Quick update

Blog on Hiatus until finals are over in mid-December.

Presents for the Holidays

Although I don't celebrate Christmas myself, I do have relatives who do. As such, the season is an excellent excuse to give myself a deadline and make some presents. I am working on just two this year.

First, a hat (of course).

I have been working on this project off and on for almost a year, but, since I told my uncle last December that I would send it to him, I figure it would make a good Christmas present.

He is allergic to wool, so I figured that I would use the linen yarn that I bought on a whim a few years ago. I had never worked with linen before, and it is a bit like cotton. However, even more than cotton, it does not stretch. At all.

All mistakes are much more obvious, although I haven't had any problems with muscle pains after knitting it that I have heard can be an issue. It also falls off the needles all of the time (I am knitting the project on double-pointed needles). After trying it, I think that linen is definitely better on the loom, but I also recommend trying it at least once, if only to better appreciate the loveliness of wool.

So, the pattern.

I am making a mosaic pattern, which is a color pattern that uses slipped stitches. The pattern is based loosely on the Amazing Hat by Melanie Hoffman. However, I have added an extra twist, by using three different colors, instead of two.

Amazing Hat

The linen is having an interesting effect with this kind of pattern as well. Wool or acrylic would stretch and make a mostly flat material. But the linen is making an interesting three-dimensional effect.

I hope I can finish this one in time. It doesn't travel well.

The second gift is a simpler pattern, but I spun the yarn on the wheel.

Last post I mentioned the gradient wool-silk blend that I was spinning on my castle wheel. Well, I finished the yarn, although the leather connecting the footman to the treadle broke, so it was finished on the other wheel. It also bled blue dye when I did the wet finish, but it doesn't look like it effected the color that much.

Loving the colors

I am making the Wingspan shawl. So far, the pattern is very easy, and great for knitting in class. This is my first time knitting with an unplied handspun, and I am worried that the fabric will bias. It shouldn't matter with this pattern though.

Still loving the colors

Hope they will both be enjoyed!

Spinning Wheels

While there was a lot to learn when I first started spinning, it was all in about wool and yarn. The twist angle, number of plies, thickness of the yarn, washing, and finishing. Even dying and color. There was, of course, plenty to learn, but it was about fiber. As a knitter for 20 years, I knew about fiber. And what I didn't know, I had a basis for learning. One of the nice things about spinning, and why I think every serious knitter should learn it at least a little bit, is that it expanded on knowledge I already had. I see myself looking at yarn offerings at the store in an entirely different light.
But that was as long as I stuck to spindles.

There is something so simple and intuitive about a spindle. Sure, they come in a wide variety of weights and styles, but if you pick one up and twirl it around a bit, you know what you have. There are no complicated problems with spindle repair. (Not that spindle spinning doesn't require skill, but it is almost entirely in the realm of fiber.)

Basic spindle

But then I got a wheel. Not just any wheel, but a finicky vintage wheel that only sometimes worked. And I found myself in a whole new realm of knowledge.

I know almost nothing about woodworking. In middle school, our shop class made shelves, and that is the last woodworking project I did. But suddenly I was heading off to the hardware store for lubricant and dongles of all kinds, trying to diagnose a complicated machine.

A mysterious, complex machine

The crack in the foot pedal was the easiest. I bought wood glue and a clamp.

Everything else was mysterious.

Getting another wheel that mostly worked was very helpful. It helped me understand what the wheel was supposed to do and what it wasn't.

And, after much trial and error, I actually have a working machine. Yay! It still only has two bobbins, but you do with what you have. I've actually been spinning on it in the last few days, and it is beautiful.

Is that actual yarn I see on the bobbin?

It helps that the fiber is gorgeous and easy to spin. It is a mix of Blue-Faced Leicester wool and silk, and the colors are amazing. I picked it up at Maryland Sheep and wool, from knittyandcolor.

Not sure that this picture does the yarn justice.

You can see how bright it is.

Of course, now that the vintage wheel is working fine, I have started another project: decorating the Ashford wheel.

At first, I tried staining it dark. Then it turns out that beechwood just doesn't take stain at all. I am pleased to say, though, that I tested it first in a place that can't be seen, so no harm done (just the loss of money).

But I have added some decorations. That big, flat wheel was begging for some paint. Of course, my painting skills leave a lot to be desired, so I stenciled. I took the picture off the internet, used an exacto-knife to cut it into cardboard, and used a sponge to paint it on. I don't think it came out too bad.  What do you think?

A dragon taking off and landing

I know, there is still more paint to be added. I need to take another trip to the hardware store for supplies.

Project Updates

I have been getting quite a bit done on the projects that I have mentioned before, so I figured it was time for a basic update.

First off, I mentioned back in July that I was making dryer balls with the combing waste from my shawl project. I have now felted five of them and have a sixth one stuffed and ready for felting. I finished off the last of that ugly green yarn that I made as an experiment.

Felted dryer balls

 They aren't exactly pretty, but they seem to be doing their job, and they scratched my itch to never throw anything out, even combing waste.

Speaking of the shawl, I have now finished two skeins of laceweight yarn, and I am currently plying the third, and final, skein. It has been a really useful experience to make so much yarn of the same type, and keep it consistent. I can tell that I have improved since I started the first skein. I am not sure anyone else would notice the difference though (or I hope not, they are all going into the same shawl).

In August, I talked about my spinning lesson and the experimental yarn with the blue BFL top. I have finished all of the roving I received, into about 150 yards of extra-bulky three-ply yarn.

Chain-plyed BFL top

I had initially over-plyed the stuff that I did in class, so I had to run it through the wheel again to make it more balanced. By the end, I think I was really getting the hang of Navajo plying though. No current plans for the yarn.

In August, I also wrote about a skirt that was on my needles. Progress has been slow (small needles, big project) but I have added a few more inches since I last wrote.

Beach skirt: a bit more modest now, but still racy

And finally, just last week I wrote about a hat that I was working on. The hat is off the needles and I have started a matching scarf.

I think it came out looking great! The crown was a bit of a challenge, mostly because the instructions were so over-wordy, but I managed in the end to figure it out.

That is all I have for now. Happy crafting!