tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154805892024-03-23T14:17:30.238-04:00bowerbird knits<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/236222242/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/82/236222242_4099275d31.jpg" width="500" height="84" alt="banner mosaic" /></a><br /><br />Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.comBlogger332125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-44819505437950673552015-08-27T13:57:00.000-04:002015-08-27T13:57:52.567-04:00Bowerbird WeavesI <i>could</i> choose to start off with an apology about how long it's been since I've updated, but as I can't even bring myself to check and see when that last post was published, let's just skip that part.<br />
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I decided to start blogging again, or at least give it attempt, because I have something new and exciting in my crafting life, and I thought it would be a fun and interesting exercise to document my learning process. The new and exciting thing is a loom:<br />
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<br />A little while ago the little voice in the back of my head that was no doubt planted there close to a decade ago by Syne Mitchell, and her weaverly wisdom and enthusiasm, started getting louder. At first I thought to myself that there isn't space in this house to put a "real" loom. Then I started thinking about table looms. Then I created some search notifications on Craiglist, just in case anyone local to me was selling a loom for a price I could afford. A couple of weeks ago I saw an ad for the loom that now sits in my basement. It was tempting, but I didn't think I was ready, didn't think I had the space, and didn't think I could justify the expense. Then I made a list of languishing crafting tools I could sell. Then I measured our basement. Then I hemmed and hawed a whole lot. Then I bought the loom. A beautiful Harrisville Designs 36" 4 shaft, 6 treadle floor loom, delivered by a lovely local couple who had been hauling it around for demonstrations before they decided they didn't need a 36" loom for demonstrations. <br />
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I was a little hesitant to buy "only" a 4 shaft loom, because I feared that I would have shaft envy if I didn't buy an 8 shaft loom. You know me (or maybe not), and how I love to delve into the technical details of my hobbies. But the lovely people in the Warped Weavers group on Ravelry helped me realize that I can do so much with a 4 shaft loom, and if I ever feel I need to upgrade, I can do that. I am very excited about the 36" width, because it gives me so many options of things to make. <br />
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I asked lots and lots of questions in the Warped Weavers group, and then started reading Deborah Chandler's <i>Learning to Weave</i>, which is extremely detailed and clear, and gives me a lot of confidence that I can do this. The unknown can be scarier than the complicated known. This book is from the local library, and was signed by Ms. Chandler, herself!<br />
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How cool is that!</div>
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I am not very far in, but am pacing myself so as to not get too overwhelmed. I have read as far as front-to-back warping, which is the method I plan to try for now. The instructions are 30 pages. </div>
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THIRTY pages. But these are the kinds of instructions you just wish you had for every complicated thing you've ever had to do. The length does not obfuscate, but is exactly what's needed to make every detail as clear as possible. I'm so excited to try this out, after my warping board and yarn arrive. </div>
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I do have some prep to do in the meantime. I need to put on a new brake cord, which I think should be easy enough, though I'm not sure exactly how long it should be, or how much the exact length matters. I have the old, frayed one for reference, anyway. <br />
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<br />One thing I've learned about weavers from the research I've been doing is that they love hardware stores and homemade tools and solutions. Of course, getting a length of rope from the hardware store to make a brake cord (or a lifetime supply of brake cords, as seems to be the case here) does not seem that revolutionary. That's where you go for rope, right? But I really liked the idea to get cheap Venetian blinds to cut apart and use for warp separators. Especially after I saw the price. While I know that one day I might want real wooden sticks for this purpose, those seem to cost $1.50 - $2 per slat, and you need a lot of them. These blinds from Home Depot cost $2.97. That is not a typo. They cost lest than the nylon rope I bought for the brake. I just need to cut them off and I'm ready to go!<br />
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I think that's all on weaving for now. I hope that I'll be able to warp next week, and will try to get some photos for another blog post about that. I am starting off by doing the beginner exercises in Deborah Chandler's book, but have already bought a draft (that's the weaving version of a pattern) for some beautiful cotton dishtowels. This is going to be so much fun.<br />
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Oh, and I still knit and spin. Here's (a pretty terrible, pre-finishing) photo of some yarn I just made! It's merino blended with mohair, and I think it would make a great weaving weft. <br />
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Yes, I am starting to look at all my yarn with renewed interest. I don't know that all of it is suitable for weaving, and I don't have an enormous yarn collection. But there are some things here and there that may make it onto that loom. <br />
Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-40123489393754518692011-11-13T12:18:00.001-05:002011-11-13T12:41:38.355-05:00brightsI couldn't resist knitting some toys for Milo. My favorite is Celestine Sox, by Norah Gaughan, knit out of Knitpicks Chroma. It is a deceptively simple knit, and great for babies. I put a cage and bell cat toy in the middle, for some jingle. <br />
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before:<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5756487004/" title="Celestine Sox by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img alt="Celestine Sox" height="375" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3159/5756487004_6644cb690e.jpg" width="500" /></a></center><br />
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and after:<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/6280975322/" title="dodecamilo! by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img alt="dodecamilo!" height="375" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6052/6280975322_f9f465747f.jpg" width="500" /></a></center><br />
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I also knit Elijah, by Ysolda Teague. I confess that I omitted his eyes because I just couldn't figure out how to embroider them properly on a stuffed piece. Let's just make believe I decided to leave them out to allow for more scope of the imagination when Milo plats with him!<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5941050142/" title="Eyeless Elijah by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img alt="Eyeless Elijah" height="500" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6023/5941050142_d67cee5894.jpg" width="375" /></a></center><br />
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Not a toy, but also adorable, is Pepita by Martina Behm, knit out of Wollmeise 100% merino in the Sonne colorway.<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5776379717/" title="Pepita by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img alt="Pepita" height="500" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3263/5776379717_7203374fe5.jpg" width="375" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/6332670400/" title="in orange by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img alt="in orange" height="500" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6032/6332670400_f91c58400e.jpg" width="375" /></a></center><br />
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I love this jumper, and wish I could make more for him in larger sizes. But that won't happen, given that this took close to 600 yards of fingering weight yarn. I did two modifications to the pattern. I left out the feet and extended the ribbing, in part because I didn't have enough yarn, and in part because it extends the wearability of the garment as he grows taller. I highly recommend this knit for babies. Consider this instead of a blanket, if you want to make a unique gift. <br />
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Unrelated to baby knitting, I recently received a review copy of Clara Parkes' book The Knitter's Book Of Socks. Even though I did receive it for free from the publisher, it was a book I knew I would have bought for myself, and I'd like to think that my positive review is not colored by this. <br />
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Like her other "Knitter's Book Of..." books, this is a complete gem. It's such a pleasure to have a hefty hardcover, jacketed book in my hands. I regret that I can't do a full run-down of the contents, as I've read it in stolen moments between tending to the baby, and am now trapped under a sleeping baby, out of reach of the book. I did find it as comprehensive and information packed as her other books. My only complaint is that, from experience, I disagree with her claim that socks should have negative ease in length. (I agree about width.) In fact, because negative ease in width pulls the fabric shorter, I have to knit my socks <i>longer</i> than my foot, not shorter, to achieve a proper fit when worn. Otherwise they're just too short. I'm truly curious what other people think of this. How long do you knit your socks in relation to your feet, and does it work?<br />
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I think the patterns in this book are even better than in her other two books. There is a range of styles and techniques, and almost every pattern was immediately aesthetically appealing to me. In fact, I am tempted to try to knit my way through the book. It's something I've been wanting to do with a book for a while, and this is probable the one I'll choose. And I plan to try to be as faithful to the patterns as possible, because I want to go outside of my comfort zone, learn new things, and give a second or third try to techniques that I might have tried and dismissed earlier. My knitting time is severely limited, so what might have once been a manageable yearlong project will take much longer, and will not even start immediately. And I want to knit through some stash before buying yarn for this. But does anyone want to join me? Think of it as the loosest knitalong possible. Heck, even choose a different book for your knit-through! I just like the idea of this type of challenge.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-47550112185750145122011-10-20T10:22:00.003-04:002011-10-20T10:38:16.761-04:00look, ma, one hand!Thank you for all the lovely comments about my lovely boy. He is sleeping in my arms right now, so I thought I'd go through my Flickr photos to find some things to put into a catch-up blog post. One handed typing, so please excuse any brevity in my writing. (Or perhaps that will come as a relief?)<br /><br />I spun some golden deliciousness. 60/30/10 merino/bamboo/nylon, from <a href="http://helloyarn.com/wp/">Hello Yarn</a>. I used to think that I didn't like bamboo blends, but when prepped well (as is all of Adrian's fiber), it turns out that I love it.<br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5603297032/" title="mmmmm by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5187/5603297032_7cd7e31fa0.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="mmmmm"></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5659392286/" title="Handspun Golden Panda by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5302/5659392286_06fb6af565.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Handspun Golden Panda"></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5658822167/" title="Handspun Golden Panda by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5104/5658822167_0b9eaba60f.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Handspun Golden Panda"></a></center><br /><br />Little mittens that he never wore. Whoops. Too small now. (And he's become a hand sucker, anyway.)<br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5658773819/" title="Norwegian Newborn Mittens by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5104/5658773819_8895e461d0.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Norwegian Newborn Mittens"></a></center><br /><br /><br />Milk Infant Top<br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5658784587/" title="Milk Infant Top by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5309/5658784587_4e37c7624f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Milk Infant Top"></a></center><br /><br />BSJ from blanket leftovers:<br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5659369356/" title="Handspun BSJ by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5269/5659369356_4cefe8f5cb.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Handspun BSJ"></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5658798829/" title="Handspun BSJ by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5025/5658798829_c10be3dc9a.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Handspun BSJ"></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5658801059/" title="Handspun BSJ by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5107/5658801059_02a3c764b8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Handspun BSJ"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5659334898/" title="new baby things by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5103/5659334898_86bff9ae53.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="new baby things"></a></center><br /><br />Preview of what I'll share next post:<br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5711055151/" title="Pepita by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2342/5711055151_28dcdd0406.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Pepita"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5700102298/" title="Celestine Sox by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2786/5700102298_bbe5f44609.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Celestine Sox"></a></center><br /><br />I apologize for not giving full project details for everything in this post, but it's a bit overwhelming to try to do one handed. More information is available on my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/bowerbird">Ravelry projects page</a>.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-73863998813871677412011-10-08T09:38:00.002-04:002011-10-08T09:57:07.001-04:00OverdueHe was only 6 days overdue. This blog post is... well, do we really need to count the days? (Weeks? MONTHS?) Here's a tiny bit of catch-up:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5989286286/" title="duck! by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6147/5989286286_44ceb0663a.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="duck!"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/6080727216/" title="nursing gymnastics by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6080/6080727216_65a666a8bc.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="nursing gymnastics"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/6223125476/" title="Cosset mosaic by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6103/6223125476_fa91545d24.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Cosset mosaic"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/6140365432/" title="sleepy by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6179/6140365432_6a48aaaff6.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="sleepy"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/6164548310/" title="Milesaic by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6152/6164548310_5353082dbc.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Milesaic"></a></center><br /><br />Miles Sebastian (you can call him Milo) was born on July 22, 2011. That makes him 11 weeks old. It's fun to look at the older photos of him here, and see how tiny and mushy he was. Now he's a whopping 12 pounds (started out just under 8), full of personality, smiles, and coos. <br /><br />Knitting and spinning are going very slowly around here, though I have a few projects that are just about done, and am making good progress on some longies. I even have plan to cast on for something for me -- imagine!<br /><br />I will continue to blog. I have gotten good at typing with one hand, but posts will probably not be frequent. I'm still here. +1Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-28390347855303351342011-04-03T09:23:00.002-04:002011-04-03T09:47:55.347-04:00Work In ProgressBut let's start off with the big finished one! It's a log cabin style blanket, based on the Mason Dixon pattern Joseph's Blankie Of Many Colors. I spun the yarn last summer, from two <a href="http://www.spunkyeclectic.com/shop.php">Spunky Eclectic</a> samplers, resulting in about 2 oz. each of 20 different colors. I used 17 of the 20 colors in this blanket, and didn't run out of any of them. I swatched with one of the more "average" skeins, drew a diagram of the entire blanket, and extrapolated from the swatch how much of each color I'd need for the blanket. Thank you, math, for saving the day! Also, thank you luck. When you're dealing with handspun, the math can only take you so far. I'm very pleased that things worked out. I have leftovers of everything, and have already completed a smaller project with about half of them, leaving enough aside for any future darning needs.