Cold Front Fever

Every time I finish a weaving project, I'm in love! The whole process is magical for me, from the planning, to the warping, the weaving, and the finishing. In the end, I've created a beautiful textile that no one else has, I've learned more about fibers, weaving, techniques and I get to experience the wondrous transformation that occurs between the time the fabric comes off the loom and it's final finished state. Then there are times when I'm just over the top excited. The Cold Front Scarf is one of those projects!

I finished the weaving of it today on the little Cricket. Weaving was straightforward and easy, without a single broken thread, though I did have a couple that fuzzed up along the way that I had to tame. The 8-dent reed was just right. Not much abrasion on the threads and it produced a very balanced fabric. On the loom, it was 8-3/4" wide and there was virtually no takeup along the way. The wensleydale singles needed help staying in place because it was as though they just wanted to spring into some form of their own. I worried about the selvedges because the yarn hugged them, but never really laid flat. So I did more than my regular amount of fussing to make sure they were as nice as possible. It was clear that the handspun irregularities were going to have an effect on straight edges, and I decided that would be just fine with me.

When I took the scarf off the loom, I was surprised to find that the width was 8-5/8" and that I had only about 2" of loom waste, not including my fringe. The edges had rather round loops that hugged the edge thread. The yarn was just super round... I mean really, really round!

I tried twisted fringe, but decided that it took away from the scarf, as the handspun looked really nice on it's own. So I knotted the fringe, thinking I would just trim off the frayed edges once I had wet finished it.  Then, into the warm, soapy water it went. I rubbed the scarf a bit because I wanted the nap to come up and then I did it!! I was so wanting to see this beauty finished, I popped it in the dryer for a few minutes.

When I took it out of the dryer, it was still slightly damp, still 8+" wide, but it had even rounder edges that look like I have badly woven edges. The selvedge warp thread is there, hugging it tight, but the weft are just big loopyloos. I decided to love them.

The next thing I noticed was that the nap was wonderful... fluffy and soft like those luxurious mohair throws you find at designer showrooms. And then I saw that tracking had occurred! Now this is my very favorite plain weave occurrence that happens sometimes. It makes the fabric look so much more complicated and beautiful.

Finally, this most amazing thing happened with the fringe. It reverted, through the wet finishing and the dryer, into the form of the wensleydale locks. They actually look just like locks. So I decided not to trim the ends, but leave all the soft curls hanging loose.

How cool is this? Fun and funky, the colors are great, I love the stripes that happened as a result of stiping the top and the feel is oh so much softer than the singles were. So, yes, this can now be worn against the neck. 

I so much love this one!

Cloan me please!!

My Aestlight shawl is coming along nicely...

and I nearly ran out of yarn so back to the wheel to spin more. That will probably take me a couple days or so as my attention has shifted a bit to yet another project.



Recognize this yarn? It's my Cold Front wensleydale singles from the Spunky club. I was dying to see this made up so decided to leave the shawl for today and test my spinning skills by warping the Cricket. I figured that loom would be the gentlest on this yarn, and with its 8-dent heddle, I had the best shot of getting the scarf off the loom with a minimal amount of yarn breakage or fraying. So far, so good! I find it so interesting the way the yarn lined up in stripes. Guess all that top stripping really worked.

Another Monday Shot to Heck...

Every week, I look forward to Monday. Not that I don't love everyone, but it is my one and only day 'off' during the week. I dream of having that day to play in the garden, knit or spin or weave and give my mind a reprieve from small business ownership. Instead, I end up packing it with all my errands, dr's appts, paperwork.

Today was no different, except that I planned to spend my day doing year-end accounting and coming home so relieved and happy to have it all done and ready for the new year. I was confident when I set out this morning because I had all the docts printed, organized and ready for me. What was I thinking??

One accounting snaffo when I checked a box in POS that I shouldn't have, and I'm still tracking down the transaction trail hours later. I think I've figured it out, but now I'm off my timetable until I get with my accountant. Without that resolved, I couldn't go further. Sheesh!

I came home and decided what the hey... let's knit! so I continued working on my Aestlight shawl, to the point that I need to get busy and spin more yarn for it. This is such a fun knit and I'm loving the yarn. More on that tomorrow! I never did spin, as my spinning chair was occupied all evening with Fischer, who was not willing to budge one bit as he was studying the spinning wheel and fiber rather intently. He really likes the colors and I think he was trying to figure out how to do some spinning for himself... I just didn't have the heart to interrupt his intense focus.

He's such a sweetheart and sometimes too smart for his own good!

Isn't he adorable?

Spin Happy!

I'll bring up SOAR again... I became a fan of Spunky Eclectic's (Amy King) hand dyed roving after spending 3 days in her workshop there. It was quite the education! I decided it might be fun to join her fiber club for awhile to see what all the excitement is about for the clubs. It didn't take long for me to find out...

