I'm Still Here!

Hey, Everyone! I'm still here!

I haven't done any spinning or weaving for months. But since I'm finally feeling more myself, I've gone back under the loom.

I wove this towel months ago. The pattern and cone of bulky cotton chenille are from Halcyon Yarn. The 5/2 cotton is from my stash. I finally washed and hemmed the towel. 
Now, I've made many towels but, I've never been completely satisfied with their absorbency. Ever. This pattern called for the use of a product I'd never heard of, Soda Ash. It changed the towel from one that moves water from place to place to one that actually absorbs and dries!!

So, what have I been doing?

Well, I made this sweet koala, just because.

And, ta-da! I knit this sweater. The pattern is from the Wool Studio, The Norah Gaughan Collection magazine. I used Berroco's Ultra Wool Fine.

It's another style that I would never have thought was for me. And I adore it!

Now, on to my next knitting project. This is from Ann Budd's, Top Down Sweaters book.

It's California, so I can't exactly say I'm trying to get ahead of things for spring. Spring's about here.

For the first time in a couple of years, the wisteria is putting on a show!

Since Last We Spoke

I don't think you can quite call it a spinning frenzy, but since last we spoke

I made up a two ply of superwash BFL (blue faced leicester) in blood orange.

And, I spun up this bright, superwash merino/nylon from Wooly Lizard.

It is also two ply.

I've finished spinning up this BFL fiber, again by Sweet Georgia, called Smitten. I tried to make it two ply, as well. Sadly, all the pretty colors disappeared. The not so technical term for that is "muddy".  So, I'm waiting for a pretty something from Elff and Sandy at Redfish to spin up and complement these bright colors.

At the same time, I've been struggling with this summer purchase. I'd never tried spinning flax. Part of what's different is that I have to sit with a bowl of water to keep my fingers damp. It's starting to get easier, but I've given myself permission to give up if it stops being fun. To be announced.

Usually, I'm fairly successful with the basic, technical aspects of weaving and spinning. With untold masses of handspun piling up, I've decided to challenge myself and try to do something with it and at the same time, to learn something more complex. I thought that twill would show off the pretty handspun yarn I'd made. In this picture, at the bottom of the sample, the cloth was too dense. At the top, I tried spreading it out, but it still wasn't right. So, I did some unweaving (I hate wasting yarn) and just made some plain weave (also called, tabby). 

Not bad for a first attempt. The colors are so pretty., but the cloth doesn't hang (it's called the hand) the way I'd like. Hmmm. What to do next time? Maybe my new DVD by Sara Lamb on Spinning to Weave will help. Stay tuned.

On the knitting front, I decided to make up a black something for work that I could throw on instead of a smock. It looks dowdy to me, but it's the black background I needed.

Please forgive the over-bright exposure it was the only way to show the cloth. This pattern (from Vogue Knitting, fall 2015, p.63) is actually knitted up in three rectangles! Fun!

On Sophie, I used a pastel, variegated and a natural colored cotton for the warp and an aqua for the weft of this baby blanket (pattern from Book of 8 Shaft Patterns, p.107. Stashbuster!

Mama's happy!

Ummmm. What?! Really? Really! It's Very Soft and on its way to becoming

my current project, another baby blanket on Sophie. This pattern is from Handwoven, May/June '96. I changed the treadling, so that I wouldn't have to press two or more treadles at the same time. Note to self: next time, stop at the hand (on the girl/boy), instead of going part way up the arm of the next pattern repeat.

Maiden Voyages

My name is Karen and I'm a fiber addict. You see, there was this trunk show...

And my brand new, just born Pocket Wheel had finally arrived...!!!

Her name is Ginger, Gingie for short. She weighs six pounds. The show side of her wheel is a red wine, copper veneer and her treadles are quilted maple.

Here's Gingie's maiden voyage! She's so petite that, take a closer look at this picture, she fits in the front passenger seat of the car!

Here she is, showing off just outside of our hotel room at Death Valley, CA.

This desolate land was having what is called a "super bloom".

By the time we got home, Gingie and I had spun all four ounces of the tussah silk/superwash merino.

To speed the time it takes and simplify dressing Sophie, here's another first. Do you see the water bottles? They're hanging from a trapeze. Without it, I have to move each of those bottles every time I wind 18 inches (the distance they can rise between floor and breast beam) onto the warp beam. Using this simple tool, two long boards and one pole, extends that distance to as much as six feet!

And I took another step closer to getting to use my new drawloom. I threaded and tied all the strings.

I'm so close to being able to play with my new toy!