In the thick of it

Life this year has continued to come at us fast.  The past quarter alone has included loss, grief, so many appointments, learning & back in school teamwork.  There are new welcome supports & progress but it’s been a lot.

Relieving the strain

One plus of fall is that I am taking my walks again after morning drop-off on school days.  We are now facing a strike that will close the doors as of tomorrow morning.

The work-to-rule this past week was fairly brutal, and I hope that the parties negotiate a settlement very soon.

Goldenrod blooms and good morning, Bee

The busy times included trips home to Jamaica – one very short for a funeral.  My Mom just spent her first birthday after retirement with us last month.  The biggest summer project was to weave her a throw as a retirement gift.

Best Planning is Asking First

There was a very specific idea wrapped up in Mom’s mind when she said the word, “throw.”

Yarn choice with lots of consultation

Here is how we got to a 34.5″ wide warp of Harrisville Shetland in Poppy #65 plain weave with a cone of white Rayon chain from Made in America:

1. Q:  Handspun shawl-shape because I love you!  Mom’s A: That sounds too narrow.  Can you make it wider?
2. Q:  Wider cool, I can do your first initials in twill!  A:  Hmm, that is not exactly a cushy throw but flat right?
3. Q:  Wow, I found the cushiest!  It’s mohair bouclé and the online classes told me how to weave with it!  A:  Mohair sounds very hot, Lara.

At each stage, N got the brunt of my But I Did a Weave Plan frustrations.  He’s a champ.

Weaving is a happy place

Not shown here is the LeClerc temple that I used during weaving.  The weft chain yarn is 8 ppi.  The warp is threaded straight draw on 4 shafts.

Hand-delivered to Mom with love, the finished throw!

The loom still has our home throw warped, and ready for weaving.  The luxury of Orlando mohair bouclé came home to me from a weaver’s destash, and I then did a thing.

Undyed Orlando boucle yarn

A very first indigo dye day at our house!  The socks were a flourish for Ty who was not fully on board until he saw this happening.

Indigo you exceeded my expectations

Packs some insight

It’s still a season of wrapping our heads around a new paradigm, research and oh my word the appointments.  None of my knitting has led to sweet finishes… in a good little while.  I seem to be frogging more often, and casting-off far less.  That’s okay.

To be Reknitted curse

Nobody is walking around with cold feet just because I made this first sock too tight.  It will just have to be re-done.

Wound and now on the needles

The idea of a light Aestlight shawl in this Shetland wool handspun was my September pause from serious things.  It hit a snag in the Bird’s Eye lace border that has me carefully using a lifeline now.  I am short on yardage, and a second yarn will help finish.

A sock for me & a sock for N are on the back burner with handspun sweater ambitions.  All in the fullness of time, I suppose.

Ty’s first potholder! Can you see the H?

Now is a time of reflection not speaking out or even following trends.  When I post it may be focused on the finished projects, and how they fit with the new lessons.

Ty’s potholder is a bright spot.  He loved choosing the loops.

Learning to weave is a bit like learning to ride a bike or play an instrument:  the more you practice the easier it becomes. Sarah Swett, p. 5, Kids Weaving, 2005

This wasn’t our path to a potholder or other learning.  I am starting to go beyond the typical, “This is seven!” thinking that I hear so frequently in the craft spaces.  The consistent practice advice works well for typical learning & behaviours but cannot work for everyone.

What I am doing is different:  a support for exploration.  We got to stuck points, stepped back & I took out the expectation that Ty was going to do the tighter steps at all.  Now there is a bright spot all arranged by his colour choices.

Starry and yum

Another great small loom weaving was this set of 5 mug rugs on the Louet Erica.  Ty’s favourite is the stripey version with Peace Fleece alternating with my aqua handspun Corriedale as weft yarns.

Experiments in mug rugs = fun!

Here we have sage green 8/4 cotton sett at 8 epi in a 12 dent reed.  I can weave quietly with the family, and Ty really loves to sit in my lap for his turn.  It was 64 ends of cotton warp wound 65″ long.

Handspun mug rug in morning action

Each oversize mug rug was woven around 8 ¼” long.  They really set our individual spaces apart at the large, round dining table.  We use them daily.  Why did I feel guilty about this loom?  It’s a very good time-in tool.

 

 

The practical Tour de Fleece, a plan

We are fresh off a happy-go-lucky Canada Day weekend, and thoughts are finally coming together for the Brussels Grand Départ.

Summer sidekick: captive ring Peruvian pushka

The Tour de Fleece is a great container for new approaches to stash & tool.  This year Le Tour rides from this Saturday, July 6th – 28th, and celebrates its first century.