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5582997230/" title="Baby's Handspun Rainbow Log Cabin Blanket by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5108/5582997230_bcf6304b4b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Baby's Handspun Rainbow Log Cabin Blanket"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5582406729/" title="Baby's Handspun Rainbow Log Cabin Blanket by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5178/5582406729_de25728dc8.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Baby's Handspun Rainbow Log Cabin Blanket"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5582404749/" title="Baby's Handspun Rainbow Log Cabin Blanket by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5013/5582404749_d30a17831e.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Baby's Handspun Rainbow Log Cabin Blanket"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5582994896/" title="Baby's Handspun Rainbow Log Cabin Blanket by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5027/5582994896_e7223324aa.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Baby's Handspun Rainbow Log Cabin Blanket"></a></center><br /><br /><a href="http://wileycomma.wordpress.com/">Wileycomma</a> has asked about a photo of the back. I'll see if I can get one of those next weekend. <br /><br />For this blanket I used the more traditional technique of binding off every color, and then picking up stitches for the next color when it was time to knit on that side of the blanket again. It creates a little ditch between the colors, which I actually like quite a lot. But I think it would be interesting to knit a blanket without binding off, but instead by just knitting an extra row (half ridge), and leaving those stitches on a holder until it's time to knit them again. I'd like to see the contrast in the overall look and drape of the blanket. But it will be a while before I get to knitting a second one of these. <br /><br /><br /><br />I would have finished that blanket sooner, but like most crafters, I got a little distracted from the big project. It was hard not to be. Some of the pieces are done:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5584661025/" title="Baby Sweater Mosaic For Blog by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5012/5584661025_4495e15223.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Baby Sweater Mosaic For Blog"></a><br />(a preview -- more details in upcoming blog posts)</center><br /><br /><br />The Work In Progress, namesake of this blog post? He won't be here until July (knock on wood) to receive all his woolly gifts. He's waiting as patiently as he can. <br /><br /><i>Lots</i> of baby knits to come. :-DRebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-28646195746876786032011-03-06T15:44:00.002-05:002011-03-06T16:00:43.677-05:00... taps the microphoneHello? Anyone there? Sorry for all the sneezing, but I'm clearing the dust off this thing, and it's really thick by now. <br /><br />Apologies, schmapologies. I am here, I am blogging, and here is some stuff I knit. (Embarrassingly long ago.)<br /><br /><br />It's a sweater from complete scratch! You've seen the blog posts about my cormo fleece, and the scouring, dying, combing, and spinning. (And if you haven't, just look back through a few posts. The advantage of infrequent posting is that what you want to find can't be too far away!) It's the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/b-side-cardigan">B-Side Cardigan</a>, designed by Laura Chau. I don't think I really changed anything. It's a great sweater, and was very nice to knit in my handspun. <br /><br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4963774165/" title="Handspun B-Side Cardigan by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4105/4963774165_b1f862d41d.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Handspun B-Side Cardigan" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4964372486/" title="Handspun B-Side Cardigan by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4154/4964372486_811e4916d4.jpg" width="227" height="500" alt="Handspun B-Side Cardigan" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4963776575/" title="Handspun B-Side Cardigan by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4963776575_ed2010eedb.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Handspun B-Side Cardigan" /></a></center><br /><br /><br />That's not the only handspun sweater I knit. And hey, it's the Laura Chau post, because this sweater was also designed by her! It's the lovely <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/carter-cardigan">Carter Cardigan</a>, out of oatmeal merino. I didn't scour or process it myself, but it is from a beautifully processed fleece, spun from pin drafted roving. <br /><br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5002081082/" title="Handspun Carter Cardigan by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/5002081082_cf5a2010f8.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Handspun Carter Cardigan" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5002084730/" title="Handspun Carter Cardigan by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/5002084730_c5947f538f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Handspun Carter Cardigan" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5002086884/" title="Handspun Carter Cardigan by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/5002086884_422d9543d5.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Handspun Carter Cardigan" /></a></center><br /><br />Thinking about it, I don't think I changed much about this one, either. I probably should have made the sleeves a little shorter, because they ended up a little long even with the cuffs folded up. But I don't mind, because it's very comfortable and cozy. <br /><br />What else has happened since August? Oh yeah, we had Halloween! Alex and I were <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qxWGr8VhzQ">Yip Yip Monsters</a>. It was a joint craft project, though most of the kudos should go to Alex. He had the creative inspiration and did most of the sewing. <br /><br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5106821125/" title="Yiiiiiiiiip Yip Yip Yip Yip Yip! by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1066/5106821125_4906b39ff9.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Yiiiiiiiiip Yip Yip Yip Yip Yip!" /></a></center><br /><br /><br />Another crafting highlight were my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/squirrel-sampler-mittens">Squirrel Sampler Mittens</a>, designed by Adrian Bizilia. I used Harrisville Shetland for the outer, and Knit Picks Shadow (tonals) for the surprise purple lining. I love the combo.<br /><br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5128678385/" title="SQUIRL! by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4106/5128678385_008fe00d68.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="SQUIRL!" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5129288200/" title="SQUIRL! by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/5129288200_25eaf0d740.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="SQUIRL!" /></a></center><br /><br /><br />There's a lot more, but I'll save that for another post. And I'll try to write that one before the snow melts, okay?<br /><br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/5479157746/" title="snowy back porch by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5179/5479157746_2ba15e744d.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="snowy back porch" /></a></center>Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-45237457490956346432010-08-21T14:33:00.002-04:002010-08-21T15:01:00.979-04:00Spinning AlongI don't often do spin and knitalongs. I usually like to do what I want, when I want, and at my own pace. But this summer things worked out such that my plans coincided nicely with spinalong plans, or were just fuzzy enough that I could fit what I wanted to do into the scope of organized group efforts. It feels really nice to occasionally break away from being a completely independent crafter, and to participate in a group challenge. <br /><br /><br />My big, huge, I-Can't-Believe-I-Spun-The-Whole-Thing challenge was for the Tour De Fleece, earlier this summer. My personal goal was to spin up half the fiber I bought for a blanket project. I got 20% of it done before the challenge started, and ended up finishing the remaining 80% during the Tour. Whoa! I still can't quite fathom how I managed that. The time limit and group sharing was definitely a motivator to push myself and keep on going. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4847204944/" title="I can't believe I spun the whole thing. by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/4847204944_e22fdaa54b_z.jpg" width="640" height="640" alt="I can't believe I spun the whole thing." /></a></center><br /><br />It started out as two <A href="http://www.spunkyeclectic.com/shop.php?crn=276">Spunky Eclectic Almost Solid samplers</a>, in the wool blend. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4846587205/" title="I can't believe I spun the whole thing. by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4846587205_93ccb6ed1c_z.jpg" width="640" height="246" alt="I can't believe I spun the whole thing." /></a></center><br /><br />I had 2 oz. each of 20 different colors. I spun and plied each color into its own little 2-ply skein of yarn. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4847211718/" title="I can't believe I spun the whole thing. by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/4847211718_829c3735fc_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="I can't believe I spun the whole thing." /></a></center><br /><br />To make things more streamlined, I worked in groups of four colors. I spun four colors onto one bobbin, and the same four colors, in the same order, onto a second bobbin. That allowed me to spin and ply without having to change bobbins after every ounce.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4846595379/" title="I can't believe I spun the whole thing. by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/4846595379_167e8a4185_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="I can't believe I spun the whole thing." /></a></center><br /><br />I found the wool blend very easy to spin, and it yielded a lofty yarn, even when spun worsted from combed top. It was a little neppy, but nothing too bad, and I was able to pick out the occasional nep as I went. Overall, I think it's a very nice fiber for the price, and was a good choice for this project. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4847213232/" title="I can't believe I spun the whole thing. by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/4847213232_681bbc900e_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="I can't believe I spun the whole thing." /></a></center><br /><br />The final stats on the yarn:<br /><br />20 ~2 oz. 2-ply skeins<br /><br />total length: 2920 yards<br />total weight: 1132 grams (40 oz, or 2.5 pounds)<br />yards per pound: 1155<br /><br />average skein length: 146 yd.<br />average skein weight: 56.6 g. (2 oz.)<br /><br />12-13 wraps per inch, for the most part<br /><br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4846588907/" title="I can't believe I spun the whole thing. by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/4846588907_ae2381a570_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="I can't believe I spun the whole thing." /></a></center><br /><br />It's going to be a beautiful log cabin blanket. I haven't cast on, yet, but I'm really looking forward to it.<br /><br /><br /><br />My other spin-along projects are for the Four Ounce Challenge being put on by Adrian (Hello Yarn), David (Southern Cross Fibre), and Amy (Spunky Eclectic). The challenge is to spin, and then knit, crochet, or weave a project from 4 oz. of their yarn. Bonus points if you create an original design and publish the pattern. My own personal theme for this challenge is rolags and woolen spinning.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4856094219/" title="4 oz. challenge rolags by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4856094219_2dd0784a7c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="4 oz. challenge rolags" /></a></center><br /><br />That's Hello Yarn's 5 Plum Pie colorway. I've spun up the colors separately, into very lofty two ply yarns.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4891012725/" title="Four. Ounce. Challenge. by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/4891012725_39f65c2035.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Four. Ounce. Challenge." /></a></center><br /><br />I had hoped to use it for colorwork, but being woolen (and me being out of practice spinning woolen!), the yarns are too uneven for that to work well. So I will go with something simpler. I am still really happy with my original design idea, and just ordered some Malabrigo worsted for it. The Malabrigo hat won't be eligible for the spinalong contest, but that's okay. Anything that inspires a new design is fine by me!<br /><br /><br />My other project for this contest has also had its troubles. <br /><br />The fun part was turning this:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4869804779/" title="4 ounce challenge, part two by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4869804779_3337b772d5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="4 ounce challenge, part two" /></a></center><br /><br />into this:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4869803551/" title="4 ounce challenge, part two by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4096/4869803551_3b6aefeafe.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="4 ounce challenge, part two" /></a><br />(just a sampling of the rolags)</center><br /><br />Unfortunately, in my haste to start spinning, I didn't properly sample, and am ending up with a yarn that is much thinner than I intended. I wanted to go for fingering weight singles for a lace shawl or scarf. I'm ending up with a much thinner yarn, and I don't think I'll have time to knit that up by the contest deadline. I'm considering chain plying it to maintain the colors. Chain plying is not idea for woolen spun yarns because they tend to be less even than worsted spun yarns. While a traditional three (or other) ply will help even out uneven singles, chain plying only serves to enhance the unevenness. But I may try it anyway, and see what I get. If nothing else, it's a learning experience. <br /><br />Making rolags from combed top is very easy and a lot of fun. When you work from a multicolored top, you get beautifully heathered rolags that turn into a beautifully heathered yarn. I am quite tempted to buy a sweater's worth of multicolor top from one of my favorite dyers, and spin it up using this technique. I think that it does dull some of the contrasts and transitions, which could be nice for a multicolor sweater. Another project for the long, long wishlist.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-32416307315445761622010-07-18T14:45:00.002-04:002010-07-18T15:21:55.843-04:00cool wool for a hot summerThanks for the wedding cheer, commenters! I did knit while on my honeymoon. The project was a plain ribbed pair of handspun socks, which I more than halfway finished before we got back. Now they're 100% done.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4778447920/" title="Blaze Honeymoon Socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4778447920_c436acd63b_z.jpg" width="640" height="640" alt="Blaze Honeymoon Socks" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4778449714/" title="Blaze Socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4075/4778449714_65821a5136.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Blaze Socks" /></a></center><br /><br />I wish I could have captured the colors better. Sometimes it's hard to really get good photos of reds and pinks, and it becomes especially difficult if there are a lot of other colors there to confuse the camera.<br /><br />I spun the yarn from Southern Cross Fiber polwarth, in the Blaze colorway. I think I might have talked about this yarn in a previous post, though I apologize if I haven't. I decided to spin this using a variation on the fractal method. Fractal spinning, as I understand it, is usually a two ply technique. The basic idea is to split your fiber the long way, and spin one bobbin straight from one half of the fiber, and then to split the other half into thinner sections for the second bobbin. When you ply it, you kind of get stripes within stripes. It's a bit like controlled chaos, and is very pretty.<br /><br />I prefer a 3 ply for my handspun sock yarns, so I had to alter the fractal technique. First of all, I just broke the length of wool top into thirds, instead of splitting it the long way. It's really difficult to evenly split wool top the long way, and it wasn't important enough to me to try. One third of the top was spun straight from an unsplit third. The other two thirds of the singles were split; One bobbin was from a section of top split the long way into approximate halves, and the last bit was split from a section split the long way into approximate thirds. I had planned to split the fiber for the last bobbin into quarters, but sometimes you just have to do what the wool dictates, and it definitely wanted to be thirds. <br /><br />I really love this technique, and will likely use something like it again for my multicolor three ply yarns. It's kind of the best of both worlds, with larger blocks of color that contain a huge amount of variety and interest. And it works especially well with well crafted colorways, such as what David dyes. Plus, polwarth is great for socks, being fairly soft and very springy. I always get great yardage from it. In case you're wondering, David doesn't pay me to plug his shop. I just love his stuff. If you can catch an update, his colorways + the polwarth base = spinning heaven. <br /><br /><br />This next pair of socks requires a lot less explanation. They're from the Little Child's Sock pattern, by Nancy Bush, found in her book Knitting Vintage Socks. For those of you who don't know the book, many of the patterns sound like they're for kids, but are actually sized for adults. That's because the vintage patterns she adapted were knit with thinner yarn and needles than we usually use for socks nowadays. So yes, these socks are for me, even though it's been about 2.5 decades since I've been a little child.