Out Of Chaos...

We have a lot of chaos in our house.  Mainly because of the two Corgis and a Border Collie pup who knows no bounds for energy.  But...this is about yarns, and projects and STASH.

Out of chaos.....came a shawl!

I'm sure most of you have bits and pieces of yarn that you've just got to hang on to, because heaven forbid you just might need 20 yds for a stripe on a jacket, the toe of a sock, or just because you can't bear to throw it away.  Well, I've got so much sock yarn stash that I decided to turn that chaos into some kind of order.

I started off with this:

A varied assortment of Koigu KPPPM yarns, left over from a project that was never realized.  A friend and I thought we might try our hand at tapestry knitting and so bought up a basketful of the beautiful Koigu yarns.  To our chagrin we realized that what we really like to do is just knit - a shawl or socks or a baby project.  The tapestry knitting went out the window, leaving us with lots of the wonderfully colored yarns.  We divided up the skeins and this was my stash.  I could have done toes and heels for socks, but I was tired of socks and wanted something a little more challenging.

I found a shawlette pattern that was easy to do and voila!  A beautiful shawl for my shoulders while I knit or spin.  The pattern for the shawl was a bit confusing.  It was an easy K2P1K1P1 pattern with increases at the sides, but you had to pick up the pattern on the other side from where you'd left off.  With the increases, that made it a challenge to figure whether I should be knitting or purling. Chaos reigned!  I finally decided that it really didn't make any difference where I left off; I could just start wherever I wanted and create my own order.  Thus the Chaos Shawlette.

Garter stitches filled in the beginning and end of the shawl with a few rows in between the pattern.  It was a fun project. It's beautiful and warm to wear.  I could knit while watching episodes of Grimm or Once Upon a Time and if I forgot where I was in the pattern - oh well, never mind - it doesn't show and created it's own pattern.

I'd love to do another project like this one.  So I'll continue to save up my leftover bits of yarn and perhaps another day I"ll create another jewel.

What's your favorite Stash story?

The Origins of the Fiber

Ever wondered how that gorgeous bit of fluff, that you're going to spin into yarn to make your favorite (fill in the blank here) started?  Well, here it is.  Wool in the flesh and fresh out of Mum's tummy. 

Baa Baa Black sheep, yes there are 2 of them at my friends little ranch in the valley.  Yesterday, I got to help give those little lambs some bling.  Blue ear tags - right ear for boys; left ear and pink for the girls. I got to catch them and hold them while Lora did the deed.  First couple were easy to catch, then the word got around. 

Ooo...they're so soft and warm, and that wool will be dynamite when they're ready to shear.

It's a Good Day

You know it's a good day when....

You get new fiber to spin.
Wooley Wonka fibers. This one is Galadriel Roving, Extra Fine Alpaca (70%), Silk (18%), and Glitz (2%).  Sooooo soft! and the color is yummy.

And from the Cupcake Fiber Company, Blue Face Leicester and silk in soft gradient greens.  Another softie.

I've never ordered from these companies before, but I'm truly pleased with the feel and the colors.  I think I'll keep them on my list.

Can't wait to start spinning. Six oz of each. Should I start the blue or the greens....Oh Dear! Choices!

It's Not JUST About the Socks.

Yes, Virginia, there is life other than knitting.  I have kept a separate blog about my dog life and have decided that it's time to merge the two.  After all, I do knit when I'm at a dog trial (insert big grin here).  However, I must say, I don't work dogs when I go to a spinning workshop - although I do miss them.

So, inserted below, you will find some edited versions of the old Dog Blog - my life with two Corgis and a Border Collie.  Beau and Jill are my constant companions in my studio. They hang out with me while I try to figure out what went wrong with a pattern and Jill is very curious about the spinning wheel.

Mostly, though, it's their quiet time.  For me, my studio is my place to reflect, to zone out, to get grounded after a frazzled day, to just hang out and look at new knitting patterns and to sit back with a cuppa' and read some of my favorite Blogs.

Welcome to my world.

