Itchy fingers

Lately I have been itching to get back to tapestry weaving. I don't have any specific projects in mind, but would like to pack some weft, probably on the Saffron pocket loom for starters. But maybe I should finish my other weaving projects first?

Knitting: Still working on the Habitation throw; not even half done yet. I can't wait to get to the decreases, as then it will zoom along. Or at least, feel like it.
Weaving: I have the second curtain panel warped and tied up on the loom, ready to be woven. On the SampleIt, I have continued sampling, in a spaced leno that didn't turn out like the photo in the book, and Spanish lace. I think the Danish medallions and Spanish lace would look better with wool yarn and a more appropriate sett.

Spaced leno and Spanish lace

Spanish lace, detail

Today I'm wearing these socks and this sweater; winter just doesn't want to go away. (If you follow the sweater link, you will find yourself on one of my old blogs, where I was experimenting with combining fiber and gardening and everything else in my life, but I discovered I did not have the personality for that.)

Detox at Grandma's

My granddaughter spent the night last weekend. She's 11, going on 18, all arms and legs and a little bit of acne. She has commented that it is very quiet at my house - no TV or music, no traffic noises, no loud neighbors - and her mom says she comes home calm and focused. Sometimes we play chess or Monopoly (she beats me every time), sometimes we go shopping, this last time we played with clay. She is very talented artistically, but I have never been able to interest her in crafts - too tedious, I guess. Still, we find things to do and she has a good time.

Knitting: Still plugging away on the Habitation throw. The pattern is for a square, knit on the diagonal, but I want it rectagular. I'm done with the increases and am now marching along on the straight bit, by increasing on one end, decreasing on the other.

Weaving: I haven't rewarped the 24" rigid heddle loom yet for the second leno curtain, but I did warp the SampleIt so I can make more samples. Right now I am experimenting with Danish medallions.

I hope I am done with medical visits for a while. Besides surgery last fall and the subsequent physical therapy sessions, I've been to the gynocologist, the optomitrist, the dentist, and most recently my GP for a diabetes checkup. The numbers look good, but I can tell I am struggling a bit with my eating plan - too many refined carbs leave me feeling like a bottomless pit. So I am back to avoiding flour, sugar, and processed foods. After a couple of days of that, I already feel better.

Tired of wearing wool

There comes a time, usually in February, when I am done with long pants, long sleeved shirts, heavy coats, and wool in general. It's still cold here, so I am glad I have a variety of wool garments to keep me warm. But I'm thinking my brother's MO of spending February in Florida is not a bad idea.

Knitting: Still working away at the Habitation throw. Each row is over 250 stitches now, so it is slow going. Soon I will be done with the increases.
Weaving: Today I finished the first panel of the bathroom curtains in leno.

I hope I don't suffer from second-panel syndrome. I avoid second sock syndrome by knitting both at the same time. I can't do that with weaving as I have only one 24" loom... although I *could* purchase a 32" loom... but my shoulders would never forgive me.

Waffle weave wash cloths

After my previous effort at waffle weave dish cloths, I decided to make some more (they are a fun weave) to try to fix the hourglass shape the previous ones ended up with. My strategy was to not edge them in plain weave, as it seemed to not shrink as much as the waffle weave. The hems were really bulky and difficult to sew, and they are still rather hourglass shapped. But no matter. Now I have more wash cloths to use and give away.

Weave structure: Waffle weave
Loom: Ashford Sampleit
Yarn: Elmore-Pisgah Peaches & Cream in 'Shaded Pastels'
EPI/PPI: 7.5/7.5
(I didn't take notes on the pre-wash/post-wash measurements.)

There is a pattern in one of the issues of Little Looms for waffle weave towels in a finer yarn. The corners of the towels in the photos look square, so maybe using a finer yarn works better for this weave structure. That pattern is on my to-do list.

Snow delay

I was expecting to receive my order from the Woolery yesterday, but we weren't even getting mail or newspapers for the past few days, thanks to the foot of snow that accumulated over two days. That shipment includes a new temple, which is holding up my weaving project, so no progress there. Maybe the package will arrive today.

Knitting: I've been diligently working on the Habitation throw.