In terms of a plan, I have been fairly stuck.  Are you?  Clearing spins was supposed to help, and the shiny new Female Heroes Club braid did but I have still been a little lost and a lot tired.  Then early yesterday in a bored moment of waiting for N, I put this new spin together.  It is just a scrap of mohair top and an under-used captive-ring pushka from Peru.

In spite of greedy mosquitoes we enjoyed this stop

After our morning walk, I got spinning time with the gentle chak-chak of the ring, and I am moving through the scrap of mohair.  This spindle has a history of 2 great summery parenting spins, and now I am taking it on the Tour either with other scraps or to continue this first undyed Corriedale wool top project.

A very nice challenge spin aeons ago

This is a September 2016 spin that I completed quickly while helping with a Spindlers’ group monthly challenge and then folded on.

Sweet Corriedale balance

Folded so heavily that I did not share this 50 g of fibre turned approx. 226 yards of 2-ply delight.  It was an intense time at home, and I can look back now and admire that skein all the more knowing what I had on my plate as it were.

Last of my Ent Batts!

The next & last spin with these spindles was of beautifully hand-carded Ent Batts “Coffee & Cream” through summer 2017.

Coffee & Cream skeins

The 2-ply skeins measure 258 yards, and are still in stash.  This was the last in an incredible run of batt sets that are no longer in production but brought much joy across different spindles.  This ‘Coffee & Cream’ is a blend of Corriedale & Merino wools with soy-silk.

The whimsy factor

Each TdF can use a touch of whimsy, and mine will be thanks to the long percolating flax thoughts.

Published by Crowing Hen Farm

Helping to Kickstart Raven Ranson’s book, “Homegrown Linen – transforming flaxseed into fibre,” did not disappoint when I had to place the single flax plant on Canada Day.

On a whim, “Hello, flax plant.”

It is tucked behind some rampantly self-seeding Black-eyed Susans and has kept on blooming each morning.  I noted the ritual involved in preparing the soil for fibre flax, and had at our very own strong clay with a view to creating this new-to-me word tilth.

We may not be in perfect tilth but I did break every clod, remove all of the stones, give it the best of the compost bin, etc.  It is at the very least encouraged to be showy for the next few weeks.

With no flax preparation tools, growing won’t be my whimsy focus anytime soon but this fibre flax for local linen is where I’d love to land.

Actual beautiful fibre flax

These 2 stricks of line flax are from the Black Cat Farmstead.  It was grown in Stockholm, WI at both their property & A to Z Produce and Bakery.  I was happy to see that it was processed at the Taproot Fibre Lab, Port Williams, Nova Scotia.

There are still ifs involved in spinning flax but it is on my bucket list.  We are not just heading from a season of stress but into a slew of appointments that will have their own challenges.  A little whimsy won’t hurt.

The rub is having the energy to spin line flax at night, moving everything for the morning.  It is easier now to have wheels out in our living space but narrower project rotation has evolved for a reason.  It may just ultimately be a nod to whimsy but these are the thoughts!

Happy planning!

 

Weaving the weaving in – Swedish Anna cotton towels

Woven with love, hemmed in the fullness of time

The simple idea to keep weaving after the handspun scarf brought the second Joanne Hall designed kit off my shelf & onto the Mighty Wolf’s beams.  One is in our kitchen, and these 2 are shipped to loved ones.

For Keisha and she says that it matches their kitchen

This kit was expertly wound, tied and had a 3×3 cross that cannot be blamed for my threading error in a mid-yellow stripe!  Herringbone over 12 threads, and at 24 ends per inch.

At the relaxed stage of a walk

Through spring, and now the beginning of summer, I went in for longer-than-usual morning walks.  Life this school year took a very troubling turn, and the walks are after Ty starts his day; while I need to order mine in some peace.

Best light

One right step after another, I began to see the days differently, choose new ways, and wonder why I ever rushed home via the shortcut in the first place.

Minerva Masham awaits her end use

The spindles’ WIP jar is noticeably clearer now but knits have fallen by the wayside.  These are heavy topics that I feel in my body – something had to give.

Ty’s first loom dressed with all the colours!

As I set about weaving a retirement gift for Mom (only about 3 design rounds with her!) we have a new weaver in the house.  This is a Harrisville Designs Potholder Loom, and Ty is closing his eyes to choose a loop for each pick to meet his well thought-out warp.

Flax for the garden

A gem from the local farmer’s market, yesterday:  flax.  If only for the beautiful blooms but I am going to enjoy every second with this single plant!

In keeping with those walks, I am trying new ways of doing things.  It is a watershed year.  The good news is that support is coming.  One professional told me last week that I am ahead of others at the same point.  I scoffed and then took it back, thanking her for a compliment.

