Wanted: a few rainy days

If the weather weren't so nice, I would have accomplished more fiber things this week. Instead, I have been out in the yard, trying to make up for all that remained undone last summer. Some of that make-up work involves sitting on the deck, listening to the birds while I read or draw. Not very productive but definitely enjoyable. Some rainy weather would force me back inside, where fiber projects await.

Knitting: It seems like I am never going to finish those socks. I'm about a third of the way up the cuff. One problem is that with the temps in the house higher than usual (trying to reduce the electric bill), my hands get a little sweaty, which does not work well with wool.
Spinning: I finished spinning one 2-oz. ball of pink. Next up is to blend the angelina into the the remaining balls. Most of it is going into the purple, a lighter amount into the pink. I hope my plan works.
Weaving: The temple arrived on Monday, I read up on how to use it on Tuesday, and that is all the farther I have gotten.

I've been reading At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life, by Fenton Johnson. Part memoir, part survey of some famous solitaries from Thoreau and Emily Dickinson to Nina Simone and Bill Cunningham, this book gives voice to something I had no vocabulary for before now. With the pandemic, solitude is a hot topic. There is a difference between being lonely and being alone. Some of us crave the latter, need it to recharge and to dig deep. Being solitary does not mean being a hermit, either, although some days I may act like one. Reading about solitude feels like finally getting a diagnosis that validates my reality.

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.

Break!

My dogs are trained (sorta) to sit and stay while I take off their leashes and e-collars. Once that is done, I say, "Break!" which releases them. The governor has said "Break - to a limited degree" to shelter in place. We are still supposed to limit travel outside the home, but some non-essential services are coming back: elective treatment by dentists, veterinarians, dermatologists, etc. Unfortunately, not hair stylists or massage therapists, at least not yet.

In keeping with the spirit of this week, I gave myself a break from fiber arts. I've been rather diligent about spinning, knitting, and weaving most days, but the weather was so nice I just had to spend some time in the yard, doing exciting stuff like cleaning out the shed. Last summer my yardening activities were severely limited by my hip; I plan to make up for that this year.

Knitting: I did manage to turn the heels of the Ivy socks. It took me four days because there is something about knitting short rows that bothers my shoulders. But now that is done and I'm ready to head for the cuffs.

King of the coffee table

Spinning: One of the packages of roving I received from Qutecowgirl was 4 oz. each of navy and orange roving that I'm guessing is (more) superwash merino. I plan to two-ply the colors together.
Weaving: Did I do any weaving this week? It's difficult to keep track of what day it is. In the online course, I am in the homestretch which appears to be reading supplemental "bonus" material. I have been practicing what I learned on the pocket loom; I'll post separately about that.

Not only has my daughter relieved me of quite a bit of fabric, she has taken the quilt batting as well. I have a bad habit of thinking up a project (in this case, making tied yoga quilts), purchasing all the supplies, then stowing it all away for another lifetime. The big bin I was keeping all the sewing stuff in is now practically empty. I think it will now become the roving bin, as there is plenty of that on hand. One of these days, my studio may actually look presentable!

Fractal Neapolitan

I enjoyed spinning up the 'Neapolitan' roving, but I'm not so sure about the results after plying. Maybe the colors are too solid? Or there is too much white? What should I make with it?

Fiber: Lone Star Arts superwash merino, colorway 'Neapolitan'
Wheel: Ashford Joy 2
Technique: Fractal
Spun: Worsted at an 8:1 ratio
Plied: 2-ply at an 8:1 ratio
WPI: 9 (worsted weight)
Amount: 362 yards, 239 grams

My spinning is more consistent and I achieved a worsted weight yarn, but the plying looks loose. I think my problem is I am not used to spinning superwash merino. Merino is rather slick, and once it is treated to become superwash, it looses its barbs. This results in a soft yarn that won't felt. It also means it does not want to cling to itself like a coarser, non-superwash wool. I'll have to do some research to see if there are techniques for overcoming these quirks.

Old dog, new trick

My SO and I have been sheltering in place, or rather, in two places. We don't live together and we did not want to be disease vectors to our grandchildren (not that we've seen much of them lately), so we have been staying apart. Under ordinary circumstances, we would get together a couple of times a week, and usually each "date" would end with us jabbering over coffee. When we were still working, we emailed frequently, and for a while we had resorted to that, but we both missed face-to-face interaction. He learned to use Duo to visit with his grandchildren, so I installed it, too. It wouldn't work from my old laptop, but did from my phone. I think we talked for TWO HOURS the other day. I guess we are both a little starved for conversation.

