Am I a fiber snob?

I have about ten pairs of black pants in my closet, of various sizes and weights, none of which I wear on a regular basis (like not at all). They are "just in case" I need to wear something besides jeans. Most are polyester, not very warm in the winter.

Once upon a time, one could purchase a pair of wool slacks at a department store. That is what I would like, but finding something that is 100% wool and affordable is nearly impossible. I'm tempted to try sewing a pair... but they would probably hang unworn in the closet with the rest of my "dressy" pants. I'm open to suggestions.

Knitting: Cora the ESC is almost done - just need to put the pieces together and stuff her. Bigfoot's socks are a few rounds from the toes.

And that is about all the fibering I have done this past week. We drove to the Honeywell Center in Wabash to take in an exhibit by one of my fiber friends, and per usual, now I don't feel well. It seems every time we go somewhere, I pick up some fresh germs that leave me feeling low for a day or two. I need a nap.

Road trip to Cranbrook

This past week, my SO and I drove up to Cranbrook Art Museum to see an exhibit by Toshiko Takaezu. The artist is known for her ceramics, but she also was a painter and a WEAVER. In fact, she was besties with Lenore Tawney (who has a cameo piece in the exhibit). We came for the ceramics (which were amazing), but the weaving was icing on the cake.

"Ne (Roots)"
Wool, cotton, linen, silk, and rayon (plain weave, knotted pile, wrapping)

Shades of Sheila Hicks

Lenore Tawney amongst the closed forms (moons)

Crochet: My granddaughter came over for a lesson today, but her attention kept wandering, so I went ahead and worked up most of the body of the jellyfish I am crocheting in parallel.

Knitting: I'm approaching the toes of Bigfoot's socks. Lately, several of my fiber friends have been knitting Emotional Support Chickens, so I started one, using naturally dyed yarn.

Spinning: The Tasman comeback is plied but not yet skeined. I started spinning some Wenslydale Longwool top, but I'm not enjoying it very much.

It is finally getting cool enough for wool socks and sweaters and wraps. (I'm wearing this wrap right now.) I bought several ribbed 100% cotton long-sleeved tops from JCP just for wearing under sweaters. Toasty!

DST is ending - huzzah!

I think it depends on which end of a time zone one lives in as to how one feels about Daylight Savings Time. My brother lives on the East Coast, the east side of the eastern time zone, so he *loves* having extra hours of sunlight at the end of the day. I, however, live on the western end of the same time zone and, being a morning person, miss the early hours of sunshine. Also, those early evenings are a fine time for fibering.

Knitting: I took a break from watching TV for a while, but now I am back at it, which means I am making better progress on Bigfoot's socks.
Spinning: I've been plying the Tasman comeback. I don't recall what my original plan was, but somehow I ended up with three bobbins of various amounts of singles. I three-plied them until one bobbin ran out. Now I am chain-plying the rest.

Chain-ply on left, three-ply on right

I finished frogging the curtain knit from denim yarn and am holding back on the sweater - it's so cute! There has been a pause on crochet lessons with my granddaughter due to scheduling conflicts. And the weaving was put on hold while I purchased a new car. What an ordeal! I hope that is the last car I ever have to buy.

A-frogging we will go

I'd like to make more artisan market baskets out of cotton, as I have a lot of cotton AND several items knit from cotton that could be frogged. One item, or rather, items, are the pieces from a pair of knit dungarees that never reached final assembly. Those have all been frogged. Now I am working on frogging a curtain that hung in my bath for a while, long enough for the side facing the window to fade. There is also a sweater I knit for my granddaughter that she never wore. All that denim yarn could be recycled into market bags... someday. But first, one must frog.

Crochet: I decided instead of crocheting a whole rug, I would crochet a swatch. In other words, I stopped once the "rug" reached an 8" diameter and threw it in the wash to see how much it would shrink.

