Time crunch

Some days I feel somewhat overwhelmed. How did I ever manage to get stuff done while I was still working? I know I clean more since replacing all the carpet with laminate - carpeting holds onto pet hair whereas the laminate allows for tumbleweeds of detritis. And now that things are opening up a bit, I'm out and about a bit more. Then there is the yard and garden and some home improvement and repair. Gah!

Knitting: The blocking of the Reader's Wrap was a success! The curl is gone, so I have been knitting the pockets. One down, one to go.

Spinning: More red Tunis. As I spin, I hold an internal debate on whether to spin it all or leave some as roving for future weaving projects.
Weaving: After the guild program on waffle weave, I tried my hand at it and failed. But I was following the directions for some "pseudo" waffle weave patterns I found in a book. This week I unwove that bit and started over, following the instructions from the program. Success! I think there is enough warp on this loom for four dishrags, so I will carry on.

My SO and I spent Saturday on the local Rural Artist Studio Tour. Last year's event was cancelled, and some of the regulars apparently chose to forego participation this year, but we still had a good time chatting up the artists. Then we stopped at a new microcreamery near downtown. As we chowed down on double scoops of hand crafted ice cream, we wandered around the historic West Central neighborhood. What a delightful day! Maybe someday, when the state reaches herd immunity (barely halfway there now), we will be able to be out and about without masks and social distancing.

Spring cleaning

There is a special place in hell reserved for the engineers who design stuff that can't be easily cleaned. The nooks and crannies defy scrubbing by toothbrush and picking with toothpicks. Some of that grime will be there until the end of time.

Fiber prep: I was hoping to have started processing a fleece by today, but no such luck. I did purchase some lingerie bags, as that is what will hold the raw fiber while it is being cleaned.
Knitting: The Reader's Wrap body is finished and is being blocked post haste. If the blocking ends the curling, I will add the pockets.

Spinning: More red Tunis. (This section of the progress report is going to be very boring for a very long time.)
Weaving: I wove in the ends of the blue sampler. I'm ready to prematurely end the macrameing of the ends - it's really tedious.

My granddaughter slept over Friday night, a real treat. Having her here no longer feels like babysitting, more like having a guest in the house, she has grown up so much. I feel like I have missed out on a year of her life.

Busy week

I was hoping to have some FOs to report this week, but for some reason I had a bunch of other stuff to attend to instead. While waiting on my granddaughter at one of her activities, I intended to weave in some ends on the blue sampler, but the needle container I grabbed on the way out was empty. Grrr!

Knitting: I just measured the Reader's Wrap and came up with 55", less than I reported last week. Maybe I can't count?
Spinning: More red Tunis.
Weaving: I did finish weaving the towels and pulled them off the loom. The expectation is they will shrink in both length and width.

I stopped by the Little Shop of Spinning in Roanoke (INDIANA) today, to pick up a few magazines (Wheel and two issues of Little Looms). The owner Phia and I enjoyed a nice chat which included a description of how she cleans fleece. I won't go into detail until later, but I now see a way forward dealing with the fleece in the garage.

Our governor lifted the mask mandate (too early, in my opinion). Most businesses are still "requiring" them and most customers are cooperating, but today I noted that more people than usual are going maskless. Makes me doubly happy that I am vaccinated.

Last zoom?

Last week the weavers guild had a blended meeting: in-person (masked) AND Zoom. That was the same day I received my second vaccination for Covid-19. I anticipate attending next month's meeting in person. A milestone. The spinning guild will probably continue to meet online, for now.

Knitting: Up to 56" on the Reader's Wrap. In the homestretch!
Spinning: Plugging away on the red Tunis, with much sighing over the VM.
Weaving: I just up and decided I was done with the wall hanging on the frame loom and pulled it off. There is still some finishing work to do. (More sighing.) Added a few more rows to the macrame ends on the blue sampler. And I'm nearing the end of the towels on the rigid heddle loom, although it looks like it will be one towel and a placemat.

