At the fair

Saturday was the first ever Fiber Fling at the Allen County Fair. When I organize these knit-weave-spin-tat-whatever events in public, I worry that those who sign up won't show up (half of them did) and/or that no one will come see what we are doing (it was hot, the building we were in was air conditioned, so a good number of families came through). We all had a good time, the home ec club was happy to have us, and they want us back next year.

I learned a few things. We were there from 10am to 2pm, but not very many fair-goers show up until the midway opens at noon. So next year, we will shift to a 12 to 4pm slot. Also, we need signs saying who we are. Hopefully, next time we will have tee shirts advertizing the guilds.

I also want to mix up the fiber arts a bit more. There were four spinners and a spindler, two weavers, a basket weaver, and a tatter. We could use a crocheter, a knitter, and rigid heddle and inkle weavers as well.

A (very) few guild members entered the Open Class competition, and we were basically competing against each other. My sweater won Best in Show! The buttons were purchased and sewed on just in time.

The judges include written comments about each item they rate. In past years, it was obvious that they did not know much about fiber arts. So several of us cobbled together some guidelines, which I delivered just before judging. I included my email and phone number for questions and feedback, but heard nothing. However, I can tell by this year's comments that they used the guidelines.

To get more guild members to enter the Open Class competition, we plan to have a program covering the guidelines and the registration forms. Hopefully, that will prod more fiber artists to enter.

Knitting: The non-matching socks are finished; separate post to follow. The L-Bag is about an inch from the decrease rounds for the bottom.
Sewing: The shorts I used for yardwork lack usable pockets. Using a tutorial from One Hundred Acts of Sewing, I added a patch pocket to each pair so I can at least have my cell phone with me. A learning experience.

Spinning: I got a LOT of spinning done at the fair - hope it is not too kinky, as I tend to spin too fast at spin-ins. I'm almost done with the dark brown roving.

Besides the fair, several of us spun at a local farmers market this past week, in part to raise the profile of the guilds, in part because of a deal the spinning guild has with parks and rec. We were inside a big barn with the vendors, and it was HOT with nary a breeze. On Friday, I tried to purchase some cooling neck gaiters at Dick's Sporting Goods, but they had sold out the day before. You snooze, you lose!

Supported spindling

This past week we had a new member join us for weaving guild (and besides becoming a member, she also volunteered to help with our social media!) She sat next to me and spun silk on a pretty supported spindle. Before I got a wheel, I tried spinning with a spindle, but it was just too slow for me then. Now, when I may want to spin up a few yards of something for a tapestry, a spindle sounds like the perfect tool. Alas, I gave away all my spindles, so now I am shopping for replacements.

Knitting: The basket weave socks are coming along slowly - I'm not very adept at purling on double pointed needles. The mindless socks are underway, perfect for knitting during commercials and at meetings. Needless to say, they do not match.

Spinning: Still working on the beige singles and the merino/silk blend singles.

Yesterday was the first Saturday spin-in at the Little Shop of Spinning. A subgroup of us meet up for lunch ahead of time, which extends our chat session. Our discussions are not limited to fiber, sometimes we really get going about subjects like joint replacements, but the talk is always lively. I eyed the spindles in the shop, but I think the style I want is called tahkli. Since I didn't buy a spindle, I bought a(nother) hand-dyed braid.

Spinning guild is this Tuesday, and the estate sale goodies are supposed to be there. It was a bit overwhelming the first time I saw all that fiberlicious goodness, but now I have a clearer idea of what I am interested in. We'll see how out-of-control I get.

Spinning spin-in

I had such a good time at yesterday's Fifth Saturday Spin-in at Teasel Hill. There weren't too many of us there, but we talked, mostly about fiber and fiber fests and projects. One idea I picked up was to knit an adult-sized Baby Surprise Jacket with the yarn I acid dyed a while ago. Every time I look at that yarn, I want to make something with it, and now I know what.

Knitting: The sock-knitting dilemma has worked itself out. It seems none of the contrasting yarn I purchased for toes, heels, and cuffs goes with the yarns from the estate sales. So I decided to knit a solid-colored pair of socks. That quickly became boring, so I added a basketweave pattern to keep it interesting.

Spinning: I started spinning a braid of Tasman Comeback that is a solid beige. Not very exciting, but I plan to combine the result with some dark brown. That seemed too dull to take to the spin-in, so once there I started on a braid of merino/silk blend.

I'm really happy with some of the yarn I have spun lately, so happy I don't want to make anything with it yet. Hopefully, the perfect project will come along.

I didn't want to go, but I'm glad I did

My SO has covid (again), so I have not been out and about like I usually am with him. When the Fifth Saturday Spin-in at Teasel Hill Angoras came around this weekend, I decided to go, then decided not to go, then decided I would go for part of the day. I drove there after lunch, taking the scenic route. I wasn't sure who would be there, and I didn't know some of them, but we all connected over fiber. It was great to just sit and spin and let the conversation flow.

Even though I crochet, spin, weave, and dye fiber, my favorite activity is knitting. It's a good thing I like it because it is S-L-O-W - I'm not a fast knitter. Last Sunday, lacking the drive for much of anything else, I spent the day knitting, something I have not been able to do for quite a while because of my shoulders. But despite all that knitting, and more during the week, I am still not done with the L-Bag. I am on the bottom, though, so maybe today? For sure, if it rains. (The yardening is pulling me away from fiber.)

