Knitting progress this year and hopes for the future

I think I actually got more done this year than I thought. Interestingly enough, I did not get done nearly what I thought that I would.

Here is what I did do:

1. Completed spinning oatmeal yarn and knitted a vest (turns out it is way too big around and also too short, but I might actually be able to fix that.
2. Completed spinning the green and purple fiber into yarn (all 2 pounds of it) and have completed knitting all but the arms. (Yes, I know that is like knitting a whole front, but I feel like I've made good progress.)
3. Completed spinning and knitting a small icelandic lamb scarf. It's not good enough to give away as the spinning should have been done all at once and so is very irregular and bizarre. But I need a scarf, so it will be mine.
4. Completed knitting and felted a pair of slippers. They are slightly lopsided, but very warm and I really like them lots.
   
5. Completed two hats for my boys and THEY LIKE THEM!!!! (Nothing like walking a mile in 20 degree weather to make you appreciate wool).
6. Completed three baby hats for the guild sale.
7. Spun up lots of odd balls of yarn also donated for guild sales.
8. Completed Isabel from yarn purchased in Maine
9. Completed another, slightly larger shawl, from odd balls from my mother's stash (blue and purple sari silk stuff).
   

Want to complete in the coming year:

1. A scarf for my dad
2. Completion of the green and purple cardigan
3. The correction of the brown vest
4. Completion of the spinning of the grey lincoln roving.
   
5. Completion of the spinning of Alice and Jerry's lamb's fleeces (Alice is almost done)
6. Completion of the spinning of Noodle's second fleece
7. A hat for my nephew which includes a bit of black fleece from a school field trip.
   
8. Fingerless mitts for my niece
9. Something woven or knitted from Alice and Jerry yarn
10. French Press Slippers
11. An ear flap hat with braids (I don't know why, I just want to do this)
12. Some kind of head covering for days when I wear a ponytail or bun
13. Another pair of stranded mittens
14. A hat for my co-worker who drew this as his holiday gift surprise
15. Finish the Freya hat
16. Finish spinning the mohair blend yarn on a drop spindle and knit something lacy with it.
17. Finish knitting the brandywine shawl that I started from handspun scraps.
18. Knit another vest (cardigan style and maybe with cables)
19. Knit a danish tie shawl for wearing around the house when I'm working but cool.
    

Blue Ribbon!

I don't know why I'm so excited by this, but I won a blue ribbon at the Virginia State Fair!

I also won a red (second place)!

I won the blue for the "Spinner's Workbasket". For this entry, I spun up enough (plus a little) shetland fleece in heavy lace weight to complete Brandywine. I skeined up the yarn so it was pretty and labeled each skein with weight, yardage and date spun. I purchased the pattern and tucked it into a plastic sleeve protector. Found a nice rustic basket. I saved a few locks from the fleece and tied them together, added a circular knitting needle and finally knitted and tied on a swatch. Anyway everything went into the basket and I had it sitting in my house, ready to go, for about 6 months. Finally, off it went.

Now I want to knit the shawl and perhaps enter the completed project in next year's fair.

I won the red for a skein of sport weight yarn spun from Alice's fiber. It really is a pretty heathery grey and I'm working my way through the rest of her fleece. I was hoping I would have enough for a sweater, but it's looking a little shy of that. Perhaps a vest for a young, skinny person... This is her lamb fleece, so I want it to go to a special project. But I will have to wait and see how much actual yardage I get.

I think I got it!

Deb and I took at class at Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival in May on Longdraw spinning from Maggie Casey.

I could not get it. I struggled. I just could not seem to get the hang of it.

I'd give it a go every once in a while, but the singles would be too fragile or uneven or just full of lumps. I was sad.

Today, however, while alone at the Tavern, I was spinning the final four ounces of the purple and green fiber from the Barefoot Spinner that I purchased two years ago at the MS&W. I had started with 2 pounds of the stuff. I've been spinning it fairly bulky. I've been working on it for months! I was bored.

Instead of pulling off a piece and spinning from that, I started spinning from the end of the ball itself. Suddenly, it started to flow and I spun the last three ounces completely as long draw. No breaking, no weirdness, just smooth sailing. And it went fast and it was fun.

Now I have to finish plying it and I'm done with the spinning!

The next job is to find the right pattern and knit a sweater!

Since it is 103 degrees today (heat index somewhere around 107), I'm not really trying to start knitting a sweater today. I am working on a baby bonnet, a knitted doll, a hand-spun scarf for my dad, Tom's sock (one is finished), and a lace shawl.

Alice and Jerry appear to be adapting pretty well to the heat. How, I do not know. They move VERY slowly during the day and lay in the shade a lot, but I'm not seeing them pant or even breathe very hard. They have about 2 or 3 inches of insulation on their bodies... but still!

Ken knows about OhNo now. He's not happy that I'm getting yet another sheep, but Ohno is a black lamb with little white rear socks and a white head. He's really cute. If the heat ever lets up, his current owner will deliver him from Pennsylvania.