8" diameter before washing

7" diameter after washing

I had to stretch and flatten the piece while it was still wet, then weight it down with a heavy plate to get it flat again. I'm not so sure this design would work for a rug.
Knitting: I made some progress on the socks while sitting through my granddaughter's piano lesson.
Spinning: The Tasman comeback is all spun. Now I have a fair amount of plying to do.
Weaving: The scarf is tied on and ready to be woven.

This past week it was cool enough to wear wool sweaters... for a few days. Now it is back to short-sleeved tee shirts. I am so done with summer and summerlike weather.

Startitis

Lately I have had the urge to start a LOT of fiber projects. Despite being retired, I have only so much time and energy. What I really need is some finishitis.

Crochet: The lessons with my granddaughter continue. I've been working on a jellyfish pattern from a book to get a feel for how to do the one she likes. I also tried to start a crochet rug, but it's not going well.

Knitting: I worked on the socks at the recent spinning guild meeting.
Spinning: Yet *another* spin-in, this time with a group of friends; I worked on the last of the Tasman comeback.
Weaving: Started warping a log cabin scarf on the SampleIt for my SO.

I volunteered to help with the 2025 programs for the spinning guild. My motives are questionable - there are several programs I think we should do and the best way to see that they come to pass is to get involved in the planning. No one is objecting, though.

Disappointment

One of the spinning guild members brought samples of yarn dyed with amaranth to a meeting. It was pink! So I had to give amaranth a try.

I grew the plants myself (seeds ordered from Pinetree Garden Seeds). But instructions for the dyeing process itself was skimpy. None of my dye books mention it, and only a few online sources have anything to say about it.

I went with a cold water dye bath, which produced a promising color. I tried some alum-mordanted yarn (alum added to the dye bath instead of pre-mordanting the yarn), some rhubarb leaf-mordanted yarn, and some unmordanted yarn. The yarn soaked for over 24 hours.

The alum mordant produced a lilac color, no mordant resulted in pink, but the rhubarb leaf mordant seem to mask any color change.

Alas, the color is already fading, especially the pink. I may give it another try, as from what I read, amaranth is a rampant self-seeding plant. I doubt I will get anything less fugitive, though.

Crochet: My granddaughter and I are continuing her lessons. I think next time, we will be able to start the project that is her end goal (photo below). I started one from a similar jellyfish pattern to get the idea, plus a fiber friend helped me with how to do some of the details.

Dyeing: See above.
Knitting: The heels are turned on the Bigfoot socks.
Spinning: Thanks to a spin-in on Saturday, I finished spinning the maroon merino top.
Weaving: I dragged out the Ashford SampleIt loom and am playing with color combinations for a scarf for my SO. I am also adding to the circular weaving project that has been "resting".

This past weekend was a fiber-filled one. Besides the spin-in on Saturday, both the spinning guild and weaving guild demonstrated various fiber arts at the downtown branch of our local library system, in honor of Spinning and Weaving Week. We always enjoy these events, but have some ideas to make them more fulfilling in the future. The spinning guld members wore their tee shirts; we are working on getting some for the weaving guild as well.

Mostly cotton artisan market bag

My fiber journey began with crochet, but I haven't "hooked" much in recent years. My granddaughter is interested in learning to crochet, which rekindled my interest. Then a fiber friend crocheted one of these bags, which pointed me in this direction.

