Hell in a handbasket

I try to keep politics and social issues out of my blogs - that is not why I write - but there are times when I wonder just what the hell is going on, and why, and how to fix things. I try to stay optimistic - something will save us from ourselves, a new leader, a technology breakthrough, SOMETHING - but instead things just seem to get worse. It's not just here in the US, either, but worldwide. We've reached some kind of tipping point. Where do we go from here? Where is Elizabeth McCord when we need her?

Knitting: My sock-knitting MO is to knit toes, heels, and cuffs in a contrasting color, but after completing about six rounds of the cuff in 'Golden', I could tell there would not be enough yarn to finish. Instead of 2" cuffs, do I resign myself to less than 1"? Do I purchase a whole new skein of yarn? Oops, the colorway is not available and the store is currently online only, no curbside pickup, so I'd have to pay for shipping too even though Simply Socks is less than ten miles away. I decided to knit the cuff in the self-striping yarn, which meant tinking back.
Spinning: I finished spinning one 2-oz ball of the purple merino and started the pink. The current plan is to blend the angelina into the remaining two balls, then FOUR-ply the finished yarn.
Weaving: I am still struggling with the rigid heddle weaving. The temple should arrive tomorrow, so maybe that will help. Re the pocket loom weaving, I stopped one night because I was tired and getting confused about the colors, then blithely carried on a few days later, continuing the confusion. I had to unweave, then reweave the thprird sun (which is hard to see in this pic).

On an almost-unrelated topic, I have been trying my hand at drawing with colored pencils. For one thing, it is a MUCH simpler method for creating art than weaving is.

Drawings can provide inspiration for weaving and other fiber arts. It is also surprisingly engaging. For example, how does one make a sphere look three dimensional? What color are shadows? How can there be so many shades of white? And who stole my Prisma colored pencils?

Becoming a germaphobe

Indiana has been slowly emerging from the shelter-in-place order, leaving me a bit confused over what is allowed now and what is not. I'm also concerned about scofflaws, people who think they can do whatever, wherever, regardless of the circumstances. I don't like crowds in the best of times, but now I have a legitimate reason to avoid all those germ-ridden people - I'm over 65, supposedly in a high risk group (although no underlying health issues). I also don't want to become a second-wave statistic, so thanks, but no thanks, I'm wearing my mask.

Knitting: I did reach my goal of completing the legs on the Ivy socks. Tomorrow I start the cuffs.
Spinning: I finished plying the navy blue and burnt orange merino (see post here) and started spinning some more Timbre Ridge merino, in purple and pink. There is also a package of angelina with this batch, something I have played with before. Not sure how I am going to use that. BTW, visit this link to see where the Timbre Ridge merino came from.
Weaving: I finally made some forward progress on the latest pocket loom weaving:

I also started, then completely unwove a piece on my 24" rigid heddle loom. It's warped in black 8/4 carpet warp, which is fine, but despite all my care, by the time I had woven 3" the sides had pulled in 1/2". And it was just beginning! I decided to start over. I also decided to invest in a temple, to see if that will help me maintain even selveges.

I grew up in houses without central air, something I would never consider these days - I like my comfort. My electric company sends out a monthly energy usage report. In the past, I consistantly used less than the most efficient homes in my area, but since I retired, my summer usage runs high. That's because I am home all day, so the thermostat never gets reset. The most recent report pointed out that ceiling fans consume less energy than AC units, so I am experimenting with using them more this year. This is going to be a warmish week, so we'll see how that works. Wish my shade trees were bigger.

River Queen

It seems to me that the results of search engines (ahem, GOOGLE) are getting worse and worse. They are mostly ads and those ads rarely are even close to what one is looking for. Of course, maybe what I am looking for no longer exists? I'm talking about Timbre (or Timber?) Ridge Farms, the vendor of this merino fiber that was labeled "River Queen". I'd like to give credit where credit is due, but the source of this fine fiber will have to remain unknown.

