Playing Yarn Chicken

After I passed the half-way point of knitting the Celtic design on the shawl, I was pretty certain I would not have enough of my handspun yarn to finish it. So certain was I, that I ordered some dyes to start experimenting with to match the color. It looked like was going to have to spin up some white wool--which would not match the mohair/wool/alpaca blend the yarn contains--and dye it, getting as close as possible to the color of the yarn.

But to my great surprise, my handspun lasted up to the last 5 rows! Could not believe it.

I had saved the very first sample I made when trying to figure out how to spin this wool. It would be the right blend of fibers, the exact same colors, but it was 2-ply. (My original idea was to spin the whole thing 2-ply. It was only after some sampling that I decided 3-ply was better.) I cannot remember if this sample was spun long-draw or short-draw, neither of which produced a yarn I was happy with. (I finally went with modified long-draw.) It's not a pretty yarn, and it's thinner, but containing the right fibers and the right colors, I decided to use it to finish off the shawl. Saving my samplings was a good idea!

It saved the day!

The knitting is done! The last 5 rows of the edging in the upper left corner of the shawl contains the 2-ply. Can't tell!! Someone would have to know to look for it and would then need to find it. Made it by the skin of my teeth!

A few loose ends need weaving in and it needs to be washed and blocked. I'll post a photo when it is completely finished.

Yokey-dokey

 

The cardigan is so much more comfortable than when it was a pullover. The yoke is relaxed now and drapes much better. It's comfortable! And I love wearing it!

There is a slight hitch now with the button hole band. The formula I used to make the button holes has caused puckering, which is clearly visible between the bottom 3 buttons. Sigh. I'm probably going to take it out and re-do it using a different recipe for the holes.

The formula I used goes like this:

At the point where the hole begins, bring the yarn to the front.

Slip 1 stitch purlwise.

Bring the yarn to the back.

Slip 1 stitch purlwise and pass the first slipped stitch over. Repeat until 1 less than total stitches for the hole have been bound off.

Slip 1 stitch from right needle to left needle.

Turn work.

Cable cast on the total number of button hole stitches. Before putting last stitch on left needle, bring yarn to the front then place stitch on left needle.

Turn.

Slip 1 stitch knitwise.

Pass last cast on stitch over the slipped stitch.

It's not a priority to fix this because this will be worn mostly at home and possibly music class.

But I'm really happy with the results. It's delightful to wear now, and super warm. It will be perfect for those evenings when the outside temperature drops to zero or below.

Cardigan update and Christmas mushrooms

 I have knit a new collar on the pullover make over. I didn't want to buy new yarn because I have bins full, some of which may never be used by me. Who knows? So this soft, beautiful teal/black seems just right for the collar and button bands. Of course, it doesn't match the sleeve cuffs and waist band, but that's neither here nor there, I'm not entering it in a competition and it will be much more comfortable.

The button hole band got knit this morning, I just need to cast off. These buttons are just resting on the button holes to give a sense of what it will look like when finished. Just the button band remains, and a few small moth holes (ugh) to patch up. I've already patched up a few. They are really attracted to this wool.

I've been making some Christmas mushrooms out of Prosecco corks. I love Prosecco for those special occassions, like Friday evenings. ;) The "90+ Cellars" brand is my favorite and their corks happen to be a good shape for these. 

I start by sticking a toothpick in the bottom so it can be held while painting. Paint the top red, the stem white.

Add white dots.

Stick a jewelry thingie (I find them at Walmart in the beading section) in the top for later hanging.

I have to cut them a bit shorter so they don't stick out the bottom of the 'mushroom'.

Finally, I spray it with a coat of clear, matte finish acrylic sealer.

I'm going to hang these on a garland along with the dried orange slices I made last spring, some small pine cones from the yard, and possibly some cranberries. Or, I might make two different garlands, depending how busy the one looks.

A new spinning wheel

New, as in, new to me. It's actually a very old antique. It came up on eBay a month or so ago but I wasn't feeling like spending the amount asked. It was relisted a few weeks ago at almost half the original starting bid, so I went for it and was the only bidder.

It arrived via FedEx yesterday, from Vermont. The spindle is looking pretty sad. First thing I did after unpacking it was remove the spindle and give it some TLC.

This is a table top spindle wheel called "Purcells Improved" dated June 4, 1874. I've never seen one like it before and searching the webs comes up with nothing, nada.

