Fiber

Fractal Spinning Done!

/ LDSVenus / 2 Comments

 

It’s either my photo skills or my camera (could be both), but my spinning pictures are really muted.  In rl (real life) these are brighter.  The fractal spin does mute things a little bit but the purple bobbin on the bottom was brighter purples and the aqua is a little darker (tho not dull) and has more blue hues scattered through out in it.  I got 274 yards of yarn and it weighted 106 grams, that would make it a light sport weight I think.  It was a fun spin and I will have to dig around for patterns that require that much yardage or less to make something nice.  Maybe a cowl or if it’s enough yardage a hat and mitt set.  I’m not a big fan of yarn chicken, so I will be looking at patterns. 🙂

I’m going to start the scarf for my friend from the teal yarn that I finished spinning just before this last spin.  I think I’m going to knit my Little Lace Daisy Scarf pattern.  But I will add a few more stitches to the edges to make it a little wider.   I showed her the finished yarn and she loved the teal color :).

I also am going to work on finishing the Changing Staircases Shawl that I have been working on.  I think I only have two more complete pattern sections (20 rows each) to be done.  Then I can block it and store it, it’s a Christmas gift.  Not waiting until closer to Christmas like I did last year, because if you remember “Murphy” moved in and I broke my hand last August and there was no Christmas knitting.  “Murphy” isn’t allowed at my house anymore :P.

I will be planning my next spin, but I want to finish the shawl first and get started on the scarf, then I won’t feel so anxious.  I generally do not have more than 2 to 3 projects going at any given time.  One is always a mindless knit for stressed out and non thinking days (usually a dishcloth or diagonal scarf, both which are very mindless knits.)  When I have more than that, I feel drawn in to many ways and anxious.  When I get more comfortable with the heels and gussets on socks, I will add them to my mindless knits :).  Besides I need a reason to test out my Flexi Flip needles (looks like they are on sale for 20% off at the moment.)  Maybe they will still be on sale when I get paid!

Blending Cloth Arrived!

/ LDSVenus / 8 Comments

 

My blending cloth came today from Howard Brush Co in ME, USA.  I ordered it this past week end and it was sent on Monday and I received it today,   I have to say not only is the quality excellent but the process was so fast!!  In the first picture is some of the fiber that will be spun on the 2nd bobbin for the yarn I am working on.  The 1st bobbin is pictured below (lol obviously way below.)  The 2nd picture is my first rolag, more on that in a moment.  The blending board DIY project is not hard, it will requite a 12X12 piece of blending cloth (mine is 72 TPI, teeth per sq inch), that seems to be a reg normal.  Cloth for finer fibers will have 90 TPI.  You will also need a wooden cutting board large enough for the 12X12 cloth, I got mine at Tuesday Morning it is a 16X13.5.  You will also need a dowel cut into 16 inch lengths (you should get 3 from one dowel, you will only need two 16″ lengths so one dowel is plenty) I had mine cut at Home Depot, which is where I bought the dowel.  I’m sure Lowe’s would cut it for you if you bought it at their store as well. If you already have a staple gun you are good to go, if not you will need to purchase one of those as well.  My staple gun was only $16.  Ok, big fopah there, my dad always taught me never to say only and money in the same sentence.  Sorry Dad!  Staple the cloth to the cutting board (DO NOT glue it) the cloth will need the flexibility of NOT being glued down.  You will need a stiff paint brush or if you don’t mind spending the money, Howard Brush Co has special tools you can use to push the fiber into the teeth as you put it on the blending board.  Total cost for me was Blending Cloth $52, Cutting Board, $11, Staple Gun $16, dowel $1.50.  I already had a tool to help push the fiber into the teeth of the blending cloth.  If you buy the blending board it can cost up to $200.  DIY is nice :).

I will put a link  to a video on youtube by the Knitting Expat for how to make and use your new DIY blending board :).  I follow her knitting podcasts but if you are only interested in the blending board info it starts at about 13.27 into this video.   There are many other video’s on youtube that you can watch as well for using the blending board.

Ok two lessons I have learned for using the blending board already: #1 DO NOT roll your rolags to tight when you are rolling them off the blending board or it’s a real struggle to get the dowels out, hahahaha  #2 be careful when using the blending brush with the metal teeth (or dog grooming tool if that is what you get), because the teeth on the blending board are not forgiving on your fingers!! :P.  Think I will get a stiff paint brush to test out as well :).  I’m sure there will be many more lessons.

