Spinning - a Break from Knitting

Well, I'm not really taking a break from knitting. But I'm knitting  mucho Christmas gifts with a lot of repetition. And I've had this braid draped across my spinning wheel, directly across from my easy chair where I typically knit. Isn't it luscious?

I got it from Susan's Fiber Shop a while back (for a review of the shop click here.) And it has been calling my name for some time now. It is called (I believe) Meadow Maggots and is mostly merino with the light colored strand being bamboo. Charming name, huh?

So, while I've been spinning I have been reminiscing about some of my past spinning demonstrations - where I spun memories! (catchy, huh?  :^) I've done many but thought I'd post a bit about a couple of the summer ones from days gone by.  

The very first outdoor demonstration in which I ever participated was during a local festival. I believe it was the the first one of its kind in our town. Portage is the 3rd oldest town in Wisconsin because of the close proximity of the Fox River and the Wisconsin River to one another. The earliest explorers of the region, Marquette and Joliet, went from Green Bay down to Prairie du Chien and "portaged" their canoes at "Portage" from the Fox over to the Wisconsin River. So this festival was called Old French Days. (It is now called Canal Days.) But in the beginning, there was a small reenactment of something - maybe the Black Hawk war, canoe races, tours of Fort Winnebago and the Indian Agency house, various other events and these three ladies demonstrating spinning. 

We had our period clothing on and sat in the lawn of the Fort's grounds spinning. (I am in the bonnet in the middle.) It was breezy and not-to-hot so it was a lovely time. This picture appeared in the local paper but I really don't know when it was. Judging by my lack of girth, I'm guessing about 1983.

The other outdoor spinning I will mention was actually in a metal building at the county fair. It was July, 1988 and our spinning guild had just succeeded in getting the fair board to add several categories for hand spun yarns and hand spun knitted garments. So we decided to have a few spinners there during the fair hours, partly to keep an eye on the hand spun items that come so dear. I was there one evening, just passing through and a newspaper staff person came by and, for some reason, picked me to interview about our group and activities. I didn't even have my wheel there so the one I'm using in the photo was another lady's.

The article included words and sentences I spoke but they were framed in such a way by the writer that it didn't even sound like me. And it made me sound like I was the only original guild member and that I started the group all by my self. Neither was true. I wasn't even living in Portage when the group started. But it was a front page story so was kind of fun anyway. (The next year I entered this sweater and got first prize - I think by sheer volume.)

Well, enough reminiscing for one post. The yarn I spun from "meadow maggots" is shown below, as is part of the process. The fiber seemed to be spinning up thickly so I have chunky yarn. I had hoped to make mittens out of it so I could enjoy looking at all the color combinations but I'm not sure there is enough for two mitts. I found a pattern for chunky yarn mittens and may try it with some fair isle pattern in it to stretch the yarn. Haven't decided yet.

whirring 'round and 'round

Plying

The finished product drying over an A/C vent

Let There Be Light

I haven't exactly taken a break from knitting. I knitted whenever I could on the 12 hour trip, one way, for a family reunion. I do have to help drive and have to rest my eyes from driving. But knitting I did, when I could. I knitted in the evenings while visiting with my mother.

And now, for 2 weeks, I knit when I can while my step-daughter's family is here for a visit. It's hard to blog while 4 boys, all 11 or under (and one 3 years old) are here but I can knit with hoots and hollers all around.

I've been working on Christmas presents. Four Faire Isle hats for said grandsons and some more bags that I posted about last time. But I thought I'd share a great product in this post.

Last night we went to see fire works in our town and since they were to start at dusk, and since everyone's idea of dusk is slightly different, we left early enough to be sure not to miss anything. So I took my knitting bag. Dusk for these particular people was well after the sun was down. But, never fear, I had light with which to knit.

Enter, HUGlight Flexible Hands Free Light

My attempt at a "selfie."

I was able to knit right up until the fireworks began and, let me tell you, everyone thought I was toooo cool. Well, at least the grandboys did. The others may or may not have thought I was a bit fanatical. But I did get some Christmas knitting done.

And speaking of "selfies," here is one taken by one of our twin grandsons:

He's the one without the curls.

It's A Tote (noun)

When I was a young girl living in Atlanta, Georgia, if you had to take someone somewhere, you were "carrying" them to wherever. When you had to carry something, you were "toting" it (verb). I think a grocery bag was also called a tote (noun). (My grandparents in Tenn. called that same bag a "poke.")

Just a couple of weeks ago, I saw a pattern for a really nice, simple tote (noun) or purse in the Love of Knitting magazine, Summer 2013. Not sure how I missed the tote bag when the magazine first arrived - it's on the front cover. Here's the picture as it is shown in the magazine →

I really like the bag, but wasn't as sure about that big ol' rose. It might be nice but I looked for a different knitted flower - I'm not a crochet-er.

