Because I wanna

I was having one of my punk rock tantrums this weekend. You know, like the Hives song:

"Do what I want cause I can and if I don't because I wanna!"

("Hate to say I told you so...ALRIGHT!")

So I stuck my wallet, keys, pepper spray (can never be too careful), and Blackberry in my pocket, grabbed my latest small project (in a Daiso bento bag, no less) and headed for the woods.

Saturday, I got deep under the influence of one of Katie's cappucinos and Rachel's Blue Chair jam at Pizzaiolo, so I jittered my way into Article Pract to work it off. While I was there, I picked up the Carmen pattern Kristine made, a pair of metal size 3 sock needles for travel, a 40" size 10.5 Crystal Palace Daisy needle, and 2 2oz. bundles of Kristine's BFL in her "Reyes" colorway. I decided to try that project I mentioned in the previous post, inspired by the Morehouse Merino scarf and shawl patterns.

So, my little Bento bag held the BFL roving, the little rosewood faux-Turkish spindle I got at Stitches West, and my new Daisy needles. Once I spun up a spindleful, I popped off the whorl-arms from the spindle shaft (which makes an excellent thread bobbin!), and cast on three stitches. In garter stitch, I slipped the selvedge stitch and did a yo at the beginning of every row, until I felt it was long enough, then I did a slip selvedge, yo, k2tog, psso at the beginning of the next row, k to end. The next row I did a slip selvedge, yo, k to end as usual for what will be a stole knit on the bias.

When I knit up the entire spindleful, I spin a new spindleful, and do a join between the end of the working yarn and the beginning of the yarn on the spindle. It seems to be working very well.

My only difficulty is with the Daisy needle. It's a nice, smooth plastic needle, but the cable is incredibly stiff and in a rigid coil, like wire. I have to wrestle with it every time I get to the end of a row. I'm hoping I can soften it a little in hot water or something.

Morehouse Merino

I absolutely love Morehouse Merino lace designs. Their shawls and scarves are minimalistic, textural, modern, and innovative - everything I love in knitwear design.

However, I really don't like their yarns. They do have their great points: the variegated colorways are beautiful and they do their best to keep the wool in its natural state (read: they don't carbonize out the VM). What I don't like about them is the randomly-occurring coarseness of the wool (I don't know why - their dye process, maybe?) and their lace yarn is not plied.

The last part is what I have a real problem with. I have been indoctrinated to believe that singles are unsuitable for lace knitting, because of their natural energized state. It makes the lace crumple up so you have to block it over and over. Supposedly, the most suitable yarn for lace knitting is a worsted-spun two-ply.

I'm as iconoclastic as the next person so I'm perfectly willing to knit lace with singles to test that rule, and Morehouse designs seem to be designed to sort of be crushy and crumply, which I like. What is difficult if not impossible to work around is the fragility of singles, especially Morehouse Merino singles. Many of the designs are also heavily dependent on wide multi-stitch-width dropped sections, which leaves the poor yarn exposed to the elements. If during the course of wear there's a break in the yarn, it could affect the entire structural integrity of the piece.

But I'm just speculating. I'm thinking of buying a kit just to see how it goes. If these designs are actually structured in a way that the singles are more-or-less protected, they might be really great spindle projects: spin a spindle full, knit the single until I run out of yarn, spin up another spindle full, splicing the end of the new spindle to the end of the knitting. No ends to weave in!

That's incredibly exciting for someone like me: I loathe finishing. I want my projects to spring fully-formed from my needles like Athena from the forehead of Zeus, and I will go to extreme lengths to achieve that.

Another impulse buy

I've really had to curb my fiber impulse buying because I'm seeing a "top of his field" therapist not covered by my health insurance. He's worth it, I assure you, but I spend almost as much on his sessions as I do on rent and as such my slush fund has long since depleted.

Since I can't seem to actually stop buying fiber (which I should probably bring up with my therapist at some point), I've limited it to:

- naturally-dyed fiber, commercially-prepared or not (i.e. things from Kristine or Maia and Brooke)
- Extremely artfully-dyed fiber (i.e. Krista's Pigeonroof stuff)
- non-commercially prepared fiber

So, falling into the last category is the stuff I bought just a few minutes ago, from Spiderweb Specialties' etsy shop. I just couldn't pass these blends up: shetland, alpaca, and angora in natural grey, and shetland, alpaca, and angora in Moorit color. I honestly don't know when I'm going to get around to spinning all this stuff.

