The contrary dyer

Last week I was so excited about the idea of solar dyeing yarn that I did not bother to do any research ahead of time. I did not crush the zinnia blossoms or the oak galls, did not chop up the lobster mushrooms. Consequently, the results were... a bit disappointing. However, I saved and dried the oak galls and lobster mushrooms - they are drying in the garage on screens - and I hope I can get more dye from them using heat. At least the oak galls can be used as a mordant.

Crochet: Finished 7-strand bathroom rug - separate post to follow.
Dyeing: Finished solar dyeing experiment - separate post to follow.
Knitting: Disenchanted with second Lempi sweater, so intend to frog it. Perhaps that yarn would be better for intarsia? Or stranded knitting?
Spinning: Joined the Tour de Fleece group on Ravelry, to help get me through the Romney.
Weaving: Finished the skinny scarf; separate post to follow. Started clasped weft coasters.

I subsccribe to a newsletter from Robbie LeFleur which is mostly about weaving transparencies. The last one (read here) really excited me, as using coarse handspun as a warp is a real possibility. I hope some of her readers respond with their experiences with this idea.

Most transparencies use linen as a warp, but wool transparent tapestries use wool. Besides handspun, I'm wondering if other coarse wools would work well. Specifically, I am thinking of Kauni Effectyarn, which I used to weave this shawl. Another of Robbie's posts included a sample one of her students created on a pocket loom, so now I have some ideas for little samples to get me started on transparencies.

I forgot to mention a couple of purchases I made last week. One is bowl to use with a supported spindle. There is a dimple in the middle to keep the spindle from wandering away as one spins.

The other purchase was of some silk and some bamboo fiber, both lustrous and soft, to spin on the supported spindle.

Now all I need to do is find the spindle!

An aside: I decided to take the summer off from watching TV. I wasn't watching a lot of TV - an hour or two in the evening - but afterwards I always felt... some kind of negative emotion, even though I enjoyed what I watched. Now I feel more... content. Some of my favorites are releasing new seasons soon, though. We'll see how I handle that.

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.

Trying (this and that) week

Overshot is kicking my butt. I tried it on the SampleIt loom (which was already warped), but the warp is spaced too tightly (10 epi). So I shifted to the pocket loom (8 epi), but am still struggling. I must be doing something wrong because I can't seem to keep the warp covered, plus I think the result is supposed to be reversible, and mine isn't.

I have also been playing around with that super jumbo yarn I purchased at the Jay County Fiber Fest. I tried knitting it, but it requires larger knitting needles than I have. I tried braiding it, just for fun, but two of the colorways are too close in tone. Then I created a swatch on my Swatchmaker. So now I'm thinking wall hanging, woven on a frame loom. Maybe.


There are so many ideas for tapestry tumbling around in my head that I decided to purchase some stuff that will help me actually implement them. On the left, cotton seine twine in beige and black (I already have some in natural), on the right tapestry bobbins. All this came from the Yarn Barn in Kansas. They are the only place I usually buy from that offers the cotton seine twine in colors.


All of the above was happening in my so-called studio, a spare bedroom that tends to get junked up very easily. I rearranged things a couple of weeks ago, but found myself trying to do too much on too small a table. So I broke down and purchased what my SO calls a "potluck table", one of those folding tables that are used for backyard picnics and such. Now I have a little elbow room.

(The suitcases under the table hold family photos that need to be sorted and distributed. Not sure how I became the keeper of family memorabilia, but it happened.)

Knitting: Yes, I am on the decreasing half of the Habitation throw. Even though each row is still over 250 stitches, I find myself working on it a bit more because I want to hurry up and be done with it.
Weaving: I finished one of the plain weave guest towels that is on the 24" Ashford rigid heddle loom. I'm using a temple, so the selvages look better than usual.

And so it goes.

Jay County 2022

I think the last time I actually left town was last November, for the trip to the Wabash Woollen Works (which I have yet to blog about - bad fiber blogger!) The drive between here and Jay County is pretty boring - very flat farmland for the most part - but one is kept awake by the possible need to pass a slow moving Amish buggy. The marshland near Geneva usually smell like rotten eggs, but I didn't notice it this trip.

The primary activity at fiber fests after workshops is shopping. One doesn't need to go to a fiber fest to find these long needles, but I was there and so were they, so I grabbed the last of them from Copper Centaur Studios of Anderson.

I need more yarn like I need a dropped stitch, but I could not resist these "beehives" of wool, especially after the seller, Wayne Trace Farms, dropped the price by about 30%. They are from Blue Sky Fibers, called Woolstok Jumbo, and the colorways are Gray Stone, Arctic Cloud, and Snow Storm. They are crying to be made into a jumbo tapestry.

I have SO much rug yarn awaiting to be woven that I did not need this alpaca cotton core "skein" but I bought it anyway, just because I like the color combination. I didn't get the story behind it other than the fiber content.

