knitigator

Fiber Challenge

 

On the registration form for The Gathering was a check-off spot for a "Fiber Challenge."  Even though I wasn't exactly sure what it was, I figured I'd give it a try.  At the end of September, a manila mailing envelope arrived with a bunch of little handfuls of fiber.  Not a lot, but pretty.  Among the fiber was merino from Foxhill Farms, alpaca from Parker River, border leicester/mohair from Foxfire and beautiful naturally-dyed coopworth from Shirkeshire Farm.   

The challenge was to do whatever you wanted with it and display it at the Gathering.  You could card the fiber into fibers in your stash.  Or just use it with other fiber or yarn.  You could felt it.  Whatever you wanted to do! 

I decided that my challenge would be to stick with the fiber in the package and make a usable project.  It wasn't much fiber, so I'd have to spin it carefully and pick a small-yardage pattern.

I decided to keep each color separate and I spun each into a 2-ply yarn. 

 

So, what did I make?  Here's a preview -- come back tomorrow for the big reveal!

Bunny!

A bunny bunny!

This winter, my daughter had a request -- a knit bunny made from handspun bunny.  So, at SPA, I picked up a few ounces (2.3) of 70/30 cormo/angora from The Spinning Bunny.  I spun it into approximately 175 yards of  sport/dk-ish three-ply.

For the knitting, I chose Kate Gilbert's Bunny pattern.  My daughter and I are both in love with her new friend.  The bunny is soft and squishy and has a wonderful halo.

Happy Hanukkah

I love the last night of Hanukkah -- all eight candles blazing.  This Hanukkah was memorable for being festive and yet not crazy.  We had a family Hanukkah party and ate brisket and latkes.  We listened to Julie Silver's Hanukkah CD.  (We are big Julie fans -- she's a friend of my sister and sang at our wedding.)

And, there is some spinning going on around here.  I finally plied "Strawberry Fields," a selection from the Spunky club.

I started thinking Flower Basket Shawl after I saw this one!  I have about 400 yards -- should be enough for a scarf-type shawl or a scarf.

Procrastinating Plying

I've been spinning a bit, but not plying.  I'm not such a big fan of plying.  But, since I have just four bobbins for my Schacht, it's either wind off onto storage bobbins (or cardboard rolls) or get to it.  I find that I procrastinate doing things, including plying, out of some sort of fear --  that I don't do it well enough, that I need practice, that I am missing some piece of information or other such reasons.  But, really, the way to get experience for some things (actually many things) is by doing rather than thinking  about doing.  And, after all, this is a hobby.  If I mess up some roving, nothing will happen, other than I may have to throw out some roving/singles.  Okay, onto it.

This is what I refer to as "crazy roving."  My pal Kerstin picked it up for me at Fiber Frolic 2006 and over the summer I finished spinning what was an endless bump into two bobbins of singles.  After some initial fiddling, I chain-plied a sample amount (about 40 yards).  I plied it tightly with about 8 treadles per length of singles.  Then into a warm bath and some whacking against the shower wall.

Even though it had some areas that were overplied, it dried straight and is, for the most part, balanced.

Pretty skein shot.  Next post, sampling with the mini-skein.   

Spinning Status

I recently joined Cindy's Saturday Spin In.  This is merino/tencel that I bought from Cloverleaf Farms at Rhinebeck.  I spun it with the intent to use it as a single.  After spinning, soaking and hanging, it was still very twisty, so I passed it through the wheel in the opposite direction to take out some of the twist.  There are still some corkscrews, but it's much better and I'm interested to see how it knits up.

I have about 450 yards -- should be enough for a smallish shoulder shawlette or some type of scarf.  A lace pattern would compliment the shine in the yarn. 

I only have four bobbins for my wheel.  Initially, I decided to wait to buy more bobbins until I decided if I was going to buy a Woolee Winder.  I've discovered that there is an added benefit to having only four bobbins -- I have to finish one project before moving onto the next.  This is turning out to be a good thing for my spinning and great for project completion.

This is the Lisa Souza "Spring Green" that I posted a few weeks back.  It is so yummy and fun to spin.  When I started spinning it, my plan was to ply it as a three-ply and so I split the hank into thirds.  I've since decided that I want to maximize the yardage, so I'll do a two-ply.  Now you are thinking -- do a three-ply and order more.  I considered that route, but I have so many other things that I want to try, including some "Joseph's Coat" superfine merino from Lisa as well as my just-received Spunky Eclectic March offering called "Dandelion."

