I finished about 20% of my holiday knitting, which is about what I expected. However, I did make that snazzy hat for Brittany on size 0000 needles. I wonder if that had something to do with it...
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Saturday, December 14, 2013
One A Day
I'm not generally one for holiday knitting. It's not that I'm averse to deadline knitting - I have knitting deadlines all year long for samples. I think part of the reason I don't take on holiday knitting is that I have 11 siblings and if you knit for one... I'm sure you can see how that ends.
It happens this time of year, however, that people begin to drop hints at knitters' doorsteps. "Wow, isn't that cowl great?" "I sure could use a scarf in this weather!" "Do you know where I could get some nice, warm mittens?" And so, although I lacked every conscious intention to knit for the holidays, it seems that this pile of yarn is supposed to somehow become wearable objects in the next ten days.
I think I can do it if I try. Although knowing me I'll hit Christmas with about 25% of the intended knitting done, and none of it equaling a single completed item. That picture represents nine items. I can do that, right? That's just like... one a day! I intend to finish (and start) two of them today because they're gifts for a friend I'm seeing tomorrow and then tomorrow I plan on starting and finishing two more, which would give me eight days to knit five items and that's still beginning to sound a little crazy, but doable. Right? Right? Oh crap, I just remembered about two more things I forgot to include in that picture...
I'll keep you updated.
It happens this time of year, however, that people begin to drop hints at knitters' doorsteps. "Wow, isn't that cowl great?" "I sure could use a scarf in this weather!" "Do you know where I could get some nice, warm mittens?" And so, although I lacked every conscious intention to knit for the holidays, it seems that this pile of yarn is supposed to somehow become wearable objects in the next ten days.
I think I can do it if I try. Although knowing me I'll hit Christmas with about 25% of the intended knitting done, and none of it equaling a single completed item. That picture represents nine items. I can do that, right? That's just like... one a day! I intend to finish (and start) two of them today because they're gifts for a friend I'm seeing tomorrow and then tomorrow I plan on starting and finishing two more, which would give me eight days to knit five items and that's still beginning to sound a little crazy, but doable. Right? Right? Oh crap, I just remembered about two more things I forgot to include in that picture...
I'll keep you updated.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
A New Chapter
Well, here I am again in familiar terrain. Absent from the blog far too long, out of practice when it comes to writing, and full of unrelated thoughts, projects, and photos I would like to share. It's hard to know where to begin, but perhaps it will all fall into place when I start to write. (As if that ever happens.)
Today is my birthday. I don't consider it to be a particularly significant day. Sure, 26 years ago it was significant, but year to year I find it to be less a cause for celebration and more a time for reflection. A time to consider your place - where are you at this moment? What brought you to this place? Where will you go from here? Many people consider the New Year to be a starting point, a time to check in with one's goals, make new resolutions and let go of bad habits. I don't see why a birthday should be any different. After all, I personally measure myself in terms of years not related to a calendar, but my own life. Perhaps this day is significant after all. It's raining outside... (he says as he pauses to look out the window.)
I spent the morning at my favorite bookstore and purchased a few new additions for my bookshelf. It's always so peaceful to be in that shop. The owner/author Louise Erdrich is a member of the Turtle Mountains Chippewa tribe whose reservation is not far from my cabin in North Dakota. I like to read her books and see in my mind the towns and areas that she references. It's like seeing the same thing with very different eyes. This afternoon I sat at a cafe and wrote some letters to friends and now this evening I think I'll sit inside and knit. All in all I think it's going to be a perfect rainy birthday.
So that covers today, but what about the past few months? Let's do a quick recap:
After a few months of unemployment I got a job again, which is contributing factor #1 to the demise of this blog. This is now my view every day.
Contributing factor #2 is that I was preparing for an audition, which means that when I wasn't staring at those computer screens, I was staring at a music stand... and not much else. I didn't win the audition, but I did travel to Colorado Springs for it.
Silver linings and all that.
I honestly haven't been doing a whole lot worth reporting despite my lengthy absence. I did get away from the cities for a brief trip to northern Minnesota - Lutsen, to be precise, for a bluegrass festival. My best friend's husband plays mandolin and she begged me to come along and keep her company with promises of hiking and hot tubs.
That there is part of the Superior Hiking Trail which, now that I know it exists, I would love to hike sometime. It's 275 miles long. That's a bit of a commitment.
