Goals for 2024

The new year is one of my favorite times of the year. When I worked, I would try to save some vacation for the week between xmas and New Year's Day, to put things in order (especially paper - whatever happened to our paperless society?!?) Now I'm permanently "on vacation" but I still like the idea of a fresh start.

I frequently mention how much fiber I have and how I don't need more. Sticking to a goal of not buying any roving or yarn for at least this year feels doable... if I can refrain from browsing the offerings at the Little Shop of Spinning when we have spin-ins there.

There are also a lot of UFOs around here. The yarn of the ones I know I will never finish could be recycled. For 2024, I would like to complete a self-designed poncho I started in 2015. The bulk of the knitting is done - I just need to do the finishing.

Dyeing has fallen by the wayside. In the past, I dyed yarn, but there is an embarrassing amount of undyed roving in my to-be-spun cupboard. I'd like to get that dyed, one way or another.

So, I have three goals for 2024:

1. Buy no fiber this year
2. Finish the poncho
3. Dye roving

That feels doable.

Knitting: The ends of the Lempi sweater all woven in! It took about four hours, as each stripe had two ends. (Note to self: No more striped sweaters!) Now I just need to add pockets and buttons.

Spinning: Still on the orange portion of the current roving mix. Since I plan to 3-ply this yarn, I'm spinning fine thread. Fine spinning takes a l-o-n-g time.

According to placemats in Chinese restaurants, I was born in the year of the dragon. Next year (tomorrow!) a new year of the dragon starts. Recently I read that it will be a year of bad luck for all us dragons. We'll see, but I'm hoping not!

Grayish cowl

A while back, I purchased a couple of braids of roving from Little Shop of Spinning. I spun one braid, then two-plied it. The other I chain-plied. This is the story of what became of the chain-plied yarn.

My goal was to use up all of this yarn, so I decided to provisionally cast on 36 stitches which would be grafted to the end of the knitting. Theoretically, this would also leave the possibility of making a mobius cowl by twisting one end a half turn.

The pattern is basically knit 4 rows of garter stitch, knit an eyelet row, then purl a row. At each end, I omitted the eyelet for a couple of stitches, to create a border of sorts. I meant to slip the first stitch of each row, but didn't always do that right, hence the wonky edges. Also, there is a definite slant to the whole thing which I was not able to completely correct with blocking.

Pattern: my own
Yarn: handspun tencil, silk, and merino, chain-plied
Needles: US9

The fabric was not long enough to twist into a mobius, so I simply grafted the two ends, using instructions found online (and I can't find again). If you can do kitchener stitch on stockinette, you can graft garter stitch.

While comfy and soft, this cowl is not my best work. It will end up on the xmas gift table tomorrow, in case anyone wants it. If not, I have a new cowl I can wear with my new black coat... which I have yet to wear this winter, as the weather is not very wintery.

Grayish socks

As promised, here is a posting about Bigfoot's xmas socks. Until I finished them, I didn't realize that the non-gray areas were not the same, but in the pix this variance is barely noticeable. I think it worked out.

Pattern: Short-row Toe and Heel Basic Socks, by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Zitron Trekking Sport (colorway 1498) and XXL (colorway 703)
Needles: US1
Modifications: None to speak of

Per usual, I used the solid gray for the toes, heels, and cuffs. For this size, each round is 80 stitches. As a test of my new "recipe", the number of rounds from toe to heel and heel to cuff are each 80. I'll be curious to see how these fit.

I was going to make my SO a pair of socks from the leftover yarn, but I really did not like either of these types. Both are "light fingering" and felt like they still contained lanolin, so they were slippery on my metal needles and difficult to work with. I will cross this brand off my sock yarn list.

Confession

Lately, I have been cheating on my fiber hobbies - with clay. What started out as a mild interest is turning into an obsession. The only thing holding me back is I don't have a good place to work on pottery here at home. And I've had to put a pause on the pottery because I'm hosting xmas eve here.

That is not to say that I have abandoned fiber altogether. There are simply not enough hours in the day. They both take a certain amount of time.

Knitting: I finished the cowl; separate post to follow.
Spinning: The orange-ish bit from the superwash merino roving I have been working on is so pretty!