Shopping Lists

I plan to attend the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this spring. It is the weekend BEFORE Beltane in Stanardsville so I have no conflict. AND to make it even more fun, Deb from our guild and her husband have a condo up there nearby and she has invited any of us ladies who want to 'camp out' there to plan on an overnight which suits me just fine. I can pack a sleeping mat (or two) and a sleeping bag and pillows and be just fine.

But I know from my previous trip to the MSWF two years ago that I need to go with a list and cash.

I know I want to buy:

• shetland fiber either in the form of a fleece or roving.
• silk in top or bricks
• silk hankies
• a spare drive band for my Sonata
• dyes in colors I don't have (maybe some nature dye material like indigo)
• A felting needle holder and maybe a hat form (if I can find one I like)
• a new Bosworth spindle
  

I would also like to take a spinning class and visit with some shetland sheep owners to pick their brains a little more about what is required to raise them. Or MAYBE work out a sponsorship deal in which I pay for the care and feeding and get the fleece in exchange.

In any case, I want to find someone to show me how to do the tablet weaving. With luck, there will be a class offered. So far, the website has not been updated with the schedule (though I did not check today).

I'm looking forward to the whole thing. It's just so BIG. And it's so cool to find out there are so many like-minded folks.

My travel log

Matthew talked me into taking him to see his girlfriend in Charlottesville yesterday. Two weeks ago, I told him he could not go up there and spend the weekend because he did not have a functioning phone, money or a place to stay. I had visions of him being picked up by some creepy old man and vanishing off the face of the Earth. So, even though he was officially 18, I put my foot down and told him no. I also told him as a compromise that I would make a long day trip out of it (since I really love visiting C'ville) and provide the transportation.

It was either that or stay home listening to him rant while I tried to clean house.

Who wouldn't rather be in C'ville?

Anyway, before our trip, I typed "Yarn Shops Charlottesville Virginia" into Google and got maps and directions to several places. I picked out three, added a couple of book stores and a couple of healthfood stores.

So, we left home at 8 a.m. and made it to C'ville at the Fashion Square Mall on Route 29 just before 11 a.m. My first stop was the Whole Foods Market across the street from Fashion Square Mall. Oh my! If you've never been to a Whole Foods Market and you love eclectic food that is organic and whole and wonderfully fresh; find one of these. Even a several hour drive is worth the trip. Because I neglected to bring a cooler, I had to limit myself to shelf food and a couple of hard cheeses. I will bring a cooler next time I'm out this way.

Then I went down the road just a little bit to the first yarn shop. It was called It's a Stitch and is a very nice shop. They were giving beginning knitting lessons when I arrived and greatly enjoyed listening in at the banter. I ended up with seven skeins of laceweight silk yarn, a lace pamphlet and the current issue of Interweave Knits. (I really need to subscribe to that again, now that I'm better at knitting.)

Then I met up with the kids for minute so Matthew could do a costume change (his girlfriend, bless her, talked him into dressing up a bit for their date. He had brought along nice clothes in a backpack but had left it in the car).

From there I headed out to Stony Mountain Fibers out to the west side of town up Route 20 from Pantops Mt. It was a beautiful drive and I could not have asked for nicer weather. It was cold, but clear and crisp. Anyway, you drive quite a ways out on Route 20 until you come to Hammocks Gap Road. Now, I live in the country but I had forgotten about the mountain roads in and around Charlottesville. Hammocks Gap is a one-lane dirt track running along the side of a ridge. To your left, up the hill, are a few houses here and there. To the right down a very steep hill are fensed-in pastures. You drive for a while on this dirt track until you come to Stony Point Fibers. The house number is in the 900s and the numbers just off Route 20 start at something like 1300s. But the driveway is wellmarked. It's also very steep!

My poor little Toyota had a bit of an issue climbing the red clay and gravel drive, but I did get up it. It looks like there are two houses there. The one in the back is the shop. But it's a comfortable place with the yard decorated with an antique truck on blocks and several farm vehicles including an antique tractor.

Barbara Gentry is the owner of Stony Mountain Fibers and also has cormo sheep and I spotted them off to the side just before I went into the shop. I made a note in my mind that the red mountain clay had done a job of settling into the fleeces. I wondered what I would find inside.

And what I found was a fiber festival all by itself. I really should have taken pictures! She had one wall full of beautifully solid colored wool fiber. Another wall was full of weaving yarns. She had samples of just about every kind of fiber you could think of including Buffalo Gold, cashmere, cotton and silks (including silk hankies). She also had a big box/bag of pin drafted roving which was a blend of her own sheep wool (cormo) blended with bamboo. This is some amazing stuff. And there is not a speck of red clay stain in it.

Cormo tends to be a little crisp by itself but is still next to skin soft. The bamboo calms that down to levels that make you wonder if you aren't feeling angora. I bought 14 ounces of it. I would have bought a full pound but I filled a large bag and could not bring myself to pack it down. In any case, she told me I could just call her if I needed more and she would ship it out to me. Barbara said she had this wool processed at Zeilingers.