Knitting: As predicted, I am now ready to turn the heels on the Ivy socks.
Spinning: I finished the latest experiment with fractal spinning. I'll post separately about that.
Weaving: I am almost done with the online course. There are two more sections, but I'll hold off on those for now. It has been very worthwhile.

My daughter is pretty much stuck at home with her daughter. Since my son-in-law works nights, they need to find quiet activities during the day while he sleeps. Enter domestic arts. They have been sewing, both by machine and by hand, and embroidering. I destashed my sewing supplies to help out, plus just placed an order with JoAnn (they offer curbside pickup) for more stuff.

It started with eye pillows, then moved on to what my daughter calls Quarantine Rabbits and my granddaughter calls Shoulder Pals. I gave them some of the masks I made, plus a friend supplied them with more, so no need to go down that path.

This is my latest mask. It's based on a free pattern available online at Sweet Red Poppy (modified to fit my big head). There are several styles to choose from there, plus a pattern for a surgeon's cap. I'm guessing the haircut I have scheduled for next week is not going to happen, so I may have to resort to sewing that cap. Or else get a tee shirt that says, "Covid hair, don't care."

My guild meetings have been cancelled, at least until June. The local fiber arts festival is kaput. Even Germanfest has been called off. Sometimes the problem is not that we will still be sheltering in place when these events occur, but that there is no way to prep for them before then. It is going to be a very different world going forward.

Every day, in every way

It's been nearly four months since my hip replacement, and I am getting around quite well. There are some things I still can't do (and may never be able to do), some things I can do but carefully, but my mobility gets incrementally better each week. When the weather allows, I walk the dogs, mostly around the neighborhood, where we can check out the spring blossoms, assess the construction projects (they are fixing a drainage issue in my addition), chat with a neighbor or two (from a distance), etc. I also have several exercise routines, mostly physical therapy for my hip, shoulders, back plus a little yoga, that I try to do most days. All in all, I feel like I got (most of) my life back.

Knitting: Still working on the socks. I predict that by next weekend, I should be ready for the heel turn.
Spinning: Still spinning 'Neapolitan'. The "chocolate" sections of the roving are more like chocolate and caramel. Makes me hungry.

Weaving: Still working on the online class. Also playing with the pocket loom, but nothing to show right now.

I'm reading The Stoic Challenge, by William B. Irvine. I consider myself a Stoic (with a capital S). That does not mean suppressing emotions or keeping a stiff upper lip. Rather, Stoics greet setbacks as challenges to be worked around or overcome. I'm not always a good Stoic - I can whine with the best of them - but I do try to come up with strategies for dealing with what life hands me. COVID-19 feels more like a roadblock than a setback, but most days I manage. Of course, I am better off than many - no money worries, no work worries, none of my loved ones are ill, I can deal with copious amounts of solitude, etc. - but I am also grateful that things are not worse. We still have utilities (electricity, heat, water) and services (like trash pickup) and the Internet(!) The local grocery stores still have food of one sort or another. And I'm curious to see what the future brings, if any of this produces cultural changes. It is an interesting time.

And when all else fails, I just take a nap with a cat in my lap.

I hope you are all doing well, hanging in there, finding ways to cope. Be safe, be well.

Saffron pocket loom debut

I really love the Mirrix loom that I purchased for the online tapestry weaving class I am taking. I love it so much I purchased their latest loom, the Saffron pocket loom. Unless you have really large pockets, it won't literally fit into a pocket, but it is small enough for traveling, can be easily disassembled to fit into a purse or project bag, and requires no special tools (except maybe a wrench or two).

It's total length is about ten inches. Unlike some frame looms, the plates provide a fixed sett, 8 epi. I think Mirrix is planning to offer plates with other setts, and when they do, all you need is a screwdriver to change plates.

The bottom beam is fixed; the top beam with its wing nuts allow you to adjust the length of your piece. You can also adjust the tension of your warp. While the wing nuts can be tightened by hand, to avoid torquing the loom, you may need to tighten the nuts with a pair of wrenches.

Warping is a snap. Here I used 8/4 cotton carpet warp in gray. Since the tension is adjustable, you can start weaving right at the base and continue all the way to the top, which gives you a four selvage piece. No fringe! I used a plastic fork as a beater.

My plan was to weave a sample for a rug I have been contemplating, using some yarn I recently recovered from an unfinished sweater. I wove some weft using warp, then a few sequences of the yarn, then a row of soumak which creates a fold for the tapestry, then a few more rows of yarn before beginning the rya/flossa thing. I repeated this pattern from the top so that I would not have to try to weave it at the end when things get crowded.