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4778431796/" title="Little Yellow Big Girl's Socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/4778431796_d9f9862835_z.jpg" width="451" height="640" alt="Little Yellow Big Girl's Socks" /></a></center><br /><br />I think I knit them pretty much according to pattern, though it's possible that I ignored the toe and/or heel instructions, to do my own thing. I often do that for socks, since I know what works best for my feet. <br /><br />The yarn is Lorna's Laces, and the colorway is either Firefly or Dragonfly. I can't remember which is the proper name. It was a lovely gift from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cauchycomplete/">Chawne</a>, who has taught me to properly appreciate yellow socks. <br /><br /><br />I hope to soon have more knitting to share with you. Knitting that isn't socks! I admit that I knit a lot of socks because they're easy. I've got them figured out, and can cast on with confidence, knowing that what I make will fit me and look good. Sweaters take a lot more worrying and figuring. And, obviously, a lot more time to knit. But I happen to have two handspun sweaters that are just about done. I mean, really really close. One needs to have its sleeve hems tacked down, a button attached, and a good bath. The other needs a bindoff on the collar, a few ends woven in, buttons attached, and a good bath and slight blocking of the sleeves. This is stuff I could do in a few hours worth of work, but you'll probably understand when I say that the weather hasn't exactly inspired me to finish wool sweaters. Though I should confess that I also have a big swatch drying, in preparation for my next handspun sweater. Yeah...<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4752708080/" title="Handspun Oatmeal Merino by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4078/4752708080_34fe230d63_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="Handspun Oatmeal Merino" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4752709714/" title="Handspun Oatmeal Merino by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/4752709714_ce03a523ea_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="Handspun Oatmeal Merino" /></a></center><br /><br />That's about 1200 yards of handspun worsted weight yarn. It was my first time spinning from a pin drafted fleece. In this case, it was a merino fleece. There's a very good chance that I will knit Laura Chau's <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/carter-cardigan">Carter Cardigan</a> with the yarn, though I will have to measure my swatches to be sure that the gauge will work. One of the sweaters that I almost have completed is also one of Laura's patterns. She designs really nice, classic and flattering sweaters, and her patterns are well written. So I really hope the gauge works out, because I look forward to working from her patterns again!<br /><br /><br />Since I've already fawned over a few fiber people whose work I love, I might as well add one more, to end the post. It's no surprise that I love Adrian of Hello Yarn's dyeing. It's hard to catch her shop updates, so I especially prize her fiber, and it took me a long time to figure out how I wanted to spin up this stuff:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4728189607/" title="Figgish Handspun by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1017/4728189607_eded841e11_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="Figgish Handspun" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4728187909/" title="Figgish Handspun by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1105/4728187909_dc161c0a80.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Figgish Handspun" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4728832542/" title="Figgish Handspun by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1184/4728832542_b9b526016d.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Figgish Handspun" /></a></center><br /><br />This handspun is from Shetland top, in her Figgish colorway. I have about 8 oz. of a heavy worsted, and I have no idea what I'll do with it. Which is fine, because it makes me happy just to look at it as-is. <br /><br /><br />I have purposely not talked about my biggest current project, which is spinning 40 oz. of top in 20 different colors for the Tour De Fleece. I think I'll wait until that's done, so I have <i>something</i> left to post about next time. I will say that it's going well, and that there is a growing pile of beautiful DK weight skeins sitting in my office.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-13474276515204429222010-07-03T15:42:00.002-04:002010-07-03T15:52:37.893-04:00MawwiageI got married! I wore this:<br /><br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4717988063/" title="Clothilde Wedding Shawl by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/4717988063_e83d72e029_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="Clothilde Wedding Shawl"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4717985111/" title="Clothilde Wedding Shawl by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/4717985111_f5b05fcb35_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="Clothilde Wedding Shawl"></a><br /><br />Clothilde, by Kristen Hanley Cardozo, knit in hand dyed (by me) Fiesta Yarns Baby Boom, originally a light gray.</center><br /><br />It was beautiful and perfect. (The wedding, not just the shawl!)<br /><br /><br />Before all of that, I knit another shawl:<br /><br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4568323975/" title="Handspun Prairie Rose Shawl by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4568323975_a7a25a7cee_z.jpg" width="632" height="640" alt="Handspun Prairie Rose Shawl"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4568963706/" title="Handspun Prairie Rose Shawl by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4059/4568963706_b43a371a63_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Handspun Prairie Rose Shawl"></a><br /><br />Prairie Rose Lace Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark, knit out of handspun merino/tencel yarn.</center><br /><br /><br />My current big project is a whole bunch of spinning:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4721865893/" title="Tour de Fleece spinning project. by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1242/4721865893_5c48d2da49.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Tour de Fleece spinning project."></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4721867719/" title="Tour de Fleece spinning project. by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1094/4721867719_8b4c049e19_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Tour de Fleece spinning project."></a></center><br /><br />I'm spinning 20 2 oz. skeins of 2 ply, from 2 almost solid wool blend samplers from Spunky Eclectic. I've been wanting to knit a colorful log cabin blanket for a while, and this seemed like a good way to do it. I'll spin up all the yarn, and then decide which colors I want to use, and where. You know me. You can be sure that there will be math and graph paper involved. It will be fun!<br /><br />I have other exciting things going on, too, but I'll wait until they're in a better shape for photos before I share. For example, I have one awesome handspun sweater that is about 2" of collar, a good blocking, and 7 or 8 buttons away from being done. I <i>could</i> finish it this afternoon, but it's 80 degrees out, and my spinning wheel is calling to me.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-7557698473231510112010-04-04T16:59:00.002-04:002010-04-04T17:26:53.389-04:00VymI am excited and proud to announce that I have a pattern in the Spring/Summer 2010 issue of the <a href="http://twistcollective.com/2010/spring/magazinepage_01.php">Twist Collective</a>! It is a sock pattern named Vym, and can be found <a href="http://twistcollective.com/collection/index.php/component/content/article/81-springsummer-2010-patterns/613-vym-by-rebekkah-kerner">here</a> (on the Twist website), and <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vym">here</a> (on Ravelry.) <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4483151034/" title="Vym Socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4030/4483151034_c86e2f51d3.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Vym Socks" /></a></center><br /><br />These are top-down stranded colorwork socks, with a slip stitch heel flap and (somewhat unusual) gusset. <br /><br />The colorwork pattern is my own. It was inspired by the Komi style of patterning that Charlene Schurch uses to great effect in her mittens book. I love this type of patterning so much that when I first got her book I made up a bunch of charts roughly in the same style, just for fun. The colorwork you see on the Vym socks is a slight twist on one of those earlier charts. (The original chart looked like it had hearts in it, which was a bit twee for what I was going for. So I tweaked a few stitches to give them more of an abstract look.)<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4483152924/" title="Vym Socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2778/4483152924_c47018cb04.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Vym Socks" /></a></center><br /><br />As with my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/francie-2">Francie</a> socks, I decided to do the gusset shaping at the bottom of the foot. I did this for two reasons. I thought the socks would look way too busy if I had the stripes on the sole and gusset decreased away on the side of the sock, right next to the main colorwork pattern. I also think it looks plain old pretty to have the stripes merge at the bottom of the sock. These socks don't have arch shaping like the Francie socks do, again to keep them from looking too busy and frantic. <br /><br />I had a great experience working with the editors at the Twist Collective. They are smart, kind, have a great eye, and are hard working. I hope to work with them again in the future, the next time I have a pattern idea that I think is good enough for the magazine. (In fact, I happen to have a swatch sitting right next to my computer, just waiting to be written up into a pattern proposal.)<br /><br />Getting the socks from idea to publication was a long process. The socks started out very similar to what you see here, but with very different colors:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4489523155/" title="Vym before it was Vym by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4063/4489523155_c8e1467b5b.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Vym before it was Vym" /></a></center><br /><br />I originally swatched in ShiBui sock yarn, which is a very similar yarn base to the yarn I ended up using (Unwind Yarns and Gems Merlot Twist Sock.) Both yarns are 2 ply merino fingering weight yarns in very subtle semisolids. I admit that I still really adore the purple and green that I originally swatched in. I ended up with different yarn and different colors for a few reasons. I know that my color combo is difficult to photograph well. It also didn't fit with the mood of the sock section they had planned. And of course, Unwind Yarn and Gems is an advertiser in this issue of Twist. I still might do some colorwork with my original ShiBui colors, but all in all this was a great opportunity to work with two new-to-me sock yarns. A win all-around!<br /><br />Another difference between the swatch socks and the final sample socks is the gusset. I was all proud of myself for thinking that I would do more frequent gusset decreases, to make up for the more "square" gauge of this type of colorwork. I think I tried a 2/3 ratio (two decrease rounds per every three rounds), which of course ended up being too severe of a slope. Whoops! That's what swatching's for, right? The math part of my brain still says that the 2/3 ratio should work better than the 1/2 ratio, but the 1/2 ratio really does work, even with funky colorwork row gauges. <br /><br />The other day I realized how long it's been since I've published a new pattern. I couldn't be happier that this new pattern is published in this issue of the Twist Collective. It's really a spectacular issue. I'm not usually someone who loves spring and summer issues of knitting magazines, because I'm a wool girl at heart. But there is a lot in there to love, and I couldn't be happier to be a very tiny fish in a large and sparkling ocean. <br /><br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4483151558/" title="Vym Socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2756/4483151558_20310792a6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Vym Socks" /></a></center><br /><br />(Ooh, and I almost forgot! What does Vym mean, you ask? When all other creative inspiration fails, it's Wikipedia to the rescue. I had no idea what to name these things, so looked up Komi in Wikipedia. There was a list of rivers that flow through the Komi region of Russia, and I thought <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vym_River">Vym</a> sounded best. Short, sweet, and it would make an awesome Scrabble word if it were allowed...)Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-59644208678592748302010-03-30T06:54:00.003-04:002010-03-30T07:32:43.619-04:00chirp chirp chirpI think it's funny that it took me so long to post after my previous post, about follow-through. And I admit that I'm finally getting around to it today because I anticipate having a much more exciting thing to write about this coming weekend, and want to share some other things with you before that happens. <br /><br />First off, the final total for the Doctors Without Borders donation, thanks to a whole lot of pattern sales, a few reports of finished items (at $1 per), and $10 for a finished socks challenge, is $1098. YAY! I made the final donation at the beginning of this month, and feel thoroughly embarrassed by the follow-up letters and emails I receive from Doctors Without Borders, because it's not my money I donated. I was just facilitating donations from you generous people. Thank you, thank you, thank you!<br /><br />Before I get on with the knitting photos (I'm a blog reader too, and I know what you're really here for), I thought I'd do a short share the love interlude. A very long time ago I think I wrote about some podcasts I enjoy. I still enjoy podcasts, and thought I'd share some newer ones, in case any of you are looking for things to listen to. In no particular order (okay, the order in which I found them in my iTunes list):<br /><br />* <a href="http://alyrenee.blogspot.com/">Alyrenee's Copious Spare Time</a> - Alyrenee is a costume designer who is always full of really interesting things to say on a variety of topics. Some of the topics are things that otherwise don't interest me at all, but her expertise and enthusiasm are enough to get me interested in what she has to say. Her episode about visiting the Harry Potter costumes exhibit is fascinating. I listened twice. Maybe three times. <br /><br />* <a href="http://www.journalgazette.net/section/BLOGS26">Math 4 Knitters, Journal Gazette</a> - Okay, this is kind of an old one. Lara's Math 4 Knitters podcast was one of what I consider the first generation of podcasts that began a few years ago. But she took a little break, and is podcasting again, somewhat in partnership with her employer, the Journal Gazette. Her podcast is knitting nerdy stuff, paired with interesting interviews of local (to her) craftspeople. I particularly enjoy the nerdy stuff. I've always liked math, and really appreciate the way her mind works, and her willingness to experiment with knitting math and construction. <br /><br />* <a href="http://www.savvygirls.ca/">The Savvy Girls Podcast</a> - Deborah and Melanie are the best thing since sliced bread. The best thing since sliced banana bread with chocolate chips. With a side of gerbil chow. My new favorite.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />As for the knitting, I have a pair of Embossed Leaves socks:<br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4372926995/" title="Embossed Leaves by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/4372926995_5bedc0bc40.jpg" alt="Embossed Leaves" width="500" height="500" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4372925043/" title="Embossed Leaves by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2688/4372925043_ba7e881b30.jpg" alt="Embossed Leaves" width="375" height="500" /></a></center><br /><br />I used Caper sock yarn, which is an 80/10/10 merino/cashmere/nylon blend by String Theory. I wasn't sure if that 10% cashmere would make a difference, but it really does. Even better, the color is brilliant and beautiful, and the yarn was reasonably priced for this blend. There are other similar sock yarns that are more expensive and/or ridiculously hard to get your hands on, so I consider this quite a find.<br /><br /><br />Lacy Baktus:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4372938461/" title="Lacy Baktus by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2754/4372938461_a5e6a12eb1.jpg" alt="Lacy Baktus" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4373695734/" title="Lacy Baktus by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2749/4373695734_12a788585e.jpg" alt="Lacy Baktus" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4372944347/" title="Lacy Baktus by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2694/4372944347_3de2b4c99c.jpg" alt="Lacy Baktus" width="375" height="500" /></a></center><br /><br />This is knit from my handspun superwash BFL, bought as dyed top from Hello Yarn. I adore the colors with a passion. (Speaking of hard to get stuff, Adrian's fiber is in the extremely short list of hard-to-get stuff that I'm willing to put in an effort to get. Her colors are that good.) In fact, it's the dye job alone that makes me love this scarf, because I am not a fan at all of superwash BFL. I tried it out of curiosity, and found it difficult to spin (super duper slippery, and gets wiry too quickly), and not that pleasant of a texture when spun up. I had originally planned for the yarn to become socks, but it has no elasticity. This seemed like the perfect pattern to take advantage of its drapey nature and to show off the colors.