can’t always manage on my own.

What I did (and didn't do) this weekend

2011-07-10T22:20:00.001-05:00

I haven't had that many free weekends this year so I've had all kinds of plans for my weekends this month. For instance, the Tour de France started last weekend. In the spinning world, there is a contest known as the Tour de Fleece. I've never joined a team or anything but this year I thought I would and to that end, I obtained a Polypay fleece in Kentucky earlier this year. Here's what it looked like when I pulled it out of its bag the other day.

As you can see, it's really pretty dirty and needs to be tended to before spinning. The plan for the weekend was to get it washed so I could start spinning. So here's what it looks like now.

Yeah, there's nothing different about it. I never got round to it.

What I did, however, was work on a variety of lace patterns from vintage patterns to see if they would work for my lace knitting class coming up in August. Here's the apple leaf lace pattern:

That funny little jog in it is where I decided to start the pattern over again. It's not blocked but you can see the pattern pretty well. This was one of those difficult patterns because the written version is so wordy. Every time it came to the stitch described, "Slip one stitch, knit one stitch, pass the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch," that's what it said. Once you got that stitch in a row 4 or 5 times, it made it fairly hard to follow. I tried to chart it out but that didn't work so well either since you change the number of stitches in a row several times over the pattern. Anyway, it's pretty. I think it would be a gorgeous pattern for a bedspread.

The other pattern from the same book that I tried was called the rose leaf pattern. (ahem...edited to say "rose" instead of "rise" because I don't think there's any such a thing as a rise leaf)

It's a little harder to see the pattern here when it's not blocked but I think you can see most of it. This is 2 repeats of the pattern, which I think would make a lovely, lacy top.

And finally, in the "I liked it in the roving but didn't like it in the yarn but I like it again when it's knitted" category, this is the frabjous fibers silk/merino/cashmere yarn that I spun on the drop spindle being knitted into a lacy scarf.

I would have never in hundred million thousand years have thought this yarn would have knitted up like this. How gorgeous are those colors and the flow of the colors? I didn't like the yarn and thought I'd just knit this up for someone but wowser. I'm still planning on giving it away but I've got more of it that I'm spinning and I'm suddenly looking much more forward to finishing that yarn now.

More finishing

2011-07-04T21:49:00.000-05:00

I've now finished all but one of my recent in progress spinning projects. Here are the latest finishees:

The first is camel. I wasn't at all pleased with the singles (per the aforementioned lack of skill with the long draw) but once I got it plied and washed, I'm much happier with it. It really did soften right up. There are still spots that are too thin and too thick but the majority of it is quite tolerable now.

The other yarn pictured here is some silk that I was given during a workshop on spinning silk. I don't remember why I was given it but it spun up so pretty and soft. I know exactly who it's going to but I won't say in case she sees this post.

And finally, let me introduce you to the blue stuff. This is merino fiber I bought at a shop in Champaign sometime last year. In fact I forgot about it because it was hanging right in my face instead of hidden in a tub in the fiber closet.

I wanted something really fluffy and bouncy out of this fiber. I'm getting a little better at spinning a thicker yarn. This is probably a light worsted weight with about 200 yards out of 4 oz. I did a fairly high twist on the singles and plied it with a tight grist. Here's a closeup:

I think it's going to be great for a hat and mittens. Hat and scarf? Definitely a hat.

Finishing Up

2011-07-02T11:57:00.001-05:00

For some reason, I've been on a big finishing binge lately. I finished up a drop spindle project so I could have the skein for the class I just did at 365 Days on a Farm in Eldridge, IA (which was tons of fun, by the way):

I finished a bump of Louet Northern Lights wool that I've had on the Hitchhiker spinning wheel:

This is going to be used in a project with some black merino I'm going to spin one day. I'm picturing a fair

isle yoke sweater with the black background and this wonderful gold/orange/red yarn as the pattern yarn. Now I just need to get the black spun!

Then there's this funky yarn. I bought this wool at a place in northern Illinois because I loved the colors - so tropical and luscious. When I started spinning, however, I discovered the fiber was a really poor preparation and was yucky to spin. I did a small skein from my first experiment and gave it away because I didn't like it.

But the fiber kept laying around and I finally decided if it didn't want to spin regularly, I'd spin a novelty yarn with it. So here's what I came up with:

Finally, here's a skein from the final bag of Kickapoo Creek Alapaca fiber - a mixture of alpaca, merino and silk. She always had her fiber prepared in a "cloud" which is not even close to being my favorite preparation. I'd bought this fiber probably 4 years ago and had started spinning on it about 6 months ago. Since it was on the bobbin, it got caught up in the fever.

I decided, since it's such a soft mixture, that I wanted to spin a worsted weight 3-ply that would be light and fluffy. It actually came out just a little lighter than worsted but I'm really pleased with it. I spun this on a medium ratio and then plied it on a slightly higher ratio. The thinking behind this is that when it's plied, you lose some of the twist from the singles. When you ply on a higher ratio, you lose more of the twist. That makes the yarn looser and lets the softer qualities come forward. This photo is the skein before it's been washed. Once it's washed it will fluff up wonderfully and I want to use it for a cowl. I see a ribbed fabric just slightly fluted at both ends.

Not pictured here because they're not quite finished yet are a camel yarn that is in the process of being plied on the Minstrel and some Clun Forest that's being worked on the Fricke. I don't have high hopes because I didn't do a very good job with the singles. Comes from not being very good at the long draw. I've been practicing, though, and I think I'm getting better at it. The aforementioned Clun Forest, the Cormo I'm spinning and the Navajo Churro/Mohair fiber I'm spinning with the Navajo spindle (which I'm almost finished with, too) are all using the long draw so I'm getting lots of practice.

It's very satisfying to get things finished but I always get a little, ummm, sort of, well, shall we say driven. Gotta go finish my camel.

Spindle spinning

2011-06-23T23:08:00.001-05:00

In preparation for Saturday's class in Eldridge, IA, I finished a skein of merino/silk/cashmere fiber that I'd started on my last trip to Texas. Unfortunately I hadn't worked too much on it but this got me motivated.

This is just off the spindle and pre-washed so it's still pretty jumpy. It's spun quite fine and has 2 plies. I weighed it before I threw it in the wash and it topped the scales at 3/4 ounce (11g) and spun to 120 yards. That works out to the equivalent of 2,560 yards to the pound. Now part of that is the fineness but some of that is because the silk and cashmere are supremely light and soft and cozy. I can't wait for it to dry. This is the same fiber as I used to spin the fingering weight that I'm going to use to make fair isle patterned gloves.

I have to say, I wasn't so crazy about the colorway for myself but it will make a great gift for someone. I'm planning to knit a scarf using a nice, basic, balanced lace pattern like a feather and fan or some such. I think the movement of that sort of pattern will make the most of the color movement in the yarn. I'll keep you posted.

You know, I'm seeing more and more of the merino/silk and merino/silk/cashmere blends. If you've never tried them, I would encourage you to do it. Although the cashmere is short stapled, when it's mixed with the merino and silk, both of which have a longer staple, the spinning isn't as challenging as you'd think. And it can't be anything but rewarding to have something so decadent in your hands as the final yarn is.

Spindle Spun

2011-06-17T22:09:00.000-05:00

I've been emailing with Tammy over at 365 Days on a Farm in Eldridge,IA, and we've decided to do a drop spindle class in her store next Saturday, June 25th. She's had several people interested in learning to use a drop spindle and we talked about that quite a bit when I was there several weeks ago. I'm not positive what the final participant fee will be but if you're anywhere near the Quad Cities area (or want to drive over from further afield), we'd love to have you join us.

The class will focus on beginning on a drop spindle but I'm sure we'll have some folks that will be ready to take their spindling on to greater heights. If you're interested in the class, give Tammy a call at 563-285-9985.

Speaking of spindling, meet my newest spindle:

In case you don't recognize it, it's a vintage-looking door knob that I found at Hobby Lobby. You have to make sure the hole goes all the way through the ceramic handle then take the hardware out. You also want to try to make sure it's as balanced as possible. I've got another one I did that's okay but not really great. Just a little unbalanced but it makes a difference. Put it on a dowel that fits snugly, shape the top and bottom of the shaft and, woohoo, you have a spindle.

You can't see the top but I've just done a simple notch near the top so I can attach the yarn with a half-hitch. For the bottom, I just sort of smoothed it out so it would spin nicely. Then I sanded the shaft a bit, dipped it in some tung oil (and wiped off the excess). It's the most amazing supported spindle I've ever seen for spinning. In my little bowl, it spun last night for more than 90 seconds. Perfect. I've got some cotton on it right now and the spindle exceeds my ability to do the long draw but it's certainly helping me since I'm not having to draft AND fight to keep the spindle spinning. It's my new favorite spindle. Plus it's pretty!

The new spindle is posing with some bamboo yarn/thread that I spun on my Symphony last night. I've never enjoyed my bamboo fiber spinning experiences but last night I got an inspiration to try it on the Symphony and it was love at first site, fiber to wheel, wheel to fiber. My fiber wasn't well prepared (by me) so there was some diameter issues but I think I know how to solve that. Now I want to do enough to make a little bobbin lace project. I think this will work really well with bobbin lace. This picture isn't very good but it shows a little more how fine it spun up.

Doing too much

2011-06-13T21:43:00.002-05:00

You know you're doing too much when you get up in the wee hours of the morning to go to an event 3 hours away and get halfway there before you realize the event is NEXT weekend. So I've been doing a wee bit too much and I was hoping to slow down a bit this summer but somehow that doesn't seem to be happening. It wouldn't be so bad if my day job weren't getting in my way.

And in case I get bored this summer, the Lace Knitting class at Three Sisters Folk Art School has been rescheduled for August 19-21. We're going to be able to spend a whole weekend exploring the knitting of lace. Whether you're ready to stick your toe into the pond or if you've been knitting lace and just want to take it a bit further, come join me for the class.

I have, however, been able to get a few things done.

One thing I've done is found a new yarn shop in the Quad Cities area. They've just had their grand opening and it's definitely worth popping in for a visit. It's called 365 Days on a Farm. They've got some really nice yarns and are also going to carry fiber and spinning equipment. I had a really nice visit with them and may, if we can get it scheduled, do a couple of classes with them later this year. Their focus is going to be on American-made yarn and fibers. They hope to be able to highlight fiber and yarn made from fiber from local farms as they build their inventory. Really nice folks. (They're at 116 W Davenport St in Eldridge, IA. Go. You'll thank me later.)

While there, I saw the funniest thing I've ever seen. A young local knitter decided she wanted to make her featherly-challenged chicken a sweater so Tammy decided to help. She had pictures that she'd printed out from some blogs. Have a look here...and here. I laughed and laughed and laughed. A chicken wearing a sweater. You can't hear but even now I'm laughing. A chicken wearing a sweater. Sounds like the punchline of a joke, right!