I also do not need an apron, but I could not resist this handmade, reversible one made by Phia who owns the Little Shop of Spinning in Roanoke IN. Besides being cute, it is long enough to actually be practical for fiber prep. Also, her husband Mark was very persuasive.
I am really bad with names and faces, and managed to embarrass myself while at the Wayne Trace Farms booth. Wayne Trace is a street in Fort Wayne, so I asked if they were from here. Why, yes, yes they are. I then asked if they were familiar with the spinning guild. Why, yes, yes they are. In fact, one of them is a co-president of the guild. I think this is the first time I have seen Case without her mask, but one would think her long red hair should have clued me in.

Standardized... sorta

At the last spinning guild meeting, I brought up a discussion about control cards and the fact mine came with a WPI chart that differs from the one on my WPI tool.

One member lamented the fact that there was no standard definition for WPI.

But there is. However, it provides a *range* of wraps per yarn weight. (This photo is from Yarnitecture, by Jillian Moreno.)

The lesson here is, no matter what weight you think your yarn is, always, always, always knit a gauge swatch before starting a project.

Knitting: I am at the 33" mark with the Reader's Wrap and have used up nearly a whole 8-oz. skein of fisherman's wool. There are two more skeins in my stash, so no worries about running short. While knitting, I contemplate maybe dyeing the whole thing once it's done, but I'm not sure how the wool will take dye. Like swatching, a test sample is called for.
Spinning: I decided to take a week away from spinning while I plot my next project. I have a lot of Tunis red roving that I spun up a while ago. I didn't like the results, so experimented with mixing in various amounts of white, gray, and black. But now I've decided I *do* like the plain Tunis red, three plied in what feels like an Aran weight yarn. Hopefully, I can duplicate my effort.
Weaving: I am almost done with the first towel on the current warp. I'm toying with the idea of double weaving the second towel, to create a heftier fabric. It's not uncommon to double warp a loom, so I think this will work, or work well enough.

It's been a year since my last outing, which was to the Jay County Fiber Arts Festival. This year's event was cancelled. However, they plan to have a virtual festival on April 24, with virtual classes and the marketplace. There is a class on fiber prep that I just might take, given I have several fleeces in the garage, just waiting to be processed.

New tools

In a previous post I commented on how I tend to get the yarn I spin, not the yarn I want. To help alleviate that problem, I purchased a spinning control card from the Woolery. Having never handled a spinning control card in person before, I was not sure what to expect, so I'm also not sure if this is a common design.

It is made from acrylic, which is not pretty like some wooden ones I saw online but completely functional. There are slight grooves for each size; I expected the grooves to be deeper, but again, I don't know if this is common among control cards. The instructions seem to assume one is spinning 3-ply. Do most spinners create 3-ply? I think most of the ones I know stick to 2-ply. I haven't tried out this little tool in real life yet, but will once I am done with the black merino. I'll keep you posted.

Knitting: Still inching along on the Reader's Wrap, literally. My goal is to knit at least an inch each day. I also ordered some sock yarn from a Ravelry member, so I can fix some socks I knit for a friend.
Spinning: About 75% done with spinning the singles from the black merino top.
Weaving: I actually did some weaving on my 24" rigid heddle loom! I am not the towel-weaving type, but I have a lot of 8/4 cotton warp and towels seem like a good way to use it up. I had warped the loom quite some time ago, finally wove a couple of inches of weft the other day.

kay T left an interesting comment last week about experiencing pilling problems with Cascade 220 Superwash. I took a look at items I knit using this yarn and didn't notice any excessive pilling HOWEVER. A sweater I knit with it does pill something awful. I wasn't planning to knit the sweater in superwash, but we were at Webs in Northampton MA (spring 2014) and they were having a sale and this yarn was the only one I could find in the color and weight I wanted.

I saw my hip doctor for a follow-up and all is well with that joint. I come back in five years. Then I saw a shoulder surgeon (they all specialize). After some discussion, the tentative plan is for me to call in July to schedule surgery for the fall; I don't want to miss out on gardening season. Perhaps this impending surgery will compel me to finish a poncho I started long ago, to wear over the sling.

PlyAway 2018

I'm not much for traveling just for the sake of traveling or sightseeing. But if there is a fiber event nearby, count me in! I had never heard of PlyAway but it seemed like a good excuse to go to Kansas City. My SO has family there, so he was happy to make the trip, too.

Westward ho!

We drove. Weather forecasts were iffy, so that meant packing extra clothes, just in case it was warmer than expected or colder (it was wetter and windier, and the temps were a bit better than back home, but I was still overly optimistic in my tee shirt choices). The pic above is just my stuff. I moved the wheel into a back seat and belted it in, to make room for my SO's stuff. He's a photographer, so there was that gear, too.

