Time Warp Fiber - spinning

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.

Purple Haze

Cass — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:30:42 -0700

Very special yarn. I dyed this merino. Then I carded it with my handcards, including some soysilk. My first carding experiment, first attempt at spinning a non-commercial prep. Also probably at the time the largest spindle projects. 27g, 210 yards.

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. :)

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.

Carding

Cass — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:51:42 -0700

An experiment in blending fibers with my new hand cards. soysilk, alpaca, and columbia/ramboulliet wool. Complete with spun sample.

Finished Clapotis

Cass — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:31:04 -0700

New blocking wires

Cass — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:29:57 -0700

Clapotis on the way

Cass — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:28:36 -0700

Marled green handspun

Cass — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:25:19 -0700

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.