Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
Tour de Fleece, days 10-16... plus weaving...
Oh dear! These past few days have been a challenge and there is less to show than what I might have planned. To be honest, my planning is only half such so I'm not terribly disappointed with my output. I did expect to get along with the Merino-silk blend, but alas the notion of spinning it woolen has fizzled. I will go ahead and spin a worsted yarn with it after all.
My idea for the Merino-silk was to spin long-draw (which I've barely done at all) using fauxlags, which if you recall, I discovered during last year's race. (That video is so beautiful it's worth watching again.) I think the problem is that the dowel I'm using is too thin for the staple length of this fiber and one staple rolls around the dowel more than once. It's not drafting well at all. On the other hand I can't discount my inexperience with long draw. One thing's for sure, watching that video again makes me want to give it one more try! Maybe if I get a larger diameter dowel. This is the results of my first attempt:
Also on the not very successful roster is my attempt to spin Yak on a drop spindle. I think I've gone as far as I can with this. The fiber is just so short and slippery I think I will need to try a supported spindle. But it is soooo soft, what a delight to handle:
Since progress was otherwise hampered I went ahead and spun another skein of Wellington Fibres. This one is from the lighter of the 2 colors I have. This skein comes to 134 yds. of 2-ply yarn which I intend to use on the loom. (U.S. nickel shown for scale.) Today I spun up another bobbin of the dark colored fiber and it awaits plying. That one uses up the last of the dark. I love this fiber and yarn so much I'm going to visit their site directly after this entry and order some more!
Not a very good picture of the dark I spun today, but you get the idea I hope:
Warping of the loom was concluded today and I continue to learn and learn about the process of putting yarns on the loom. Not having a teacher I'm learning by experience. For now. Experience can be a tough, but good and thorough teacher. The warping board, as I've already written, went well. I did not use lease sticks though, and now I know the problems they solve and why I would want to use them. Next time.
Lesson: It's probably best not to thread heddles late at night when I'm tired. I found 4 crossed threads after the loom was dressed. Discovering them ilicits an acute panic that quickly subsides when the solution dawns. They look worse than they are to fix. It simply means untying the group they belong to from the cloth beam rod, pulling the errant thread back, out of the reed and heddles and then re-threading it properly.
Lesson: It's best not to thread a heddle from back to front through the eye and then back around to the back. It will--and sure enough did--break, cut by the wire thin heddle. So that left me with a broken warp thread. Darn. The solution was to put a replacement thread in it's place, but since the warp was already wound onto the warp beam, I wound the extra yarn onto a spool, the weight of which creates a tension which closely matches the other warp threads. This is the make-do for this thread:
I did finally get to sit down and start weaving, the brunt of the trials are fading away leaving me wiser (I hope), and it's now bliss. There are 3 "fat" rows at the beginning (to even out the threads), followed by 6 shots of thicker yarn as a header to get the warp all nice and even before the twill starts. I will pull out the thick yarns and header when it's done:
My idea for the Merino-silk was to spin long-draw (which I've barely done at all) using fauxlags, which if you recall, I discovered during last year's race. (That video is so beautiful it's worth watching again.) I think the problem is that the dowel I'm using is too thin for the staple length of this fiber and one staple rolls around the dowel more than once. It's not drafting well at all. On the other hand I can't discount my inexperience with long draw. One thing's for sure, watching that video again makes me want to give it one more try! Maybe if I get a larger diameter dowel. This is the results of my first attempt:
Also on the not very successful roster is my attempt to spin Yak on a drop spindle. I think I've gone as far as I can with this. The fiber is just so short and slippery I think I will need to try a supported spindle. But it is soooo soft, what a delight to handle:
Since progress was otherwise hampered I went ahead and spun another skein of Wellington Fibres. This one is from the lighter of the 2 colors I have. This skein comes to 134 yds. of 2-ply yarn which I intend to use on the loom. (U.S. nickel shown for scale.) Today I spun up another bobbin of the dark colored fiber and it awaits plying. That one uses up the last of the dark. I love this fiber and yarn so much I'm going to visit their site directly after this entry and order some more!