The inkle weaving study group provided the program for the weavers guild meeting. We are also having a workshop in September on weaving Krokbragd on an inkle loom. So now I am interested in shifting focus to the inkle loom. One reason I abandoned it a while back was because of my eyesight, but now I have new glasses. I'm hoping it will be easier on my shoulders than the weaving I have been doing lately. We shall see.

Not the weather

This morning I woke up with much shoulder pain. Since it is GORGEOUS outside, I cannot blame the weather. I think it is weaving and folding queen size sheets and doing a bit of exercise with light weights. One problem with arthritis is, on good days, I do too much and pay for it the next.

Knitting: Up to 48" on the Reader's Wrap. I am becoming a bit concerned over the curling of the fabric, however. Others commented on this problem on Ravelry. When I reach 60", I will give it a good block. If it doesn't behave, it will go into time out while I decide how to move forward (or backwards, as the case may be).
Spinning: I *did* start spinning the red tunis. There is a big difference between spinning clean merino top and tunis roving with a fair amount of VM. It will be slow going while I pick out the detritus.
Weaving: Did a bit of work on the wall hanging and the towels. I also started macrameing the warp ends on a sampler piece. Using a book I checked out from the local library via Hoopla, I am doing some simple square knots. It is going very, very slowly. I think it has been over 40 years since I last tried macrameing.

Look at all those ends to weave in! I made this before I learned the "meet and separate" method of tapestry weaving which leaves no ends.

Last Wednesday, when I was scheduled for my second Covid shot, I woke up feeling ill. No fever, but chills and symptoms of perhaps a norovirus. So I rescheduled my shot for this coming week. It's always something, isn't it?

Achy, breaky

Recently someone asked me if my arthritis acts up when the weather is bad. I have good days and bad days, but had not equated them to the weather. However, this past week has been mostly rainy, and boy, do I hurt! Of course, it might be the cortisone shots wearing off and/or because I have been weaving on a frame loom which means holding my arms more horizontal. When some sunshine appears, I will have to pay attention to my pain level.

Knitting: Despite my aches and pains, I am up to 42" on the Reader's Wrap.
Weaving: I finished the first towel on the rigid heddle loom and started the second. But that project has languished a bit as I dragged out an unfinished project that's on a frame loom, unwove some of it, and changed it from a tote bag to a wall hanging. It's a prototype for a possible project for my daughter.

I'm actually weaving it upside down (the tapestry, not me)

I started this piece before taking Rebecca Mezoff's online course in tapestry weaving, so the weaving techniques change partway through, including how I do the flossa stitches. Since I am running out of yarn, it is almost done.

Standardized... sorta

At the last spinning guild meeting, I brought up a discussion about control cards and the fact mine came with a WPI chart that differs from the one on my WPI tool.

One member lamented the fact that there was no standard definition for WPI.

But there is. However, it provides a *range* of wraps per yarn weight. (This photo is from Yarnitecture, by Jillian Moreno.)

The lesson here is, no matter what weight you think your yarn is, always, always, always knit a gauge swatch before starting a project.

Knitting: I am at the 33" mark with the Reader's Wrap and have used up nearly a whole 8-oz. skein of fisherman's wool. There are two more skeins in my stash, so no worries about running short. While knitting, I contemplate maybe dyeing the whole thing once it's done, but I'm not sure how the wool will take dye. Like swatching, a test sample is called for.
Spinning: I decided to take a week away from spinning while I plot my next project. I have a lot of Tunis red roving that I spun up a while ago. I didn't like the results, so experimented with mixing in various amounts of white, gray, and black. But now I've decided I *do* like the plain Tunis red, three plied in what feels like an Aran weight yarn. Hopefully, I can duplicate my effort.
Weaving: I am almost done with the first towel on the current warp. I'm toying with the idea of double weaving the second towel, to create a heftier fabric. It's not uncommon to double warp a loom, so I think this will work, or work well enough.

It's been a year since my last outing, which was to the Jay County Fiber Arts Festival. This year's event was cancelled. However, they plan to have a virtual festival on April 24, with virtual classes and the marketplace. There is a class on fiber prep that I just might take, given I have several fleeces in the garage, just waiting to be processed.