Pattern: Artisan Market Baskets, from Crochet Southwest Spirit, by Susan E. Kennedy
Yarn: A Good Yarn (hand painted fingering yarn by Mary Ann Habeeb, superwash wool and nylon); Maysville 8/4 Cotton Carpet Warp in 'Tulip' and 'Yellow'; Lion Brand Kitchen Cotton in 'Blue Ice', 'Tropic Breeze, and 'Grape'; Lion Brand Lion Cotton Solid in 'Off White'; Omega Sinfonia in 'Matizado Azules'; Pisgah Peaches & Creme Ombres in 'Spring Meadows'
Hook: L (8.00mm)
Modifications: Handle

The pattern calls for seven(!) yarns to be held together. I have a LOT of odds and ends of yarn from various projects, so this seemed like a good way to use some of them up. To start, I pulled both ends from the cake of A Good Yarn (blue and brown), added the 'Blue Ice' Kitchen Cotton, the Lion Cotton, the Sinfonia (various shades of blue), and the two colors of cotton carpet warp. That made a nice bulky yarn. When I ran out of the 'Blue Ice', I switched to 'Tropic Breeze', and when that ran out, to 'Grape'. Similarly, when the Lion Cotton ran out, I switched to the Peaches & Creme.

A fair amount of effort goes into yarn wrangling, so I had to sit at the dining room table to work instead of curling up on the couch. One problem I had with all that yarn was sometimes one of the fingering yarns escaped. When I noticed it, I backed up to fix it, but I missed several of these loops. Lesson learned. The other problem I had was crocheting makes my hands hurt!

The pattern called for a leather (or leather-like) strap handle, but I went with something I found on a YouTube video. One simply skips 8 stitches, making 8 chain stitches in the process, on either side of the bag. On the next round, crochet 10 single crochet stitches in the loop created by the chain stitches.

The bag is a bit floppier than I expected. Since it consists of all cotton and sock yarn, it is machine washable (theoretically). I wouldn't try to carry a watermelon in it, but it would have worked fine for the baklava I purchased at a recent fair.

At that fair, I chatted up a woman who was selling crocheted boxes. They were much stiffer. Her secret was to crochet around a rope, like clothesline or mop yarn, and to use wool, which locks together better than cotton. I may have to try that someday.

Felted up

This past week I felted the L-Bag and its pocket patch. Initially, I didn't use lingerie bags - MISTAKE. After deciding the fabric couldn't be too felted, I ran it through two hot water agitation cycles with a pair of jeans. The bag has a nice shape to it, but the rectangle is a bit skewed.

Crochet: I finished the artisan market bag - it's a bit floppy; separate post to follow. I met a woman yesterday who makes similar fiber boxes, but she uses wool and crochets around a core of rope, like clothesline. Hers are much stiffer.
Dyeing: As I write, some skeins of yarn are soaking, destined for the amaranth dye pot.
Knitting: Still working on Bigfoot's socks.
Spinning: Still spinning the merino top.
Weaving: Fourth Third wash cloth off the SampleIt loom. I'll explain that later.

The local parks and rec department put an end to our spring fiber festival, instead inviting us to join their new fall harvest festival. I didn't attend last year, but this year demo'd spinning. It's a lot of fun chatting up the visitors, both kids and adults. I spun on my wheel, but the kids could also spin a little yarn of their own on a spindle. Some improvements for next year: have microscopes or some kind of magnifiers so the kids could look at wool fiber and see the barbs. Also, have samples of wool they can feel and SMELL.

Clapotis contest, and some crochet

Have you ever knit a clapotis? The pattern appeared on Knitty.com twenty years ago. To celebrate this popular project, Knitty is offering a clapotis fest contest.
Knitters are encouraged to use yarn from an indie dyer.

I knit one in 2010, from Cascade Pima Tencel, a yarn that has been (rightly) discontinued, as it sheds. I may knit another, maybe from handspun. The deadline is December 1, 2024, so I have some time to decide, as the first one took less than two weeks to knit.

My granddaughter has expressed an interest in learning to crochet(!) I'm so excited, as I have tried to interest her in crafts over the years but to no avail. She wants to be able to make amigurumi animals. We've had one lesson so far: chain stitch and single crochet. Next up will be honing her technique: how to hold the yarn and needle to maintain tension and produce even stitches. I hope she has been practicing.

I stocked up on cheap yarn for her to use.