Speaking of lace, I'm getting along with my lace doily. The main section was 106 rounds of lace knitting. With 576 stitches on the final section, that's a load of knitting. I've been debating whether to continue on with the edging the pattern calls for...

As you can see, the edging is a ruffle. But, honestly, can you ever see me getting it to ruffle properly? In case you don't know, I'll tell you. No, I wouldn't. I was contemplating doing it. Really I was. But then I realized that to start the ruffle, you have to double the number of stitches and the thought of knitting 40 rounds of 1152 stitches made me realize that if you're never going to get it to ruffle properly, you probably shouldn't attempt it. Plus I'd like to finish it before the end of the decade.

So I had a look through my other books and here's what I came up with...

I'm quite happy with how this edging goes with the pointy-ness of the doily pattern. In fact, after it gets blocked, I think it will suit even better than the original pattern. Even if it's not 1152 stitches around.

What I did on vacation

2011-05-30T22:35:00.000-05:00

Life has been so busy this spring that I've hardly knit a stitch but I got some vintage magazines given to me the other day and came across a knitted doily that I just couldn't pass up. I started this on Saturday:

It's been a lot of fun and I love the fact that there's some variety in the textures in each of the petals. It's worked in size 30 thread on US size 0 needles. I'm debating about doing the ruffle. It's pretty in the picture but in what universe am I really going to be able to get it to ruffle right? We'll see.

The other main thing I've been working on is a great big ole square of garter stitch. Okay, it's not a square yet but it's going to be a square. Normally I hate knitting garter stitch but in this hand spun yarn with the movement of colors, it works, I think. The problem is that I've run out of yarn (twice).

Actually, I knew that would happen but, whereas I'd kept up with the spinning and knitting, I have now run out completely.

I don't want to go too far with the spinning, though, because I think I'm going to do something a little different with the border and the edging. I'm almost ready to start plying for my third round of knitting but I think I need to add a little more of the brown back into the second bobbin of singles. I have to say, though, that I'm really loving the whole process of spinning and knitting this shawl.

I did find some turquoise merino roving at the KY Sheep and Fiber Festival that I've started spinning. I'm wondering about using that for the border and then spinning the browns that I've taken out of the second bobbin of the singles for the original yarn for the edging. I think I'll have to have a think about that. I'm just thinking the solid turquoise would show up the lace knitting so much better and then the brown will ground it all in the edging. We'll have to see.

Home again, home again

2011-05-23T22:36:00.001-05:00

But can't wait to go back.

I’ve had a fabulous long weekend. I was in the beautiful city of Lexington, KY, for the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival. But since I was going to be all the way over there, I decided to spend some time just enjoying the area. Last year when I came, there wasn’t much time to see anything.

I drove down on Thursday, a nice leisurely drive down. On Friday morning, I headed down to Berea, an area that is famous for folk art. While there was beautiful woodwork, pottery, glasswork and some quilting, I’m a little surprised that there are not more textile arts in this part of the country. I’ve visited several folk art places in Kentucky and haven’t seen even very much weaving, never mind knitting or other textile arts.

After Berea, I headed over to Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill. I’m in love. This is the most wonderful place and the most wonderful people. This was a strong, functioning Shaker village that was active from about 1805 until 1910. At its height, there were approximately 450 people in 5 or 6 communities. In 1910 it closed down but it wasn’t until the 1950s or 60s that the non-profit was formed and they started buying back the land and restoring the village. Amazingly, the buildings that are there are the original buildings, not reproductions. There were all kept standing and have been turned into, not only display places but also guest rooms. There were wonderful crafts and room displays, etc., but the most fun was a little ride through the village in a horse-drawn buggy with an interesting fellow that was able to give all the history of the place and has been there for many, many years. You can easily see how connected the staff is to the place.

The biggest highlight, even more than the buggy ride was the sheep shearing demonstration. The guy who did the demonstration is 77 years old and some of the younger guys who shear with him say that he can still out work people half his age and that he is a living legend in the shearing world. He was quite the character. The sheep he was demonstrating on were Polypay sheep, which is a relatively recent breed developed from crossing Dorset, Rambouillet, Finnsheep and Targhee. It was fascinating to hear him tell the story of why each of the breeds were worked in – have a look here for more info.

(That's my fleece he's holding up!)

Of course, the reason for the trip was teaching a class at the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival on Spinning for Lace. I had 6 ladies in the class and everyone seemed to have a good time. The basis of the class was looking at the 3 elements that will set you up to be successful at spinning lace:

Equipment – getting your wheel set up so that you’ve got lots of twist going in and very minimal pressure on the yarn being pulled onto the bobbin.
Preparation – preparing your fiber to give you the best set up for spinning a light-gauge singles.
Technique – using a technique that will either complement the fiber being used or achieve the sort of effect you want for the finished yarn.

They did such a great job and it was a lot of fun to see the excitement in their faces when they achieved a yarn they never expected they’d be able to make. To me, that’s the joy of teaching. That grin and giggle and excitement is what makes me love to teach.

It’s been hard not to include 43 photos here because the countryside was so beautiful and the Festival was so much fun. So here are a few that will give you a taste. You really need to plan on hitting this Festival next year, for sure. This was only their second year but it was so well done and with so many interesting and varied vendors. There were demonstrations and animals and fleeces and fiber and wood and so much more. The organizers did a fabulous job.

I also want it known that I showed steely self control because I did not come home with a mohair fleece, nor with a Cormo fleece, nor with a Jacob fleece, nor with any other fleece except the Polypay. I did not come home with a new spinning wheel (although I finally got a chance to try out the Spinolution – which has the most clever travel wheel you’ve ever seen. Not sure how much I liked it but it was definitely interesting) nor with a handmade table loom or shuttles or baskets. If that’s not an iron will, I don’t know what is. I am, however, planning to go again next year to get all the things I missed this time!

This time for sure

2011-05-16T22:16:00.000-05:00

I tried several times during the week to post but blogger was down for a couple of days and I'm still having trouble uploading photos. Hopefully this will work.

I just got back from Chicago where I was doing a tatting class for some of the folks from the LACE group. There's going to be a beaded tatting class at the Lace Days on June 18 (actually this class is going to be the day before - see info posted on the above link) and some of the folks wanted to get in a lesson on tatting before they got to this more advance class. There were also a couple of sisters who joined us, one of whom I met at TLD Designs where she was teaching an enameling class. They were all the biggest hoots. We laughed all day long. And the best part is that every single one of them tatted.

It's not all going to be comfortable the first day you learn something new like this but they did fabulously! Practice makes it more comfortable. I love it when you get a room full of people who are willing to try just about anything.

Our hostess, Nancy, was definitely the hostess with the mostest and I deeply appreciated her offer to put me up on Friday night so I didn't have to drive up and back in one day. Thanks, Nancy. You're the best!

Before we got started, we got entertained by an acrobatic squirrel:

In case you can't see, he's got his back leg hooked over one of the stands for the birds. He was in high cotton, you can bet.
The table was set up ready for the gang:

We were moving too fast to get actual class in action photo (for some reason, I never think about taking photos while I'm running around the table!). But we did get this one photo before everyone headed off:

I can't even tell you how much we laughed. That's definitely the way to have a class!!!

Next up, the last event in my busy, busy spring, is the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival in Lexington, KY. This is a new event with this being, I believe, only the second annual. If you're anywhere near, you definitely want to come out. There are a ton of vendors, demonstrations and classes all day Friday and into Saturday morning. I'm doing a Spin for Lace class on Saturday morning and there are only a few places left. I'd love to see you there!

Little bit of lace

2011-05-07T21:24:00.000-05:00

One of the things I got on my trip was a dvd on bobbin lace and I've finally gotten around to watching it. It came with 5 patterns which she goes through step by step. It's been a great help. Here's my first project from it:

Again, the first part of it is a bit rough but I'm really sort of pleased with the rest of it. I'll have to find a wee square of linen to sew this onto and it will be my first real project.

I Learned Something

2011-05-02T21:58:00.002-05:00

I learned something last night. I was watching a video on bobbin lace when the teacher described how to tie bobbins together after you've taken them off of a previous project. Sometimes you still have plenty of thread on the bobbins and you don't want to waste it. Here's what she said to do:

You've got two ends of thread that need to be connected up.

Take one of the threads and make a slip knot in it.

Now that you've got one slip knot, you're ready to attach the second thread.

Insert the second thread through the slip knot, leaving a short tail.

Pull the end of the slip knot until the knot is pulled tight. You might even feel the knot pop as it incorporates the second thread.

Now you've got a nice tight almost unnoticeable knot. You can trim the ends very short and go on with your work.

Pretty nifty, huh? It seems so cool although I'm sure that everyone else probably knows the trick already. It was new to me and I'm dead chuffed to have learned something.

All in a Day's Work

2011-04-28T10:01:00.000-05:00

I know this will shock you but I always overestimate what I can do in any one given period of time. But I have managed to finish the bobbin lace doily I was working on:

When you work a square doily like this, you work it in 4 triangle sections. The only reason I don’t throw up my hands and walk away is that I got a little bit better in each subsequent section. Just a little bit but that’s okay. Now I’m going back to straight pieces, both because I they’re not as complicated as working around like this and because I need a little bit of a confidence boost. You can see I haven't worked in all the ends. That's for anotehr day.

At the most excellent of all used book stores located in Denton, Texas, I scored the unbelievable. I found 5 bobbin lace books, some as low as $3 and the highest at $13. One of these is regularly on e-bay and other sites for around $75 so I’m feeling very blessed right now and encouraged to move on with the lacemaking.

The other thing I’ve been working on is the handspun lace shawl. Not an exciting picture, I know, but there's only so much excitement you can give to a garter-stitch triangle.

I’ve spun this a pretty light lace weight from Frabjous Fibers Blue-faced Leicester. The 3 main colors that show up in the roving are green, brown and turquoise blue. I happily spun the first bobbin straight from the roving but when I started to spin the second bobbin (it was to be a 2-ply yarn), I realized that I was going to end up having brown in 2/3 of the finished yarn and that didn’t make me happy. It’s a pretty brown but I thought it was going to muddy the other colors. So for the second ply, I worked each of the colors and when I got to the brown, I pulled it out and put it aside.

That way, when I plied it, there was some brown but it kept the other colors more pure and that made me happy.
This is the very unexciting (so far) middle of the Thistle and Fern shawl from the new Margaret Stove book, Wrapped in Lace. In a Shetland-style shawl, the middle is worked (often point to point like I’m doing here and often in garter stitch as I’m doing here), then you work a border around this middle and finally you add an edging.

The center here is up to 180 stitches and I have to keep on until I have 254 stitches before I start back the other way. Seventy-four rows of lace weight garter on size 3 needles is a lot of knitting, in case you didn’t know it. I’m not progressing as quickly as I would like. A Jeannie-like blink and it’s done would suit me. I’m not a big fan of the garter at the best of times.

But one thing that has taken me away from progress on the shawl is a little baby blanket for a first grandchild of a friend of mine at work. I just found out about him last week so I’m trying to finish the blanket before his first birthday!