I also purchased from her Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep, two single posts which I will clamp down for doing card weaving, The Gossamer Webs Design Collection: Three Orenburg Shawls to Knit, and 8 ounces of Wensleydale top.

She had spindles, she had spinning wheels both new and used, looms both new and used and lots of other tools and equipment.

If that wasn't enough, there was a young lady about the age of 7 or 8 who was shopping with her mother. At first I thought mom was the spinner and the little girl was just picking out colors of roving that she liked so mom could spin it for her. But no! The young lady was a student at the local Waldorf school and her teacher had taught the kids to spin and allowed them to work on their handwork when they finished their desk work. She bought lots of roving, hand cards, and seemed quite amazed about us adults raving over her skills. They looked at a drum carder, but it was suggested that they wait to see how long the young lady continued spinning. I told her that I had used only drop spindles, hand combs and hand cards for about a year before I got my first spinning wheel and that now I had two wheels, several drop spindles a drum carder and more fiber than I could spin in a year. It does tend to become a lifestyle.

After I left Stony Mountain Fibers I headed back into town and parked in the parking garage next to the Downtown Mall. It was chilly, perhaps in the 40 degree range), so I was glad I had my mitts and sorry I didn't have my hat.

I must say I was absolutely delighted to see all the handknitted hats, mittens and scarves traveling around on people in that mall. C'ville is, if nothing else, a cultured place.

On the mall I found this absolutely mad house of a knitting shop. It is called The Knitting Lady. It's narrow and deep and packed with yarn, needlepoint work and customers. Don't even try to find anything on your own. This is the kind of place where you walk in knowing what you want and walk up the counter and wait your turn. The staff is perky and cheerful and funny and know exactly where everything is (even though it's scattered all over the place and sometimes hidden away in drawers and cupboards. There are wonderful examples of knitted goods like shawls, sweaters, hats, shirts, scarves, etc. You can look around and fall in love with one of their knitted samples and they will hook you right up with everything you need to make it.

I came in with a desire for the making for a new set of slippers as mine are on their last leg (or sole). They have served me well for many years, but are really grungie and pretty disgusting, so I have decided it's time to replace them. They found me a pattern, pointed me to the yarn, told me how much I would need and even found the leather soles in stock and in my size for finishing. The Needle Lady is a great place but not one of those knitting shops like It's A Stitch where you can just plunk yourself down and visit for a spell and knit.

One thing I have to say is that in all the yarn shops I've visited, there are really only a few selling lace weight yarns. I've not found any gossamer yarns at all and yet the internet is full of options for lace weight. I'm wondering if my own perception about lace is confused (I'm hooked so I assume everyone else is as well) or yarn shops just don't find it profitable to stock laceweight because most serious lace knitters prefer one very long skein (1200 + yards) and it just doesn't pay to sell one skein of yarn for $30 or $40 when a sweater worth of yarn in aran or worsted or bulky weight runs up near or above $100.

My trip to C'ville was expensive but well worth it.

Fiber Inventory

I did a fast and dirty inventory of my spinning fiber today.

I was just curious to know what I really had on hand. I was trying to justify the purchase of more fiber if truth be known. Surely, I didn't have that much that a 4 or 8 ounce purchase of something new and lovely could not be okay.

But then I decided to really look. Big mistake.

I have OVER 20 pounds of fiber! And that does not include the silk or the odd bits I keep handy for felting and sharing with new spinners.

I have two pounds of cotton in various forms for goodness sake. How did that happen? And what shall it become. Every time I pick it up to spin it comes out like thread. Doilies perhaps?

And the alpaca. Well, let's just say it has all wandered in here and parked without so much as a "how do you do and what will you do with me?" I'm thinking blending for all of it save that 1.2 pounds of white cria that MUST become a lace shawl someday. Perhaps it is destined to be a wedding gift or baby gift. Too nice, too nice too do something mundane -- this is special stuff.

The lovely merino roving all in white. Well I have about 4 pounds of it all total. But it will be dyed, or blended, or blended and dyed. It certainly won't stay white. I'm allergic to white. White stains. White makes me look like an albino elephant. No, none of it shall stay white. Two pounds will be blended with the rose colored merino/silk blend (it will just be more merino than silk) and become a VERY pale pink. That's going to be spun worsted weight and if I ever get it done, my mom is going to knit me a sweater from it. But I have to get it done!

Then there is all the odd 4 ounces and 8 ounces of various wools like Bluefaced Leicester and Cormo and Columbia and Jacob. These are all "samples" I picked up here and there to try out the various kinds of wool. I guess these will become hats and scarves and mitts/mittens.

I've got bits of angora in various colors, dabs of cashmere, silks in various forms and colors. Mohair and soysilks and even some spinner's nylon for reinforcing sock yarns.

