Yummy Spinning

I'm trying for a bit more regular posting. Look, it's only been a week. Baby steps. I'm also trying to get organized around here, some sort of daily schedule. Now that my granddaughter is here five days a week, it's a bit easier. I have to keep a schedule for her. My life felt better with organization.

Right now I'm spinning the yummiest fiber, merino/angora/silk blend. It's spinners crack, I tell you. Just like the batt from the previous post. I'm spinning a fine singles for 2ply lace. There has been a shawl, I've had in my head for about five years, that this yarn will perfect for.



I have a 10 oz of undyed, that I'll be dying this weekend for etsy. Plus, 6 oz for a second Maude in cool shades. Oh, that's right, I didn't post about the first Maude. Well, that will be fodder for a post tomorrow.

Spinning Myself Silly

I guess it's about time for my almost monthly post. So much for more regularity. I wonder if there is an Activia for blogging. (So not funny, right?)

As I said before, I really do have plenty of material to blog about, and often think about how I should post. The truth is, I hate coming with titles for posts. I'm not good at coming with a witty or clever titles as so many others are. Any good advice about coming up with titles, please give a comment.



I like to see what search queries lead readers to my blog. The top three are, "learning to spin" or "learn to spin", "Mediterranean shawl" and "Peacock shawl". Strangest search query, "knitting needle went thru leg." Ouch!! I really hope they got medical help.

I don't think my post about how I taught myself to spin is really that helpful, or as relevant almost three years later. Back then, the only video available was the Joy of Handspinning. Now, with the help of YouTube, there are plenty of videos if you look around a bit. Also, if you haven't joined already, Ravelry, has several spinning forums with very knowledgeable people willing to help.

My best advice for those starting out, is what I did, that is, take the commercial equivalent of what you want to spin and dissect it. Cut about a three or four inch length an untwist the plys. Then take one of those strands and carefully untwist it, watch which way you untwisted. Now, take a look at how much fiber there is in one ply. That is about how much fiber you will need to work at drafting to get the yarn you hope to make.

Next bit of advice I have, is to practice every day, even for ten or fifteen minutes. You'll get better much faster by practicing for a short time daily than you will with one large session a week. Really, it's the truth. Be patient with yourself.

On to my current projects, at least a couple of them. I'm almost finished with Stor Rund Dug. As I stated before, I'm using a 2/30 hand dyed silk, on 0000 knitting needles.

I was a bit disappointed when I dyed the silk, one small section took up too much dye and was very dark. Another small section, didn't take up very much dye, therefore was much lighter. Overall, the rest of the hank was pretty evenly colored, so I went ahead with it. I like the effect of the bits that are uneven. It reminds of the lines in a tree trunk.

(click for bigger)

Overall, I think this pattern is much easier than it looks. On the start of rows 54, 88 and 122 there is an extra stitch leftover from the previous row, that is not noted in the pattern. I just knit it together with the first stitch. As of this picture, I have three rows left to go. As you can see, I'm still working with seven dpn's. I really could have been better suited to switch to circular's awhile back, but didn't feel like ordering a pair. It was a bit tricky making sure the stitches stayed smooshed together on each needle while I was knitting, but I managed without incident.



Right now, I'm on my least favorite part of lace knitting or knitting doilies. That is the chain stitch bind off. It's so easy to drop a stitch in the process. Silk has a habit of "going for the gold", so to say, as it runs really fast to it's starting point. There has been a few incidents, where I had to catch a stitch. Luckily, I keep a bunch of cross stitch needles in the arm of my chair. Then, hold it in place, while I grab a second crochet hook to carefully weave it back up. Much cursing ensues. I'm not in any hurry to torture myself in one long session, so I'm finishing slowly, snail's pace.

A bit on the spinning front. Not having spun from a carded batt before, I bit the bullet and bought this. It was a pleasure to spin a very fine single from. Now, I'm wanting a drum carder to do my own blends.
Statistics: two 1.5 ounce batts, each spun on a separate bobbin = 965 yards lace weight yarn.

I'm planning on knitting it into a lace stole I have planned out in my head.






Lastly, I'll leave you with a picture of a happy bunny listening to his Zeppelin.

There Has Been Much Spinning and Knitting

As usual it's been awhile since I last posted. One thing I've realized about popular blogs is that they post regularly and frequently. So much for aspirations of popularity, that's if I had any.

There has been much spinning and knitting going on this summer. I've been babysitting my granddaughter, whom I've nicknamed Duck, for ten hours a day in June and July. Plus, I broke down and joined Ravelry.