Warping of the loom was concluded today and I continue to learn and learn about the process of putting yarns on the loom. Not having a teacher I'm learning by experience. For now. Experience can be a tough, but good and thorough teacher. The warping board, as I've already written, went well. I did not use lease sticks though, and now I know the problems they solve and why I would want to use them. Next time.
Lesson: It's probably best not to thread heddles late at night when I'm tired. I found 4 crossed threads after the loom was dressed. Discovering them ilicits an acute panic that quickly subsides when the solution dawns. They look worse than they are to fix. It simply means untying the group they belong to from the cloth beam rod, pulling the errant thread back, out of the reed and heddles and then re-threading it properly.
Lesson: It's best not to thread a heddle from back to front through the eye and then back around to the back. It will--and sure enough did--break, cut by the wire thin heddle. So that left me with a broken warp thread. Darn. The solution was to put a replacement thread in it's place, but since the warp was already wound onto the warp beam, I wound the extra yarn onto a spool, the weight of which creates a tension which closely matches the other warp threads. This is the make-do for this thread:
I did finally get to sit down and start weaving, the brunt of the trials are fading away leaving me wiser (I hope), and it's now bliss. There are 3 "fat" rows at the beginning (to even out the threads), followed by 6 shots of thicker yarn as a header to get the warp all nice and even before the twill starts. I will pull out the thick yarns and header when it's done:
Monday, July 9, 2012
Tour de Fleece, day 9... etc...
In the spinning department today was exclusively spindled. But the wheel did come into play to ply. I finished spinning the batt of pretty purples of unknown content. It was a gift... Thank you very much Seaport Yarns. Tour de Fleece is intended to challenge us and this batt was at times challenging. As I mentioned before, the fibers had to be cajoled: stretched into roving that could be spun. And it was worth it: never a dull moment and the results are most pleasing:
The coin is a nickel. This 2 ply would knit up or weave quite well. I'm thinking of a cowl. Something that doesn't require a lot of yardage as this is a one-of-a-kind-don't-know-where-I'd-get-more-batts-like-this yarn!!
The 'hand' of this yarn is an exquisite marriage of wooliness and softness, if you can imagine such a thing. It has that deeply satisfying sense of woolen without being at all 'scratchy'--not that I mind scratchy: I love wool.
In the etc. department, I sleyed (the term for threading yarns through the loom's reed) the reed for my new plaid project this afternoon. This is my first time using a warping board, a process that I enjoyed very much. The porrey-cross is ingenious. It makes me wonder and ponder about it's invention. Who? When? It's certainly a gift, that's certain. Life is full of these little (or not) gifts if we but take time to notice them.
It looks a bit of a mess at the moment, a noodling caboodle of yarn:
"What's that Christmas chimney paper under the loom?", you ask? It is inserted over the woven cloth as it winds onto the cloth beam so that the knots which tied the warp to the beam don't distort the cloth as it is wound on. Another ingenious invention. I'm discovering that weaving is abundant with these simple, but beautiful, gifts.
The coin is a nickel. This 2 ply would knit up or weave quite well. I'm thinking of a cowl. Something that doesn't require a lot of yardage as this is a one-of-a-kind-don't-know-where-I'd-get-more-batts-like-this yarn!!
The 'hand' of this yarn is an exquisite marriage of wooliness and softness, if you can imagine such a thing. It has that deeply satisfying sense of woolen without being at all 'scratchy'--not that I mind scratchy: I love wool.
In the etc. department, I sleyed (the term for threading yarns through the loom's reed) the reed for my new plaid project this afternoon. This is my first time using a warping board, a process that I enjoyed very much. The porrey-cross is ingenious. It makes me wonder and ponder about it's invention. Who? When? It's certainly a gift, that's certain. Life is full of these little (or not) gifts if we but take time to notice them.