<br /><br />So I adore the scarf, even if the superwash BFL makes it a little scratchy and plasticky feeling. I was unsure about how easy it would be to wear this scarf shape, but I really like it. For outside warmth wear I put the wide part at the front of my neck, then wrap the arms around the back of my neck, back to the front, and loosely tie them in front. It's not great for super cold weather, because I don't always get full coverage at the back of my neck. But under a jacket on a mild winter day, it's great. I tend to wear it with the wide part in back and the arms over my shoulders/front indoors, making it quite a versatile scarf. I will definitely be making more of these. <br /><br /><br />Hayrick Socks:<br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4411995974/" title="Hayrick socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4029/4411995974_6590ff6492.jpg" alt="Hayrick socks" width="500" height="375" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4411230191/" title="Hayrick socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4005/4411230191_e80f55aa71.jpg" alt="Hayrick socks" width="375" height="500" /></a></center><br /><br />Yet another Anne Hanson pattern! It's a very satisfying knit, being one of those sock patterns that is easy to execute, but with enough interest to keep you going through the entire pair. The cabled look is actually all increases (yarnovers) and decreases, which I really like. The yarn is a Cascade Heritage base, dyed by a friend of mine. I wish I could buy colorways like this all the time! It's really perfect for the sock pattern, and those of you who follow Anne's blog will recognize that this is the type of colorway that she uses to great effect in so many of her sock and sweater patterns. Even though I can't get something quite this beautiful from Cascade, I will keep this yarn in the short list of sock yarns I want to use again. It's quite soft, and at least so far seems to wear really well. Better than some more expensive yarns I've used. Two thumbs up from me!<br /><br /><br /><br />That's all for today. But I'll be back very soon with something more exciting. Oh heck, I hate trying to keep secrets like this. The huge hint is that I have a pattern of some sort coming out in a super duper awesome online knitting magazine that is due to come out with its Spring/Summer issue this Friday. If you find me on Ravelry (as bowerbird) you may be able to find another photo-less clue or two about the nature of the pattern.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-12777184600244745562010-02-07T16:23:00.002-05:002010-02-07T16:56:52.280-05:00follow throughThank you so much to everyone who bought one of my patterns in the past few weeks. Yesterday I sent $751, directly from those pattern sales, to Doctors Without Borders. I am continuing to donate through the month of February, as are many of the designers on Ravelry who started donating money from their January pattern sales. See my previous post for more details on how you can find these patterns.<br /><br />And to follow up on stuff from a couple of posts ago, I have been doing a lot of knitting from handspun. I finished a couple of plain ribbed socks from handspun from two of my favorite fiber dyers. First up are the merino/silk socks, from fiber dyed by All Spun Up:<br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4282023829/" title="merino/silk socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4282023829_112c2205b1.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="merino/silk socks" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4282025699/" title="merino/silk socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/4282025699_e2c1e7ec52.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="merino/silk socks" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4282027449/" title="merino/silk socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2715/4282027449_af92fa5dd1.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="merino/silk socks" /></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br />These are from fiber dyed by Hello Yarn. While I did a regular 3 ply for the above socks, these socks below were chain plied, with a regular 3 ply used for the heels, for added strength. They're superfine merino, and so soft.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4320293900/" title="dreamlike socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4025/4320293900_d4c5c5f96f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="dreamlike socks" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4320299994/" title="dreamlike socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4029/4320299994_2385c3a0e1.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="dreamlike socks" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4319568439/" title="dreamlike socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4319568439_bd34e5856e.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="dreamlike socks" /></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br />I also <i>finally</i> finished the Cluaranach stole, designed by Anne Hanson. Anne is one of my favorite designers. Her lace is always interesting, and her other garments are always full of texture, and interesting to knit as well as to wear. She's really tops in my book, and lately I find myself knitting more and more of her designs. When I have some nice yarn without a pattern to go with it, her designs are among the first I look through for ideas. (I embarrass myself by gushing, but I really mean it.)<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4338907990/" title="Cluaranach Mosaic by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4338907990_8bce2d84a9.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Cluaranach Mosaic" /></a></center><br /><br />This is also a handspun yarn, from Red Stone Yarns batts. It's woolen spun, which means that it's a bit fuzzy and lofty, which is perfect for this stole. Unfortunately, that gave me problems when I was finishing the project. The stole is knit in two identical parts, and is supposed to be grafted seamlessly in the center. My yarn was too fuzzy to make that work well (it's really hard to graft with fuzzy, delicate yarn), so I ended up doing a three needle bindoff. It's not the perfect solution, but doesn't look bad at all. It's the kind of thing that a knitter would notice, but that looks so neat that nobody else would think twice about it, so I'm satisfied with the fix. And in the future, I'll remember to use a smoother and sturdier yarn in patterns that will require large scale grafting!<br /><br /><br />And, of course, how could I resist the call of the cormo?<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4284642079/" title="more celtic icon by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4010/4284642079_3211800fcf.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="more celtic icon" /></a></center><br /><br />This is the Celtic Icon pattern, from Inspired Cable Knits. It's a sportweight cardigan, and just right for this handspun fleece-to-sweater project. The photo above is from the back of the sweater, and I've actually finished the back, the center panel of the hood, and half of the right front of the sweater since I took that photo. And now that I'm approaching the midway point of that big knitting project, I have been taking a little side trip with some pretty yarn and yet another Anne Hanson pattern. (A pair of socks, this time.) <br /><br /><br />I have some handspun that is ready to share, but I'll save it for next time, along with another handspun scarf that just needs to be washed and blocked before it's ready for its photos.<br /><br /><br />Based on comments and emails, many of the people who read my blog are spinners, or are people who hope to start spinning one day. There are a lot of things to learn about spinning, and one reason I enjoy it is that it's such a rich craft, full of opportunity to learn and improve. But one of the best pieces of advice I can give to a spinner or aspiring spinner is to knit with your handspun. (See, that follow through post title does mean something!) Knitting with your handspun is a really good way to become a better spinner, because you can't improve unless you know how you want to improve. Knitting with the stuff will tell you so much more about it than just looking at it and measuring it in various ways. Plus, it's lots of fun, and extremely gratifying. <br /><br />If you're looking for inspiration, or just for a good way to pass the time, I will share my two favorite searches on Ravelry: <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/search?r=&category=pullover%7Ccardigan&craft=knitting&query=handspun&sort=best&view=thumbs">handspun sweater projects</a> and <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/search?r=&category=pullover%7Ccardigan&craft=knitting&query=handspun&sort=best&view=thumbs#r=&category=socks%7Ccardigan&craft=knitting&query=handspun&sort=best&view=thumbs&apply=1&add_multi=1&add_id=41&mod_0=&add_0=socks&mod_1=or&add_1=&mod_2=or&add_2=&mod_3=or&add_3=&mod_4=or&add_4=&mod_5=or&add_5=&history=1">handspun sock projects</a>. All good, all the time.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-27427963962666490972010-01-16T17:19:00.004-05:002010-01-16T17:39:31.566-05:00tugging at my heartstringsA year or two ago I got back in touch with an old childhood friend. A few weeks ago I learned that she was in the hospital, because her immune system decided to munch on her heart, and she needed a new one. (There is a more technical term for the auto immune disease that munched on her heart. I don't remember what it is, except that it's rare and very scary.)<br /><br />After obsessively following her online updates and wringing my hands with worry, I realized that I could direct that nervous energy to something productive. Silly, yes, but also productive. If she needed a new heart, why not just <i>make</i> one? So obvious.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4280094340/" title="Heart by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/4280094340_fa393c1e1e.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Heart" /></a></center><br /><br />Thank you, Kristin Ledgett, for this beautiful and simple <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/PATTheart.php">pattern</a>. I made mine larger than life using an aran weight yarn (Harrisville Highland) and size 4 needles. And I stuffed it with leftovers from combing my blue cormo, figuring that that could just be blood that needs to be oxygenated, right? <br /><br />Joclyn received her new heart yesterday. Not the wool one (though that should also have landed in Brooklyn by now), but the real beating kind. And is doing great. She is a superstar. (As is the person who signed their donor card, and made her continued life possible. Please, if you can, make sure that you are signed up to be an organ donor.)<br /><br /><br /><br />And for a study of contrasts, I wanted to help spread the word that a lot of knitting designers are pledging to donate a portion of their pattern sales for the next little while to charities that can help out in Haiti. The full list can be found <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search?haiti=yes&sort=date">here, on Ravelry</a>. <br /><br />From today through the end of February of this year, I am donating all of my pattern sales (minus the paypal fees) to Doctors Without Borders. I'll probably donate in a couple of batches, and will post the totals on the pattern descriptions in Ravelry when all is said and done. Specifically, those patterns of mine are <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/francie-2">the Francie socks</a>, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/1989n">the 1989 hat</a>, and <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/smoke-signals-hat">the Smoke Signals hat</a>.<br /><br />In addition, because I like to see people actually use my patterns, I will donate $1 for every person who sends me a private message on Ravelry to let me know they've completed knitting one of the patterns, between today and the end of February. <br /><br />There are tons of other designers who are donating part or all of their pattern sales to charities over the next few weeks, so please check them out. If there's a pattern you've been thinking of buying, now is a great time to do it.<br /><br />Hug your loved ones. Life is precious.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-76638216038001374882010-01-01T12:24:00.005-05:002010-01-02T15:50:10.278-05:00This is not a resolution!... though it does seem like a good way to start the new year. Happy New Blog Post! I thought I'd do a quick roundup of some of the things I've done over the past few months. I know that the blogs I read haven't been as active, on the whole, as they used to be. For everyone celebrating the newly minted year with a long, lazy weekend, the least I can do is try to provide 3.5 minutes of passive fibery entertainment. Here's some pretty:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4032428939/" title="merino/silk/magic by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2469/4032428939_3c1be31dca.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="merino/silk/magic" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4032430461/" title="merino/silk/magic by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2587/4032430461_b269bf4abd.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="merino/silk/magic" /></a><br />This is a 3 ply fingering weight, spun from 80/20 merino/silk, dyed by All Spun Up. It's my first of her fibers, and was one of my favorite sock yarn spinning experiences. This particular blend makes a soft yarn that still has a lot of elasticity, with an added bit of sheen. The darker colors with the occasional brightness and shine was mesmerizing to spin, and has been spectacular to knit up. The sock are actually all but done. Maybe they'll be in the next post. In any case, I highly recommend this blend for spinning.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4033191776/" title="HY handspun merino by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2573/4033191776_1ff35b1b70.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="HY handspun merino" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4032439655/" title="HY handspun merino by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2523/4032439655_93c1140206.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="HY handspun merino" /></a><br />These are two slightly different skeins of handspun, made from superfine merino, dyed by the brilliant Adrian at Hello Yarn. This yarn is chain plied, to preserve the color runs. I meant it for socks, and was going to make knee socks, but one skein is thicker. So now I'm just knitting regular socks, and sending one skein to a friend. (Long over-due, alas.) The fineness of the super-fine was slightly noticeable in the fiber, more noticeable in the yarn, and is extremely noticeable in the knitted fabric. Because chain plied yarn isn't ideal for socks, I pulled out some chunks of the fiber, and spun and plied it into a regular 3 ply yarn, for something a little more resistant to wear and tear. The first of these socks is halfway done, and the pair would probably be done by now if I didn't have another time-sensitive project on the needles. It's a joy to knit with this stuff.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4032448133/" title="Smooshy Brickers by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2458/4032448133_4d950d258b.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Smooshy Brickers" /></a><br />These socks are from Anne Hanson's Brickers sock pattern, knit out of Dream In Color Smooshy. It's a simple but gorgeous stitch pattern, and elastic enough to be ideal for socks. I love what Anne does with textures, and want to knit just about everything she's designed. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4043153895/" title="super sweet superwash by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2517/4043153895_5997174c41.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="super sweet superwash" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4043901454/" title="super sweet superwash by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2682/4043901454_3fd58a8248.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="super sweet superwash" /></a><br />This is a 3 ply handspun out of superwash Bluefaced Leicester fiber, dyed again by Adrian at Hello Yarn. This was my first experience with superwash BFL, and it was weird. It's extremely slippery to spin, but also starts to feel wiry when it gets a lot of twist in it. So I felt like it took a while to get the right balance on my spinning wheel, so that it wasn't yanked out of my hands, but so that it also didn't feel icky as I spun it. I eventually reached that balance, and found that when I plied the wiry feeling singles, they softened right up. I do think I'd use superwash BFL again, now that I know what to expect from it. But most of all, I adore this yarn. Thank you for dyeing so beautifully, Adrian! I'm really itching to start these socks.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4085593045/" title="BFL singles by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2671/4085593045_a8ee5d6619.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="BFL singles" /></a><br /><br />I spun this singles laceweight yarn from BFL top, and ended up with this scarf (Rivolo, designed by Anne Hanson):<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4140904631/" title="handspun Rivolo by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2683/4140904631_7f91e0b739.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="handspun Rivolo" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4141664032/" title="handspun Rivolo by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2749/4141664032_1cb531053c.