And that room there is actually where I slept. Not in the tub, but on the floor next to it. We stayed in a condo that we rented for the weekend (Lutsen is essentially a ski resort) and all the other rooms were occupied with other bluegrass players. I didn't know the lake was right there until I woke up in the morning thinking, "What is that incessant noise?" It was waves crashing on the rocks. I have no idea how something so massive managed to stay so well hidden when I arrived.
As for knitting, I have a small collection of projects that aren't necessarily newly finished, just somewhat neglected. I finished a pair of socks a while ago in Malabrigo Sock and they really might be my favorite pair so far. I can't imagine they'll last for very long, though, the yarn being what it is.
I also recently used some handspun to knit a hat for my niece/nephew. The intended recipient was rather generalized as it was contingent more on who it would fit than anything else.
Yes, darling, that's a beautiful belly button. (iPhone photos and moving children. Whatcha gonna do.) I decided the hat fits both of them, so I'm just going to knit a second one and call it a day. (It's actually almost finished.) Oh, and before I forget, the pattern is Quynn by Woolly Wormhead. Adorable.
And then just today I finally got around to taking photos of a hat I finished, oh... I don't know. Two months ago? That's the first thing I did this morning - enjoyed the silence of the woods by the Mississippi river.
Today is my birthday. I don't consider it to be a particularly significant day. Sure, 26 years ago it was significant, but year to year I find it to be less a cause for celebration and more a time for reflection. A time to consider your place - where are you at this moment? What brought you to this place? Where will you go from here? Many people consider the New Year to be a starting point, a time to check in with one's goals, make new resolutions and let go of bad habits. I don't see why a birthday should be any different. After all, I personally measure myself in terms of years not related to a calendar, but my own life. Perhaps this day is significant after all. It's raining outside... (he says as he pauses to look out the window.)
I spent the morning at my favorite bookstore and purchased a few new additions for my bookshelf. It's always so peaceful to be in that shop. The owner/author Louise Erdrich is a member of the Turtle Mountains Chippewa tribe whose reservation is not far from my cabin in North Dakota. I like to read her books and see in my mind the towns and areas that she references. It's like seeing the same thing with very different eyes. This afternoon I sat at a cafe and wrote some letters to friends and now this evening I think I'll sit inside and knit. All in all I think it's going to be a perfect rainy birthday.
So that covers today, but what about the past few months? Let's do a quick recap:
After a few months of unemployment I got a job again, which is contributing factor #1 to the demise of this blog. This is now my view every day.
Contributing factor #2 is that I was preparing for an audition, which means that when I wasn't staring at those computer screens, I was staring at a music stand... and not much else. I didn't win the audition, but I did travel to Colorado Springs for it.
Silver linings and all that.
I honestly haven't been doing a whole lot worth reporting despite my lengthy absence. I did get away from the cities for a brief trip to northern Minnesota - Lutsen, to be precise, for a bluegrass festival. My best friend's husband plays mandolin and she begged me to come along and keep her company with promises of hiking and hot tubs.
That there is part of the Superior Hiking Trail which, now that I know it exists, I would love to hike sometime. It's 275 miles long. That's a bit of a commitment.
And that room there is actually where I slept. Not in the tub, but on the floor next to it. We stayed in a condo that we rented for the weekend (Lutsen is essentially a ski resort) and all the other rooms were occupied with other bluegrass players. I didn't know the lake was right there until I woke up in the morning thinking, "What is that incessant noise?" It was waves crashing on the rocks. I have no idea how something so massive managed to stay so well hidden when I arrived.
As for knitting, I have a small collection of projects that aren't necessarily newly finished, just somewhat neglected. I finished a pair of socks a while ago in Malabrigo Sock and they really might be my favorite pair so far. I can't imagine they'll last for very long, though, the yarn being what it is.
I also recently used some handspun to knit a hat for my niece/nephew. The intended recipient was rather generalized as it was contingent more on who it would fit than anything else.
Yes, darling, that's a beautiful belly button. (iPhone photos and moving children. Whatcha gonna do.) I decided the hat fits both of them, so I'm just going to knit a second one and call it a day. (It's actually almost finished.) Oh, and before I forget, the pattern is Quynn by Woolly Wormhead. Adorable.