The bag is knitted long-wise, as usual, but is sewn together short-wise, so the rows are vertical. Clear?

The yarn I picked is Plymouth Yarn Chunky Merino Superwash  and the color is #11, Rust. I'm probably not supposed to print the instructions but it is basically a 30" rectangle in stockinette with 50 CO stitches, size 10 1/2 needles. When the rectangle is finished, you seam up the cast on and bind off edges together and seam up the bottom, to form the open-top bag. I also put little "triangles" on the bottom to form a base. The top row near the handles ↑ is "pick up and knit" 120 stitches and then bind them off. I found a YouTube video to explain that here. And if this one is too tedious for you, here is another one, - it is short, sweet, and complete.  AND I decided to add a few randomly placed garter stitch rows to add texture and interest to the straight stockinette.

I also had to look for handles, which I found for the best price on eBay. And JoAnn Fabrics had the great lining fabric.

My dear friend, Catie has taught me well - "put a
bird on it." Or in this case, several.

For the lining, I wanted to have pockets sewn in for a cell phone, gum, etc., etc. The magazine pattern didn't give any tips on how to make or install a lining, other than to say it was optional, so I had to put my thinkin' cap on. Here's what I came up with:

Not sure the pictures capture the pockets, but they're pretty cool.  :^)  

And here is the final product.

Oh, yes, and here's the link to the knitted flower tutorial.

I haven't decided if I want to add a closure, which I suppose at this point, would have to be Velcro. I guess I can decide that after I "tote" it and see how much falls out.

To Lace or Not to Lace

I found some fuzzy yarn ON SALE at a great discount. Hmmm, but what could I use it for? It's pink (not my favorite color) and it's fuzzy. Really fuzzy. Well, I had been thinking of trying to making a lace and my mother wears a lot of pink. So I got it:

Fluff of New York! Whatever that is. :^)  I looked for a pattern and finally settled on this pattern at Ravelry. It is for a lovely scarf, which my mom likes to wear and I thought the FUZZ would be a unique feature. And it calls for some beading on either end for weight - I was very excited about that. I've been wanting to try that for a while, too. (The pattern is nice but if you decide to make it, be aware that it is only for one of the V's and then the "2-hole" part on either side. The picture on the pattern shows 3 sets of V's.)

So after a little bit of knitting, the scarf was going fairly well, except that the fuzz made it difficult to keep track of where I was. It looked like this:

I really got excited when the pattern began to emerge. But sometime after these pictures were taken, I began to increase stitches and could not see how or where. That, of course, threw off the pattern. I ripped out about 3 times and finally had a tantrum and threw it away! I was going to use a different pink yarn but when I held this fuzzy thing up to my neck, it felt so nice. So I decided if I was going to use this crazy yarn, I'd have to do something easier for my first lace.

This is what I ended up with.


The left hand picture is just after it was sprayed for blocking. The spots in the middle are just wet spots.

It's basically several rows of alternating "holes" with a straight stockinette in the middle. It definitely is not the fancy lace I was going for. But I guess I'll have to practice that with fuzz-less yarn.



Here's what I did:

# 7 needles
Cast on 34 stitches (or any number divisible by 4 plus 10)
For the bead work on the ends, I followed the pattern above that I linked to. I think I'm not supposed to reproduce it here, but it is a free download. (You could omit the beads and use a seed stitch for the edges.)

After the bead work or seed stitch edging,

Row 1: (RS) K across
Row 2: (WS) K5, purl to last 5 stitches, K5
Repeat both rows one more time, for 4 rows

Pattern rows:
Row 1: K5 *YO, k2tog, k2* then repeat *-* until last 5 stitches, k5
Row 2: K5, purl to last 5 stitches, K5
Row 3: K across
Row 4: K5, purl to last 5 stitches, K5
Row 5: K5, *k2, YO, k2tog* then repeat *-* until last 5 stitches, k5
Row 6: K5, purl to last 5 stitches, K5
Row 7: K across
Row 8: K5, purl to last 5 stitches, K5

Repeat this 8 row pattern until desired length. Then

Row 1: (RS) K across
Row 2: (WS) K5, purl to last 5 stitches, K5
Repeat both rows one more time, for 4 rows.

Finish with the same bead work as you began with.

Shawl Pin - eBay find!

I was planning on making it quite a bit longer but that yarn was making me CRAZY so I stopped and ordered a shawl pin on eBay so Mom can pin it shut rather than tying it or looping it.

So that's what I did with Fluff of NY, but it is not fancy lace. I'm not going to give up on lace-making, however. I plan to make another scarf with easier yarn to work with.