So much fiber, too little time . . .

Pozole and Purple

New Year's Day was spent knitting, spinning and eating pozole, a festive Mexican stew.  It's become a tradition in our house on New Year's Day and I love it.  (The only Mexican holiday food that I'm not crazy about is champorado -- a chocolate/corn drink that, at least to me, is like drinking chocolate cream of wheat or rice.  Not my thing.)

To make pozole -- boil 4 quarts of water with 2 quartered onions and garlic; boil, taste, add salt and then add in 4-5 pound nice-looking chicken (don't taste with the raw chicken -- yuck).  Cook until chicken is done.  Then take out chicken and cool on a platter.  Shred and set aside.  Strain the broth and then add 3 tablespoons of Mexican chili pepper and 1 tablespoon of oregano.  Taste again and add salt if necessary.  Add back chicken and 2 30-ounce cans of white hominy.  Serve with the following mix-ins:  limes, shredded cabbage, pickled jalapenos and carrots, cilantro, and green onion.  A beer also goes great, as does a Diet Coke with lime.

I also spent some time spinning the purple naturally dyed batt that I picked up at Connecticut Sheep and Wool.  Look what it does to my hands! I have to scrub them after every spinning session.  I'm looking forward to finishing these singles, plying them and moving on.  I'm thinking that I should soak the skeins after they are plied in a water/vinegar bath.  Any other advise?  And I'm hoping that the dye does not bleed onto the bobbins -- if it does, can I wipe them down with vinegar or will that hurt the wood?  I definitely do not want all of my singles (after I'm done with this) to be purple! 

Two New Spinners!

Happy Hanukkah!  Day two brought spindles and fiber.

(And thank you Susan for the kid-friendly recommendations.)

A Cautionary Tale (or how to make the best out of overspun singles)

Today, I have a story to tell you about our heroine, Ms. Corrie Dale.  Corrie was best of friends with the wonderfully classic and traditional Alice.  Together, Corrie and Alice had many fantastic adventures.  They were a good pair.  But, alas, Alice had to move on.  Corrie was not sad, though, because she had fallen head-over-heels with one whose companionship was matchless.  So well-built.  Exceedingly handsome.

And yet, despite her sunshiny nature, the relationship spun out-of-control.  And then, as quickly as it began, it ended.  An all-natural, less refined Violet took her place.  After a long bath, Corrie reflected on the relationship.  In retrospect, Corrie suspected that her new love had been compensating for his small whorl with excess twistiness.

Corrie was left to ponder her future.   What would become of her?  Would she stay single?  Would she be paired up with another?  Stay tuned . . .

Lots O'Spinning

To pick up from an earlier post this week, the bobbin holds some of my work from our spinning class.  Wool and silk; top and roving; thick and thin.  For more complete descriptions -- with great visual aides, go here and here (scroll down) and here (scroll down) and here. 

At our class, Jenny stressed the importance of good fiber preparation.  It doesn't get better than this -- a delicious and sunshiny batt from Grafton Fibers.  This is the second bobbin of a thicker single that I'm going to use as a single.  I'm considering the Falling Leaves scarf -- I picked up the pattern at Webs.

Now, the bad news -- the purple.  It's a naturally dyed batt and I'm not feeling the love.  The batt is inconsistent and the dye rubs off on my hands (a lot!) with each spinning session.  However, I am going to use it for my first three-ply, so I'm determined to get through it.  Maybe it will improve with a soak.

Winter has arrived in Boston - -it was in the 20s today -- windy and absolutely freezing.  Have a great weekend!

Walk with Me Wednesday (Actually Saturday!)

On Saturday, having had my fill of turkey, I met Martha and Callie at the Blue Hill Reservation for a hike.  It was an unseasonably warm day and we definitely burned a few calories as we made our way up to the summit.

We enjoyed the views all around and checked out the weather observatory.  Now, when I hear on the radio "and the temperature at the Blue Hills observatory. . . ," I know exactly the spot!

When we got to the bottom, Martha pulled out a big box from her trunk with our fleece.  Martha and I split a Romney fleece at Rhinebeck and it was back from Friends Folly Farm, all clean and fluffy and ready to spin. 

If only all hikes ended with fiber, I do believe that I'd be more dedicated to exercise!