Twisting

I never thought it would happen but I have fallen in love with spinning. Well, better late than never, I guess. Honestly spinning has never interested me. I understood it and appreciated the skill required, but never had any interest in doing it myself. That was until I listened to a Weavecast podcast on spinning for weaving. Judith MacKenzie McCuin talked about all the different things you could do if you spun your own yarn. She talked about weaving with energized singles, S-twist and Z-twist yarns in the warp and weft, reconfiguring commercially spun yarns, and on and on. Suddenly I had to know more about this whole spinning thing.

I will not bore you with all the details but by February I was spinning decent yarn using my drop spindles. Spindle spinning is so much fun. These are just a few of the yarns I've made using spindles. I was certain that I would never need or want more than my spindles.






Last month I decided that I just had to have a wheel. I didn't want to get anything too expensive so after a lot of research I decided on the Majacraft Pioneer. Oh how I love this wheel. Since getting it, two weeks ago, I've been spinning non-stop.

This is my first wheel spun yarn.
It is some really awful wool I had bought for a school felting project.

Then I spun and plied this merino (468m/164g).


This is the yarn I'm really proud of.

It is 940m/105g of 60/40 seacell/silk, that I dyed, spun, and plied myself. I never quite understood the appeal of spinning until I stated spinning, and I still can't believe how much I enjoy it.

Now I just have to get busy knitting and weaving all of this yarn I'm creating.

Colour and Fibre

Thanks everyone for your kind comments about my fabrics. They really are just first attempts, however fabric design is something I plan on doing more of.

Since I can't play with silk-screening and block-printing right now, I've just been dying fibre. These are just a few experiments.

Tussah Silk Noils - Dyed with Procion Acid Dyes.

Tussah Silk - I used Procion MX Fiber Reactive dyes.
I'm going to have to work at handling fibre more gently when dying.

60/40 Seacell/Silk - I used Procion MX Fiber Reactive dyes.

50/50, Silk/Super wash Merino - I used Procion MX Fiber Reactive dyes but followed the procedure for protein fibres.

Cotton - I used Procion MX Fiber Reactive dyes.

It is going to take a lot more practice to get the hang of spinning cotton. You are looking at over three hours of work and serious concentration to produce that tiny bit of lumpy thread!

I made the bowl in a pottery class over four years ago. I love it but pottery is just not for me.

I’m back!

It has been a long time since I last blogged and I’ve really missed it!

You may be wondering what kept me so busy that I had no time or energy to blog. Well, the truth is that I’m back in school. Last year I decided to go back to school and do a Fine Arts degree, focusing on Fibre Art. I found out that my Alma matter, Concordia University, has an excellent Fibre Art program.

This program is proving to be a challenge for me, in so many ways. While I have no problems with the technical aspects of the program, I am not accustomed to working conceptually. Anyway, I really enjoyed my first year and am looking forward to my second year in the program.

The character of this blog will change, since I’m going to be talking more about fibre art so.
The first image is linen fabric that I printed using a block printing technique. I crocheted granny squares and carved the hand, then used them to print with pigment on the fabric.

The second image is of cotton fabric that I designed and silk screened with direct application dyes. The imagery is influenced by an e.e. cummings poem. It is hard to see but I also printed the words of the poem.

While in school, my creative energies were focused on school projects, with very little time for knitting or crocheting the kinds of things that really interest me. In January, I fell into a major creative slump. That is when I picked up the spindle. Over a year ago, my friend lent me a Tabachek spindle and some fibre. I had played with it on and off but never really got into it. Then last January, during my slump, I picked up the spindle and fibre again. At first it was a struggle but eventually I go the hang of it. Then the same friend lent me her Forrester Linum Lace spindle. It was so beautiful; I fell HARD. I LOVED spinning on that spindle! Finally I was able to create real yarn. I had to get my own. Oh Boy! That set me on the slippery slope of spindle collecting. I think I could have bought a wheel with the money I’ve spent on spindles.







I’m really enjoying spindle spinning and try to spin for at least 30 minutes (often more) every day.

Now that school is out, I’m going to indulge in my hobbies and try to blog more often. I think I’ve caught up so now I can move the blog forward.

Blue Ribbon

I was so touched when Fleegle gave me this award. Blogging is a lot of fun.

The rules are:
1- Post the award on your blog.
Done
2- Add a link to the person who gave you the award.
Thanks Fleegle.
3- Nominate at least 4 other bloggers and add their links
KnittingInTheValley
Blue Peninsula
Miyamojo
ThingsSooLikes
4- Leave a comment at the recipients' blogs so they can pass it on.
Done


Happy knitting.

