The tale of a rescued Fair Isle knit

 

I knit this much of a scarf, in the round, three years ago. The gauge I worked with was not the one specified for the pattern, hence my tubular scarf was knitting up much wider and bulkier than designed. I really loved my color choices, but knew I would end up not wearing it because it was so heavy. So I stopped knitting it.

Too pretty to frog (frogging stranded isn't my cup of tea either) or toss, I ended up stitching up the seam with the sewing machine and cutting it open into one large rectangle. I thought it might make a nice lap throw, but it wasn't quite large enough for that. So it got put upstairs to wait for another day.

I was re-arranging my room over the weekend and came across it, now containing a moth hole or two. Oh drat! I was this close to throwing it away, but couldn't do it. Then, having been influenced and inspired by watching many videos on spinning, dyeing, and knitting and weaving, I had a eureka moment: felt it! Then I'd be able to cut it up into coasters and table mats for hot dishes. Fab idea! So I tossed it in the washing machine then the drier. Since it wasn't as felted as I wanted, I tossed it in a tub with soapy water and massaged it well, till I got the desired amount of felting.

On the chopping block it went. I cut out ten coasters, 2 smaller table mats, and one large table mat. I'm finishing the edges with tapestry wool in blanket stitch. I've only gotten 6 of the coasters and 1 of the small mats edged so far, and I'm really pleased with them. They have a hand-made, make-do wonkiness that is charming and warm. And they work great.

8" x 6.5"

The large mat which is not yet edged is about 23" x 14":

And the second small mat is about 10.5" x 6.25":

The four unfinished coasters are not the same color as the 6 above:

A sad tale turned around. I couldn't be happier with my decision.

Fleece plans

I achieved two accomplishments today. The Shetland fleece is now all scoured and teased, and the mixed fiber roving from Wellington Fibres is now all spun up.

I got 689 yards total of 3-ply yarn from the 250 grams of roving. Not enough for a vest or sweater. At the moment I'm undecided what I will make with it. I could weave a shawl--they are handy in the winter. Nothing feels cozier than a wool cloth around one's shoulders when the temperatures dip low.

I haven't weighed the fleece yet to see how many ounces there are. I did not have to toss too much of it, just a bit more than a handful of it was too soiled to try and keep. I will put that in the garden as mulch.

My large basket was overflowing and I had to employ a smaller one as well!

I have come up with a plan for this fleece so long as there is enough of it. First, I'm going to dye it. A large portion will be dyed "Tobacco Leaf Brown", one smaller portion will be dyed "Cayenne Red" and another small portion will be dyed "Forest Green". All three dyes are acid dyes that I have on order from Dharma Trading Co. They should arrive next week, I hope.

I had wanted to use natural dyes, Black Walnut, specifically. But since I don't have any Black Walnut trees, I would have to order the powdered form (or possibly see if I could find chunks somewhere). However, the fun of natural dyeing is going out to harvest materials oneself. It's the process that brings me joy. So if I'm going to buy powder, it might as well be an acid dye because it will be much more light fast. I've worked with acid dyes before and they are fun too, but not the same as foraging and making do with that which is at hand. It's just different. Acid dyes are called acid because they require the presence of an acidic environment to work. Vinegar is often used to make the bath acidic. Another option is citric acid.

The red and green dyed wool will provide a heathered effect in the brown. After the wools are dyed, I will mix the three colors on the drum carder. I chose green and red because they are Christmas colors and if all goes well, I will have a cape or cloak to wear around that time of year.

Yes, that's the plan: A garment. After dyeing and carding I will spin my brown heathered yarn and weave it into enough cloth to hand sew a lined cloak or cape. Gosh, I hope there's enough fiber. I think there is.

If it turns out I'm short of yarn, the Vermont Sheep & Wool is coming up in October and I might be able to buy another Shetland fleece there. If not, I'll have to think of something different to make.

Processing a Shetland fleece

The craft/spare room has become something of a magic cabinet. Every time I go in, I come out with something new and exciting! The latest is a Shetland fleece that I purchased a few years back.