My granddaughter's interest in crochet has revived my interest in it as well. A fiber friend fed that fire by sharing a photo of two baskets she crocheted from yarn scraps. So, of course, I had to try my hand at a basket myself.

The pattern is from Crochet Southwest, by Susan Kennedy, and is called "Artisan Market Baskets". It calls for seven yarns held together (although any combination that results in a bulky yarn would work). I am pulling both ends from a cake of sock yarn (one of those Why did I buy this?!? purchases), two colors of 8/4 cotton, one color of Lion Brand cotton, Lion Brand Kitchen Cotton leftover from a weaving project, and some varigated Sinfonia mercerized cotton I think I purchased at Tuesday Morning. So mostly cotton, but I think it is impossible to select a bad choice of yarns and colors for this project.

The hardest part is the yarn wrangling. If you look closely at the photo below, near the center you will see a bit of brown sock yarn that I didn't maintain tension on, so there is a loose loop. By the time I noticed it (and several others), I was far enough along I didn't want to go back, but I'm trying to be more careful going forward.

The only other problem with crochet is it makes my hands hurt.

Crocheting: See basket info above. I also started a Woobles penquin.

Dyeing: I cut down some of the amaranth, which is now soaking in tap water in the garage. I plan is to use half with an alum-mordanted yarn, half with rhubarb leaf-mordanted yarn. I hope to soak the rest of the amaranth in well water, which contains a lot of iron. which should produce a different result. Amaranth is not very colorfast, so I am going to dye some test samples as well.

Knitting: Socks progressing. I still haven't felted the L-Bag pieces.
Spinning: I keep looking at the fiber on the spinning wheel, keep meaning to get back to it, but so far no success.

I don't mean to keep harping on swatching, but I started one this past week, to see how two yarns looked together. I didn't have to go far to decide I don't like them knit this way.

I keep looking for a pattern for this rather coarse yarn, but so far no luck.

Saved by the swatch

The pattern I want to base the basketweave sweater on is basically reversible. But stripes are not reversible, as I realized when I tried swatching them, so I'm cool on that idea. In fact, I'm now leaning toward buying new yarn for the sweater. Maybe.

Which reminds me of my fiber goals for the year. The "Buy no fiber" one didn't last long. Finishing a poncho I started a LONG time ago has not happened... yet (hope springs eternal). And I didn't dye any roving, which I'm thinking is not a good idea anyway because it is difficult to dye roving at home without felting it.

The tee shirts for the spinning guild have been delivered... mostly. Not all those who ordered them attended the last meeting, so I still have a few. I'm glad I ordered several extra ones, as they were snatched up. I have to admit I am not in love with the color of the lettering, as I think it is difficult to read across the white, but others liked it.

Knitting: I finished the pocket square, which is more like a pocket rectangle. Now all I need to do is felt the square and the L-Bag (once I catch up on the laundry). The Big Foot socks are under way - great TV knitting.
Spinning: Did I spin this week? Probably some, working with the maroon merino top.

Surprisingly, there are several local opportunities to see fiber arts in the wild this month. By "wild" I mean in exhibits. The Orchard Gallery is featuring one of our weaving guild members who not only weaves, put "paints" with felted fiber and practices "ice dyeing". I bought one of her scarves.

Another weaving guild member is participating in an exhibit in the gallery at the downtown branch of our local library system. She is a member of Complex Weavers, and it shows.

One of the current exhibits at ArtLink features four(!) fiber artists. I wish we could have attended the panel discussion they had after the opening. Too bad they did not record it.

Notice the swatch on the right!

I've been playing around with the idea of loading all my yarn and roving into big totes and storing them in the garage, to free up space in the spare bedrooms. Of course, each bin would have to have a manifest so I could find stuff. Or would the stored fiber just be forgotten?

I never regret swatching

I'm still enamored with the sweater I mentioned several posts ago. I think I could make modifications to this pattern (which I knit a while ago) that would approximate what I'm aiming for. But what kind of stitich to use?