The Tour de Fleece is coming up now, and I am riding with Team Spindlers.  It is good to participate again and I will be going gently with myself.

Elizabeth Bennet, I have plans for you

The spindle plying work is all well and good but my Tabachek Holly spindle really does need to see some Female Heroes club love, don’t you think?  The label has the most wonderful run of words together: merino/alpaca/camel/silk.

This and WIPs will round out my Tour plans.  The wheels are also busy but one team is all I can manage this summer.

Scissors meet handspun – a twill scarf

The year is unfolding in tough & unexpected ways.  As we work hard to adjust, meet these challenges, I have been pressed out of regular posting as just one result.  By Eastertime, I wanted to pivot and weave something beautiful.

Out came Sarah Jordan’s stunning handspun merino/tencel that I won from her summer 2015 Shawl for All knit-along.

Prized! Handspun yarn by Sarah Jordan, PAKnitWit

Four years ago!  The KAL was hosted in Sarah’s Ravelry group, Knit/Wit Designs Fans and this was not just a happy prize but a real honour to have Sarah’s yarn.

Sarah’s yarn on its way to the loom

Close examining with a yarn wrap & Ashenhurst calculation led me to a sett of 16 ends per inch.  Sarah’s yarn is 3,154 yards per pound.  The plan was simple – to warp along plain weave lines for a finer (4,480 YPP) wool weft and weave a 3-shaft point twill structure.

An Easter improvement plan – threading Sarah’s yarn

There was enough to wind a 3-yard long warp, go 14.5″ wide in the reed, and proceed to sample wefts but carefully!

Can you see me smiling – scarf start!

The weft experiments in the header led me to the 2/16 light grey lambswool from WEBS.  The draft itself is from “Linen Heirlooms” by Constance Gallagher, p. 54 taken from a 19th century linen cloth.

Erica de Ruiter’s voice is what carried me through to using this draft, however:

Three-shaft twills have a better drape than plain weave but their structure is slightly tighter, and they have less take-up than four-shaft twills, thus producing a lighter weight fabric (see “Weaving on 3 Shafts“, page 5).

That was convincing enough for napkins let alone this handspun project, and I was well & sold on the idea.

Sheen, drape, pattern YES!

This below is the face of the cloth as I wove it.  After wet finishing the wool weft has receded to the reverse leaving the beautiful warp colourway dominant on one side.

Pattern shows as texture on right side with warp stripes

The fringe buckled when I finished the scarf before twisting.  Ty strongly suggested that I should not trim the ends.  They are scraggly but soft!

Weaving selfie smile

One small detail is that I threaded the full 12-end repeats, and this gave double shaft 1 ends that I wove in the same way (tromp as writ).  It modifies the twill to a little basket, and that probably has helped the drape.  It gave the weaving a good rhythm for this small motif.

Cutting Sarah’s yarn was harder than cutting mine but I am glad that I braved the process!

Inn on the Twenty, Jordan, Ontario

Weekend before last, N & Ty took me to visit the Fibre Garden in Jordan, Ontario.  After lunch at the local cafe, I fell in love with the Inn on the Twenty’s window boxes.

Spinning is getting a lot of love right now – the tv-room is crowded with my wheels & spindle projects are also moving forward.  The Falkland wool top that I got from the Fibre Garden is already improved with Logwood.  The kitchen is a crowded mess but purple!

Logwood dyed combed Falkland wool top

The darker purple fibre will hopefully play well with my recently (May 3rd) finished sequence of Blink from the 2019 Female Heroes Fiber Club + Paint It Black by Sheepy Time Knits.

Blink met Paint It Black for a sweater spin (3-ply)

Mandie’s club continues to delight.  That I also got to cook-up Logwood dye liquor is a wonderful bonus!

Early spring Forsythia

Spinning, weaving, even prep work is happening thanks to walks that I have started to take after dropping Ty off at school.  There’s been fatigue, crowded thoughts, and the walks help a treat.

Four-strand cable creation with Babydoll Southdown wool

Should my mojo for sharing ‘impossible yarn’ production that takes place around here, I would like to explain about this ongoing 4-strand cable idea from the Olde English Babydoll Southdown fleece.

For now we have these rolags that were a delight to spin against prevailing ideas that I hear being (wrongly, strongly & ever so cutely) offered to new spinners as our placeholder.

 

Mid-winter morning and two types of lacework

Yesterday brought our 3rd winter storm in as many weeks.  It’s been a mess of snow days in already shorter school weeks that has knocked my craft life for six.

