Author Archives: Bron

Mid-week progress

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Hmm… not a whole lot of the progress stuff. I watched a DVD the other night, so that was spinning time – and I think I’ve done about 25 or 30 grams of the fine merino, so next time I watch some TV I’ll start plying that. I did find the lace flyer in preparation for the plying, as the higher ratios will speed up the process.

The first blue lacy sock is almost done – about one more pattern repeat before I start on the toes. I might get it finished tomorrow night. I’ve done no more weaving since the weekend, but hopefully I’ll get the second rainbow scarf finished this weekend.

I’ll have to decide what I’m going to do for the Armidale Show. I’m not competitive at all, but I feel strongly that I should enter something so that there are at least some entries in the various spinning and weaving classes. The pavilion contests will just die if there are no entries, so I try to do my bit. But it’s a bit tricky when I haven’t actually made a whole lot in the past year! The second rainbow scarf will go in (that gives a deadline for it to be finished by!) and I’m thinking that I might dye some handspun yarn this weekend and knit either socks or mittens.

I’ll have a look at my fibre stash and see about spinning a skein or two for the spinning sections. Yes, I could enter the white merino I’m spinning now, but since one of my skeins won the fine spinning section two years ago, and the resulting scarf won last year, it might be regarded as overdoing things 😉 So perhaps I should challenge myself and do a fancy skein, or a medium-weight blended skein or something.

I think I’ll need to watch a few DVDs in the next couple of weeks, to have some spinning time 🙂  However, I have to fit all this in plus finding the pattern for the dolls we’re going to make and raffle, organise our group’s move to new premises, do a demonstration on Australia Day, and make some hand-spun and/or handwoven clothes for the dolls. Oh, yes, and go to the day-job, do some work on the PhD, and get some writing done.

Inkle bookmarks

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Inkle woven bookmark

I wove some bookmarks on my larger inkle loom a couple of months ago, but ran out of the silver beads to put on the ends, so only two out of the five are finished so far. However, just before Christmas I found some more of the beads at the markets, so now I can twist the fringes on the others. I sent one of the finished ones to a friend; I’ll probably use the others as small gifts here and there. I’ll probably weave some more at some stage, as it was a quick and easy thing to do, and I can have the loom at the computer and weave while I’m thinking of words to write!

Inkle woven bookmark detail

The pattern was a very sinple one – quick and mindless to weave! – and the yarns were fine wool yarns from my stash. I wove these ones in black and purple for a halloween theme, but if I weave another lot they’ll be in different colours.

Stash enhancement

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On Friday, I went to the local wool shop, and bought an extra ball of Bluebell for the blue lacy socks, and two balls of a luscious, soft, alpaca yarn. I’m going to finish the blue lacy socks, even though the yarn/pattern combination isn’t perfect – they’ll be okay, just not my favourite pair! However, I’m also going to knit a pair in the alpaca. I’m not sure how well it well wear, though, but I guess I’ll find out. Worst case – well, I have a darning needle, and I know how to use it!

alpaca yarn

The wool shop also has some spinning supplies, and some silk caps came home with me, as well. I don’t actually really enjoy spinning silk caps (although I love spinning silk tops!), but I’d like to have some slightly slubby silk yarn for weaving, which is how my spinning of silk caps turns out.

Speaking of spinning, on Friday night and last night, the DH and I watched DVDs – rather than knit, I did some spinning. I’m spinning some merino very fine, for a lacy scarf. The trouble with spinning very fine – and we’re talking finer than cotton thread fine – is that it takes so long to get much done. After a 2-hour DVD, there still didn’t seem very much at all on the bobbin! I started this spinning about two months ago; since I only spin when watching DVDs, and I do very little of that these days as I spend most evenings writing, it’s taken me all this time to spin probably about 20 grams of yarn. There’s a lot of meters in that 20 grams, but it still doesn’t feel like a great achievement… and I need at least 50 grams to make a decent length scarf. The small triangular one I made last year took about 20 grams, and I want the next one to be rectangular and much larger. However, I don’t think, at this rate, that I’m going to get enough spun AND knit it up in time for this year’s Armidale Show – so last year’s achievements there has little chance of being equalled this year!

Lace scarf

Rainbow scarf

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I painted a warp for the first time a few months back as part of our groups Something New Challenge. The warp is a fine wool, sett at 36epi and threaded in a combination of straight and advancing twill, and I wound sufficient length for two scarves.

For the weft of the first scarf, I used some fine Toorallie wool yarns from my stash – I didn’t have exactly the right colours, though, so it was definitely an experiment and learning experience. Because the weft yarns were finer than the warp, I used two strands and could therefore mix colours to assist with the shading from one to the next. Although the greens in the middle of the scarf came out beautifully, with the shading progressing without lines, it’s not so smooth in other areas – partly due to my limited choice of colours to use, and partly to using two picks at a time of each colour when changing, instead of one alternating.

