Weekend Knitting Retreat

This weekend I was truly blessed to spend a couple of days at our second annual knitting retreat, held at Saints Mary and Martha Orthodox Monastery. While initially designated a "knitting" retreat, spinning, weaving, crochet and other fibre activities emerge as well.

The nuns of Saints Mary and Martha are wonderful hosts, not to mention, cooks, who worked very hard to make us comfortable. I am sure I was not the only one there that appreciated having my needs met instead of busying myself meeting my family's needs. What better way to really relax than sharing knitting tips, spinning and weaving demonstrations and more importantly, prayer.

While I have quite a few years experience in knitting there is always something to learn. This weekend I was shown a different knitting technique. Our Orthodox Christian parish includes a wonderful Eastern European community and I discovered, even though I am a continental knitter that they seemed to be knitting a little different, what I would consider backwards. That is they were working on the backside of their needles and stitches rather than in the front. I found it a little more difficult, having to look behind the needle to get to the stitch, but the result is the same. I guess it is a case of what you are used to rather than one being better than the other. It is always pretty cool discovering pieces of different cultures through fibre arts.

Sharing time, knowledge and experience in anything is a wonderful gift for all concerned. I bet if more people would gather together to share creativity, like fibre arts, they too would benefit from the peace and relaxation that surrounds these activities. We should all "give fleece a chance"!!!

Collie Coinpurse

Several years back on one of my visits to the monastery I was brushing one of the dogs the nuns care for, a collie-mix, and as I emptied each brush I wondered how well it would spin. I brought it home and my first concern was whether this particular fibre would be best to spin in the grease because of it’s texture. It could be less manageable, tricky at best. Because it is a finer fibre, with little crimp it took some getting used to spinning. I had to spin it tighter than I am used to and I was not totally happy with the results, some places were over spun, but even more disappointing was the mud colour, void of anything resembling luster. So before investing too much time into a larger project, I have in mind to knit or weave an icon scarf for the monastery, I decided to try a smaller project, hoping after it is washed, the fibre, would offer something promising. In addition that particular dog that yielded the fibre journeyed beyond this life unexpectedly. The nuns acquired two more collies and have been bringing me fibre after each brushing, so I wanted to make something from the previous dog exclusively, before blending with the others.

Spin-off magazine featured an article on spinning dog fibre several months ago, which included a pattern for a beaded knit coin purse. I thought this would be something they could find a use for that would remind them of their recently departed companion, or it could be good practice. The biggest obstacle was stringing the beads. Because of the incongruity of my first effort at spinning this kind of fibre there were places where passing the yarn through the beads was a real struggle, still, as with any handspun yarn, it knitted very nicely despite the diversity in gauge. It’s amazing how yarn now matter how inconsistent seems to fall into place nicely when creating with it. The finished project was slightly biased due to overspinning but once sewn together, a zipper in place and blocked it kept it’s correct shape, not too bad for a first effort, but the real test, washing. It was amazing how much dirt came from approximately 50 yards, my guess, but what was so pleasing…was what emerged. Beautiful, unexpectedly soft, fibre.

I am constantly awe-inspired by God’s great wonders perceptable in fibre arts. How can anyone not contemplate the animal that offered it’s fibre and the miracle that is each animal that He gave for our use, and care.

Monastic Fibre Adventures

Several weeks ago I was blessed with what has become a wonderful tradition, my annual visit to Saints Mary and Martha Monastery, to spend a few days with my Godmother, the Abbess, Mother Thecla. On these visits I pack the essentials for spending a few days in contemplation and prayer, which includes reading material, usually something by the early church fathers, appropriate dress and of course something fibre to work on. It is no coincidence that I find it most natural to bring fibre projects to work on for a visit to such a spiritual, peaceful sanctuary.

Days at the monastery are filled with busy hands and quiet minds. The nuns are always at work, making liturgical wine and candles for various churches, meals for upcoming retreats and another of my favorite activities that, like fibre crafts, lends well to contemplation…gardening. I have always found having one’s hands in God’s earth, taking advantage of fresh air, sunshine and healthy exercise, that I am reminded of the many blessings God has given us, what better time to offer thanks to Him, our Heavenly Father.

