Friday, August 18, 2006

Yarn Hardware

Last night at Deep Color we worked on adding inclusions to our spinning, specifically hardware and charms. I really got into it and am planning on trying all sorts or small found objects.

Yarn Hardware: Jump Rings

This is a sample of 2-ply acid-dyed colonial with handmade, hand-tied copper jump rings. The idea is to put little charms or beads or what have you on the jump rings, but I sort of like just the rings. The advantage of the rings is that they can go through the orifice of my spinning wheel.

Yarn Hardware: Washers and Hex Nuts'

This is a sample of 2-ply acid-dyed orange colonial and purple merino/Tencel blend with hand-tied nickel washers and hex nuts. This one had to be done on a drop spindle because of the size of the washers, which was fun. It's very heavy, so the washers will probably have to be spaced fairly far apart in the future.

I'm planning on trying this technique with everything I can get my hands on, hardware-wise. I think this is a great technique for bags and all that roving that's too coarse for garments.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

The SFB Experiment

So I've decided to do a summer fiber blending experiment, since I don't have enough unfinished art projects floating around my very very small living space:

I'm taking superfine superwash merino, baby camel hair, and alpaca and attempting to spin a soft, warm, lightweight yarn that would stand the test of my international playboy-type friends. It has to be warm (iffy constitutions from high living), luxurious (picky and high-maintenence), and durable (reprehensible Dorian Gray-like habits).

I'm documenting the whole thing with photos, which will be up soon. Today I carded a rolag, spun up a couple of yards of two-ply on my Schacht hi-lo, set the twist and worked up a swatch (I call it the "microscarf"). Next steps: the microscarf will be subjected to the "washer/dryer" test. Stay tuned.

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Yak!


Yak!
Originally uploaded by KatDee.
I spent the better part of this Saturday spinning up arcane luxury fibers. This is white yak.

Indian Tahkli


Indian Tahkli
Originally uploaded by KatDee.
I just go this, and I love it. I'm getting better at handling it, and spun some white yak on it.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Cotton

Took a class on cotton spinning tonight, some notes before I forget:

- Treadle fast (like three times faster then normal) and don't grip the fiber hardly at all (except with your pinky). Let the twist eat it out of your hand. Treadle fast, backwards draw slow.

- Tahkli spinning...I need some work on that. Hold fiber so it come off the tip, don't let it wrap again around the hook.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Three ply mohair blend


Three ply mohair blend
Originally uploaded by KatDee.
This is my latest attemmpt at three-ply, via crochet plying on my Ashford Joy.

It went okay. There are a few twisty spurs here and there. I probably should have not plied on the 15:1 ratio.

Still, it's good progress.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Drop Spindle collection


Drop Spindle collection
Originally uploaded by KatDee.

Here are some of my drop spindles, so far (from the top left):

Scahcht hi-lo, Greensleeves Katherine's Cup in Australian she-oak, Bosworth Mini in paduak, custom carved laceweight in yellowheart, and a hand-decorated Annie May toy-wheel (there's another one in there that's hard to see).

Not pictured: Grafton Fibers Fibership in purple laminate and osage, because it's in my travel kit.

On deck for purchase: Quantum Spindles Foo!

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

New Spindles and Projects

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted in this thing, but I have been busily working away.

1) Got a Grafton Fibers Fibership spindle with a purple laminate whorl and an osage shaft, and I thought it would be passable at best. It's actually a pretty great little spindle. The whole thing about these is that the whorl comes off so you can pack it away for traveling. The whorl wants to come off whenever the spindle is empty, but once the leader is tied on that's not a problem. I've been using it like crazy.



I also bought this Greensleeves Katherine's Cup in Australian She-Oak, which is a nice spindle but I expected a little more. I'm really not keen on the tiny hook, but it hasn't been a problem or anything.



(both courtesy of Kendig's Cottage on ebay)

2) I knitted up the Del Ray mitts in Logwood grey-dyed BFL (pattern from Spindlicity's winter issue) for my trip to Ireland and they came out rather nice. I'll be making that pattern again.

3) Started on EZ's Bog Jacket from Knitting Around for my sister's baby in two-ply Osage-dyed superwash merino I spun up several months ago. It's an awesome little pattern and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Monday, March 20, 2006

Qiviut lace!