I started with one called Ringwood, on a heathered brown yarn, but the stitches barely showed up. I switched to some Lion Brand Fisherman's wool in natural and I switched to a basketweave stitch. The stitch shows up much better on the lighter wool, plus the stitch pattern is a bit easier.

Interestingly, I find the wrong side of the fabric to be more interesting than the right side. Several friends I've canvassed agree. The sweater pattern is knit in reverse stockinette, so it should work well.

Now the question is whether to purchase more Lion Brand yarn, or make do with something I already have. There is some yarn I bought many years ago, some in natural and some in maroon, but there is not enough of either color to make a sweater. So now I am going to knit a swatch using this yarn in stripes. Hopefully, after that I will feel confident enough to cast on.

Knitting: My SO had hand surgery this past week, so I made some progress on the socks while sitting in the waiting room. The pocket square for the latest L-bag is almost done.
Spinning: It occurred to me that the roving I purchased at the last weaving guild meeting was priced per ounce, whereas I thought the price was for each bag. I fretted about that, but the seller assured me the price on each bag was for the bagful. Whew! The merino that I am now spinning came from her.

The local parks and rec department discontinued the spring fiber fest at Salomon Farm (attendence was too low after the pandemic). Instead, the guilds will have a presence at the Fall Harvest Festival. I'm digging out some unwanted knitting to sell, pricing each item around $5 per ounce, which of course does not cover labor. We'll see how that goes.

Compulsive knitting

I'm almost 72 years old and just recently suspected that I have AD/HD. Better late than never, right? I probably won't get a formal diagnosis - what is the point now? - but if I had had one when I was still working, I may have been able to get some concessions from my employer, like the right to knit during meetings.

I've been listening to a podcast called Women and AD/HD, and it has been very helpful. One I recently tuned into mentioned that compulsive knitting may be a sign of AD/HD. Huh. Who knew? But it is all making sense to me. Of course, now I look at my fiber friends and wonder, Do you have AD/HD? Some of their behavior (besides the compulsive knitting) is suspicious.

Knitting: Started a pair of socks for my son, AKA Bigfoot. Initially, I was going to try to make do with one skein of yarn, but 1) did not like how the self-striping yarn looked when ribbed, and 2) worried about running out of yarn, especially if there were a break in the yarn like with the last pair. So I purchased some Opal sock yarn from Simply Socks in 'natural'... and THEN discovered I already had a whole 50-yard skein of their sock yarn in the same color. Well, now I have plenty.

Spinning: The three-color braid is finished and labeled, although I'm not sure of the fiber content. The brown almost completely disappears in the three-ply. I did something different with the leftovers - spun them all onto one bobbin instead of separate ones.

Then I started a new spinning project - merino top.

This past week, I spun at the Salomon Farm farmers market with another spinner. You can tell summer is winding down, as fewer people were in attendance. Yesterday, I attended the Fifth Saturday Spin-in at Teasel Hill Angoras Farm, which is always fun, but it being a holiday weekend, only a few of us showed up.

Happy Labor Day!

Socks for Michele

I know Michele doesn't read my fiber blog, so it's safe to mention her name here. These socks will be her xmas present. Not the prettiest sock yarn, but very funtional.

Pattern: Short-row toe and heel basic socks, by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Zwerger Garn Opal Elemente, colorway 1079
Needles: US1
Modifications: Knit from the top down, so wedge-shaped toe, closed with Kitchener stitch

I started these socks toe-up six times, 5 using the "easy" cast on, which just would not cooperate. Finally, I went back to the short-row toe. 72 stitches around.

And I hated how the toes came out. So I scrapped them and started top-down, from the cuff: alternating long tail cast on, 2x2 ribbing for 20 rounds before switching to stockinette.