And then just today I finally got around to taking photos of a hat I finished, oh... I don't know. Two months ago? That's the first thing I did this morning - enjoyed the silence of the woods by the Mississippi river.
Cables and Lace Beret by Michele Wang in the recommended yarn, Road to China Light.
Alright guys, I have a book and a warm cup of tea with my name on it, so I'll end here. Take care.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Writers On Knitting
I realize I've been gone for a while and hopefully soon I'll show you what I've been up to (because it clearly hasn't been blogging), but for today I wanted to bring to your attention a wonderful piece of writing by one of my favorite authors, Barbara Kingsolver. In the latest edition of Orion Magazine is a piece by Kingsolver about knitting. I am constantly in awe of her way with words, the way she can so perfectly put into words those feelings and emotions that I thought could only be felt, but never expressed. And here I am again at a loss (I've deleted the rest of this paragraph more than once), unable to describe in words how easily her writing is able to reach into that deepest part of your being and express the truth, pen to paper, of an experience, belief, emotion... that pure humanness that connects us all.
Here's a link to her article, I suggest you all read it. She has managed to capture so beautifully what knitting means to us. And not just making hats or sweaters, but spinning, dying, shearing and raising sheep, sitting in a barn... everything.
And if you look closely at the bottom of the article, it mentions that this piece will be published in a book, Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting. I have to say, if the other contributors to that book are as thought-provoking as Barbara Kingsolver, I'll be first in line when that book is published.
And just because I can't stop myself now that I'm talking about her writing, if you're dying to read more of her work, may I recommend Animal Dreams? The characters she creates in that book are so heartbreakingly raw and vulnerable, and relatable, that you can't help but be moved by the story. I made the mistake of reading it in public while traveling and found myself unable to stop crying in the Minneapolis airport, in the Dallas airport, and 20,000 feet above the ground. It was so moving and therapeutic. It was exactly what I needed.
Here's a link to her article, I suggest you all read it. She has managed to capture so beautifully what knitting means to us. And not just making hats or sweaters, but spinning, dying, shearing and raising sheep, sitting in a barn... everything.
And if you look closely at the bottom of the article, it mentions that this piece will be published in a book, Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting. I have to say, if the other contributors to that book are as thought-provoking as Barbara Kingsolver, I'll be first in line when that book is published.
And just because I can't stop myself now that I'm talking about her writing, if you're dying to read more of her work, may I recommend Animal Dreams? The characters she creates in that book are so heartbreakingly raw and vulnerable, and relatable, that you can't help but be moved by the story. I made the mistake of reading it in public while traveling and found myself unable to stop crying in the Minneapolis airport, in the Dallas airport, and 20,000 feet above the ground. It was so moving and therapeutic. It was exactly what I needed.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Decluttering
I have to admit, it felt kind of nice to give myself permission to wrap up projects so that I could move on with less clutter and no more (or rather, fewer) unfinished projects weighing on my conscience.
I rather quickly plied up the two ounces of fiber that I had spun so I could get a new project on my wheel.
I think it came out pretty well at around 600 yards to 2oz. Less yardage than I actually expected, but I'm happy with it (and even more happy that it's done.) The fiber was from Knitnzu in a colorway from Spunky Eclectic that she selected just for me.
Despite it taking forever, the fiber itself was a joy to spin and I do look forward to spinning the other two ounces at some point. The fiber is 80% mixed BFL and 20% silk. Yum.
I dove into my fiber stash and found a bit of mystery fiber with no label, but I'm assuming it was mixed BFL. There was only one ounce, which was perfect because I wanted instant gratification after that long-term project.
I had it spun and plied in less than two hours. I wanted to try out chain plying to keep the colors separated and I think it worked out pretty well. 85 yards and no idea what I'm going to do with it, but it served its purpose.
After I finished that colorful yarn, I spent a bit of time playing around with different fibers just to play. I never created a finished yarn, but simply sampled and tried different things out. Then a few days ago I selected my next bump of fiber to spin up and got started.
Before I knew it, I had spun up the whole 4oz. in an afternoon. The fiber is Coopworth dyed by Dan at Gnomespun. Coopworth is a cross between Romney and Border Leicester, which gives it a longer fiber length that is relatively coarse. The fiber was prepared as roving and there was no way it was going to spin into a smooth, lustrous single, so I did what I could to emphasize the fuzziness of the yarn. I think the fiber is robust enough to create a fuzzy yarn that will still resist pilling and will wear quite well. This is destined to become a 3-ply yarn.