I would love to do a fiber swap with some people at some point, as I have lots of really wonderful stuff that I'm either tired of or bought way too much of. Just don't ask me to organize this at the moment.

Bison down

I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to buy some.

"Exotics for the sake of exotics" is a good enough reason, really, to buy and spin up as much as you can afford to. However, I'm beginning to feel that certain things are frankly close enough.

For example, for most of my purposes, the luxury feel of alpaca/llama and yak are just awesome. Cashmere and quivut and all those things are fantastic but are outrageously expensive. For the money I end up spending on them, the results are not far and above what I can get with similar but less scarce fiber. Well, except for cashmere. But it's way too warm to wear pure cashmere here anyway so I rarely even end up using a lot of it - not to mention the pilling problem that short fibers have.

Anyhow, Kendig Cottage has Bison for not cheap. I'm wondering if it's really the much more wonderful than yak.

More Acquisitions

So, last Saturday Sara took me on my first trip to Daiso, because I'm always lusting after her cutie-patootie bento boxes. I bought some really useful things, not the least of which are tons of cute little fabric bento box bags, which are the perfect size for sock projects! And they were only about $3.00 each. I did pick one up which turned out to be insulated, so I'm going to use that for my actual lunch bag.

I decided I wasn't up to going to my finishing class at Knit-One-One (I know, bad me. Knit-One-One is a really excellent place to take classes, though), and we went over to Article Pract, where I got a reality check on how I remember things vis-a-vis What Knitters Are Paying For These Days. In some ways it was good news, other ways bad, but it reaffirmed my choice to become a spinner.

I noticed they were carrying some of Kristine's fiber, way up high on pegs over the till. Not really a high-visibility place for them, but this fiber thing is new for a lot of people so I'm not judging. Not only did I get a chance to shill for Kristine ("Look! This is polwarth, it's really hard to get!"), but I got six ounces of her Blackberry colorway polwarth. Yay! I'm hoping to turn this into at least 800 years, um, I mean yards of laceweight for a smaller version of g.bella's Catalina shawl.

After that, we swung by Kristine and Adrienne's to drop off some things Sara had for them, and saw pictures of the new A Verb for Keeping Warm studio! Wow, totally exciting. It was a superfun day (and Kristine had another bundle of polwarth hiding in her inventory so I made an even 8 oz. score.)

Sunday was Easter mass with my neighbors (I accidentally took them to the Spanish mass at St. Joseph the Worker - turns out our German pastor is also fluent in Spanish), Easter lamb for dinner, and way too much wine. I got the bright idea to spin up the 4 oz. of black BFL I've had in my stash since the winter before last, but I was a little too lit and my single kept coming out uneven. I wanted to ply it with the 50/50 merino-yak I bought a couple of months ago from Maia and Brooke as a present for bugheart when I see her on Friday, but my Easter Monday hangover kept me from getting much spinning done. I have some other pretty, interesting stuff already spun up so I suppose I can give her something else should I need to.

First successful batt

I used my birthday present to myself, Strauch Petite drum carder bought from Morgaine at Carolina Homespun, to card up some naturally-dyed polwarth locks from Kristine at A Verb for Keeping Warm in golds, oranges, and pinks.

While the teasing process was a little tedius, the resulting batts were well worth the effort. All the colors blended naturally into a tequila-sunrise sort of blend, with the fibers blending into a fluffy, airy batt. I'll probably card this again with some of Kristine's naturally-dyed yak for a larger volume with more warming properties.

Calm a llama down

I bought 4 oz. of chocolate brown llama from Clickety Sticks at Stitches West, and I loved spinning it up. It was a small batch processed roving, lots of air, a little VM but still a pleasure to spin up.

Except, last night I was chain-plying it into a three-ply, and it practically cut my fingers to ribbons.

I wanted to give this as a gift to bugheart when she and grub come to visit at the end of the month, but I'm not so sure it will be her thing. I'm also not so sure I want to finish plying this stuff.

As fora recommended project, it is soft enough for against the skin, but the bits of hay in it might be problematic for that in the long run. Might make a really good cafetiere cozy.

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.



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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.