Some native Alaskan women spin and knit qiviut into gorgeous lace garments.

There are pictures and opportunities to purchase galore on the Oomingmak Musk Ox Producers' Co-operative site.

I'd love to get my hands on some of those patterns!

Friday, March 17, 2006

Administrata

Since Brooke told me last night she was reading this blog (Whoever whould have guessed? :) but couldn't comment, I looked into the matter:

If you want to comment but don't have a Blogger account, just click the "Anonymous" button at the top of the comment form, and it won't ask you to log in.

Merlot Colonial wool blend


MerlotColonial
Originally uploaded by KatDee.
Here are some skeins of some somewhat boring colonial blend I did when I first got my wheel and I was in a spinning frenzy. It's quite soft and usable, which I'm proud of, but I certainly learned a few things about buying enough fiber for a big project.

From now on, sweater projects must have at least a pound and a half of fiber, minimum.

Raw Alpaca class

I took a raw alpaca class at Deep Color, and here are the highlights:

Washing raw alpaca is easy:

1) Put about 2 oz. of fiber in a lingerie bag

2) Put the whole thing in a tub of tap-hot water with a squirt of Dawn dishwashing detergent

3) Let soak for about ten minutes

4) Rinse

...and there you have it.

As usual, Claudia's class has taken me from not feeling any need for a piece of equipment to wondering how it is I can remain a living, breathing human being on this earth without it. New obsession: Louet double row Dutch combs.

Friday, March 10, 2006

Washing Fleeces

I took Claudia's class on washing raw fleeces last night, and here's the jist:

- Don't wash whole fleeces in the washing machine. You'll just gum up your laundry system with lanolin.

- It's hard to get the water in your bathtub hot enough to effectively remove the lanolin.

Here are the steps, quick-and-dirty. If I ever try this at home, I will actually have photos:

1) Seperate the fleece into 1" locks; each lock should have a complete tip and butt end.

2) Line the locks up flat in a lingerie bag - all stacked in the same direction, about three rows deep or however much your bag will accomodate.

3) Set up two large tubs of just-boiling water; add Dawn diswashing detergent to one.

4) Set each lingerie bag in the first tub, gently. Do not over-handle or agitate the bags or the fleece will felt. Let soak for 5-10 minutes, or until the water starts to cool (if the fleeces are left in the tub to cool, the lanolin will redeposit and you'll have to do the whole thing over).

5) Transfer the lingerie bags to the soapy tup. Let them soak for 15-20 minutes, adding small amounts of hot water as it cools down to keep the temperature consistent.

6) Set up 5 rinse buckets; the first two must be hot, the last thre can be just warm.

7) Gently lift and "flat squeeze" (squish like you're making a pancake) each lingerie bag out of the Dawn tub. gently lower, rinse, and flat squeeze each lingerie bag in each bucket in succession.

8) Once they're all rinsed, put on the spin cycle of the washing machine or twirl it around your head or set them out to drip off the excess water, whatever is more convenient.

9) open each bag and gently remove the washed locks. set them out on a flat surface (a sweater dryer is good) and open the locks. Leave them to dry completely.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

I am loving this pattern

The Celtic Cap by The Girl From Auntie:



I'm making it in a dusty dark green in baby alpaca with a long roll to keep my ears warm. The alpaca is probably not the best choice for cabling, but it seems to be going okay. Working it in the round on two circular needles rather than double-points makes it go a lot easier.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Knitting small circumferences on two circular needles

This is a very good breakdown of the two needle technique.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Latest fixation

I've decided I must make the Knitwhits Flore hat for various babies that will be appearing in my life soon.

However, this is a very feminine hat, and I need to find a way to make it masculine; I think I can do that by making it all green and saying it's a brussels sprout. :)

The other issue is that it's layered and therefore very hot if made in superwash wool. I think I've settled on Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, which is a cotton - wool blend and very expensive, but I won't have to buy too much of it I think.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Alpaca watchcap

This is the first thing I knit with baby alpaca. I gave it to my friend in Northern Ireland for Christmas.

Alpaca watchcap

Some observations:

Alpaca is wonderful stuff. Soft, silky, warm, it hardly registered on my skin at all when I was knitting it.