  Ok earlier I said to see the picture below for the 1st bobbin of singles I just finished spinning.  I’m ready to put it in now, sorry I am a bit wordy when I try to explain things :P.  I wish the colors would be more true, it really is much brighter than this.   It is dark aqua (or light teal) and varying shades of purple.  This bobbin is mostly the purple.  The 2nd bobbin will have mostly the dark aqua with some purple running through it so it will contrast and and be more fractal.  Looking forward to seeing how it will turn out :).  No plans in my head yet as to what I want to knit with it.  I’m sure it will be next week before I have a plyed yarn, because tomorrow I have a young family member coming so I can show her how to make an fresh apple pie and apple butter.  🙂

Roving Breakdown for Fractal/Gradient Spinning

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I saw a very interesting way to do fractal spinning without a blending board or drum carder on a youtube video here and a forced gradient here , videos are by The Knitting Expat.  What I am doing is a slight combination of these, we will see how it turns out. 🙂  The picture of the mostly purple parts on this first bobbin is not nearly as bright as it is. The picture taken by my camera looks bright and true to color but it didn’t translate into that when I uploaded it, ugh.   It’s not finished I still have two more sections of the purple before I start on the lighter 2nd bobbin.  Both fiber bundles weighed in at about 55 grams, if my weighing scale is to be believed :P.

Hopefully I will be ordering the the carding cloth next week so I can make a blending board for my spinning.  The Knitting Expat shows how to make one on this youtube video.  Then I will just need to buy a cutting board and staple gun to put it together with :).  So excited!

I got a lot of time spinning on the balcony this past week with the sunshine and nice warm but not hot days.  It was wonderful being outside for more than brief periods of time after our long hard winter and all the rain we had earlier this Spring, but the bugs are now coming out and we have off and on rain again for the next week.  Wish my balcony was screened in so I could enjoy spinning outside a bit longer without flies, gnats, and mosquitoes :).  Maybe I’ll try a essential oil bug repellent combination to keep them away :).

2nd Skein of SW Merino for the Spin-a-long

/ LDSVenus / 2 Comments

2nd Skein of teal sw merino for spinalongWell I finished the 2nd skein for the scarf I’m going to make for my friend. I think I know what pattern I want to use, but I’m going to search a bit more to make sure.   It was 140 yds (57g) so including the 1st skein, this should give me 342 yds.  Plenty of yarn for a longer scarf.

She wanted the color teal and the 2nd dye bath color came out a little lighter than the 1st skein, as you can see in the picture (the 1st skein I already wound into a ball.)  So what I plan on doing is starting with the lighter skein on the ends, then blending it with the darker skein so it looks more like a color gradient on the ends.  We will see if what I have planned turns out as I picture it when I am done :P.

Going to take advantage of the beautiful weather we are having (a month late).  Think I will spin on my balcony again today :), because I know shortly the hotter, muggier, full of biting bugs weather will be here.

Oh, the SW in the title is short for Super Wash, means the fiber was treated so it shouldn’t felt or shrink when washed.  Even so, I caution people to treat it a little more carefully than not, ie: hand wash, lay flat to dry (which also allows you to block it for prettier results :).)

Shawl Update

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The Changing Staircases shawl doesn’t look like much yet, but then it’s not blocked and you can’t really see all the points along the right edge (as you are looking at it.)  They will be much more defined and the lace sections will be more open after blocking.  Blocking should also make the shawl a bit larger.  I don’t think I’m quite 2/3’s done, but I’m making progress.  This is an easy pattern and it’s an enjoyable knit.   I almost forgot, the 2nd picture is a progress keeper I won on Raverly last year or the year before, the creator has a shop on Etsy called the Victorian Studio Shop and she has lots of wonderful stitch markers and progress keepers, her polymer clay crafting is amazing.  This is a Chocolate Frog (Harry Potter reference) and is helping me keep track of my rows :).  Yeah, he’s not real chocolate, or he wouldn’t be there anymore helping me keep track of my rows :P.

