Finally!

The number of new Covid cases is climbing in Indiana, so tomorrow (Monday) masks become mandatory indoors. It's about time. When I see non-wearers of masks out and about, I almost feel assaulted, as though they are pointing at me and saying, I don't care about YOU! What a selfish culture we have cultivated.

I am a little embarrassed to say I did nothing fiber related this past week except try to repair the Taupe Beast. It took me a while to find a copy of the pattern (thank you, Inter Library Loan!) Then I had to learn how to crochet again; fortunately, that is like riding a bike, one never really forgets. I worked up a sample of the pattern, then spent HOURS trying to actually repair the afghan. Talk about a cognitive test! I will keep at it, though, as this thing is a favorite winter warmer for my daughter, her family, and her dogs. (No wonder it needs repair!)

One happy result of my efforts was coming to the conclusion that I kind of miss crochet. My mother taught me how when I was about 14 (I wonder what happened to that vest?) I inundated friends and family with afghans and baby blankets, then got bitten by the knitting bug. Lately, knitting has taken a toll on my shoulders, so maybe I'll return to my hooking roots, at least for a while.

Four suns tapestry

Reminder to self: Do not weave in black or dark blue because your eyes are too old to see what you are doing.

That is not completely true. With pocket weaving, one can create four-selvage pieces. The problem is that once one is in the homestretch, it is really difficult to keep the warp covered with weft. An argument for matching the color of the warp to the color of the end weaving.

I really like "kindergarten colors" - primary and secondary on the color wheel. Hatching comes in handy for blending the colors. Cartoons (what weavers call the paper guides behind the weaving) help with shapes and such. I'm still perfecting my circles.

I kind of pooped out by the time I reached the fourth sun. Then I struggled with the final rows. Then this piece sat around for a long time, waiting to be hemmed. What should have been a quickie project languished quite a bit.

I consider my pocket weaving to be samples or swatches, a way to try out an idea or some colors. And when I'm done, I have a nice rug mug to add to the pile.

Pink and purple and some sparkle

I had this grand plan to blend half the angelina into half the purple merino, blend the rest of the angelina into half the pink merino, spin those into singles, then spin the rest of the purple and pink into singles, finishing up with a 4-ply yarn. I think I could have skipped all the fooling around. Were I to do this again, I would mix all the angelina with all the purple merino and two-ply it with the pink.

Fiber: merino in purple and pink, angelina in sapphire(?)
Wheel: Ashford Joy 2
Technique: nothing special
Spun: worsted, Z-twist at an 8:1 ratio
Plied: 4-plied, S-twist at an 11:1 ratio

I used a drum carder to blend the merino and angelina. Fiber that starts out as top turns into roving on the drum carder. After a few trips through the carder, it turns into roving with nupps. It took me a while to figure out I did not need to send each batch through the carder three times, once was enough. I think I was hung up on the number three because if I had been blending colors, yes, three or more trips would be required. (Some people blend angelina into fiber as they spin, but I'm too anal to risk running out of one or the other before I was done.)

Spinning the blend was a challenge. Merino top spins up so easily! Merino blended with angelina - not so much. The angelina doesn't slip like wool; it stiffens the fiber and removes some of the bounce that merino is known for. I found it more difficult to keep the singles thin, too.

As would be expected, when 4-plying, I ran out of one ply before the others. So I 3-plied until I ran out another spool, then 2-plied the rest, ending up with one sample that was not a mixture.

4-ply: 1 ply purple merino, 1 ply purple merino/angelina blend, 1 ply pink merino, 1 ply pink merino/angelina blend
WPI: 8-9 (between Aran and worsted weights)
Amount: 286 yards, 204 grams

3-ply: 1 ply purple merino/anglina blend, 1 ply purple merino, 1 ply pink merino
WPI: 10
Amount: 5.5 yards, 7 grams

2-ply: 1 ply purple merino/angelina blend, 1 ply purple merino
WPI: 12
Amount: 24 yards, 8 grams

2-ply: both plies purple merino/angelina blend
WPI: 12
Amount: 38 yards, 13 grams

I like the color combination of pink and purple, but I have no idea what I will make with this. Suggestions welcome!

Schedule change

My usual MO is to work in the garden early and late in the day because, OMG, the heat! The humidity! Ugh! However, I also like to relax with a couple of hours of TV each day. Watching in the evening was interfering with the gardening, so I switched to matinee viewing - I watch in the afternoon, in the heat of the day, when I am feeling rather sluggish anyway. Fiber fits in here and there.

Needle felting: I forgot that the week before this past one I spent some time repairing Dill. Poor thing.
Spinning: I finished plying the merino/angelina blend. Separate post to follow on that effort.
Weaving: The 4-sun piece that languished for many weeks is hemmed. I'm almost done with the piece that is currently on the pocket loom.

I'm taking a pottery class at the community center. One project is a bunch of bone-shaped items. The plan is to only bisque them, not glaze them. When I am dyeing yarn, I'll throw some in the dye pot, then wrap some yarn samples around them to display in a print tray that hangs in my dining room. Another project is to weave something in clay. Toward that end, today I practiced with pie dough.

Not too shabby!

Second verse, same as the first

Like last week's report, I am trying to get something, anything done in the yard. The heat is giving us a brief reprieve, but the ground is still bone dry. Occasionally, a pop up storm drops a few sprinkles, but nothing significant. I'm still wading through the old letters, too, ruminating on what to do with some of them that lack a "next of kin". Maybe a historical society would be interested? Reading them is like traveling back in time, which is distracting.

Spinning: I finished spinning the pink merino/angelina blend singles and started 4-plying everything. I'm beginning to think my efforts will not produce anything all that interesting. Also, I don't seem to have enough fingers for 4-plying.

Indiana is experiencing an uptick in Covid cases. I see more people wearing masks, although still not all unless the store (like Barnes & Noble) requires it. Kroger now "recommends" masks. I feel like getting a t-shirt made that says, "If you want your children to go back to school this fall, WEAR A MASK."

Shifting priorities

Not much fiber activity occurred this past week. For one thing, despite the heat, the yard calls. I spend some time out there every morning before it gets too hot, then do some watering in the evening because it is not only hot but dry. Also, after the death of a cousin of my mother's a few weeks ago (not from covid), I feel a pressing need to go through all the old letters and photographs I've been sitting on for far too long.

Spinning: I finished spinning the purple merino/angelina blend singles and am halfway through the pink merino/angelina blend.

Today is Independence Day, a holiday I'm not too fond of. The dogs are even less fond of it, especially Clio. In Indiana, personal fireworks are legal. In our municipality, their use is limited to certain times of the year, like the week leading up to today. This constraint is ignored by a few, but to my knowledge, no one is ever caught, let alone fined. I've had to move the dog crates into my bedroom, as Clio is relatively calm if I am nearby. I have also been sitting out in the yard with them in the late evening, hopefully to inure them to the noise. My efforts help but I will be glad when this holiday is over.