Now that we seem to be on the downslope of Covid, there is the promise of fiber festivals in the air. The last one I attended was the Jay County Fiber Fest in Portland, IN, two years ago. Last year, they tried to hold it online - not sure how that went. Barring unforseen circumstances, the show will go on this year. I'm interested in an acid dye workshop. Also on the schedule is the Salomon Farm Fiber Fest, which occurs just up the road from me. I am definitely ready to enjoy some outings.

Infinity scarf

I received some unusual yarn at the spinning guild xmas party. Bamboo Bloom is made up of rayon from bamboo, wool, and acrylic. It is also a "thick and thin" yarn - skinny lengths interupted by untwisted chunks. I selected a one-skein pattern designed for this yarn. It's not my color nor my style, but I have been wearing it around the house, as it is quite warm and wards off the chill. The yarn has been discontinued, but one may still find it here and there.

Pattern: Bamboo Bloom Cowl and Infinity Scarf, by Stitch Supply Co.
Yarn: Bamboo Bloom in 'Spicy Mustard'
Needle: US10.5
Modifications: The pattern calls for knit stitch except for the fat bits, where one purls. I read a suggestion elsewhere to purl into the fat bits as well, so I did that. Not sure it made much difference.

This project made me aware that there are patterns written specifically for thick and thin yarn. Some of my homespun is just that (some on purpose, some not). Now I will have to reassess what I can do with it.

Wool weather

We have had some sub-zero temperatures lately, perfect for enjoying wool handknits. Right now I am sitting in the sunny den, under a wool knitted afghan, wearing handknit wool socks and the infinity scarf. Needless to say, I feel toasty.

Knitting: The aforementioned infinity scarf is finished. I continue to forge ahead on the latest Habitation throw.
Weaving: I finished the sampler on the SampleIt loom; doup leno, which is supposed to be a time and labor saver, turned out to be more work than it is worth. I warped my 24" Ashford rigid heddle loom, but discovered that my largest temple is one inch too short when maxing out the loom width. So I ordered another one from The Woolery.

Having a planner to keep track of my fiber activity has been paying off - I do something fiber related every day. I also list an UFO or two, to finish, as I seem to have a lot of them lying about. I've been reading Hooked, by Sutton Foster (an actress who crafts). In the book, she mentions journaling, but the journals she describes are nearly scrapbooks. I'm wondering if I should add yarn samples and photos to my planner. I keep track of project details in Ravelry and here in my blog; do I want to add a third method of documentation?

I couldn't help myself

I told myself to finish the infinity scarf *before* starting another Habitation throw, but did I listen? No. I thought just arranging the bits and bobs of leftover sock yarn would satisfy me, but did it? No. I just had to start a new one. Fortunately (or unfortunately), the fun slows down once there are 100+ stitches on the needles.

Knitting: For this iteration of the Habitation throw, I plan to make it rectangular instead of square. And I *did* finish knitting the infinity scarf; I just need to bind off.

Weaving: The sample on the SampleIt loom continues to grow. There are several flavors of leno, a little Brooks bouquet, and a few other open weaving experiments. I plan to finish up with doup leno - using cotton heddles to speed up the finger weaving process.

I went to the eye doctor the other day for my annual exam. Of course, I need new glasses *again* but they are able to reuse the same frames. It looks like big lenses are coming back in fashion; I should have saved my frames from the 1980's.

Once again, I am fighting a cold, my third one this season. One (of many) great thing about retirement is if you feel under the weather, you can just rest and recuperate. And knit.

Habitation Throw

What a great way to use up all those bits and bobs of fingering weight yarn! Knit on the diagonal, it includes i-cord edging that is created as you go, and the yarns are joined using the "magic knot" method, so at the end, all you need to do is block. I inadvertently used a larger-than-called-for needle; the result is airy and stretchy, just right to wear as a shawl or to use as a summer lap blanket.

Pattern: Habitation Throw, by Helen Stewart
Yarn: Leftover sock yarn in greens and browns (mostly)
Needle: US9
Modifications: Knit in two halves and grafted together

My goal was to use up as much yarn as possible, so I knit this blanket in two halves, then grafted them together. The result is much larger than I expected; blocking required the use of my queen-sized bed. Believe it or not, I have *more* leftover sock yarn, so I plan to knit another one of these, in (mostly) primary colors, on the correct size needle.

