Time Warp Fiber blogs

The first FO of 2009

Cass — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:50:16 -0700

Admittedly, this wasn't completely done within 09, just finished. Spinning projects are special because they get to be FOs more than once. This one in particular has been 'finished' a number of times. I dyed the merino wool some time ago, and, as happens when you play fast and loose with the dyepot, I didn't much like it. Fast forward to this summer, when I bought handcards. This was my first experiment with them, mixing up the colors I didn't like singly. I threw in some soysilk too. Then I spun up a slubby single, roughly sport weight on my spindle. I wet finished this rather violently, with rapid temperature changes and some rough treatment to full the yarn slightly. This made the bloom remarkable and adds a little strength, I think, to a lofty, woolen-spun single. And there's another FO out of this yet. At just 27 g and 210 yards, there's not enough for most knitted things, but I think it'd make a lovely weft for a light scarf, if I can ever get my hands on that Kromski harp I've been drooling over. Or heaven forbid, the stand to make my dorothy loom functional. So watch out for this to resurface. Hopefully more to come, with photos of more spinning, new toys, and some neglected FOs.

The New Year's Post

Cass — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:59:45 -0700

I know, I'm an erratic blogger. There are worse things. I haven't written up the fingerless mitts pattern yet, but I may some time in the future. In case you were wondering, the knitting gods laughed at my self satisfied sock knitting. Those pink socks? Hate them. The cotton yarn feels like rope compared to lovely squishable wool. So, those socks have been sent to my wool-allergic MIL, where they will get the love and attention they deserve.

Mostly I'm here to do the New Year's post. The one you'll see almost everywhere, but which I feel compelled to write anyway.

Looking forward, well, I don't like the word resolution. It reeks of miserable people hurting their bodies and souls trying desperately to morph themselves into an unattainable ideal physical form. Not my scene. Let us say I have goals for the changes I'm hoping to make. I would like to get into graduate school for the fall. Hopefully, this will be a path to an actual career. While I would like to think that the top-tier degree which has put me in unspeakable debt will be sufficient to get my foot in the door, I know better. Mostly I'm nervous about recommendations. I've never been one to attach myself too much to a professor, I prefer to go my own way. Add to that to time gap, and you get major anxiety. But I'm trying not to focus on that and instead putting my effort into the things I can control.

The next set of goals has to do with my art. During my endless months of relentless job hunting, I felt guilty about any time spent on art. I was so busy deriding myself that any moment not spent searching a huge number of job sites, sending emails and editing resumes was spent largely moping. Unemployed, I felt like I had no right to pursue my interests. I'm trying to get away from that, it's poisonous. Moreover, if I can manage to get into grad school, my fun time will be severely truncated.

So, more art. I'm working on branching out in my spinning. More fibers, different weights and methods. To that end, I bought handcards with birthday money back in the summer. I hit a roadblock in that my wheel, a Louet S17, while good for the very low price, is completely unwilling to spin anything less than sport weight. The take-up is too forceful, no matter what I do, and the ratios are too slow. I have dreams of getting a Matchless someday to remedy this and all other spinning woes, but right now that isn't on the table. So I turned back to my spindle, which I abandoned largely after getting a wheel. It's slower, but there's something satisfying in an act that hasn't changed in thousands of years. So, with my christmas money, I ordered a Cascade tiger, a tiny little thing which will hopefully spin lace more effectively than the .8 oz one I have now. A good deal cheaper than the Matchless, too. I'd like to add a larger 1.5 ish oz spindle to round out my collection, too, for plying, mostly. I'm eyeing the Greensleeves Lionheart. All the beautiful wood and artistry make me melt. I also got a merino cotton blend to round out the giftcard, fulfilling the other ends of spinning goals. I'd like to be able to incorporate more plant fibers and silk, to better suit the climate, and to eventually be able to spin something for MIL.

On other fronts, well, a lot of those goals, like weaving more and having art framed and hung, take significant capital investment, which just isn't an option these days. But all the things I'm aiming for boil down to the same thing, move forward, focus on the positive, find new paths, keep growing. And maybe blog a little more, to document all this. :)

Selfish Knitting

Cass — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:35:13 -0700

Not to be confused with shellfish knitting. Well, I think I've given up on the idea of finishing the giant socks in time. Shipping lost me a good week of knitting time, and it's not worth it to knit something under duress. I'm glad to make them but I'll be a happier knitter if I do it on my own terms. In the meantime, I finished up another pair of socks for me, bringing the grand total up to ten pairs. Want photos? I think you've earned them, if you've been reading my visually deficient rants. Please excuse the fishbelly-white legs. And stay tuned for newly-designed fingerless mitts.