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="handspun Rivolo" /></a><br />This was the first time I've been happy with my own handspun singles yarn. I think that part of that is experience, but part of it may also be the longer staple length of BFL, which means less twist is necessary to keep the yarn together than with a short stapled fiber, like merino. I'm pretty proud that I did this, given my previous bad experiences with handspun singles.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4143687481/" title="Road Not Taken by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2609/4143687481_8b818156d3.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Road Not Taken" /></a><br />That Rivolo was my second lace scarf from a singles yarn of the year. Right before that, I knit this Road Not Taken scarf, from Lisa Lloyd's book A Fine Fleece. I used Zauberball yarn. I really wanted to use the yarn for socks, but wasn't convinced that a singles yarn would be ideal for that. I'm happy with the project I chose for it, and adore the colors. It goes well with my Manon sweater, since there's an orange in there that perfectly matches it. </center><br /><br /><br />Believe it or not, there's more than that. But I kind of lost track of what I had blogged about, and what I hadn't. So here's to a fresh start to the year, with less blogging debt. I'm not all caught up, but caught up enough to move on, and not worry about it anymore. I've spent the last month or so spinning up my blue cormo fleece, and working on a pattern for publication in the spring. The fleece is done, and the pattern should be within the next week. This is going to be a great year, wool-wise, and otherwise.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-52359175666021156522009-12-04T17:04:00.004-05:002009-12-04T20:40:38.980-05:00burritosI've been working on a lot of things between when I finished Manon (what I posted about last time) and now, but am going to skip ahead a bit and talk about my next fleece-to-sweater project. <br /><br />I honestly don't remember if I blogged about it at all, but this summer I bought a beautiful cormo fleece. I believe that cormo sheep are a cross between corriedale and merino, and they tend to have very fine, crimpy fleeces with good lock structure, and nice staple length for such fine fleeces. I knew that processing this fleece would be a lot like the experience of processing the corriedale fleece that turned into the Manon sweater, and was able to put to use a lot of what I learned last year. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3661345810/" title="Kade by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3642/3661345810_022dc50591.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Kade" /></a><br />Kade's fleece (Kade is the name of the sheep), with Alex for size comparison. <strike>In fact, this is only half the fleece. The other half lives with <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/people/littlemousling">Molly</a></strike> Ooh, I lied! I think this is the whole fleece, before I divided it. Whoops!.</center><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3661357236/" title="Kade by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3328/3661357236_71f17c96a5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Kade" /></a><br />A couple of locks, close up.</center><br /><br />As with the corriedale, I carefully separated the locks of Kade's fleece, and washed it in mesh laundry bags, using tulle to separate out the layers. Very hot water, blue Dawn dishwashing soap, 2 washes, 2 rinses. <br /><br />My big mistake was that I didn't think ahead to the dyeing. I knew I wanted to dye this fleece on my own, before spinning it. The earlier in the process you dye the wool, the more uniform your finished project will be. I didn't think about it more than that, until the time came to take my beautiful bag full of clean, white locks, and figure out how to make them blue. I almost didn't dye them. They were so precious as-is.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3834386533/" title="cormo closeup by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2563/3834386533_5f1ee2e844.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="cormo closeup" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3835176884/" title="cormo fleece, to scale by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3496/3835176884_0aa06ddeb1.jpg" width="321" height="500" alt="cormo fleece, to scale" /></a></center><br /><br />What would have been really smart of me would have been to dye them right after I washed them. Before taking them out of the mesh bags, before letting them dry, just plunking them in a dyepot. It would have been so much easier that way! Someone on Ravelry suggested this to me, but it was too late. Next time, people. NEXT TIME!<br /><br />But my lack of foresight wasn't a complete loss. I did figure out a new way to keep my locks neat and organized for the dyeing, which I might use for both the scouring and dyeing, next time I have a raw fleece. I actually borrowed the idea from another person (whose identity I don't remember), who I remember posting about using rolls of tulle to secure her locks when she washes them. I ended up with this:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4038934343/" title="cormo burritos by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2793/4038934343_0ae4db4f27.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="cormo burritos" /></a></center><br /><br />I bought lots and lots more tulle (it's cheap, and always seems to be on sale), and cut it into manageable lengths. It comes folded, and I took advantage of that by laying out the locks on one side, and just folding the other half over it, where it naturally creased. Then I rolled it up, and used sewing thread to baste it shut. This held surprisingly well, though a few locks did escape during the dyeing process. I think that next time I'll just be careful to not lay them down so close to the edge of the tulle. Or, really, not bother to care. There was no significant lock leakage, and I was able to save everything, anyway.<br /><br />To dye them, I mixed up a dye solution, and figured out how much of it I should add to each dye pot so as to use all of it, somewhat uniformly. (Don't ask me for dyeing advice. I cobbled together bits of knowledge here and there, but mostly winged it and crossed my fingers. I totally dye by the seat of my pants.)<br /><br />I ended up with a whole bunch of squishy blue cormo burritos.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4043042778/" title="dye day done by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2769/4043042778_22183cf93e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="dye day done" /></a><br />Both after scouring and dyeing, I find that it's hard to get enough water out of the fiber when it's still all wrapped up. It's a lot easier to handle if I let it sit for a day or so before taking it out of its wrapper, to finish drying. </center><br /><br />I wasn't all that concerned that the fiber be evenly dyed. I wanted to try to get an even amount of dye and fiber in each pot, so I didn't let things get too wonky. But I didn't obsess over whether each bit of fiber was fully soaked, or with moving things around in the pots. I just let them be, because I knew that combing the fiber would even things out a lot. And I also don't want my yarn to be too uniform. I want it mostly uniform, so I'm free to knit something with a lot of texture, if I so choose. But a little variation can look very pretty. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4065027017/" title="blue cormo top by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2615/4065027017_abd76b1877.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="blue cormo top" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4144970190/" title="cormo locks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2703/4144970190_a04bf2ca16.jpg" width="500" height="490" alt="cormo locks" /></a></center><br /><br />I thought I finished combing all the wool I'd need this morning, but I may have miscalculated a bit. In any case, I've started spinning, and will go back and comb a bit more to add to some bobbins that aren't as full as I'd like. Later. That was a lot of combing.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4144211375/" title="bag o' top by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2564/4144211375_0504648fd1.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="bag o' top" /></a><br />That's just some of it.</center><br /><br />I don't have any major knitting projects on the needles right now, as I'm waiting for yarn for a super exciting project that I won't be able to blog about for many months. (I will let your imaginations wander about that one!) So while I'm waiting for that yarn to arrive, to be followed by some marathon knitting, I am spinning a lot. This cormo is incredibly soft, and I will most certainly be buying more cormo fleeces in the future. I would like to make it an annual tradition. <br /><br />For a last treat, here's a photo of some more dyeing. These are locks that I didn't carefully separate out, and separate between layers of tulle. It was the lower quality (but still really nice!) and dirtier stuff from around the edge of the fleece. I just threw it in a bag, and hoped for the best. I will probably hand or drum card it, for a soft, lofty yarn. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3915998172/" title="dye day! by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2472/3915998172_bf19f66acb.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="dye day!" /></a></center>Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-14079218105541007112009-11-07T13:37:00.002-05:002009-11-07T13:51:02.473-05:00The best thing I've ever made?(At least so far.)<br /><br />Here's a reminder of how I started:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4082948241/" title="M-an-ontage by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2495/4082948241_553165c98c.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="M-an-ontage" /></a></center><br /><br />Greasy corriedale locks, scoured to a creamy white. Creamy white locks hand combed into fluffballs of top. Top spun into 7 bobbins of singles, then plied into several skeins of a 3 ply aran weight yarn. Aran weight yarn sent to <a href="http://www.spunkyeclectic.com/">Amy</a> for dyeing. <br /><br />Here's where it got me:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3956063889/" title="Handspun Manon is done! by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2430/3956063889_30a8e5da79.jpg" width="500" height="452" alt="Handspun Manon is done!" /></a></center><br /><br />Manon, designed by Norah Gaughan, knit from a sheep. Whee!<br /><br />I knit the 38" size at a slightly tighter gauge, for a 34" - 35" sweater, and of course lengthened the sleeves. Here are some more views:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/4083741634/" title="M-an-ontage 2 by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2598/4083741634_d631e0a034.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="M-an-ontage 2" /></a></center><br /><br />All that work, and I'm not sure that there's much more to say. It was fun and interesting to knit, and is a pleasure to wear. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I am kind of doing it again. This time it's a cormo fleece, dyed by me in lock formation, to become some other sweater. Perhaps in several months it will become my new best thing I've ever made.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-17982782478497633552009-09-27T09:13:00.004-04:002009-09-27T09:46:09.314-04:00people make me happyI have so much to share on the blog, and this post will be dedicated to other people making me very happy. It's a bit of a loosey-goosey theme, but it's a theme nonetheless. <br /><br />I have to start off with what might be my favorite finished knitting project from this past summer. A long time ago I sent a skein of handspun to <a href="http://knit-nutt.blogspot.com/">Sasha</a>. I spun the yarn from a pile of rainbow colored merino top, and it was spectacular and bright, but not quite what I had imagined in my head. I wasn't sure that I could do it justice, but knew that it would be perfect for Sasha, who is a bright, rainbow-y person. Here are some photos of the magic she worked, posted with her permission:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3958855996/" title="Sasha Rainbow Scarf by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2498/3958855996_1d6f785aff.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Sasha Rainbow Scarf" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3958081637/" title="Sasha Rainbow Scarf by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2464/3958081637_58104d3e6d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Sasha Rainbow Scarf" /></a></center><br /><br />You can see more photos and information on Sasha's <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/knitnutt/happy-rainbow">project page</a> for the scarf, or on her blog, linked above. <br /><br /><br /><br />Another person who made me happy this summer is David, from <a href="http://www.redmaplesportswear.com/store/">Red Maple Sportswear</a>, who emailed me to ask permission to display my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/francie-2">Francie</a> sock as a sample at his booth at Rhinebeck. I was touched that he thought to ask permission (of course it's okay!), and agreed that I'd let people know about his Rhinebeck booth in exchange. I've never used his products, and won't be at Rhinebeck, myself, but he sounds like a great guy, and I wish I could visit the booth. So if you're going to be there, stop by his booth and say hi, if you think of it. (Please note that I'm not posting this as a paid advertisement, or anything. Simply a fun exchange between a couple of fibery people.)<br /><br /><br /><br />To complete the theme of other people making me happy, I have my Party Like It's 1999 socks:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3845600497/" title="Party like it's 1999! by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2458/3845600497_478a0e8286.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Party like it's 1999!" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3845601971/" title="Party like it's 1999! by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2526/3845601971_f0556b413a.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Party like it's 1999!" /></a></center><br /><br />I start knitting these socks in June, at the airport on my way to my <a href="http://apps.carleton.edu/alumni/reunion/">10 year college reunion</a>. It was a last minute decision to attend, thanks to the encouragement and help of my friends, and I had an amazing time. Some people think of their high school years as the best time of their youth (or maybe that's only in cheesy movies?), but for me it was college. It was a wonderful weekend with old friends, old places, old smells, and lots of laughs and hugs. I'm so glad I went, and these socks (knit out of Socks That Rock lightweight, in the Never On Sunday colorway) will always remind me of that weekend.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-12336560162832529252009-07-26T07:15:00.003-04:002009-07-26T08:12:06.502-04:00Thank you, Dr. Zizmor!I have had so many wonderful things filling my life lately that it's hard to pick and choose what to write about. They all try to get through the doorway at once, and get stuck. I suppose there are worse things that can happen than a paralyzing overabundance of choices. <br /><br />One of those things was a 2 week trip out West. We went to Wyoming and Montana, visiting Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Glacier National Park. It was an amazing trip full of staggering beauty, and I will post a link to the full set of photos once they're all up and organized on Flickr. Here's a teaser:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3754235795/" title="herd of bison by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2470/3754235795_deab8d9f7e.jpg" width="500" height="281" alt="herd of bison" /></a></center><br /><br />Too bad I'm writing this post <i>before</i> I've uploaded the SHEEP photos! Well, that will get you to read my next post, eh?<br /><br /><br /><br />Another thing that's been taking up a lot of my time is the cello. A few months ago I decided to start playing the cello again, which for me was basically starting from square 1. It's an incredible challenge, and very rewarding, and I plan a more thorough blog post about it at some point. (One of those things jamming the doorway, I tell ya!) <br /><br />There are times when I feel that I'm in over my head with good stuff, and there are times when I question why I try to do all of these things when I could probably be satisfied with fewer projects. Usually I suppress this question to the dark recesses of my mind when it pops up, treating it like an annoyance. Kind of like those people who tell you you can just buy a package of tube socks for $5 at Wal-Mart. There is a reason why I do all these things (and goodness knows there are people who do a lot more than I do!), but sometimes it's not so easy to articulate.<br /><br />The other day I got some insight into how to frame an answer. Stick with me, here, because the path my mind takes isn't always straightforward. I saw a sign for some business that seemingly randomly brought back memories of <a href="http://gothamist.com/2009/05/08/dr_z.php">Dr. Zizmor</a>. Any of you who have spent time watching commercials or riding the subway in NYC in the past 20 years or so probably know who this guy is. For those of you who don't, you can click on that link (and watch that classic commercial!) if you want. In short, he's a NYC dermatologist who had (has?) cheesy but catchy TV ads, and print ads that are frequently found in subway cars. I grew up in Brooklyn and took the subway to/from school every day in high school. I'm sure I've seen his subway ads thousands of times.