Creating anything using the talents given us with materials of gifts offered to us to care for and use appropriately is, in my opinion, one of the more spiritual activities we can participate in. Spinning, weaving, knitting, embroidery, all these activities are conducive for meditation and prayer, and very therapeutic.

One of my more memorable moments of this visit was sitting in the monastery, spinning fibre while Mother Thecla prepared food for an upcoming Matuska retreat, listening to a cd I brought, Sequentia’s beautiful efforts to offer Hildegarde von Bignen’s music 900 years later, and despite my chronic pain I commented to Mother Thecla that it was moments like this that I realize God’s great blessings. I felt at peace and as it is most times I am working with fibre, gardening, praying or enjoying Saturday Tea with my family, the pain does not matter. Peace quiets it all.

While there, this visit I asked Mother Thecla to pull down a spinning wheel she had stored high on a shelf in one of the storage buildings that contains a small store where they sell books and other Orthodox items with a bookbinding workshop in the back. We have been talking about bringing it out and having me try it out for several years but never got around to it. The wheel was given to her many years ago when a friend of hers passed but, as Abbess, she is so buy and never found time to check it out, let alone learn to use it. It was a handmade wheel and after oiling it I found, despite the years of storage it still worked. It needed some coaxing, at first the drive band kept slipping as the wheel was hesitant to keep turning, and the tension for the bobbin was a little tricky, but once these things were worked out, and despite some very minor warping of the wheel, it spun very nicely. Once it was apparent that this was still a functioning wheel I asked for some wood polish to bring the beauty of the wood, as well as the workmanship to light. While I polished, not only the wheel’s beauty shone but the artist’s, whom the wheel was made for, personality began to surface as well. I could feel her signature left on the wheel. With the oiling, cleaning and polishing complete I sat down once again to spin, it was if her talent augmented my own. The wheel was not the only gift given to the monastery, the owner’s talent was given with the wheel.

When Mother Thecla finished her duties in the kitchen I encouraged her to sit and try it out. I started her, as I do any student, treadling, getting the feel for a rhythm and to how the wheel wants to perform. Then after a few minutes of drafting demonstration she sat down and began spinning. She took to it with surprising ease, and little instruction. I suspect one of the contributing factors that allowed her to take to this new craft so easily was a quiet mind, free of some of the many anxieties most students come with who want to sit and begin spinning perfect yarn right away, frustrated when something that looks so easy can be so illusive.

It is my hope that this wheel, now taken out of storage, will continue to sing, spinning wool, possibly for the prayer ropes the nuns make, taking advantage of the previous owner’s , as well as the current, newer artist’s love, talent and spirituality.

How Many is too Many?

I remember a time, not so long ago, when I would limit myself to one project at a time, focusing on nothing else, until completed. Fearing any deviation from the adventure I currently undertook, would result in me loosing my way. Until I began to realize that the monotony, of any large project, would cause it to become a real chore, which, in turn, would incite me to rush through to finish . Was I really doing that project any justice? I could almost visually detect the urgency in my work, and stress, manifesting in many different forms, never lends to anything good.

Reluctantly at first, when I found myself bored with one more, yet unfinished project, I started work on something completely different. Since I enjoy many different kinds of fibre adventures (spinning, weaving, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, felting)....I could find some real variety going back and forth between, say knitting and embroidery, or spinning etc. Soon I found myself surrounded. In nearly every room in my home you could find something lying about that I was working on, but had not quite finished, a nice celtic cross project on the tapestry loom, several spools of different kinds of yarns I am spinning for various projects, a pair of socks for dh, an Orenburg lace headcovering I have been working on for some time, a bedjacket I have ripped out more than once, a knitted gift for my Godmother, which I won't announce until I have given it to her when I visit the Monastery next month, and an embroidered Pascha basket cover and small crewel piece. But now I am beginning to see by working on so many, a little at a time, has really slowed progress.

I am not quite sure which course is best, going back to one project at a time or, trying to limit myself to a managable number that can be completed in a timely manner, I suspect the latter, but until those I am actively working on now are complete it is going to be a bit difficult to get a handle on just how many are too many.

