Cashmere Christmas

I had, what I will always remember as, a Cashmere Christmas. I took advantage of my dmil's generously and stocked up on some really nice colours of lace weight cashmere. Richard's company , "ColourMartUK" started out on eBay and has been such a big hit that he has been able to expand and open an online store outside eBay. His prices are very competitive and he is a real joy to work with in that he will do what he can, within reason of course, to be sure you receive quality product and service. I was a little hesitant to order out of country, not sure when it would arrive and what the cost would be for shipping but each time I have had the pleasure of doing business with him my order has arrived in a timely manner, without any complications. Even though I am a handspinner periodically I like to skip the spinning step for what ever reason and move on to knitting or weaving. It may be that I have no resource for a certain fibre I want for a project or I am just in a hurry to get started. I would be hard pressed to find cashmere of that quality and in such a wide variety of colours at the price he offers his yarn

I chose shades I normally don't work with in an attempt to stifle my fear of bold colours. Ordinarily I work, almost exclusively, with natural muted shades. Either the colours our Creator gifted the animal, whose fibre I am working with or, as a natural dyer, the consequent colours produced in a natural dyebath of plant materials, using less offensive mordants like vinegar, alum, cream of tartar which, though more benign. do not lend itself to producing more intense hues. These will offer an exercise in colour, a talent that seems to be second nature for EM, my fibre sister, but for me it can be very intimidating. Trying to work out what colours work well with each other, either complimenting one another or even....collide with grace"...so to say is not as easy as I thought it would be until I started creating my own projects. Though a little scary I intend to have some fun with them. How can one not have fun working with such heavenly fibre.

When searching for the picture of cashmere that precedes this short article above to upload for this entry I came across this one and thought I would offer a peek into a typical evening at home. While dh is usually sitting with his laptop and I am participating in something fibre or reading scripture the furbabies, who normally pretend to suffer each other's company, nevertheless seem to gravitate to one another as the day concludes.

Our Recent Shopping Trip

Last Friday my fibre sister and I treated ourselves to a trip to Asheville to do a little shopping at Earth Guild, one of our favorite stores. The trip was intended to tide us over until SAFF which is held the end of October. I walked into Earth guild and barely moved passed the door before I had nearly exhausted all the money allotted for the trip. We spent several hours delighting in the unique texture of every kind of fibre in the store and looking through the patterns and books they have for sale. Like the proverbial "kids in the candy store", wide eyed, our conversation became limited to 'Oooh come look at this'.

Pictured is a sample of my purchase at Earth Guild, some absolutely beautiful mohair/silk yarn and a pair of "Monkey sticks" knitting needles, which I paid too much for. But we were treating ourselves so I was not going give too much time concerning myself with cost. "Beautifully hand crafted in Costa Rica of the finest tropical hardwoods. Warm and smooth, they feel great in your hands." Beside their aesthetic characteristics described in the quote you may note that the points are very sharp which lends to ease in knitting even the tightest work.

The sample project displayed using the yarn was so light and airy that you barely noticed the weight and the choice of colors was well represented. I can't wait to work with it.

An addendum to our trip, the next morning I checked my mailbox and found a flier from Earth Guild announcing a sale to take place the following weekend....oh well that's life.

Vegetables, they really are good for you...

Lent, a time for repentance, reflection, discipline and setting priorities, to list a few treasures of this season, so if the posting drops off a bit you will understand that I am trying to put these into practice. Still I have said it before, fibre art is very spiritual and I can manage to contemplate what this time of year means for me and my relationship with our Creator while spinning, weaving, knitting. In point of fact these activities help me realize how blessed I am.

Right now I have several projects going on, if you have been following my posts you probably have already noticed, and may even be thinking...."Pick a project and follow it through". There is a method to the madness though. I am trying to work out what to bring to the project. What tools work best with which fibre for the desired end results. This is a little more difficult than it sounds, or at least for me it is.

So lets address spinning. I am in the process of spinning lace weight and currently have a bobbin of mohair, merino and corn. Yes believe it or not you can spin corn. I am still not entirely clear on the process but here is a picture of some commercially processes and dyed corn. I am told it is not the silky fibres you see covering the cob itself, that was my guess.

I was pleasantly surprised to find it so easy to spin. And interestingly enough it is turning out to look and even feel very similar to some silk I spun recently. The test, of course, will be how well it knits or weaves.

The reason for spinning a variety of fibres is, of course, to see how each responds to spinning lace weight. Which holds up better, spinning tight enough without pigtails and stays soft, since a little tighter twist is indicated the yarn can end up with something on the rough side. I also want to take note of each fibre's charictaristic. Which fibre is more elastic, which will still display it's luster at that weight and which is lighter, the weight determining which will drape better.