<br /><br />Here's where the ride though my mind gets a little twisty-turny. When I saw that sign that reminded me of Dr. Zizmor, I thought that I should google him, to see if there is any NYC nostalgia online about those old dermatology subway ads. Then I thought about how when I was growing up, there was no such thing as google. The internet was in its infancy (at least for the general public), and I didn't have access to it at all before college. Back when I was in high school one of the other things you would occasionally see among the ads in the subway was something called <a href="http://www.mta.info/mta/pim/index.html">Poetry In Motion</a>. These were short poems interspersed among the ads, and I loved them. My absolute favorite Poetry In Motion poem was <a href="http://www.poetrysociety.org/motion/mapsite/pimpoems/newyork/ny.html#kinn">Blackberry Eating.</a> (In fact, it's still one of my favorite poems.) I remember that one day I decided that I just needed to have that poem for myself, and searching for it ride after ride after ride, until I finally saw it and was able to scribble it down.<br /><br />And here's the thing. In 1994, waiting and hoping was my only option. It took work to find information. Nowadays, I'm sure that a simple google search would get me that information in seconds. (In fact, it's among the first page of hits if you just google "blackberry poem" without the quotation marks.) While I greatly appreciate how accessible information is thanks to the internet, I do have a lot of nostalgia for the days in which it wasn't so easy to find what you were looking for. I think that having to work for it, and having to exercise patience as well as vigilance, made the information all that much sweeter when you finally got your hands on it. There is something special about a Galway Kinnell poem hurriedly scribbled in my own writing notebook, next to my own poetry, that is more satisfying and pleasureful to read than typed words on a screen found in mere seconds through a Google search. <br /><br />And here we are, getting very close to my point. (I know, can you imagine! Yes, there is a point.) While I celebrate the openness of information that comes with internet access on a daily basis, and recognize its grand benefits for education and quality of life, I think that it has affected many or most of us. I have a theory. (No, not bunnies.) My theory is that the reason we see this "trend" (I hate that word, but there it is) in hand crafts is that we crave a type of information that can't just be googled. I feel that with the internet, if you want to know about something you can know about something. Information flows so freely that it doesn't always feel as special as it once did. There is no challenge. And I think that pushes many of us to find a challenge; To find chase a kind of information or knowledge that can't just be googled. Why am I playing the cello? Why is there a raw fleece on my porch? Why do I have 2 dozen (at least) pairs of hand knit socks? Because these things are concrete. These things don't exist unless I put in time and effort. These things come from and provide experiences that I can't get just from staring at a computer screen. <br /><br />I know this isn't true for everybody, but I suspect it's at least somewhat true for the people who choose to read about me on a computer screen. Our lives have become virtual in so many ways, and connecting with people and information as become so effortless, that we need more concrete things in our lives. So the next time someone asks me why I bother, I think my answer will be "because it's real." <br /><br />And yes, I think this is also why Alex and I choose to spend our vacation time climbing mountains and seeing the country for ourselves. Photos in National Geographic are great, but feeling the ground under our feet is better.<br /><br /><br />Oh yeah. You came here to see stuff I made? I know my last post was about socks, but I'm going to share more. I have been knitting a lot of socks recently, in part because they are a good side project while I'm designing other things and working on bigger but slower projects. There will be bigger and different things eventually, I promise. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3665827973/" title="Kai Mei by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3365/3665827973_af50a4851e.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Kai Mei" /></a><br />Kai Mei socks, designed by Cookie A, in sock yarn from Julie Spins. Bonus cormo fleece in the background!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3660524541/" title="Papaver Sok by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3379/3660524541_f36661482f.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Papaver Sok" /></a><br />Papaver Sok, designed by Anne Hanson, in Araucania Ranco Solid sock yarn.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3679213637/" title="Handspun Retro Ribs by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3618/3679213637_fdb66fb1df.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Handspun Retro Ribs" /></a><br />Retro Rib socks, designed by Evelyn Clark, in handspun BFL.</center><br /><br />The yarn I spun for these retro ribs was dyed by David of Southern Cross Fibre. The colorway is called vigilance, and I decided to split it up before spinning it for these fraternal socks. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3415266599/" title="Vigilance BFL by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3387/3415266599_116fa2913d.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Vigilance BFL" /></a><br />With cello music in the background! I am happy to say that I'm well beyond those pages, and it's nice to see visual confirmation of my progress.</center><br /><br />That's enough for now, I think. Off to do some swatching and vacation photo uploading!Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-7162200364927644482009-06-10T18:12:00.002-04:002009-06-10T18:20:18.060-04:00Ketchup!<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3285633752/" title="Fancy Not-Silk Socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3633/3285633752_182bd92b06.jpg" alt="Fancy Not-Silk Socks" height="500" width="375" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3285626982/" title="Fancy Not-Silk Socks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3233/3285626982_910d383369.jpg" alt="Fancy Not-Silk Socks" height="500" width="375" /></a></center><br /><br />Aren't they just beauteous! It's the Fancy Silk Sock pattern from Nancy Bush's <i>Knitting Vintage Socks</i>, knit in Araucania Ranco Solid. It's a perfect match of yarn and pattern. The yarn did give me some trouble when I was winding it, as did the other color that I also bought. I know it wasn't me, so either it was a weird batch, or they just do something really weird when winding their hanks which makes it hard to not get in a knotted mess when you ball it up. But I'm glad I persevered, because the yarn was worth it in the end. So let this be a warning -- the yarn is worth trying, but don't try to wind it when your patience or time is short. <br /><br /><br />And speaking of yarn that has its issues, how about a yarn with <i>genuine</i> issues, not just superficial winding issues? These socks were knit out of some of my earliest handspun. I have learned a lot since spinning that yarn, and one of the things I've learned is that sometimes there really can be too much of a good thing. The "good thing" in this case was twist. The yarn was spun and plied so tightly that it was very difficult to work with. It was simultaneously too ropey and too springy, coiling back on itself every chance it had. I was concerned that the socks would be garbage, but they actually turned out pretty nicely. At the very least, they should last longer than the cockroaches. (Wait, cockroaches will survive a nuclear Armageddon, but now we're all doing to die from Swine Flue or food shortages caused by global warming, right? Do cockroaches survive those things? Hmm.)<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3414764661/" title="socks for Mom! by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3300/3414764661_4b89a0fd26.jpg" alt="socks for Mom!" height="500" width="500" /></a></center><br /><br />For all my complaining about my handspun, I like the socks, and I sent them to my mom. The yarn, by the way, is superwash merino. Indestructible, solid superwash merino, perhaps as dense as the center of a planetary body. <br /><br /><br />The antithesis of the superwash that is trying to pose as the black hole at the center of the Milky Way is polwarth. Polwarth is a soft and incredibly springy wool, mostly found (if I am correct) in Australia and New Zealand. David, over at Southern Cross Fibre, sells a lot of Polwarth, all dyed in the most perfect Australia-themed colorways. I think this colorway is called Uluru.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3282736842/" title="Polwarth by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3607/3282736842_909d70527a.jpg" alt="Polwarth" height="375" width="500" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3316456745/" title="polwarth for Alex by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3527/3316456745_56d8303426.jpg" alt="polwarth for Alex" height="500" width="375" /></a></center><br /><br />It ended up as a sportweight yarn, even though I was aiming for fingering. It's one of those fibers that poofs up to something larger, no matter how thin you think you're spinning it. I'm not complaining, because the resulting yarn is incredibly soft and lofty, and the yardage I got from this skein, which was spun worsted style (short forward draw) was akin to what I'd get spinning woolen longdraw. Here are the socks I made from it, for Alex:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3540629584/" title="handspun socks for Alex by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2011/3540629584_ce773b3a59.jpg" alt="handspun socks for Alex" height="500" width="500" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3540638236/" title="handspun socks for Alex by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3641/3540638236_527251988b.jpg" alt="handspun socks for Alex" height="500" width="375" /></a></center><br /><br /><br /><br />While I play blogger-catchup, I realize that I may not write about all the details I'd usually include. Stuff like wraps per inch, and exact yardage and weight for handspun, might get left out. But I have been pretty good about logging all that information in Ravelry, so if you're ever curious about the exact details of a yarn or knitting project, please check over there. My handspun can be found <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/people/bowerbird/stash/handspun">here</a> and my knitting projects can be found <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/bowerbird">here</a>. I in no means plan to have Ravelry replace the blog, but I just want to let the geeks who want to know all the details have access to them, in case I leave things out on the blog. (Which I know I've done in this post.)<br /><br />I have so much to post about. I made a list, with enough content for 5 meaty posts, including this one. Next up (I think): a couple of handspun scarves, spinning for lace, and a hat pattern preview.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-33912512688347338052009-04-17T07:09:00.002-04:002009-04-17T07:39:35.990-04:00A Corrie-TaleMy silence has been mighty, and for that I apologize. I have no excuse, other than the "perfect" blog post that I've been writing in my head for 2 months, but which hasn't seen a pen or paper or keyboard. So I will temporarily give up that ghost, and focus on other non-ghostly white fluffy things. <br /><br />What I most want to share with you is my biggest spinning project to date, that I haven't posted about since it was in its beginning stages. The spinning is long done, and it deserves a blog post of its own.<br /><br />Several months ago, I bought a few pounds of a wonderful corriedale fleece. I scoured it, combed it, and spun it up into a sweater's worth of yarn. I know I posted some photos of the early parts of this project, and here is a short photo essay of some other parts of the process, starting with beautiful clean locks, and ending with a mighty pile of handspun yarn.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3263671299/" title="the last of the locks by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/189/3263671299_c5205991c1.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="the last of the locks" /></a><br />The last of the locks, ready for combing. This was a somewhat nostalgic photo for me, as it took so long to comb all of the wool. I enjoyed the process, and was a little sad to see the end of it.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3244659425/" title="Spinning Central by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3509/3244659425_01c115f504.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Spinning Central" /></a><br />A photo of my combing workspace, looking neater than it usually does. You can see my combs (Alvin Ramer Super Mini Combs) clamped to the table on the left, a small basket of combed top on the right, and a lineup of full bobbins of singles in the back.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3203268237/" title="Combing Wool 1 by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3092/3203268237_c1dc766476.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Combing Wool 1" /></a><br />These are locks, being prepared for combing. This is about how much I would put on my combs at once. I used the yellow camping towel (very absorbent) because I sprayed the locks with water (and a bit of wool wash with tea tree oil), to help prevent static electricity while combing.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3203264229/" title="Combing Wool 2 by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3373/3203264229_b089c13c1e.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Combing Wool 2" /></a><br />Locks lashed onto the comb, ready for combing.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3204102168/" title="Combing Wool 5 by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3379/3204102168_8f716acaf8.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Combing Wool 5" /></a><br />Locks after 3 passes of combing, ready to be pulled off the combs into top.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3204095848/" title="Combing Wool 8 by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3130/3204095848_281375500a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Combing Wool 8" /></a><br />Using a diz to pull top off the comb.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3204092710/" title="Combing Wool 10 by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3442/3204092710_c0e755cf24.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Combing Wool 10" /></a><br />The leftovers -- short bits that weren't long enough to come off the comb as part of the top. I erred on the side of leaving more behind, for a higher quality yarn with fewer nepps and short fibers.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3204091074/" title="Combing Wool 11 by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3426/3204091074_c96ba6e25f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Combing Wool 11" /></a><br />Hand combed top is a lot airier and more delicate than commercially prepped top. It's a pleasure to spin.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3245483698/" title="top by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3258/3245483698_f033f2434b.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="top" /></a><br />It may be impossible to have too many photos of this stuff!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3245476552/" title="bobbins by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3440/3245476552_6fd2d2c1c1.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="bobbins" /></a><br />I kept my bobbins organized in chronological order, so I could mix them up in an organized fashion when I plied the yarn.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3264502270/" title="the whole thing by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/193/3264502270_bd78b0a176.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="the whole thing" /></a><br />The (almost) final product. Six big skeins of 3 ply corriedale, worsted to aran weight. I am sending it off this weekend to be dyed, because I don't trust myself to dye this much yarn all in the same shade. (I just don't have a dye pot big enough!) What color will it be? Hmm, perhaps I'll keep that a surprise. But I have a little sample skein, and it's going to be awesome. More on that when it's done!</center><br /><br /><br />I am in love with the process of going from raw fleece to beautiful fluffy handspun in a quantity large enough for a sweater. So in love with that process, in fact, that I feel pretty dedicated to doing it a lot more in the future. I have already acquired two more fleeces -- a romney lamb's fleece in variegated colors, that I've almost finished scouring, and a CVM fleece in a brownish grey that will be up next for scouring. I'm hoping to acquire more raw wool at New Hampshire Sheep and Wool next month, and/or by ordering online from trusted farms. I don't plan to give up completely on commercially prepped stuff dyed in gorgeous colors by talented fiber artists, but I do plan to cut back. This Spring's fleece acquisitions are meant to sustain me for much of the next year, primarily for sweater knitting, but perhaps also for smaller projects. I've always admired gardeners who have the patience to plan for months and years ahead. I don't know if I'll ever be a great gardener, but harvesting these Spring fleeces feels much the same.<br /><br />More soon, my friends. I promise.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-47528814137622142112009-02-14T17:26:00.003-05:002009-02-15T15:05:35.219-05:00If you're cold, put on a hat!(Not to contradict <a href="http://www.cast-on.com">Brenda's</a> wise tag line. I've just been a bit hat crazy lately.)