Fibonacci Stripes on a Hat Brim

I'm knitting a watch cap with Fibonacci stripes on the brim.  I'm using up some leftover yarn to do it, plus I bought a ball of grey.  Not crazy about the synthetic dye but am living with it.

Once More, With Feeling

I finally got gauge on my sweater after a couple of false starts and a regrettable lapse into procrastination.  I have completed seven inches of the back and that's all, not counting all the knitting I did with too small and too large needles.

I am on the right track now for a handknit sweater in the correct size.  Sadly, I won't finish in time to enter it in the festival competition.  I'd like to aim to be done in time to wear the sweater at the festival but given my rate of progress I fear all I would have is the makings of a thick knitted waistcoat, if that.

Diversion

I am done spinning my two ounces of Sweetgrass Targhee, finally.  Progress didn't just seem glacial, it was: it measured a month from start to finish with many days where the spindle sat untouched.  Some of that was understandable and some was sloth, for which I blame the expedient handknit dish cloths.

Now to ply and then make another two ounces of yarn after that.  That will finish off my supply of this wool.

I'd expected that this along with the existing four ounces of Targhee handspun would be enough to make a monochrome språng scarf.  It would have been too, except I diverted half the yarn on hand to another purpose.  A friend went to a dye workshop and kindly took my skein along for three dips in the indigo vat.

Isn't indigo attractive and restful looking?  I got to see some of the workshop results with woad on another skein and I think woad looks even better, but indigo is good.

The dye vat's warm water caused the yarn to expand in diameter because the crimp of the wool revived, much the way naturally curly hair gets curlier after washing.  If I eke this out with yet more Targhee handspun for a project, I will wash that yarn so it will be in the same state.

One Thousand and One

That's a little Sweetgrass Targhee wool yarn there on my spindle.  I'm spinning a couple of ounces at about 30 wpi to match a four ounce braid's worth of two ply yarn that I spun awhile back, so that I'll have enough for a project.

The number of things overall that I'd like to make is not quite one thousand and one.

Lime Green Dish Cloths

I am knitting dishcloths in lime green cotton.  Doesn't get me nearer my goal of handspun wearables for me in natural colours, not in the least.  The fibre and colour are not my taste.

Yet it serves me to knit them.  I needed a simple project to take along to a knit and natter, one that would let me concentrate on my friends and the conversation.

I heard a quote I like by Michael Fogus: "Talking is a denial-of-service attack on thinking."

The end product will make someone else happy.  These are replacements for the dish cloths I knit four years ago and gave away, back when I first learned to knit.  The pattern looks more refined this go-round.

Fringed Card Weaving

A 60 inch card-woven strap with 12 inch fringe in the centre section, made with my handspun Perendale wool.  Used eight cards, threaded alternately S and Z to give the nice little chevrons.

This is the first time I've used wool yarn for card weaving and I like the result.

Right now the fringe looks like an inadequate skirt.  It is a work in progress.

Photo of the Targhee Wool in Progress

Two ounces of Targhee wool spun and almost completely plied.

Spun Targhee in Progress

A little Targhee wool in progress, being spun to about 30 wpi.  I am hoping that when I make it into 2 ply and use it for interlaced språng, the strands won't stick together the way BFL does.

Almost Half the Warp is Done

Have done almost the warp for the språng peacock scarf.  The photo shows the back of the frame with its circular warp.  I work on the other side, and right now I'm still pushing twists down, over the frame's bottom crosspiece, and upward.  Once I get half the warp done plus a few inches, then all the work will be on the front only and I will progress twice as quickly.  Additionally, I will only have to work part of that side because some will be left unworked for fringe.

I reworked the area with loose tension, I couldn't stand to leave it as it was.

A Very Loud Argyle-like Result

I took away from the warp every other thread which was blue.  Much better, you can see the bright colours more clearly than before.

Here is the resulting språng interlacing: a very loud, argyle-like result.  Quite stunning, really.

Got the row compaction wrong on the back half of the fabric for the first six inches so the fabric looks too loose there, but I am doing better now.  The photo shows the first several inches on the front.  Since then, I have gotten about a third of this peacock scarf done.