I was able to match the patterns between the two socks, until I hit a knot in the self-striping yarn. I blithely snipped out the knot and carried on. Just short of the toe, I realized the socks no longer matched. Heaving a huge sigh of resignation, I ripped back, found where the patterns matched, and finished.

Now I am happy with the results.

A little catch-up

There are a couple of handspun yarns I have not reported on. That is because I hung them on the curtain rod in the guest bathroom to dry, and there they sat, for months. (I don't have very many guests.) Today I decided I should retrieve and label them.

But what are they?!? Fortunately, I was able to put together the fiber, the spinning, and the plying to come up with label text. That's why I take photos and keep a fiber blog.

First up, a merino-silk blend called "Storm", chain-plied. Some of it is heavier than the rest. Not sure how that happened.

Next, some "natural" brown merino comeback, also chain-plied. (I think the color is not natural, but dyed.)

I have so much handspun yarn. It's time to start assigning it all to projects.

Knitting: I finished the socks; separate post to follow. The patch pocket square is going slowly, so it is now my TV knitting.
Spinning: The three-color braid is now all spun and plied; all that remains is to give it a good soak and set the twist. AND label it!

There are a lot of opportunities to spin in public coming up. I'm not sure I will make it to all of them, but I will report on the ones I attend.

Shear fun

Can you relate to this comic strip? I've never shorn a sheep, but I have worked with fleece. There is a cuff-to-cuff sweater in the queue that will use my handspun.

Knitting: Still working on the pocket patch for the L-Bag. Almost ready to knit the ribbing on the socks.
Spinning: Three-plied the three-color skein today until I ran out of the red... then discovered that there is more of the red fiber to spin. I'll spin it, then chain-ply the individual colors to complement the three-ply.

I skipped this month's spinning guild meeting to have some family fun. My son and his girl friend like to visit zoos, so we spent the afternoon at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. In the evening we attended a concert: Big Head Todd and Blues Traveler. Talk about LOUD. My SO turned off his hearing aids, while I was wishing for some ear plugs. We all had a good time, though.

Are hobbies just a distraction?

I like to knit and spin and (sometimes) weave. BUT. Sometimes I think that my hobbies are just a distraction, something to keep me entertained as I grow older. But what else would I want to do?

Well, there are a few things I want to tackle before I'm too old to do so: sort through all the photos I somehow "inherited" when my dad passed away; transcribe my journals; and play tennis.

Back in the day, I taught my son to play tennis, and he went on to be the number one seed on his high school team. So when my granddaughter showed an interest in tennis, I thought I could teach her as well. She has taken a few lessons from parks and rec, but needs to practice more.

Well, I am discovering that I need to practice even more than she does! I can't race around the court like I used to, I get out of breath rather easily, and my shoulder gets tired. But it is something I really enjoy doing, so I'm going to continue, just to have fun.

Knitting: The socks are about halfway up the calf now. I finished the knitting part of the L-Bag - it's large enough for me to wear as a skirt! Now I'm knitting a 12"x12" square to felt along with it, to use for pockets.

Spinning: Still working on the three-color braid.
Weaving: I am sort of finished with the circular weaving from last week. I have a tendency to go too far and ruin something, so I stopped where I am. I may do something more with it, but I'm letting it rest for now.

Here is a sweater I would love to knit or even purchase. The picture is from the cover of the local parks and rec fall catalog. I think it is a style that would work with my lumpy body.

Has anyone seen this sweater anywhere?

Fiber friends

I am an introvert, quite content to just stay home most of the time. But I know that it is important to have at least *some* friends. Of course, there is my SO and my family, which help a lot. But sometimes I just want to hang with some female agemates.

There used to be Women's Weekend, when a bunch of us mothers who knew each other in college would get together twice a year, sans kids, to drink wine, play cards, watch R-rated movies, etc. But all of a sudden, that stopped, I think in part because we became *more* busy as our children became adults. And some members moved out of the area and a couple of them passed away.

