Fiber

Fiber ghosts

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My view as I ran an errand yesterday.

I have bought most of my weaving looms and sewing machines used, often directly from the previous fiber addict. It saddens me that I only met these women as they phase fiber arts out of their lives and sometimes moved away from this area.

I think of them as I use their tools. My wool carders have another woman’s name on them. My floor loom has stains where someone tried warp painting. A friend’s husband made my warping board – he’s passed away, I never met him but think of them both as I wind a warp.

Just yesterday I bought an 8 shaft Leclerc table loom from a weaver extraordinaire. Sadly her truck’s packed and she’s heading south after a few years here and our paths never crossed until now.

I am thinking of placing a personal ad.

On the home front

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I’ve been home a few days to visit. Soon I’ll be off again to see my dear son and daughter-in-law to be. In the meantime I’ve made progress on several unfinished projects.

I made several attempts on a “playful” panda hat pattern and think I have it now. This one is in fingering weight I’m gonna try the next in heavier yarn, DK.

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I only made one hat but I took one picture in the mirror so they look like they’re facing different directions.

I finished and blocked my lace mohair cropped cardigan that I started sometime in the summer, when we were sailing. I remember how it blew in the wind while I was trying to work on it. I wanted it to be snug and there’s negative ease alright, I can’t eat too much until I wear it.

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The wool braided rug is taking forever! I’ve become much less compulsive about how the strips fold and may finally finish it – or just declare it done.

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And I’m quilting this darling bargello baby quilt. Speedy project I found online and a great way to use up odd bits of fabric.

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I’m glad I had a chance to visit home. The scenery has been amazing, leaves in full color, milkweed shedding seeds.

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Southbound

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After a brief hiatus at home and work, I hit the road – flew in the air – to visit my darling daughter.

I tied up lighthouse projects before I left. In addition to repairing picnic tables , glazing and painting windows, mowing trails and making scaffolding marginally safe, I knit two hats, tried two panda patterns (one of which I rejected because it wasn’t fun to knit) and wove a potholder.

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Now to see what projects Chelsea has for me at her new apartment.

Inkle weaving on a copper tablet loom

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I’ve been dreaming of weaving inkle bands for straps, bags, and so many other options. But I don’t need another loom. I already have (ahem) a few. I considered trying to modify my rigid heddle loom but then decided I could do it just as easily on the copper loom I made for card weaving.

I lashed a rod to the base to hold the string heddles and lashed another bar to the top support for the warp separator. I didn’t initially appreciate the need for the warp separator but without it you would have only one warp “shed” and would be simply passing string back and forth without changing anything.

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Once I got that straight, I wove a little band. I quit early though, because the yarn I used was too fuzzy and kept sticking to itself.

This is all part of travel planning. We’re lighthouse bound and I have to choose a few projects to bring. They must be easy to transport and fun. Maybe I’ll stick to knitting a pair of socks.

Time to camp, reap and dye

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Summer is almost over, the crowds have left and kids (and sorry, teachers) are back in school. So we took advantage of some time off and spent a few glorious days in the woods. We hiked to waterfalls, a gorge, lots of ponds and a mountain, with lots of swimming along the way.

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I packed light with a pair of shorts with zip on legs. However, one zipper was broken and my exposed leg was enjoyed by many mosquitos at dusk. Luckily we had a bandage in our pack and I taped the leg to the shorts but couldn’t make any fancy moves for fear of another mosquito feast.

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We returned to my bountiful garden where there is not much left to do except remember to harvest now and then.

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I’ve used some of my flowers to dye yarn with, so far, mildly disappointing results. I used colorful zinnias, dahlias and day lilies (with an alum mordant) all of which produced a yellow dye.

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I saw so many mushrooms during our hike, I want to learn about mycopigment. In the meantime, I’m soaking various lichen I have collected in ammonia to see what they produce. Early results are promising.

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The shirt off my back

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We needed a kitchen rug to absorb my spills and cushion our feet. I had already cut the the top logos off about 9 of my old tee shirts with the plan of sewing a tee shirt quilt.

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Then a pattern for a tee shirt rug arrived in my mailbox in the latest Handwoven Magazine. The math and sampling were already done – by someone else!

Yesterday I warped my loom with 3/2 cotton and cut the tee shirts into 1/2 inch rounds. I looped the rounds together to make a “yarn”, two layers thick.

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In a couple of hours this morning, I wove my new rug. Now onto that quilt.

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Details: 332 ends at 12 epi
2.5 yard warp, plain weave
1/2 inch tee shirt loops
27″X 45″ on the loom

Look what followed me home today

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In the trunk of my car. Wonder how it got there?!

Just when I decided to part with my 1951 rotary sewing machine and replace it with a treadle machine, a treadle machine was listed on Craigslist. Sadly it was for sale in a town in Vt, an hour and a half away, that I had been in yesterday! Alas it was still meant to be.

I saw two pictures and only asked if the needle moves up and down. It does. So away I went.

Although a little dusty, it sews beautifully. All the parts move smoothly and I only have to replace the belt, which is under $10. It was made in 1910 and is known as the “Red Eye” because of its ornate decals.