Concerning Socks

Cass — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:52:55 -0700

I am a sock knitter. I always have at least one pair of socks on the go, two or more is more common. Now this was not always so, early in my knitting career, I was actually afraid of socks. All those tiny stitches and three=dimension thought processes made me shiver. Now socks are my mindless knitting, for trains and cinemas. This goes to prove that the knitting goddesses are not without irony.

So, sock knitting. I have enough yarn on hand currently for about twenty to twenty-five pairs of socks, maybe more, as I like short socks that take less yarn and incidentally, time. I also have in my drawer nine pairs of completed socks. I know this precisely because I counted. You see, the temperatures are now (occasionally) dipping into the frigid reaches below 65, and this indicates to my californian soul that it is now winter, and my need for wool socks is desperate. (why yes, it will be 80 degrees over the weekend, why do you ask?) So I counted up my socks, the days in the week, factored in my willingness to do laundry and the horrifying information that socks do indeed wear out. The result? I need more socks. Lots more.

About this same time, I received an email from my sister. Said email was an unabashed request for socks. It was even titled as such. It came on the heels of my mother-in-law gleefully telling me that her husband was in despair at his lack of handknit socks, and that she gloats at every opportunity. I should digress a moment here and mention a few things. First, in addition to my own sock hoarde, I have knit socks for a few other people, whether as intentional gifts, or because the wearer happened to have feet the size a pair turned out. I give these willingly, that others might know the joy of lovingly handmade footwear, but blithely unaware of potential consequences. Point two, I established a system whereby, in general, knitted gifts are given upon request only, particularly around the holidays. I found this a brilliant system, as I suspect even those most effusive with their thanks are secretly weirded out and never wear these items, and also that few people would be so interested and audacious to actually requested said items. Remember that divine irony I mentioned? Yep, so despite my personal paucity of socks, and my brilliant precautions, I now have gift socks on my docket. Rather a lot of them.

A few things add insult to injury. My sister know how to knit. You'd think she'd be self-sufficient on the sock front, but you'd be wrong. I shall remedy this soon, you know, teach a man to fish and all. But she at least likes relatively short socks and doesn't care about color, so I can pick what I want to look at. Also, her socks are without deadline, just so long as she gets them before the end of winter. She lives in Ohio, I've got time. The other pair, for my mother-in-law's husband, however, I would like to get done for solstice/yule/festivus. (Also, these are a surprise, but I feel confident that he doesn't know what a blog is. Just don't tell him, ok?) And, because of aforementioned irony, the man wears a size 11D, prefers very thin socks, also quite tall. Oh yeah, and he wears only navy blue or black. Grey is pushing it. According to size and yardage, just one of the gargantuan creations is as big as a whole pair for me.

Photos? No, I don't have any photos. I have, as yet, not cast on. Hope springs eternal, you see, and I shall not be deterred by the dwindling number of days before the giant socks must be shipped across the country, nor by the fact that it usually takes my a month to knit a pair of me socks. Holiday knitting and the accompanying denial must be a communicable illness. I blame the yarn harlot. (also, I have just cast off a pair for me)

disclaimer: For the sake of world peace, let me state explicitly that this post is tongue-in-cheek. I don't actually knit things I don't want to.

Bittersweet

Cass — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:37:27 -0700

While much of the world rejoices at the election of Barack Obama, I cannot help but find the victory bittersweet, emphasis on the former. Amidst his uplifting talk of hope, of change, of how far we've come, countless people went to the polls to spread bigotry and hate. They voted to hurt me, me and millions of others. So, yes, I am relieved that we have an intelligent, liberal, nonwhite president. I am pleased that some people set aside the horrific racism that is this nation's heritage. But I am in mourning for the state of a nation where people can vote to remove legitimacy and respect from others. A nation where, still, everyday, we pass unseen among you, an invisible community cutting across age, race, sex, faith, fighting for the same basic rights and freedoms that even convicted felons have. So rejoice on my behalf, my hypothetical reader, rejoice for me, because I can do nothing but mourn. So I will grieve and weep over my knitting and spinning, and try to channel my despair into creation. And maybe one day we will be able to stem the tide of destruction and hate.