I'm flicking and spinning and knitting my way through that very short but wonderful grey merino fleece I purchased last Spring. And I'm slowly working my way through the white Lincoln fiber from Curley. But it's tough stuff and I think it will be destined for woven pillow cushion covers or pocket books or something. The oatmeal colored fleece I purchased at the Fall Fiber Festival and split with Bonnie is combing up very nicely but does have lots of vm so will probably be a pretty slow spin... but I think it will spin fine and turn out to be some really nice lace weight stuff.

Then there is the grey lincoln lamb named Larry that I've been blending with grey alpaca and the carbon bamboo; this is the most lovely stuff. But I won't get enough for a sweater. I does want to spin up worsted weight. I'm still thinking it should become a wool vest for my husband even though he says he won't wear it. Perhaps as he ages and gets colder... but who knows.

There are two bags of Louet pencil rovings. One is in the colorway called Marmalade and matches perfectly to three balls of some wonderful soft brown yarn I purchased. With the two together. Well there should be enough for something of substance.

The other 8 oz bag of Louet pencil roving is in a colorway called "violets" and goes very nicely with a 3/4 pound bag of blue roving of dubious heritage. I'm really not sure where it came from but the bag is made of 2 ounces of this and three or four of that. Several different blues and a variety of wools.

So, all in all, I have about four years worth of spinning sitting here waiting for me to get on with it. I guess I should keep my debit card in my wallet for a while.

Lots done but more to do

I got a lot done on my to do list below... but still have much to do.

I did clean up the loom room, but got distracted by the drum carder and that yummy oatmeal fleece from the Fall Fiber Festival. So I made up a couple of ropes of roving.

Then I made a detour to the local yarn shop last Saturday when I was supposed to be grocery shopping and got Knitting Lace Triangles
by Evelyn Clark. Very cool approach to knitting lace shawls. Anyway, I started a new lace project using the shetland handspun. I am starting with 450 yards. I figure I will have about 200 more yards available if desired when I finish spinning it.

I emptied three bobbins by plying the white lincoln that's been sitting on four bobbins for months.

I did get more of the grey merino flicked and ready to spin. Something to work on this weekend.

The weather is really bizarre for us this year. Beginning of December was very cold and almost seemed to promise snow for the holidays. But then it warmed up so much I had flowers blooming in the garden. This morning when I went to work it was 50 degrees. When I got off at noon it was down to 40 degrees. Now, at 8:45 p.m., it's extremely windy (about 25 mph winds) and the temps have dropped into the 20s.

Oh, I also vaccuumed the carpets, swept the other floors, cleaned up the kitchen and bath, spent Boxing Day at Mandy's and dejunked an end table.

I think I need to hire someone to come in and help me dejunk this house. I have too much stuff that is just odd bits and bobs. Lots of paper I don't need. Books I never look at but might some day... I have stuff. Just too much stuff.

Lace Success!

I've attempted to knit lace before with rather sad results.

My main problem was following where I was on the charts (or directions) and then figuring out where I was in the actual project in relation to those charts/directions.

But I've had a breakthrough!

I took this pattern and used just the first chart with no repeats (keeping it simple) and used 1/2 of a skein of JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18 (which was left over from the shawl that I'm weaving for Carla).

Anyway, I ended up with this:



Yes, I'm happy with the results.

And because Michelle, my step daughter, was kind enough to ooooh over it at Thanksgiving when I was just a few inches into it, she will be gifted with it tomorrow on Boxing Day.

Next I'm going to use my handspun Shetland lace weight yarn and make this.

Finishing up projects

The Tavern Spinner's & Weaver's Guild is getting off to a good start.

We have been meeting regularly now for several months. And we just completed a series of beginner spinning lessons. Next month we are going to have a lesson on crocheting socks from Bonnie. I'm looking forward to that one because I can crochet much faster than I can knit and I really get bogged down knitting socks.

We are planning a small fund raiser in December at the Golden Christmas Event at the Hughlett Inn Rices Tavern. It will be held on December 6 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Our table will be outside near the Blacksmith Shop.

We are waiting, none too patiently, for word on space at the soon to be "old" high school after the kids move to the new high school. I'm hoping we get the old home ec room but we might have to take a small classroom near the shop until we can get something that suits our needs better.

Anyway, money raised at the Christmas Sale will go to support the Guild. We are also going to try and put together a way to support our local Red Cross and the Tavern. Haven't got all the details on this yet...

But I've made several items I'm going to donate including fingerless mitts, a scarf, several little stuffed bunnies, and a couple of coffee cup cozies. I also have some skeins of hand spun yarn I'm going to put up for sale. If I have time, I will make a few needle felted Santas, some tiny socks for ornaments and put together a few kits for do-it-yourselfers.

A Guild

Nearly a year ago while visiting the blacksmith shop and consulting with the folks there about making a set of hand combs, I was sitting there using my drop spindle. John, one of the smiths approached me about starting a spinner's guild.

Now spinning is one of those skills that is in a revival stage right now. I'm glad for that because it is an essential skill that I feel strongly needs to be preserved. Should something happen to our electrical power grid for a long period of time it is one of those skills that will be needed and valued. In any case, it has significant historical interest.