At Loose Ends

WARNING: This post has a lot of pictures.

I really love working with silk, linen, cotton, and their many blends. The problem with these yarns is that, unlike wool, you can’t just splice them when you need to add a new ball. So here are a few of the techniques I use in order to not waste yarn, and avoid having to weave in all those loose ends. For all of these techniques you will have to become friends with your sewing or darning needle.

Method #1: For any unplied (singles, chenille, boucle,…) or unusually plied (chained, ribbon, …) yarns

I’m going to used Noro Matsuri since I just finished a tank top pattern in this yarn. This yarn is constructed like a long i-cord.

1- Unravel 2-3 inches on the new ball. You can use your needle to tease out the strand.



For Matsuri you might want to remove some of the wool fizz.

2- Thread your needle with this strand.


3- Slightly overlap the two ends and sew the ends together, securely.


4- Run the remaining thread through the yarn to bury it.

I've left the thread here but you should bury it or cut off the excess.

For yarns like chenille or singles, you can use sewing thread or embroidery floss in the same colour as the yarn.

Method #2: For plied yarns that are fingering (4ply) weight or finer

This method creates an area of double thickness but with finer yarns it is not obvious and will not be detected in the finished item. I’m using a very fine silk/bamboo yarn.


1- Thread your needle with yarn from ball A. Taking small stitches and starting about 2 inches from the end of the ball B, stitch through the yarn of ball B for about 1-1.5 inches (longer for slippery yarns like silk).


2- Pull your needle out and smooth out the stitched section.


3- Thread your needle with the tail yarn of ball B. Starting at the initial stitching point, stitch through the yarn of ball A for about 1-1.5 inches (longer for slippery yarns like silk).


4- Pull your needle out and smooth out the stitched section.


Hold the yarn at opposite ends and give it a gentle tug to make sure that everything is smooth. Cut off any excess thread.

This method produces a very strong join. I used it all the time, even for wool. Because the join is so strong, we use it at my weaving guild to join warp threads

Here, I’ve joined two colours of Sea Silk.



Method #3: For plied yarns that are thicker than fingering (4ply) weight

Separate the plies and group them equally. Use Method #2 on the individual groups of plies. It helps if you stagger your joining to balance everything out.

Here I’ve joined some worsted weight mercerized cotton.


I hope my explanations are clear. Try them and see how they work for you.

Happy knitting!

Natsumi

Thanks everyone for the kind words. You’re all correct. No blogger should feel pressured to post. This is supposed to be fun so we should all just try to post as often as we can; no pressure.

Natsumi, Summer Beauty in Japanese, is my latest design. Early in the spring I was given some Noro Matsuri and asked to do something with it. Boy am I slow at designing garments; especially when they are not for me. Well the pattern is finally available at Mouline and the PDF version is available for sale on Ravelry.



Here is a close up of the stitch pattens.




I loved the yarn but as with all Noro yarns you have to deal with knots. The colours are just so beautiful and this is such a comfortable yarn to wear that knots are a small price to pay. It did get me thinking about all of the different techniques there are for joining yarns. Being a self taught knitter I have my own ways of doing things. So I've decided to do my first "how-to", all about joining non-wool yarns or any yarn that will not splice easily. I just have to take a few pictures since written explanations are not always that clear.

Happy knitting.

The Return of Lace

Yes I know it has been a very long time since I last posted. I guess I’m just not a very good blogger. I hope to change that. I’m planning to blog at least once a week. I figure between knitting, designing, teaching and weaving; I should have something to blog about.

Even though I haven’t been blogging, I have been knitting a lot. Mostly socks, but I’ll blog about that next time. This post is about lace; specifically knitted lace. I’ve picked up the WRS again. I had finished the center last December and then nothing. Now I’ve picked up all the stitches for the border and have set myself a modest goal to knit at least two rows of the border chart per day. I think it’s do-able. At that rate I should finish the border by early September.



I'm slowly working my way through the Frost Flowers and Leaves shawl from A Gathering of Lace. I've stalled at the third repeat of chart #2. I just can't face the idea of knitting another repeat of this chart. The only reason I started this project was because I was teaching an intermediate lace class and everyone picked this pattern. I don't think it will be finished any time in the near future.



I’ve also decided to publish my Merilyn’s Stole pattern. When I first designed this stole I was reluctant to publish it because so much of the design was improvised. I’ve since, done some redesigning, primarily to make it easier to knit. Because it is a framed stole done in the Orenburg technique, the charting was a major challenge. It’s being test knitted right now and I’m also working away at it so hopefully the pattern will be ready soon.

That’s it for now. I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and their knitting.