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It included lots of useful accessories; my favorite is this cute little oil can.

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The best think is it only cost $50. Bring on the power outage!

Stash busting

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I wish.  But I have made some inroads.  I started a queen size quilt yesterday using only material from my shelves.  I have to make more room on those shelves because I acquired two nifty fiber devices last week.

First, a neighbor passed along a Brother 929d serger via freecycle.  She thought it had some issues, but I read the manual, threaded all four strands carefully, spun a few knobs, watched to make sure I didn’t cut off a finger, and away I went.  This will be especially useful as I start to sew with my woven fabric.  It binds along the edge to stabilize it then slices off the excess.  When I make my next bathing suit it may be helpful too.  As an aside, I wore my homemade bathing suit to swim laps yesterday and it’s holding up fine.  Today I think I’ll have to wear a wetsuit because I am going to venture into Mirror Lake where the water temperature is only 68 degress f.

Next I purchased a Louet drum carder from Goodwill.  I have a lot of alpaca fiber, maybe part of a wool fleece, that has been sitting in bags, after I washed them, waiting to be carded. And waiting.  I have visions of blending fibers to get new colors but at least making some headway on my fiber so I can empty those shelves to refill them again.  Tim’s getting nervous.  We just read about a woman who was a hoarder and died among her possessions when the first floor of her house collapsed upon her.  I am a only hoarder wannabe.

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I made quick work of some alpaca fiber and carded two beautiful batts.

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After the girls left, I sat back and tried my hand at a couple of potholder looms.  What fun.  Every weaver should start with this rather than return to it after using a floor loom for a few years.

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This baby blanket came off the floor loom and has been shipped to the new baby.  I love the colors and it is quite soft.

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Creative geniuses

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I am so lucky to have my daughter and three friends visit me at Camp Adirondack.  They are experiencing it at its best, despite the fact it’s still black fly season and the pine pollen is falling in clouds.  They’ve hiked locally and afar.  We went for a sail on a blustery day, played board games and of course have explored arts and crafts. Now they’ve crossed the border and have headed to Montreal.

In anticipation of their visit, I invested in a //ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=islandnorcoul-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B002EDNZD0&asins=B002EDNZD0&linkId=&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true” target=”_blank”>Harrisville Designs Pro Loom and a couple of bags of 10″ loops.  The larger version is an improvement (in my humble opinion) over the original 7″ design.  I never could have imagined the fun they would have with it or how competitive they would be – hoarding loops and judging the finished products.  In a couple of days, on their own,  they have explored color work, texture, twill and sett.  It’s amazing. It may have allowed them to appreciate the thought that goes into even the simplest project.  Plus they have a useful reminder of their time in the North Country.

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I also played with some yarn necklaces before they got here because there were a few – and why not celebrate them all – birthday celebrations.  We saw a version of this in a craft store in West Virginia and it looked easy to replicate.  I bought a little jewelry making kit and practiced bending and twisting wire.  I think the wrappings are smooth enough and hopefully won’t gouge anyone.

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One morning, during breakfast, my neighbor pulled up in his tractor to tell me there was a fawn next door.  We must have walked by it the previous afternoon and had no idea it was there.  We returned with cameras and found this beautiful little fawn lying in the grass.   We gave it a wide berth and I  used my zoom lens to capture its image.

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Their weaving enthusiasm inspired me to complete a scarf, which had been languishing on my rigid heddle loom since December.  Now the loom vacuum is begging for another project.

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Over the past couple of days I have scored a Louet Drum Carder and Brother Serger.  So much experimenting to do.

Take it outside

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As the weather turns nicer, I try to move my activities outside.  I seem to weave a few rope mats every summer.  We need to replace a few rugs at home and I made a frame that lets me weave a Turk’s Head mat.  I did one with climbing rope and the other with manila.

Woven rope mats made on a frame 5 nails on top and bottom and 4 on sides

Woven rope mats made on a frame 5 nails on top and bottom and 4 on sides

My braided rug is coming along S  L  O  W  L  Y.  I’ve been told it looks better in person than in photos.  It’s a good project to work on when sitting and chatting.  Mindless handiwork.

IMG_9575[1]It’s a nice thick rug and if I ever finish it, will be great in the cabin.

I finally have a project back on the floor loom.  A couple of bright, pastel baby blankets.  One down, one to go.

IMG_9573[1]Notice the lamb’s wool on the bench?  I found it at IKEA and it’s making me a happy weaver.

Lastly, I played with some fancy ribbon yarn and made a few necklaces.  My darling daughter and I saw these at a craft shop in West Virginia and I was confident I could recreate them.  I have a little jeweler’s kit and had fun playing with the wire.  There’s a fairly good chance the wearer won’t get stabbed in the neck from the clasp and its attachment.

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Of course, knitting is always portable and I plan to bring some on a camping trip we’re taking tomorrow.  I’m making a laceweight, cropped mohair cardigan to wear to my dear son’s wedding this fall.

IMG_9578[1]That’s a wrap.