Garter scarf

On our trip to Wabash Woollen Works, I told my SO that he needed a new scarf, so pick out two skeins of yarn. He selected a merino/alpaca blend in an unnamed colorway but which I'll call 'Mossy Green' since that is what Ravelry suggested, and a skein of alpaca hand dyed in 'Marigold'. I worked up several samples and except when both yarns were held together, the Marigold overwhelmed the Mossy Green. Also, my SO wanted a fabric that was somewhat stiff, that would stand up around his neck. The winning sample was plain old garter stitch, which made it easy on me.

Pattern: None to speak of, just garter stitch all the way, although I slipped the first stitch of each row knitwise.
Yarn: Wabash Woollen Works Alpaca in 'Marigold' and Wabash Woollen Works 50 Merino/50 Alpaca in 'Mossy Green'
Needle: US9

I used a US10 needle for casting on and binding off, as I have found going up a needle size creates a more square fabric at the beginning and end of a project, but that's just me. I knit until I ran out of the Marigold. Before blocking, the scarf measured 48", after blocking 53". That's short for a scarf in my book, but if my SO hangs it as he is wont to do despite my active discouragement of such treatment of scarves, it will probably stretch out a bit more because of all the alpaca. At any rate, he loves it, which is all that matters.

Fresh blood

Last week's spinning guild meeting was MC'd by one of the new (younger!) co-presidents. She has a background in theater and it showed in how she handled the mic and "interviewed" each of us as we told two truths and a lie, to see how well we know each other. MUCH different than the usual somewhat stodgy energy level. And we already have some new members, which is wonderful since we seem to have lost a few over the past two years. The next meeting is going to feature endangered sheep breeds and we'll have guest speakers and roving to play with. Fun stuff!

Knitting: I finished the Habitation throw - huzzah! Still plugging away on the infinity scarf.

Pre-blocking

Weaving: Since my samples from last week didn't turn out very well, I decided to make some "real" ones on the SampleIt loom. I warped and so far have practiced some Leno stitch.

This photo is actually upside down

One of my spinning pals has taken up weaving and cranked out three scarves in about a month. It has served as a bit of a kick in the pants for me, as I *think* about weaving but don't seem to produce much. To help with my motivation, I purchased a planner where I jot down what artsy fartsy thing I accomplish each day. It may be just a bit of knitting or some weaving or even some pottery. I hate seeing a blank space, so I am determined to do *something* each day.

Change o' pace

In the past, the January weaving guild meeting was sparsely attended due to a combination of weather, travel, illness, etc. This year, the leadership decided to make the January meeting a Zoom meeting, with no business to discuss. It wasn't very well attended, either, but I really enjoyed informally chatting about weaving. And since we were all in our own homes, we got a glimpse of how the others live. I hope we can continue this as a new tradition, either via Zoom or in person.

The spinning guild's year starts in January, and we are trying something different there, too - co-presidents instead of a president and vice president. Two relatively new members stepped up and are generating some excitement before we have even had our first meeting of the year. It's time to shake things up a bit.

Knitting: I finished the garter scarf I've been knitting for my SO. Then I turned around and started an "infinity scarf" with the yarn I received at the spinning guild xmas party. The Habitation throw is ready to be grafted.
Weaving: I hemmed the latest waffle weave wash cloths, so that is another project out of the UFO pile. I worked up some Brooks bouquet samples for kitchen curtains, but I'm not sure what they taught me other than using the swatch maker may not be the best way to weave samples.
There is a local organization called the Build Guild. It provides space and equipment for "makers". My SO and I decided to join, to have somewhere to play with clay. There are pottery wheels, but we prefer to hand build; there is a slab roller I'm itching to try. Someone runs the kilns, so we don't have to mess with firing our pieces. It also gives us a place to store our tools and such, so less mess at home. We'll see how this new activity works out for us.

Happy New Year!

Not much happening around here other than the holidays. I basically took a hiatus from fiber for the duration. I've also been shredding a year's worth of paper. Whatever happened to a paperless society?