It looks a bit of a mess at the moment, a noodling caboodle of yarn:
"What's that Christmas chimney paper under the loom?", you ask? It is inserted over the woven cloth as it winds onto the cloth beam so that the knots which tied the warp to the beam don't distort the cloth as it is wound on. Another ingenious invention. I'm discovering that weaving is abundant with these simple, but beautiful, gifts.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Tour de Fleece, days 6, 7, and 8...
Thursday and Friday, being work days, meant spindle time for TdF. I'm getting near the end of the unknown gift fiber, almost daring to say it could be finished tomorrow. We'll see.
Today was wheel time and I started on some of the Wellington Fibres. All I can say is WOW! What a dream! I had spun some on my spindle before and it was lovely and wonderful but on the wheel it's totally awesome. I didn't expect a big difference but there it is. It spins fast and beautifully. I made a 2-ply yarn starting around 1pm this afternoon. I probably spun a total of 2 hours--maybe a tad more and ended up with 112 yards of gorgeous 2-ply yarn that is soft, strong, lustrous and luscious! In the photo below the coin is a nickel piece for scale.
Also today, warped the last 2 chains for my new plaid throw and I'm hoping to dress the loom tomorrow. Naked is nice but not when speaking of a loom. It wants a warp! :)
Today was wheel time and I started on some of the Wellington Fibres. All I can say is WOW! What a dream! I had spun some on my spindle before and it was lovely and wonderful but on the wheel it's totally awesome. I didn't expect a big difference but there it is. It spins fast and beautifully. I made a 2-ply yarn starting around 1pm this afternoon. I probably spun a total of 2 hours--maybe a tad more and ended up with 112 yards of gorgeous 2-ply yarn that is soft, strong, lustrous and luscious! In the photo below the coin is a nickel piece for scale.
Also today, warped the last 2 chains for my new plaid throw and I'm hoping to dress the loom tomorrow. Naked is nice but not when speaking of a loom. It wants a warp! :)
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Tour de Fleece, Day 5...
It's been one of those days.
It was like this; and it was bliss:
Woke up late'ish but rested.
Made coffee and attended to the birds.
Went out back with my coffee and spindle spun for an hour.
Switched to the wheel and spun for another hour.
Came upstairs and washed the bird's room floor.
Practiced piano for a bit more than an hour (Scriabin, Bach and Debussy... oh joy!)
Changed my mind about next weaving project and decided on another plaid.
Calculated warp yardage and warped 2 chains on my warping board. (Need 4 in all.)
Practiced cello for an hour and 20 minutes.
Went to get take-away Japanese Teriyaki for dinner.
Brought my dinner to the roof and dined while waiting for the fireworks to begin.
Watched the fireworks.
Went out back and spun for another hour.
Came in and plyed and skeined.
Now logging my activity for day 5 of Tour de Fleece.
!!! Heaven!
The new plaid I'm going to weave is exciting, and I used a warping board (it's a LeClerc and it came with the loom) for the first time today. Very nifty, and I like it.
A goodly amount of spinning today and it feels wonderful. The Spinner's Hill is spinning up perfectly and I will not hesitate to weave with it. I'm doing a 2-ply. I love 2-ply! Winding the singles into a center-pull ball and plying with the ends from inside and outside leaves absolutely no waste. That's also why I like Navajo plying: no waste! It always comes out even.
Today's spinning:
The view (partial) up on the roof... the stage is set, just waiting for dark:
Al fresco dining on the roof:
A few pics of the show:
It was like this; and it was bliss:
Woke up late'ish but rested.
Made coffee and attended to the birds.
Went out back with my coffee and spindle spun for an hour.
Switched to the wheel and spun for another hour.
Came upstairs and washed the bird's room floor.