How We Roll

2011-04-26T11:38:00.000-05:00

I was packing to go see my Mom. Usually I sort of throw things in a bag the couple of weeks before a trip as I think about what I need to take. This time, however, I found myself a couple of days before the trip with nothing packed. So one evening I packed. I packed my Hitchhiker (so easy to take and maybe I’ll want to spin). I packed drop spindles – 2 sizes – because I might come across some fiber that will need to be spun and I might want to use a spindle. I packed my new tapestry loom and some yarn because I might want to work on that. Actually I’m pretty sure I’ll want to work on that. I packed my bobbin lace pillow. Well, I packed 3 of them – my cookie pillow that I’m working on a doily with, the travel pillow that I’ve just gotten started with and another one because I might want to start on my yardage club lace (or something else). I packed my lace knitting that I’m doing with handspun. And, of course, I packed my knitting bag and other peripherals. Oh, yeah, I packed my tatting stuff because I’ve got a project I’m working on and I’ve got a class coming up right after I get back so I wanted to work on some stuff there. And a few books for each of the above. Might want to catch up on my reading.

I surveyed the scene.

There were also 4 boxes of books I was bringing for my Mom.

Projects. Check. Books. Check. Clothes. Ummmmmm…. Oops. Looks like I forgot something. No luggage.

I finally got everything ready and packed the night before. Good choice since it was rainy and messy the morning I left (the morning of the day the tornado hit St Louis which I missed because I left at 6am). And I was ready to go.

On the way, I was able to finish the scarf that I was knitting out of handspun merino laceweight yarn. Just need to work in the ends.

And the other item there is the start of a Shetland-style shawl with some laceweight Blue-faced Leicester that I spun. I need to do another post about this shawl because it’s being an interesting journey. This is just a crappy hotel room picture. More on that later. (No, I didn’t knit while I drove – that would be crazy talk – but I had time at the hotel the first night.)

For those who were laughing about me covering all my bases, I did, indeed, find some fiber that had to be spun and was started on a drop spindle:

This is Frabjous Fiber merino, silk and cashmere that is the most amazing fiber I’ve found in a long time. It’s actually white, purple, blue, green – I’ll get a better picture. You know I love Frabjous Fiber but I normally get the BFL. And the lady who owns the shop told me she’d just gotten in this shipment only days before. Good thing she was prepared for me!

On the way, I stopped at a wonderful antique shop in Purcell, OK, and found these:

Knitted lace edging which must have been knit on about a 0 or 00 needle, I think using the Brucilla thread shown here. The other is a strip of handmade torchon lace. Beautiful, no?!

Lace study

2011-04-17T19:33:00.002-05:00

With the class coming up at the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Fesitval, I've been trying to push my limits in spinning lace. Let's be honest. My default yarn tends to be on the fine size.

But I wanted to work some samples with different types of fibers and different direction plies and see what I could come up with for projects for the Spinning for Lace class.

First of all, I put together this group of samples. One of these is a commercial merino lace yarn. The others are all handspun.

(Okay, there are 2 commercially spun yarns. The one on the left is a strand of worsted weight yarn as a example.)

I also wanted to spin enough of one sample to knit something that will show the progress so here is the merino lace. I spun something like 275 yards from 3/4 oz of merino fiber. I can't believe how springy and fun to knit this is.

I spun this on my Kromski Symphony (which is my new favorite wheel for lace weight) at 16:1 ratio. I spun the singles z and plied s. I washed it in really hot water which activated some of the original merino crimp and gave this wonderful bouncy light lace weight yarn. The pattern is feather and fan (with an extra garter ridge running through one of them - I didn't find it until I was way past). I've had to rip out several times and, because I've got plenty of twist in the yarn, it's hasn't been harmed by the ripping and reknitting (and ripping and reknitting - several times). This was less than an ounce and I've got about 10 ounces left so I'm going to be able to do plenty with. And isn't it a pretty color? So springtime!

One more sample I'm going to knit up. This is bfl which puffs up a lot once it's washed so it's never as fine as it seems when you're spinning:

One more and then I promise I'll stop. This is rambouillet from the fleece which I washed lock by lock and spun straight from the lock:

(This is the worsted, handspun bfl and handspun rambouillet fleece.)

P.S. Did you pick the commercially spun yarn? It's the white strand on the left.

Dog Days

2011-04-10T22:48:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine gave me some samples of Longwool Leicester (I'm never sure of the order of the words for this breed) and some chiengora (dog hair + wool) to try out. The LL was not at all enjoyable to spin. It was a woolen preparation which, with such a long staple, made it extremely hard to spin. If it had been in a combed top preparation, it would have been much, much easier to spin but you would still have the fact that it's a coarse wool that can't be used for anything that might be in touch with your skin. It would be find for a rug or placemats if they were woven or even for a tapestry but it would not have been very nice to knit. I'll bet it would take dye wonderfully, though.

But the chiengora (chien is French for dog and this is the name that many people use for yarn made from dog hair/fur) was a dream. It's 25% Samoyed and 75% wool and it's the nicest, non-doggiest feeling chiengora I've ever spun. Not sure what the wool is but the mixture is spinning into a nice, soft yarn.

I'm not trying to get a superfine yarn, just a nice little fingering weight 2-ply. My off-the-spindle sample is laying across the flyer there. You can see the halo already starting and it should become much more pronounced once the yarn has been washed. For those who care about these things, I'm spinning it on my Minstrel on 8.5 ratio whorl. The singles are z so the plying will be s.

Have a look here for more information about chiengora. You can also have your dog hair processed into yarn from these folks. I have no experience with them and don't endorse them. I'm simply providing the link for informational purposes. Here's another link with some info. And here.

Fantasy Yarn Shop

2011-04-04T21:43:00.000-05:00

Several years ago my friends and I had a whole fantasy yarn shop developed. We even found the building we would put it in. So here's how it went. There's a building in downtown Springfield with a candy store in the bottom floor and 3 completely empty floors above.

So the first floor would be all things yarn for knitters and crocheters. There are tons of windows so there would be displays all around with lovely daylight to see exactly what the color of the yarn is. There would be samples hanging everywhere and the samples would be changed out fairly regularly to keep our customers entralled and inspired.

The next floor would be all things fiber and spinning with spinning wheel stations set up where you could try out a dime bag of fiber and, now that I'm thinking of it, a carder so you could blend your own fibers. Again, there would be samples of the fibers everywhere and all the tools one needs to create beautiful, one-of-a-kind yarn. We might even have our own line of handspun yarns that we would sell on the first floor.

The top floor would be classroom areas so we could have classes in all the fiber arts and room to hang out without being in the way of shoppers.

Of course, all of these things came from our favorite things about yarn stores we've been to and some of the things we've experienced that weren't so pleasant that we would change if we were in charge of this world of fiber. We used to talk about this a lot but we haven't really visited it in a long time.

Along this line, I found another building not too far away where I would have a fiber-based art gallery with the beautiful things made by Illinois fiber artists and more in-depth classes.

All of this came flooding back the other day when I was reading the Yarn Harlot's blog post about the rookie mistake of not feeling like she'd taken enough yarn with her on her long trip. Everyone knows you can't buy yarn at the airport. What I want to know is, why not? What better shop could there be for travellers? Needles and other paraphenalia for knitters/crocheters who've broken or lost a needle; stitch markers to replace the ones that rolled down the isle of the plane and you were too afraid to go after them (it's hard enough to explain to people what we do without crawling around on the floor of a plane looking for a little black ring used to help you keep count of your stitches); yarn for those who run out or who need a new project to work on.

So, here's what I would do.

I would open a yarn store in DFW airport. It's the 7th busiest airport in the world with the largest airport train system, it's own zip code, it's own post office and millions of travelers through from every part of the world. Plus my parents live not too far away, I'd be back in Texas and it's my fantasy yarn shop so I can pick anywhere I want.

It would have display windows along the outside with handknits available for sale. Only high class stuff. Colorwork mittens, shawls, lace of various kinds, etc. Much of the store would be stocked with kits I would make up myself and mostly of things that would be perfect for travelers to pick up and work on like socks and pretty scarves with handspun yarn. The kits would include needles, pattern, yarn and any other things needed to complete the pattern (maybe a few beads, a cable needle, hey, maybe even a feather or two). There would also be some kits for larger projects such as a cardigan or a shawl. And then there would be yarn. Loverly soft scrumptious pet yarn. You know what I mean. The yarn that's not meant to become anything, it's perfect just the way it is. The kind of yarn you're just happy to pet and snuggle up to. (I'm not getting too personal, am I?) I'll move on.

There one might also find a spindle or two and some inviting fiber, a book or two and some patterns. There would be room for my little Hitchhiker Spinning Wheel (which is a fabulous conversation piece) and I could spin and knit to my heart's content and meet and talk to people from all over the world.

And I would have classes. Come in and learn on your way to your connection. Make the trip all worth it. Jump in the water's fine. Need help with a pattern? No probs. Didn't buy the yarn from me, I'm not surprised because I'm in an airport. No worries.

And finally, I would have a monitor inside my little airport yarn shop that would play non-stop old movies. Pre-1950's movies, black and white, film noir, slapstick comedies, silent shorts.

That, my good friends, would be heaven.

Rabbit Trails

2011-03-27T21:13:00.000-05:00

I was so looking forward to this weekend since it's the first one in a long time when I had nothing planned. No meetings. No trips. Just a chance to work on the things I want to.

I had a list of things that I wanted to work on. A lace project, finish my weaving project, spinning project, start a new bobbin lace project, etc.

What I actually did, however, was spangle 48 bobbins:

Stain 48 bobbins:

And varnish 48 bobbins.

What that started was something I hadn't planned on. While I searched out the supplies to spangle my bobbins, I found a number of jewelry beading projects that had been sitting there for who knows how long. Sooooo...

and

Plus another necklace and bracelet I don't have a photo of. A whole new jewelry wardrobe, if spring ever does come.

The 2 necklaces at the botton of the last photo are special. I know they look like plain beads but they were my Grannie's beads that I've restrung. I used some of them for my bobbins and the rest I restrung. The strings were falling apart and I was afraid to wear it for fear of losing the beads. Now they're back into shape to be worn.

The Fascinating Mysterious World of Bobbin Lace

2011-03-24T08:55:00.003-05:00

As you may know, I've been learning a little about bobbin lace. It fascinates me to no end. Not sure why. It's not something I've always dreamed of doing or something that I really knew anything at all about. It kind of snuck up on me and bonked me over the head with the "kit from hell." (Not my term for it. It's how it's known in the lace making world.)

At a fiber festival last October, I saw a beginner bobbin lace kit from a company whose name starts with L. Like I said, I didn't know the first thing about bobbin lace but it promised that it had everything one needed to begin and I believed them.

Unlike many other kits and whatnot, I actually opened the kit, got all the stuff out, read the directions, and boom! Everything ground to a halt. Worst Directions Ever for a Beginners Kit. And the award goes to......