I've gotten to the point in my life that, instead of gift shopping, I just give my kids money. Also, the "gift shelf" will be loaded with my handmade items, although there is no pressure for anyone to pick out anything. I'll take my granddaughter shopping after xmas, in case there is anything she didn't get (plus everything will be on sale). I don't expect gifts myself, but each of my kids comes up with something cute or fun.

Enjoy your holiday!

Grateful for modern medicine

This past week I saw my shoulder surgeon for a follow-up exam. The x-rays look good, and he seemed happy with my strength and flexibility. He asked me how I've been using my shoulder. I said, Yoga, even downward dog, but the simple answer is, For almost everything.

I can reach tall shelves, steer the riding lawn mower, push a vacuum cleaner, flip the mattress on my bed. I can lift 40 pounds of dog food, scrub the shower, chase down cobwebs, knead dough. I can even cross my arms, something I have not been able to do for years. Everything is easier with two functioning, painfree shoulders.

If I had not had my hip replaced, I would probably be in a wheelchair by now, as the hip socket was deteriorating. If I were in a wheelchair, my shoulders would prevent me from being able to get in and out of it on my own. I would be horribly incapacitated and completely dependent on others.

Once in a while, someone asks me if the replacement surgeries were worth it. Oh, YEAH. The healing period is a bit rough, but given enough time and physical therapy, the results are *wonderful*. Not a day goes by that I am not grateful for living in a time when bad joints can be fixed.

Knitting: I finished the jumbo socks for my son; separate post to follow. The merino-silk-tencil cowl is nearing completion as well.

Spinning: I'm in the midst of color #2 of the three-color braid of roving.

My calendar is looking pretty clear for the rest of this month (xmas not withstanding) and all of January. Winter is a good time to hunker down with fiber projects. And if it snows enough, I may even go cross country skiing.

Change o' plan

When I purchased a braid of roving from Little Shop of Spinning, I planned to spin it all up, then chain-ply to keep the color runs together. Well, it turns out the braid was basically three long color runs. So now I am going to spin each color run separately, then three-ply them together.

Knitting: Bigfoot's socks are done, except for weaving the ends in on the second one. Huzzah! I'm halfway through the merino-silk-tencel cowl.
Spinning: A spin-in at the above mentioned Little Shop of Spinning gave me a chance to make some progress on the aforementioned roving.

During the spin-in, another fiber friend stopped by. She has been knitting a cabled blanket for a wedding present since last March, with the wedding a week away. Occasionally, this fiber friend texts me about the weaving guild, but she hasn't made it to a meeting yet. I pointed out that, if she learned to weave, a blanket could be completed in a fraction of the time. I love to knit, and I have knit small blankets, but some things just lend themselves more to weaving.

As if I don't have enough fiber, I purchased some black roving yesterday. I have a plan for it, as yarn to contrast with another handspun yarn, but I am a little concerned that the black roving is not superwash, while the other is. I supposed as long as the end product is hand washed, it shouldn't matter. Right?

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?!?

Heading into the holidays

Sorry for my absence - it's been a couple of busy weeks, culminated with a weekend trip out of town that served as my family's holiday gathering. Now things will quiet down a bit, at least for me, until xmas eve.

Knitting: The Trekking sock yarn self-striping pattern contained an error in the striping, which slowed me down, but I'm almost at the cuffs. Thinking I wanted some knitting on our weekend getaway, I started a cowl, using the merino-tencel-silk blend I spun a while back, but then I didn't even take it along for the ride.

Last week, probably because I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, I moved almost everything fiber-related to the "studio". Two of my bedrooms are primarily full of fiber and fiber equipment, and I couldn't stand to have it anywhere else in the house. It may be the pottery projects that were populating the breakfast bar and dining room table were sending me over the edge. Those projects are mostly off to be fired now, so maybe I will get a grip... for a while.

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.

Not much new

About all I have been doing lately is knitting on Bigfoot's socks. No weaving, no spinning, no dyeing, just knitting. And yet, the Lempi sweater is being ignored.

Part of the problem is life intervenes. (How can I be so busy when I am retired?!?) Part of the problem is things just seem so disorganized.