First, it's the anticipation of knowing I was going to get 4oz of mystery wool/fiber in a surprise colorway that was only available to the club members. Members spend lots of time anticipating it, trying to guess based on the month's theme and sharing in the fun.

I got my package on Friday morning and here's what was inside -

This is 4oz of handpainted Wensleydale top called Cold Front. Rich, deep blues, a touch of green and occasional white areas should produce a lovely yarn with sheen and the characteristic halo of the wensleydale.

I've been itching to spin it ever since. So this afternoon, during knit group, I sat and spun it up as a light worsted singles. I chose not to ply because I wanted to keep the colors clear and just to play with spinning a thicker singles than I normally spin. It was a great way to spend time with friends and have something wonderful to show for it!

Here is the resulting yarn:

I prepared the roving by dividing into 2 pieces, one of which had much more deep blue than the other. I then divided each piece into 6 strips and spun this using a worsted method and a long drafting zone on my Julia with the largest whorl. It was an easy, quick spin.

I set the twist with the steam iron and it relaxed nicely. It's 296 yds at 1200 ypp. I suspect this will develop quite a halo once it is made up.

Now to find a project... suggestions?

When the Knitting Muse will not Shut UP!

I had found a lovely shawl pattern, Aestlight, that I decided was just perfect for my Walk on the Wild Tide handspun... well, I didn't find the pattern, it rather found me when I viewed the beauty of a shawl a gal in Australia had made using it with her handspun. So, after finishing the plying of a lovely skein, I proceeded to spin the second half of the top onto a new bobbin.

And then it started... the knitting muse began her murmurings, and I began my own rationalizations about how I would only take a few minutes out to test the gauge, read through the pattern.

Witness here the results of my digressions. I've knit about 10 inches or so with this simply lucsious yarn. I can't stop... I was up until 1am last night because I just couldn't let her go, and I raced home this evening to do some more.

What is it about the combination of gorgeously fine yarn and a lovely pattern that makes us lose all notion of doing what we are supposed to with free abandon? I may lose all sense of responsibility for a few days more until this is finished!

Wonderful Way to Spend a Day

We awoke, rather lazily, this morning to messages from friends/customers so excited about the gifts from the shop that Santa had brought them... spinning wheels, looms, swifts, gift certificates... it put smiles on our faces, truly, to be Santa's helpers!

It's rare when John and I have a day to just do whatever we please, and today, Christmas Day, we gave that to each other as our gifts. So, while he read and cooked and enjoyed the cats, I spun more of my Walk on the Wild Side roving (see yesterday's post). I finished filling one bobbin with thin singles, about 2oz worth, and then navaho-plied. Here are the results...

I'm loving it! 318 yds, so about 3800 ypp for the singles. I was waffling as to whether to do a navaho ply or a 2-ply, but I knew I just had to make Aestlight after I had seen the version below.

One more bobbin's full to spin up and I should have enough. I may just have to start knitting this before I finish the spinning... breaking my own rules about finishing all the yarn for a project before I start it, but what the hey... rules are meant to be broken, right?, and this yarn IS Walk on the Wild... 
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/franee/aestlight-shawl

Hope you all are having a glorious, happy holiday!

Dream Spinning and How I Got My Groove Back

Attending SOAR was a great way to get reimmersed in fibers and spinning. Without family (as much as I love them dearly), phone, business and other interruptions, I got to play with different fibers and techniques for nearly a week. I've been jazzed to the point that I have been spinning every day ever since, even if only for a few minutes at a time.

I brought home lots of braids of handpainted tops and roving, some I had dyed myself and some I purchased from other vendors. My personal new favorite spinning fiber has become BFL... it's easy to spin, the preps have been nearly perfection and it takes dyes brilliantly. The resulting yarn is soft, lustrous and a bit of fuzziness, making it a nice choice for those for whom mohair is too scratchy.

That was, until this past week, when I started spinning this amazing pile of dreamy goodness...

This is Walk on the Wild Tide by Blue Moon Fibers and is described as 15 micron Merino. Best as I can tell, that's Optim, the mechanically stretched merino that makes it incredibly fine and without much crimp. This is a fiber prep that's new to me, and it will definitely be on my list of things to do more with and to bring into the shop. I could spin this into a fine singles in my sleep, my definite 'in the groove' spinning!

I have to say that this is the stretchiest merino I've ever spun, unbelievably soft and the drafting is smooth and effortless. Colors are different... on the wild side!, so I can't wait to see how it works up. Here are my singles on the bobbin -

I haven't decided yet if this will be a 2-ply or a navaho-plied yarn. I think I will use it to knit a shawl. I haven't used by handspun to make a knitted shawl in quite some time, so this will be fun. Now to decide on the pattern... oh, maybe I should wait to know how much yarn I am going to have, huh?