I signed up for three classes: Spin Unusual Threads for Weaving, taught by Judith MacKenzie; Plying by Design, taught by Stephenie Gaustad; and Fiber Prep Elevated, taught by Mary Egbert. I was so engaged in each class that I neglected to take any photos until the last class. Also, my impression was that I was one of the least experienced spinners there, and keeping up with the instructor was a bit of a challenge, so besides no pics, I have little to show for my efforts. It's a good thing I took notes, otherwise I might feel like I learned nothing. Not so! Here are some highlights:

Spin Unusual Threads for Weaving: Even though the instructor implied that to be a weaver, one must weave on a harness loom, I learned techniques I can use on my rigid heddle looms. An unexpected piece of advice was to use one's handspun for the warp - put all the color and texture in the warp and weft with whatever. If the handspun is something likely to break, warp it with a fine fiber like silk thread - the silk will disappear after fulling. Yarn spun worsted is best for warp, though, while woolen works well for weft. Alternate Z-spun and S-spun threads in the warp to produce a shimmer. We practiced cabling 2-ply silk threads while wrapping them in wool or imprecating (entrapping) fiber between the threads. Another handy trick is to cable silk with a metallic thread, wrapping it in wool, then ply with wool yarn, to make the metallic thread more subtle. All these ideas (and more!) were mind-boggling to me and opened up a new world of yarn creation. Unfortunately, all the thread I created became bound up on the bobbin and will probably have to be cut off. I wish there had been a handout; I also wish the prerequisites had listed knowing how to spin woolen, so I could have been better prepared.

Plying by Design: There was a handout for this class, thank goodness, as there was a lot of info discussed. I wish I had brought about 5 empty bobbins, however, as the recommended two full of Z-spun singles and one empty didn't get me far. A white board would have been helpful as well, as sometimes the instructor's verbal instructions were a bit complex. Spinners are such an opinionated bunch - one teacher will say X, but if you ask another teacher about X, she may say that is all wrong or just give you a blank stare. This teacher was no exception: umbrella swifts are "evil", don't use ball winders because they change the twist, the only way to set twist is with steam, etc. Again, I struggled and my samples were a mess, but I learned some good stuff, too.

Fiber Prep Elevated: This class was the most fun, primarily because we each had our very own 8" Clemes & Clemes MOTORIZED drum carder to work with. OMG! I wish I could justify blowing $1K-2K on one of these machines. We also were equipped with all the tools we needed to create lovely batts of fiber. I was disappointed we did nothing with hand carders and practically nothing with combs (just a demo, although when I came back early from lunch, I tried my hand at combing), we did a lot of color blending. This year's programs in my weavers guild have accentuated color, and this class helped solidify that learning. It is also the one class I had decent enough results for photos.

Squee!

One exercise had us creating an ombre batt: one person blended a color (in our case magenta) with white, one person blended it with gray, and a third person blended it with black; then we combined all three of those into a single batt.

Ombre

Working with a "cmy primary mixing wheel", we tried our hand at blending. The primary colors on this wheel are cyan, magenta, and yellow (cmy). I tried mixing equal parts of magenta and yellow to get red, but without a scale, my proportions were a bit off, so I ended up with more of a tangerine color.

Pass 1

Pass 2

Pass 3

Final result

Another exercise was to select a photo and use it to inspire a color combo.

Blueberry parfait

Yum!

I experimented with creating an ombre in blues. The fun thing about blending colors is if the result doesn't seem quite right, just add more of whatever you need to correct it. Having a motorized drum carder really made this easy.

Blue ombre

We made tweed batts as well. While the instructor said I "got" it, the color flecks seem too subtle to me. Maybe once I spin this up, I will change my mind.

Purple tweed

Tweed detail

Besides classes, from Thursday noon on, the vendor area was open. Quite frankly, I have more fiber, from fleece to yarn, than any sane person should have, and was quite pleased with my restraint. I also have a rule regarding fiber fests: I take $200 in cash, and when that is gone, I am done buying. In the pic below, the blue tool on the left was included in the material fee for the fiber prep class; it's a "brush cleaner" but we used it to remove the final invisible wisps of fiber on the drum carders. The other items are a wraps-per-inch (WPI) tool, a burnisher (packs the fiber onto the drum carder), a diz threader, a diz, a pair of earrings that look like spindles, and a fringe twister.

Little purchases

All participants also received a swag bag full of mostly samples of fiber. What does one do with all these little samples? I think I might blend them with something basic like merino, and knit myself a PlyAway souvenir.

Swag!

Most of my fiber equipment is from Ashford. Consequently, I have watched a lot of their UTube videos which invariably start out "This is Kate from Ashford". So I was excited when I saw Kate from Ashford in the vendor area! I gushed about the videos, and she graciously asked someone to take our picture. My local dealer was impressed.

Almost famous!

Since I wasn't able to get into all the classes I wanted, we had time to make a side trip to Lawrence, to visit the Yarn Barn. I had tried to make a purchase from them online a while back, but everything I wanted was back ordered. Well, I was able to fulfill my original order, and then some, that day. It was mostly spools of carpet warp and skeins of rug yarn, plus some silk thread. Now I am set for a while.

PlyAway is held at the Westin, and I was able to get the special rate for all but one night of our stay, but I still found myself hyperventilating occasionally over just how much money this trip cost. I had to keep giving myself permission to be okay with that. I try to learn as much as possible from books, videos, local experts, and nearby fiber fest classes that cost a pittance, but the PlyAway classes were definitely a step (or three!) above what I am used to. I'm glad I went.