At the time I didn't really know any other spinners in the area, however, but offered to do a demonstration with the hopes of stirring some interest. Low and behold, the same day I was spinning with my wheel, there was another woman there (Judy) spinning on a great wheel. And we got to talking a bit. Then I met Sally. And then I got my loom and realised how much I needed instruction in weaving.

Okay, now there were three and Judy, who is a member of the Five River's Guild, said there were others out there. We started an on-line Yahoo Group. I talked about it in Ravelry. We met once in Sally's studio. We got together to do a second demonstration at the Tavern and did the fleece to shawl.

Things were beginning to gel. I offered spinning lessons and had five students at the first class. I polled the ladies I now knew were interested in spinning and weaving and found there was a whole group of folks who work full time and who want to join a guild but can't make it to weekday/daytime meetings. There was also significant interest in working together in a studio setting.

I made up a draft of By-laws and extended conversations with the President of the Tavern Foundation regarding available space. On Tuesday, Sally and I presented the By-laws to the Foundation board. Much to my surprise, a few questions were asked and we were asked to step out because they needed to have some serious discussions.

I had forgotten about the politics ... well, to be honest, I knew the politics existed, I just convinced myself that they would overlook the politics at the idea of having another guild join them with serious ideas for generating more income for the Foundation and providing additional educational opportunities for the community.

They were apparently assuming that we would just haul our equipment in from time to time and do demos and our meetings would be lectures and only involve projects that could be completed in an hour or two. They also assumed that we only wanted to use the space once a month or so rather than be an on-going, open as often as possible, working studio. Formal meetings once a month, yes, we have to do that for the sake of planning, money management and supply management. But lessons (especially individual or small group lessons) could be given on a variety of subjects anytime the building is not in use by other groups. At other times we envisioned members of the guild being able to come in when other activities are not happening, sit down to the loom or wheel they have "rented or reserved" and work on a project. They could come any time, and any day that nothing else is scheduled and a key keeper is available to open the building.

We did another spinning and weaving demonstration on Saturday (this time making "pockets" -- basically decorative drawstring bags) and while we were there five more folks came up and said they were interested in joining a spinning and weaving guild.

We already have several items being offered for donation including two looms and a great wheel.

Anyway, this working guild idea is on a roll right now because even if the Tavern turns us down for a permanent site, we are already discovering possible alternative sites. And as we talk about it more, we are realizing that now is the time to do this.

And I'm excited about it and scared at the same time.

My birthday present

My husband and the guys at the Blacksmith shop went all out for me this year. They made me a distaff for flax spinning.

It's free standing and instead of being made from wood, they made it out of iron.

It's the best of recycling too because they used two wheel pieces from a wagon from 1920 and an old weight and piece of pipe from something else. The only two things they bought new was the finial and one internal piece of rod.

They made it to the height I needed to suit me while spinning and they added special touches like the finial but it also turns when I need it and comes apart for easier transport.

Works like a charm, too. The only problem now is that for some reason, the flax strick that I have smells like cow manure.

Combined with the fresh sheep fleece that hubby hauled home today, my house smells distinctly barnyardish. Personally, I like the smell and find it comforting.

I'll talk about this monster fleece in the next post. It is, by far, the largest fleece I've ever seen. And while the thing if filthy dirty and probably will never come completely clean and bright white, it's soft and spins up very nicely.

Other projects

Yeah, with me it's either feast or famine on this blog. But I have been busy.

I'm spinning this on my Eleanor, the Symphony.

It's from Spunky Eclectic and I think the colorway was called something like Orange Juice at Dawn. Anyway, it's a nice blend of merino and silk and it was on sale. Not my normal choice of colors at all but I guess the question should really be what is normal?
Here is the beginning of the second bobbin
and the basket of split roving wound up in little nests just waiting to be spun.

Some may wonder how I attached that mirror to the Sonata. Well, I tied it on with a bit of twine. just under one of the maidens.
See:

To change bobbins, I tilt the mirror to the side a little until it clears the end and just snap the bobbin up and out. The new one goes in the same way and the mirror is returned to it's upright position. I may or may not leave it on here. I have to say it does make it easier to see what is happening at the close end of the bobbin as I spin.

When the Northern Neck Spinners and Weavers On-Line Group got together for a Fleece to Shawl Demonstration at the last Farmer's Market, I learned a new trick -- Thank you Judy!

I was beginning to lament the wonderfully soft, beautifully colored Grey merino fleece that I bought because while my early attempts to wash it worked pretty well, I was having difficulty getting a smooth yarn when I combed or carded it. The yarn is okay but very neppy which I don't particularly like. It's very soft and the color is exactly what I wanted, but it was bumpy.... I was almost resigned to just spinning bumpy yarn.

Then Judy introduced me (and the other ladies) to flicking the locks. You actually open the ends of each lock separately after you wash the the fleece. It's a little on side of slow going but the resulting spinning fiber and yarn are really nice.

Now, I haven't tried spinning this yet and I had to figure out another way to wash the wool than I normally use, but the flicked locks are looking pretty good. These are short; about a 2 inch staple length but I figure that if I can spin cotton, I should be able to handle this.

