awayuq

choo choo!

Tomorrow I hop on a train for Baltimore. It's almost European, but much slower. Saturday, it's ho to the sheep! Tell you all about it when I get back. This evening's mental energy is reserved for deciding what knitting to take with me.

not really instant moderate gratification

Sometimes I get tired of projects on tiny needles on which I can't see any progress. Here's this week's antidote: front and back of a cotton sweater on size 10 needles. Yikes! they feel so big. But I can already see actual inches of fabric, instead of millimeters. Life in general is a little wacky right now, and frankly, I don't really care if this garment ever gets finished. What I need is to work on something that takes minimal concentration, on which accomplishment is visible, and on which mistakes don't matter too much. This yarn has already been ripped from one very unbecoming though well-intentioned tank top, and if this pullover stalls and it gets frogged again it won't care. I didn't even check gauge before starting. If it doesn't fit me, it will fit someone else. This is a project for calming purposes. Easy. Soothing. For the one who craves huge lace shawls on size 0's, quick.

If it does become complete, it will be a fitted pullover with high ribbed collar and an eyelet design at the neck. (couldn't quite stay away from lace even at this gauge!) The long sleeves have a ribbed panel going up the outside. That is, if I decide to keep following the pattern.

Side note: boss has started to contact travel agent for summer reservations. Peru being Peru, who knows what will happen, but it looks as if he's fully intending to take me. I am looking forward to it. Two months of terrible roads, weird water, ceviche, cold damp nights, foggy days, dust, cheap avocados, uncertain laundries, nothing in english to read, marriage proposals from taxi drivers... To get out of the country and do interesting work... what could be better? I am so grateful!

rediscoveries

I cut out the green pants over the weekend. I even found a matching zipper and thread! What I did not find is interfacing. Went through lots of bins to no avail. Oh, but the treasures I came across... lovely flowing rayons in bright summer prints. Swinging skirt? Princess line dress? A pile of linens, many different weights. Some crisp, some soft. Blues, greens, pinks and tans. A piece in yellow that would be perfect for a snappy little sleeveless blouse. One bin is entirely large-ish scraps, too small for a whole garment but too big to throw away... I feel another patchwork jacket coming on. I have two already, from a pattern I made up, and they are favorite garments. I wear them all the time in the summer and when travelling because I put lots of pockets inside. From the pile of scraps it looks as if I could do one all in blacks and reds, and another in green and blue and white.

So you see, stash is lovely for inspiration and comfort. Let it sit long enough and you'll be surprised at what you find. I don't feel guilty about my stockpile. It provides a lovely diversion.

Store window notes: inverted pleats are seen on skirts, with underlays of contrasting fabric. For instance, a panelled skirt of blue and white pinstripes, with pleat underlays in a floral print. The six-gore skirt was seen in yellow with green piping on every seam, and large square pockets on the front side panels (rather 30's-ish). For tops, a simple cotton cap-sleeve v-neck sweater, with a chiffon scarf drawn through eyelets in the neck.

seek and ye shall...

this morning I went looking for these. They have been patiently hibernating for I won't say how many years, waiting for an opportunity to be spun. Back when I was doing more dyeing, I painted a series of cotton rovings and prepared to combine them á la Deb Menz. These are some already combined and ready for spinning. The rest of the painted rovings were closeby in a separate bag. After the natural green cotton weft project, I've decided that I want to spin more cotton, but I want more color in my life. The natural "green" reminds me too much of archaeological textiles that have been buried for thousands of years. Nice in a way, but. One of the few drawbacks to spinning your own cotton is that, unless I'm way behind, no-one has yet come up with a home mercerization process, and therefore colors on cotton homespun will forever alas be those duller unmercerized shades. Maybe if I were to get a tencel/cotton blend the colors would be brighter? And I could still spin on my charka?

On the way to finding these little balls of color, I came across (partial listing):

50/50 cotton/merino blend, some grey, some blue
some gorgeous honey colored tussah silk roving I forgot I had.
cotton/hemp blend
cotton/flax blends
balls of handdyed hemp roving; ditto linen roving
packages of silk handkerchiefs in vivid fuschia and brilliant blue
cotton/silk roving
an enormous silk bell (or do they call it a cap? I forget-- kind of conical shaped...)
cotton/flax/lyocell blend

And I didn't even open the wool bins. The point is this: dear friends, old and new, whom I may meet at MDSW, I do not need any more fiber to spin. I could work for two years and not spin up everything that I have. If you see me fondling some bundle of relatively ordinary roving with an acquisitive gleam, you may softly whisper "what's in that closet?" or "spun any silk lately?" You may remind me that I don't, in fact, spin or knit much wool because I don't wear that much wool. You may remind me that I have a full-time job. You may remind me that I honestly, seriously, very much want to travel this Christmas. (Out of state. Out of the country). You may remind me that it is not necessary to acquire to appreciate. In short, I truly don't want to purchase any fiber unless it is absolutely one of a kind and exceptional.