For several reasons Ty & I have needed time-off for more unstructured time together, however.  This boon has kept the cabin fever feeling from setting-in but I hope there are no other Colorado lows on the way!

Prettier than the car

The impact of 24-hour long winter storms hitting mid-week each week aside we are safe & warm through it all, so far.

Ice upon ice this morning

All-over lace shawl update

The Lacymmetry shawl only saw the inside of a project bag between early November and 3 Saturdays ago.

A growing Lacymmetry handspun shawl

The shawl transitions once 2/3 knitted to a ‘diamond’ lace motif that shows strongly with its double yarn-overs.  I paused at the transition point, and am now 7 repeats into this second, final section.

Starting at the 2nd of these repeats, I decided to add gold duracoated 8/2 Miyuki beads on a single return row in the ‘diamond’ lace motifs.

Forming diamond lace with beads hidden

The designer is Naomi Parkhurst of String Geekery, and I love how she advances the diamond lace 3 times evenly in each ‘diamond’ lace repeat.  The beads are highlighting this diagonal advance sequence.  It’s fun to knit!

How I place these beads is with a 0.6 mm metal crochet hook.  My handspun BFL/silk yarn is gently thin to thick, and it can be slower to fit the beads.  They are getting on there with persistence so far… fingers crossed?

Working with this madder orange dyed yarn is also a push back to the dyepots… hopefully soon!

Another kind of lace update – weaving Swedish Lace sampler

Shortly after my last TKK post, I did wet finish the table loom Swedish lace sampler.  I am not quite done gasping but can share the results.

Test of contrast weft in Swedish lace (weft floats)

This 1st section of the sampler is better than I expected while weaving.  That said, it is really much more appealing with white on the white warp.  They (every book & my workshop teacher) told me so!

Okay, traditional, I see why now

The sampler was not finished schooling my(over-excited)self.  Oh no, it was not.

Woah Swedish lace windows, and maybe never with contrast weft then.

Not for napkins was coming through very clearly by this time.  This is the section where I wove turning the weft and warp floats regularly in their A-B blocks as writ.

You may notice that I had a warp-wise (threading) mistake.  The napkins were to be in finer unmercerized cotton (16/2).  I am considering keeping blue weft on white warp but changing to an 8-shaft crackle structure.  Exploring crackle is a definite interest.

For now the loom is closed as I dig-out from storms and continue the Jane Stafford on-line lessons when possible.

Four ounces of Norwegian wool top in singles form!

These lessons & outings around town allowed me to finish spinning this other 4 oz of Norwegian top dyed by Mandie of Sheepy Time Knits.  The 5 singles balls will probably be chain-plied like the 1st set was.

We are also up a kid-sized Honey Cowl/ down a braid of Rambouillet wool from the 2018 Woodstock Fibre Festival.  Ty announced that it would go with him to school this morning, “… Because you worked so long on it!”

 

 

Weaving Wednesday and regrowth is important

Happy new year!  We rang ours in with my Mom on a working visit with us, and hit a snare of challenges in the good thereafter.  Having time + head-space to post is a sweet spot in the month.

January in Ontario often feels like this croton coming back from 100% leaf drop.  Let’s not put too fine a point on how I managed to capture beautiful croton regrowth, it’s a metaphor.  She has my apologies.

Croton perseveres

The turn came after I got postponed chores sorted, and declared a Family Day last Friday.  We had a spaghetti & meatballs dinner to cap that suspension of expectations off, and each day has built on that so well.

Walk before the storm

We all got out in blowing snow the next morning.  Racing with Ty a creek-side trail was still safe fun before the storm really came in.  Later, while N & Ty shoveled snow, I sat with a small sample that I had started weaving.  More about that idea is to come here & now.

Special thanks to those who showed appreciation for my last post.  Hands have reached out, and I am glad that the idea of connecting resonated for you too.  As things straighten again, I will reply to you properly.

Ducks in a row

That which was 34.5″ in the reed is now a finished 30″ x 38.75″ baby blanket on its way to my friends in Jamaica.

Softness – cotton baby blanket

The draw-in + shrinkage (widthwise) in wet finishing was around 13%.  If you didn’t follow the weaving posts, I used a Glimakra temple for that on-loom reed width of 34.5″.

The slub cotton (Monte Cristo, 1,150 YPP) carries up the right side were an issue visually & with wear in mind.  I rolled the 4-end plain weave edges, and all hemming was by hand.

Roomy hem came in handy!

The hems are sewn with 100% mercerized cotton quilting thread (Mettler) doubled.  Gail is excited, and I loved weaving for her 3rd daughter due very soon!

