In the works

Moving on to another bobbin of Shetland. I'm getting the hang of this fiber now. Enjoying it.

I have tackled the vintage, partially hooked rug I purchased last summer. Thinking about it today, I suspect it's nearly 75 years old. The center medallion was hooked by the original owner. The outlines of the scrolls were also hooked, and a few scrolls were complete. In the past few days I have filled in the bottom and bottom-left scrolls and hooked the flower motif in the left corner margin. I'm trying to stay true to the style of the original hooking. Looking at it now, I see that the curlicue near the newly hooked rose needs to be replaced with a more suitable color. This one is too bright. I don't think it's going to take too long to finish this pretty little rug. I'm quite enamored of the original hooker's colors.

Today, I went upstairs and fetched the quilt that I appliqued year before last. This can only mean one thing: I'm ready to start quilting it. Before putting it away last year, I layered the top, batting, and backing and basted them together. It will be hand quilted, and it is a project that will be finished this year. Then I'll tackle the very large woodland animals quilt that I appliqued the year before this one! You can see glimpses of the backing in this picture. (I had simply thrown it against the chair when I brought it down stairs.) The batting is an old cotton flannel sheet that I no longer use.

Another, somewhat unexpected project in the works is my Hammond Multiplex typewriter (early 1900s), purchased a few years ago. I managed to un-stick much of the works and took care of the gross amount of rust on the cover, but now it will be put in working order. On a whim, I checked eBay for a few missing--and important--parts, and lo and behold, I found both! Couldn't believe it. They should arrive any day now. An amazing little typewriter:

Performance class has started again at the music school and I'm very much enjoying it. Hard work, but worth it.

We're enjoyed a warm spell after days of quite cold temperatures. It is nice to have this little respite. I wonder what March will bring this year. It is historically my least favorite month of the year. It feels long--never ending almost--with winter not wanting to give up and spring not sure if it's ready. A struggle of a month. I watch several vloggers from Europe and they are enjoying daffodils already! Golly. 

First official skein of Shetland yarn

I finished the 1st bobbin of Shetland a little early, seeing how I may need to make adjustments to my technique for this spin. 

 

118 yards, 3-ply (click to enlarge)

Plying x3 does a lot for evening the spin. I realized half way through plying that it would need to be over-plied to get the desired yarn. That's fine. The singles spin is just about right, in my opinion: somewhat low twist. The result is pretty much the dream.

 

I was expecting to use steam to relax the over-plied bit, but it wasn't necessary. Finishing the yarn in a hot bath with no-rinse soap was all it needed. It did dry it under tension, though: a hammer provided the weight and tension when the end of the skein was looped around it for the duration of drying.

 

So, recapping: the only big change, going forward, is to over-ply it. I will also continue to work on singles consistency, something that tends to happen anyway in any project involving a lot of spinning.

 

Happy, happy.