I am washing this fleece for the lock flicking by being very careful to keep larger pieces of the fleece intact and using VERY hot water (hot tap with a kettle full of boiling water added) to the wash pan water and changing the water very quickly -- just as fast as I can boil another kettle of water. The lanolin is coming out nicely and most of the dirt is going with it. It takes one soapy wash and three equally hot rinses to do one small lingere bag of fleece.

I'm then hanging the whole bag up outside to drain and partially dry. Finally, after a few hours, I bring the bag in, pull the clean fleece out and lay it on the screen to finish drying.
Looks like a big moldy sponge, doesn't it? But, so far, this is working well to keep the locks intact so I can flick them out.

Spinners coming out of woodwork

I met Judy at the last Farmer's Market for the season this year. She was spinning on a great wheel and I was on the porch of the Blacksmith Shop spinning on my Symphony. We talked briefly about other fiber folks in the area and I expressed frustration that as a full-time employee, I could never seem to hook up with anyone because they always met during the day, during the week.

She decided to start a Yahoo Group so folks in the Northern Neck who were into fibery stuff like spinning and weaving could keep up with each other and communicate. She apparently knows more than one person into this stuff and so the Northern Neck Spinners and Weavers Group was born.

Several of us wanted to get together. And Sally offered to let us use her studio which is across the street from the Subway/Bouy in Heathsville. Sally picked a date and we met yesterday for the first time.

Five folks brought their wheels and everyone had a different one. It was really neat to see them all in action and hear about how we all dearly loved our individual wheels. Two ladies came who were knitting (one working on her very first socks -- I think -- which looked better than my third pair.). Another, Faye, just sort of watched us all until I talked her into trying out a spindle.

She took to it like natural. I sent her home with a bit of roving and one of my Bosworths and arranged for her to drop it off with Sally when she gets tired of playing with it. She claims she really doesn't need another hobby... but we all know how that goes.

I thought it interesting that three of us were spinning long wool fibers. I had brought the bit I had combed from Curly a Lincoln and another lady was spinning Lincoln and the third was working her way through some Leicester Longwool. Sally had a bump of something she purchased from a mill years ago and Judy was working with some alpaca (if I remember correctly). I also brought along some of the merino blend from Paradise Fibers that I had purchased last year (3 pounds of the stuff). I'm still determined to spin enough for a sweater.

We decided at this point that rather than do anything formal (like a Guild with officers, and dues and such) that we would be happy to keep things informal and fairly irregular and just get together from time to time as the mood struck.

I'm still kind of hoping we can do something in conjunction with the Rice's Inn/Hughlett Tavern folks. Perhaps at some point we can organize a Sheep to Shawl Demonstration during a Farmer's Market and then sell the resulting shawl and donate the proceeds.

Judy knows a woman who has Merino Cross sheep that were covered and have recently been shorn. She is going to find out costs and such and I think I'm going to invest in one of these fleeces.

I am saving up my money to buy a small floor loom. I really do think I will like weaving and I could create items of wearable goods faster than I do by knitting. Sally is going to figure out what she would charge for lessons and let me know.

I completed my second band on the Inkle several weeks ago. I used a cotton/wool sock yarn and it came out very nicely.

I want to make a band for a drum next. That will be a very long warp. And by then, I should be good enough to make Ken a new guitar strap and I might even get around to making some belts for Holiday gifts for next year.

I also finished the yarn that went from greens to reds. It is not, unfortunately, fine enough for socks (unless you wanted really bulky socks) but it is perfect (I think) for a scarf. So it may be destined for scarf-dom.

Does this make me look fat?

Of course it does! But I don't care. This shrug is the first garment I've made that is not a hat or pair of socks or scarf. I'm wearing it now as the temps here are in the 70s and that feels chilly to me.

I decided not to make the sleeves 6 inches longer but did put an extra inch on with size 12 double pointed needles. It did help to "finish" the sleeves.

This is my friend Taryn's homespun. I think this is the first yarn she made on her wheel. I'm sure she'll correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, it still needs it's final wash and block but I'm pleased.

My son, Matt, took the pictures.

John, the Army boy, is expected home sometime in the next three weeks. As expected, the Army did discharge him. He says he plans to be home about a week then pack off to Wisconsin where he and a friend will rent an apartment and work at the Harley Davidson Factory. We'll know more later.

And this week...

I was just very amuzed at the several commenters who seemed to believe a couple of posts back that I'm terribly prolific. Dear friends, you are very kind but deluded... my fault entirely.

All that stuff I listed was worked on slowly over several months. You see I have Startitis. Terrible disease. Wish I could develop a nice case of Finishit that would drive me to complete all unfinished projects before losing my mind and starting another. BUT alas, on any given day I have at least four or five projects going.

