For crying out loud. Who decided that spinning in July was a good idea? I haven't spun a speck of fiber since Sunday. I spun in air conditioning, came home, put my wheel down and it's still sitting there with a partial bobbin of alpaca on it. We're going into 90+ temps for the next week and I don't have air conditioning. If I try to spin in this weather, I'm going to end up with more fiber on me than on the bobbin.
That's it! I'm throwing in the towel for another year.
I'm still being somewhat fibery by seeing alpacas at least several days a week. That has to count for something. Right?
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Tour de Fleece - Day 5
It's a good thing I'm not actually riding in the Tour de France, because my recent progress would basically involve taking a two day picnic with my bike thrown behind the bushes. Today, I knit a few rows on my never-ending blue cardigan and moved my washed alpaca fiber on the drying rack. That's it. I think I moved my wheel over once so I could pick up my cat.
I solemnly swear I will spin at least one alpaca batt tomorrow.
I solemnly swear I will spin at least one alpaca batt tomorrow.
Tour de Fleece - Day 4
I washed more fleece for the super secret project. I didn't get any spinning or carding done, but I had to work late this evening. I'll do more tomorrow!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Tour de Fleece - Day 3
I celebrated Independence Day by sleeping in, working on fiber stuff and watching movies. It was wonderful! I made a lot of progress today, even while being lazy.
* Finished carding the huge pile of blue roving that's been on the carder for ages. I dyed several pounds of various blues to test a recipe for a custom yarn order. I've been slowly carding it together into batts. I'll eventually add other stuff to the batts and perhaps use them for a larger project. Maybe I'll put them up for sale. Either way, the roving is finally out of the way and I can work on other things.
* Finished washing the sheep fleece! It was a 6.5 pound fleece, so it took a few batches. It's drying now and I'll eventually dye some of it. The rest will be combed and spun in the natural colors.
* Washed a small bit of alpaca fiber for my super secret project.
* Carded several bits of alpaca fiber for my super secret project, plus another batt from a fleece I'm processing.
* Spun two mini-skeins of alpaca for my super secret project. This is the first actual spinning I've done during the tour. Most of my goal is processing the fleeces in my stash, so we'll see how much finished yarn I end up with.
Washed fleece!
Carded alpaca fiber!
I actually spun yarn for the Tour de Fleece!
* Finished carding the huge pile of blue roving that's been on the carder for ages. I dyed several pounds of various blues to test a recipe for a custom yarn order. I've been slowly carding it together into batts. I'll eventually add other stuff to the batts and perhaps use them for a larger project. Maybe I'll put them up for sale. Either way, the roving is finally out of the way and I can work on other things.
* Finished washing the sheep fleece! It was a 6.5 pound fleece, so it took a few batches. It's drying now and I'll eventually dye some of it. The rest will be combed and spun in the natural colors.
* Washed a small bit of alpaca fiber for my super secret project.
* Carded several bits of alpaca fiber for my super secret project, plus another batt from a fleece I'm processing.
* Spun two mini-skeins of alpaca for my super secret project. This is the first actual spinning I've done during the tour. Most of my goal is processing the fleeces in my stash, so we'll see how much finished yarn I end up with.
Washed fleece!
Carded alpaca fiber!
I actually spun yarn for the Tour de Fleece!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Tour de Fleece - Day 2
Washed more fleece. SO exciting, I can hardly stand it.
I also helped do chores on one alpaca farm and assisted on another while they gave shots, so my day was rather fibery. My own stash doesn't look much different, but fluff is my life, no matter how I am involved.
I also helped do chores on one alpaca farm and assisted on another while they gave shots, so my day was rather fibery. My own stash doesn't look much different, but fluff is my life, no matter how I am involved.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Tour de Fleece 2011
Tour de Fleece has begun! My goal this year is to finish processing the fleeces I have in the stash. Not spin. Process.
Day one is dedicated to washing the one fleece I bought this spring. It's a lovely Border Leicester x Wensleydale ewe fleece. I have a dark fleece from her lamb last year already in the stash. Her fleece is soaking in the tub right now and it's coming out a variety of grays from pale silver to pewter.
Prior to the Tour, I also did some weaving.
I knitted a baby blanket and a monkey.
I spun some yarn.
And played with a new alpaca cria at my friend's farm.
All in all, I've been a bit busy since my last post!
