Just let it go

I posted about hoping to get all my looms warped before my shoulder surgery, but that ain't gonna happen. So then I thought maybe I could at least empty some looms and finish some weaving and knitting, but after today, I realize even that may not happen. What gets done gets done. Just let it go.

Knitting: Still working on the white 'Graham' slouchy hat. I started the crown today, but dropped some stitches while switching from circular needles to DPNs. I hope to get that back on track and finished by Tuesday night.
Spinning: The first ounce of the mystery fiber spun up really nicely, the second one not so much. I stopped after about a quarter of the way through, flummoxed over what the problem might be. Then I realized I may have been working with the roving backwards. Wool has scales, so sometimes it matters which end of the rope one starts with. I may get this spinning done, plied, and off the bobbin by Tuesday night.
Weaving: Following some instructions for a pieced poncho in Weave, Knit, Wear (by Judith Shangold), I started knitting together two pieces of woven fabric, to make a lap robe. But the number of stitches I picked up from one half does not match the number from the other. This project is not going to be finished before surgery. I also worked on one selvage of the soumak weaving, also not going to be finished by my self-imposed deadline.

I'm not big on social media (and just deleted my Twit account), but I started following @gardenercook on Instagram. I struggle with color, and her daily exercise of using watercolor to match the colors she finds in nature has me intrigued. I've been wanting to do something similar, but didn't know how to get started. It turns out she wrote a how-to book, which I ordered through ThriftBooks.

Next Tuesday's Handweavers Guild of America Textiles and Tea features Sheila Hicks. (Squee!!!) If you can't watch at 4pm EST, you can watch a recording of the interview online, either through HGA or FB.

A weekend away

Between divorces and in-laws (and outlaws), planning for holidays is a bit of a hassle. This year I suggested to my kids that we get together the weekend before Thanksgiving for "our" celebration, then they could do whatever with their various and sundry relatives. I rented a Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) in the Beach Walk community of Michigan City, where we out-of-towners stayed. My plan was to do no cooking, and I didn't (if you don't count the microwave popcorn). Hiking occurred, despite the low temps and high winds, plus outlet shopping and lively UNO playing. It was a fun two days. I took knitting, but didn't actually do any knitting, that's how busy we were. (Here's a pic of a wallhanging in the Troll Den where we stayed.)

Knitting: The white Graham hat experienced a setback when I realized I had forgotten to change needle sizes after the ribbing. I'm caught up now, though.
Spinning: More thin spinning, this time a mystery fiber that I think is an angora blend. I'm also trying a backward draw instead of my usual forward draw.
Weaving: The gray soumak weaving is off the loom, time to finish off the selvages.

The Handweavers Guild of America has a weekly online program called Textiles and Tea. Last Tuesday I listened to Annie MacHale, author of two inkle weaving books, discuss her specialty, and it was good. If you have a spare hour at 4pm EST, log on and give it a listen. (It's also a good excuse to just sit and knit while being entertained.)

More fine spinning

This past week, I gave some New Zealand Romney top a spin, in search of a fine 2-ply. My technique still needs some work. I backed off the 14:1 ratio to 11:1, which worked better, but the result (14-16 WPI) was not quite as fine as the Corriedale (18 WPI). Ideally, I'd like to spin faster but feed in the yarn faster as well? Still finding my way.

Knitting: I finished the pink 'Graham' slouchy hat; separate post to follow. I started a white version of the same pattern. If you have a short skein (at least 75 grams) that you want to use up, I recommend this pattern.
Spinning: See above. I've also been trying to clear some bobbins of Shetland I spun quite a while back.
Weaving: I've made some progress on a wall hanging that uses super bulky merino woven in soumak.

The countdown to shoulder surgery has begun. I'm really looking forward to being able to weave on my inkle loom again. I thought about warping every loom I have, in anticipation of the day I can weave without pain, but that takes a bit of planning and time is running out. We'll see.

Vintage toy loom

At the weaving guild meeting this past week, one of our newer members brought in a toy loom she found at a thrift shop. She offered it up to anyone who wanted to fool with it, and it was just so darn cute, I had to take it home.

After performing a little research, I've come to the conclusion that it is a vintage toy loom made by a Swedish company called Brio, now defunct apparently. It's either that or a very good copy of one.

Later models have a bright red rigid heddle, but this one uses eye heddles. I don't think they are all there, so they may need a modern replacement.

I don't know how to warp a loom like this, but I'm sure I can figure something out, courtesy of our local library. Anyway, something new to fiddle with.

Knitting: Working on the crown of the pink 'Graham' slouchy hat.
Spinning: I switched to fine spinning Romney, with its longer staple, but 14:1 was still too tight a twist, so I dropped to 11:1. I think this will work better. Ready to ply.

Weaving guild meeting was about card, or tablet, weaving, all demo, no hands-on (we meet in rather cramped quarters). I think I would like the results from card weaving better than inkle weaving, as the fabric is denser and more sturdy. Right now I can't do much of either, pending shoulder surgery.