How to Cook an Egg!

I know... this doesn't sound like a fiber obsession, and it's not. But believe me, I do get hungry during the day at the shop and sometimes have to forage with cold cereal or other similar treats. So today was one where I had a really fun, cooking learning that I just had to share.

I had some fresh eggs in the fridge left over from when John (DH) made hard boiled eggs for our party and had some cheese slices that I sometimes enjoy with crackers. And suddenly it occurred to me that I could try having a hot/warm breakfast for a change.

I look around and find my holiday coffee mug, break 2 eggs into it that I lightly beat with my trusty plastic fork, 2 slices of cheese slices broken into pieces and there it goes into the microwave on the baked potato cycle. Phone rang... on my return, 2-3 minutes later, I had a souffle... I mean, REALLY, puffed eggs with cheese coming up to the top of the mug.

Out it came, light and delicious! Who knew?? This could be the start of something wonderful for breakfast on a regular basis.

When it all comes together and other pastimes

I had this lovely alpaca sox yarn, kettle dyed I think, in reds, that I had snagged during a little road trip to Woolie Ewe in Plano with a couple gal pals a few months back. I decided this would make a lovely woven scarf. I had in mind that I would use a much thinner bamboo yarn for the weft, a combo I had used many times before.

Once the alpaca was on the loom, though, the bamboo seemed oh so thin and I wanted to try something different. Lo and behold, I had a skein of Malabrigo socks yarn in the colorway Archangel from the shop (Yarnorama) in my stash. Love, love, love!! This was an 8H twill blocks pattern, and the Malabrigo was in just the right colors to show this off with the red alpaca.

Weaving was a dream... and then I came short of the Malabrigo sock yarn. I called my friend who had a skein that she was willing to trade out for the cause. But when I saw it, it was different... different enough that it would have shown miserably and I just didn't want to unweave. So I rechecked and found that there was enough for a 'just right' neck scarf. That was the end of that!  I'm thrilled with the results, as the hand of this is just so squishy wonderful and the colors have so much depth and interest.

What else could be so fun to work on, you say? Well, I've started spinning some Blue Moon Socks that Rock handpainted 15micron merino I got at SOAR... it's in greens, purples, blues, browns... omg, it's like sitting in a vineyard at grape harvest season! more pics with that tomorrow!

Weaving on the Emilia

During the shop (Yarnorama)'s  holiday party, we set some new fiber goals for 2010. Geesh... 2010! something about those even numbers makes the time passing seem to fly at jet speeds. Anyway, I had done really well at meeting my 2009 goals, which seemed like stretch ones at the time (make friends with my 8H BW loom again, getting comfy spinning tailspun yarn and knitting 3 pair of fine socks). I was really proud of myself, because I also finished 50+ projects over the year, not counting any handspun I had made. 

But, for this coming year, I was ready to set some goals that weren't such a stretch, like make a doubleweave blanket, crochet a pair of socks and something else I don't even remember now until someone pointed out that I have bins and bins and bins of handspun created from 1984 forward. What was I going to do with it all?  Silly me... I decided then and there that a goal for 2010 would be to all but eliminate that stash of handspun, one way or the other (no, throwing away those beauties is not an option!). No problem, I figured... I counted the skeins, and there are nearly 200. Definitely doable, right?

So on Thursday, I warped up the new little Emilia RH loom for an 11-1/2" width of handspun alpaca, merino, silk, 3yd length for a scarf. This was a newly spun skein from fiber that I acquired at SOAR this year, so it doesn't really count. But then I found a nice skein of cotswold singles spun in maybe 1988 and handpainted earlier this year. It was a nice match and off I went.

Here is the resulting scarf:

I really, really love the crispness that the Cotswold wool gives it and the luxurious softness from the alpaca, silk and merino.

Had almost no takeup or shrinkage, which was unusual but, again, I think this combo of cotswold weft and high percentage of alpaca resulted in this lovely drape.

Joke is on me with this, as I did not even use one whole skein of my cotswold singles (and I have many more of these).

I can see it's going to be a very busy, busy year!!

No time like the present!

Blogging... I've realized it's time for me to actually do it.  I write every single day, about my projects, about  life's events, but never as a blog. But it's time... I realize it... so here we go!!

I've been weaving and spinning ALOT lately. I went to SOAR in October and got totally rejuiced with the spinning bug. Then, I got a new Schacht 8H standard loom for my own home space and have found that I just can't keep it naked. So from here on out, I'll talk about what I'm working on and some of the fun, frustrating, exciting, sometimes offbeat projects that make their way to my looms and wheels.

On the loom right now? a scarf in alpaca sox handpaints - reds/oranges for warp, tied up for an 8h block twill. Going to use Malabrigo socks yarn in archangel for weft.

I can't wait!  Stay tuned!!!