Strung out

When one has so many projects and hobbies, things are bound to get a little jumbled up and "forgotten" about.  I had to organize my stuff a few weeks ago, and I decided to use the vertical space to store some of the things that really didn't have an appropriate home. 

To make this, I used some hand-painted Lismore Sheep Farm Wool (one of my favorite places to stop on my way to visit my family), and crocheted it, using a large hook, so there would be plenty of space to hang or tie things to, inside the loop, so the things wouldn't slide down.

It is a great place to store my sample spinning, when I am trying to decide how I want a yarn to look while before I go ahead and spin 100g of it, and realize I am not happy with the result...do i want 2 ply, 3 ply, Navajo ply?  Do I want bulky, thick and thin, etc.  So there are swatches of yarns knit and still in the skein.  Next step is to start writing it down.  Right now I rely on my memory...it seems to be...wait, what did I just say?


This is a cashmere - merino blend, then a test on psuedo rolag spinning which is what I will post about soon, and some gotland, and another merino silk blend, plied with a thin single of alpaca.  These are baby skeins and barely weigh a gram each. 



inspiration and reminders

Here is a little weaving project , reminding me of the weather, the rain, the snow, the wind...the crisp sunrise...and some angora-merino on the spindle.  And some test knits of hand-spun yarns.



you call it blecky dust bunnies, i call it art-in-waiting

I don't throw anything out.  I save the scragglies that won't spin neatly, and put them in this bag for weaving, or felting, or making art yarns using a core-spinning technique.  Whatevs, there is a purpose for it (but I may be the only one who sees it like that).


I love my kids!

 Above, two of my favorite things...The spindle on the left was made by my eldest daughter for her 4-H demonstration on spinning wool.  She made the spindle and then used it to spin in front of her captive audience.  My middle girl spun two singles and plied them using one of these spindles.  It was a great first effort, and I hope she continues!  The spindle on the right is the spindle I made for my youngest daughter, and on it is her spinning.  I used most of what she spun in the weaving project:

So, there you go.  Inspiration from my kids, inspiration from the endless possibilities that is fibre art, and just a bit of organization.
Have a great day dreaming!

Sweater Fretter

A completed sweater eludes me. I can feel the need to make a sweater, I want to make a sweater! I like to sew and knit and create things to wear. My body does not fit into a lot of clothes in the store (because I'm tall...yeah, because I'm tall), and sweaters are one of those things that is hard to find, and I *should* make myself.  It's to do with the length and shaping. Everything that fits around is too short. Arms too short, waist shaping does not sit on my waist, the sweater isn't long enough. I have, therefore, been dreaming about making a sweater.

What has prevented this from happening all these years?

Fear of a large project: I work full time and have 5 kids at home, and frankly, I don't have a lot of time to be crafty, and I think I should be able to dedicate enough spare time in a row to making a sweater. Otherwise, it would go out of style by the time I get it done.

Finding the perfect yarn: Look, if I am going to dish out $$ to buy enough yarn to make a sweater, I want it to be suitable and nice and "me". What is "me"? I like colour, but not in an overbearing way. Sometimes I repress my love of colour and wear black, or brown, or grey. So, why not a black sweater? Because I would be completely bored.  In my knitting, there is always colour!

First project charm fail:  OK, I do know enough about knitting that I can follow any pattern and have the results turn out OK.  But I usually make "enhancements" or modifications so that I am most comfortable.  This means that the second time I make something, the object turns out better than the first.  Can I commit to making TWO sweaters, just so I can have a sweater that I like?

OK.

How can I change my thinking to be more positive?  Here's my self talk:

"Quit your job, you fool.  You will have way more time for knitting and spinning and being who you really are!"
"Spin the yarn you want to have for the project, then it will be exactly like you want it"
"Pay attention, this is your sweater, don't screw up!"

Alright, alright, I am not going to quit my job...(eyes to the left and up, index finger tapping chin, a barely audible "hmmm" coming from my throat).  But!  I did start to spin the yarn for my sweater.  It is mostly neutral with hints of colour coming from it.  I did a few swatches of different weights and different plying techniques and I found exactly what I am imagining.

Here is the first skein I spun for my sweater.  It is worsted drawn, 2 ply wool blend with mohair and soybean.  One single is a natural wool with a hint of a turquoisey colour and and the second is crazy greens and yellow with some natural undyed wool. 

Here is what is in my bag right now, I am spinning the turquoise.

I am so excited that I am actually going to do this!  I still have a lot more spinning to do, but it goes by quickly. 

All of my ducks are in a row...
Now...what to choose as my pattern?