The technique I used was a kind of rya/flossa thing, wrapping around a large knitting needle (US 10.5, I think), without cutting the loops. My skill at this is still a bit amateurish - I have trouble remembering to keep the selvages even. My goal with this sample was to see how it felt underfoot as a rug.

One trait of this loop-making method is that the loops hang in one direction, as the expectation is the piece would hang on a wall, not lay on the floor. Consequently, one end is exposed while the other is hidden. Were I to make a rug, I might do a few loop rows in the opposite direction to correct this anomaly.

While pleased with the results - it is very rug-worthy - I have to ask myself if I really want to go to all that trouble on a large piece. The loop rows take time and effort and every four inches takes two yards of yarn. I want the rug to be about five feet long. That would be a LOT of looping... and I might not have enough yarn. I have a tendency to be overly ambitious with my weaving, and right now I want to keep things simpler.

BUT I really like this little loom. It offers some advantages over the 3-in-1 swatch maker, is designed specifically for tapestry weaving, and is very sturdy.

I sewed!

With the new mandates coming down from on high about wearing masks when out in public, I decided to drag out my old Kenmore sewing machine and try making a few. I am not a sewer by any means, and my masks will win no prizes at the county fair, but I did manage to make three, based on a pattern in the NYTimes. (The NYT Covid-19 coverage is free right now, no pay wall.) I don't think they said anything about what the seam allowance should be, so I gave the first one, size small, a 1/2" seam allowance. That resulted in a mask that was too small. The second mask was size medium, with 1/4" seam allowance - too big! Back to size small but with a 1/4" seam allowance - aah! Just right!

Knitting: Still working on the socks. I'm about halfway through the foot.
Spinning: I finished spinning the first half of the 'Neapolitan' roving.
Weaving: Not much progress made with the online class because I have been playing with the Saffron pocket loom.

Last week I felt like I needed something new to distract myself, so I cracked open a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle. I thought once I got the buildings and people done, the rest would come easy. Nope - too much white snow and ice, too much black night sky. And then I thought I had lost two pieces. I found one perilously close to the floor register. The other one was in the Roomba.

I hope you are all playing it safe, staying home, washing your hands, practicing social distancing. The thing I miss the most is hugs. That is the first thing I am going to do when this whole thing abates - give and get some hugs!

Routine or rut

If I'm not careful, one day turns into the next with nary a difference between them. As much as I enjoy my fiber activities, it is easy to feel like a routine is becoming a rut, especially when all events, appointments, meetings, dates are cancelled for the time being. I try to mix things up a bit, spend some time outside (when it is not raining), cook something different or differently, avoid too much screen time, MOVE, etc. Still, I have a grumpy day now and then.

Knitting: My MO is to knit both socks at the same time, to avoid the dreaded single sock syndrome. My shoulders can't take too much knitting, though, so I am limiting myself to three rounds per sock per day. That doesn't sound like much, but it is progress.
Spinning: I finished up the Lorna's Laces (and edited the posting to include yardage and weight totals). I'm disappointed that instead of worsted weight yarn, I ended up with something between Aran and bulky. So I am trying fractal spinning again, this time with Lone Star Arts superwash merino, in 'Neapolitan' (vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry), this time aiming for worsted.
Weaving: The online class continues, with hatching. I like the Mirrix loom I am using so much I ordered their Saffron pocket loom. I'll write a separate post on that, but I'll just say here that it is similar to the 3-in-1 Swatchmaker (except right now it has only one sett) but also employs a tensioning device.

When I was still working, my habit was to save most of the errand-running, housecleaning, and laundering for the weekend. After I retired, I tried to change that routine but apparently it is ingrained in my psyche. Today is Saturday, so I baked (cornbread and scones) and cooked (pancakes) and laundered. Tomorrow is Sunday and I will concentrate on cleaning the floors since the dogs are doing a splendid job of dragging in mud and dirt. They are not the best trained animals in the world, but they do hop in the tub on command, then "place" while they finish drying off. They (and the cats) are good companions for the duration.

I fractaled

(I don't know what my problem is regarding getting photos in focus. Maybe it is the camera, maybe it is my eyes, maybe the whole world is currently out of focus (sure feels that way). I apologize for the quality of these pix.)

I overheard some spinners discussing fractal spinning and wondered what it is. According to this site, it is a way to divide some multicolored roving in such a way as to mix up the colors without making a mess of it. Basically, the spinner divides the roving in half lengthwise, then divides one of those halves lengthwise into 2, 3, or 4 pieces (I chose 3). The first half is spun on one bobbin; it may be drafted by pulling it lengthwise. The rest of the roving is spun on another bobbin. This creates one bobbin with long color runs and one bobbin with short color runs. Then the two singles are plied. Easy peasy.