Spindle wheels are an advancement from hand spindles, which go back to Neolithic times and maybe further. Spindle wheels are much older than flyer wheels, which I believe were invented in the late 15th century. Spindle wheels are quite simple: a drive wheel, a drive band, and a straight spindle. The straight spindle is the type that Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on (in the Grimm brothers version), despite so many illustrations depicting what look like flyer wheels. Great wheels are spindle wheels as are Indian charkas (made famous by Gandhi). They can spin very fast which makes them ideal for spinning short-length fibers like cotton or yak. They are also good for spinning "long draw" from carded wool.

Today, I cleaned the hardware (nuts & bolts and washers) by soaking in white vinegar for a couple hours then putting them in my small ultrasonic cleaner with a Simple Green solution for 8 minutes. Worked very well. Got rid of all the rust.

I cleaned the spindle and yarn guide with Gojo (mechanics hand cleaner--the one without pumice) and fine steel wool.

I cleaned the wheels with sewing machine oil (it’s surprising how well sewing machine oil is at cleaning).

Treated the wood with boiled linseed oil. I tested over the lettering first to make sure it wouldn’t destroy them.

The spindle still needs a little bit of straightening out, but it works pretty well, even if not perfectly straight.

I made a little demo video (it's only 2 minutes long) of what it can do so far. I have no idea if I’m using it as was intended, but it seems right.

I’m very happy with the result so far!

Best watched on Youtube...

It has a yarn guide that can swing in front of the spindle. I believe this is in aid of winding off the spindle when it is full.

Soap, Steeking, a Skein, and a Shawl ... Odds & Ends

 

Saturday was soap day. I have just a small sliver left of the one I made last October. I'm trying a new recipe this year, it's supposed to cure quicker. "Basic recipe three" from Country Living Handmade Soap (c)1998 Hearst Books. Coconut oil, Palm oil, and Olive oil. So far so good.

Last Thursday was not so good. My car got totaled. Other car flew down a hill ignoring stop sign into intersection, hitting my car on the driver's side and sending it over a three-foot wide curb into an adjacent parking lot. I'm fine, but it was a most unpleasant experience. Pretty much feeling my old self again and now waiting to hear from insurance adjuster.

I made this sweater a few years ago...

I haven't worn it much. It's very bulky, especially in the color work where there are sometimes 3 colors in the same row. The yarn, Lettlopi, is very 'scratchy' as well. Ran across it while cleaning my room a few weeks ago.

It's time to take the matter into hand. I put a lot of time into knitting it and it is, after all, quite a beautiful pattern: FJÖRÐUR, by Bergrós Kjartansdóttir.

Shocking as it may seem, I decided to steek it and turn it into a Cardigan. I undid the collar then, using a thinner yarn, hand 'serged' a row on either side of the vertical center line using a crochet hook (pickup and single crochet a chain), then took the scissors to it. Not as bad as it sounds. I think I will use the sewing machine to reinforce the cut edges before knitting a band and collar. I tried it on after cutting, and already it's more comfortable for me. One thing though: I'm going to use a different--softer--yarn for the new collar.

Crocheted 'serging' on both sides of center line.

Cut open, waiting for bands and new collar.

Another skein of the 'creamsicle' colored wool is spun up.

Cormo? Maybe.  49 yds. Chain ply.

I've been knitting up the Wellington Fibres wool/alpaca/mohair blend that I spun in July. I'm taking a chance that I have enough to knit Celtic Myths Fingering Shawl (pattern ©Asita Krebs) in the gauge I'm using. I think I will just sneak by, but if per chance I run out, I'll find a solution; will cross that bridge if we meet it.

Celtic Myths Fingering Shawl (pattern ©Asita Krebs)

Dyeing experiments and decisions

 

Tobacco Leaf Brown

I have dyed three 2-ounce samples of the Shetland wool that I recently scoured. Tobacco Leaf Brown will be the base of the heathered yarn I hope to make. The bulk of the wool will be dyed this color.

Forest Green and Cayenne Red

Forest Green and Cayenne Red are the auxiliary colors and I will need much less of them.

I used chemical dyes from the Dharma Trading Company, adhering to their recommended percentages of dye to wool: 1.5% to 2.0% the weight of wool for the amount of dye powder. Since I was dyeing only 2 ounces at a time, this meant a scant 3/8 of a teaspoon of dye for each bath (based on 1 tsp. = 1/8 ounce). I really needed 1/3 teaspoon but I don't have such a measure.