I decided I might need a little more yarn for the scarf I’m making for my friend, so I am spinning about 60 more grams of roving.   I was worried about running out of yarn and having a scarf that was shorter than I wanted.  Because I probably will not have a perfect match when I dye it to match the skein I have already spun, I didn’t start the scarf yet so I can put the different shade on the ends and blend it in as I knit.  Since it’s a dark teal I’m hoping the shades won’t be terribly different, but plans in my head don’t always translate out the same when I do them, however, it’s always worth a try :).  Trying is how we learn ;).

It’s a beautiful day, think I will go outside on my balcony and spin for a bit. 🙂

Spinning Experiment and It’s Yarn!

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I gave my Kromski Polanaise spinning wheel a work out this week and got a skein of yarn done!  I have always struggled with left over singles on a bobbin when I’m done plying, so I thought (after I started of course and was on my 2nd bobbin) that I was going to weigh the 3rd empty bobbin I had to see how much the bobbins weighed.  Then I would weigh each of the singles when I thought I had them about half full (always hard for me to judge) and see if I could get close to not having much left on one of the bobbins after plying the two singles together.  As you can see the first bobbin weighed 101 grams and the 2nd bobbin was 93 grams, so I took 8 more grams of the fiber and added it to the 2nd bobbin.  They both weighed 101 grams.  The empty bobbin for plying was 53 grams.

So I plied the two singles and ended up with 139 grams, and I thought, um, how is that, oh yeah the weight of the 2nd bobbin.  I weighed the now empty 2nd bobbin, it was 57 grams, ugh didn’t take into consideration that the bobbins might not weigh the same.  So all in all the 1st and 2nd bobbins weighed 57 grams each and the 3rd bobbin that I used to ply them with was 53 grams.  I ended up with 90 grams (202 yds) of plied yarn after it was washed.  It looks like a light sport weight yarn.  I ended up with only 1 yd and 6 inches of left over singles on one of the bobbins, so my experiment was successful.  I know the differences between the amount of the singles on each bobbin will always be there because of the inherent inconsistent spinning for hand spun yarn, but I’m pleased over all with how it worked out and how to cut down on left over singles on a bobbin. 🙂

Off to find the perfect pattern for a scarf for my friend, and then on to my next spinning project :).

Hope everyone is having a great Spring.  We have had rain for most of our days throughout this Spring.  I dream of sunshiny days.  I am not a rain person, one reason I don’t live in the northwest coastal areas, I need the sunshine!  The few days we have had that were dry, sunny and warm enough to be outside on the balcony without high winds, had me outside on my balcony spinning on my spinning wheel , it’s a peaceful thing to do.  Hope you find a peaceful thing to do too. 🙂

Spinning on the Kromski Polonaise and a New Project.

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With the help of the Kromski Raverly group and a local friend, I was able to get the Polonaise configured to be a scotch tension drive, thankfully it comes with both options :).  The pictures do not do it justice, it is a dark mahogany color but looks like a walnut color in the pictures.  It is portrayed a little better in the picture of the singles I am spinning tho’ it still does not show the dark mahogany color as it is, it is really beautiful.  It spins like a dream and I am enjoying spinning on it immensely.  The fiber is some super wash merino that I had dyed some time back when I spun a skein for a friend.  I am spinning this skein to make a scarf or cowl (we need those here in the winter :P) for Marge’s sister (also a friend).  Something for her to think about her sister when she wears it.

Changing Staircases  I also cast on a new project.  Was going to make this last year for Christmas for a family member but I fell and broke my hand so that didn’t happen.  Not taking any chances this year, if I procrastinate, “Murphy” will come to visit again and he is not allowed in my home :P.  This is the Changing Staircases shawl by Trysten Molina of Dragon Hoard Designs.  I am using Stroll Tweed Sock Labs yarn by Knit Picks in the Teal Tweed colorway.  It’s really pretty and has a generous 462 yards.  Because I am a loose knitter I am using a size 4 instead of a size 5 circular needle.  Tho’ it looks difficult, this pattern is very easy and easily memorized :).  Not sure if you can see it very clearly but I am using a beautiful bronze heart progress keeper made by Stephanie of the Knitting Samurai podcast, from her Adore Knits Etsy shop.

I am loving Spring but could do without all the rain, but at least it’s not snow :P.

 

Project Done!

