Change is coming

A change has been coming for awhile. I have always had a hard time finding clothes that I like. Lately I have been buying office casual clothes because I want to dress up more than the regular jeans and tee shirt, and I want to look professional for the fiber shows. But, I am tired of those clothes. They are boring and most have no personality. I'm not sure I even look good in them. I have been wanting to get more of "me" into my wardrobe, but no idea how to do that. Last week I put on a cardigan, and really did not like it. It is one I wear often, a knit cardigan from Kohls with no style. It is boring. Here's what it looks like:

When I put on the sweater, I got frustrated. I cannot just keep buying clothes that I do not like. So I decided to change. the. sweater. Not a particularly new idea, but I'd never thought of doing that before. I've changed the length of straps, and put in some quick darts to make tank tops fit better, but nothing like this.

Here's the plan: I am going to shorten the sleeves, change the neckline and do some waist shaping, then add some embroidery.

First, the sleeves. The sweater has a nice cuff, it just needed to be near my elbow instead of near my wrist. With the sweater on, I measured to my elbow, which is where I wanted to add the cuff to the sleeve. I laid the sweater out on my cutting mat, and used quilting tools to make a straight cut. Then, I cut again just above the cuff.

Trouble is, the sleeve at the elbow is too big for the cuff, even if I ease it on.

 So, I took some volume out of the sleeve by starting at the underarm and sewing straight to about an inch in from the side seam. Then I cut off the excess seam allowance.

I turned the cuff right side out, and pinned it to the inside of the (inside out) sleeve. First, I pinned it at the seam, then at the point directly opposite, I kept halving each side and pinning it together, until
there wasn't any more room to pin.

My sewing machine has some knit-friendly stitches, and I chose one to let the the knit fabric stretch like it wants to. While sewing, I stretched the cuff a little to ease it into the same circumference as the cuff. I repeated this whole process for the other sleeve. BOOM. Short sleeves.

Here's the altered sweater on me:

Still boring, still needs some work, but a step closer to what I wanted. Next, I will be changing the neckline. The crew neck on it is too high, and the back of the neck is straight, so the sweater constantly rides forward, making me look like I hunch. Not good. I'm thinking a "V" neck, a little wider than it is now, and a gentle curve along the back of the neck.

more to come!

Mini Skein Knit A Long

The wonderful Ladybugxstitcher (rav link) has started a cool Knit A Long in the June Pryce Fiber Arts Group! You get a set of mini skeins from the June Pryce shop, and a shawl pattern, and get knittin'. I decided to try Bitterroot (rav link) in the Peach to Brown gradient. Here's a pic of the skeins:

 

 

Sigh. Gorgeous! I can't wait to start this one. Start date for the KAL is July 1st. You can pick any gradient colorway you want, you don't have to do the Peach to Brown. AND you don't have to do Bitterroot, you decide which pattern to try!

 

Click over to our Ravelry group and join in!

In Love with Haruni

Well, Emily Ross goes on the genius list. Haruni is not a difficult knit, but the results sure look like it was. (I love that, it impresses the Muggles terribly.)

I finished the knitting (I was a little bummed to be finished, it was very rhythmic and pleasant) and the casting off, (which was considerable) and now I am anxious to see if I got those beautiful scallops that GirlGoneLoopy got!

Here is the unblocked shawl.

I like to wet block, so I gave Haruni a bath with a little wool wash. I squeezed the excess water out (without wringing) and then wrapped it in an old towel and let the 3YO walk on it for a bit. Then pinned it to my blocking board.

(sorry for the out of focus pic, it was dark)

After it was dry, Haruni got a photography session!

With hydrangeas from my garden.

See the scallopy goodness?

The little swirl at the corners makes me swoon.

And the point is sublime.

I got my scallops, the colors are awesome, and the shawl is finished. I am so pleased, I could pop!

Photo Phriday

Gustave Courbet

The Sleeping Spinner1853

What to do with those Mini Skein Sets?

