Stuff I Did While On Vacation

At first I thought I wasn't doing much crafting. No real focus. Then I catalogued what I did during the week of Thanksgiving. Turns out I was really productive.

1. Made a new bath robe for my son. Super funny combination of fabrics.

2. Crocheted a small coin purse inspired by something I saw on Pintrist.

3. With help from my friend, Kathleen, I dyed eight 4 oz. bundles of fiber in the crock pot.

4. She also helped me get started on my first backstrap weaving. I've been wanting to do something with a backstrap for a year now. I was so obsessed that I finished the tape the next day.

5. Dyed silk samples for a tie dye class I taught the next week.

6. I demoed how to spin a fun curly textured yarn from mohair locks with my Saturday Spinners.

All of these things will appear in more detailed posts in the coming weeks. Random photo: the big guy below is a resident at a spinner friend's home. He is just about as wide as the sidewalk.

Studio 49 Retreat 2017 Challenge part 3

I changed my mind.

It happens often when thinking about a project. I start with one idea and it morphs into something else until finally I start. Then it morphs again. This is what's going on now with my Retreat challenge project.

The hand spun yarn was going to be a hat. I made a gauge swatch to determine what size knitting needle I wanted to use. I started with size 7 at the bottom of the swatch. That's what the pattern calls for. The middle section is size 6 needle and then the top is size 5. I placed the swatch on a stitch holder because I didn't want to cut the yarn. I intend to use every bit.

The change of plan arose when I realized that I was not enjoying knitting this yarn. I like knitting with my hand spun yarn but this one didn't feel nice or fun. I don't know why. The yarn is soft and stretchy. Lovely to hold and touch, but not to knit with apparently.

My eyes lit upon my 10" Cricket rigid heddle loom and BOOM! I had a new idea.

I am going to weave a scarf. Having limited yardage presented some challenges; 232 yards of white, 155 yards of grey. Not a lot of yarn for weaving. So I set about trying to figure out what to make with what I had. I started with the 10 dent heddle and a Fibonacci sequence in the warp. I calculated a basic scarf at 8"x72" and discovered I did not have enough yarn. I want to feature the white Polwarth with a few grey BFL stripes.

I was inspired by the Biscuits and Jam Scarf by Sarah Jackson featured in the May/June issue of Handwoven Magazine. I'm lucky enough to be a fellow guild member of Sarah's and saw the beautiful scarf in person at the SCWSG June meeting. She wove hers in cotton with beaded weft fringes. Then sewed the ends together to make a circular scarf. I really liked the weft fringe idea.

I made drafts on paper first. Then I made a yarn wrap to see if I liked how the Fibonacci sequence looked.

I drew a scarf close to 1/8" scale and made more calculations. One set with 80 ends for an 8" wide scarf and one with 70 ends. I have just enough yarn (I think/hope) to make a scarf 7" wide with a weaving length of 60". There will be a small plaid section where I put another Fibonacci sequence in the weft at one end of the scarf.

If I run out of white weft then it will be a little shorter. But that's OK since I want to sew the ends together to make a loop and wear it like a cowl anyway.

I think I'm ready to start...

Studio 49 Retreat 2017 Challenge part 2

See this post for the beginning of this story.

I have finished spinning my yarn for the Studio 49 Retreat 2017 challenge. Yay! I scaled down my vasty many oz. project idea from last year. I decided that finishing it without undue stress and last minute spinning/knitting was going to be better for my health and for my family.

So the new project idea is to spin just the original 2oz. of creamy white Polwarth and 2oz. of lovely natural grey BFL (BlueFaced Leicester) I have in my stash. I will finish two separate yarns and knit a 2-color Mosaic Sampler Hat. A new technique and a small doable project! Sort of unusual for me. But smart this time around.

My singles.

I wanted a 2 ply yarn so I needed to divide the singles into two sections to ply. I didn't want to ply from a single ball for some mysterious reason. Here is my set up. I weighed an empty bobbin then weighed the full bobbin and did some calculations to figure out what my end half bobbin should weigh so I had two close to even singles ready to ply.

The red box is my homemade shoe-box lazy kate with tension device. I made her when I first started spinning in 2003 and she is still my go-to kate. Almost there with the divided singles.

Two pairs of singles!

Plying set up.

I used my 1970's Ashford Traditional spinning wheel with the jumbo bobbin set up to ply both yarns into big skeins. I added a couple extra treadle pushes to get the tighter twist I wanted.

My two finished skeins and a close up of the lovely yarn. The grey BFL is a wee bit thicker than the Polwarth.

The yarns wet finished nicely. Both are soft and squishy. The Polwarth in particular is stretchy and the creamy white just glows. It's going to be fun to knit the hat. But first...must knit a swatch!