A Garden to Dye For

This year, I have decided to grow my own plants for dyeing my handspun.  Having never dyed before, this will be a fun exercise.  There are so many plants to choose from; although they all seem to produce mostly soft yellows, golden browns and heather greens.  Which are all my favorite colors anyway.

I also want the garden to look pretty, smell nice and not get too over grown, so I need to stay away from the 'weed-type' plants.  Dahlias and Cosmos are a must, as those are my most favorite plants. But Coreopsis and Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susans); Chamomile and Yarrow are all in the list too.  Hollyhocks are a fav also, but for some reason, I have trouble growing them.  Purple Basil and Marjoram for scent.  Nix the Bronze fennel - it runs rampant and is hard to control, even in a pot!  Indego is out as we can't grow it here in the Northwest; and Tansy, Goldenrod and a few others are so weedy that I can just go picking along the roadsides.

I just bought a book called "A Dyer's Garden" by Rita Buchanan. It's a lovely book filled with all kinds of natural plantings and a page for each plant as to how it dyes up with different fibers and mordants.  She even has garden plans; spacing and yield of each plant; equipment necessary and mordants.

Mordants:  What the heck is a mordant anyway??!!  I still have a lot to learn.  Mordants keep the dyes from fading and help in the dye process.  They are usually metals, but I learned from my spinning workshop with Judith MacKenzie, that the centipede from the Chola plant will give a brilliant raspberry color.  Go figure! A bug!

Since my plants will be ready in the summer, the best place to work my dye pots will be outside.  The little area under the side porch is a great place.  I'll have hubby, David, fix me up some work tables (old doors on saw horses) and a hot plate or two; some drying racks out of PVC piping and I'm good to go.  Nice ventilation, sun, fresh air, water and hose and I'll rig up some fencing so the dogs don't get in the way.  So it's off to Good Will to pick up some old enamel pots, maybe a hot burner or two.

Can't wait to get started.  Just a bit too early to plant, even though we've had wonderful sunny weather these past few days.  I can spend the waiting time, planning out the garden - what flowers, how many.  This will be such fun!

Garden Leaf Shawlette

This was a fun project; easy; and adaptable to any yarn.  I used my own handspun of 50/50 Merino, Silk. Spun in worsted @ 10 wpi; knitting up in stockinette @ 5 spi on a size 9 needle.

The pattern is a Tracey Withanee Design from Ravelry as a free download.
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/garden-view-shawlette.

My yarn worked up nicely, although  I think that if I had spun the wool a bit finer it would have made a less bulky shawl.

My camera doesn't do the color justice. It's more like the second picture but not as yellow.  Someday I'll figure out lighting and camera settings.  But for now this is about my yarn.

This was a fun fleece to spin and it came out pretty even.

The Zen of Spinning

A weekend retreat with Judith Mackenzie McCuin - shaman spinner.  Refined my worsted spinning and working on my woolen. Like anything else that I approach, I like to learn the basics first and perfect that technique, before moving on to the next step. 

It will be very important for me to keep a journal with pictures and progress, so this is the start of that journey.

Goal 1: Review Judith's DVD - which fibers are good only for woolen and which are good  for worsted. Start with easy fibers first. Then move on to the Bison and more difficult fibers.

Goal 2: Be able to consistently spin a very fine fiber AND a very thick fiber.  It's about control.
Goal 3: Start with worsted technique. Be consistent. Spin fine, to medium, to heavy and back down again.
Goal 4: Work on woolen technique, same as above. Feel the rhythm, let it become a part of my body.

Take notes from the DVDs, keep a journal, take pictures and/or make drawings.  It is very critical that I measure my progress.  Stay fresh, don't try difficult tasks when I'm fatigued.

Most of all breathe.  Fibers need air to have loft and to move - humans need air to be fresh and to move.  Fibers are living things with a soul of their own. They have their own memory, their own way of moving.  Humans have their own soul and their own journey.  Wheels, too, have a soul - each is unique, even if it is mass produced.  When we touch fiber, we change it - when we put it through the spinner we change it again. Each touch changes the fiber, yet it still wants to return to it's original state.

So this is the start of my fiber journey. Namaste.