Cheryl and I just finished five weeks of shows. We were vendors at four of them, and buyers at Maryland Sheep and Wool (which was right in the middle of those five weekends). We get a lot of interesting questions while we are vending. Questions I would never predict that knitters would ask. Like, "wow these mini skein sets are beautiful - what would you use them for?" Don't all knitters buy first and figure out what to do with it later? Just me?

My goal now is to make samples to show those knitters exactly what can be done with the mini skeins. AND I get to knit with them, too. Bonus!

I started with a set of 6 mini skeins (100 yards each) that gradated from green to blue that Cheryl gave me for my birthday. I love the colorway. (if left to my own devices, I'd probably make everything in these colors. I'm very drawn to them.)

After much searching on Ravelry, I saw this Haruni in GirlGoneLoopy's projects. (a ravelry link) I absolutely adore how the violet and light blue contrast in her Haruni's edging makes a pretty scallop. So I contrived to make my set do that.

After reading the Haruni pattern, I laid out my 6 colors from light to dark. According to the pattern, half the yardage will be used for the edging, so I made sure to put the darkest and the lightest next to one another inside the edging, and finish with the next lightest. The shawl is worked from top to bottom, so the skeins will be knit from 1 (top) to 6 (bottom edge).

(pic does not show how gorgeous the colors are. Hopefully I can get a better pic of the work in progress.)

To keep track of which skein was which, (and keep the skeins clean) I put each in a little zipper baggie and labeled them 1-6 with a sharpie (next time I will use some painters tape on the baggies; the sharpie wore off after a few days.) I wound them into center pull balls as I needed them.

I decided that making this project was technically "working", and not just making myself something to wear, so I made sure to sit down and work on it every day. Right now I am knitting on skein 4 in the edging. The rows are getting very long, and my husband now knows that "just let me finish this row" could mean 15 - 20 minutes, not the 2 that he's used to. I am looking forward to getting to skein 5 to see what the contrast looks like! I hope it looks as good in reality as I am imagining...

Here's a pic of the work in progress:

It is getting a bit big for my needles, so it is difficult to spread out. I will take more pics once I get it off the needles, and onto my blocking board! (should only be a few episodes of "Mr. Selfridge" til it is finished.)

Knitting the Scarf

Now that my handspun is dry and wound into center-pull balls, I am going to start knitting.
I want a substantial scarf, but I also want it to be long enough to wrap around my neck a couple of times. So, I measure the yarns' wpi. The GreenBlueViolet came out a little bit thinner than the Arctic Ice, but I'm not worried about that. I settled on 24 stitches per row, on a size 6 needle.

With the Darker yarn end (Violet in this case), cast on 16 stitches.
Work a K1P1 rib for two rows ( *[K1, P1], repeat from * to end.)
DO NOT CUT YARN.
Attach most contrasty end of second yarn and work two rows K1P1 rib. (both my ends were the darkest teal, so I just picked one and started knitting.


*Start working with first color again, but pull it from UNDER the second color. Work 2 rows.
Pick up second yarn from under first yarn, making sure to pull it from UNDER the first. Work 2 rows.
REPEAT from * until almost out of yarn, end with 2 rows the darker yarn, cast off in rib.



 

The knittings is finished! I tucked the ends in, and this project is complete.

 



Time To Ply

The weather was nice, so I spun outside for awhile. That is the Green Blue Violet in the works. The bobbin with the Arctic Ice is on a bobbin in front, see?

While I was still spinning singles, I somehow lost the end of my single in the bobbin. After hours of trying to find it, I gave up, broke a strand that was (I think) near the lost end, and kept spinning. I never found it. Even while plying. Weird.

 

Now that I have all my singles spun, it is time to ply. To keep my colors as solid as possible, I decided to use a chain ply (sometimes referred to as Navajo ply).

I put my full bobbin on a lazy kate, and started with a loop. I am plying with an "S" twist. Then as, the spin comes into the yarn, I pull a new loop through the old one, before it is spun closed. I use a short draw, pinching with my left pointer finger and thumb, while pulling the loop through with my right. I really like the way the yarn looks, but I know it will get fluffier after I set the spin.

Arctic Ice

Green Blue Violet

After plying, I skeined the yarn up and tied it in several places. The yarn gets a bath, and then I snapped it and laid it out to dry.

