Time Warp Fiber

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.

Ashford hand cards, shown here with my beautiful hand crafted spindle and some of the fruits of my first carding experiment.

Tofusties, on 2mm needles. I've reworked a Fibertrends pattern for the smaller gauge. The colors make me think of easter eggs. I haven't had much problem with the yarn, although I've heard lots of negative comments about it. 

I mentioned I'd been spinning right? I took quite a hiatus, with the holidays and the move. You can see in the photo (click to enlarge) that it took me a while to get back into the groove of consistent yarn. The lovely green roving is corriedale, and it was a gift 'for the soul' from a swap I did last fall. As I said at the time, it's very apt, as spinning is something I turn to to soothe me, particularly in rough moments. I haven't spun corriedale before, but it's turning out nicely. Not as soft as merino, but glossy and long-stapled. I'm spinning this long draw (my preferred method) at about the thickness of a fingering weight yarn. It will be plyed with this variegated green roving to make a roughly sport weight yarn. (I rarely spin with a particular project in mind) I think it will be interesting to see how the solid and the variegated plys will interact. You might recognize these colors from this yarn , which I spun from the same roving for the Knit Picky holiday party. The roving is a fine Australian wool (not sure of breed) which I got ages ago in Ohio, and which I dyed on a visit to Laura's studio last september. It's fun to spin the stuff I did that day and remember that warm afternoon and how much fun it was. Laura is planning a wedding these days, so I'll hope some of the peace and fond memories my spinning evokes for me will find its way to her. I know it's a help to me. 

The other half of the roving I dyed in shades of green in Laura's studio last fall.

Singles of olive corriedale, to be plyed with variegated green merino. 

The first few repeat of Juno Regina, by Miriam Felton, published on Knitty.com. The yarn is Unique Sheep Chasca, in Brookside.

One of the things I love about fiber art is the history. People have been spinning for more than 8,000 years. I know, I've seen the spindle whorls. It gives me a sense of connected-ness to all the women who came before me. And I get a kick out of making socks the same way they were made for Elizabeth I. In contradiction, perhaps, I also love the versatility and adaptability of knitting. Not only can knitters create a one piece, three dimensional body shaped object, we can create it in multiple ways.

Which leads me to my most recent sock project. These are the Back to Basics socks from Knitty. They are made for my mother-in-law, who is allergic to wool, poor thing. I'm using Panda Cotton in Faded Jeans. (Note the guest stars: KP Harmony circs and a fantastic sock bag made for me by Shanna, a dear friend I left behind in NC) I hunted for a while for this pattern, looking for something interesting that wouldn't be obscured by the busy yarn. And this pattern is perfect, very well-designed and just enough interest to keep me knitting. I was so fascinated by this monkeying with sock construction that I bought a book. Well THE book, on sock construction. It's a good read, leading you through the various different shaping options. She also includes lots of baby and kids socks, if you have tiny feet around they house. While I don't think I'll use every pattern she lays out, I will definitely include the principles in my designing. And the Corialis sock stole my heart. I use all sorts of techniques: toe-up and cuff-down, short row heels, heel flaps with a variety of turns (thank you folk socks), toe-up with heel flap, two circs, dpns. I even unvented anatomical toes a while back. And now I've got a whole new world of socks to explore. It's all I can do not to cast on ten pairs right now. I am further tempted by this timely arrival. Yep, more sock yarn, even suited to my climate, being half-cotton. It's good to have more solid yarn, to allow all the patterning I've been drawn to to take center stage. Happy sock knitting! 

Back to Basics, from Knitty, in Panda Cotton colorway faded jeans. Knit on two KP harmony circs, 2.5mm. For my wool allergic mother-in-law. Totally dig the pattern, not decided on the yarn yet.