<br /><br />I have a lot of catch-up to do. I'm ashamed of how long ago I finished some of the hats in this post, but let's just say that I've been doing a thorough test-drive of some of them before blogging. You know, just in case... <br /><br />I'll start out with the hats knit from yarn I bought, and then go on to hats knit from yarn I spun, along with information about the handspun. Thank the Fiber Goddess for Ravelry, which has become my supplemental fiber brain. At least I'm a bit better about putting information in there than I am about blogging in a timely matter, so that something is recorded <i>somewhere</i> when it's time to blog!<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3019638793/" title="cloche by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3009/3019638793_6f39fc8e3f.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="cloche" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3019650453/" title="cloche by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3021/3019650453_494460f660.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="cloche" /></a></center><br /><br />This is the Peek-a-Boo Cloche by Mona Schmidt, from the book <i>Lace Style</i>. The original pattern calls for a sportweight yarn (one of the Louet yarns, maybe?), but when I decided to knit this the colors of leftover Knitpicks Palette sitting in the drawer (from the Fair Isle with Vertical Stripes, from oh so long ago) were calling to me. Palette is a fingering weight, and not a very robust fingering weight at that, but I decided to give it a try. The lining of the hat is knit first, from the top down, so I figured that I'd know fairly quickly whether the yarn would work, and if I'd have to alter the pattern for a vastly different gauge. My head is on the small side, so I had a good feeling about the project, and it turned out that it worked just fine, without any size alterations. The hat is just the right size for my small head, but I wouldn't want the hat to be any smaller. (So copy me at your own risk!)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3102536273/" title="Habitat by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3199/3102536273_f9691bae09.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Habitat" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3102540887/" title="Habitat by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3144/3102540887_60306c2723.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Habitat" /></a></center><br /><br />This is Habitat, by Jared Flood. (I always want to say that it was designed by Franklin Habit. Yes, I know all knitting men are not the same person.) I wish I had a better photo of it, but the light was just not cooperating that day, and I haven't had a chance to get a better shot. Which is a shame, because Alex wears it a lot. It was a birthday gift 2 months ago, and I'm delighted with how often he wears it, and how much he seems to like it. <br /><br />The yarn is Harrisville Highland, leftover from Alex's Cobblestone sweater, which he also wears often enough to make me very happy. Maybe it's lucky yarn, or maybe I'm getting better at knitting things to match his size and taste. (I wear the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/bowerbird/rhapsody-in-tweed">Rhapsody in Brown</a> sweater more often than he does. It's a bit tight on him, and I can't seem to get a more severe blocking to take. It's a little big on me, but in that just perfect way that makes it incredibly cozy.)<br /><br /><br /><br />And now onto the handspun. This first hat was quite the bargain. I bought the fiber at New Hampshire Sheep & Wool last May, and only paid $8 for the 4 oz. I believe it's Ashland Bay top, but I didn't realize it at the time. It's not a bad thing, though I feel a bit silly in retrospect, buying such widely available commercially prepped top at a local fiber event. It's 100% merino, and I carded it into rolags before spinning. I found that the fiber was a bit flat at first, and a couple of people suggested that I steam it, to put some life back into it, and re-awaken its merino crimp. That did help, and I was delighted with the soft, fluffy, and lofty yarn that resulted. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3102545721/" title="fluffy red merino by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3097/3102545721_02268173b7.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="fluffy red merino" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3103383078/" title="fluffy red merino by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3041/3103383078_6abc1c6d33.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="fluffy red merino" /></a></center><br /><br />As you can see, and as I think I mentioned in a previous post with yarn spun in a similar way (commercial top carded into rolags), you don't get a perfectly even yarn when you spin longdraw. Especially when it's from rolags, where the fibers are all jumbled together in a chaotic swirl. But I'm learning that knitted fabric can be very forgiving, and that most of the unevenness in yarns like this disappear when you knit them up. It's kind of magical, and only encourages me to spin longdraw more often. I hope seeing hats made from uneven woolen spun yarn gives some of you confidence to try it out, too.<br /><br />The yarn is a 3 ply DK weight, 13 WPI, 105 grams, and 342 yards.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3156365039/" title="Shedir by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3181/3156365039_d220d0e56f.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Shedir" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3157203098/" title="Shedir by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3248/3157203098_d9e88c8718.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Shedir" /></a></center><br /><br />The hat is Shedir, by Jenna Wilson, from the Fall 2004 edition of Knitty. I wasn't sure at first that the yarn would work with this pattern, because such delicate crosses would seem to require the most perfect and even of yarns, to avoid getting lost in the texture of the yarn. But it turns out that slightly uneven handspun works well, too. The cables probably would have popped more if I used a worsted spun yarn, which would be smoother. But I like the subtle and soft look that the woolen yarn gives to the hat. This is my favorite hat, and I honestly can hardly believe that I made it from scratch. <br /><br /><br /><br />These last two hats are also knit from handspun rolags. These rolags are from washed corriedale locks that I bought from Julie (jsandell on Ravelry) a while ago. Having worked with other corriedale since then, and having discussed the nature of these particular locks with her, I think I've come to the conclusion that this is not typical corriedale. In some ways it behaved more like a longwool would, in that it wasn't as crimpy, and had a very smooth feel to it. In retrospect, it was not the ideal fiber for rolags, since I've found that I prefer rolags and longdraw spinning with very crimpy fibers. But I made it work, and enjoyed the experience.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3053916856/" title="corriedale rolags by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3165/3053916856_a2cd182c26.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="corriedale rolags" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3065293633/" title="white corriedale by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3169/3065293633_7bdd064ac3.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="white corriedale" /></a></center><br /><br />That is about 550 yards of a 3 ply, 9 WPI yarn. It was all spun longdraw from the rolags, and wasn't quite as even as it looked. I don't think it was as even as the merino I spun up for the hat. Next, I dyed it:<br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3110660296/" title="hand carded/spun/dyed corriedale by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3051/3110660296_6dd504c139.jpg" width="417" height="500" alt="hand carded/spun/dyed corriedale" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3109825563/" title="hand carded/spun/dyed corriedale by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3079/3109825563_fb0e1ce82c.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="hand carded/spun/dyed corriedale" /></a></center><br /><br />This was my first (and only, so far) experience dyeing anything, and I was happy with the results. It turned out darker than what I was going for, but I think the yarn was just perfect this way, so it was a happy accident. <br /><br />I knit two hats with the yarn. The first hat was too big for the intended recipient, and the hat would just not shrink, no matter what I did to it. A very strange corriedale, indeed, as I'd expect most corriedale to full easily if given the opportunity. I think it was the relative lack of crimp in the yarn.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3210625142/" title="Jan's Hat by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3496/3210625142_ae6d480ba3.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Jan's Hat" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3209773435/" title="Jan's Hat by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3394/3209773435_599090a9a7.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Jan's Hat" /></a></center><br /><br />This too-large hat is from Jared Flood's Turn A Square pattern. It's a beautiful hat (if I may toot my own horn), and I'm sure I'll be able to find someplace to donate it. Heck, I know it won't felt in the wash, so I bet that even charities that don't usually take wool (because of felting fears) could make good use of it!<br /><br />I decided that my second try at a hat for Jan would not only be on smaller needles with slightly fewer stitches, but would also incorporate more of a ribbing-based pattern, for optimal fit flexibility. I decided on the spindle stitch pattern from Charlene Schurch's book <i>More Sensational Knitted Socks</i>. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3263666243/" title="Jan's Hat (for real) by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/233/3263666243_eef6420389.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Jan's Hat (for real)" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3264487162/" title="Jan's Hat (for real) by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/199/3264487162_3e77655550.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Jan's Hat (for real)" /></a></center><br /><br />The hat fits her perfectly. <br /><br /><br />I do have one other hat that I've knit in the past few months, but I'm not blogging about that yet. That hat was also knit from fiber that I prepped (on combs) and spun myself, and uses a beautiful Barbara Walker stitch pattern. I did a ton of work designing a way to decrease the top of the hat in an unusual and interesting way that flows out of the intricate stitch pattern, and am probably going to submit the pattern to the Twist collective, for consideration for their Fall issue. Writing up that proposal is on my to-do list for this long weekend. I really wish I could share the photos with you, because I am immensely proud of the hat. This one was also for a co-worker (a Secret Santa gift), and luckily fit her perfectly on the first try. More on that another time, I suppose.<br /><br /><br />My spinning wheel has been incredibly busy so far this year. I have finished spinning the yarn for a sweater. That's how busy. More on that soon, I hope. <br /><br /><br />Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, Sophie was born the day after my last post, and is indeed an extraordinary little person. She has beautiful red hair and at least one dimple, and is so incredibly charming in photos that I fear I may be bowled completely over when I get to meet her in person. To my delight, the sweaters are a bit big on her, which means she gets to grow into them and wear them that much longer.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-51457467837443966942009-01-15T18:20:00.000-05:002009-01-15T18:22:12.901-05:00Baby Baby Baby!Well, only one baby. A very good friend of mine, as I type this, is in a hospital in NYC, bouncing on a yoga ball, and trying to convince her daughter to join us here on the outside. C'mon kiddo! You can do it!<br /><br />Of course, I have knit.<br /><br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3167088741/" title="Baby Yours by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1088/3167088741_b3054a4e4c.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="Baby Yours" /></a></center><br /><br />Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Baby Yours sweater, in Socks That Rock mediumweight. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3167914924/" title="Baby Yours by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1330/3167914924_70d58df9c7.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Baby Yours" /></a></center><br /><br />I've settled on the yellow buttons.<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3167053341/" title="February Baby Sweater by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3132/3167053341_21714f959a.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="February Baby Sweater" /></a></center><br /><br />Elizabeth Zimmermann's February Baby Sweater, also in Socks That Rock mediumweight.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3167062943/" title="February Baby Sweater by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1292/3167062943_5f71e6a857.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="February Baby Sweater" /></a></center><br /><br />This button's twin will live on a project for me. (More about that in a future post.)<br /><br /><br /><br />Really, there's not much more to say about the sweaters. Straightforward and beautiful, and I really do need to get them in the mail. <br /><br />Watch out, world. All babies are special, but this one will be extraordinary. I promise.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-31269962069512404522009-01-07T16:35:00.005-05:002009-01-07T17:11:29.154-05:00Snow DayIt's my birthday, and the wintry mix outside meant that I got home from work early. What a treat! (I do enjoy work, but I also welcome surprise birthday early closings.)<br /><br />As I wrote a few days ago, I have a long backlog of projects to share with you guys. But since this is a special day for me all around, I'm going to temporarily skip over the stuff that's done and write a bit about my two long-term ongoing projects, both of which I find quite pleasing and exciting.<br /><br />I am delighted to be working on a sweater again, after a very long break from sweater knitting. Too long of a break, really. A few months ago I bought Lisa Lloyd's book <i>A Fine Fleece</i>, and promptly fell in love with just about every project in the book. It's a fantastically beautiful book, and everyone reading this should buy a copy. Immediately. (And if times are tight and you can't afford to splurge on a book, go look for it at your local library.) The idea behind the book is to provide knitters who spin with patterns for their own handspun. Each of the projects in the book (most of which are sweaters) are knit in both a commercially available yarn and a handspun yarn. The projects are tasteful and wearable, and full of just the right amount of texture. I have chosen, as my first project from the book, the Staghorn aran. I'm knitting it out of Cascade 220 Heathers, in the Sapphire color. Here's an old photo of the back, about halfway done:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3125107393/" title="Staghorn Aran by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3096/3125107393_f741617c01.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Staghorn Aran" /></a></center><br /><br />I just finished the back, and have started on the front. Arans take a long time to knit, with all of those cables, but I'm not yet bored or tired of knitting on this sweater. And best of all, it should be done in time for there to still be cold weather here in New Hampshire. Here's an artsy detail shot:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3125944236/" title="Staghorn Aran by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/3125944236_f67a12eedc.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Staghorn Aran" /></a></center><br /><br />Really, this book deserves a more thorough review, because it is that good. But I don't have the book in front of me, and I admit that I haven't read through all of the text yet, because I still haven't finished completely drinking in all of the patterns and the pattern photos. But it is rare for me to find a pattern book where I am so gaga over so many of the patterns. I can be very picky. And, well, I pick this book. It's probably my favorite pattern book, and that's saying a lot.<br /><br /><br />I did feel a little bad that my first sweater from the book was in millspun yarn. Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with millspun yarn, but it seemed a shame to have this book full of information about how to best use my handspun for a beautiful sweater, and to be taking the easy way out. But then Amy started the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/spinner-central/432446/1-25">January '09 quarterly spin along</a> in the Spinner Central group on Ravelry, and I knew my sweater's time had come. The goal of the spin along is to spin yarn for a cabled sweater during the first 3 months of 2009. I had all that beautiful corriedale that I washed, and decided to jump right in. <br /><br />I'm not being as thorough about my yarn planning as many of the other participants of the spin along. I haven't chosen a sweater pattern, and don't plan to until my yarn is done. I am letting the fiber be what it wants to be, and will figure out what the yarn is best suited to later. I did know that I'd want to spin a 3 ply yarn, which is ideal for showing off texture, and I did a small sampling before starting to spin in earnest, just to make sure I liked the yarn I was making. <br /><br />I'm working with combed top, which I have made myself. Actually, I've probably only combed about 1/3 of the fiber, so I'll have to take some spinning breaks to get the rest done. Here is a photo of just a bit of my combed top:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3125954136/" title="top by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3244/3125954136_0444554623.