A fiber-ish week

One of my ideas for gaining new weaving guild members is to demonstrate weaving at the local yarn stores. As I mentioned before, one is closing (and I still think it would make a great fiber club). I visited another one yesterday, Simply Socks, but Allison wasn't there. I eyeballed the space, and quite frankly, there isn't much room for setting up a loom, even a small one. The place is simply full of yarn (minus four skeins that followed me home).

Above are two skeins of Cascade Cotton Sox I plan to weave into a summer-weight shawl. Below is some Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light + Copper.

If you look closely, you can see the copper glitter. I'm not sure what I will do with this but probably weave it into something. I bought two skeins, so that shoud be enough for something, right?

Knitting: I planned to do about two hours of knitting during an online natural dyeing presentation, but it was canceled at the last minute. Oh, well.
Sewing: Stymied by the tote made from handwoven cloth, I decided the best thing to do would be make a practice one out of regular cloth. This helped me get the directions straight in my head. Neither bag is finished, but I feel more confident going forward.
Spinning: Deligently spinning the Polish merino (at least, I think that is what it is).
Weaving: Still slaving away at the houndstooth towels; one is done. The practice bag needed a handle, so I wove one on the inkle loom, lickety split.

While I was complaining to my SO about the missing supported spindle, I said something like, "I even bought silk roving to spin on it" - and a light bulb went off. I knew *exactly* where the spindle was - with that fiber. And I was right. End of mystery.

Beware!

At last night's spinning guild meeting, someone mentioned that Knitpicks has been purchased by a private equity firm that is phasing out the Knitpicks brand yarns. It looks like this firm has also purchased Jimmy Beans, Berroco, and Madtosh among others. As if that is not bad enough, recent purchases from Knitpicks have been found to be infested with moths and/or larva and/or eggs. The firm is playing dumb about the infestation. What a nightmare! Makes me reluctant to purchase any yarn right now - not that I don't have plenty already.

Several methods of eliminating infestations can be found online. Not sure which ones work best, and I hope I never have to find out.

All knit, all the time

The holidays are coming, so I am focusing on handknits as gifts. My son and his girl friend each get a pair of socks, my daughter and granddaughter will be receiving slouchy hats, and I hope to have my SO's replacement scarf finished by then. Meanwhile, everything else will sit on the back burner.

Crochet: The second Emotional Support Chicken is done except for the piecing. In search of an easy pattern my granddaughter could work on independently, I started a double crochet cowl as an experiment; it looks like a contender.

Knitting: Bigfoot's socks are done but for the weaving of the ends. Slouchy hat number one is underway.

Last week I forgot to mention some sock yarn I purchased at Three Moons Fiberworks in Chesterton. It's ice dyed, a process that separates the individual colors that make up acid dye. I'm hoping it looks nice knitted up, not like camo.

And at the owl expo, I bought this Japanese knot bag from a vendor. By placing yarn inside and slipping one handle into the other, a knitter can be mobile while knitting. This would be useful when I am knitting in public but don't want to put my tote bag on the floor. It's also handy for car knitting.


I'm taking it (relatively) easy on Thanksgiving: pot roast (with potatoes, carrots, onions) and crescent rolls. My SO is baking a pumpkin pie. It will be a quiet day. Hope you enjoy yours.

A trick with colors

I've been looking at the yarn that remains from the natural dyeing workshop at Wabash Woollen Works, contemplating what to make with it. From weighing the Lozenge Cowl that I made from it, I decided there was enough for another cowl. But I wasn't sure about the colors. So I did a little trick: took a photo of the remaining balls, then converted the pic to black and white.

This allows me to see the differences in value between the colors. I want enough contrast between the colors in the cowl to accent the lozenges. And so far, it is working out just fine. (There was enough of a dark green to cast on with.)

Knitting: Besides working on the Lozenge cowl, I am making headway on both pairs of socks. I'm ready to turn the heels on the non-matching pair.
Spinning: Still working on the Tasman comeback.

I'm reading a book called Get the Picture, by Bianca Bosker. The author is exploring the New York art world in an attempt to develop an "eye" for art. One artist she talks with has several paintings going on at the same time and describes her feelings toward them as "relationships". Some of them are in "time out" and face the wall. I'm beginning to think of my weaving as being in "time out" while I figure out how to move forward with it. I've made several attempts, but so far, nothing clicks. Maybe I'm not a weaver?

More purchases

I didn't go overboard at the (final) showing of the remaining fiber goodies from the estate sale. Focusing on sock yarn, I purchased a couple of skeins and their accompanying patterns (although I doubt I will use the patterns), plus a lonely single skein. Having taken a break from knitting socks, I am now back on board and have plenty of yarn now.

Superwash BFL & nylon

Then there was a kit of yarn that last time I picked up, then put down. I picked it up again, along with its pattern. This isn't enough for the sweater or hat (maybe those projects were finished?), so I think this batch was intended for the muff. I'm not a muff person, but I can probably convert the muff pattern to a cowl.

