Green-yellow dishcloths

Yet another FO I forgot to blog about! I think this is the last one (fingers crossed). It's nice to get caught up, though.

Pattern: none
Yarn: Peaches and Creme Original Solids, in "natural" (maybe?), dyed with leftover tie-dye dye
Needles: US7

These are knit in garter stitch. I cast on three stitches, increased on the "right side" a stitch at either end of the row using a yarn over until the dishcloth seemed long enough/mostly square. Then I continued the YO's but decreased a stitch on either side of them using a knit-two-together. Bound off when down to three stitches on the needle.

My kids keep saying they don't need more dishcloths... until they do. I like to have a couple on hand for those times. Also, dishcloths are an easy pickup-and-knit project when I'm feeling idle.

Splash socks

Here is another FO that I forgot to blog about: a pair of socks, destined for my son, a.k.a. Big Foot. For his socks, I cast on for 80-stitch rounds, knit 80 rounds for the foot and 80 rounds for the leg. That seems to be a good formula for his feet.

Pattern: Short-row toe and heel basic socks, by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Simply Socks Yarn Company Splash Sock, colorway 1321
Needles: US1
Modifications: None

A fiber friend belonged to a SSYC yarn subscription or something like it, and the sock yarn was piling up, so she gave some to me. Everytime she saw me working on these socks, she commented on how much she like the yarn. No backsies allowed!

As I have said before, socks are my portable project. If I anticipate having to wait somewhere, I bring either a book or socks to knit. It seems like when I do, the wait is short. Today I did not take anything with me to the vet (besides the dog), and the wait was l-o-n-g. Isn't that the way these things go?

I like to match self-striping socks, although at times I have worked off either end of the cake, so the stripes are reversed. Overheard at a fiber festival: "If you want socks that match, go to the store!"

Neapolitan scarf

I forgot to mention in my last post that the Neapolitan scarf is finished, including the fringe (although I reserve the right to redo the fringe at some later date).

Pattern: None
Weave structure: plain weave
Loom: Ashford SampleIt
Warp: Lone Star Arts superwash merino, colorway 'Neapolitan', handspun
Weft: Lone Star Arts superwash merino, colorway 'Neapolitan', handspun
EPI/PPI: 7.5/7.5
Ends: 47

I tried to twist the fringe, but its superwash nature would not hold the twists together. So I knotted the end of each warp, hoping the plies don't come apart. I may trim the fringe to about an inch and let it fluff out. (I did hemstitch the ends, plus knotted them, so no unraveling will occur.)

This project was a deliberate attempt to use up some of my handspun. I think weaving was the way to go, given how it was spun and the colorway. There is still some yarn left, so I may try knitting a swatch, just to see what it looks like. It's all an experiment.

The roving was a gift from Qutecowgirl, an online fiber friend who I hope still reads this blog and is doing well. I believe she bought it at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival, a.k.a. Rhinebeck (said with reverence), a festival I may never get the chance to visit. But at least I can enjoy some of its largesse.

"Idle" Saturday

For once I had nothing scheduled for today, so I started a purple basil dye bath, wet finished the Neapolitan scarf, and finished the weaving of the clasped weft towel experiment.

What experiment, you say? Well, it occurred to me that I really like weaving on the SampleIt loom, but it is only 9.5" wide, limiting its usefulness. But what if I did something like I do on my 24" loom: weave two halves of something and sew them together? Hence, the clasped weft towel experiment.

At the weaving study group, when I asked what others would like to learn about next, someone said "double width weaving". It took me a minute to figure out what they were talking about. Then came the DUH moment - I could weave double width on the SampleIt. It takes two heddles of the same size, plus some pick up sticks. Once the loom is warped, the process is repeating just four steps. I'm eager to try it.

Dyeing: 900g of purple basil in three gallons of water, "cooked" for an hour.

Knitting: The Quirky socks are at the cuffs; listening to an audio version of the novel Slow Horses.
Spinning: Still working on the murky roving; I ran out of bobbins, so had to chain-ply some of it. I'm spinning yellow roving on the Fold e-spinner; I think I need a different power pack, as mine does not seem to have enough voltage - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Weaving: The clasped weft towel is off the loom; the two halves are surprisingly equal.

This week I tendered my resignation as president of the spinning guild, effective at the end of the year. Technically, I could serve another year before stepping down, but one year was enough for me. Instead, I volunteered to be vice president, as that person is in charge of programming. I'm planning a kind of "Sheep to Shawl University" series, with the old guard (OG) as the faculty. The guild has a lot of younger, less experienced members, and we oldsters want to pass on some of our knowledge.

Another loom?!?