Practiced piano for a bit more than an hour (Scriabin, Bach and Debussy... oh joy!)
Changed my mind about next weaving project and decided on another plaid.
Calculated warp yardage and warped 2 chains on my warping board. (Need 4 in all.)
Practiced cello for an hour and 20 minutes.
Went to get take-away Japanese Teriyaki for dinner.
Brought my dinner to the roof and dined while waiting for the fireworks to begin.
Watched the fireworks.
Went out back and spun for another hour.
Came in and plyed and skeined.
Now logging my activity for day 5 of Tour de Fleece.
!!! Heaven!
The new plaid I'm going to weave is exciting, and I used a warping board (it's a LeClerc and it came with the loom) for the first time today. Very nifty, and I like it.
A goodly amount of spinning today and it feels wonderful. The Spinner's Hill is spinning up perfectly and I will not hesitate to weave with it. I'm doing a 2-ply. I love 2-ply! Winding the singles into a center-pull ball and plying with the ends from inside and outside leaves absolutely no waste. That's also why I like Navajo plying: no waste! It always comes out even.
Today's spinning:
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Tour de Fleece 2012, Days 2, 3 and 4...
Got a little side-tracked Sunday. Put everything on hold to attend a candlelight vigil for Molly Olgin and Mary Chapa, the two lesbians in Texas who were both shot in the head a little over a week ago. Molly was killed and Mary is struggling in a hospital where she has regained consciousness. It was a bit of an impromptu affair put together in just a few days. I'm glad I went. It's good to stay involved, to bring another presence to the stage. Silence = death and so does invisibility. Visibility is important in fighting age old prejudices. Someone took this video of portions of the vigil. (If you look careful, you'll see me in the crowd at about 5:37)... Candlelight vigil.
[pausing for a moment of silence]
* * *
Got back on track with spinning and finished the BFL/Silk blend late last night...
Just like last year, during the work week it's not so easy to get wheel time so I depend on my spindles to get in some twirling. I was given this piece of wool batt recently and have no idea what it is. What I do know is the color is gorgeous! It's a real fun spin on the spindle, the sort of fiber that needs to be pulled and cajoled into spinnable "rovings". This will be my away-from-the-wheel project for the next month.
Tomorrow (Happy Fourth of July!) I would like to start spinning this very red fiber I obtained from Spinner's Hill. I really want to spin a yarn for weaving and it's my aim to try and mimic the thickness and feel of the Harrisville New England Shetland I recently purchased. It's what I wove the twill sampler in. So there's going to be some experimentation with this and I'm excited at the prospect of having some of my own yarn for weaving. Updates to come.
I will be juggling different fibers over the course of Tour de Fleece. This weekend I will start in on the Wellington Fibers "mystery" rovings. Looking foward to it!
[pausing for a moment of silence]
* * *
Got back on track with spinning and finished the BFL/Silk blend late last night...
Just like last year, during the work week it's not so easy to get wheel time so I depend on my spindles to get in some twirling. I was given this piece of wool batt recently and have no idea what it is. What I do know is the color is gorgeous! It's a real fun spin on the spindle, the sort of fiber that needs to be pulled and cajoled into spinnable "rovings". This will be my away-from-the-wheel project for the next month.
Tomorrow (Happy Fourth of July!) I would like to start spinning this very red fiber I obtained from Spinner's Hill. I really want to spin a yarn for weaving and it's my aim to try and mimic the thickness and feel of the Harrisville New England Shetland I recently purchased. It's what I wove the twill sampler in. So there's going to be some experimentation with this and I'm excited at the prospect of having some of my own yarn for weaving. Updates to come.
I will be juggling different fibers over the course of Tour de Fleece. This weekend I will start in on the Wellington Fibers "mystery" rovings. Looking foward to it!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Tour de Fleece 2012...
... has begun... And we are off!