Warp painted rainbow scarf

However, I’m quite happy with the result of the first scarf, as it was quite an adventure for me, and I’m looking forward to weaving the second. In the stash sorting the other day, I came across a couple more shades of fine wool yarn, and I have dyed a small skein of yarn to a dark mauve, so I will have more colours to blend, as well as the knowledge of alternating single picks for a couple more pattern repeats for each colour change.

Warp painted rainbow scarf - detail

More socks

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Jade/blue/purple socks

I found the pair of socks I finished a month or two back 🙂 The yarn is a Patons yarn, with the heels and toes done in a Bendigo 5 ply. I have some more of the Patons; I like this colourway, and the texture of the yarn, so I’ll knit another pair, this time with purple heels and toes.

The blue lacy socks (from a couple of posts ago) are progressing, but I’m not 100% happy with the pattern and yarn combination. I’ve knitted the first sock past the heel, but when I tried it on it’s a bit tight around the leg. I think it will be okay, but if I’m going to continue I’l need to get another ball of yarn. If the wool shop is out of the yarn, I’ll take that as a sign, undo what I’ve done and maybe knit some mittens with that yarn instead. And of, course, buy some different yarn to knit the lacy socks with – something a little softer 🙂

The hoard

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How many superfine gray merino fleeces does one spinner need?

In the case of this spinner, who rarely gets time to spin, ‘three’ is not the correct answer. However, that’s how many I have in my stash. Plus an old white merino fleece. And a large black crossbred fleece. And a kilo of Shetland tops. And a kilo of lovely crossbred tops. And a gazillion boxes and bags of other assorted fibres.

Then there’s the weaving and knitting yarns. And the fabric stash.

I spent a little time yesterday clearing some space in the cupboard that houses (some of) my hoard. I didn’t do a full clean-out – I don’t have a week to spare! – but I did turf out some stuff, sort out and re-stash a few other things, and moved some things from the overflow outside the cupboard into it.

Yarn and fibre stash2

Yarn and fibre stash 1

Nope, it’s nowhere near tidy, but look! There’s still some spare space!!

Socks done

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This morning, I’ve finished the latest pair of socks for my Dad.

Opal yarn handknitted socks

I bought the yarn at Lincraft in Brisbane, when I was there for a conference at the end of September. I met Mary-Helen, aka the Witty Knitter, at the conference, and since she was knitting during the sessions I started the socks and knitted with her.

I already had a pair of socks on the needles at home, so it took me a little while to finish this pair, as I had to finish the others, too. If I could find where I’d put that pair of socks, I’d photograph it too, but I tucked them away somewhere in case I wanted to give them as Xmas presents, and now I can’t find them. They won’t be too far away – I’ll just have to remember what filing ‘logic’ I used 😉

In the meantime, onward and upward – or is that downward? – with the next pair:

Blue lacy handknitted socks

Current projects

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1. A pair of socks for my Dad, using the Opal mockfairisle dyed yarn, in blues and grays. I use a basic Patons sock pattern, and knit the heels and toes in a plain coloured Patons 5-ply yarn for some additional strength – plus the plain contrasting heel keeps the ‘fairisle’ pattern even before and after the heel. I’m currently knitting the foot of the second sock – should have them finished by Wednesday, so I can post them off to him when I go into town then.

2. A pair of blue lacy socks for me. This is the first pair of the many I’ve knitted that doesn’t use the basic Patons pattern – instead I’m using the Latvian Socks pattern from Nancy Bush’s Folk Socks. I’ve so far done about an inch and a half on the first sock – but it’s looking good, and I’m enjoying it!

3. On the loom is the remainder of the two-scarf rainbow warp I painted a while back. I’ve woven the first scarf and cut it off, now I just have to tie up the warp again and weave the second one. I’m going to aim to do that before the end of the year – which gives me about 6 days to do it in!

4. Current spinning is a merino sliver which I’m spinning very fine, for a lace scarf.

Next projects planned:

– A baby blanket for my friend’s daughter. I’ve finally bought the yarn (mauve, yellow and white 5-ply from Bendigo); now I just have to decide whether to weave it on my 4-shaft loom, in basic twill, or to use the long-idle big loom and weave 8-shaft twill blocks. I’m leaning towards the latter.

– Some fingerless gloves for assorted members of the family. I have some angora and merino fibre I could spin up and dye, which will be cosy warm. My mother knitted me a pair from a commercial wool/angora yarn many, many years ago, and they live in my coat pockets and have kept my hands warm on many a wintry morning.

– I have two lengths of handwoven fabric to make up into jackets. I finally got hold of some black silk lining fabric for one of them a month or two back – now I just have to decide on a pattern, make a prototype from commercial fabric, and then make the handwoven one. For the other, I need to weave some plain-weave fabric in a plain blue to use for cuffs, collar, trimming, etc, as the overshot pattern would otherwise be a bit overpowering.