Things I might consider buying: Deb Menz' new book, if it's out yet. Cashmere, in a small quantity, because I've heard that it is short enough to be spun on a charka. Spinnable color blends by Deb (got some at SOAR last year and loved them). An exceptional spindle. Silk noil, if moderately priced, for color blending. 100% tencel because I don't think I have any and I'd like to try it. Not all of the above.

And I want to try out as many wheels as I can. I have an idea that there is a great wheel somewhere in my future. (in which the great is defining the type of wheel and not just the quality. Large wheel, small spindle, stand up and spin-- you know what I mean).

soy swatch

has been washed. I love it! It has a nice hand. It seems to have gained a glimmer of slinkiness after washing. Less like cotton tape, more like something that will drape. I hope for more of this yarn in my future. (If you see knots on the tails, that's because I knot into my swatches the size needle I used. Otherwise I might forget before I get Organized and write down all the specifics of my swatch on a little knitting swatch form. Which of course I do with all my swatches. Eventually. If they are still to be found when Eventually arrives.)

puzzle

One of the things I love about weaving is that no matter how long you have been studying the intersection of threads, you can still be surprised. Here's the cloth straight off the loom:

And here it is with fringes knotted, awaiting washing.

Flat, right? But we know that the weft is highly energized singles so in those looser stripes we expect that, when it gets wet, it will crinkle up in a most fascinating manner. So, we put in in the bath...

and then we hang it up to dry and find that...

it's still flat.

Those of you who have never experienced a collapse fabric may be neither surprised nor disappointed. I am puzzled. All that spinning and all that extra energy and-- nothing. No crinkles, no seersucker, nothing. All I can figure at this point is that the plain weave stripes are too closely sett to allow the energy to play. They were 24 epi, for 20/2 cotton... loose. But not loose enough. Having worked with gauze, I should know this. Experimentation starts at about half the sett you'd use for plain weave. Next time, I'll try about 15 epi and see what happens.

In the meantime, it is still nice fabric. Soft. Comforting. I like the fringes. I'll wear it. And it is handspun! So it is not a failure by any means. But it does set(t) me pondering.

naked

loom. This morning there was an official long-awaited cloth removal ceremony. The fabric now so anxiously hovering in the after-loom before-finishing state is my first warp woven with handspun cotton. Immediately the tension was released it showed some signs of relaxing in the less dense stripes. I can't wait to see what the singles weft will do when it hits water. There will be pictures, promise.

I learned a great deal trying to weave with my handspun. Being used to an end-feed shuttle, the spindle shuttle I used for this, in which the yarn comes out the side, was a big change. I'd blissfully forgotten about the bobbin overspinning issue. The idea of taking spindles right from the charka to the loom is fantastic, but it will take some practice. The shuttle seems to work better when the spindle is full. When the cop gets down closer and closer to the shaft, the bobbin turns faster as it is unwinding, leading to a greater possibility of kick back in which the yarn winds around the wrong way or around some part where it shouldn't be or it gets so exuberant it snaps. Also I found that inconsistency in my spinning was a real problem. I already knew this, but the number of times the yarn broke as I was weaving with it convinced me that this is something I *must* figure out if I'm going to be even an adequate spinner. I don't mind thin yarn-- I crave it-- I'd love to be able to spin fine enough to weave almost-transparent cotton gauzes. But when a very very thin place comes in a yarn that isn't overall that small, it gets brittle, and snaps with the force of the shuttle going through the shed. Back to basics, say I to myself. Practice spinning a smooth consistent yarn that's big enough not to be invisible. Another prominent difficulty was the tendency of my singles to twist back on themselves in the shed. This probably has to do with shuttle technique-- too long a weft length coming out for one pick.

In spite of these issues, charka spinning is very pleasureable to me. Still seems magical. I might try for a 3-ply yarn next-- in some color other than natural green cotton.

context

A glimpse of the studio. It is much smaller than it looks. You are seeing a fraction of the shelves and yarn. I sew and weave in here, and spin in the living room. Knitting occurs in The Chair, as yet unpictured on this blog. I put up all the shelves myself (proud first-time homeowner speaks). What every woman wants: a cordless drill and a cool level.

a few littles

New acquisitions: two 40" long circular needles. I'm thinking socks might be good travelling knitting for the summer. Small, packable, useable immediately when finished, and with this new-to-me loopy method, no dpns to fall underneath plane seats and bus seats and get lost in the inner recesses of suitcases. My LYS *finally* had the spring Rebecca in stock, so I purchased that too.

Soy silk swatch is finished, awaiting washing.

I was worried that Alice was off gauge again, but I measured it carefully yesterday and I think it's ok. It was being shunted aside from the active work pile because I was worried about it, but now I can forge ahead.

my very first...

Even when I lived on the west coast I heard about the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, and dreamed about it, and figured I'd never get there. Now, thanks to the kindness and generosity of June and her friends, I have a chance to go! I made train reservations this morning. No groans, I like train trips. It will be long, but afford plenty of time for knitting. I certainly don't need any more fiber to spin, but just think how fun it will be to see the animals, and try spinning wheels, and... well I haven't been to any fiber fests in a long time, so it will be a great treat. Can't wait!