Day one is dedicated to washing the one fleece I bought this spring. It's a lovely Border Leicester x Wensleydale ewe fleece. I have a dark fleece from her lamb last year already in the stash. Her fleece is soaking in the tub right now and it's coming out a variety of grays from pale silver to pewter.
Prior to the Tour, I also did some weaving.
I knitted a baby blanket and a monkey.
I spun some yarn.
And played with a new alpaca cria at my friend's farm.
All in all, I've been a bit busy since my last post!
Friday, January 28, 2011
A new start
I can't believe it's 2011 already and that I have been SO lax in updating my blog. I've had a lot going on in my fibery world. I needed to recharge my batteries, so I got back to knitting. For Christmas I made a little shrug for my niece, two hats and three cowls. I also finished my very first sweater for myself. I knit it with handspun and the resulting fabric is wonderful.
I'm currently working on a cardigan called Aidez. It's a free pattern from Berroco and it's a fun knit. There are lots of cables and twisted stitches to keep it interesting. I'm knitting mine with thick, chewy Cascade Eco in a brown that reminds me of tree bark.
There are extensions of the fronts that wrap around and meet in the back of the neck. I used my Google-fu and discovered TechKnitter wrote an article in the Spring 2010 Interweave Knits that explains Kitchener stitch in pattern. I used it to graft together the two pieces and the result is almost invisible. I'm so pleased with it! I'm going to remember this technique because it's so much more elegant than a clunky seam, especially in bulky yarn like this.
Alas, all is not well. I'm blocking my first sleeve but at first look, it's sized to fit a gorilla and assumes I will be wearing football shoulder pads to make it fit properly. I may end up frogging back to the underarm and reknitting, but I really hope it doesn't come to that. I suppose it's not a real knitting project unless I make at least one bone-headed mistake.
On the other side of the coin is my Saori weaving. In Saori, mistakes are human and meant to be embraced. I scored a deal and found a LOCAL used Saori loom that really wanted to be mine. I bought it the same day my long awaited Saori weaving book arrived in the mail. I was getting ready to try the techniques on a rigid heddle because I've been full of ideas. I brought my precious loom home in a snowstorm, warped it after watching YouTube videos (with a few mistakes) and spent several days weaving fabric for a blanket. It's warped with Kauni leftover from a felted bag project and the weft is various Beaverslide yarns, Patons Rumor, some sock yarn scraps and pieces of fabric. I really love how it turned out. There are errors in the warping, but I appreciated the texture they added and I kept on weaving. Next step will be learning how to hem and seam on the sewing machine so I can form this long strip into a blanket shape. I am looking forward to lots of experimentation with this loom!
I'm currently working on a cardigan called Aidez. It's a free pattern from Berroco and it's a fun knit. There are lots of cables and twisted stitches to keep it interesting. I'm knitting mine with thick, chewy Cascade Eco in a brown that reminds me of tree bark.
There are extensions of the fronts that wrap around and meet in the back of the neck. I used my Google-fu and discovered TechKnitter wrote an article in the Spring 2010 Interweave Knits that explains Kitchener stitch in pattern. I used it to graft together the two pieces and the result is almost invisible. I'm so pleased with it! I'm going to remember this technique because it's so much more elegant than a clunky seam, especially in bulky yarn like this.
Alas, all is not well. I'm blocking my first sleeve but at first look, it's sized to fit a gorilla and assumes I will be wearing football shoulder pads to make it fit properly. I may end up frogging back to the underarm and reknitting, but I really hope it doesn't come to that. I suppose it's not a real knitting project unless I make at least one bone-headed mistake.
On the other side of the coin is my Saori weaving. In Saori, mistakes are human and meant to be embraced. I scored a deal and found a LOCAL used Saori loom that really wanted to be mine. I bought it the same day my long awaited Saori weaving book arrived in the mail. I was getting ready to try the techniques on a rigid heddle because I've been full of ideas. I brought my precious loom home in a snowstorm, warped it after watching YouTube videos (with a few mistakes) and spent several days weaving fabric for a blanket. It's warped with Kauni leftover from a felted bag project and the weft is various Beaverslide yarns, Patons Rumor, some sock yarn scraps and pieces of fabric. I really love how it turned out. There are errors in the warping, but I appreciated the texture they added and I kept on weaving. Next step will be learning how to hem and seam on the sewing machine so I can form this long strip into a blanket shape. I am looking forward to lots of experimentation with this loom!
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