I joined the local spinning guild and weaving guild several years ago, which has introduced me to what I now call my fiber friends. For a smaller cadre of us, it is more, though. We sometimes gather at each other's houses to spin and knit and talk. Before the monthly spin-in at Little Shop of Spinning, we usually meet for lunch. We talk about more than fiber.

While I enjoy these gatherings, as an introvert they can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. Like yesterday. It seemed everyone needed to TALK. When I finally arrived home, all I felt like doing was sit and listen to the silence.

Knitting: The sock heels are turned, one of them twice (dropped stitch I could not recover from). I'm *still* knitting the bottom of the L-Bag; I'm pretty sick of that project.
Spinning: I'm on the third color of the three-color skein.
Weaving: Last night I got inspired and started a new circular weaving project. Circular weaving is good for using up bits and bobs of yarn from various workshops.

I thought I had a taker for the basket weaving supplies, but they were a no-show. It may be time for Plan B.

No good deed goes unpunished

This past week, one of my fiber friends and I demonstrated spinning at the Salomon Farm farmers market. The Salomon Farm gardeners expressed the wish to get rid of boxes of "weaving supplies" that were in their shed. Of course I volunteered to take them off their hands, mostly out of curiousity over what could possibly be in those boxes.

While loading the boxes into my car, the head gardener warned me there would probably be evidence of mice in them. So yesterday I dumped out the boxes in the driveway. Not only were there mouse turds, there were several mouse nests (uninhabited, fortunately) and the boxes smelled like mouse urine. (I have had a white rat and hamsters as pets, so I recognize that smell.)

And the weaving supplies were all for basket weaving, something I have no desire to learn. I "advertized" them to guild members on FB, but so far, no real interest. And there are a LOT of supplies. I'll press the guild members a bit more, but if still no takers, I will offer them up for free on FB or donate them to some organization.

Knitting: Almost ready to turn the heels on the socks. Working on the bottom of the L-Bag.
Spinning: I spun a lot at the farmers market, working on one color of a three-color braid.
Weaving: For the farmers market, I warped about ten small branches for weaving, in case any of the kids wanted to try, but the spinning wheels are what captured everyone's attention.

As I approach the end of yet another felted bag, I'm in a quandary of sorts. My fiber friends who have made L-Bags have had them lined by another fiber friend who is also an accomplished sewist. I may want to enter my bags in the county fair and feel that having someone else line them would not be appropriate. I am NOT much of a sewist, but I considered trying to line them myself. The L-Bags are rather large, though, and more like project bags. What to do?

Well, one idea I am toying with is to felt a couple of knitted squares and needlefelt them onto the bags to serve as pockets, some inside, some outside. Or I could sew a purse insert that could move from bag to bag. Stay tuned.

Picky, picky, picky

When I spin yarn, I try to pick out all the pills, vegetable matter (VM), guard hairs, etc. to the point of looking like I am OCD. Yet when I ply the singles, there is still a lot of missed garbage. Or it seems like a lot, particularly after my attempt to eliminate all of it. Ugh.

Knitting: I'm making good progress on the socks and the L-Bag, considering (see below).
Spinning: I finished chain-plying the dark brown yarn. I had assumed the color was natural, but when wet finished, the yarn bled a bit.

Weaving: Playing with branch weaving. This is my first attempt - a learning experience.

My daughter and granddaughter were marooned at the airport on Friday because of the global IT outage. They were in Myrtle Beach, with no idea of when they would get out. Finding a rental car was next to impossible, and when they did find one, the company would not rent it to them for a one-way trip. So they Uber'd to Winston-Salem, then rode the Greyhound bus to Charleston, WV, where I was waiting on them. We stayed the night before driving home.

I discovered that I can drive for six hours by myself, something I have not done for a long time. Cruise control and lane mitigation helped, plus the roads were twisty-turny enough that I had to remain alert. That was not how I was expecting to start the weekend, but I was happy to help.