Stop and Go

It's been kind of stop and go around here. I've finished some things and struggled on others. I finished spinning and plying the fiber I bought at Imperial Yarn in Oregon.

It's three ply, done Navajo ply method.

And I've started spinning up this luscious 50/50 yak/silk blend from RedFish.

Another completed project is this lace scarf/shawl I've been knitting from my standby, Victorian Lace Today. It was supposed to be a stash buster. Sigh. There's probably enough yarn left to make a second one. Maybe I'll donate it.

 

 

 

And also, compliments of RedFish, I bought three sock yarns. They're 75% super wash merino wool and 25% silk. I've started on the green skein.

Interesting. I just noticed that the one in back is very similar in color to the fiber shown above. (And fyi, in the photo, the colors do not show as rich as they truly are.)

 Now, as to my weaving, it's been a struggle. As I've said before, I learn best by seeing and then doing. Book learning and no feedback is hard for me. So, I got stumped for a while on the 12 treadle/12 shaft tie up. I got it all done, but too many of the sheds were iffy. Thanks to some generous feedback from Karen at Warped for Good, I took all the ties off and started, again. I marked them as described by Becky at Vavstuga.

I did all 120 of them. And then, put them back on.

Most of the sheds were better, but the shafts still dropped. The shafts and lamms should be parallel to the ground. Because I kept stopping out of frustration, it took a while to get to the point where I could just weave. The sheds are not all good, but they're usable. I just have to push the shafts down, before stepping on some of the treadles. 

Luckily, this is yardage, so the selvedges (which are effected most) don't matter. This is another pattern I got from handweaving.net.

 

Road Trip and Stash Enhancement

My husband and I took a road trip from southern California up to Vancouver, BC, Canada and back. That means driving time for him and knitting time for me. In Abbotsford, BC, I made a detour in the first of many yarn stores, Birkeland Bros. That is where I saw this 100 year old beauty. They'd just finished carding some fleeces and were in the process of some clean up.

This sweetie was one of the hand-raised sheep in the front yard at Imperial Yarn and Stock Ranch. The entire enterprise is run with an emphasis on sustainability, check their website.

Jeanne Carver, the owner with her husband, Dan, was gracious enough to give us a tour of some of the historic buildings. This old house is now the headquarters for the wonderful yarns and fibers. I spent some time lightening their inventory.  

In Salem, OR we found an old woolen mill.

I'd never been up close and personal to the industrialized production of fabric. We were given a key and sent to open doors and wander through.

I wish I could have seen this in motion. I can't imagine how it works.

Thanks to Imperial Yarn, my stash has been enhanced. I don't know what the wool fiber is going to be, but I already have patterns for the yarns.

And to round that out, a few other fibers, too. This should keep me busy for a while, don't you think?!

There was one other historic mill we stopped at in Eagle Point, OR. I came home with 10 lbs of bread flour, 5 lbs whole oats, and a few other dry goods. I just made this buttermilk, whole wheat bread. What a difference freshly milled flour makes!

My 12 year old nephew always wants to try his hand at spinning when he visits. Usually, I just sit him down at my Majacraft Suzie Professional and have him practice treadling as slowly as he can without the wheel stopping or changing direction. This time, I pulled out some wool for him. And I think he's really getting the hang of it!

I'm glad someone got some spinning in. I have been working on this sweater to the exclusion of all else. And it's DONE!!! But it's a shame I didn't make enough notes to have a pattern for it. By the way, the yarn is from the Imperial Yarn Company. It's so soft and squishy! And you can see how clearly the cables stand out! Luckily, I won't have to put it in the mail. My daughter will take it home to Boston with her when she leaves Tuesday. Then she can hand it to her little brother when he goes to visit her later that week.