For example: I started weaving a rug on my 24" rigid heddle loom. It's clamped to a table in the studio, about the only place it can go because of the Freedom Roller. But there is something off-putting about that room.

Rug in progress...

Zooming out...

Ugh

And that is not all of my fiber and fiber equipment! When I walk in there, I just want to turn around and close the door. I keep rearranging things, but there is simply too much stuff.

Knitting: Almost to the heels on my son's socks.

I skipped the last spinning guild meeting because they did not have the program that was scheduled (for the second time in a row). Instead, they wanted to talk about nominating officers and what programs to have next year. The meetings are recorded on FB, and I tried watching later, but could not hear most of what was being said. I admit I'm a bit jaded about that guild right now. We'll see what the coming year will bring.

Timberlane Cowl

This example of colorwork uses a technique I have not encountered before. Instead of working two colors in one row, the knitter knits one color, slipping the stitches that are reserved for the other color; then knits the other color, slipping the first color's stitches. So one knits each round twice? That's how it felt. That method was easier than holding a yarn in each hand and working them both at once, but I'm not sure it's better.

Initially, knitting with my usual hybrid method (yarn held in my right hand) produced a fabric that was too tight, so I switched to continental knitting, holding the yarn in my left hand - I can't maintain tension knitting this way, so the stitches were looser.

Pattern: Timberlane Cowl by Eileen Lee
Yarn: sport weight merino from Wabash Woollen Works
Needles: US4
Modifications: None to speak of

For some reason, both the beginning and the end of the project have jogs in them. Usually, weaving in ends eliminates these, so I'm not sure what I did wrong. They aren't too noticable, are they?

After knitting but before soaking, I tried on the cowl. It was very snug, reminding me why I no longer wear turtleneck tops. After a good soak, the stitches relaxed somewhat, so it was more comfortable. It's short enough that it could serve as a "dickie".

If I were to knit this pattern again, I might try working both colors at once. Also, I would go up a needle size, at least for the body. And make it longer, so it can cover one's nose.

Sock math

Most sock patterns indicate how many inches one is to knit the foot and/or leg. I usually have to knit larger socks, so I had everyone I knit socks for record the length of their feet, heel to toe. Then I used a ruler, a sock measuring tool, or my eyeballs to figure out when to stop.

Recently, it occurred to me that there was a logical relationship between the number of stitches cast on and the number of rows for the foot and the leg. Hence, my latest theory on sock knitting:

• If you cast on 64 stitches, knit 64 rows for the foot and 64 rows for the leg (not counting toes, heels, or cuffs)
• Ditto 72 stitches/rows
• Ditto 80 stitches/rows

If you try this out, let me know if it works for you.

Knitting: Finished the Timberlane cowl, just need to give it a bath (separate post to follow). Continuing with the Trekking socks. The Lempi sweater is stalled, but I hope to get back to it this week.

Lately, my spinning and weaving mojo appears to have left the premises. I think some new medication I started in August is to blame. Initially, it caused muscle cramps, so (with doctor approval) I cut back to taking it every other day. After a while, I began to have trouble with dry eyes. I discontinued the med to see if that helped (it did), but that is also when I realized how listless I had felt lately. At first, I did not want to do some of my hobbies, then I didn't want to do any of my hobbies (not even knitting), then I didn't want to get out of bed in the morning, which is not like me at all. I don't have much luck with prescription meds because of side effects.

Speaking of side effects, on Friday I received four vaccinations: Covid, flu, RSV, and TDAP. Ordinarily, I don't react to vaccines, but four at one time was a bit much, even for me. Saturday was a couch day, but I did get some knitting and reading done.

Clover redux

I knit a pair of socks for a friend back in 2017. When I saw them on her, my first thought was "Too small!" But she insisted they fit "perfectly". Well, they wore out rather quickly. I took them back to repair, but repair seemed pointless because there would still be too much stress on the fabric.

The yarn had been discontinued (at least, in that colorway), but I was able to find some on Ravelry. I reknit the socks from scratch, substituting a different yarn for the toes, heels, and part of the cuff, because I knew I would not have enough of the main colorway. The feet are knit with the fresh yarn; I reused the leg yarn for the legs. And I think they turned out pretty good.