I chose to work with 5 ounces of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Wool top (100% superwash merino) in 'Devon'. Merino is not one of my favorite wools to spin; I find it too slick, but moving the drive belt on my wheel helps hold the yarn together. After spinning a ton of light gray Shetland into super bulky, high grist yarn, I struggled a bit to get a thinner single.

After plying and steaming, I'm left with an incredibly bouncy yarn. I'm not quite done yet - I should have close to 200 yards when finished.

This effort doesn't represent my best spinning but the luscious colors help overcome the lack of consistency. It's also a fun way to experiment with spinning without going too crazy. And the results are sure to please.

UPDATE: Once this roving was all spun and plied and steamed, I ended up with 189 yards, 128 g, of Aran to Bulky yarn.

The retired introvert

I'd rather we were not going through the current COVID 19 crisis, but I have to admit I kind of like staying home without interruptions or distractions. It was a bit discombobulating at first, but after I learned to embrace the solitude, my attitude improved. Schools here are closed until May, the libraries until mid-April, no recitals to attend (which makes me a little sad), but there is plenty of fiber in this house to play with.

Fiber prep: I am still trying to unknit a sweater but even with the pattern before me, it is a puzzlement. I chose the pattern in part because of the unique construction. Apparently, it cannot be deconstructed.
Knitting: I started a new pair of socks. Originally, I could not decide what contrasting color to use for the toes, but today I selected some cheerful yellow. The daffodils in the yard will not be far behind.
Spinning: Still working on the fractal spinning. I am loving the colorway.
Weaving: Making progress with the online weaving class. I am loving that new Mirrix loom.

While I sit safely at home, there are others who work to keep us supplied with goods and services and protection and healthcare. Without them, we would all be doomed. To them, I say THANK YOU!

Keep calm and fiber on

Yesterday, the day after the governor cancelled all events that involve over 250 people, I met up with a friend at the Jay County Fiber Fest. Some vendors had bailed, the crowd was thin, didn't see any class trips (school is also cancelled for the next four weeks). We purchased a few things (just soap and silk thread for me), tried to spend some money in downtown Portland (such as it is - another tired Indiana town) but the gift shop was closed and the coffee shop proprietor was "out to lunch". Burgers at the Greazy Pickle were delish, though. Now it is time to (mostly) hunker down for the duration.

Spinning: Needing a break from the Shetland wool, I started spinning some Lorna Laces Shepherd Wool top superwash merino from my blog friend, using the fractal method. I'll write more about this at a later time, assuming it works as expected.
Weaving: Now that my calendar is REALLY clear, I have been able to devote some time to the online weaving class I am enrolled in.

I bit the bullet and purchased a (kind of pricey) Mirrix loom. Actually, I bought the kit that goes with the class I am taking. I am really glad I spent the money - I didn't realize how much I have struggled with weaving because of inadequate tools. Yes, you can weave on looms cobbled together from wood scraps and nails or PVC pipe, but this loom has adjustable tension and a shedding mechanism, the cloth can be shifted like one does on an inkle loom so you have twice the area to weave, there are coils to hold the warp in place, etc. Oddly, of all my tapestry beaters, the fork (as in silverware) works best for the warp spacing I am using. I'm still going to invest in a few more tapestry-specific weaving tools. It's my way to help the economy.

Fiber interrupted

I was right - not much fiber activity took place during the installation of the laminate. The good news is the house looks really great with new flooring. The living room walls are now the color of chocolate milk ("Nearly Brown") while the master bedroom is *blue* ("Rest Assured"). The other rooms remained the same. I purchased a Bissell Crosswave which vacuums and mops at the same time, and can be used on hardwood, laminate, tile, and area rugs (product endorsement!) Even the Roomba works better on laminate, finishes in record time; since it is not sucking up carpet fiber with the dog hair, the bin doesn't need to be emptied over and over, either.

Knitting: I did manage to knit up several swatches for a possible sweater, but just could not achieve gauge. By the third try, I had lost my enthusiasm for that project, plus if the winters remain as mild as the past one, sweaters will not be needed anyway.

A fiber friend and I made a presentation to the weavers guild about natural dyeing. That took a bit of preparation to say the least. When I speak in front of an audience, I feel as though I am babbling and my mind blanks occasionally, but everyone seemed attentive and interested, asking good questions and contributing their experiences as well. I think it was successful.