Tax Refund

I can be fairly confident, in conjecture, that I am not the only fibre artist who knew exactly what she/he wanted to do with any monies received this year, in the form of tax refunds, that were left after other financial obligations were met. In point of fact I, personally, had already started a wish list while waiting for the check to arrive. This is the result.

As mentioned in previous entries, I work almost exclusively with mohair, which I love dearly, but while I am still trying to master spinning lace weight I decided to purchase a few skeins of fibres I have no access to via my spinner's herd. My first stop, shopping the internet, was Knit Picks for some wonderful colours of lace weight alpaca and merino from their "Alpaca Cloud" and "Shadow" lines, respectively. I also purchased several small sizes of single point Bryspun needles (displayed in the large basket with the yarns). Sizes used for working with lace weight. A needle I have found to be very comfortable to work with for my painful hands. Bryspun are light weight, warm, and the points are tapered to make those more complicated stitches easier to manage. I highly recommend them to anyone who absolutely refuses to give up knitting no matter how painful they find it.

I also found a wonderful seller on eBay from whom I bought a cone of lovely light blue-ish 100% cashmere (the picture does not do the colour justice) and some cobweb weight light cream colour cashmere. Both were wonderful finds and I look forward to doing business with Richard at Colourmartuk in the future. He was very helpful and the product arrived surprisingly quick for having to come from overseas.

Included, also, in the basket above is some nice light sage lace weight merino also found on eBay and some novelty yarn picked up on sale here and there at local shops. Something to have on hand for that splash of colour or texture on future projects. All this fibre, and needles also, were very reasonable which made it possible for someone like me who's mad money is limited, but every once in a while you have to splurge a bit.

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.

Lacework project cont....

After allowing the mohair to dry on the niddy noddy over night I wound it into a ball using the ballwinder, which I have found to be very helpful. I used to wind the yarn into a ball manually or onto a nostepinde, which is quite effective, resulting in a centre pull ball as with the ball winder, but much slower. I checked the gauge once again and am getting between 20 and 21 w.p.i. so it is not as thin as I had hoped but not too bad for my first attempt.

There are a few projects I have in mind. But before I attempt an Orenburg shawl I think I might try a pattern from Knitty.com. They have a nice free pattern section of some unique projects. I encourage you to check them out. If you are looking for something out there or unusual check out thier "Whimsies" section.

The particular pattern I hope to try is called Branching Out. Still, don't hold me to it. I have been know to change my mind several times before possibly coming back to the very same pattern or choosing another. Just ask my fibre sister, my mantra should be "when in doubt, rip it out"....

Giving Thanks for Gifts

Last night as I as winding my laceweight mohair off the bobbin on to the niddy noddy to steam and set the twist I began admiring my stash. I know there are other fibre artists out there that can relate and possibly enjoy this activity from time to time. I love to just run my hands through my stash periodically, dreaming of projects that will do it justice. I came across a gift my Godmother gave me recently. I remember when she gave me this brown paper bag full of fibre that she had been given several years ago and asked if I could use it. What was visible was in questionable condition but as I put my hand down into the bag, reaching down below what was visible and feeling something so soft and luxurious that before I knew it I exclaimed, "Oh my God", giving thanks for what I knew I had found, but you can imagine my embarrassment finding I was within earshot of the class just breaking up and our Priest was teaching. He inquired if anything was wrong and I had to have him put his hand into the bag and feel how wonderful it was. He knows how much my fibre crafts mean to me and indulged me my excitement.

What I had found below was a large quantity of soft and luxurious angora fibre. Knowing what I had here I had to ask her if she was sure she wanted me to have this wonderful treasure. I told her I would be happy to teach her how to spin but as Abbess of a local Orthodox Monastery she has resigned to the fact that she may never have time to learn and wanted me to put it to good use.

I gave some to my fibre sister, we share everything, and am resisting the temptation to just spin it up and run with it, using it for the next project I find, but I want to be sure I use it wisely. I want to save it for something special.

My last visit to the Monastery I was brushing one of the dogs and collected quite a bit of downy fibre. I brought it home and spun it up. I was pleasantly surprised how well it spun and the nuns continue to bring me what fibre they collect when they groom her. I hope to weave a nice Icon scarf with it.

As I look at these gifts I have to give thanks where it is due, perhaps better not to offer it by thoughtlessly blurting it out as I did when I first reached into the bag, but a bit more privately, sincerely, mindfully.....

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....