Pattern: Short-row Toes and Heels, by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Patons North America Kroy Socks FX, colorway 'Clover Colors' and Simply Socks Sock Yarn (I think) in 'Natural'
Needles: US1
Modifications: None to speak of

The reason the cuffs are part 'Clover', part 'Natural' is I was also running out of the 'Natural' yarn as well. When finished, there was just a bit leftover from each.

For the original socks, I cast on 64 stitches. For these, 72 stitches. It seems most people I knit socks for need the latter, yet most yarn patterns call for the former. Go figure.

Correction

Last week's brain fart was a false alarm. Both skeins of the Trekking yarn I purchased are fingering weight. They labeled the one "Sport" when they should have labeled it "Solid". So I can continue with my original plan. People.

Yesterday's Spinning and Weaving Week event at the downtown library was a success. Only half the spinners and weavers who signed up actually showed, which was a disappointment, but there is more foot traffic on a Sunday afternoon than a Tuesday evening, so we had more interaction with the public. Several people even expressed interest in one guild or another, so maybe we will gain some new members. I'm glad that it is over, though - I find organizing these things to be somewhat stressful. It is my little way of contributing to the guilds.

Knitting: I finally finished the socks - separate post to follow. And I started the pair for my son, a.k.a. Bigfoot.

Weaving: For the library event, I warped the frame loom and prepped that in case I could talk any of the passersby into actually weaving on it, but no one was brave enough.

At the weaving guild meeting this past week, a newbie sat beside me. We started chatting, and she told me a neighbor had given her a knitting kit, so she taught herself how to knit so that she could use the kit. She showed me a photo of the finished project. I expected to see a scarf or something, but it was a whole g-d sweater! With colorwork! OMG, I hate her already. (jk) She has a spinning wheel and is teaching herself how to spin. She ordered a rigid heddle loom, but while waiting on that, she 3-D printed one. Who does that?!? She came to the library event on Sunday and chatted everyone up, so I hope she becomes an active member in both guilds. We need fresh blood like hers.

A sad day

I dropped by Simply Socks Yarn Company the other day to buy some sock yarn (of course). My favorite is their Poste yarn, made from a Corriedale base, hand dyed by one of their staff members. It wears extremely well and doesn't pill. Alas, they discontinued it. I was very disappointed.

So disappointed that I had a brain fart and purchased two different weights of Trekking yarn, Sport and XXL. My original plan was to knit one pair using the gray for toes, heels, and cuff and the variegated for the foot and leg, then reverse the colorways for a second pair. Now I will have to rethink that strategy. SSYC does most of their business online, but the store is open about four times a month. I'll ponder that predicament.

Knitting: I am ready to bind off the current sock project.

One of my fiber friends told me that the school where she teaches has a knitting and crocheting club. I donated my duplicate crochet hooks, then rummage through my stash for worsted weight cotton and superwash wool I was ready to part with. The result was a fairly large bag of yarn, and yet it barely made a dent in the stash. Too much fiber!

Sick day

Even retirees need to take a sick day once in a while. Last Thursday was it for me, a 24-hour bug that laid me low, probably a norovirus. I tested for covid, just to be sure it wasn't something worse.

Knitting: Cranking on the three projects: socks, sweater, cowl. Nearing the end on all three.

And that is about all for this week. Except I purchased these sweater clasps from the Woolly Thistle.

They are made of pewter. This style is called 'Karin' and each is about 42mm from end to end. I plan to use them with the bog jacket I knit oh-so-long-ago. Once upon a time I wanted to add a zipper to that piece, but never got around to it. From out of the blue, sweater clasps seemed like a great alternative.

Studio re-org

I had the French doors in the den replaced with a patio door this past week, as the former were quite leaky. That meant shoving stuff around to clear the area for the installers, which made me reconsider how I have my fiber workstations organized. The bedroom-turned-studio is not working for me, maybe because that room feels so FULL.

I think the studio would work better as a storage space while the den is more attractive as a work area. But I don't want all my wheels and looms and fiber cluttering up the den. So the plan is to have only projects I am actively working on in the den. We'll see how well I can stick to that concept.

There are two spinning wheels in this corner; I can spin on only one at a time.