You guessed it. This kit. The supplies were fine but the instructions were horrid. I did remember, though, that one of my volumes of Weldon's Practical Needlework (Vol 11) (published between about 1890 and 1910) had something on Torchon Lace so I dug it out and amazingly, it had better directions than the kit. So I used the materials from the kit and the instructions from the Weldon's, I started out. I later found a very good book at my local library (which they've now lost).

Now that I've been practicing a little, I've found some other books that give even better instruction and, best of all, I've found a group of lacemakers from whom I've learned more in 2 meetings with than I could have learned on my own in 5 years. Because it's such an obscure craft, finding information without having those people around is really hard. The L.A.C.E. group has been wonderful.

But, also because this is a bit obscure, I wanted to share what I've learned about the craft.

Lacemakers use pillows. But the pillows tend to be made out of straw or a particularly forgiving type of styrofoam called Ethafoam. And they're all different shapes. Depending on the type of lace you're doing, you might use a cookie pillow or a bolster pillow or a roller pillow. Click here to see a variety of pillows used. As in other of the the tools, the type of pillow is closely tied to the type of lace being made and the region where that lace was perfected.
Lace is made with bobbins. More correctly, lace is made with pairs of bobbins. No matter which type of lace you're making, patterns will always use pairs of bobbins. You only work with 2 pairs of bobbins at any one time, although the real lacemakers work so quickly, you might not realize that's what they're doing. Here's an interesting video that shows the basic moves of the bobbins (you can work it "hands up" or "hands down" - who knew?).
But there's more to the bobbins than you might guess at first. The look of the bobbin will indicate where the bobbin shape originated. The 2 main categories (although there are tons of sub-categories) are English and Continental. (Does that sound familiar to any of you knitters out there?) Have a look at this website for the wide variety of bobbins. Click here to see the Continental bobbins and here for the "Midlands" and "Honiton" bobbins. And then click here for more of the English style bobbins. These tend to be decorated with "spangles" on the end like this:
The different types of laces you might hear about are Torchon (what I'm learning and what seems to be an entry type of lace), Honiton, Brussels, Guipure (such as Saxony, Cluny, Maltese and Bohemian), Bucks Point, Tønder, and more. They all have things that distinguish them but I'm not sure what all that is at this point.
The thread. Some laces tend to be made out of ultra-fine thread such as 180/2, which is probably a bit finer than sewing thread, I would imagine. But you usually wouldn't use anything much heavier that size 30 thread for traditional lace. Maybe that was the hook. You know I'm a sucker for anything with a fine thread, right? (Those of you who just said I'm a sucker for anything with thread should just hush or I'm coming to see YOUR stash.)
Bobbin lace making was a staple money maker for lacemakers in England, France, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Italy and in the early history of the US. It is still practiced in all those countries as well as in Australia.

It really is an abosorbing craft, not practiced by many. But I would recommend looking out for lace makers in your area and see if you don't accept a serving your own self.

From an earlier post that never got posted:

I've crocheted doilies and I've knitted them and tatted them now I'm bobbin lacing them. This is my first attempt at something other than a straight line and, as usual, I've met with mixed sucess. But I'm enjoying it and that matters the most of everything.

What I'm doing here is Torchon lace on a round, flat cookie pillow (which is basically a type of styrofoam covered with cloth), and I'm using the beginning bobbins that came with my beginner kit.

The pricking (pattern) is copied from the Torchon Lace Workbook onto colored cardstock and then covered with clear plastic to keep the ink from rubbing off onto the thread. (By the way, this is one of the books that's highly recommended for starting and which helped me a lot but it's out of print. If you keep your eye out, however, you can snag one for about $20.) I'm using 10/2 cotton, aka bedspread weight cotton. It's not the usual thread used for lace making but I have plenty of it, it's a light color and it's a light enough weight to make the largest version of this pattern. So 10/2 it is.

As each stitch is made, a pin is inserted in the place marked on the pattern to keep it in place and to help make clear turnings when you're changing directions. This pattern uses a half stitch, a full stitch, a Torchon ground and a cloth stitch. The half stitch and the full stitch are used in the making of the ground and the cloth stitch.

The thread was really too heavy for this pattern but, once again, I learned so much that it was worth doing it first with this thread so I could figure out how to turn the corners and work my way around. This one isn't really fit for anything other than learning but the next one will be better and I'll actually let you see the finished product!

Upcoming Classes

2011-03-22T21:01:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy, busy year so far and the next couple of months will be no exception.

Here are the classes I've got coming up.

First of all will be Three Sisters Folk Art School in Chillicothe, IL. The classes during the weekend of April 15-17 will include a class on Knitting Lace. This is going to be such a luxury to have the whole weekend to spend on knitting lace. Classes will start Friday evening, go all day Saturday and to mid-day on Sunday. All lace, all the time, baby. There will be a number of other classes going on, too, so get a group and hit all of them!

Class List
Lace Knitting
Needle Sculpting an Art Doll
Pinhole Photography
Sewing and a Little More
Introduction to Lathe Work
Woodcarving
Fine Metal Clay & Jewelry Making Techniques
Traditional Rug Hooking

In May, a class on Spinning for Lace has just been confirmed for the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival. They haven't posted the workshops yet but info will go up next week. Keep an eye on the link above for registration to open. By the way, there are going to be a boatload of vendors there with all things fiber. Definitely worth a trip to Lexington, KY. The other cool thing is that the Festival is tied to the Bluegrass Classic Stockdog Trial. I had a ball there last year. Here's the scoop on the class:

WORKSHOP: Spin for Lace

INSTRUCTOR: Dianna Smith

DATE: Saturday, May 21st 9:00 am – 12:00 Noon

DESCRIPTION OF WORKSHOP: Learn a few “tricks of the trade” that will help you spin a lighter gauge, and consistent yarn. Students will learn techniques for spinning different types of fibers and different types of fiber preparations to achieve the best yarn for knitting lace.
SKILL LEVEL: Students should have basic spinning skills.
WORKSHOP FEE: $ 45
MATERIAL FEE: $15
MATERIALS NEEDED: Spinning Wheel or Spindle, 3 Bobbins, Niddy Noddy

Just the Cutest Thing

2011-03-17T21:25:00.000-05:00

Let me show you something...

No, I haven't bought a new spinning wheel but if I'd seen this for sale, it would have been really, really hard to pass up. I don't know if it functions but it's the cutest thing I've ever seen and it weighs about an ounce. Goodness me.

It's actually just passing through. Evidently there's a little network out there that will get antique wheels from one end of the country to the other. I believe this one came from Nevada and is heading to Michigan. A friend of mine brought it here from Iowa and was supposed to meet someone who could take it to Chicago on the next leg. Unfortunately, that link seems to have fallen through but since I was headed back to the Chicago area this weekend, I said I would take it. And the person it's going to lives just a few minutes from where I'll be meeting with the LACE group. Cool, n'est pas?

I feel honored just to have fostered this lovely little thing in my home. Fair trip, little spinning wheel.

Overshot Weaving

2011-03-13T20:27:00.001-05:00

We've just finished the workshop on Overshot Weaving with Vicki Tardy and what a weekend. My brain is so full, it's overflowing. What everyone said about her it true - great teacher, knows her subject back and forth and every which way. She takes all the mystery our of it and makes it an adventure!

I used a whig rose pattern and here are some of the samples I was able to get done:

The first one here is my regular pattern woven as drawn in with handspun Border Leicester, then with purple zephyr (wool and silk lace weight).

These are variations of the pattern using variations of the pattern and a variety of pattern threads.

This is the same pattern using a brocade variation (on the left) and 2 variations of the pattern woven "treadled as twill."

It's all in the teacher, I assure you. I can't wait to work the remaining warp. Look, Ma, I'm weaving!

Warm Hands

2011-03-10T22:37:00.000-06:00

Back in February, the Yarn Harlot had a post about knitting mittens from unspun silk hankies, also known as mawata. I had heard about doing this before but seeing hers gave me that, "I could do that" sort of feeling and, being the possessor of mawata in the undyed format, I decided to truck along.

I got my mawata (have a look at her post because she's got a good explanation of silk and how it gets to be like this) and started drafting.

I drafted more finely than she did. That is, I took the hankie as you see it here, stuck my finger through the middle of it and pulled it out into a big circle. Then I broke the circle open and drafted out until it looked like the strand at the top of this pic.

And I knitted, like she did, just my basic, everyday old mitten pattern until I ended up with these.

Hers were cushy, thick silk mittens. Mine are thinner, not as cushy but every bit as warm (did you read how warm silk is?) and I made mine so they could be an inner mitten. I'll have this lovely silk on the inside and wool on the outside.

Definitely the best of both worlds. (And it's still cold enough to wear them - unfortunately!)

Progress

2011-03-08T08:25:00.000-06:00

After the last post, I did want you to know that, thanks to YouTube, I'm progressing. Woohoo, YouTube. I remembered my friend, Jennie, saying that you had to use the 2 shuttles at once but I didn't remember if it was every pass, every couple of passes, every once in a while, everytime I think of you...Wait, I think that's a song. Anyway, I tried a few things and then decided to find a vid because I was sure someone had posted a vid and viola!

Look, Ma, I'm weaving!

I would tell you more but I'm late for work so that will have to wait for the next post (with more pics).

But I did want to show you my finished "travel" pillow for bobbin lace, which I'm getting used to now and think it's going to work:

The pillow is in a self-contained box and the paraphenalia fits into the second box. I've just got to rig a carrying case for the two and I'll be set. I also need to sew a couple more fabric blocs but I'll add as I go along. There's not much progress here but I do now have a section of the lace completed. I've also got this going on. I was told this tread was too thin for this size pricking but I already had the bobbins wound so I'm going to work the length with this tread. It does for my purposes of practice anyway.

This is also a pillow I made. Well, most of it is. The part I'm working on was the pillow from my original Lacis kit. Beginning steps but, oh so fun!

In Over My Head

2011-03-03T23:07:00.000-06:00

One of the disadvantages of wanting to learn new things is that you so often find yourself in that most uncomfortable position of being in over your head. Boys and girls, I am now officially and undeniably in over my head. A good "friend" has convinced me to take a workshop on overshot weaving. If you've ever seen old coverlets, you're probably familiar with the look, even if you didn't know that's what it was called. Here's a sample:

Pretty but not a beginner technique, I wouldn't have said. And I am without doubt, the rankest beginner. In fact, I'm such a beginner that I could count the number of things I've ever woven on the fingers on one hand and those were on rigid heddle looms. This pretty little pattern is woven with a 4-shaft loom. And that's a different thing altogether (in case you didn't know it).

Now, in my favor I know the following things:

I know what thread is.
I know what yarn is.
I know what a shuttle is.
I know what a loom looks like.
I know what a 4-shaft table loom is (because I just purchased a used one from TLD Designs in Westmont - near Chicago - cool place, you should go) but I first handled one about 4 hours ago.

I know what the parts of the loom are and what they're supposed to do (sort of).
I know people who weave.