THEN this past weekend, my SO and I attended the West Michigan Potters Guild's show in Grand Rapids, MI, where the Woodland Weavers and Spinners Guild shared the space. Most of their products were finished projects - rugs, blankets, runners, placemats, towels, silk scarves, etc. which I was not interested in. The hand-dyed roving was another matter.

Rambouillet

Falkland

Merino

I would feel worse about breaking my self-imposed promise to not buy any fiber this year, but I have fiber friends who are older than me who *really* loaded up from the estate sale, including some tools and equipment they absolutely do NOT need. But as we all know, there is a big difference between need and want.

Knitting: Cruising along on the two pairs of socks. I took the brainless ones with me on our trip, but did no knitting.
Spinning: Still working on the tan roving. While hanging up the braid I purchased last weekend, I realized I have *another* whole braid of the tan. Gah!

I had a great chat with one of the workers at the fiber sale. I recently came up with the idea of tee-shirts to help raise the profiles of our local guilds. Now I have even more ideas of things we could do along those lines. We shall see if I can sell those ideas to the guild memberships.

Oops - I did it again

I'm wondering what exactly is the impetus that drives me to make more fiber and fiber-related purchases. Perhaps because my doctor told me that the likelihood of my having a stroke or heart attack was remote? As if I don't already have a lifetime of fiber.

At least not all my purchases at the Jay County Fiber Fest were fiber; some were ceramic. One thing I was looking for was silk thread, but one vender suggested I try a specialty quilting shop for that. I'm always on the lookout for unusual tools, but did not find any this time.

I'm discovering that one cannot have enough yarn bowls, especially if one has more than one project in progress and/or one knits at different locations in the house. I have one by my TV chair, and now I have one for the coffee table in the livingroom. This one was made by one of my fiber/ceramic friends.

Another ceramic friend, Elizabeth Wamsley, made this sweater-like cup. I've been considering making something similar, so it is good to have a model for inspiration.

I started a narrow tapestry to record things that occur during the year, but I don't have a lot of the colors I want to use. These small cakes of pencil roving should help there.

Another fiber friend who hosts our Fifth Saturday Spin-ins had a basket of these pastel samples. I think they will help with the above mentioned tapestry as well.

I can't resist red, so I grabbed up some silk sari yarn. The price seemed a bit high to me, but the vendor dyes the skeins herself, plus the ones I picked had more yardage than some of the others.

I certainly do NOT need any more sock yarn, but this brightly colored skein sparkles. There were more colorways calling to me, but I resisted.

The estate sale fiber and equipment will again be available at the next spinning guild meeting. If the package I picked up and put back last time is still there, it just might follow me home.

It gets worse

I visited Simply Socks Yarn Company yesterday, in search of contrasting yarn for the sock yarn I purchased at the estate sale. Hoping to find ONE color that would work with all the sock yarn, I came home with THREE skeins, plus some Cascade 220 Superwash in black. *sigh* It never ends.

Cascade Yarns Heritage, from top to bottom, colorways 5683, 5660, 5755

Knitting: I finished the mistake rib cowl; separate post to follow.

It was a rough week, as one of my dogs passed away, from cancer. It was rather sudden, so the shock hasn't worn off yet. I feel sorry for Clio, as I adopted her as a companion for Watson and now he is absent. I've been taking her on longer walks, showing her extra attention, plan to find her a doggy daycare so she has other mutts to play with. We're both still very sad, though.

Goodbye, good dog.

That didn't last long

A new guild member (at least, I *think* she actually joined one of my guilds) is handling the estate of a fiber person who has gone to the yarn bowl in the sky, leaving behind a LOT of fiber and equipment and tools. It was easy to pass up the wheels, etc., but the yarn was something else. I did put back some of what I had picked out, but this is what came home with me, thereby breaking my "no new fiber" resolution.

My SO needs some new socks, so I can justify purchasing sock yarn. The problem with sock yarn (and it's only *my* problem) is that I knit larger than "normal" socks, so to keep from running out of yarn, I knit the toes, heels, and cuffs in contrasting colors. That means a trip to Simply Socks to buy even *more* yarn. Gah.

Less Traveled Yarn, 'Picnic Plaid'

Opal Elemente 1079 (left) and unknown (center), Harry Potter Sock Collection 2352 (right)

I wove a shawl with some Kauni many moons ago. It's rather rough, but I like the colorways. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with these, though.

Kauni EQ - unnamed colorways

Knitting: My consolation over buying yarn is to work somewhat religiously on the current cowl. I sewed the deer antler buttons onto the Lempi sweater - and hated how they look. I found an alternative at Joann.

Spinning: I finished spinning the SeaCell roving - time to ply.

The spinning guild did not meet last month because of inclement weather, so this month's meeting was basically meet-the-new-officers and show-and-tell. I took the Lozenge cowl and the Lempi sweater (buttonless). Both were a hit.

One down...

I'm not a fan of holidays. It seems like most of the burden falls on the women, to cook, to clean, to entertain, to shop, etc. With our pre-Thanksgiving weekend out of the way, my kids were free to do what they wished on the actual day, and so was I. My SO and I ate Kirkland beef lasagna and homemade apple crisp (he brought the salad). A simple meal, with little prep, that we both enjoyed. Then we walked the dogs.