Twist on my Wrist

I like how the yarn squiggles when wrapped for plying with the Andean plying method.

Imported Corriedale on the Spindle, Local Fibre on the Brain

I'm spinning some naturally dark Corriedale wool from Ashford in New Zealand.  Not a local product, sadly, but I have it on hand and it will do for a certain project that I plan to give away.

I'm listening to a CBC radio report on Vancouver Islanders' commitment to local wool and flax, "Dyeing, Spinning, Weaving and Knitting," on All Points West, September 25, 2012.

Sprang Frame and Wensleydale Wool in Sprang

The sprang frame is made from artist canvas stretchers using the longest available pieces for the sides.  The strands are run over dowel rods on the frame so I can adjust when there's take up in the fabric.

Am still doing the simplest moves in sprang, interlinking.  I reversed between S and Z twist to keep the fabric from skewing.  I am still getting a strange skip in the left side.

The Wensleydale handspun yarn is hairy.  The fabric looks very cool.  The thing is, the yarn catches and resists when I finish a row and force a stick through the shed toward the bottom.  Collingwood's book advises smooth yarn for this reason.

Whatever you do in sprang at the top, a mirror image happens at the bottom.  You can compare and see, going by the position of the sticks, that the fabric is longer at the bottom than it is at the top.  This is a mistake: I did not force the twists down far enough.  I was able to go back and work the twists further with my fingers to correct the problem.  There you are, I disregarded the rules for the sake of a beautiful yarn and managed to pull it off.

The next step is to sew up the sides and add a strap to turn it into a bag.

Picot Sock Edge

At least this picot sock edge doesn't flare out as much as the first one does.  Used a smaller set of needles for the inside.

The first one is actually a complete sock, all except the final grafting of the toe.  I'm not keen on the way the heel fits so I might undo it, assuming I can use this sock-in-progress to find a heel structure I like.

A Loom of Her Own

I am weaving.  Don't know yet if the cloth is good or not but it is as good as I'm able to make it at this point.

I followed the instructions enclosed with the loom and the Ashford video on warping a rigid heddle loom.

The yarn is the BFL from Gale's Art in natural dark, rose red on dark, and rose red that I spun last year.

I feel better now that I've started.  The loom sat unassembled in its box for months.  The direct warp method, the method in Ashford's video, requires a long surface on which you clamp the loom and the peg, and I only recently found a suitable spot.

More Progress on Second Sock

Not to bore you or anything but I'm knitting the gusset of the second sock.

You can see the wrong side of the eye of partridge heel; because of the slipped stitches, it looks like stranded colourwork done with one colour.

Progress on Second Sock

The second sock is coming along; I'm partway down the leg.  I checked my gauge and it's still 7.5 stitches to the inch, which is what I want to see.

A Little Gulf Coast Native Wool

Here's a little Gulf Coast Native wool top I'm spinning.  The yarn will go into a group project done to promote public understanding of handspun.

The past half year, I set out to focus on making useable handspun items for myself and it's laughable how little the stuff I've done meets the criteria.  I set this large goal and then consequently got even worse at meeting it.

Not that this is the Gulf Coast wool's fault.  Plus, extra spinning is a bonus: I get the fun of turning my spindle and none of the responsibility for making yarn into cloth.

I'm spinning this wool (rather than wool of my own for me) because there is a deadline for turning in the yarn so the project can go on to the next stage.  And so it was with the Christmas hat and the card weaving samples: people were expecting them.   Maybe it's helpful to think in terms of due dates for deliverables.

One Handknit Sock, Done

My first handknit sock is done.  I have cast on its mate.

Have Turned the Heel

I have turned the heel on my first sock.  What once lay flat became something of a different shape, awkward to manage as I knit the gusset but hopefully wearable once I'm done.

I think I can take "learn to knit socks" off my list of goals, since from this point onward there are only decreases to make in the right places and some Kitchener stitch.  Nothing new in the way of skills.

No, I can't strike it off: it's not there on the list.  I checked and what I have written down is "knit a pair of socks."  That requires me to finish this sock and knit a mate for it before I give myself a gold star.

Never mind, the texture on the eye of partridge heel flap is consolation enough.