Fiber: merino (superwash? top? we'll never know) in 'River Queen' - navy blue and burnt orange
Wheel: Ashford Joy2
Technique: nothing special
Spun: worsted, Z-twist at an 8:1 ratio
Plied: 2-ply, S-twist at an 11:1 ratio
WPI: 8-9 (between Aran and worsted weights)
Amount: 406 yards, 236 grams

I don't consider myself to be a master spinner by any means, but I am quite pleased with how this yarn turned out. The diameter is more uniform than I usually spin, and using two different ratios for the spinning and plying resulted in a perfectly balanced yarn. Woohoo!

I have to admit I became a little bored with spinning a generous 4 oz of navy, then another generous 4 oz of orange, but when I plied them together - WOW.

If there is a county fair this summer, I plan to enter a skein of this yarn, that is how proud I am of these results. I can't wait to knit up a swatch, as I think this would make a lovely hat/mitten/scarf combo. There should be enough, right?

I got a haircut!

This has been a big week for me, as I had my teeth cleaned on Wednesday, my hair cut on Thursday, and my body massaged on Friday. Protocols were in place for the first two, not so much the third. My therapist is renting a room inside another massage place, and not much mask-wearing was going on. Oh, to be young and arrogant again!

Knitting: When I mentioned I was getting tired of the Ivy socks, I must have really meant it, as knitting fell by the wayside a bit this week. If I get back on that horse, I should reach the cuffs by next weekend.
Spinning: I finished spinning the orange roving and am almost done plying the orange with the navy. Separate post coming, but I am very pleased with how the yarn is turning out.
Weaving: I started another piece on the pocket loom, and right now am a little stuck where I want to transition from the yellow and orange to red, but not all at once. I weave a bit, then unweave it, dissatisfied. It will come.

Someone (or some ones) in the neighborhood have been setting off a few firecrackers each evening. There are rules about when private individuals can set off fireworks, and I am pretty sure now is not the time, but I can't quite figure out which household is doing it. It's like trying to trace a phone call but the caller doesn't stay on the line long enough. The reason this bugs me is it upsets the dogs, especially Clio who stands on her hind legs and claws at the patio door to get back inside. She is also reluctant to get in her crate at night, even though that is the safest place to be. The firecrackers have led to her being skittish about thunder too, and nail guns - there is a house going up on the next block. It's going to be a long summer.

More practice hatching

I created a second practice piece on the Mirrix Saffron pocket loom. I used non-superwash wool for this one and worked from the front, just for a change. While I think the results are better lice-wise, the selvages need work and the fabric is not as flat as I had hoped. After one signs up for a class from Rebecca Mezoff, one gets access to a private Facebook page where there is lots of good advice from other beginners. Also, some of the "bonus" reading at the end of the course I took provided more helpful hints. So maybe the *next* practice piece will be even better.

Weaving from the front is actually a bit more difficult than weaving from the back because loose ends need to be tucked to the other side. I am going to return to weaving from the back, now that I see a definite advantage. I am also having trouble at the end of the piece, where there is not much room for "bubbling" the weft; that's another area needing improvement.

One way to improve is to weave every day. I find that is easier to do with this little loom, as I can complete a project in about a week. I'm less likely to get stalled and frustrated and overwhelmed, too. No matter what hobby you are starting, be it fiber or gardening or whatever, start small!

Fit to be bit

I might have accomplished more this week if I hadn't spent several DAYS trying to get my new Fitbit Charge 4 up and running. My daughter had asked for one for her birthday, as a replacement for her old model which was cracked, and my SO also has a birthday coming up and had sent his old Fitbit One through the wash, and hey, if I'm going to order two, I might as well get myself one, to replace my old One model. They were both able to get theirs going with NO problems, using their newer-than-mine phones. My Android OS was too old and the setup wouldn't finish successfully from the Fitbit app running on my laptop. Only after multiple attempts and a little bit of fiddling was I able to get it set up from my tablet. Whew! As a former IT person, I think I should be able to figure these things out, but the manufacturers of electronic devices do not always make it easy.