 

 

I repeated this for the second skein. Once the skeins are dry, I can wind them into balls and start knitting!

.

Spinning the singles

My fiber is prepared and ready to spin:

Next I need to decide what weight yarn I want, and whether to spin a single to knit, or singles to ply. If I'm plying, I will be N-plying (or chain plying) to keep the colors solid. I practiced on some undyed wool, and made this little card to remember what I was doing. The card is nothing special, ant piece of cardboard will do. I think this one is a label off of a piece of clothing. I wound the single around a few times, then let the singles ply themselves by holding three lengths together so they wound around each other. This will be my reference while I am spinning.

Just a quick clean and oiling for my wheel and I'll be ready. I have two wheels. I have a Louet S15, a gift from my mother. I believe she bought it in the early 1990s, and it has since been discontinued. I don't know why, it spins beautifully. I also have a RoadBug, a Christmas gift from my husband. It took me a little while to get used to this little wheel (going from a ST to a DT, and it is about a foot shorter than my Louet) but once I did, WOW. She spins like a dream, and I love that she has a spot for all her tools (oil and orifice hook) and the double treadle is wonderful.

Here's her picture, with my first day's spinning on it (I started with the hank of Arctic Ice. Love it!)

More spinning to do, but now I need to figure out what to make for dinner... ;)

Splitting the top

Today I'll be splitting the top to prepare for spinning. My plan is to split each piece into two, so I will be spinning six pieces of each color. Then, I'll be chain plying to keep the colors together.

First I laid out the three pieces of the Arctic Ice:

Then I split each one into two:

To split them, I push my fingers through the piece and feel each side, checking that they are equal.
Then, pull the sides apart all the way down the piece like this:

Then I wound up each piece with the light on the inside and dark on the outside.

I repeated this process on the Green Blue Violet hank. I took a look at the pieces and they still seemed too thick, so I split them again. Here is a comparison of each piece, the one on the right is the first splitting (1/6th of the hank), the one on the left is the second (1/12th of the hank).

I decided I liked the smaller piece, so split the rest of the Green Blue Violet and also the Arctic Ice.
Here are all the pieces.

After a mental head slap, I realized I would need to reverse half the cupcakes to make spinning easier. Now I can get to spinning!!

Scarf Spin A Long!

It is March and time to start the Striped Scarf Spin-A-Long! (See Ravelry for more info on prizes and how to get your kit!)

Cheryl dyed me a lovely Spin To Knit Scarf Kit - in the colorway "Kelp Forest".

which is a combination of the colors "Arctic Ice":

 and "Green Blue Violet":

 

 It's a Merino Tencel blend. Shiny and soft!!

Someone wanted to say hello...Hello!

Each hank of fiber is 4 ounces, in three pieces. My plan is to split each piece, and spin each of the six pieces, reversing every other one so there is no sudden color changes. Then I'll be chain plying the singles to keep the colors together.

Tomorrow, I'll split the pieces of top and get ready to spin! Woot!

New Year, New House

Whelp, after the week long "quick" cleaning and stashing of clutter for visitors this Christmas, I find I am sick to death of the crap. I am determined to get the house in order in the coming year. As in TOTAL OVERHAUL of all household areas.

I found this group on Facebook that is doing the whole house, room by room, for 14 weeks. Sounds good to me. So I signed up.



The program starts up again on January 4th, with week #1. So for now, I'm contenting myself by starting on week #6, the Master Bedroom. I will take some before pictures tomorrow, but they won't be pretty.

Busy Season

Panic Time! There are only 22 days until I leave for Knitters Day Out in Harrisburg!

Arabian Nights Drawstring Bag (limited edition)

Used to be, I would be leisurely choosing what to wear and packing yarn, needles, etc. for classes at KDO. I love taking classes at KDO. I love learning something new, challenging myself, and meeting other artisans. Sharing an experience with other knitters or spinners. Making a connection to people like me, who love to create. And the classes! Awesome class selection, and top notch instructors. Instructors like Candace Eisner Strick and Kathy Zimmerman this, to name two. Some of the same instructors who teach at other venues for twice the cost. That's Value, my friends!