One of my fiber friends is a shopping genius, rarely pays full price for anything, frequents thrift shops and estate sales for bargains, etc. She spotted a Schacht Cricket on FB Marketplace and relayed the info to me. Not that I needed another rigid heddle loom, but it was such a deal I could not resist. So now I have three(!) rigid heddle looms.

It came with plenty of accessories: heddles (including a variable reed one), shuttles, pickup sticks, dividers, warping peg, a stand, plus a cute bag to carry everything in. My SO asked where I was going to put it. Somewhere....

I pre-ordered a book by Alexandra Brinck on mending: Knit Repair: A Comprehensive Guide to Invisible Mending for Knitwear. The ship date is not until November :-( but in the meantime I am subscribed to her Patreon account. Not that I have had time to look at that lately...

...because I have been dyeing with the indigo vat. Some of my results have been less than stellar, but I seem to be getting the hang of it. I have to remember to be careful and patient.

Dyeing: See above.
Fiber prep: I attended a mini wool washing workshop that the spinning guild sponsored; now I have some clean fiber to process.
Knitting: One sock is almost to the cuff, the other about halfway there.
Spinning: Still working on that murky fiber. I bought a telescoping stool for the e-spinner.

Weaving: For the rigid heddle study group, I demonstrated clasped weft weaving.

Whew! It was a busy fiber week. Summer is almost over, so things are going to pick up even more. It's both exciting and overwhelming.

Fold me up

The EEW (which stands for Electric Eel Wheel) Fold arrived earlier than expected. I needed to follow the video to figure out how to put it together, etc. Otherwise, it is easy peasy. Today I took it with me to a spin-in and spun some Polish merino for two hours without missing a beat. I'm very pleased with the device. If you are interested, visit Dreaming Robots.

Another participant has a Nano, which is smaller than the Fold, so size does not matter. She mounted hers on a tripod with a 3-D printed platform while I just put mine on the folding chair next to me. However, I will order a collapsible stool for it, something I can throw in my bag along with the wheel and away we go.

Dyeing: I ordered a boatload of Cascade 220 blanks from Darma Trading because I like to experiment with natural dyeing and this is the yarn I prefer to use. I also ordered a short-sleeved tee and a long-sleeved tee with plans to dye them with indigo.
Knitting: I worked on the Quirky socks while waiting for my granddaughter to finish a tennis lesson, until my hands got too sweaty to knit; I'm listening to Agatha Christie's The Mysterious Affair at Styles.
Spinning: Tour de Fleece is over, but I'm still spinning the murky roving on my Joy 2; there is a lot of roving to get through.

I missed attending a transparency weaving workshop, but stumbled over this book, which I purchased. It just arrived today, so I have not had a serious look at it yet.

I'm still working on Don't Call It Art. I get a little tired of being told how creative I am (or could be), but this quote resonated with me: "When you are not worried about wasting your precious supplies, you don't have to worry about being perfect." In other words, you can always buy or spin more yarn! It's not a finite commodity.

So I bought some more fiber today at the spin-in. Isn't that a luscious color? Four ounces of Polish merino.

I've been neglecting my weaving and the indigo vat. There are only so many hours in the day, days in the week, weeks in the month, months in the year, years in a lifetime. Even when the calendar looks relatively open, stuff happens to fill my days. Better than twiddling my thumbs in front of the TV, I guess.

But is it art?

Periodically, the question arises over whether crafts like knitting or weaving are art. Some say the difference between just making and making art is the latter "says" something. I know what pleases my eye, but unless I know the context behind the creation, I might not appreciate what I'm looking at. That's one reason I like to attend gallery and museum openings where the artist is available to discuss their work.

As for my own creations, what I make is usually from a pattern, so not art. I don't think I have anything to say anyway. But I don't let that stop me from enjoying the process, even when it is frustrating. (I'm talking to you, log cabin towels!)

So I'm happy when I run across a book like this one, which encourages us to get in touch with our inner child and just make something. I haven't read much of it yet, but so far, so good.

Dyeing: I picked more purple basil blossoms and applied some heat, but the color did not look promising. I did a cold water mordant with alum (a la Wild Color) with the Cascade 220 skeins from last week, will probably use them with daylily blossoms I've been gathering from the backyard.
Knitting: Turned the heels on the Quirky socks while listening to Christina Applegate's memoir, You with the Sad Eyes.
Spinning: Still Tour de Fleece'ing; only two days left, but there is more fiber to spin, so I will hopefully keep at it.

I'm frustrated over the results I get dyeing cloth with the indigo vat. The problem is surely me, but I'd like to know what I am doing wrong before I start dipping some of my precious handspun. I've just been too busy lately to pursue the matter.

My Fold e-spinner is due to arrive on Monday. Squeee! I'm a little worried that it might be too small, but I'm still excited.