Bunnies and wheels

I have seen some very creative work done on spinning wheels, not just the obvious yarn, but literally on the wheel itself, as a way to personalize the tool of one's craft. I've always held the theory that said decoration is an expression of the owner's personality. Having said that, those who know me might not be surprised at what you would find decorating mine.

An animal lover and welfare advocate, I have always found great joy in caring for house rabbits, even before I became interested in fibre art. My home and property are punctuated with their likeness in the semblance of stepping stones and statues in the garden and figurines given me by family and friends who know my love for these little furbabies and even a needlepoint tapestry I completed so long ago that all I can remember about working on it was that it helped relieve the stress while a family member was in the hospital. There is even an association between rabbits and my patron saint, St. Melangell. The grounds on which churches have been built and bear her name in Wales all include rabbit sanctuaries, as she protected one from a hunter while praying in a field one day.

All I asked the wonderfully talented artist who decorated my wheel was that her work include 3 rabbits. I, as you can imagine viewing her work in the picture above, was very excited with the end result. Now my wheel offers a bit of my personality, in my love for God's gift of animals, as well as a bit of the artist, a very talented and good friend, which makes it all the more special and me the happier as I spin.

Recent Sunday Spin-in

Last Sunday we were able to find time to get together for a much needed spin-in. Summers, as wonderful as they are, come and go before you know it. Gardening, trips on the river and other activities fill each day so that time seems to speed up so, that I always look forward to fall when life begins to move at a slower pace and the cooler weather puts me in the mood for working with heavier fibres like wool, mohair, llama etc. There is nothing better to help unwind from a busy season than getting together with fibre friends.

Recently a knitter, whom I met online and found out lived quite close to EM, expressed an interest in getting together for a spin-in. She had some experience with drop spindles but none on a wheel. EM and I were most happy to meet another fibreholic. She arrived, bringing her spindles and some rovingg she acquired from a recent trip up north and very quickly picked up spinning on the kiwi spinning wheel. Instruction was primarily focused on treadling since she had pretty much mastered drafting working with her spindles. She was so impressed at how much faster it was to produce yarn on a wheel vs drop spindle she, or her dh, quickly began researching wheels online.

Usually always smiling EM was suffering with a bad toothache from some recent dental work which also prevented her from participating much. She did bring a knitting project, another colourful bag, I will say it again she has such a wonderful talent for colour. I was busy overwhelming our new fibre sister with the many spinning and weaving tools, along with what little instruction she needed on the wheel and snapping a few pics that I did not have time to work on anything myself but all in all it was a very productive and relaxing time and I look forward to our next spin-in.

Lace Project...part 3

I started with a nice lace scarf from the collection of patterns I have acquired over the years, some off of the internet, others from yearly visits to SAFF and others from places like Patternworks and Elann.com, two of my favorite catalogue sites, to begin my first real lacework project. Unfortunately I ran into a problem deciphering the instructions around the 6th row. I even posted to a lace discussion group and they could not figure out what it was instructing. My last hope was having my mother look at it and even she was confused. If she can't figure it out there is no hope. No matter, I have quiet a few beautiful patterns that I was trying to decide from and this is just one process of elimination, so I ripped out my work so far, and we all know I have long since lost the fear of ripping... and I chose another.

This particular pattern was offered by elann.com and seems more user friendly. That is to say that someone like me that is new to lace knitting is able to work it out without difficulty. I am using the lace weight mohair I spun, (see Lacework Project cont... below)and as you can see it seems to be working very well. I am having some difficulty putting it down because I am anxious to see the design become more real with each row. I know I will be pleased.

One of my favorite aspects of knitting, and there are many, is the company. I love getting together with others to knit, share, laugh and relax. And when I am home alone I have a knitting partner. He does not talk much but he does hum me a beautiful song that I find most relaxing. That is when he is lying quietly next to me, leaving my yarn be.

He always expresses and interest in any of my various fibre activities. He is especially fond of watching me wind yarn from my swift onto a ball winder. I can just see him getting dizzy as his head goes around and around as the swift spins.