There was a trend amongst the females in my family to have their last child late in life. I'm glad I ended that. My great-grandmother was in her forties when she had her last, my grandmother was 39 when she had my uncle, my mother was 42 when she had my sister and still trying for another at 45. Right now, I'm the same age as my mom was when she was three months pregnant for my sister. I can't imagine that, nightmares.

To all those late in life mothers, that might come by and flame me, first off, bless you, I just don't have the energy for it. Duck leaves me collapsed in my chair every evening.

This is BFL in Devas and East of Eden, I bought from Crown Mountain Farms.




I took long pieces of Devas, separated in three strips lengthwise and spun up three spindles, which produced a nice light fingering 3 ply, 430 yards, 22 wpi.



Duck kept coming up to me while I was spinning to tell me how much she really loves pink. So, I used the yarn to knit her this raglan sweater. The pattern is from an old baby book, that I greatly reworked. I really like how the coloring striped out and went from medium to light then gradated to dark for the body. For the sleeves, I took about a yard strip from the remaining fiber, stripped it in half lengthwise, spun on two bobbins, then Navojo plied each. I was trying to replicate the color progression of the body, of course, since I was trying to control the outcome, it didn't work out quite as well as I had hoped for.



As you can see, I still have to bind off the sleeves, sew on buttons and finally block it. Duck is at her fathers for the month of August, so I'll finish when she comes back after Labor Day. Will post a final picture at that time with the intended victim modeling.

There was two ounces of fiber leftover which I spun into a two ply laceweight, 440 yards. I didn't check the wpi, but the photo shows it in comparison to commercial spun merino laceweight that was 880 to 4 oz. I will be putting this up for sale. I think it would make a lovely lace scarf, maybe in a feather and fan pattern.



There has been much more spinning and knitting than this, but I'll save it for future posts. Will try for regularity in posting. Popularity, not so much. I keep this blog mostly for myself and anyone who happens by wanting to look at pictures of needlework, bunnies, and cats or opinions about patterns, or chronic pain issues.



I'll leave you with a couple pictures of BFL and alpaca fiber.

Is It Really A Savings If .......

If you never receive your purchase. I have never publicly complained about a business online. Not many understand better than I, that at the most inconvenient moment, life will jump up and bite me in the ass. Best laid plans of mice and men and all that.

On April 20 I ordered from Little Barn, they were cheapest for what I wanted. I had hopes it might come in around my birthday, ten days later. I would still be waiting. Actually, I waited til May 8th, left a message on their answering machine. Waited longer until May 15th, a lady answered the phone and said she had no clue about my order as all she did was run this here machine. She took my information and said the boss man would contact me by the next morning.

Hadn't heard anything by the next afternoon, so I called again. Same lady answered and asked me to give her a few days. Monday, May 19, she calls back in the morning, tells me there were two tracking numbers listed for my order, and they tried to track it down. The same thing happened to another lady. Hmmmm, then tells me the 32/2 silk yarn I ordered had been sold out for awhile. They hadn't gotten any from India for awhile due to all the bad weather, hurricanes??? It's listed for sale on their website as of today.

She explained that their postal workers weren't government workers, but contract employees, very unreliable. They would reship my order on Wednesday by Priority Mail. If the first order should happen to show, keep it, but do the honest thing and pay for it, or send it back. I asked if credit card will be credited for the missing yarn. Yes, yes, we will.

Still haven't received my order, nor has the credit card been credited. I have plenty of patience, but this ridiculous, so it's now in dispute with credit card company. There is a thread on Ravelry in the spinning knitters group, I've counted eight other customers with similar problems. Of course, there are also those loyal customers who come by to defend their favorite fiber supplier. If you are reading this, and have had good luck with them, yay for you. I however have $90.00 and 1 1/2 lbs of fiber floating around in cyberspace.

Last week, I ordered from WEBS and Paradise Fibers. WEBS yarn showed up yesterday, and UPS tracking says my fiber should be here tomorrow. I had to order more fiber and yarn than originally to get discounts, and spent more money, but I'm going to have my stuff.

Last week I started babysitting the granddaughter two days a week. She's much bigger now.

That would be more peaceful looking if it weren't my stitching spot.

On the knitting front, I'm knitting with porcupines. Stor Rund Dug with hand dyed 30/2 silk on seven #0000 needles. The picture shown looks harder than the pattern actually is to knit. A small portion of the hank took up more dye than the rest of skein, and therefore a bit darker. I was a bit concerned at first, but I'm kinda liking the various striated effect. It's kinda like the striations in a tree trunk. Very hexagonal....



It's been so hot this past week in Western NY. I took these pictures the few times I woke from my heat induced coma.