Knitting: I am about halfway up the leg to the cuff on the Ivy socks. As pretty as the colorway is, I'm getting a bit tired of this project.
Spinning: I finished the navy merino and am about halfway through the orange. Hopefully, by next weekend, I will be plying.
Weaving: I finished the online weaving class I am taking, I guess. The final "lesson" is to provide pix of practice pieces. I finished one last week, finished a second yesterday (separate post to follow).

I broke down and subscribed to CBS All Access, so I can watch The Good Fight and Picard. I'm really enjoying the former, am holding off on the latter until I can catch up on some of the old Star Trek movies. I think the last one I saw was The Wrath of Khan, where Spock dies. Imagine my surprise when he showed up on The Next Generation. Apparently, the next movie in the series resurrects him somehow. Part of the fun of watching a series in a franchise is seeing older characters pop up in newer shows. Bringing Picard back is pure genius. I know - I'm a geek. ;-)

Everything takes so long!

I'm sure there are some crafts and hobbies out there that don't take months to reach a finished project, but apparently fiber arts is not one of them. Part of the problem is my aging body: 20 minutes of spinning, 30 minutes of knitting, 40 minutes of weaving (if that) are about all I can manage most days. Besides the need to get up and move, there are hip and shoulder exercises to do, dogs to walk, a too big house to clean, and now a yard that needs attention. Add to all that my tendency to procrastinate and to leave projects 50% to 95% done without closing the deal. I feel like I have nothing to show for all my efforts. But what else would I do? Twiddle my thumbs while I binge watch TV? No thanks. I'll just keep on keepin' on.

Knitting: Still working on the Ivy socks. I'm about a third of the way to the cuffs.
Spinning: Still working on the navy merino, although I am almost done with that color.
Weaving: Still haven't wrapped up the online class, but I have been practicing on my Saffron pocket loom.

I know some of you live where Covid-19 is still a major threat. Here in Indiana we are starting a 5-stage emergence from shelter-in-place. Last week, elective medical treatments became allowed, so my appointment for a teeth cleaning will go ahead as scheduled. This week, retail places and restaurants can operate at 50% capacity; there are some things I could use - walking shoes, a new dishwasher and garbage disposal, etc. - but I think they can wait a while. Next week, "high touch" businesses like hair salons can open, again at reduced capacity; I have a haircut and a massage scheduled. We are still supposed to wear masks and keep our distance as much as possible.

For me, it feels like "vacation" is over, time to get back to "work" even though I am retired and my day-to-day life has not been affected much. I hope people don't go crazy and ignore safety measures in their rush to get back to "normal". I think I will continue to avoid crowds for a while, just to be safe. Hope you all are safe!

Practicing hatching

I've discovered that it is one thing to follow along in a book or with an instructor when learning something new, and quite another to try it on one's own. But once I dive into whatever it is that I am trying to learn, it gets easier and feels more automatic. Thus practicing hatching as taught by Rebecca Mezoff.

Hatching involves alternating colors in the weaving, to create shades, shapes, whatever. It can be irregular or, like here, regular. It can introduce subtle color changes, especially from a distance, while producing different effects up close.

This piece used Valley Yarns superwash wool yarn, not the best choice for tapestry weaving, but I have SO MUCH YARN - I don't want to buy more right now, especially for practice. The warp is 8/4 carpet warp in gray, which blended in enough that the "lice" (uncovered warp) was not obvious enough for me to correct. Rebecca teaches weaving from the back of the fabric, so sometimes the front is a bit of a surprise, but this example turned out okay, considering. I'm working on another, from the front, just to see if I like it better.

Another technique Rebecca teaches is "meet and separate" which involves weaving each color with two ends. This has its advantages, but when weaving a small piece in multiple colors, yarn wrangling gets to be a bit much. The loom is too small for using butterflies (yarn wound into figure 8's), so I was using tapestry needles with bent tips to weave. I also used a double-pointed knitting needle to set up the shed for each row. This helped when "beating" the previous row, as well as when weaving the current row. Just a non-professional tip.