FO: Liesel Scarf

Cass — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:41:37 -0700

This project was a long time coming. More than two years, actually. I started this in summer 2006, when I was wanting to learn lace and charts, neither of which I had done much of yet. I carefully copied out the chart from yummyyarn and color coded it. I made some progress, and then got caught up in other things. I'm like that with knitting, no project monogamy here. And, with all that happened in the intervening time, I keep picking this up for a few repeats, and then putting it away and forgetting all about it. As a result, this little scarf has been knit in many apartments, planes, visits to Virginia and Tennessee. Quite a lot of life caught up in its stitches. As an FO, it's nice, if not perfect. The yarn, BSA Alpaca Silk, blocks very nicely and has a nice sheen. I used every inch of two skeins, but it's still on the short side for my taste, a bit over 6 feet (about 2 meters). I like longer scarves to wrap around my neck, but this might be a nice indoor accent scarf, should I ever have occasion to dress like a grown up. Also, this makes two finished green scarves in a row. Check back for details about another on the needles.

And now for something completely different

Cass — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:10:18 -0700

Remember than I'm a spinner too? And officially a carder as well. I've branched out an awful lot from that day in a coffee shop with acrylic yarn and a Lion Brand how to knit book. Blending fibers seemed like a natural progression from spinning and dyeing. This project was not so much to work with color as with fibers. I've had some trouble spinning slippery soysilk all by its lonesome, so I wanted some of that. And I had some leftover alpaca. Fleshed it out with good old wool and I was on the move. I'm still working on my carding technique, but it's getting easier. I tend to get between 5 and 8 grams per rolag. Does that sound about right to any carders out there? If you have an efficiency secret, I'd love to hear. I didn't strive for a perfect blend on this, I was aiming for a slubby sort of yarn, with little blips of each fiber taking center stage at times. As you can see in the sample (by the way, I actually sampled!) I think this worked out alright. I'm unsure as to whether I'll over dye this after it's been spun, what do you think? Off hand, I don't think I have any FO's in natural colors for myself, and I've been wanting a brown scarf, so maybe I'll leave it as is. Send happy spinning thoughts my way, as I'll be putting this on the wheel soon. I've had limited experienced wheel-spinning carded fiber, rather than combed, and certainly I've never spun my own amateur attempts on the wheel. Coming soon: a new FO and a sock parade.

Regarding Proposition 8

Cass — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:26:25 -0700

If you live in California, that is. Now, some of you will know that one of the reasons I live in California is to be rid of the every day hate and fear that surrounded me like a cloud living in the American Southeast. I spent my days last fall carefully closeted, terrified I would lose the job that barely kept the wolves from the door. I spent the year before that fight a losing war to be physically safe in my own dorm room. I marvel living here, in the Bay, at even the scant signs of acceptance present. My heart leaps seeing a teenage girl holding hands with her girlfriend, stopping to talk about my apartment property with two elderly men with matching commitment bands. How sad a state of affairs America has become when nearly a year away has not yet knocked of the shell of fear.

And so I feel particularly under attack that Prop 8 is on the ballot. Hate followed me home, and I'd really rather not keep it. The principle is, by voting yes on this proposition, you remove rights granted by CA judge for all people to marry whom they choose. Nothing else happens. Probably 90% of the population is not directly affected by this, but they think they are. It is beyond me why so many people are so filled with hate they they would attempt to remove basic legal rights from others.

I have heard a number of arguments against this stance. One individual, whom I will not name, stated that his objection was 'ew.' I would like to point out that this person is one-half of an interracial marriage. Which was illegal until really very recently under the same grounds. I have heard that this limits freedom of religion. Now this one fascinates me. My wedding would affect your church in Kansas how, precisely? Your 'right' to hate monger and wound from the pulpit is, horrifically, more protected than my right to make the decisions any straight adult can make.

Fifty years ago, churches preached against integration. No one says anymore that the churches' rights are limited because racial categories have legal protections now. I feel, sometimes, that I am the only person who sees the similarities. Perhaps it is because the historical perspective of most Americans is limited to the last five years. My affluent, intelligent students could not tell me what the Cold War was and when it took place. So maybe people simply do not remember a time when brown skin legally got you turned away from your job, your church, your neighborhood gas station. But that in itself is shameful. And now, not so very long after, there is another group of people, trying to get by in their lives, trying to live without shame, as people should do in this country of supposed freedom, and poison pursues us. Where does it come from? In large part, the vaulted halls of a religion which purports to believe that god is love. Is anyone else confused?