Alpaca is not nearly as elastic as wool. In the future, I will probably use a wool-alpaca blend.

Alpaca tends to relax with the first washing, so knit in a slightly tighter gauge than you want the finished garment to be.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Baby socks off the spindle

baby socks in process

I spun up a couple of ounces of handpainted roving at Deep Color to make a sock on two circular needles, but I thought a pair of baby socks would be more useful.

These are knit with freshly-spun yarn straight off the spindle with no finishing.

baby socks in progress (detail)

The pattern is pretty simple:

With sock needles (in this case size 2), cast on enough stitches for about 5.5 inches (in this case 36 stitches).

Knit 8 rounds K1, P1 ribbing, continue in stockinette for about 2 inches (20 rows). Divide half the stitches (18 stitches) and switch to working flat across them for heel.

Short row heel: k to last stitch, slip last stitch, wrap yarn around, turn; knit back to last stitch, wrap yarn around, turn; knit to next to last stitch, wrap yarn around, turn...keep this up until there are 1/3 of the total heel stitches betwen slipped/wrapped stitches (6 stitches). Then, knit across, knit both slipped stitch and wrap together, turn...keep this up until all slipped stitches and wraps are knitted, finishing on a knit row. Heel made.

Knit another inch on all stitches (about 10 rounds)

Star Toe:
Divide total stitches by 4. K2 together, knit (1/4 stitches minus 1), repeat three more times. Next round knit one plain, K2 together, knit (1/4/stitches minus 2), repeat three more times, knit one plain round... continue this until you have 8 stitches left on needle, thread yarn through with yarn needle to tie off, turn inside out and weave in ends on the wrong side.

Finished baby socks

These are the finished socks, presented to my coworker Lili on her last day at work before maternity leave.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Drop spindles on the brain

Despite the fact that I've been spending a lot/too much on spinning supplies in the past few months, I feel the need for a new set of hand spindles. I just bought an Ashford Joy wheel not eight weeks ago, and now I want to go low production again for some reason.

I'm getting very nice lofty sock-yarn singles off my cheap-but-effective Annie May spindles, and I'm on a major sock kick, so I'd like to get a really efficent spindle. This translates into a spindle with LONG spin time of a medium weight that can hold a lot of yarn. A whorl notch would be convenient, too.

Problem is, I'm not terribly comfortable with buying a spindle sight unseen. Claudia sells Schacht hi-lo spindles for about $16 each, which is as good as you're going to get for that price for a midweight, which covers that. However, I also want a heavyweight and a smaller one for traveling.

I've narrowed it down to the Bosworth and the Golding. I've heard that the Golding is a sound design for the heavyweight, but it's very expensive and while gorgeous, I feel a little silly spinning on something so ornate. Plus I'd feel nervous traveling with it.

Everyone says they like the Bosworth spindles so I'm sure I'm going to buy one of them for fine spinning and travel sizes once I can justify spending the money. Still undecided on the heavyweight spindle.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Natural dyes

Natural dyes 1

Natural dyes 4

These are some wool rovings I dyed in a weekend class at Deep Color Studio. These are low immersion dyed with botanicals (left to right): madderroot, marigold, logwood grey, logwood purple, multicolored, multicolored, blended sage, cochineal, madderroot


Natural dyes 3

Here's a closeup of some rovings dyed with madderroot, marigold, cochineal, logwood grey, and logwood purple.

Natural dyes 2

These were vat dyed: osage overdyed with indigo, straight indigo, cochineal overdyed with indigo, cochineal, and madderroot.

Spindle bag, spindle and acid-dyed merino


Spindle bag
Originally uploaded by KatDee.
This is the inside of my spindle bag, where I've been working on some lofty bulky acid-dyed merino in greens and blues bought at Deep Color Studio.

Undyed merino, spindle-spun and plied


Coil of handspun
Originally uploaded by KatDee.
This is some ecru merino I spun and plied on a Silver Goose agate adjustible spindle. Not the best spindle in the world, but it's serviceable.

This will probably find it's way into a fingerknitted skinny scarf at some point.

Total Blog Repurposing

I've decided to make this blog into my knitting/spinning/dyeing/general fiberarts blog.