Jack Of all Trades, Master of None

The Caplet, mentioned below, that I was using the variegated mohair/silk yarn for (see "Projects in the Mix") has succumed to the disposition of the dreaded Queen of Rip. This will be the second or third time I have ripped a project using that particular skein and it is beginning to look a little rough. I just can't seem to get a reign on her. She is too quick to influence me when I am in the slightest doubt. She has become quite an enigma and I suspect the real problem is that I have no real direction.

There are so many wonderful, creative ways to use fibre that one can become overwhelmed. Looking at knitting patterns alone, as exciting as it can be, can make your head hurt, there are so many that you can't get your bearing. Suddenly you want to knit everything. I think I might be at the stage where my eyes are bigger than my stomach so to say. I want to do everything and am finding that I have become the Jack of all but Master of none. There is just so much I wnat to do that I really need some direction.

I have decided to try to focus on what really excites me, and that is lacework. So other than the occasional exception, when choosing projects, whether it be a scarf, shawl, afghan, even sweater, I will stay with lace patterns. I will concentrate on spinning with lace work in mind, when choosing colors or dyeing my own I will be mindful of what will work best with lace patterns, when I....well you get the picture.

By doing this I hope to be able to master the technique that will, in my opinion, best represent the animal or plant that offers it's fibre. That is not to say that I won't enjoy experimenting or creating other type projects from time to time.

Some fibres, not matter how exciting or tempting will be easy to find obliging to lace knitting. This is a good example. The colors alone were tempting and I had not seen so much luster in any other fibre, other than mohair, but when I found out what it was, I had to buy some. It is called Ingeo and it is made from corn. I can't wait to spin it and discover it's texture once spun.

Merino vs Mohair

Last night I thought I would try spinning some merino top I had bought from Saff several years back, lace weight, to see how it differed from the mohair. Not only in the technique itself, how it spins/twists up, but also how it looks.

As I began spinning I noticed some trash that I did not remember being there and in closer inspection my suspicion was confirmed. Carcasses of some kind of dead insect, yuck..... I will spare everyone the gorey details and won't include a picture. Fortunately there was a small amount, superficially, they did not get down into the roving. It would have been a real shame because this is some really nice merino, well that goes without saying, can merino be anything else? That is to say it was processed well and a joy to spin. I could see where the fibre had become brittle from the insects making a home there so I had to waste that portion but then again, fortunately it was not much.

My observations, when comparing the merino with mohair, were first that the drafting had to be much shorter. It didn't seem to twist as easily. It also lacked the luster that mohair has as well as the halo-ing, which goes without saying.

While merino has many good qualities, I suspect I am going to be more pleased with the over all characteristics of the end creation when mohair was used on lacework projects. Whether it be my propensity toward mohair, since I raise angora goats is the question. Next I will try blending the two and, who knows, the characteristics of both, complementing each other may end up being quite a treasure.

Projects in the Mix

While waiting for the twist to sett on the lace weight mohair, I like to leave any newly spun yarn on the bobbin for at least a day before taking it off.

I filled a bobbin of lace weight mohair last night and am leaving it on the bobbin to sett the twist. I like to leave any newly spun yarn for at least 24 hours before transferring it to the niddy noddy, steaming it then allowing it to dry for another 24 hours. I have found this to be the most stable method to insure the fibre forgets it's old memory and learns a new twist.

Before spinning another bobbin I will wait until I can be sure my first attempt at spinning this lace weight is sound, which means another day or so. In the mean time I have ripped out an old project I started.....sometimes I feel I am the Queen of rip, the First Lady of tink. I can be so critical of my work but it was obvious I had chosen the wrong project for this particular yarn. It just was not turning out the way I had hoped.

This particular yarn is the first yarn I have actually worked with that I had not spun up myself. I bought it at SAFF last October. Some wonderful variegated blue/mauve-ish color mohair/silk blend, a color I would not have been able to duplicate dyeing with natural materials.

I thought I would be able to use this yarn for some lace work but what I did not take into consideration when visually inspecting it is that because of the distinct halo properties, one of the beautiful characteristics mohair offers, it can be a little misleading. The yarn itself looks quite thin but the halo actually increases the w.p.i. and that needs to be taken into consideration when planning a project. I have to admit more than a few of my projects, though have ended well, were not exactly as I had intended. I wonder how often that happens to other artists? But then, this is how we learn.