Following their recommended procedure, I soaked the wool (with a little no-rinse soap to ensure all--or most--traces of lanolin were gone). Put a stainless pot of water (with plenty of room for the wool) on the stove and turned up the heat. Diluted my dye powder in a little bit of boiling water then added that to the pot, followed by the pre-soaked wool. Brought the temperature up to 200 F (below the boiling point so as not to cause felting), then pushing the fiber to one side of the pot, added 1/8 cup of vinegar and let the whole thing cook for half an hour at around 200 F. It's a bit more vinegar than called for, but no harm. Very gently, I pushed the wool down several times during steeping, being ever so careful not to felt it.

I dyed the brown first and it was late in the afternoon by the time it was done cooking, so I left the wool in the pot overnight while it cooled. The dye was completely exhausted by the following morning (i.e. all the dye had been taken up by the wool). I'm very happy with the color and the dye job. The Cayenne Red was processed the same way, but I removed it from the pot after 5 or 6 hours. Another successful dye. The Forest Green came out with some mottling, an uneven dye distribution. Had this been for some other purpose I might have been displeased with the result, but since I'm making a heathered yarn, the uneven dyeing works to my advantage and I am happy!

Now on to some blending tests. This is unchartered waters for me and I'm going about it quite blindly. But I know what I want so I'm letting that guide me.

My drum carder

I took out the drum carder I bought 9 or 10 years ago and started running the wool onto it. First a good layer of brown then a scattering of red and green, following by more brown and more scatterings.

After the first pass through the carder, I got this batt:

First pass through the carder

Not bad, but the fibers need more carding. I tore up the batt and sent pieces of it through again resulting in batt number two:

Second pass through the carder

I like this quite a bit. Still, I wonder if it needed more carding, so I tore it up and sent it through the carder, making two more small batts.

Third pass through the carder (on right)

It seems to me that the third pass batts are too blended, the red and green disappear into the mix almost completely. Then I thought I'd run one of those back through the carder with the addition of more red and green bits, and that resulted in the fourth pass:

Fourth pass through the carder

OK, not bad. It's certainly carded enough. So I think my choices now are #2 or #4. But I will modify the process slightly by running the brown, alone, through the carder twice before adding the colored bits for passes three and four. Another test to do.

But. . . there is still the question of how I will prepare this for spinning. I can use my hand carders to turn the batts into rolags for modified long-draw spinning, and that will offer an opportunity to add red and green bits as needed, for good effect. On the other hand, if I decide to mount the batts on a distaff and spin from that, then these batts are the finished blend before becoming yarn.

I don't have a distaff yet and will probably wait for the Vermont Sheep & Wool next month to see if there are any available there. Or I could order from Etsy or eBay. Or decide to spin from rolags. There are probably even more choices that I'm not even aware of.

Lots of decisions go into making a yarn!! :)

A Mystery Spin

 

A hot mat doing it's job nicely at breakfast!

I've had this bit of roving for some time. I can no longer recall what breed of sheep it comes from, but if pressed, would guess Cormo. It is, when decompressed, very spongy with lots of spring. Although Targhee comes to mind, I'm pretty sure it's not that. So I'm saying Cormo, for now.

This picture was taken in natural light

The roving is pictured at right. After carding, the rolags are fluffy and light as air pictured top left. I spun two samples on the Country Craftsman wheel, both of which ended up more like string than yarn (bottom left). I tried to lessen the amount of twist on the second sample, but it still was not enough. Then I moved to one of my Kundert spindles (bottom center) and tada! Got the yarn I was seeking.

This picture was taken in artificial light

It spins up like a soufflé, so much loft! That's the first skein of 45.5 yards. Again, I'm chain plying on the fly, so I can only get so much into a skein. That's OK though, I don't mind smaller skeins; it's faster to wind them into balls!

In general, my spinning is improved from the days of NYC spinning. I am not adding so much twist, resulting in yarn that has a better "hand", in my opinion.

I have a movie that Norman Kennedy made, called "From Fleece to Wool". I rewatched it last month and it sunk in that less twist can result in a better yarn.

Norman Kennedy is a well-known spinner and weaver from Vermont and started a weaving school there. He hails from Scotland, where he learned his trade. The school was called the Marshfield School of Weaving in Marshfield, Vermont. It has since relocated and goes by the name The Newbury School of Weaving. I recently discovered that it's not too far from where I live. Oh, boy!