YOUR Opinion, Please

My last post was I ♥ Table Linens about the new placemats I had just sewn. But when I did the post I was under the influence - of a nasty head cold. So I didn't have the energy to take pictures of the new placemats on the table. Now that my head is a bit clearer, I got the pics taken.

I love the placemats. I ususally go with darker blues so I like the new, fresher, lighter blue. But I can't decide if the dishes that are close in colors to the placemats are too much of a good thing. So I am asking you to chime in on the table setting. I have navy placemats that look great with these dishes so that's not a problem. But do these new linens go with the dishes?

If you would kindly leave a comment with your opinion on these dishes and these placemats together, I would greatly appreciate it.  Thank you so much!

I ♥ Table Linens

This post is not about spinning or knitting. It is about placemats. I love table linens, especially placemats and my absolute favorite set of all time is this set:


As is obvious, this set is quite worn but I just keep using them because I really like them. They make me feel Tuscan or Greek or something "other worldly."

I have looked and looked to replace them but can never find anything comparable. The fabric is rather like denim, various shades of denim. So after about 2 years of looking, I realized I was going to have to sew something.

I have looked for fabric for about 1 1/2 years. Sometime in that time, I came to learn that the fabric I wanted was likely going to be "chambray." The closest prints I could find were always fish or lake related - definitely not the look I was going for. I've googled chambray and denim fabric many times but the last time I was finally directed to Fabric.com! Whoda thought? At Fabric.com, I found this fabric.                                                                  
                                                     

It is definitely not the same but I liked it - more than any other I've seen. So I ordered it and also some light weight denim "shirting" for the back of the placemats. The print fabric said "Dry Cleaning Recommended," but is 100% cotton so I decided to take a chance. I mean, who would ever have dry clean only placemats. For eating on. When the fabrics arrived, I promptly laundered them to pre-shrink them. They were wrinkled after drying but pressed out nicely.

And I was pleased at how nice it matched some of my dishes. I realize it may be overkill at the table - to be determined at a later date. :^)

So I began the process of creating a pattern - not very difficult, especially using newspaper - two of the sides were already square. I basically measured one of my old placemats and added an inch to each side.

When I was cutting the pieces out of the fabric, I placed the pattern on the fold (which I had created by lining up the selvages and then pressing - something Mrs. Spilker stressed, back in 7th grade Home Ec.) That gave me double the length, so I cut them apart on the fold. I then had 6 pieces of both types of fabric.

I pinned them together, one piece of the print and one piece of the shirting, with right sides together. I stitched them all the way around, leaving about a four inch opening to pull the right sides through. I trimmed the seams and clipped the corners and then pulled them through the opening.

After pulling them through the opening, I pressed them well, pressing under the opening fabric so that it lined up with the sewn edge. I then top stitched twice with matching thread. The first, or outer top stitch seam was 1/8 inch from the edge and the second top stitch seam was ¼ inch from the first seam.

Once all the cutting and pinning was finished, the sewing goes very quickly. These are not what I was looking for but I think they will do very nicely. And I may just keep looking for the Tuscan fabric of my dreams.  :^)

                       
























On a side note, I mentioned in a previous post that I had purchased a Traditional Ashford spinning wheel on eBay. It arrived yesterday from New Zealand. I have not yet assembled it so here's how it sits right now. I think I will put a finish on it tomorrow. It has only been stained. But let me say, if you are in the market for a spinning wheel, check out this web page: http://www.vjhandycraftsandspinningwheels.com/ or find the business on eBay at
http://www.ebay.com/sch/rotjoa/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=    They really know how to pack a spinning for long distance travel and the New Zealand Post was mighty prompt. And they have great prices - refurbished with care.  :^)

Warm Heads for Mom & Dad

Dear ol' Dad & Mom

As I have mentioned in numerous posts (probably to the point of excess), I made a lot of Faire Isle hats in the fall for Christmas presents. And I've made a few more since then for next year's presents. And I've made a couple of baby ones. They go quickly and look like they take forever. They are easy and look very complicated.

When I was first making them for gifts, I asked my mother if she would wear one. I had maybe never seen her wear a stocking-type hat. Her hair is very nice, wavy and "poofy," - I couldn't quite see her smashing it down with a hat. And I was right - her reply was, "No - I look like a peeled onion with those things on!" I guess that answered that! No hat for Mom.

Then at Christmas I gave my sister and brother-in-law one each and sometime in late February while chatting on the phone with Mom, she said, "I've been thinking about it. I think I would wear one of your hats when it's cold. Other women wear them and besides, you made it." So I got busy and made her one. And then, so as not to leave out Dad, I made him one, too. 