When it became painfully obvious that the project I had hoped to create using this yarn was not truning out as I had hoped, I employed one of my more frequent techniques.....I ripped it out, which is not all that easy with mohair as the halo tends to stick together, you end up with some very fuzzy yarn the more you ripp-it. Instead I have chosen a caplet with larger openwork that will show better even with the halo. I found the pattern at Crystal Palace.

Addendum: If this post seems as if it was not well thought out or ends rather ubruptly may I suggest to take care not to leave the keyboard with a cat in the room. I came back to find nearly half the article missing and something I could not quite make out, as I do not speak cat, in it's place. I had a nice talk with him about editing my work.


He also finds more important uses for my knitting basket.

It all began...

My first real introduction into the world of Fibre, other than my mother's attempt to teach me knitting as a young girl, which I quickly became quite bored with as more important interests kept me busy, began at the beginning of the new millennium. I happened to catch a television show on spinning and weaving, thought how neat it would be to learn, and if I was going to learn I was going to start from the beginning. I fell in love with each new fibre experience, from goat to coat, hard, fast and have not looked back.

This includes caring for a small spinner's herd of angora goats as well as spinning, weaving, knitting, felting, natural dyeing and more. If you are interested I invite you to read an article I wrote for Country Side magazine that illustrates how I began My Fiber Adventures.

Unfortunately I live in an area where my excitement for fiber arts is not shared. It is really too hot to enjoy wool articles and where there is no need, there is very little interest. So for awhile I had to be content in being the lone participant in my fibre adventures. My dear husband encouraged me but beyond that his only interest is in the occasional hat, slippers or other articles of clothing that I make for him.

After teaching myself to spin a loom almost literally fell into my lap. I got such a good deal on it I could not refuse and so with the help of Deborah Chandler's book, "Learning to Weave" I began to do just that, learn to weave. I decided to join an online discussion list for weavers as an attempt at some kind of contact with others who enjoy working with natural fibre and met someone who I found, to my delight, lived, not only in the same state but the same town. Finally someone to share my growing love of fiber with. We met offline and have become fast friends.

My fibre sister and I have done all that we can to promote interest in fibre art here. This includes demonstrations to a local knitting guild, library, yearly demonstrations to our state fair and the occasional private lessons. While we do get encouragement in the form of positive feedback about how nice it is that someone is still creating clothing as it was done in the not too distant past, still these comments quickly turn to how little time they have to devote to spinning or weaving. Even when they ask for private lessons and it seems as though we may have enough interest to start a guild they soon either grow board or find they don't have the time to keep the interest up. So we keep demonstrating, educating and hoping.

Together my fibre sister and I have spent many a Sunday afternoon experimenting and exploring other fibre activities such as natural dyeing, felting and I have even picked up knitting again. Once the needles were back in my hands I found that like riding a bike, it all came back to me nicely.

During one or our yearly trips to Asheville NC for SAFF, the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair, I saw a beautiful Orenburg shawl and vowed then and there that my goal was to become talented enough to create something that wonderful.

My first attempt at lace work was this mohair shawl that I created on a triangle loom, which is a story in itself.

The triangle loom was a gift from my husband. I awoke one Nativity eve to the sound of tap...tap...tap... and after lying there for several minutes, listening, curiosity got the better of me and I went to the source to find my dear husband on the floor nailing hundreds of little finishing nails into a triangle loom he had built. As usual he waited almost too late, the eternal procrastinator, one of the things I have learned to love about him. I felt sorry for him so I joined him and together it was finished around 6 am.

The mohair were a gift from my goats who continue to offer me wonderful fibre to work with. The darker stripes in the shawl are a result of dyeing the mohair in black walnut hulls. I was very pleased with the results and even received a 1st prize ribbon at that year's fair. But now I am ready to try my hand at lace knitting, I can only hope my talent matches my enthusiasm.

Before attempting to knit lace I have to spin the yarn for my new project. Last night I started filling my bobbin with lace weight mohair. The trick being how much twist to put into it to produce a stable yarn without the pigtailing, which is a real problem trying to spin so thin.

I managed about 22 w.p.i. and this adventure begins....