New door, lets in more light

Project table

Knitting station

Knitting: Still working on the sleeves of the Lempi sweater, have started the decreases, so now I have to remember to do that every fifth row. My quota for the cowl is at least two rounds per day - oops, I haven't done that yet today. I took the socks to the guild meeting, as they are my "traveling" project, but I have also been working on them at home, to get them finished in a more timely manner.
Weaving: The second washcloth is woven.

I went to the spinners guild meeting the past week, and it was... meh. Or maybe I was meh. I know I was tired, but usually these meetings perk me right up. Not this time. I would not have gone at all, but I've been organizing a gathering for Spinning and Weaving Week and brought the sign-up sheet. Between the two guilds, twenty people have signed up, which is a *great* response. At least I feel a little excited about that.

Burned out?

The weaving guild meets September through June, so this past week was our first meeting of the new year. And I found myself less than enthusiastic. We met at the library so that we could view (or, for some of us, view again) the weaving exhibit. I don't know if it was the different venue or the smaller than normal for September turnout or my energy level, but I could not wait to get out of there and go home. I belong to two fiber guilds, and while that doesn't seem like a lot, sometimes it's just too much for this introvert.

Knitting: The "traveling" socks went with me to the weaving guild meeting, so some more progress there. I'm back to knitting the sweater sleeves; my goal is to finish a pair of color bands each day. I've settled on how to proceed with the cowl: since I won't have enough of one color to have one "main" color, I'll shift those along with the contrast colors.

Weaving: I'm now on the second loopy washcloth, weaving 2 picks between each row of loops (the previous one had three picks). I also wove the hem on the warp for a rug.

I keep track of the colors of the Lempi sweater in a small notebook. Since I know fiber people will ask which color is from what material and I'm not likely to memorize them all, I wish there were some way to label them on the sweater. Maybe embroider labels with the pertinent information and sew them on the inside? The sweater is a lot of work; not sure I want to add more needlework to that.

Have a documented week.

Diverted

Sometimes I wonder if I like to weave at all. Part of the problem is I am easily distracted by other projects (ADHD, you know). I am finding it easier to stick to a project if I have something to listen to, like NPR. So the situation is not hopeless.

Knitting: I took the socks to a spin-in yesterday and made some progress. The sleeves on the Lempi sweater are underway; I decided to follow the same colors as the body of the sweater, but the stripes won't be as wide. The Timberlane cowl is giving me fits, plus I keep second guessing my color choices.
Weaving: I finished one of the loopy washcloths; the loop-making is slow going.

And that's all I've accomplished this week?!? Time just gets away from me.

Stymied

I had big weaving plans for this summer, but somehow they didn't happen. So I decided that Wednesdays would be blocked out for big projects, the kinds of things I am reluctant to start when I know I'll be interrupted by an appointment or an event or whatever. So this past Wednesday, I not only wove an inkle band, but warped the 24" rigid heddle loom and mostly warped the Samplet.

Then I thought I would weave on the 24" loom, but discovered that both shuttles are loaded for use with the (stalled) Great Grizzly loom. Then I picked up the Lempi sweater to start a sleeve, but despite having a boatload of knitting needles, somehow I did not have an extra 16" US8 circular one. (I want to work the stripes on both sleeves at the same time, so the colors line up.) Then I decided on a "palate cleanser" - the Timberlane cowl - but lacked a 16" US4 circular needle. Gah!

So I returned to the abandoned socks. Like most fiber people, there is always something that can be knit or spun or wove on hand.

Knitting: The body of the Lempi sweater is complete. A while back, I ripped back the tops of the socks I am replacing, so I could reuse the yarn, and am to the point of attaching that recycled yarn.
Spinning: I finished spinning the fiber from Three Moons Fiberworks and plan to chain-ply it (as soon as I review the process on YouTube).
Weaving: After reviewing my go-to warping videos on YT, I warped the 24" rigid heddle loom with 8/4 carpet warp so that I can weave a rug. With the warping instructions fresh in my mind, I then warped the SampleIt for some loopy dishcloths. And the inkle band is off the loom.

This coming week looks pretty clear, so once I get some of those necessary accouterments, I expect to be forging ahead on my fiber projects.

Have a well-equiped week!