So I've taken it downstairs to process. Over the past few days I've scoured about half of it. The remaining half sits spread across the corner of the kitchen (picture above) while a quarter of it--already scoured--sits on a screen on the deck where the breezy, beautiful, warm air is drying it speedily.

 Another quarter of it, that which was already dried from yesterday and some from earlier today, sits in this basket having been "picked". Picking is the process of opening up the locks and separating the fibers.

My scouring routine is to use two plastic tubs in the sink. I use hot tap water (it's pretty hot) and a bit of Dawn dish detergent (no more than a tablespoon) .

After a 20 minutte soak in the soapy water, I carefully remove it, wring it, and move it to the other tub with fresh soapy water for a second soak. As can be seen in the following picture, the first soak removes a lot of lanolin and muck.

After a second soak in soapy water, I  wring it and lift it into a rinsing bath. Always matching the temperature of the new bath to the old, or hotter, but not cooler.

Rinsing is the last step in the kitchen, after which I take the wet wool outside, to the deck, and lay it out on screens to dry. When dry--which is pretty quick in this weather--I "pick" it; some may say "tease" it.

I am seriously thinking of dyeing these fibers before I spin them. I would like to create a heathered yarn. A nice heathered, Shetland, yarn.

After dyeing, since I would like to create a heathered yarn, I will probably run the wool through the drum carder and tie the batts to a distaff to spin from.

More to come on this project.

Another quick knit

Somehow I'm continuing to get good mileage out of the old handspun scraps. There is nothing like restricted choices to get the creative juices flowing!

I'm quite happy with this skinny scarf. I realized, when close to half way through, that there would not be enough gray to continue alternative white and gray for the entire length. There was still a small ball of the blue/burgandy wool/silk and after some thought and hesitation decided to go with it.

I also wanted the ends to be different from each other, and I still had a small amount of repurposed sari silk "yarn" (which I did not spin, it's the only bit in the scarf that's not my own spinning) so I used that.

The doubts were high as I approached the finish on this scarf that it would just look ridiculous, but in the end, I don't think it does. I quite like it.

Skinny scarf number two:

There is still some yarn left, but the pickings are getting slim. I will try to put yet another knit together. :)

Spinning Silk

Mawata, to be precise. Silk cocoons that have been slit open, degummed, and stretched on a frame, and beautifully dyed.

I remember, years ago, taking a class in silk reeling where the intact cocoons are heated in water and a thread from maybe half dozen of them are gathered up and pulled into a long strand. Fine thread indeed.

Working with Mawata is very different. It is full of nebs and noils, and although a very thin thread can be obtained, it is unlikely to be 'silky' smooth. However, it takes well to chain plying and the plying tends to even things out, leaving a nice silky, shiny yarn.

With Mawata, it's all about pre-drafting. I start by lifting one hanky out of the bundle and stretching out it's border, all around. Then I poke a hole in the middle of the hanky and pull it into a ring, breaking it at one point. I then draft the whole into an almost final size. I finish the drafting while spinning. It requires a very long drafting area as the fibers are long and strong. Couldn't be much easier, but it's challenging if there's the slightest breeze and the silk wants to stick to everything. It finds every little rough spot on your hands

Top to bottom: A 'hankie', stretched out edges, pulled into a circle, drafted out (this is about 1/4 of the pre-drafting that I will do before starting to spin it.).

There is a technique of spinning Mawata where one simply bunches it up and drafts away. I haven't tried that yet but my experience so far tells me that the drafting must be quite difficult. I will try it at some point.

I'm spinning with a drop spindle, one I purchased years ago from someone online. Resin with embedded leaves. It spins beautifully.

Current amount spun. This is 3 ply, chain plied.

I found this fabulous carrier the other day at the thrift store, $4! It has a zillion compartments and pounches, perfect for porting my spindle spinning.

Work continues on the woolen, modified long draw spinning, and the green Merino spindle spun yarns.