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="top" /></a></center><br /><br />Isn't it heavenly! Spinning with hand combed top is much different than spinning with commercially prepped top. It is lighter and fluffier, and much easier for me to draft. I often pre-draft commercially prepped top, at least a little bit, because I find it unpleasant to work with very densely packed fiber. It would never even occur me to pre-draft my hand combed top. It is perfect as-is. I honestly wish I could send every spinner in the world a little muffin of combed top, so they could experience it first-hand. <br /><br />I finished my first bobbin a few days ago. Here it is, in all its glory:<br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3167239099/" title="And so it begins. by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3083/3167239099_c66890db7f.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="And so it begins." /></a></center><br /><br />I'm not sure how many bobbins I'll have in the end. I estimated 9, but it's hard to tell, because I honestly don't know how much fiber I have. I think I bought 3.5 pounds, but that was before it was scoured. It loses weight in scouring, and then there is a lot of combing waste. It might turn out to be a bit less than 9, but at the moment I really don't care. Mostly, I'm enjoying the spinning. I was concerned that I would get bored spinning this much white fiber, and while there's still plenty of time to get bored with the project, I'm cautiously optimistic. Most of my spinning projects are only 4 oz, total. Yet this first bobbin felt like a beginning, not an end. I'm about 2/3 of the way through my second bobbin, and I'm still very excited about the project. No boredom, yet!<br /><br />In case you're interested in some technical info., I'm spinning my singles to match up to the 28 wraps per inch line on my spinner's control card. I don't find my spinner's control card to to be that accurate (I usually get a different wpi than it says I should for a given thickness of yarn), but that doesn't matter much. All I need to know is that my singles should match that particular line, so I can periodically check to make sure my singles are fairly consistent. I have three kinds of bobbins: the regular Schacht bobbins, WooLee Winder bobbins, and high speed Schacht bobbins. I plan to only spin on my regular Schacht bobbins, and re-wind all of my bobbins onto other bobbins for storage. I'll probably ply on my WooLee Winder bobbins. <br /><br />I don't know if I'll be keeping the yarn white, or if I'll dye it. The idea of a white sweater makes me a little nervous (I'm not good at keeping clothing stain-free), but I'm not sure if I could dye a sweater's worth of yarn evenly, and I don't like the idea of having to alternate skeins every few rows of a knitting project. I probably should have dyed the fiber before I combed it, but it's too late for that. And I'm very reluctant to dye my combed top, because I suspect that it would lose a lot of its airiness if I did. <br /><br /><br /><br />That's my exciting new stuff. I hope you all are also delving into exciting new things at the beginning of this new year. Or at the very least, enjoying the not so new things you may be working on.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-42155831592909595812009-01-01T12:39:00.003-05:002009-01-01T13:23:45.492-05:00You are in for a treat.You are in for a treat, because I haven't blogged for 5 weeks, but I have continued to make things. Yesterday I flipped through my Flickr photos, and made a list of all the things I have yet to blog about. There is so much to share! Some of it still needs to be photographed, which is very hard for me to do in the winter, because I need to count on having a clear day with good sunlight on a weekend day. But I'm getting there, and am going to kick off what I hope will be a collection of somewhat more frequent catch-up posts with some plain old spinning. Yarn I've made, not attached to a specific project, not necessarily with an interesting background story or tales of techniques learned. Just some good old fashioned handspun.<br /><br /><br /><center><b>Glowing and Squishy</b><br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3025748726/" title="Wensleydale Singles by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3006/3025748726_90a5484ab4.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Wensleydale Singles" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3025740998/" title="Wensleydale Singles by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3068/3025740998_29362d9547.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Wensleydale Singles" /></a></b></center><br /><br />The last of my small Hello Yarn fiber stash, this beautiful skein is Wensleydale Singles, in the Illuminated colorway. About 9 wpi, 116 g., and 202 yd., I'm thinking it will be great in a simple roll brim stockinette hat. It's very loosely spun, though I achieved that effect by running it back through the spinning wheel in the opposite direction, to take out some of the twist I put in when I first spun it. Worked like a charm! I haven't really thought much about this yarn since I spun it, but writing this up, I'm tempted to cast on for that hat today... perhaps even without swatching. Wild and crazy, I know.<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><b>This is the Yarn That Never Ends</b><br />(It just went on and on, my friends.)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/2854106464/" title="green merino bobbin by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3088/2854106464_efe7bd0761.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="green merino bobbin" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3035349140/" title="green handspun merino by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3213/3035349140_accabb8f8e.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="green handspun merino" /></a></center><br /><br />This is green merino, dyed by Crazy Monkey. I bought 8 oz. of it on a whim, and started spinning it on a whim. For some reason, finishing this spinning project felt like pulling teeth. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the fiber. It was all me. But it's done, and while it's not nearly my favorite yarn, ever, I think it will make great knee highs some day.<br /><br />I admit, at one point I got so bored spinning it that I decided to spin some of it long draw, from the fold. Which is only a problem because that's not how most of it is spun, so obviously I had given up on any hope of getting a very uniform yarn. But at least it was a fun learning opportunity, bundled up in an inexplicably boring project. It is 17.5 wpi untensioned, 22.5 wpi tensioned, and feels like a heavy fingering weight. The skeins are not equal in size, but total up to 195 grams and 812 yards. More than enough for knee highs!<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><b>Yellow Is The Cure</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3125965904/" title="Handspun Pulse BFL by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3208/3125965904_77919406a1.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Handspun Pulse BFL" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3125959404/" title="Handspun Pulse BFL by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3238/3125959404_217dac68fe.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="Handspun Pulse BFL" /></a></center><br /><br />I was feeling in a bit of a spinning slump, and the cure was to pull <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3035258998/">this Spunky Eclectic BFL top</a> out of one of my fiber drawers. It had been a very long time since I spun with BFL, and I honestly don't know what I was waiting for. I still love the fiber, and the moment I started spinning it, I was already dreaming up the sweater I would knit out of handspun BFL, one day. <br /><br />The yarn is a 3 ply light worsted weight, 12 wpi, 111 g., 178 yards. I was thinking of knitting a Koolhaas hat with it, though I'm not sure if the colors are too variegated for that. I might just start it, and then continue in plain ribbing (instead of the twisted stitch pattern) if it seems like that would be best.<br /><br />For the record, the handspun BFL sweater I am dreaming of is in the Spunky Eclectic redwood colorway, and mostly stockinette. Perhaps turned hems, maybe using EZ's Seamless Hybrid pattern as a starting point? BFL tends to be fairly dense when spun up (at least the way I like to spin it) so something plain, without a lot of texture, seems to be the way to go. (Though I suspect there is also a natural colored, hand combed BFL sweater in my future. Grey or brown, with some cables here and there. Must keep my eye out for BFL fleeces this Spring...)<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><b>My Eyes Were Bigger Than My Stomach</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3068455566/" title="spinning silk by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3182/3068455566_5bf4a4c608.jpg" width="325" height="500" alt="spinning silk" /></a></center><br /><br />I bought 4 oz. of beautiful hand dyed purple silk top from Julie Spins. It came in 2 ounce bundles, but I wanted more than that. The idea was to spin each bundle separately, and then ply them together for a 2 ply laceweight yarn.<br /><br />I learned that spinning silk takes a lot of concentration. Julie's silk is gorgeous, but silk likes to fly away and bunch up and do all sorts of other things that wool doesn't tend to do. But the other good thing about silk is that a little goes a long way. I decided to stop after just short of 2 oz. I will ply this on itself, and I'm sure I'll have enough for something wonderful. The other 2+ ounces will sit around for a while, until I figure out what to do with it. At the moment, I'm thinking that it could be fun to blend with something. I bet a silk/wool blended batt would be easier to spin than straight silk. I don't have a drum carder, but I have been saving up pattern sale money for a while now, and perhaps I'll eventually use it (once I have enough, which could take a while) to buy a Strauch Petite. Or maybe I'll use it for heating fuel later this winter. We shall see! <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Happy new year to everybody. It's nice to be back, and I just know that 2009 has to be better than 2008. (My year starts out with my birthday, then inauguration day, so things are looking up already!)Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15480589.post-24345399890506482112008-11-25T14:31:00.004-05:002008-11-26T07:24:07.220-05:00Five Things That Make Me Happy1. <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/yarn/151560/1-25">The pooling thread on Ravelry</a>. This thread is full of really interesting and often quite beautiful photos of pooling and flashing in knitted and crocheted projects. Not only is it an informational thread, where you can get a better idea of how certain yarns may act in certain kinds of projects, but it's just plain good eye candy. You'll be amazed at some of the stuff yarn does, seemingly all on its own. Now that I think about it, some of it is even kind of creepy...<br /><br />2. The <a href="http://yarnspinnerstales.com/">Yarnspinner's Tales</a> podcast. This is an incredibly informative podcast, though it should come with a warning label, because I'm convinced that it was the straw that broke the camel's back in terms of me learning how to process fiber. The first couple of episodes don't have the greatest sound quality, but it improves, and you should listen to <i>all</i> of them, anyway. If you have even the slightest interest in spinning and/or fiber processing, you should subscribe to this podcast immediately, and make sure to download and listen to all the back episodes. <br /><br />3. Rolags and iMovie. I've learned how to make truly soft, squishy yarn. Fuzzy wuzzy cuddly yarn. And I also learned how to document it. Or rather, I documented it in the roughest of manners, using the built in camera on my MacBook, and doing the barest minimal in terms of editing. I made the rolags out of commercially prepped merino top, that was hand dyed by Freckleface Fibers. These videos show you how I did it:<br /><br /><center><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="327" data="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=63881" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"> <param name="flashvars" value="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=ecd116a349&photo_id=3042408634"></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=63881"></param> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=63881" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=ecd116a349&photo_id=3042408634" height="327" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="327" data="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=63881" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"> <param name="flashvars" value="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=d4b5d1f2d6&photo_id=3041554185"></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=63881"></param> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=63881" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=d4b5d1f2d6&photo_id=3041554185" height="327" width="400"></embed></object><br /></center><br /><br />(It's not really that loud when I card it. The mic picked up mostly the high pitched noises, which makes it sound like I'm mashing the teeth of the cards together. They lightly touch, but I'm not scraping or digging them into each other.)<br /><br /><br />And here's how I spun it:<br /><br /><center><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="327" data="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=63881" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"> <param name="flashvars" value="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=3604e22bde&photo_id=3041539969"></param> <param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=63881"></param> <param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"></param> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=63881" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=3604e22bde&photo_id=3041539969" height="327" width="400"></embed></object></center><br /><br /><br />And here is the lovely yarn:<br /><br /><center><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3053114895/" title="woolen spun merino by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/3053114895_2e35ba26f4.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="woolen spun merino" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3053102399/" title="woolen spun merino by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3245/3053102399_977ff0a78c.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="woolen spun merino" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3053923282/" title="woolen spun merino by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3032/3053923282_b7737fe798.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="woolen spun merino" /></a></center><br /><br />366 yards<br />87 grams (after sampling, and not splitting it evenly)<br />13.5 wpi (DK weight)<br /><br />This yarn is not as even as what I'd get with worsted / short forward draw. That's the nature of longdraw woolen spinning, and I'm at peace with that. Mostly. Actually, I didn't realize how comfortable I was with my technique and what I was producing until I made this video, because it forced me to stop scrutinizing every tiny detail of the yarn, and notice that I was mostly doing a great job, and mostly doing what I've see in other longdraw videos on YouTube. It was a great confidence booster, and I suggest video for everyone. It's really interesting to see your process from an outside angle.<br /><br />I plan to do this a lot more in the future. Of course, it's a bit dangerous, because it's so quick. Doing short forward draw worsted style spinning, it's not too hard to keep up with knitting the stuff I'm spinning. Woolen spinning is so fast that I could never knit it as fast as I spin it. I admit, I've already been thinking about buying a pound of hand dyed merino top for a sweater. The yardage you get with woolen spinning is so great that that's all I'd need for something fairly plain, and maybe even for something with more texture. I LOVE this!<br /><br /><br />4. My stash. I love my stash because it's limited in size, yet has so much potential. There's some blue Cascade 220 for an aran, a couple of skeins of Noro for an awesome mitten design idea, a couple of skeins of mostly solid sock yarn, because that is somewhat of a staple yarn for me, and a whole bunch of handspun that is special because I made it. This is not a collection of stuff, but a collection of future endeavors and untapped creativity. It is a collection of potential energy, waiting to prance across my needles. The best kind of collection!<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bowerbirdknits/3035354760/" title="workspace by bowerbirdknits, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3152/3035354760_88defd2e2b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="workspace" /></a></center><br /><br />5. You guys. Thank you so much for the comments on my last post. I was a bit scared to post what I did, and almost immediatley had second thoughts about it after I did post it. I don't crave or even particularly want attention. At least not for negative things that none of us have any control over. The spirit and tone of your comments was absolutely perfect. Thank you all for not being too sappy, and for saying a lot of really intelligent things that made me smile, nod my head in agreement, and think a lot. This blog wouldn't be the same without the people who read it, and I'm not really a spiritual person, but I do feel that the energy of the readers makes a difference in a blog. At least for the person who is writing it. You guys have a great energy, great hearts, and great minds. I am a lucky blogger.Rebekkahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623596104164733102noreply@blogger.com17