Daytime at the loom on this project was such a joy that continuing to sit at my looms & learn is my main 2019 craft intention.

Laura Fry is helping with this intention

Laura Fry’s work in encouraging all weavers made it easy for me to ask N very seriously for her book as a Christmas present.  Her Preface ends with the same encouragement I knew to expect, and it is to:

… learn as much as possible about all the variables involved in weaving, determine how those variables affect their cloth and choose strategies that will enhance their experience.

“The Intentional Weaver:  how to Weave Better” Laura Fry, 2018, p. vii

She didn’t tell me to buy yarn in the year-end sales but I did!  Ty found this book joy a little confusing.  He’s right, I do have other weaving books but understood when I pointed to Laura’s Efficient Weaver video that he watched with me one day, and that she is a Canadian professional weaver.

“Okay, Mom,” may also serve to end the soliloquy but I think he got the drift.

Another astute weaving move is also paying dividends – I registered for Jane Stafford’s online ‘guild.’

Two shafts become four! Louet Erica 30 cm table loom

The videos demo Louet looms, and I quickly wanted to finish & install my Erica loom shaft extensions.  Two became four!  The aim was to use this 30 cm loom to sample Swedish lace for a small set of napkins.

Swedish lace in 2/8 cotton on Louet Erica loom

Several boring mistakes later, I was putting Jane Stafford’s advice into practice with this 2/8 white cotton warp.  It is a traditional 17-end per A, B blocks repeated across 4 times.

Turning the lace skips by blocks of Swedish lace

From the blue colour as weft perspective, I much preferred alternating blocks of weft & warp lace skips.  After all the blue is Ty’s special request, and his buy-in is key.  The project threads will be in 16/2 cotton.

Now that I cut the cloth & took all tension off, I saw just how open the full-on lace blocks will be.  Washing is to come but it’s so very obviously in need of more plain weave sections for napkins.

Growth in another also serious sense

The past couple of weeks have been difficult in yarn communities on the internet.  By accident of opting out of a large platform, Instagram, I missed developing stories.  It was this thread retweeted by @DahlingDaughter, Jasmin Knitmore, that both raised my awareness and gave hope.  Much more reading followed but I am not caught-up.

There are relevant stories that I choose not to share publicly some brought to my ears by raw visible privilege.  Others are inherent to my family background in North America & the Caribbean.  None is taken lightly, and I work to grow by not just listening, research but also by stepping all the way back into my feelings.

We can treat the growth factor as having a table loom & letting my son throw the shuttle with me this past Saturday.  However, in this moment it would not feel right.  The impact of racism, colonialism, exclusion in the craft industries is real.  These are serious forces for creators, consumers, business people already operating in niches that are under economic, social pressures.

I do not expect the spaces that I have exited to change on a dime when I am clear about why I am leaving.  They on the other hand cannot expect things of me such as lending support to values of “non-political discourse” that are anything but non-political in the aggregate for example.

Burnout risk in community is also very real.  For the voices that I admire and hear, I hope the joy outweighs cost however you are able to share openly.

 

Pulling-up Socks and Closing the Fell

To The Knit Knack Blog’s readers and friends:

You too may be feeling a dash of strain sprinkled with sleep deprivation, and sometime fist-shaking.  On a surprisingly mild December day that is also quiet enough for thinking, I have some admin good news & project successes to share.  First the…

Good admin news

In a series of steps this year we have moved more surely towards continuing to create the blog in 2019.  The latest step is to keep working with the photography mostly in Flickr for now.  We were a free member with over 1,000 photos.  Imagine the chill on reading:

Free members with more than 1,000 photos or videos uploaded to Flickr will no longer be able to upload new content after Tuesday, January 8, 2019 unless they upgrade to Pro. After February 5, 2019, free accounts that contain over 1,000 photos or videos will have content deleted — starting from oldest to newest date uploaded — to meet the new limit.

Did I want the grief of meeting the new limit?  Dear readers, I did not.  We upgraded and I am calling it a Christmas present to myself & my 1,422 all rights reserved photos.  Not a final decision by any means but rather a step into the new year.

We have a big anniversary coming… this next March, TKK turns 10 years old!  Possibly the only thing that has not changed about TKK since 2009 is the intention.  It’s simple really, I build posts on work done.  A tidy idea with no room for affiliates, sponsors or senders of swag.  Just right here in the scary & unpaid open, I put out what’s the most compelling.

TKK is a blog about adult learning that I started as a very unlikely, very new knitter.  In some ways it has come full circle – I do know my way around & am less of a novice even with weaving but find myself at home in the same way that I used to be at paid employment… with less community than I would like, and frankly, stressed.