No doubt, those are all good things to know and will get me started. Here are some things I don't know (or don't know much about):

I don't really know how to read the weaving patterns. I thought I did until I tried to actually follow one tonight and realized, I don't really know.
I don't know what a block is.
I don't know what a tabby is.
I don't know what I'm doing.

Granted the don'ts are a shorter list than the dos but, let's be real, I stopped because #4 really just covers it.

In over my head, while it can be uncomfortable, is also kind of exciting. I like being reminded what it feels like so when I'm teaching, I'm never very far from that feeling that so many of my students are also feeling. It gives me a lot of patience.

But it's also uncomfortable enough to feel like the weekend after next is going to be a collosal waste of time - mine and the instructor's. But I did get a "mini warp" put on the loom tonight and I've almost got my real warp for the workshop finished measuring out (or whatever weavers call it). Then it's just warping 131 ends of 10/2 cotton (bedspread weight cotton for the rest of us). I have a feeling I'm going to using a lot of terms like "thingy" or "thingymabob" or "jigger whatsit." I have a pretty extensive generic vocabulary and it may get some exercise in the next few weeks.

I used to have a pastor who would say he didn't much trust a leader who didn't have at least one major failure in a sincere effort to serve God (or words to that effect). I've already racked up plenty of those, so what's one more!

P.S. I'm feeling a lot that way about the bobbin lace right now, too. I've finished my travel pillow but attempted a new pattern this week and failed miserably. That's next.

Too Much

2011-02-21T20:17:00.000-06:00

There's just so much going on that it's a bit overwhelming. First of all, I visited (and joined) the Lacemakers and Collectors Exchange (L.A.C.E.) on Saturday in Clarendon Hills (near Chicago). It was a lovely group of folks and I learned more in that afternoon than I've learned to this point, I think. The program was an excellent overview of how to read the prickings (patterns), how to choose thread and pins and bobbins. Although one person was doing the main part of the program, others were jumping in with their preferences and other tips and points. It was so helpful to hear their thoughts since I'm so new to the discipline.

The lady who was giving the program had a nifty little travel set so I thought the inevitable thought that takes up all your time over the next weeks that you think the thought: "I could do that."

So here is my version.

It's not finished yet but I'm really digging the way it's coming out. I still need to sew up the pin cushion in the top (which will go into the bottom of the box for storage once it's all finished). I also need to finish the "skirt" where the bobbins will rest as I'm working. But I think it's going to work, I really do.

While I was up there, I decided to make a weekend of it but you'll have to wait until next week to hear the big news.

But I can show you what I found on the way home. This was at a lovely antique shop called 2nd Time Around Antiques:

Tatted doilies. You hardly ever find proper tatted doilies. After I got them home, I realized that 2 of them are a smaller and larger version of the same pattern. I've got this one written out and I'm making my own version of it.

Fab, no?

Living on the Edge

2011-02-17T19:06:00.001-06:00

I've finally been brave enough to try an actual edging with the bobbin lace.

It's one of those things that you learn as you go so you can see quite a few mistakes until the last 2 repeats. I finally figured out what I was doing wrong and from there it worked just like it was supposed to. Now I've started on a new one so I can get a good length of proper edging. Looks almost like the real thing!

Fortunately, the program at the Lacemakers and Collector's Exchange (L.A.C.E.) on Saturday is about reading patterns (or prickings, as it's called in bobbin lace) for beginners. Yeah, that'd be me. But, like I tell my students, you just have to press through the mistakes and keep going. Don't worry about taking all the mistakes out, just keep pressing on.

Good things come to those who practice and don't freak out about being lousy at something when they're first learning, right?

And let me introduce you to my lunacy.
I, like all of you, don't have an abundance of free time (time not working for the man). Then once I knit, spin, tat, teach classes and preparing for them, go to meetings, oh, yeah and eat and sleep, there's really not much time left. So, of course with all this going on, I figure it's time to take on a few new things. There's the bobbin lace thing but now I've been talked into taking a not-very-beginner (to put it lightly) weekend workshop on overshot weaving (with a 4-harness loom which I've never touched in my life) and now a friend has given me the loan of her smaller harp so I can learn to play the harp. Actually it's the same person who's talked me into both of these things. Do you think she's got a little undue influence over me?

More Bobbin Stuff

2011-02-13T20:51:00.000-06:00

I've been working more with the bobbin lace stuff and although it feels good to be getting some patterns done, I know I'm still just rankest beginner. All you have to do is look at all the mistakes in my latest project. I'm not worrying about it too much because I got the cloth stitches done better than I've ever done before. That's a success, right? Now it's just about practice, practice, practice. This is also the most bobbins I've ever worked with at once (16 pairs) and it takes some getting used to as well.

I'm working here on my new "pillow," one that I made myself. The book I'm working from (Beginner's Guide to Bobbin Lace by Gilian Dye & Adrienne Thunder) gives a description on how to do it and I think it came out pretty well. Pretty well except for the dimensions. I would do it differently another time but I suspect part of that is getting used to it. Here are a couple of other projects I've done from the book. The one on the left is a straight Torchon background using the interplay of the colors as the design element and the one on the right has a Torchon background with larger and smaller spiders. This is the first time I've really been able to understand how these work and I was amazed it came out as well as it did. I love this book and the clear detailed photos it has. That has helped more than anything.

So, I'm going to try and visit a lace group that meets near Chicago and see if I can track down some folks that I can watch and learn from.

Wonderful Workshop

2011-02-07T18:52:00.000-06:00

We had the most amazing workshop this weekend with Patsy Zawistoski, known in spinning circles as Patsy Z. The weekend was a mixture of 2 workshops - Quick Novelty Yarns and Silk, the Queen of Fibers.

Eleven of us showed up for the weekend where we learned all kinds of things.

We tried silk in just about every preparation, we did faux boucle, real boucle, cabled yarns, Lopi-style yarns, core spun, slub/spiral yarns, "illegal" plied yarns (that is, one single with right twist and one with left then plied together), knot yarns. It was really challenging but everyone was able to do each type of yarn, although with varying success!

These aren't all my samples but all I could quickly get my hands on. I found I'm not very good with the slub yarns and there were a couple of others that I didn't get down very well because I didn't have enough twist in my yarn. I knew I had a problem getting enough twist in my plying but I didn't realize that some of that may be because I'm not getting enough twist in my singles.

I like this photo - a good view of spinning up a storm, right!

Springtime is Coming

2011-02-06T21:15:00.000-06:00

In case you don't know it, springtime will be here before we know it.

If you want something to do when the snow melts and the flowers start to bloom, why not plan to join us at the Three Sisters Folk Art School for a whole weekend of classes. (Click here for more information about classes.)

April 15-17 is the date to mark. I'll be teaching a class on Lace Knitting during the weekend, something I'm really looking forward to. If you've followed the blog much, you know how much I love knitting lace and I've got some new inspiration both from spinning and input from the video by Margaret Stove (Spinning for Lace) but also from a couple of new books like Knitting Lace, a Workshop with Patterns and Projects by Susanna E. Lewis and Wrapped in Lace by Margaret Stove.

In the class we'll be starting from the beginning, looking at what makes up lace knitting, the difference between knitting lace and lace knitting (besides the symantics of it all), learning the basic stitch combinations, trying out a variety of different stitch patterns with a variety of yarns and threads. Lace is like any other sort of knitting, It can be very simple and basic or it can be extremely complicated. The great thing is that even simple lace knitting looks fancy! And anyone who can knit can knit lace.

There are lots of different classes including pinhole photography, wood carving and fine metal clay jewelry making. Get some friends together and make a weekend of it!

Ode to My Mittens

2011-02-03T18:02:00.001-06:00

Oh, Mittens, so warm and snug
Who, though not as I thought I wanted,
Have proved your worth.

Oh, Mittens, knit from the yarn
Spun from the wool
On my spindle so fair and so true.

Yarn that betrayed me by
Running when washed only
After the stitches all had been made.

I was ready to send you
To the closet that would have
Been a sentence of invisibility.

Oh, Mittens, who hold back
The wind and the cold
No matter how cold and how strong.

No matter if snow must be shoveled
Or windscreen scraped clean
Nothing can penetrate you.

I sing your worth and your strength
And your warmth.
Thank you, faithful Mittens.
Surprising Mittens.
Worthy Mittens.

Clean Up and Go

2011-02-01T18:14:00.000-06:00

The weekend was good. Really good. Of course, it's now snowing and I just watched the snow plow dump about 2 feet of snow right in front of my car. But the weekend was good.

I managed to get my craft room organized. It will probably never happen again but I can always say it happened once. All of my spinning fiber is organized. All of the silks are in the same bin, all the merino in another, all of the cotton in another. The same for my yarns. All my lace yarn is in one drawer, all of my sock yarn in its own bin and so on. I found yarn that I have no memory whatsoever of having purchased. Don't know if that's because it was purchased so long ago or because I was in a wool stupor at the time of purchase. Six of one...

One of the other benefits of the exercise is that I found 4 different projects that I'd started and abandoned. I loved all of them so I have no idea why they got abandoned but they're out now and moving on. I'll get photos of them in the next few days but what I want to show you now is my latest weaving project because it's been such a surprise.

My idea was to use some self-striping yarn and see what it would do. I had this Fortissima sock yarn that had cotton, wool and nylon in it. I didn't like it for sock yarn but I really liked the colors in it. I also decided that I would use some Trekking XXL with similar colors as stripes to go with the Fortissima. The Trekking XXL goes from white to turqoise in really long stripes and it just adds a bit of structure to the colors in the main yarn. You can really see it in the warp but it does show up in the weaving. I love the sort of broken tartan look to it because of the really long repeats of color in the main yarn. The plan is to use this for a bag. My plan is to use swatch to the left as the strap.

This is only my second project so I'm still learning about what will work but the result has been so fun to watch.

I even managed to get one project finished this weekend (I was a busy little beaver, like I said). If you've got any interest in learning to do bobbin lace, I've found an excellent book called Beginner's Guide to Bobbin Lace by Gillian Dye and Adrienne Thunder. Gillian and Adrienne are a couple of British ladies with mad bobbin skills and a modern outlook. I've got my patterns all prepped for the practice projects and I've started working through them. One of the patterns is for a torchon lace bookmark that looks like this:

Isn't that pretty? Their sample was done with 2 different shades of blue, which I didn't have. So I did mine with a cream and light blue which was a good combination I think. They've got some great tips and some interesting patterns like one for a little purse and one for a scarf using art yarn.

Life Questions

2011-01-23T20:25:00.000-06:00

Among the many important questions one asks about life and being, a new one occurred to me tonight.

Can one have too many handknit socks?
(P.S. This is about 15 pairs and certainly not nearly all of them.)

