Waiting for Plyday

Somehow this post I wrote more than a week ago ended up in the "Draft" folder, so this is a bit out of sequence.  (And I'm embarrassed to note that I was so tired on Friday night that I completely forgot I had some plying to do!!  Next Firday/Plyday)

......

This afternoon I finished spinning the merino/bamboo/silk from Fiber Fancy.  I'll let it rest before plying it on Friday--or, Plyday, in the #spindown2010 challenge from @BelleoftheBall. (It's going to just look like a Christmas candy cane--I can hardly wait!)

I'm almost sad to say goodbye to spinning this, it felt so good to spin!  I seldom believe it when someone says something spins like butter or cuts like butter, or whatever like butter--but this does.
I'll get to work with it twice more--plying, and knitting or weaving.

Finally off the loom!

Yesterday I took a woven piece off the loom.   I started it because I wanted to just see what happen if I used self-striping sock yarn as both warp and weft.

The warp was problematic--perhaps it wouldn't have been for a more experienced weaver, but there you have it!   It was too stretchy/elastic for me to feel that I had managed an even, good tension and the abrasion of the metal heddles caused raveling. 

The raveling was especially frustrating, though once I wove past the parts of the yarn that had the most stress on them from the warping process, it was less of a problem.  In the meantime, however, I tried to just keep twisting the frayed strands back around the intact core each time I beat.  That worked--sort if--for awhile but in the end I just got a small dab of white glue and stroked it over the frayed fiber, then let it dry.   I'm not sure that's the most "professional" or proper way to repair it, but it worked.  I figure that even if the piece is washed at some point and the glue dissolves, the frayed ends are still caught in the weaving and the integrity of the piece won't suffer from the use of the glue.

Toward the end of the warp, the tension on the right side of the warp was considerably lower than the left side which, of course, made the fell line uneven--and more so with each pick.  Too many warp threads were involved to make it practical to hang weights on them, so I just wedged 3 extra lease sticks (I wrap the warp on the back beam around sticks, rather than paper) between the beam and the warp threads on that side.  It meant that I had to re-place the extra sticks each time I advanced the warp, but it worked!

As this was a learning experience for me, after I had woven about 3 feet in tabby, I tried doing a section in twill and did not like it at all with this yarn.  Frankly, it was ugly.  :-)   So I wove another, shorter section in tabby (when I experience the warp tension problem) and then an even shorter section that I want to try using for a fiber art piece with some felting, stitching, beading, etc.  We'll see how that goes, and I'll report back.

So, this piece was for learning, and I learned quite a bit!  And I have a piece that looks decent enough to use as a spring table runner.  Verdict=success.

Determined to sock it

Today the mail carrier delivered "The Knitter's Book of Socks,"  by Clara Parkes, to my door.   This is all part of my determination to learn to like knitting socks.

I have knit one sock in my lifetime.  That's not one pair of socks, it's one sock.  


Don't get me wrong, I like the sock, it just was a challenge to knit it.  It probably was the DPN thing that made me a victim of one sock-itis, which I understand is only just shy of epidemic proportion in the knitting world.  I know that you can knit socks with a circular needle, and even knit two socks at once on two circular needles.  I'm willing to give both of them a try, and even give the DPN thing another try.  As I said, I'm determined.  I WILL learn to like knitting socks.

I like the idea of knitting socks, I like the fun and funky, handknit socks that I see.  I love self-striped socks, I like cabled socks.  I CAN learn to like knitting them, can't I??? 

Today's installment in "Mad Dash to a Stash"

Today's installment in my Mad Dash to a Stash for retirement includes milk fiber and banana fiber.  The milk fiber is very soft, but I'm not certain it's going to draft very easily on its own; the banana seems even less draftable on its own.  I think they would do better combined with another fiber.

But I'm anxious to give them at try, and see how they feel!
(Fibers from Dyeing for Color)

A wondrous world!

This past week I've been especially grateful for my new spinning and weaving friends in the online social world.  In the #spinchat discussions on Twitter I learned about Cormo sheep and fleece, got expert advice on twist and energy in yarn, and plying. I'm learning to spin cotton on a supported spindle and, on Ravelry, I asked for advice on how to avoid creating slumps when I go back to drafting after pinching to add extra twist to a length of singles, and I shortly had advice from fellow support spindlers.

I love getting together with my spinning and quilting friends in person but that isn't always possible--and certainly not 24/7--but in this wonderful technological world I can connect with like-souled individuals around the world.  (The chances that I'd be able to find someone locally who spins cotton on a supported spindle are not great.)

So, today--and always--I'm grateful to live in a world where I can practice fiber arts that bring me closer to the source of the fibers, handling and working with fiber and fabric using traditional technologies, like hands and spindles and looms and wheels, but can also work magic with fancy sewing machines and cutting tools, and connect with friends doing the same, all over the world.

Isn't the world great??

Looking like Christmas!

It was like Christmas around here yesterday, when I came home from work and found several packages waiting on my doorstep:  merino roving and locks, camel down, the January installment from the Sweet Georgia fiber club (this is Blue Faced Leicester), and some cotton cards.

I did a bit of carding (albeit it very untutored and awkwardly done) and I think I understand now why they had children do it in the olden days!  The carded cotton is on the left.  I doubt that this is exactly the way it should look--I'm guessing that it would be good for me to look for instructions.  But I wanted to give it a try without benefit of documentation, to get a feel for it.

More spindown: merino/bamboo/silk

I finished spinning the South African Fine from the Spunky Eclectic fiber club (I'll post photos when I have it plied--when I get more bobbins), and have started on a merino/bamboo/silk from Fiber Fancy.  It is glorious to spin--it almost drafts itself.   I'm not sure I"m doing it justice, given my beginner skills, but it is fun to do!