While not knitting, I attempted chain plying, using some superwash fingering. That went quite well, although the result was super kinky when it came off the niddy noddy. A wet finish and a bit of weight hung from the skeins while drying fixed that.

Then I tried chain plying some Shetland. Ugh. It went much slower, due to the sticky nature of the wool. I think fiber content will be a consideration when selecting what to chain ply.

Knitting: Almost done with the neverending L-Bag.
Spinning: Chain plying; wet finished the two-ply silk/tencel/merino blend; started spinning the fiber I purchased at Three Moons.
Weaving: I wove diamonds!


Today I plan to rearrange the den a bit, to help me with the Peruvian diamond weaving. I need a place for the magazine with the pattern, the book that reminds me how to do leno, and my laptop where I view and re-view the instructional video. This is definitely a challenging project!

Another spin-in

Yesterday I attended the Teasel Hill Fifth Saturday Spin-In. This time it sunk in that these events are not so much about spinning but about eating and socializing. I was hell-bent on spinning some cheviot top that I recently purchased, and while I received some good advice on my spinning technique, I ended up wishing I had saved the fiber for a quieter time at home. No one to blame but myself for the uneven singles.

That is not to say I didn't have a good time. The potluck lunch was excellent, I met some new people, got to know some almost new people better, and managed not to spend any money on fiber goods. The "fiber husband" gave a few of us a tour of the farm, which included chickens (we accidentally let some out of the coop - oops!), angora goats (I wondered why Barry kept referring to the sheep as goats when I realized that those sheep were goats - apparently I didn't know what angora goats looked like), maple trees they tap for syrup, a tire swing, the sledding hill, etc. Twenty acres of rural heaven. I learned that cherry tree leaves are poisonous to goats but they love artichoke roots.

I also brought home a plastic bagful of black walnuts - score! These will be used for dyeing fiber. I'm excited!

While we are on the topic of dyeing (smooth segue, huh?), I have been harvesting dahlia flowers when they are a bit past their peak. This is the first time I have grown dahlias. Initially, the four plants were producing a blossom here and there, one at at time, but suddenly they increased production tenfold.

While I don't plan to dye anything with just marigolds, I decided to harvest some of the flowers to add to other dye baths. Similarly, I won't dye again with only onion skins, but they should be a nice addition to other dye baths, so I'm collecting them as I cook winter soups.

The weather is still iffy - autumn-like today, but more too-warm days to come this week - so the urge to knit has not returned yet. Meanwhile, I continue to play with my inkle loom. So many fibers and fiber arts, so little time!

A day in the country

I went to a "spin in" two Fridays ago, at my weaving pal Peggy's home in the country. There were four of us altogther, and I think I was the only one without sheep of my own. Since I was spinning roving from Butterball, one of the Salomon Farm sheep I tended two summers ago, I could at least pretend. BTW, I *love* spinning Lincoln.

We didn't get much spinning done because we were yakking and busy admiring Peggy's devotion to all things fiber. First and foremost was the fiber studio, where we set up our wheels. It's difficult to see but there is a loom on the front porch, which I'll describe farther down.

One of the tools in Peggy's fiber toolbox is an antique walking wheel. She demonstrated it for us: the yarn comes off the end of the spindle and twists as the spinner walks backwards, then the yarn is wound onto the spindle as the spinner walks forward. This model has an accelerator, to increase the ratio of turns from the wheel to the spindle.

There were also looms in the cabin, big ones, and more looms in the basement (as shown here) because once one moves beyond knitting needles and crochet hooks, a single room is not enough space. Most of the looms were warped with projects in progress.

Also in the basement was this large motorized drum carder. Peggy complained that even with the motor, it was not fast enough to satisfy her needs, as she has a lot of fiber to process.

Peggy started growing flax a couple of years ago, and sheaves of it drying were drying in the immaculate garage. Flax for linen is different from flax for eating, as the former has a long stalk that encases the fiber while the latter has more branches and seeds. The stalks must be soaked (or retted, for all you crossword puzzle fans out there) to partially rot them and get access to the long fibers within.

What you can't see in the photo above is the stacks of boxes that line two walls. I didn't think too much about the boxes - we all have boxes of stuff in our garages, right? - until I realized that the writing on them indicated they contained fleeces, both purchased and from Peggy's small flock. She doesn't breed her three ewes, so we referred to them as the "spinsters".

Now, about that loom on the porch. It was difficult to get decent photos of it, but if you Google "weighted Nordic loom" you will find better ones, plus videos of how to weave on them. Key features are the loom is vertical, you weave away from you instead of toward you, and the warp tension is maintained by weights hanging below.

Peggy first saw this type of loom while watching a special on TV, and this one was built by her handy husband. She weaves three or four wefts in a row before beating them in place with a "sword". Once enough material has been woven, it is rolled onto the beam at the top. BTW, the fiber on this loom is all from Peggy's flock, handspun by her.

If I understood Peggy correctly, the weights were poured using the same mix one would use for a granite countertop, with a straw to provide a hole for attaching to the warp.

Besides touring Peggy's fiber dreamland, the four of us talked fiber. It was probably the most fun I have had in a while, not because my life is totally boring (although some might think so) but because it is rare to have the opportunity to share with fiber-centric friends.

On a side note, last Tuesday I attended a meeting of the Spinners and Flaxers Guild here in Fort Wayne. The program was a hands-on demonstration of tablet or card weaving. We didn't have time to finish our sample projects, so I'll write more about that at a later date.