The other big question I've faced the past couple of years is when to get a loom and, getting a loom, what kind should I get. I have weavers on every side of me all telling me that I should add weaving to my skillsets. Most of them are pretty intimidating weavers (because they do such beautiful stuff, not because they're mean!). But I've finally taken the step and decided this was the year to learn to weave. My Christmas present to myself was a 24" Kromski Harp rigid heddle loom. There are so many considerations as to what to get which I'll get into another day but I'm certainly very happy with my purchase and I'm learning a lot about warping it and choosing yarns for it.

And here's one of my first projects:

It's a loose, plain weave scarf using some zephyr/silk yarn that I had left over from a project several years ago. The scarf is now completed and ready to wear. The reason I started with this is, no matter what kind of job I'd done, it would be gorgeous because the yarn is beyond gorgeous. It's like air. And soft. And a beautiful color. Watch out, weaving. Here I come!

The Day in Pictures

2011-01-19T09:37:00.000-06:00

Just a quick, quick post to give you a link to photos of the Needle in a Haystack day, courtesy of the kind folks at Lincoln Land. Click here to view a slide show.

Weekend Report

2011-01-16T22:10:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure how many superlatives there are in the English language but I think I could use them all from Saturday's Needle in a Haystack event. The facilities were fabulous, the organization was flawless, the classes were an exciting mix and the people who came along were all the loveliness that anyone could ever ask for. The guilds did a great job of their displays and demonstrations.

In case you can't tell, it went alright!

My Intro to the Drop Spindle was overflowing with 12 women who blew me away at how quickly they picked up the spinning. In a mere hour and 20 minutes, minus time for getting in and taking care of class stuff, they were all spinning. By the end of the time, every single one of them had yarn on their spindles and smiles on their faces. We'll definitely be putting this class on the roster. Just think what they could do with several hours. Wow.

There were 5 intrepid crocheters in the Amigurumi Crochet class. There wasn't nearly enough time to get the whole Lazy Bee done but they got a good portion of it done, including learning the magic loop cast on, increases, decreases and attaching appendages. That's a whole lot in that amount of time. They did a great job and I can't wait to see the finished projects.

All of the classes had enough students to go ahead and there were probably at least 80-85 people who participated in the day. An amazing results considering there was so little lead time for the event. In fact up until a week ago, there were grave concerns that it would go at all. But in the last week, everyone started signing up and it was a great day. We all fervently hope the College will see its way to hosting another event next year. THANK YOU, Lincoln Land, Judy and all your staff. You gave us a wonderful experience.

I was so wrapped up in everything, I didn't think to get pictures but I'm hoping some others who took photos will be able to pass some along.

New Video

2011-01-08T23:35:00.000-06:00

I just wrote a whole post that disappeared when I was trying to post it. Never mind. Here we go again.

I've just posted a new video on spinning cotton from the seed so give it a look. Here's the link. It came out of a program I've been preparing for the Prairie Weaver's group this coming Tuesday. I thought this would be a fun way to have a follow up for those who want to go back and practice spinning from the seed (which, by the way, is my favorite way to spin cotton).

I also wanted to remind you that if you've ever wanted to try out spinning with a drop spindle and are in the Central Illinois area, be sure to sign up for my class at the Lincoln Land "Needle in a Haystack" event on January 15th. There's still some room in the class. You'll be able to put together your own spindle, learn the basics of handling fiber and get started spinning. Although the class is a little over an hour, I'll be around all day in the demonstration area and you can bring your stuff over and we'll spin all day. Here's a link to more information about the day and how to get registered. There are lots of other classes, too. Hope to see you there.

Finally finished

2011-01-03T19:24:00.000-06:00

I decided I needed a basic, neutral cardigan (last May) so I pulled out my stock of Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool and got started. I just wanted something simple and I love this yarn more than any other commercial yarn. The price, colors and style is perfect for experimenting with patterns and for any kind of sweater.

It looks a little weird on the dress form but it fits great. The yoke is a bit weird but I kind of like it. Actually I'm not bothered by it because it fits and will do what I wanted it to do. I haven't done buttons yet I think what I'm going to do is put snaps down the front instead of buttons and then put an accent button where the saddle shoulder section come together. Might look cool.

Happy New Year, by the way!

An Ode to Split Peas (and other stuff like a 3 needle cast on)

2010-12-30T14:36:00.000-06:00

I had a bunch of ham left over and was trying to think what to do with it. So I whipped out my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook app and came across a Split Pea and Ham soup recipe that was unbelievably easy - once I found the yellow split peas it called for. I followed the recipe and dumped all the listed ingredients into the crock pot last night and got up this morning to the most amazing soup I've had in years. It was all of about 5 ingredients and BAM! It made me curious, though, to find out the difference between the green and yellow peas (nothing) and I found out some really interesting facts. Here's what it says on Wikipedia:

They are a great source of protein and are also a very lean and healthy type of cereal, with only 1 gram of fat per 350 calorie serving. Most of the calories come from protein and complex carbohydrates. The split pea is known to be a natural food source that contains some of the highest amounts of fiber, containing 26 grams of fiber (104% DV based on a 2,000 calorie diet). Fiber is known to help the digestive system and to make people feel full and satiated.

I used to make a lentil soup but hadn't even thought about it for years. I will be making more in the future, I guararntee. Excuse me a minute, will you?

OK, I'm back and I'll try not to drip on the keyboard.

I decided I had enough of the handspun used for the hat and scarf for mittens. Now, knitters will know that these decisions are as often made by wanting something to be true as by being able to prove the thing is true. I was sure. OK, I was pretty sure. Who said trust but verify? I decided to ball the skein into two equal size balls, then I'd be able to handle any surprises.

My second decision was to work the mittens from the tips down, something I've never done before but I decided if I had to substitute another yarn to make up for any shortages, it would be better to do that on the cuff rather than the tips. But, hey, there's not much to a mitten, right? But how to start?

I've heard of 3 needle bind-offs but couldn't that work the other way around? Couldn't you do a 3 needle cast on? I know there are a number of ways to cast on socks and whatever. This is just how I figured out how to do it and here's what it looks like:

First I used a US size 7 double pointed needle (the size the mittens would be made with) and a US size 3 double pointed needle held together and did a long tail cast on to get 10 stitches.
Next, I pulled out the 7. Using the 3 gave me lots more room to work the magic.
Using 2 size 7 needles, I knit 2 stitches from the first stitch on the needle. I knit 1 stitch into the front of the stitch using 1 needle and I knit 1 stitch into the back of the stitch using the second needle.
Then I repeated the process across, giving me 20 stitches. This isn't a great photo of the needles but it will give you an idea of what it looked like in the process:

Finally, I added 2 more needles and put 5 stitches of each of 4 double pointed needles and got ready to go.

Then I just worked backwards, increasing on each side instead of decreasing. When I got to the thumb, I bound off the number of stitches I would have normally cast on going the other way, knit around and then cast on the number of stitches I would normally have put aside on a stitch holder going the other way. This does give you a little ridge at the bottom of the thumb when you have to go back and pick up stiches for the thumb but it doesn't show at all on the outside.

If I get a chance this weekend, I'll write out the pattern as I worked it but it was a very interesting new thing to learn.

Oh, yeah. Did I end up with enough yarn? Of course I did - with about 4 yards to spare!!

Busy Bee

2010-12-27T18:58:00.000-06:00

I've been kind of quiet lately because I've been up to my elbows in projects and/or work (mostly work) but that just means there are reports to be made and even a couple of photos to show.

As I mentioned before, I will be teaching a class on Amigurumi crochet during the Lincoln Land Needle in a Haystack event on January 15th (you can register online here). I have to say, I'm really getting into this. I showed you some project I did earlier here. I thought I might use the little turtle as the class project but in the back of my mind I kept thinking I wanted to do a bee. I couldn't really find a pattern I liked so today I did this:

He turned out to be a happy little bee and cute to boot! I'm pretty sure this is going to be our project.

I also got a couple of project finished up. On the link above, along with the animals, is a scarf I made from some wool I'd spun up. I started a hat but ran out of yarn. Fortunately, I had another braid of roving left to spin. From all that I could see, both braids were the same but when I got into the second braid, I realized that the colors were much mudier than the first and it did not turn out nearly as well as the first batch. I'm so glad I did them in the order I did. But I did get the braid finished, and with it, the hat:

I love it more than I could have imagined. This yarn softened up tremendously when it was washed and I'm ready for tomorrow morning going back to work. I love the vintage, almost flapper look of the hat, too. It was totally unintentional, though, I have to say!

And talking about finishing, remember the felted clogs? I finally got around to actually felting them and something happened that I've never had happen before. First, the felt:

These are shown next to the same shoe as the other. I never get tired of it! But the unexpected thing was that one of the clogs felted much more than the other. You can see the one on the left is larger than the one on the right. I've put it though another felting which helped but it's still too large so another felting will be on the horizon. I just have to be careful to not overdo it and get one that won't fit my feet!!

Ready for Cold

2010-12-19T18:44:00.000-06:00

I got a bright idea last night. I had come across some single ply black alpaca I'd spun several years ago just waiting for the right project. A couple of weeks ago at the Three Sisters Folk Art Guild, one of the ladies had a hat she'd knit of black, using a slightly variegated green in a fair isle pattern. It was so beautiful.

So, I was spinning away on some variegated fiber and had a brainwave that it would look great knit with the black alpaca. Here's what happened:

It hasn't been blocked but it was a little tight so on the brim, I decided to do an i-cord bind off. But as I was doing it, I decided it wasn't going to make it quite loose enough so I went with just doing a knitted off edging (instead of slipping the 4 stitches back to the left hand needle and knitting it from the beginning, I knit the edging back and forth). I really like the little rim it made and it's going to be snuggly and warm. Who's afraid of the big, bad snow. Ha!

A time for finishing

2010-12-13T19:34:00.000-06:00

I guess it fits in with the time of year but I spent a lot of the weekend trying to finish things that had been on the needle for quite a while and to do a project I've been meaning to do for a long time.

I've had several socks on the needles and have been wanting to get them finished so I can wear them. The red pair are made with my favorite sock yarn - Berroco Sox. I love the colors, I love knitting with it and I love how they wear.

The blue pair was started one night sitting at an auction waiting for a spinning wheel to come up. I don't remember what the sock yarn is but it was an experiment of cables. I almost didn't cast on enough stitches but I think it will be better after washing. There is a large main cable running through and then a smaller, more widely spaced cable running between. Fortunately I had finished the second cuff before the socks got put away because I don't know if I would ever figure out what I was doing again!

Finally, the purse. I finished the main section of this purse was competed probably 2 years ago (using Noro Silk Garden). The plan was to felt it and do a beaded section at the top but I finally decided it looked well with these handles. I like the size and the blend of colors and the handles fit it.

One of the few blogs I follow is The Yarn Harlot - Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. She showed a picture of Fiber Trends felted clogs she'd knitted and how many giggles she got from looking at them pre-felting. I made a pair of these about 7 years ago and wore them literally until the bottoms wore out and I'd been meaning to make another pair since those were retired. Here are mine (with a shoe between to show the scale).

Hehehehehe. I never get tired of it!

