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!