This morning, I started listening to the latest “On Being” Podcast show.  Krista Tippett interviews her friend, Dr. Pauline Boss who floored me when she said:

The treatment of sadness is connection.

Dr. Boss’ area of work is ambiguous loss, and I will be going back eagerly to hear the rest of the uncut interview.  The admin news does allow TKK to go forward with the idea of connecting outside the walled craft gardens.  Let’s see where it takes us.

Pulling-up my handspun socks!

What a good feeling to have finished the Strie Cheviot wool socks this Sunday!  The designer is Lara Neel.

Ever so snug!

These socks were knit pretty evenly split between 2 months this fall.  The foot soles are knit through the back loop (i.e. crossing the knit stitches).  The 2-ply Cheviot yarn is Z-twist direction, and was slightly loose knit through the front loop.

Points out where I briefly knit as usual in the first sock

For a few rounds on the first sock, I forgot the ktbl plan.  That band shows clearly in the sock – do you see the slight pucker?

So, so good! That new sock feeling

The gentle flashing in the handspun was fun to watch unfold on the needles, and I am in love with the finished socks.  Wearing them has put a spring in my step!

Closing the Fell

Nothing is uncomplicated about weaving a week before family visits for Christmas.  If you are going to do that in the guest room then this a good kind of project to choose.

Ever so sweet baby blanket

The sage 8/4 cotton is 2 ends x 2 picks plain weave, and the Monte Cristo cotton bouclé is 2 x 2 common basket weave.

After pausing to water the orchids, yesterday morning, I sat at the loom bench as much as possible.  The short warp is finished!

Wow that was quick – hemmed-stitching!

The basket weave took-up more than I expected over the 2.5 yard warp, and it will be a smaller size baby blanket.  Good thing I am sending it home for the newborn phase!

As I threw the shuttles, I had time to think both about weaving & a knitted olive branch that I mailed mid-week.

Happy birthday

This is a 20″ circumference (small) Téamh hat designed by Jennifer Tepper Heverly for a turning-six-this-week girl.  As Jennifer explains in her pattern, “téamh” is Irish Gaelic for “warming.”  It’s been sent in an icing of relations, and is not her first FO off my needles.  The yarn here is Cascade 220 Heathers, knit on 3.5 mm needles.

One hat led to another!

For a very happy kiddo

Both versions modified the pattern from a garter texture to the traditional reverse stockinette.  I also kept the same needle-size for a snug fit.

Ears are covered!

The yarn is “Glittering Caves” MCN worsted by Sheepy Time Knits.  Now that this hat has T’s enthusiastic up-take, I have learned more about what’s important in a hat for him:

• Covers the ears;
• Warm but not with a folded brim because those are weird;
• Dyed-in-the-wool colour; and super-importantly
• Pom-pom is awesome.

Who knew?!?

Also meets with T’s approval – handspun Monster

This mid-September start on a Lloyd the Tall Monster by Rebecca Danger (“Knit a Monster Nursery”, p. 57) sat in pieces for oh, a month.  The yarn is my handspun BFLxShetland 3-ply knit on 3.25 mm double point needles.

With craft gifts almost all given, I am hoping to work up a garment for me soon.  As I sat at my loom this week, I weighed a thought.  Be it resolved to weave more in 2019?  That is the question.  Carving time for weaving = sacrificing other more established patterns.  It may well be time to do that because weaving feels like a barrel of potential.

Shopping the stash – fall handspun knits

We’re fresh-off our Canadian Thanksgiving, which started a little early with my impulse to bake a cranberry/ blueberry crisp and finished with our first turkey dinner at home.

T-kiddo made a good choice on the supermarket cut tulips… they are still fresh & brightening the table runner that I wove in spring 2014, sari silk on 5/2 mercerized cotton warp.

The weft is Himalaya Tibet recycled silk, a long-ago gift that could keep giving – the 14″ x 42″ runner used only approx 80 yards.

As weavers can tell from the I Wove This pic a lot of learning was going on at the time.  Up to & including confusion when tying up my treadles for plain weave that worked in my favour.

Our front hall has its 2 handwoven table runners now, and this is the cheery one of the pair.

Not a long-lasting crisp

Thanksgiving being just this past Monday is hard to believe.  We ran right into an energy audit + furnace replacement job, and handspun yarn has been heavily on my mind!

Handspun happenings

We are at a 4th handspun knit casted-on since mid-September.  That is more than usual & 3 are ready for sharing on TKK.  The quartet has 2 things in common – smaller-scale projects; and all existing stash.  They are a slice of how leaps in spinning can & do become finished objects.

