Making progress!

January brings the snow;
Makes our feet and fingers glow.
Sara Coleridge

16.01.2020 Today is sunny, -4 degrees F, and feels like -15 

January has been a productive month thus far.  The fabric I was weaving at the shop is now off the loom, washed, and steamed.  Checking the pattern/recipe for the Sarah-Dippity skirt by Sarah Swett, I  am pleased to know the fabric will work well for the project.

The fabric is 12-inches wide and 2.72 yards long

My palette of colors is getting larger.  Each color is a rolag's worth and just enough for a sampling.

Carding and spinning a palette of colors for a small weaving project.  Dyed wool from Kerry Woollen Mill

Progress is being made in the room by organizing the WIPs, UFOs, stitching, weaving, and knitting goods so things are easier to find.  Storing unspun fiber in tubs is the best solution because I can see the fiber through the translucent tub.  The downside is the tubs take up quite a bit of space in the small room.  The closet is where I store my art supplies, it is well-organized and out of sight until I need something.  The fiber and everything that goes with it takes up a lot of room and is distracting when I sit at the drafting table or the computer.  I have confidence that things will be much better soon.  No photos yet!

Meanwhile, there are plenty of small projects to keep me busy when I want to do some social knitting.

Boot cuffs are quick-to-knit projects and they are nice and warm.

I finally pulled out the 21-colors of Blue Sky Woolstock mini-skeins for a project, which will most likely be a hat.

Sample knitting for an upcoming class

One of my favorite sweaters is Aranmor by Alice Starmore.  Knitted in 2011, it was a joyful knitting project not only for the lovely cables and texture stitching, but the yarn was (and still is) just beautiful.  Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran, has been discontinued since I was in the finishing stage of my project.  I calculated the yardage for my sweater (I thought correctly) but ran out of yarn at the collar.  Thankfully, an online shop had three skeins of shade 025, which I bought even though only one skein was needed.  Since finishing the sweater, it became my go-to travel sweater and the only thing about it that irked me was the collar.  The decorative twisted stitch section after the ribbing rides up.  Not a terrible thing to happen, but I am not above changing neckbands and collars on sweaters multiple times.  It was not difficult to find the yarn end and then frog back to the ribbing.  Adding a turning ridge would fix the issue.  One row, not enough...two rows, meh...three rows, it will work.  

Knitting the twisted stitch section on the wrong side of the collar, the purl rows above the ribbing create a fold.

Stay warm!

Wrapping things up

I started this post a few months ago...

There is a new wool vendor at Anoka Fiber Works--Snake River Acres with Lincoln Longwool.  From Snake River Acres website (a bit of information about the wool):

Wool

Lincolns produce a heavy fleece that is long, coarse and ideal for spinning. The staple length in Lincolns is among the longest of all breeds ranging from 8-15 inches in a year. They are capable of producing a fleece that is 10-20 pounds with a yield of 55-70%. The fiber diameter of Lincoln wool is typically between 34-41 microns.

Wool from a Lincoln can vary in color, ranging from pure white, grey/silver, or black. Usually a naturally colored Lincoln will be darker on the shoulders and lighten up in color on the back.

Mary and I are working through a couple of lovely silver gray fleeces.  We washed the fleeces and then after trying to com the clean wool, Mary sent hers to Deb, of Ewespun Fiber Mill at Old Man Wool Farm, where it was prepared into a cloud.

My plan is to spindle spin a bit and then wheel spin the bulk of the fleece.  I started combing some of the clean fleece and found the fiber beautifully smooth to spin, but the nests fell apart making spindle spinning difficult.  Taking the same route Mary took in having Deb card the fleece into a cloud was a wise decision.  Using one of the Louët S10 wheels, I spun and plied a skein, but didn't care for the finished yarn.  it was a bit thicker than I'd intended.  I knew that using the small Louët wheel would be a better choice to create the yarn I wanted.  I can spin thinner singles, which made the yarn I want to use for small tapestry work.  The Lincoln wool is strong and can be used for warp and/or weft.  Although the wool is smooth and fluffy, there is a bit of grease left, making my fingers nice and smooth.  After a long spinning session, my hands feel a bit sticky.  The small skeins will be perfect for small tapestry weaving.  I may end up spinning the rest with Wendolene (S10DT) just to finish the  rest because the skeins will have more yardage.

16.12.2019  Wrapping up a few projects for December.  The second thumb for the sample mitten is finally finished after two years.  Using wool yarn from the stash, I worked on ornaments and have some in my space at the shop.  Using bits and bobs of handspun yarn and handmade felt, I wove a small tapestry on the hand-held loom and it was one of two pieces in the Rum River Handweavers show in November.  Mary loaned me the Harrisville Lap Loom and I experimented with simple tapestry techniques.  It was so much fun and was immediately hooked, which led to my purchasing
a Schacht tapestry loom with the A-frame stand and the work in front of me as in painting.  It arrived at the shop the day of the handwaving meeting in November and I enjoyed putting it together.

Blomst is one of may favorite patterns.  The two-color stranded knitting is very warm and comfortable with the yarn floats  on the back side next to the skin.  I used Rowan Pure Wool Superwash DK.  

Ornament in progress

The tweedy bits and the texture of the handspun are perfect for painting this small piece

Schacht 25" tapestry loom

I have been spinning the Lincoln and making progress.  Hortense, the Louët Victoria, and I are working hard and making our way through the fleece.  There  is plenty left, though!  Pictured below is a grayscale of Lincoln/Finn.

The small grayscale is pure LLW on the far right, and varying amounts of Finn roving carded with the Lincoln.  I was pleased with the results.

05.01.2020  Since December,  I have been going through my dyed Jacob stash and hand carding rolags for spindle spinning.  Most of the colors have varying amounts of LLW added.  The not-so-evenly-spun yarn had more Jacob added.  I can see I will have to work a bit harder to spin the lighter colors, as the Jacob is much fluffier than the Lincoln Longwool.  These will be part of my palette for a sample tapestry weaving.  

January 7 is St. Distaff's Day.  The Christmas holiday is over and it is time to get back to work.  I will look through my stash, pick a spindle, and find my distaff.  Tomorrow will be a spinning day!