Not this year. This year, for the second year, I will be manning the June Pryce Fiber Arts booth in the KDO market with my sister Cheryl. I will miss the classes. But I get something even better. In a class there are maybe 20 knitters, and you get to interact with say, 5 or 6 knitters - usually just the people who are near your seat. But in the market - ya get to meet and be inspired by a whole lot more people.

Pink Starfish Drawstring Bag (OOAK)

If you are in the vicinity of Harrisburg, PA, come on by, I'd love to meet you, see what you've knit, what's on your needles. I am so pumped up with creative energy after meeting so many enthusiastic makers, I'll be riding that high for at least a month. Usually right after a show is my most creative time, when I have my best ideas. and I love having ideas. It makes me happy.

Only 26 days! There is so much to get ready - sewing bags, knitting samples, labeling, pricing, packing. So much to do, so little time!! I know, you would think that it is practically a month - should be plenty of time, but it SO isn't. I have editing, and printing, and packing, and... crap what am I going to wear? Last year it was too warm to wear a heavy knit. Do I have anything in a lightweight handknit that I can wear? I like to represent, too! Maybe I have time to knit something for myself before September 7th... Yeah, Right!

Vintage Glass Stitch markers with Blue Glass Accents

(fits to size US10 needles)

Cocoons

It's finally dry!!
I was trying for coils, but the fiber said NO. (alright, so I wasn't doing them right. Sue me.) I'm dubbing the blobs of fluff "Cocoons".

This is a two ply yarn, using two different fibers.
the thin ply is June Pryce Fiber Arts' hand dyed Wensleydale wool in "Tropical Fish",
the thick and thin ply is Frabjous Fibers' hand dyed Merino wool in "Patina".

I plied them, and whenever I got to the thick part of the Thick and Thin, I moved the TnT to the side, making a right angle with the thin ply, letting the thick part pile up and around the thin ply. They look like cocoons to me.

I'm sure I'll be trying the coils again, I already have the fiber picked out. But first, I am spinning dog hair! Fun, Fun!

Three Ply

I'm spinning again! Used to be, I could take it or leave it (unless I was pregnant, then I couldn't get enough of spinning). Right now the wheel has been consistently calling me. It's all Maggie Casey's fault.

I took a trip to The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this year, and took a spinning class on plying taught by Maggie Casey. She has so much to teach, she could most likely have chatted about plying all day. As it was, our three hour class was chock full, and ran into overtime. Talk about inspiring! I used to just spin, but now I have IDEAS on how to break up a hank of fiber to make the end yarn look differently.

I picked up a three-bobbin lazy kate at MSWF (my birthday present from the husband) and got the idea (yes, from Maggie) to try it out with a three-ply. I just so happened to have two hanks of June Pryce Fiber Arts hand dyed  superwash Merino in the colorway "Hawaiian", dyed by my sister, Cheryl. Lovely in the hank. Gorgeous. Then I spun it. And it got even better. I didn't think that would be possible. I LOVE the result (that Maggie knows what she's doing).

I even took a shot at coils the other day (ala Jaycee Boggs). I definately need more practice, as my coils turned out to be more like cocoons. I just went with it. I'll try coils again soon, but if the fiber wanted to be soft cocoon-ish blobs, so be it.

Photo Phriday

This:

Play At Life Fiber Arts "Acid Trail (Light)".  3.9 oz


Plus This: (or something closely resembling this)

Louet S15 spinning wheel (S17 shown - very close)

Results in this:

Singles soon to be chain-plied!!  Wahoo!

Have a good weekend!

Photo Phriday

I need a relaxing day, to recoup my center.  I have still not been giving myself enough time for sleep, and today I am cranky and tired.  Like most mothers of small children, I need a vacation.  And because that is unlikely to happen, I need to put on my Big Girl Panties and just start going to bed on time.

I am leaving you today with this lovely Pissaro.  It is called "Woman Carding".  She looks so peaceful, I just want to bring her a cup of tea, and sit with her, working quietly.  *Sigh!*