Tour de Fleece is a challenge for spinners organized at Ravelry and coincides with the famed Tour de France. Spinners who sign up for Tour de Fleece may join one of hundreds of teams. Last year I spun with "Team Men Spin" but since I don't see them this year, I'm spinning with "Peloton", the main group.
The challenge is to spin something every day the Tour de France is on (this year it's June 30th through July 22nd). Additionally, we are challenged to spin something challenging on July 18 to coincide with the toughest high mountain stage for the bikers.
I had such a blast participating last year that I could not resist it this year. It is a tremendous motivator. Much enthusiasm is generated in the threads at Ravelry with oodles and oodles of fantastic pictures and write-ups of everyone's spinning. It's just phenomenal.
I got in about 2 hours of spinning today, starting the tour with 4 oz. of lovely Blue-Faced Leicester/Silk blend roving. It came as 2 separate colors in a colorway called "Cinnamon Toast". I am spinning the 2 colors separately and will ply them into a barber pole yarn. For that reason I will 3-ply using 3 separate strands of yarn instead of Navajo plying--which I am so fond of. It is not possible to create a barber pole yarn using Navajo plying technique.
I spun up 2 bobbins today and will spin the 3rd and ply tomorrow. This is a picture of a little corner in the backyard where I like to spin. It's so heavenly relaxing to sit in the shade and spin listening to all the bird chatter (the wild ones and my own). Tomorrow evening I will have a pic of the finished skein.
* * *
I have a new subway project under way. Yippee! It's another lace project called "Print O'The Wave Stole" that I'm knitting also in Malibrigo lace weight in a luscious color named "Brllante". So far:
* * *
Tomorrow, I hope to begin warping my loom for a broken twill pattern called "Dornik". My plan is to weave cloth with the possible goal of turning it into a vest. We'll see how it goes. I found the pattern in a Book titled "New Key to Weaving" by Mary Black.
I do not know what consitutes a "broken" twill. Must add this to my list of things to research.
Tour de Fleece is a challenge for spinners organized at Ravelry and coincides with the famed Tour de France. Spinners who sign up for Tour de Fleece may join one of hundreds of teams. Last year I spun with "Team Men Spin" but since I don't see them this year, I'm spinning with "Peloton", the main group.
The challenge is to spin something every day the Tour de France is on (this year it's June 30th through July 22nd). Additionally, we are challenged to spin something challenging on July 18 to coincide with the toughest high mountain stage for the bikers.
I had such a blast participating last year that I could not resist it this year. It is a tremendous motivator. Much enthusiasm is generated in the threads at Ravelry with oodles and oodles of fantastic pictures and write-ups of everyone's spinning. It's just phenomenal.
I got in about 2 hours of spinning today, starting the tour with 4 oz. of lovely Blue-Faced Leicester/Silk blend roving. It came as 2 separate colors in a colorway called "Cinnamon Toast". I am spinning the 2 colors separately and will ply them into a barber pole yarn. For that reason I will 3-ply using 3 separate strands of yarn instead of Navajo plying--which I am so fond of. It is not possible to create a barber pole yarn using Navajo plying technique.
I spun up 2 bobbins today and will spin the 3rd and ply tomorrow. This is a picture of a little corner in the backyard where I like to spin. It's so heavenly relaxing to sit in the shade and spin listening to all the bird chatter (the wild ones and my own). Tomorrow evening I will have a pic of the finished skein.
* * *
I have a new subway project under way. Yippee! It's another lace project called "Print O'The Wave Stole" that I'm knitting also in Malibrigo lace weight in a luscious color named "Brllante". So far:
* * *
Tomorrow, I hope to begin warping my loom for a broken twill pattern called "Dornik". My plan is to weave cloth with the possible goal of turning it into a vest. We'll see how it goes. I found the pattern in a Book titled "New Key to Weaving" by Mary Black.
I do not know what consitutes a "broken" twill. Must add this to my list of things to research.
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