Knitting: STILL working on Bigfoot's socks; the cuffs are about a third done. It's too easy to pick up the cowl instead.
Spinning: YES, I actually did some spinning. Or, rather, some chain-plying. This is the last of the fiber I purchased at Three Moons in Chesterton. (For the record, I did not even go into the store last weekend, even though we were in the area.) I'm a little disappointed in it - spun too tight.

I decided to take December off from fiber meetings. Both the spinning guild and the weaving guild will have carry-ins, while one has a gift exchange and the other a craft. Again, I'm not a holiday person, and I'm a little burned out on both guilds. Maybe I just need a break. Where is a pandemic when you need one?!?

I sewed something

I am no sewist. My sewing machine is so old that the only "fancy" stitch it does is zigzag. But instead of throwing out an old pillow that one of my cats had chosen for his nest, I covered it with some "no sew" fleece.

The cover is an "envelope" cover - instructions may be found here and, yes, the instructor is a bit annoying - but I was too impatient to review the video, so did not overlap the back sections far enough. But I'm sure the cat won't mind. Added bonus: the fleece will protect the pillow from puke AND I can remove the cover to wash it.

Knitting: Still working on the bigfoot socks. There was much cursing during the turning of the heels, but I'm past that now.

I went to the Little Shop of Spinning's spin-in today. Even though I complain a LOT about how much fiber I have, somehow more followed me home. Phia dyed both the sock yarn and roving shown below, using the same colorway. So I guess I could knit a pair of socks with matching mittens and/or hat.

I'm thinking that yummy roving will get me back to the spinning wheel.

Busy fiber week

This has been one busy fiber week. Per usual, times like these get me really excited to weave and spin and knit, but then time constraints hit. Still, I do what I can when I can.

First off, my SO and I met up with my son in Chesterton, IN, for lunch, then a stroll around the downtown arts district. What drew me first to this day trip was the Duneland Weavers Guild exhibit at the Chesterton Art Center. The items displayed were not only weaving, but knitting, crochet, spinning, etc. and you could touch, try on, and purchase items. I came away with some "art yarn".

Then we wandered down the street to Three Moons Fiberworks. It was easy to spot because of all the LOOMS.

The looms are not for sale but for classes and for use by individuals (for a reasonable fee). I was taken with this frame loom because at one point, I was trying to figure out how to build such a thing. This one may end up on my wish list.

Of course, there was lots of fiber for sale, and this roving found its way home with me. I'm curious if it will spin into a self-striping yarn.

That was Thursday. On Saturday, I attended a workshop by our weaving guild on harness loom weaving. A dozen or so looms were available for those of us new to harness looms to warp and weave on. What a great opportunity! And an exhausting day! It was difficult to not get excited about yet another way to weave, but I'm not sure I am ready to warp 24 ends per inch on my own, let alone figure out tie ups, etc.

Ashford table loom

Spreading the warp

Walking loom

Twill

Rosepath

M's and W's

I didn't care for the walking loom, found it too confusing for a beginner, but I can see how it would appeal to an experienced weaver. Many of us liked the Dorset floor loom on which we wove rosepath, but of course they are no longer made. All the looms folded up for easy transportation. It's really tempting, but despite their footprint being less than I expected, I just don't know where I would put one, let alone find time to weave on one. But they sure do open a whole new world of possibilities.

Knitting: While coming back from Chesterton, we found ourselves stuck in traffic for a while due to an accident. Ever prepared, I whipped out the L-Bag and worked on that. I'm on the sixth color and its about 10" long.
Spinning: STILL working on the silk/merino/tencel blend.
Weaving: I warped up the SampleIt for a new project: a table runner with Peruvian diamonds. At 15 epi, it's a bit hard on my eyes, but my Ottlite has a magnifier, thank goodness.

As if all this activity weren't enough, the spinning guild met on Tuesday. The program was about mending handknit items. I learned some new tips and tricks and hope to show you some mended socks one of these days.

A little spun out

I'm done with the yarn I was spinning for a weaving friend. I tried to make it as fine as possible, but between my limited wheel ratio (14:1), the fiber (Corriedale roving), and my skill, it didn't come out as fine as I had hoped. Also, it feels like it has a lot of grist, meaning it is tightly spun and plied, so feels a bit coarse.


This was my first attempt at such a fine yarn, so I asked a couple of fiber friends for some hints. They were not all that helpful. My inclination is to try again, but with top from a long-haired breed, such as Romney or Lincoln or BFL, but neither of them could confirm or deny my ideas. Scrounging in my stash produced some mystery fiber (maybe alpaca?) that seems to have a long staple, plus about a pound of New Zealand Romney (why did I buy it?) So the experiment will continue.

Knitting: Working away on the 'Graham' slouchy hat.
Spinning: Finished the fine spinning for my weaving friend, to be delivered later this week.
Weaving: Worked on two weavings, both in shades of gray.

I celebrated a milestone birthday recently. These two tee shirts express how I feel about that.


Have a happy Halloween!