Mustard & Mushrooms

Mustard & Mushrooms. I won this fiber in a South Coast Weavers and Spinners Guild raffle sometime last year. 2 oz. of  Baby Camel, Merino Wool and Cultivated Silk from Capistrano Fiber Arts Studio. The fiber was originally called "Banana Slug". But I prefer my new choice. The fiber was a quick and fun spin. I chain-plied the single yarn to keep the colors clear. I ended up with 155 yards of 3 ply yarn.

This lovely fiber...

Became this yarn on my Ashford Joy wheel...

And then became this skein of squishy soft yarn...

 Here is a detail for the various colors. So pretty.

Studio 49 Retreat 2016

My 11th retreat with some wonderful people up in Northern CA. Part of the Motherlode Weavers & Spinners Guild, Studio 49 meets on Saturdays for more textile arts.

The first retreat was in 2006. I went with my dear friend, Kathleen, when I was 7 months pregnant with Ian. The weekend was intimate, small and full of comradery. I've been every year thus far and it has retained the same intimacy and friendship. I just love this group of weavers, spinners, knitters, dyers and artists. We've changed locations, weather fronts, food options and activities, but the loveliness remains the same.

My sister, mom and best friend caravaned up in two cars stuffed to the rafters with all the paraphernalia we might need for a 3 day stay. Sleeping gear, clothes for all weather, crafts to do, crafts to share, items to sell, gifts to give and of course an empty bag or two to bring home all the goodies we might collect.

Sunrise Saturday morning. The hill on the right is still a bit blackened from the Yosemite fire 2 years ago. We weren't sure if the retreat was going to happen that year. The fire was under control just in time.

Our shared Studio 49 Retreat 2015 10th anniversary fiber goodies. I love the different ways the same fiber get spun up with different hands touching it. My Deadline shawl is on the bottom right.

Made by retreat fairies, these handmade, hand quilted, hand appliqued placemats were a gift to every attendee at the annual luncheon tea. Aren't they just adorable?!?

Retreat swag. An apron, 2 oz. of Polworth Top (our challenge fiber for 2017), knitting patterns, fiber samples, handmade soap, and a hand sewn drawstring bag sewn by the same retreat fairies.

Stuff I bought. More Polworth Top (because 2 oz. is just not enough!), fiber batts from Dreamy Goat Design Studio, knitted sheep bag by Lea, handwoven scarf by Virginia, and some pick up sticks. Some of these items are destined to be gifts.

Stuff I won in the raffle! We have a huge raffle full of amazing items from many many great vendors. 

I got lucky this year. A Zoom Loom with Woven Turtle Kit, a bump of pencil roving from Noro and a lovely orifice hook.

This is one half of our great room. Several concentric circles of spinners flow in and around each other.

This is the other half of the great room.

My gang. (from left to right) Me, my mom, my sister and my best friend. The gourds are all by my mother. The big dog gourd is a custom order created for one of our fiber friends.

Can't go wrong with having family and friends share in our love of arts and crafts. Thanks to everyone at Studio 49 Retreat for another great year!

Deadlines part 5

Week 5

I finished!

This is the yarn I had left. I used approximately 745 yards total.

Blocking the shawl after washing in the washer on gentle cycle using a net bag to contain it.

What NOT to do when wet finishing a handspun wool project...

1. Don't throw the net bag in the dryer. Even for a short time.

2. Don't forget the net bag is in the dryer.

3. Don't panic and get mad.

4. Don't tug so hard on the slightly felted knit fabric that you actually tear the yarn at the edge.

5. Don't get mad. Did I already say this?

6. Don't put it back in the water to soak in a too small pan so that the ripped yellow yarn that needs repair sits on the blue part and comes out stained - highlighting the rip.

7. Don't be too sad.

With a small invisible-when-worn repair, what was a lovely beautiful shawl is still a lovely beautiful shawl. I do love the color combo.

Deadlines part 4

Week 4
I knit like mad all week, every spare moment. It was taking me 40-45 minutes to complete each row.

I started weighing the ball of yarn every row to maximize usage. Each row used about 4g. I estimated I needed 3 times that for the bind off. Last night I realized I could only work 2 more rows before needing to bind off.

Today, I made it to the bind off!

It's going to take some time for the bind off The pattern called for a regular bind off - knit 2, pull first stitch over the second. I tried it and didn't like the look of it. Instead, I chose the Lacey Bind Off from this website - http://www.stitchdiva.com/tutorials/knitting/stretchy-bind-off-comparison. It's a stretchy bind off that has a really nice finished edge. And worked with some tension on the yarn, the stitches are not too loose.

I'm actually going to finish the shawl in the next couple of days. I will have time to wash and block it before I leave for the retreat next Thursday. So excited!

Deadlines part 3

Knitting like MAD...