At the centre is this truth – my handspun was not always flowing into queued projects.  This is an almost constant concern in spinning spaces:  how do you use your handspun yarns?  In these 3 projects today the work is a lattice & not linear.

What is not shown here is that I also will design from scratch for my yarns & work from sampling in a straighter course both for knits and handwoven items.  This slice is to show that creativity isn’t always caught in a web of control.  Patience, skill and circling back all can be fruitful.  In order of last to first the 3 new knits are:

Overall lace shawl

This Lacymmetry by Naomi Parkhurst is 1-day into its progress.  It is making me very happy.

This BFL/silk yarn is another 2014 story.  In mid-July that year, I used my 127 g of fibre to spin with the newly acquired William MacDonald antique spinning wheel.

Sugar maple cues the shawl this morning

It is 646 yards that I used in a first madder dye experiment later that year.  The burnt orange colour was an improvement but what to use it for?

Until Naomi’s release this week I was fairly stumped.  The suggested yarn is one I know well, Valley Yarns 2/14 alpaca/silk.  My BFL/silk is a pretty good fit, and with that plugged I had to start right away!

Takeaway – you will see curated pattern lists for spinners but keeping eyes forward on new releases lets you find your own gems.  This designer also spins, and that right fit for handspun is an excitement she knows well.

Hold the front page – spindle-spun socks!

Before the shawl answer fell into my lap, I started a new pair of socks this month.  It is with my most viewed spinning project the Pyrenees Delight Cheviot yarn.  The 1,529 views; 26 favorites came after being featured in Ravelry after the 2017 Tour de Fleece.

The 650 yards of 2-ply is not that old at a January 2018 finish.  It was a puzzle though… would I split to get the socks I had dreamed about while spinning or should I use all in a weaving project?  Here’s my current answer & sock knitting guide.

When I dive into the handspun stash it is a mess of pulling yarns & looking back at the records.  This month I was weighing sock, colourwork mittens or sweater.  Measurements help but as a starting point.  This is part of the note I made when looking at possible mittens:

Thicker than idea in Drachunas (The Art of Lithuanian Knitting, 2015 with June Hall)

Will they look good?

When swatching the Cheviot, I knitted lots and measured twice.  The 2.25 mm needle gave a good fabric, 9 stitches per 1″ in stockinette around.  The guide is Lara Neel’s excellent “Sock Architecture, 2014.  I chose her Strie for its garter rib pattern with my lighter 2-ply.

It is going well up to the heel now.  This z-plied yarn is untwisting a bit as I work & I may cross the foot stitches for firmness.

Takeaway – As one who has more socks than she needs, I will just quote Jan Viren (Handspun Treasures from Rare Wools, ed Deborah Robson, 2000, p. 77):

If you want boring, predictable socks, there are plenty available through standard outlets. These [California Variegated Mutant] have character…

The Handspun Treasures book has a highly entertaining & inspiring juried group of handspun projects.  I snagged my copy on a trip to the Strand bookstore in NYC.

Headwarming in fall

This Calorimetry headband in Targhee was a 2-day knit of joy.

In this second selfie view you can see the hint of its Corgi Hill Farm gradient, Inverness, properly.

Using a single clay button, I have a 21″ long Calorimetry.  It is my 2nd version in handspun.  Working 1×1 ribbing helped cinching in areas with thinner yarn.

2015 Wee Peggy spin-along

This was from a 2015 fall spinalong in the Wee Peggy spinners group on Ravelry that went fairly quickly.  The blues went to N as a pair of plain mittens this winter.

Made, used but not blogged – N’s mittens

The pattern guide was Knit Mitts by Kate Atherley, 2017 & used approx 170 yards of the blue.

This is what I kept around since February waiting for inspiration.  It wanted to be a headband!  The orange is still on the couch waiting for the hat-trick.

Takeaway – gradients are not set in stone.  The 390 yards has made 2 people happy so far, and I am not sore about giving half to N for mittens.

Last plying of a long merino/silk spin

As I am this close to finishing my 4 ounces of merino/silk with this medium Andean pushka, I have thought of a lace shawl.  Which lace shawl will depend on my bandwidth & how much yarn we have here.

There surely are spinners who in Beverley Horne’s words never ever sit with fibre to spin (Fleece in Your Hands – spinning with a purpose: notes and projects, 1979 U.S revised edition, p v):

… without having planned beforehand what you are going to do with the yarn.

Knowing how to do forward planning is important, I agree.  If like me ‘what ifs’, new tools, techniques beckon & good yarn results then you can still move forward.  Sometimes frustration kicks in, of course.  More often you go in a latticework of time spent on the project instead of the good old bossy line.

A side benefit has been letting new skills like weaving catch-up to those good yarns that I still love to spin.