So, if you are in California, please think before you go to the polls. Do you want to vote to actively limit the rights of any class? Do you want to continue a strong tradition of segregation, suspect classes, and genetic discrimination? And don't, please don't, for a moment delude yourself that it is some anonymous immoral sex fiend you're voting against. It's me. I live my life among you. I have worked in your local yarn shop, taught your children. I don't spend my time clubbing and having unprotected cavalier sex with strangers. I spend it in my home with my partner, making homemade bread, knitting socks, and hoping that one day I won't have to be afraid that people will hate me so much that they would strike against me without ever seeing my face.

A few notes: I've turned off comments on this post. If you have poison to preach, please do so elsewhere. You are in my online living room, and frankly, my life is not up for debate. Also, if you wish to rescind your readership due to the post, I will wave joyfully at your back.

In other News

Cass — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:37:56 -0700

Disclaimer: I've been fighting a wicked cold for the past few days. I'm still too fuzzy to do anything productive, like grade essays, and too drained to actually move around. I took a nap to recover from showering. Can't quite follow my book, so I thought I'd blog. Hope it's decipherable.

A few people, I'm looking in your direction Cailey, read my blog because they actually wonder what I'm up to. I admit, I seldom post about that sort of thing. Truth be told, it's mostly because I'm boring. My chief pleasures tend to be quiet, like tea, yarn things of all sorts, books and movies. However, for those of you who might be interested, here goes. (and for the others, I'll post about some new design projects and wips sometime next week.)

Our baby, Pandora, is growing a the speed of light, at least. She's very curious and clever, which means she gets into everything. Sometimes I feel like I spend my whole day taking things away from her. She is particularly fond of pens and receipts. She's very affectionate and will sleep on one of us by preference. We got her a bed, but I've never seen her sleep in it. Rather, she chomps down on the rim with her teeth, and systematically kneads the center with her claws. It's quite an amusing ritual. She also like to hide in our recliner couch. Her newest trait is a passionate love for the faucet in the guest bathroom. She will howl like her heart is breaking to get you to turn it on. Then she will try to bat at the water, and be shocked when her paw is wet. After the water is of, she very carefully investigates the drain and faucet. I'm waiting for her to figure out how to turn it on herself.

Job-wise, I'm still teaching part-time, and planning to go back to school in the fall. A year later than I had hoped, but the delay was necessary to secure resident-tuition, which is infinitely lower. Job-hunting during an economic crisis has been a sobering experience. I'm very lucky to have the part-time gig I have, and to have a partner very skilled in an in-demand field.

Speaking of, I have an anniversary this Saturday. Four years together, and two since he said yes. We even still like each other. As ironic as I find the fact that I married young and followed my partner across the states and back, I feel truly blessed to have found my partner and to have so much time ahead of us.

Upcoming events, well, none particularly that I know of. We intend to visit Ohio around the holidays, as I haven't been back in a while. I must say, being the only member of I family living outside a 50 mile radius is challenging. Not one among them seems to recognize the expense of travel, particularly these days. It costs more than double my monthly pay to get out there for just a few days. You can imagine that is difficult to achieve at the best of times. And visiting my in-laws is high-priority too, owing to MIL's recent illness. So we'll see how well the gift stuff goes this year. At the very least, I intend to get back to sending Yule/Solstice/Festivus cards.

That's about it chez TimeWarp. Now I'm going to take vast quantities of cold medicine, brew some tea, and try that book again.

Green Clapotis

Cass — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:22:31 -0700

A bit later than I thought, but I am blogging again. And presenting a finished object, no less. This is the second clapotis I've made. I'm not usually much for the same patterns that the whole knitting world rushes after, but I'll admit a deep admiration for anything Kate Gilbert. This pattern, for example, is so simple and adaptable but still fresh and interesting. In this case, I've used a larger needle size, a 6.5 mm (10.5 US) and done just two sets of increase rows. The finished dimensions are about seven feet by ten inches. I haven't worn it yet, but today was the first cloudy, cool day, and tomorrow, it's actually supposed to rain. Horrifying, I know. I'm concerned no one will remember how to drive. The scarf is lightweight and fluffy and warm, and I think it'll be a good one. Mostly, it's special for the process. Here it is in pictures.