For xmas, I let my guests choose items from a binful of finished objects. There are a lot of shawls that no one wanted, but I did get rid of some hats and scarves. Shawls are fun to knit, but I rarely wear them, and apparently no one else does either. Most of them are handwash, which limits their usefulness as well, but they may end up in the donation box.

A while back, I became rather excited about making some fiber resolutions for the new year. One idea was to actually execute most of the patterns in my weaving books, as there is something to learn from each pattern. Unfortunately, many of the recommended yarns and/or the colorways have been discontinued, and I'm a bit stymied as to substitutions. I did purchase some yarn for specific weaving projects that I can do, but I have yet to warp, let alone weave anything.

Do you have any fiber plans for the coming year?

Par-tay!

This past week the spinning guild (or at least part of it, about 16 brave folks) held the annual xmas party, at Swinney Homestead. We were masked except while eating potluck and laughed our way through the gift exchange.

I don't know what they call the kind of gift exchange we do. Each participant brings a wrapped present and selects a number from a hat. Person #1 selects a gift and unwraps it. Each subsequent person can either select a gift to unwrap OR steal a previously unwrapped gift (limit of three steals per gift). At the end, person #1 gets a chance to steal if they wish. It's the stealing that produces the most laughter.

I brought a braid of Tasman Comeback. (I can't find a good online description of this roving, but basically it is produced by breeding a merino sheep with a long-wool sheep, then breeding the resulting animal back to the merino, I believe.) I wound up with a skein of Bamboo Blossom thick 'n thin yarn in a colorway called "Spicy Mustard". I think this will become a long cowl.

Knitting: I'm down to the final bit of sock yarn for the Habitation throw, so theoretically I should be done with it by next weekend. Or would be but for the holidays. The scarf is 26" long.

The physical therapy sessions are DONE! I just need to continue stretching most days and exercising my shoulders twice a week. I'm pretty pleased with the results of the replacement. As I go about my daily routine, I don't even think about that joint.

I hab a code

Despite being vaxxed, using hand sanitizer, avoiding crowds, and distancing socially, I managed to catch *another* cold. This one felt very ordinary - sneezing, running nose, watery eyes - so I didn't worry that it might be Covid. I've always believed that being exposed to germs was a good thing as it exercises one's immune system. I'm wondering if the way we have been avoiding germs lately has had the opposite effect, leaving us more vulnerable. (There is nothing scientific about my so-called theory; just some musing on my part.)

Knitting: Not much progress here because of all the napping I did the past few days. The marigold/loden scarf is 17" long now. The twist feels a bit loose, so I set up a shoebox system to avoid adding/substracting twist as I knit.

Our last weavers guild meeting of the year involves eating and crafting. This year, instead of a potluck (or as it is called in Indiana, carry-in,rhymes with carrion), we ate prepackaged foods. For our craft, we made ornaments. Those who had inkle bands used those, while the rest of us used ribbon. My bands seemed to be too narrow or too wide, so I used some (non-xmas-y) ribbon just to get the feel of the process.

The tetrahedron one is from a pattern in the Holiday 2020 issue of Little Looms. I don't know where the star pattern came from. Maybe someday I will weave some holiday-looking inkle bands and make these (and others) with that.

Swatching matters

When the local spinning guild visited Wabash Woollen Works (which I have yet to blog about), my SO acted as my chauffeur (and earned props as the only man brave enough to do such a "girly" thing). While there, I told him to pick out some yarn for a new scarf. He chose a skein of alpaca in hand dyed "Marigold" and a skein of merino/alpaca in what I will call "Loden". Before starting the scarf, I created some samples to see what he might like.

I was concerned about the alpaca stretching (it doesn't snap back), so I first tried holding both yarns together and knitting some garter. Then I tried mistake rib with both strands, which proved to be too bulky. Then I tried some striping in mistake rib. And just for fun, wove a tiny sample.

Despite the diameter of the alpaca being smaller than the blend, the marigold overwhelmed the loden in the weaving. My SO did not want stripes and wanted less drape than one of his current scarves, so he picked the plain garter. I am slipping the first stitch knitwise to give the fabric more stability.