For Dad - Go Vols 

Mom's original hat

What I chose for Dad were the Tennessee Vols colors - Orange and White! The colors I chose for Mom were browns and rusts because she has always liked those colors. But while I was knitting hers, I began second-guessing myself, realizing she had mainly liked those colors in her decorating. So by the time I had finished both hats, I decided to send her 4 different hats I had already knitted for presents.

Another choice

Love this one -I've since claimed it for myself

And this one. My son said this one is "hideous."
He didn't like how the red was only on the
tip-top and didn't match the pastels of the
rest of the hat. It is Gina yarn and that's
just what it did.

I told her she only got one, that she should pick what she likes best and save the others for me so I could gift them in December.

After she tried them all on and got opinions, she selected the last one shown here - the one my son called hideous!  But she was very pleased with how the colors "matched" her complexion and hair color. So there, #2 son!  :)

And, even though she got it late in the winter, she says that she's worn it several times already!

Re-purposing - Hand Spun Style or A LARGE Mistake

Let me tell you a story. It goes like this: Once upon a time I knitted a wonderful sweater from hand spun corriedale for my late husband. If you read about it here, you will know that it was a large, wonderfully warm sweater/jacket. That was in about 1986. Sometime after I finished it, I decided to knit myself something comparable. I was excited to have a nice warm jacket/sweater to wear along side him so I began the thinking part of the process. I don't know dates or years but I began looking for a pattern and found one I loved in an old McCall's Needlework & Crafts, October 1989 magazine. This was before Ravelry and all the other on-line pattern sources. I believe I had picked up the magazine at a 2nd hand store - as I am wont to frequent - and eventually settled on a pattern from it.

The selected pattern is called "Crafted from the Heart" and features a lot of motifs, similar to quilt designs, so popular at that time. I knew nothing about multi-color knitting then but determined to use some neat colored stripes around the sweater. So I began the spinning process, and as you can imagine from a sweater the size of this one, I would need a lot of yarn. ALOT. I used to try to have all the yarn spun before I began knitting so I could keep on truckin', so to speak, while knitting. And thought I'd get dizzy if I attempted to knit in the car on trips. (Now, years later, I like to have a knitting project going at all times, so I can grab it up and haul it in the car, when on the go - only if I'm not driving. I'm told that knitting while driving is a dangerous combination.)

Again, I don't know dates, but I do know that my boys were very young and our nephew had moved in with us to be in a safer situation, so I likely didn't dedicate large amounts of time to the process. What I know is that before my husband got sick and died, I had begun knitting and had the ribbing and 2 rows of stockinette done on the back of the sweater. He died in 2001.

It was several years later, maybe 2007 that I decided to resume construction of said sweater. Now, life has a way of changing a person, for the better, if you let it. I don't know if I let it, but I think I am different in many ways. And I know that I am more relaxed and more easy-going. (That may be as much from age as anything else.) BUT, and this is huge, I never bothered to check and see if I was a different knitter than when I began. I had notes on my gauge at the time I began and notes on my plans for the stripes, etc. so I just resumed. And I knitted and knitted and spun more yarn, and spun and spun and knitted and knitted and spun. I thought I'd never get enough yarn spun to finish this large project. It never occurred to me that the sweater might be too big. When I would hold it up, it seemed big but I would always think, "Oh well, I want it for a jacket anyway."

So I finished it and thought it looked a bit strange but when I would wear it for a jacket, I was usually in a hurry to go somewhere and didn't really give it much thought. Until a couple of years ago. I realized it DOES NOT LOOK GOOD ON ME!  ugh!!!  :^)

Since then, I have been planning to rip it out and put the yarn into a nice thick yarn vest. Re-purposing is a current term and I like it for this yarn. I'll re-purpose it! So I've been looking for a pattern but I was shy to mention it to my husband. He always mourns even when I have to take out a few rows of knitting to fix a mistake. He feels bad that all that work is just ripped out. So I was keeping the plan for this too-big sweater mum for the time being.

The other day I thought I'd blog about it so I put on the sweater for him to take some photos of it and I casually mentioned that I was going to take it apart. I thought he'd go nuts but when he saw it on me, he said, "Ehhhhhh."  HAHA  I was, however relieved that I didn't have to justify my plan. Even he could see the blunder.

So now I have begun the long process of un-making a beautiful sweater. The snarls and other tangles within wool knitting is amazing. My finger tips are already getting sore. And I haven't settled on a use for the yarn as of yet. If you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

I think the saddest part so far is ripping out those
lovely button holes...

Here's what it looks like as of right now, a pile of curly yarn and a
partial very LARGE sweater.

THE END

(In the meantime, I have a delicate lacy scarf and a tote on the needles for Christmas presents. I do love knitting. 

Remember, I'd welcome suggestions for some type of short sweater or chunky yarn vest patterns. Thanks!)