Just think of it as a long run up to the crease (cricket term & to mix metaphors oops)!

 

 

August chase

It was a simple enough idea that came while pressing the handwoven blankets… what if I brought T out for a trip to Kingston?  Calls were made, very strong yeses were heard, and here we are!

My cousin had us over on our first day in the island, and we were thrilled to meet her 8-month old boys.  The great news is that the hem colours made them easy to assign – one has always been wearing/using greens, and the other blues.

Beautiful morning light

It is a short trip and we will head straight into T’s school year when we get back.

Kindness and yum!

Arriving in guinep season is a decidedly good idea.  T now calls them, “You mean the juicy fruit that you can’t get the juice on you because it stains?”  He is a fan of both these guineps and the sugar cane in the plastic bag!

In lieu of a beach day, I opted in for the Jah-3s Hash exploring a beautiful old estate in East St. Andrew, Dallas Castle, on Sunday.

Hiking down the Cane River, Dallas Castle

It was the best kind of challenge day, and T made it with the help of his walking stick!  “Mom, I am going in the river again!”  We got through the paper chase with no major slips or slides.

He was really brave!  As for me this was so much fun I could burst.  It was also T’s first trip into the Blue Mountain Range.

Waterworks ruins at Dallas Castle, St Andrew, Jamaica

The property that became Dallas Castle was purchased in 1758 as a working estate by a Dr. Dallas.  After what sounds like a run through sugar cane, coffee plantation profit to high debts it was sold eventually to the father of George William Gordon, National Hero in the early 19th century.  This planning site for the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 is now privately owned.

After hike cool-down

This first ever hike is being followed by more visits with family & friends.  We miss N but have been enjoying ourselves thoroughly.  Yesterday, T answered, “How are you liking Jamaica?” cheerfully:

It’s hot.

True but not as hot as August can get here, kiddo!  I am loving sleeping with just a fan on.

Travel sock

Another sock is already on needles but I cast this on for T when our tickets were booked.  The chief reason is that his foot has grown since the first pair.

For the sockworthy T!

Seeing him struggle with a slipping heel convinced me to pause my own.  The yarn is from the Sheepytime Knits Middle Earth Yarn Club, November 2017.  Mandie dyed “The Great Sea” and it is a superwash merino/cashmere/nylon blend.  The pattern is a modified basic sock from “Tiny Treads” by Joeli Caparco.

Good choices make for good knitting

For spinning, I am excited to visit my birthday gift, a Tyrolean spinning wheel right here in Jamaica!  I have my cotton project on the African clay bead whorl spindle (look up – it’s the one in the TKK header) as well.  It’s the best for downtime.

This is my first ever post from Jamaica!  The new light machine is making a huge difference – I am so glad that we were able to get it for many reasons but this is particularly sweet.

 

August Challenge Spin with Spindlers

The August challenge theme in Spindlers group on Ravelry is “fantasy,” and I took the plunge!

Not going with Outlander, read ahead!

This 5 oz braid of combed top from Corgi Hill Farm is in my favourite blend, alpaca/merino/silk.  The spindle choice is my 22 g Spanish Peacock spindle, Flame Box Elder.

The group challenge is to spin at least 1 or more oz (or ½ oz lace) during the month on spindles (of course!), posting a skein in the thread by EST end of August.

Inspiration hits!

The Lord of the Eagles, Tolkien

The fibre brought to mind a single thought – Gandalf’s Eagle!  I went for our illustrated (Alan Lee) copy of “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien, found page 108, and headed for the passage that took my breath away so many years ago.

Eagles are not kindly birds. Some are cowardly and cruel. But the ancient race of the northern mountains were the greatest of all birds; they were proud and strong and noble-hearted…

Letting the curious Lord of the Eagles of the Misty Mountains take me out of my tree perch sounds like a good way to crack through that oh-so-pragmatic decision to miss the Tour de Fleece this year.

So far, I am the only fantasy Eagle Lord entrant but the past 2 days have brought some wonderful interpretations into this month’s theme.  Join us or just lurk for the fun, will you?

Rocking late blooming Lily!

This past camp week for T was also a treat for my fibre projects.  Wrinkles aside (I answered their survey this morning…), I used the daytime hours to have the coveted dye day, spin for the fun of it, share online, and best of all open the floor loom!

Yesterday brought a new tool into the kit – first pair of eye-glasses.  Slight correction later, and I am far more comfortable on-screen.  The 5/2 cotton threads on the loom are much easier to work with now, phew!

Another week of camp will start after our civic holiday weekend.  I am looking forward to sharing the pictures/project stories with you!