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My project was my Little Lace Cat’s Paw Scarf design with my hand spun yarn.  I’ve knit this little scarf several times and still enjoy it.  The colors on the scarf are blown out, it really is a medium teal color instead of the lighter color that shows.

I am working on spinning on my Rick Reeves spinning wheel, but the tension is a bit finicky (it’s a double band drive tensioned wheel and I’m use to scotch tension).  I won’t give up, I’ll get it eventually, it’s the only wheel I have at the moment that does not need some repairs, so learn on it I must :P.  I’ve got quite a bit of practice fiber, so I will keep working on it and save my nice fiber for after I have the learning curve down :).

Our weather has gotten much better, rain instead of snow and we have been in the 30’s, 40’s, and today and tomorrow lower 50’s!!  WOOT Spring is almost here, we will be back in the 30’s and 40’s after today.  I say almost because we can still get snow through April.  But I will be keeping an eye open now for the Robins, who are my true signal that Spring is finally here :).  I love Spring!

Baby 2X2 Hats

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I have a friend who had a baby girl about 2 months ago so I decided now that my hand was better to make her a simple baby hat (my hand still tires easily and gets nerve pain when I over do, but it’s slowly getting better.) I certainly can’t leave her 3 year old brother without a hat, so after finishing the 2X2 rib hat from 5 Easy Pieces – Knit Newborn Hats (Circular), (free pattern on Ravelry) for her daughter, I started one for her son.  I choose the 2X2 rib because it’s, easy (to knit and on my hand) and soft and squishy.  I used a size 6 for the newborn size (the pattern called for a size 7, I knit loosely so I  usually go down a needle size to get gauge)  and used the size 7 for the 3 year old’s hat and added 12 stitches.  I will also add length so it will cover his ears :).  **There use to be a way to magnify the pictures on Word Press but I can’t find it anymore, so even tho you can’t see the yarn very well, it’s Yarn Bee (from Hobby Lobby) Soft and Sleek, the pink is pink stripe and the blue is Denim Blues.  It is very soft stuff and knits nicely.  I believe Hobby Lobby is having a yarn sale in the store this week (Monday Dec 24th – Saturday Dec 29 2018) for 30% off.  Incentive to buy some more :P.

I am still working on the spinning.  I finished that rolag and weighed the bobbins with the singles and first one is a little heavier so I decided to get another of the rolags to spin (that will leave 3 left) and put 2/3 of the rolag on the lighter bobbin and the rest on the other bobbin, hopefully that will balance it out.  We will see.

Tomorrow will be baking day, rolls for Christmas dinner on Tuesday :).

**Update:  I discovered that if you choose the pictures side by side choice that you can click on them on the blog and they will enlarge in a separate window, however if you chose the single pictures they will not.  So there you go.

Some New Housemates and Some Spinning

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Meet (yellow and green) Princess Peach, and (teal on the top and blue on the bottom and some white) Yoshi.  My son and his spouse weren’t having enough time for these love birds because of their alpacas and shows to sell their alpaca yarn, etc.  So I inherited them.  Unfortunately they are both females so they have to have separate cages because, tho they like each other, it’s from afar, lol.  I didn’t realize just how noisy and loud love birds can be, they make a call similar to the kookaburra, :P.  They also have quiet noises as well.  You can’t see the color well on the teal/blue love bird, but she is beautiful.  They are not friendly so I have to love them from afar as well :P.  They are very intelligent as most parrots are, Miss Peach figured out how to get out of her cage and I had to secure all the doors on her cage, she is naughty :P.

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Ok, re-posting the finished spool of singles and the progress on the 2nd spool and showing the rolag with it.  I have four more rolags not counting the one I draped across the wheel, however I have the 1st spool about 1/2 way full and tho I can get more on it, if I have 2,  more than 1/2 full spools, I worry that it will be overfull after plying, and my  Baynes wheel doesn’t do plying well once that happens.  So I might have to just spin what is left over, after filling this 2nd spool 1/2 way, and ply the left over singles from a center pull ball and use it if I need it for the scarf that I am planning on making with this yarn. I’m hoping to have this done tomorrow evening or Monday sometime, been a long time coming with this skein :P.  Then I can concentrate on continuing learning to spin on the Rick Reeves double drive wheel ;).