This week I have finished nothing:

1. The doll I pictured in the last posting. He now has a little sweater vest, a hat with a feather, flesh colored arms, and a bottom lip. He is, however, lacking clothing from the waist down and I still need to figure out how to give the poor fellow some eyelashes. I've noticed he also appears to have suffered from a terrible case of acne at some point so I need to give him a little facial surgery to smooth that out.

2. I am still working on the purple socks. I have turned the heel and am working my way up the ankle on one. The other is resting in the knitting bag waiting for me to remember it is there so it can keep up with it's sister.

3. I have messed around with a little of the white alpaca fiber. It wants to spin really thin but I've only messed around with it on a couple of different spindles and haven't tried it out on the wheel because...

4. The teal tussah/merino is still on the wheel. And just the first part of the first bobbin, I have not gotten appreciably closer to finishing it. And I noticed yesterday when I sat down at the wheel for about 5 minutes, there was actually some dust on the wheel. I have obviously been neglecting it.

5. BUT I've been working on the blue baby blanket. I've finished the second skein and have decided it's now time to try and ruin it by making a border from a third skein that I am knitting AROUND the outside of the entire blankie. The corners are YO, k, yo and I hope this works to keep it reasonably flat. IF not, there will be some serious frogging. I had to put it on a giant circular to make this work. I may end up switching it off to two long circulars.

6. And I have been working on my Shrug. I got the pattern at Knitting Addictions in North Carolina in June and have been searching for the right yarn since then. I knew I wanted it out of homespun. I knew it had to be bulky. BUT I did not have 330 yards of bulky in my collection. But my friend Taryn did and so I traded her a couple of skeins of sock yarn for her first wheel spun. Technically, I finished this last night. But I when I tried it on, it had 3/4 length sleeves which I don't like. So I picked up some smaller double-pointed needles and picked up around the end of one sleeve and am now lengthing the arms about 6 inches. The main needles for the project are size 17. It really was a quick knit and easy to do while watching the tube when I was feeling brain dead in the evenings.

7. I also cleared a spindle (so I could play with the alpaca) of some really lovely dark brown Corridale that I've had forever. I like it spun far better than I liked it in roving. I wound off onto one of the wheel bobbins and plan to spin up another spindleful over the next few weeks then ply them together. It should come out a nice worsted weight. No idea at this point how much yardage I will have in the end.

8. I met a real live weaver yesterday. There is a new art studio that opened up in Heathsville (Studio 202) and I went up to see what was up there as the sign said something about jewelry and fiber art. She has two floor looms and is working on warping the larger one. The smaller had the beginning of something lovely and linen. In her back room was an Inkle loom and she showed me straps and sashes and bookmarks she is making and mentioned that she might offer an inkle weaving class this winter. I told her I was most certainly interested if she did. I also offered to participate in or teach a beginner spinning class.

9. The cotton lace shawl was never touched this week.

10. The merino lace shawl was never touched this week.

11. I thought seriously about how to knit some pillow covers for my house out of my stash. Haven't started anything but cabled, knitted covers would look really cool (until covered with dog and cat hair). I also bought and day dreamed over a couple of the sweaters in the Fall Interweave Knit Magazine. I purchased and looked at the Interweave Felt Magazine. Unfortunately, I spent entirely too much time surfing the internet for felted dolls/sculptures and found surprisingly little related to what I'm doing with this elf.

And I keep looking at roving for sale... everywhere... and I am struggling not to break down and buy more. I MUST spin up at least some of what I have before I buy more. And The Fall Fiber Festival is coming around again in October. What is a girl to do?

Thinner grey yarn finished

I've been very remiss in posting. I normally post on the weekends (in case anyone has noticed) but had company this past weekend and never had the opportunity to sit down and focus on my selfish desires.

Last night Ken and I racked (again) the elderberry mead (to get it off the lees and keep it safe until I can get around to sterilizing a flock of bottles). We tasted it, of course. It's going to be wonderful! It's like an elderberry pie in a glass. But it needs to age. I'm hoping to hide it away somewhere for a year once bottled. I fear my hubby will raid my stash and drink it all before it's really ready, however.

The other mead, the one with my attempts to use lime, is quite vile. It will be sacrificed to the compost. I'm thinking I might do that this weekend and start a batch of Sweet Melissa Mead since the Sweet Melissa is coming up in abundance and my last batch of that was very popular.

On the spinning front: I finished 210 yards of fingeringly weight 2-ply 100% grey (fancy) alpaca. This was made with the washed version of the Fancy. Very tweedy. Very pretty.

It's not very soft, however. I draped it around my neck while running water for it's setting bath and it was downright scratchy. I'm hoping that the prickles are coming from vm that I missed and can pick out when knitting OR that the whole thing softened in the bathwater. I did spin it at a higher ratio and plied on a slightly lower ratio... but I suspect it is overspun regardless and may just be very FIRM yarn.

The next batch is going to be a blend of wool (from MDS&W) and a touch of mohair with the alpaca with the aim of creating sock yarn since I've now got the right weight. The overspinning for sock yarn might not be a bad thing either. I will need just over 400 yards for a pair of socks.