And as for my weaving? I simply cut it off the loom and hung it on my wall as is.
I'm actually quite enamored with the unfinished quality of it. I didn't bother dealing with any loose ends, nor did I do hemstitching or secure those loose warp threads. It won't last forever, but for now I kind of like it.
I rather quickly plied up the two ounces of fiber that I had spun so I could get a new project on my wheel.
I think it came out pretty well at around 600 yards to 2oz. Less yardage than I actually expected, but I'm happy with it (and even more happy that it's done.) The fiber was from Knitnzu in a colorway from Spunky Eclectic that she selected just for me.
Despite it taking forever, the fiber itself was a joy to spin and I do look forward to spinning the other two ounces at some point. The fiber is 80% mixed BFL and 20% silk. Yum.
I dove into my fiber stash and found a bit of mystery fiber with no label, but I'm assuming it was mixed BFL. There was only one ounce, which was perfect because I wanted instant gratification after that long-term project.
I had it spun and plied in less than two hours. I wanted to try out chain plying to keep the colors separated and I think it worked out pretty well. 85 yards and no idea what I'm going to do with it, but it served its purpose.
After I finished that colorful yarn, I spent a bit of time playing around with different fibers just to play. I never created a finished yarn, but simply sampled and tried different things out. Then a few days ago I selected my next bump of fiber to spin up and got started.
Before I knew it, I had spun up the whole 4oz. in an afternoon. The fiber is Coopworth dyed by Dan at Gnomespun. Coopworth is a cross between Romney and Border Leicester, which gives it a longer fiber length that is relatively coarse. The fiber was prepared as roving and there was no way it was going to spin into a smooth, lustrous single, so I did what I could to emphasize the fuzziness of the yarn. I think the fiber is robust enough to create a fuzzy yarn that will still resist pilling and will wear quite well. This is destined to become a 3-ply yarn.
And as for my weaving? I simply cut it off the loom and hung it on my wall as is.
I'm actually quite enamored with the unfinished quality of it. I didn't bother dealing with any loose ends, nor did I do hemstitching or secure those loose warp threads. It won't last forever, but for now I kind of like it.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Testing The Limits
I realized today as I was looking at my spinning wheel and my loom that the projects I am working on had several things in common. The first, which was most obvious to me, is that they are both taking forever to complete. The second, going hand in hand with the first, is that I think I have reached my limit with these projects. And you know, maybe it's apropos that these projects have pushed me to the edge because that's what I intended with these projects. I didn't intend to test myself, but simply to test the limits of my tools.
With spinning, the project began when I started to wonder just how thin I could spin. I didn't realize when I started spinning these four ounces just how much time is involved when spinning laceweight yarn. I got to the halfway point, 2oz., and despite all of you telling me to forge ahead and finish the second half, last night I accepted the fact that I wasn't going to spin the second 2oz.
I had spun the first 2oz. all on one bobbin knowing that when I got to the plying stage, I was going to rewind my singles onto several bobbins which I will continually switch in and out to make a 2-ply yarn. By switching them around this way, I think it will create a more consistent yarn. In the process of rewinding my singles, I realized how important this step is because, as it turns out, my idea of "thin" kept getting smaller and smaller as I continued on with this project.
It's not incredibly drastic, but you can certainly tell that the single on the left of that picture is thinner than the one on the right (they're from the end and beginning of the 2oz. respectively). By rewinding several bobbins, I'm hoping that these inconsistencies will get evened out as much as possible. But I am glad I decided to stop at 2oz. instead of finishing all of the fiber. I will still have hundreds and hundreds of yards to work with.
I'm excited to see how this plies up and looks after a good wash. The silk in this blend (80% mixed BFL/20% silk) makes the singles very lustrous and I'm curious how the colors combine and knit up. I'll keep you updated.
As for weaving, I'm starting to think it's no coincidence that I'm also halfway through this project and have suddenly lost interest.