Week 1
As soon as the yarn was dry from washing, I wound the yarn into this beautiful ball where you can see the gradation clearly.

I sampled size 4 (3.5mm) and 5 (3.75mm) needles for gauge. I like the way the fabric felt with the size 4 needles.

I started knitting right away. A selfie of me knitting at the Spectrum Center in Irvine, CA while I waited for friends for a lunch date.

Week 2
By the end of the second week I got near the end of the red yarn. I weighed the yarn ball after every row trying to calculate maximum usage but still leave enough for the increase row (which doubles the number of stitches) when I switch to the blue color for the ribbing border.

The tiny scale I use below is battery operated. It's called ProScale555 and can be found on Amazon. Of course. It weighs down to 0.1g. It's a great piece to have in the knitting kit.

Week 3
Got the blue yarn started. I really like the change in color and texture with the ribbing border.

My son asked me how many stitches I had on the needles. So I counted them. Big mistake. Sometimes it's better not to know something. I started with 725 stitches with 2 increases required for each new row. I will count again at the end to complete the torture. It takes me about 30-35 minutes to knit a row. I have 2 weeks still to get this shawl finished. Hmmm...

Deadlines part 2

So I turned the fiber from my post on August 30 Deadlines into these singles. I wanted to control how the colors blended so I spun each color on its own bobbin.

I plied it into a 2-ply DK-like yarn. One ply is Bluefaced Leicester. The 2nd ply is Merino and silk. With 4oz (113g) total, I ended up with 385 yards (352m). This lovely squishy yarn is washed and dry.

With help from some spinning/knitting friends, I chose the TGV (High Speed Knitting) pattern by Susan Ashcroft. It's a crescent shaped shawl with a wide ribbed border. I'm using my handspun yarn for the garter stitch body. The blue yarn is BAAH La Jolla Powder Blue colorway. It has a hand dyed look to it. It will be used in the 2x2 ribbed border. Altogether it made me think of a sunset.

Now I have to turn these pieces into a finished object. By Oct 12th.

High speed knitting...yeah, right!

Deadlines

I try hard to spin without a deadline. However, imagine this scenario...

I get a bag of fiber at a retreat and am supposed to bring it back the following year as a finished item. I intend to start spinning right away so I have plenty of time to plan a complicated and detailed project.

But then, I wait to start the spinning... like TEN months later. Suddenly there is a two month deadline looming ahead. I now have to focus on spinning quickly without too much forethought about what kind of yarn I want to create. Then I have to pick a project that I can knit in a month.

I am a slow knitter.

Why do I do this to myself? Well, of course, sometimes life happens and spinning gets sidelined for a time. Or I just don't feel like spinning that fiber yet. Or I'm somehow deluded into the idea that I'm going to think my way into the perfect yarn and project.

The fiber is from the 2015 Studio 49 Retreat. This 10 year anniversary themed fiber was prepared and dyed by Dreamy Goat Designs. Above is 2oz/56g of Bluefaced Leicester (BFL). Below is 2oz/56g of Merino/Bombyx Silk blend. Both dyed in the same tri-color way. Some folks chose the same fiber for their projects. I got one bag of each. It will be fun to see what we all come up with. The next retreat is Oct 14, 2016.

So... right now, I spin with a deadline looming.

Plying

I finished the Tour de Fleece single ply yarn the week after the race ended. I got around to plying it a week later into 386 yards of 3 ply yarn. What I didn't like was that the yarn was not plied with the same amount of twist as the first skein I finished in June. So I decided to add more twist by running it through the wheel again. I put the skein on the swift attached to a dining chair seat. It took a little longer than I thought, but Season 10 of Food Network Star kept me entertained. I just love the ability to binge watch shows on streaming television.

 

I ended up with 7 yards less but with the same twist as the first skein. With the two skeins I now have a total of 757yds/692m to play with. I wrapped the yarn with the original fiber label and wrote my yardage notes on it. The colors blended more than I had originally intended. I still like the finished yarn a lot. The fuchsia dominates the yarn. Which is nice, but I have lots of yarn in this colorway. Of course I do. It's in the red family and that's my favorite color!

I had some singles yarn left over on 2 bobbins. So I decided to ply that using Navajo chain ply method. It's a tiny skein but the colors came out more like what I had originally imagined this fiber to look like.

Since I was on a twist fixing mode, I dug out another skein of yarn that had been bugging me for a while.

This skein of 3 ply yarn was spun by a friend of mine. I love the subdued colors (it's not red!) but I always thought the ply twist was a little loosey goosey.

Since I had the swift set up already I put the skein on it and ran the yarn through the wheel again. I lost 4 yards in the new twist but now the skein looks great. Even the colors look a little more defined to me and I was dreaming of other yarns I could combined it with to knit up something fabulous.