Needle in a Haystack

2010-12-06T20:48:00.000-06:00

If you're in the Central Illinois area, mark January 15th in your calendar for the Needle in a Haystack event at Lincoln Land Community College. There are going to be classes in sewing, embroidery, knitting, spinning, crochet, quilting and more. There will be 4 class sessions through the day so you can get an introduction into a variety of things.

Even if you can't manage a class come on over to visit the displays and demonstrations being put on by Springfield-based needleart guilds. I've got more info and links to register online at http://www.wandagraysondesigns.com/needle_in_a_haystack. Click on over there. One word. There won't be vendors this first year to give them a chance to really focus on the event itself. But the vision is to take what's learned this year and build on it.

I'll be doing several things during the day including:

Intro to spinning yarn with a drop spindle. You'll make your own drop spindle and then learn the basics of spinning using this ancient tool.
Lunchtime presentation on Crafting in Times of Crises. You can sign up for an onsite lunch and while you're munching down, I'll share some thoughts on how crafters have always met crises with creativity both to meet the needs of those hit by the crises and in the meantime, provide solace to their own hearts.
Amigurumi Crochet. Have you ever seen this stuff? So cute. Here are some things I've done for the class:

The fish and Mr. Beaver came from a kit/book I got at Barnes and Noble called "Creature Crochet." The kit came with everything to make these 2 little guys and the book has 10 more to make, including alley cats complete with trash cans and fish bones with jiggly eyes!

The turtle is my little creation and may be our project for the class. I made it as a little box with a removable shell.

I have to give all the credit to Judy Wagenblast over at Lincoln Land for coming up with this project. It's been a ton of work and they've gotten it done in record time. We want everyone to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity so we can convince them to do this every year!!

I've been getting questions so I'll let you know that I will be doing another shuttle tatting class during the semester. We're going to do it as a 2-part class with a limit of 6 students (in February) then there will be a 1-session "next steps" class (in March) for those who have the basics and want to learn a few new things. If we get the same reception this semester that we got last semester, we'll try to fit in another beginning class later on in the spring.

Hey, while we're on the class thing, I'll be teaching a knitted lace class at the Three Sisters Folk Art School in April. Click here for more info as it gets posted.

Better than expected

2010-11-29T21:11:00.000-06:00

Sometimes when you get a bump of roving, you have a very clear picture of what it will look like spun up and sometimes, not so much. I bought some roving at the Bishophill Spin-in a couple of months ago and really loved the colors. I spun a little sample and andean plied it to get an idea of what it would look like. To be honest, it looked like vomit. The mixture of colors was horrendous up against each other and I was so disappointed because I'd bought 2 bunches of it. Nevertheless, I spun the first bunch and decided to Navajo ply it to keep the colors together. Much more better.

I love this pattern for a scarf and I thought it would show up the colors well. I'm so pleased with how it came out, especially after the first experiment. Just goes to show, first impressions are necessarily the truth.

By the way, this scarf is easy, peasy and makes a great long scarf. This yarn is worsted weight, 3 ply, and I'm using size 8 needles. Cast on 15 stitches and knit a couple of rows in garter stitch to get started. On the next row, knit 1 and wrap the yarn over the needle 2 times (3 times if you want the inbetween section to be longer - with worsted weight I think 2 is plenty but you can wrap more if you use a smaller yarn). Repeat these 2 stitches to the last stitch, then knit 1. On the next row, knit the knit stitch and drop the wraps. Repeat to the end. Knit 2 more rows.

Just keep going like this until the scarf is long enough. I like to add a fringe to finish off the scarf.

Something else I worked on during the long weekend was more of this Blue-faced Leicester. A while back, I spun 4 oz of this roving on the wheel but I also wanted to spun part of it with the spindle to see how it would compare. I've been spinning it with an Ashford top-whorl drop spindle and am getting it superfine. I've done enough for one skein but I've got a ton more on the bobbin ready to ply and I've got a fair bit to spin yet.

I also added 2 more skeins to my white on white project. Lesson in silliness, really. I'd spun a bobbin of cashmere (or angora - I'm not sure which but it's one or the other) and had a second bobbin to spin before plying. It was only 1/2 an ounce (although in this fiber, it's really quite a lot). Feeling quite pleased with myself, I started plying. You can't imagine how soft unless you've felt it before. Anyway, there I was all proud of myself and plying. Until I realized something was wrong. Very wrong. It took me a little while to figure it out but there I was proudly plying a z ply and an s ply. Wrong.

That's definitely a lesson in how the proud have fallen. There was no rectifying that mistake and there was no getting more of the fiber. Drats. Drats. Drats.

I walked around the apartment kicking myself and while I was walking, I spied with my little eye a bobbin of merino/silk that I'd spun up. It was some of the KnitPicks fiber that I'd gotten to test out and there it was just waiting. I wasn't sure which direction it had been spun but I was sure to be able to use it with one of the bobbins! Ha!! Sure enough, it worked and I navajo plied the other bobbin, giving me 2 more skeins!

It's adding up but I still have to figure out how I'm going to put them together. Hmmm....

More lace

2010-11-21T21:28:00.000-06:00

I've finished the next lesson in my bobbin lace book. They call it a gimp worked on a Torchon background. Next I'm going to try a lace edging witht he same thread as this.

I haven't been doing much else, or else I've been just doing bits and pieces but nothing very interesting.

I'm hoping to get stuff done over the long weekend coming up but we'll see how productive I actually get. I had to come to grips with pushing myself way too hard. It's just that there are so many things I want to do that I have to get projects finished (or feel that I do). Anyway, I had a little discussion with myself and told myself to knock it off. I don't know if I took it very well but I'm going to try to do better!

Bob,bob, bobbin along

2010-11-13T18:48:00.001-06:00

I think I mentioned that I bought a beginning bobbin lace kit a few weeks ago. I've been practicing using a book from the library called, "The Torchon Lace Workbook." I've just finished lesson 6 and here are the last 3 samples (the ones that actually look like something):

I know the middle one doesn't look like much but trust me, I figured something out with it. I just made a mistake at the beginning that put the colors out of whack. It really is something and the others look alright. Right?

I'm going to try my first lace edging next.

Llama Update

2010-11-11T18:55:00.000-06:00

When last we spoke, I almost had my handspun Llama bolero finished. I was afraid I would run out of yarn and I was out of fiber. Last night I finished the knitting with the yarn I had left and ended up with a mere 8 inches of yarn left over. Talk about a nail biter. The problem is that the last bit of yarn I had to knit with was the first bit of yarn that I spun and it wasn't so good. Fortunately I'd since gotten more fiber from the lovely folks at K&T Llamas and last nightI got another batch spun up and washed.

This morning I un-knit (de-knit?) the cuff portion, added a few rounds and reknit the cuff. There is a particular joy when you get an inspiration for something that doesn't exist and you're able to pull off making it exist. I'm inordinately thrilled with this project.

I've still got more Llama fiber left over so maybe a hat is in my future. And a scarf? Maybe even a pair of mitts. Cool.

Overboard

2010-11-07T14:46:00.000-06:00

I've been working on a spinning project over the last months. Well, since I got my Country Craftsman. I was reading in one of the CC groups where they made the comment that this spinning wheel loves to spin lace weight. Lace weight? I LOVE lace weight. I had some gray Corriedale fiber I'd bought at Yarn Barn on one of my trips to my Mom's. I had gotten it for a specific purpose but the shade of gray wasn't quite right so it was waiting in the bull pen. But I knew it would be perfect for a lace experiment with my new wheel. I've only worked on it intermittently, a strand of fiber now and again. But I finally got it finished this weekend. I'd thought the variations in color would be interesting but once I got it spun up I discovered, not so much. I also had a skein of Clun Forest hanging around that I'd sort of thought of dying up so now I had 2 skeins.

A word about the Corriedale. Both the yarn and the wheel proved to be overachievers and I was very happy about the final product. I'd spun it with a z twist for the singles and then plied it, of course, s twist. But I did the plying on my Fricke wheel because the bobbins are much larger than the CC. The CC bobbins only hold about 2 ounces. Even so, I barely got everything plied to fit my Fricke bobbin. But with my Fricke I knew, not only that the bobbin would be big enough, but that I could get a sufficiently high ratio to do the plying. I'm a notorious under-plyer. Really. If there were a rogue's gallery at the post office for under-pliers, my photo would be there. But the higher ratio of the Fricke (I used the highest ratio on the wheel) did the trick. I ended up with just under 4 ounces and about 630 yards. I think I figured that it works up at about 2,000 yards to the pound.

Back to the dying. I pulled out my dye pot this morning, chose emerald green and saphire blue Jacquard dyes, got my water cooking and my dyes mixed. I was going for a ocean-y blue green. What I got was, I think, the results of my not getting the dyes mixed well enough in the pot.

First batch:

It's a much darker green (a green that I'm so in love with) than just the emerald green dye so it picked up a little of the blue. The Corriedale is on the left and the Clun Forest on the right. The Corriedale is just a little bit deeper, just because the yarn I started out with was a light gray. The CF was a natural cream color.

But my dye had not even begun to be exhausted. So I had some generic white wool roving. In it went.

Second batch:

The roving picked up the rest of the green in the pot and turned into a nice pale green. I was very happy to find that the roving didn't felt at all so this should be fun to spin.

But the dye pot still wasn't exhausted. So I got 3 skeins of KnitPicks superwash fingering/sock weight wool and stuck them in the pot, hoping they would come out kind of an icy green color. Ha! Oddly, this batch turned out a completely different color:

Third batch:

Turquoise. Pure turquoise. Two of the skeins didn't get mixed well so they are speckled turquoise and white and the bottom skein came up with the pure color. Hard to believe that all 3 of these shades came from the very same pot of water and dye.

Be honest, do you think I went a little overboard in the amount of dye I put in the water for my 2 little skeins...?

Somebody Stop Me, Please....

2010-10-28T23:07:00.000-05:00

I think I've gone just the smallest bit mad with this whole tatting thing. Honestly, ya'll, I can't stop. You want to know how bad it is? (How bad is it??????)

I was going through my pre-1930 craft magazines looking out tatting patterns for a challenge in the latest Piecework Magazine and I came across a 1925 issue of Needlecraft magazine that featured a tatted bedspread using size 8 cotton. That's thread. Not teeny tiny but small enough.

The instructions say that "When finished, the spread contains one hundred and twenty squares, each about nine inches." Did you get that. 120 squares.

I realized how crazy I'd become when I looked up from the pattern with the realization that I had actually been considering making it.

Samples

2010-10-25T18:49:00.000-05:00

I found a book at the library called, The Torchon Lace Workbook, by Bridget M Cook, which has a really helpful format with 10 lessons at the beginning and 25 patterns in the second part of the book. So, here are my first samples. The first one is something I did from another book and is just a series of stitches. The second one is practicing the half stitch and a linen stitch and the last one is practicing the half stitch. The half stitch and whole stitch are ways of making the background of the lace and the linen stitch is one of the stitches used for creating the "picture," such as the diamonds in the middle sample.