This project was intended to test the limits of my loom. Typically a rigid-heddle loom is used to weave plain weave (one over, one under), but I've always been interested in more complicated weaves that usually require a 4-shaft floor loom. This particular project was a sample to see if it was possible to weave double weave on a rigid heddle loom. Double weave consists of two separate layers of plain weave (in this case one layer of green and one of blue.) If you're familiar with double-knitting, this is the weaving equivalent. By manipulating the warp threads, you can change which color is on top of the fabric to create patterns that show as their reverse on the other side.
The problem with this technique on a rigid heddle loom is that it requires quite a bit of manipulation for each pick of the weft (a pick is a single shot of the weft thread, from left to right or right to left). In order to get this kind of weave on my loom, I need to use two rigid heddles and then I have also created two string heddles (which essentially has created a 4-shaft loom, each heddle acting as a separate shaft.) Then in front of my heddles for each pick I use two or three pick up sticks to further manipulate the warp threads. Each color also has its own shuttle.
Long story short, this process is incredibly slow and now that I've reached the halfway point, I think it's a good place to stop. I've answered my question, which was "Can I do double weave on my rigid heddle loom?"and now it's time to move on to something a little less involved (or perhaps just differently involved. I have ideas for several more weaving projects that are probably just as complicated, only in different ways.)
With that, I'm giving myself permission to wrap things up and move on to new spinning and weaving projects. I think part of the reason I've been so anxious to finish these projects is that there are so many things I would like to do and I feel a bit restrained or held back by these long-term projects. Now I can finally try something new (again)!
With spinning, the project began when I started to wonder just how thin I could spin. I didn't realize when I started spinning these four ounces just how much time is involved when spinning laceweight yarn. I got to the halfway point, 2oz., and despite all of you telling me to forge ahead and finish the second half, last night I accepted the fact that I wasn't going to spin the second 2oz.
I had spun the first 2oz. all on one bobbin knowing that when I got to the plying stage, I was going to rewind my singles onto several bobbins which I will continually switch in and out to make a 2-ply yarn. By switching them around this way, I think it will create a more consistent yarn. In the process of rewinding my singles, I realized how important this step is because, as it turns out, my idea of "thin" kept getting smaller and smaller as I continued on with this project.
It's not incredibly drastic, but you can certainly tell that the single on the left of that picture is thinner than the one on the right (they're from the end and beginning of the 2oz. respectively). By rewinding several bobbins, I'm hoping that these inconsistencies will get evened out as much as possible. But I am glad I decided to stop at 2oz. instead of finishing all of the fiber. I will still have hundreds and hundreds of yards to work with.
I'm excited to see how this plies up and looks after a good wash. The silk in this blend (80% mixed BFL/20% silk) makes the singles very lustrous and I'm curious how the colors combine and knit up. I'll keep you updated.
As for weaving, I'm starting to think it's no coincidence that I'm also halfway through this project and have suddenly lost interest.
This project was intended to test the limits of my loom. Typically a rigid-heddle loom is used to weave plain weave (one over, one under), but I've always been interested in more complicated weaves that usually require a 4-shaft floor loom. This particular project was a sample to see if it was possible to weave double weave on a rigid heddle loom. Double weave consists of two separate layers of plain weave (in this case one layer of green and one of blue.) If you're familiar with double-knitting, this is the weaving equivalent. By manipulating the warp threads, you can change which color is on top of the fabric to create patterns that show as their reverse on the other side.
The problem with this technique on a rigid heddle loom is that it requires quite a bit of manipulation for each pick of the weft (a pick is a single shot of the weft thread, from left to right or right to left). In order to get this kind of weave on my loom, I need to use two rigid heddles and then I have also created two string heddles (which essentially has created a 4-shaft loom, each heddle acting as a separate shaft.) Then in front of my heddles for each pick I use two or three pick up sticks to further manipulate the warp threads. Each color also has its own shuttle.
Long story short, this process is incredibly slow and now that I've reached the halfway point, I think it's a good place to stop. I've answered my question, which was "Can I do double weave on my rigid heddle loom?"and now it's time to move on to something a little less involved (or perhaps just differently involved. I have ideas for several more weaving projects that are probably just as complicated, only in different ways.)
With that, I'm giving myself permission to wrap things up and move on to new spinning and weaving projects. I think part of the reason I've been so anxious to finish these projects is that there are so many things I would like to do and I feel a bit restrained or held back by these long-term projects. Now I can finally try something new (again)!
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