Ken wants to know when I'm going to spin enough to "make something". I told him I've made tea cozies and hats and baby booties but he indicated he thinks I should be aiming already to make enough for something like a sweater. I just smile at him. Enough for a sweater will require about 3 pounds of fiber and probably 3 months of spinning -- on the same project. I'm not sure I'm ready to do that. Right now I'm having too much fun experimenting.

But I do have that much fiber in a really beautiful teal stashed away for that eventuality.

Alpaca spinning

I finished spinning and plying the first half of the Fancy alpaca fiber. I got 196 yards from it. It is very, very nice. When the skein is dry I am going to weigh it to see how much fiber it actually consumed.

I learned several things from this first go round:

1. Some folks say you don't need to wash alpaca first. If you plan to put it through your drum carder, you do need to wash it first. I am looking a big cleaning job to get all the dirt out of my poor carder.
2. Alpaca is really nice stuff to spin.
3. VM missed in the prep work, really slows down the spinning. Better to get as much out as possible before you sit down at the wheel.
4. If I slow down my treadling, I get softer yarn (ah ha!)
5. Plying really does hide many issues.
6. Second cuts suck and should be removed prior to spinning or they make nubs.

The combs

These were custom made for me. Guess what I paid?

Would you believe a bottle of my homemade mead and the promise to come in July and do a spinning demonstration?

The fellow/fellows who made them are from the Hughlett-Tavern Group and are involved in helping keep the art of blacksmithing alive. If you join the Blacksmithing Guild (for a miniscule amount of money - I THINK it's $25 a year), you get to take free blacksmithing lessons.

I went up there a few months ago carrying Alden Amos' book and some catalogs that showed combs for sale (which is why I know these fellows know how much they are worth). They called last weekend to say they were ready.

Anyway, if you're not in a hurry... they only work two or three days a week... and you want a good deal on some Viking-style combs... let me know, I'll get you an estimate. Or, if you want to venture down to the Northern Neck of Virginia some Saturday... they are open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and they'll teach you how to make them yourself.

Bird Nests

There is a Nor'Easter bearing down on us. The weather folk are predicting torrential rains, dropping temperatures, some late snow and winds gusting to 40 mph.

I moved my car so it is not under any trees.

I'm going to the store shortly to get some lunch meat and bread and powdered milk. If we lose power, we can at least eat. I will also fill my car with gasoline and bring in the camping cook stove and get the sleeping bags out of the front room.

I'm also going by the blacksmith shop to see if my wool combs are ready. Ken said they called last week but I had headed off to get my alpaca fiber so wasn't able to hook up with them last Saturday.

But, while standing at my front door looking out at the yard thinking that I really should go out and cut some fresh flowers before they are FLATTENED, I noticed the birds.

The poor little things are flashing about madly grabbing up nest material. They were trying to bite off bits from some plastic yarn we used last year to tied up some plants to no avail. So I took some of the fiber trash out and scattered it about the garden and hung some from the trellis.

The finches just love the alpaca second cuts. They are stuffing their little mouths FULL of the short little tuffs of fiber and flying off to tuck in. There are some small sparrows who are after the longer fibers (the stuff that is so full of vm I can't even deal with it). I guess they figure they are getting a little grain snack to go with the lining material.

It will be interesting to examine the abandonned nests we find next Fall and Winter to learn how they used all these things.

A Goal

I'm spinning up this experimental batch of wonderful heathered grey alpaca fiber and I've come to realize some things.
First and foremost: If my handspun yarn was homemade bread, I'd be eating bricks. Beyond that, I'm learning:

1. The more fiber you have on hand, the more willing you are to experiment with it


2. The more fiber you have on hand the more ruthless you can be about tossing out bits that are trash, leaving you with "cream."


3. I want to learn to spin a loftier and softer yarn.
   

To the end of #3, I started doing an analysis of my favorite commercial yarns. An easy, familiar one to pick on is Knit Picks stuff.

1. It is four ply


2. Each skein is 50 grams (that's about 1.8 ounces)


3. Different fiber contents yield different yardages... for example: Merino Style (100% Merino Wool) is 123 yards per skein. Gloss, made of 70% Merino and 30% Silk, on the other hand, is 220 yards per skein. While Wool of the Andes (100% Peruvian Wool) is 110 yards per skein.

Right now my handspinning is using 3 to 6 ounces for 100 yards. Talk about chunks! My skeins are like bricks! And the yarn is NOT as soft as I would like. So I have to do better.

So,I pick apart these various commercial yarns (unraveling the individual plies) and I find that each individual ply is actually pretty fine. Each ply individually is also pretty dense and it appears the fibers are carded, not combed. Each ply is a bit smaller in diameter than I can currently spin on the wheel (I'm getting better but have a way to go.

I will eventually get there because I can see that I am improving. I can spin that finely on a spindle, so I will get there on the wheel if I keep working at it.

It would be nice to get a lot more yarn out of a lot less fiber.

More so, it will be very nice to get lovely, soft, lofty yarn.

I'm glad I have a lot to practice on.