Friday, June 30, 2006

Ode To A Simple Sock

Oh mindless sock how I love thee...
You allow my mind to wander
When the day has overwhelmed me.
Of my own yarn I could not be fonder
the way the colors blend and change
so simple in stockinette
to see how the same stitches rearrange
so simple--this pleasure how could I forget?

This is the roving that I dyed last fall at our local Fiber Fair. I thought that I really should get it knitted up before this year's fair. Kool-Aid colors on merino two-ply. I really do enjoy watching the colors change and rearrange--I think that it looks the best in just a simple sock.
There has been some progess on the spinning front as well. 1 marmaset bobbin. I can't get my bobbins quite as full as some people, I start to have problems with the Scotch tension.

Monday, June 26, 2006

It's A Wool World!


I have a bad spinning habit--I finish plying a skein and then it just goes into a basket until I have gobs of skeins and then I finish them. I don't know why. We have about 13 skeins about 220 yds each and 3 smaller skeins.

I also did some dying over the past couple of days. I used a roaster that I got super cheap at Wallie World, but was only able to do about 8 oz. at a time. This is a combination of Cushings Acid Dyes and Orange Kool-Aid. This is my marmaset yarn--or it will be. About two pounds of wool/tussah blend.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Mystery Solved

Remember the mystery project I posted about awhile back? Well, it is finally off the loom and been finished. It is now a wall hanging in my laundry room.
This is a tatter-weave technique that I wanted to try to add some color on a two-harness loom. Small pieces of fabric are placed in the warp. It was originally used for those special rags that were in short supply. The fabrics were chosen for their colors, not for their patterns. Once the fabric is beaten, it is almost impossible to distinguish the pattern, only the colors. I was experimenting with different patterns, which is why things might seem a little odd. Here is a close-up:
I wasn't real sure about the finished project until it was hung. I didn't like it even then until I moved it up further on the wall. Now I think I am pretty happy with it.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Paradise





I received my order from Paradise Fibers today. Excitement!! I have 1lb of their own merino top which is only $12.00/lb. I have used it before and it dyes wonderfully and is very soft. And 3 lbs of merino/tussah blend for a sweater for the hubster. As an experiment, I also purchased a couple of ounces of recyled sari silk to spin up. Oh fibers, how I love thee...

The hubster's sweater has a little story to it. I seem to find color inspiration in all sorts of places. The two most common ones for me are church (stained class windows) and the zoo. Here is the inspiration for the color of the sweater:

Well, this is a picture I found off the internet, too lazy to figure out how to get it from the camcorder. This is a Golden Tamarind. We have two of them at our zoo and the hubster was just watching them, and he commented that he really liked the colors of them. They are beautiful--so now it is my job to attempt to capture this in other fibers. I don't think the zoo would allow me to shear the monkeys. It gets cold here in the winter.

He says he really not a sweater person, but I found a men's pattern in the new IW Knits that he kinda liked and the picture is done in orange colors. Maybe that's a sign?? I think perhaps that this might also be my first attempt at a 3-ply yarn.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Finished Objects


These have been off the loom for a couple of days, just needed to get them finished up. I used 1" rag strips for both and they could be runners or rugs. The material makes them a little thicker than yarn would be, but not too thick. After a couple of washings, they become a little softer too. I have to manually beat the fabric every couple of rows, but the warp becomes a little unven and adds to look of the piece. The one with the red is supposed to be a rug for my MIL who came up to help me clean up my house before my dad and SM showed up.




Sunday, June 11, 2006

Not Fully Warped


I am just a little warped. Okay, bad pun. The start of a new project on the loom! I have it half warped and this is what will be going into it:

How will it turn out? We will just have to wait and see.

Friday, June 09, 2006

It Begins...

Why don't I post more often?? Computer time is not really an issue--I probably spend too much time on it. Here are my reasons why I don't post more often:
1. Have a hard time taking pictures of WIP--only want to take pics of finished projects.
2. Hate transferring pics from camera to computer
3. Think noone reads my blog.

After thinking about this, here are my solutions:
1. This was a no brainer, take pics of things I'm working on. Just b.c I haven't posted doesn't mean I haven't been working--quite the opposite actually.
2. Get over it.
3. If you stop by--leave a comment, if I know people are reading, I am sure I will post more. Perhaps I should put a counter on the blog too.

I will even put up a pic of my new project:

This is the from the new IW Knits. Yarn is Patons Grace, I always have to substitute unless I buy off the net. I live in a place where yarn usually consists of plastic. It was the color that attacted me to this, but so far I am really liking the yarn. Also included is a can of my new weakness--IZZE. IZZE is 70% fruit juice and 30% carbonated water. No added sugar. Very yummy too, oldest spawn loves it.

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