Cool, right? I don't know where this will lead but it's fascinating!

True Confessions

2010-10-22T23:55:00.001-05:00

I have a confession to make. A couple of weeks ago I posted about some (many) (a few) of the projects I've got going. I've added to that with:

* 2 pairs of kids gloves. I don't usually make things for people but this really sweet lady who adores her grandkids and showed me all the pictures of them she had in her wallet asked me to make a pair of camo gloves for her 9 year old grandson and purple gloves for her 7 year old granddaughter. How can you not say yes to that request?

* fiber from Bishophill Spin-in (8 oz)

* Cormo wool (for white on white project) (4 oz) I've never spun Cormo but it's super soft and I've been told it loves to be lace yarn. Good enough. No pic because it's just so much white fluff. Use your imagination.

* Mohair roving (1 oz) not from Bishophill but added to the list nevertheless - also for the white on white project (same as above - white stuff, imagination)

* New tatting project - doily that is much harder than it looked and I'm having lots of trouble with it. No pics yet until I can stop throwing it across the room thinking sweary things about it.

So, don't you think that sounds like enough projects for any reasonable person who, by the way has a full time office job? That's enough, right?

If you said, yes, then you're obviously well mistaken. Obviously mistaken. Because if you're not mistaken, then that says things about me that I'd rather not contemplate. I obviously haven't enough to keep me busy (oh, yeah, add to that 4 public classes and working with Jane and Old State Capital folks to develop a new program). I know you're mistaken because of this...

Bobbin lace. Never done it before, never seen it done (before I visited You Tube). I got a beginner's kit at Bishophill and this is my first effort. A simple background stitch.

Look, Ma, I'm bobbin lace making! Top of the world.

And oddly enough, where do you think I got instructions for bobbin lace? With the kit? That would be a "no" because the instructions that come with the kit leave quite a lot to be desired. With one of the many books floating around on bobbin lace? Yeah, right!

I went to my trusty Weldons books which contained a section on Torchon lace (more about the various types of lace another time - Honiton lace is also a bobbin lace), which is one of the names for this type of lace. The instructions are clear, the woodcuts are fabulous and there are patterns that you can use (as shown in the first 2 pics). I know this doesn't look like much but I managed to use 12 pairs of bobbins (that's 24 bobbins for anyone keeping score)!

Maybe I need help.

Checking in

2010-10-20T20:24:00.000-05:00

I'm afraid I don't have any photos of anything tonight. I've managed to catch this whatever's going around and it's laid me out.

The Knitting With Jewelry Wire and Beads class went great on Friday night. In fact, I felt just a little bit like a fraud because all the ladies had experience with knitting and beading. So once I got them started and used to how the wire reacts to the knitting, they were off and running. For once I ended up sitting around because they were doing so great, there was nothing left for me to do!

My final LLCC class is this Friday - Intro to Shuttle Tatting. I'm really looking foward to this class because I am loving the tatting so much. Just can't get enough of it. But it will be the first time I'm teaching it so I hope it all goes well.

I haven't said too much yet about the event that the folks at Lincoln Land are planning for January 15th but it's being called "Needle in a Haystack." It's going to be a whole day dedicated to all things needlework - knitting, crochet, spinning, weaving, sewing, embroider, quilting, tatting. You name it and there will either be a class or a demonstration. If you're in the Central Illinois area, I think you're going to be very sorry if you don't plan to spend that day with us. There will be 4 class sessions during the day with a wide variety of class offerings, there will be demonstrations and presentations from a variety of needleart guilds. So if you've always been curious about what the Embroiderer's Guild does (like I have been), you will be able to see their stuff and talk to them. Very exciting.

When I get a little caught up, I'm going to show you what I got at the Bishophill Spin-in.

White on White Start

2010-10-15T16:14:00.000-05:00

I mentioned before that I'd started the spinning for my white on white project. I've finally got the first step accomplished:

Here's a little closer look at the yarn:

I have been trying to remember what the fibers were that I bought in Santa Fe. This was one and it's definitely got silk in it and I think it's angora and silk. The other one, I think, was cashmere and silk. I just got 1 ounce of each but got 250 yards of lace weight out of this ounce. To put the lace weight label in perspective, this fiber spun in this way would give 4,000 yards of yarn from 1 pound of fiber. Of course, a pound of this fiber would cost in the neighborhood of about $100 so I'll just settle for my ounce!

This was spun on my Fricke wheel using the highest ratio. It was spun z twist for the singles and s for the plying. I was reminded again how you really need more twist than you think you're going to need when you're spinning this finely. I was fine with the singles, got sufficient twist with no problem. But I had to adjust my treadling when I was plying because I was definitely not getting enough twist into it. I was a little concerned, in fact, that I would have to feed it through again to get a little more twist in. I think it worked out fine in the end but a little more twist wouldn't have hurt anything.

The fiber came in a pretty thick strand of roving. I found that it went much more smoothly to predraft a little bit at a time as I went. On a softness scale of 1-10, I would say this is about a 9 and on the elegance scale, it's a 10, no doubt.

Done

2010-10-09T18:11:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the 1925 Tatted Baby Bonnet.

Thanking you very much.

Counting on my fingers.

2010-10-07T21:48:00.002-05:00

I've been feeling a little torn lately but only realized this morning what might be the problem. I started counting...

1. Baby bonnet - It's getting along and I'm on the last round. I changed the last round a little to match the photo. It was the only instructions in the whole pattern that wasn't completely clear but the photo was really good so I think this is a good representation and I think it will finish it off nicely once I get the ribbons in it.

2. Baby sweater. A friend just had a baby so I'm back in baby-land. Know how hard it is to pick just one thing? I always decide I'm going to dress the baby until they're 18! It's so hard. But as soon as I saw this little vintage matinee jacket, I knew it was the very thing. The new parents are Canadian and this is a vintage Canadian pattern. Seemed just the thing. The top section is smocked with a contrasting color and their nursery is yellow and lavendar so I decided just to go with those colors. Besides, I already had the yellow and I think it's such a great color to brighten up the winter.

3. Clun Forest wool being spun for socks. I've got 2 bobbins and need just 1 more to finish it off. This is the first time I've ever spun Clun Forest and everything I've read talked about it being difficult and not so fun to spin. Once I kind of got used to it, it hasn't actually been so bad. The difference between this and other wools is that it's a very short staple. It's got a lot of bounce but it's short. I'm spinning it using a pretty high ratio. It's not really soft but it's supposed to be great for outer wear and supposed to be really great for socks. I'll let you know.

4. White on white project 1. One of my spinning buddies, Mary, made a comment about a white on white project. It really caught my interest so I decided to do something with white on white on white. This is the first white - it's 1oz of merino/tussah silk mix and 1oz of cashmere/tussah silk mix. It's going to be a 2-ply of the the two. You can't imagine how rich this fiber is. I'm spinning it on my Fricke wheel.

5. White on white project 2. The second white of the project is silk being spun from these silk hankies on my Kromski Minstrel.

6. Gray Lace. This is not a part of the white on white project. This is some gray wool roving that I'm spinning on my new Country Craftsman. When I first got the wheel, I read that it's supposed to be particularly good spinning lace and this was on top of the pile. Spins like buttah.

7. Sock and shawl. I was running out of time to take photos so I put some of these together. Socks with Berroco Sox (my favorite sock yarn) and a "Half Square Shawl" from an 1850's knitting book. Wait until you see this. It's made with fingering weight and lace yarns using a lozenge pattern. When I decided to try it out, I went straight to the stash. I'd forgotten about the fingering weight yarn but it's a silk yarn that I've already used to make 1 shawl which I wear all the time. I decided to pair it with a matching alpaca lace yarn from KnitPicks.

8. Lace and Lace. Since I'm still able to sleep a couple of hours each night, I guess I've decided I've got too much time on my hands. I started this orange shawl from "Victorian Lace Knitting" about a month ago. As you can see, I haven't gotten too far but it's beautiful and I love this yarn. It's got a light variagation and is merino soft. Next to it is some blue-faced leicester from Frabjous Fibers that I recently finished spinning. It's the one that I loved in roving but wasn't so crazy about once it was plied and finished. Well, I just got looking at it this morning and decided I did like it so not it's ready to be cast on and I know exactly what I want it to be. I won't say it out loud yet, you'll just have to wait and see.

On top of these projects, I've got 3 classes at Lincoln Land, starting the new Heritage Knitting program with the Old State Capital folks and having a full-time job.

It's all beginning to make sense now.

The Real Thing

2010-10-03T20:57:00.001-05:00

When you talk about historic knitting, it's usually about knitting old patterns. This puts a whole new slant on it:

Can I tell you how cool it was to sit in this room and knit? Talking about the spirit of place. The next session will be a knitted mittlet class which will be held in the Senate Chamber of the Old State Capital. There are still places so be sure to contact Tinsley Store at (217) 525-1825 or go by 209 South Sixth Street to sign up.

The 1925 baby bonnet is moving right along. I had hoped to have it finished this weekend but I got distracted with a few other things! It's been one of those magical projects that didn't look like anything until the medallions got attached to the main section. Then, all of a sudden it becomes this little baby bonnet. Enchanting.

Designing on a pound

2010-09-27T21:25:00.000-05:00

I've been working on a project for a while that I haven't yet shared. It started as a couple of bags of Llama fiber from K&T Llamas which I fell in love with at Knit in Public Day. I'd never spun Llama before, one of the few fibers I hadn't at least had my hands on. I did de-hair a llama fleece once and have it in my stash but I haven't spun any of it.

I have to say that spinning this llama has been one of the most enjoyable projects I've had to date. Every free moment, I just couldn't wait to sit down to spin and got it done fairly quickly. I ended up with just under a pound of worsted weight 2-ply yarn.

Now, one of the challenges one faces when planning to knit with handspun is that, generally, you have what you have. What you do with it has to fit with what you have. Getting more fiber isn't always an option. I read a quote the other day that basically said that new ways of doing things aren't usually created by smart people but by lazy people trying to find an easier way to do something. Maybe the old bromide about necessity being the mother of invention is closer.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that it's about 1/2 pound of 2 different natural colors - blond and med. dark brown. That's fine but it creates another design challenge. Don't want it to be too easy, do we? Where would the fun be in that?

I knew I didn't have enough for a full sweater but I've been wanting a shrug for quite a while so I reckoned I had enough for that. Here's what I've done:

It does fit me better than it does the dress form and I think it's a grand effort. Can't wait to get the sleeves finished and have it ready for the upcoming cooler weather. Why isn't it finished? I'm afraid it's because I've gotten distracted with this:

I'm at the point of working the 11 flowers. I can't tell you what pleasure this project has given me. I've wanted to learn to tat for the longest time and didn't think I would ever be able to do it. Now I can't get enough of it. In fact, I'm going to make some new tatters at the upcoming tatting class at Lincoln Land. The class is full but we're hoping to offer the class again in the spring and I think we'll probably do a class through the Old State Capital Heritage Knitting project. Fun.