Knitting: The new scarf is now 7.5" long. I feel like I am in the homestretch with the Habitation throw, but each row is over 250 stitches now, so it is slow going.
Weaving: On the inkle loom, I wove about six inches of the Krokbragd sheep, then unwove about six inches, as I found I wasn't picking up one thread. I was tempted to just give up and cut the warp off the loom, but I knew I would feel better about it today. (I do.) This isn't the first mistake I have made on this warp, so I will soldier on and make more mistakes while I practice.

When I had my windows replaced recently, I took down the bathroom curtain I knit a while back. The inner side looks fine, but the outer one is surprisingly faded. I used Dem-N-Nit Pure Indigo Cotton yarn, so I guess I should have expected it to fade, just like denim does.

This past week was busy. One happy surprise was being able to attend my granddaughter's dance recital. Other than her piano recital last spring, I have not been able to see her in action up on a stage for a l-o-n-g time. This county is in the red zone now re Covid, so I don't know if "they" will try to shut down such events again. At least everyone, dancers and audience alike, was masked and there were enough performances that people could spread out in the high school auditorium. Unless things change, this will be our new normal going forward.

One down and one to go

I hope you are enjoying this holiday weekend. At this homestead, there were people and food, but the most important part is the people. We don't need a holiday to bring friends and family together, but it is a good excuse.

Now that the dining room table is not needed for a while, I moved the inkle loom back there. The only reason it was clamped to the coffee table in the den was for Zooming and for the online inkle class - I need to be close to the modem if not actually physically attached to it for video to come through without interuption. It's not an ideal setup, though, for weaving or for watching TV.

(Some of my visitors came bearing gifts. See the xmas cactus in the background? That's new.)

Knitting: Each half of the Habitation throw is as big as the other, but I want it to be larger and I want to use up more yarn, so I will keep going for now.

I'm still busy with physical therapy. My shoulder feels almost normal, there is zero pain, and I feel at least five years younger. My energy is returning as well. A lot to be grateful for.

Ow

The physical therapist added strengthening exercises to my routine and I can do them only every other day because they leave me sore and achy. But it is a different kind of pain than what I experienced from the osteoarthritis or the surgery - it's a healing pain. Functionality continues to improve.

Knitting: Still working on the Habitation throw. The second half has almost caught up with the first.

Weaving: The waffle weave washcloths are off the loom! (I had to finish weaving them to clear the dining room table.)

I no longer experience any discomfort when knitting or when weaving on the SampleIt loom. Maybe I will try the inkle loom next, as it is clamped to the coffee table in front of the TV, still warped with the turned Krokbragd sheep from the workshop I took in September. I bought a pair of overalls and would like to add some inkle bands to make them truly mine.

Have a safe holiday weekend!

A slave to my body

It feels like all I do these days is physical therapy. I meet with the therapist twice a week for an hour, but am expected to perform the exercises on my own three times a day. So far, I have been fairly faithful with this practice, but I also still do PT for my back and my hip. Most of the shoulder exercises are stretches, and while I don't feel like I am making much progress, functionality is returning. Maybe someday I will be able to shave my armpits again.

Knitting: Plugging along on the Habitation throw.
Weaving: One wash cloth is woven. There should be enough warp for three more.

This past Friday I received my Covid booster shot; no side effects except for a sore arm. Cases are up in the US, but moreso locally. Right now, it is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. I continue to mask while out and about, keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in the car, and avoid crowds. Be safe!

Back in the swing of things (mostly)

The surgeon cleared me for knitting and weaving - huzzah! In fact, after I demonstrated the movements involved in weaving, he considered them good therapy for my shoulder. Otherwise, I've been doing everyday things like cooking and cleaning and repotting houseplants. Physical therapy starts on Monday.

Knitting: I'm back at the Habitation throw. I find that two rows is about all I can do at one time. Those knitting muscles need to be rebuilt.
Weaving: I warped the Ashford SampleIt loom for more waffle weave washcloths.

This afternoon, about a dozen of us from the local spinning guild spent several hours at the Wabash Woollen Works; separate post to follow. I had visited them once before, with the weaving guild. The trip seemed wasted on the weavers, as many of them don't work with wool. I thought it would be a great idea for the spinning guild, though, and I was right.

I am now officially off my fiber diet.