Fiber

Floor work

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My recent theme is floors and their coverings. We spent last weekend sanding the paint and stain off our son’s floor. I forgot how hard that job is, especially when the floor has been painted. I spent five hours crouched over an edger. It only took me a few days to stand straight again without groaning.

At home, I’ve been playing with rope mats and rug braiding. My daughter requested this rug, which was sitting around waiting to be finished.

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So I finished it and am happy with the results.
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Instead of building (further) a yarn stash, I’ve expanded into new media. I am collecting wool fabric from various sources and braiding a rug for the cabin, since I must confess the woven rug has issues. The square one is in the cabin but Tim rejected the tan one, which will be a perfect mat for my spinning wheel (maybe, something about lemons and lemonade).

The braided rug is super smooshy. I’m trying to make sure it lies flat. The metal “Braid Aids” roll the fabric strips so the raw edges are concealed. Pretty sweet.

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It lies flat but curves a bit. Next time…

Several families have recently added second babies. I intend to make Aviatrix hats for the babies and We Call them Pirates hats for the older brothers, who already had Santa Cruz Hoodies.

Some where in there I have to make another “climbing deer” hunting hat for a friend who has promised me some venison.

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Sewing with assistants

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I learned to sew from the best surgeons. I entered medical school with knowledge of and some experience with embroidery but emerged from residency with a bounty of useful stitches and techniques.

My teachers’ words came to me yesterday as I was sewing a blanket stitch (known as the mattress stitch in medical parlance) on a rug I am trying to salvage.

The mattress stitch is used to approximate tissue (skin, fascia) that is bleeding. Tissue is actually easier to sew than a rug because it is alive and does most of the work on its own.

I wove my first rug with a cotton warp and wool weft and fulled it a bit too long in the washer. It shrunk to a strange size and list all the warp colors. So now, I have folded it in half, woven a tablet band and applied it on top, to remind me of the colors I lost in the wash. Next I evened up the edges, and embellished it, with a blanket stitch border.

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My technique felt awkward. I quickly realized why. I needed an assistant. In the operating room, someone always held the trailing thread and wrapped it around my needle as I sewed the mattress stitch ( and swabbed away blood).

In addition, it wasn’t going smoothly until I remembered the words, “always sew towards yourself”. I may have been slow to learn; one of my mentors once head butt me when he didn’t like my work. I’m still learning.

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The perspective of the rug photo isn’t good. In reality, it’s almost square.

My geraniums are in the Halcyon Yarn catalog

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Really. Halcyon Yarn is located in Bath, ME. I’ve stopped in once or twice and they have a wonderful weaving section plus knitting, spinning, the works.

Last year, a few weeks before we arrived to help close Seguin Island Lighthouse, Halcyon Yarn went out to the Island for a photo shoot – without ME!

Whatever, I’m over it. I encourage you to get a copy of the current catalog. It’s a lovely display of fiber projects in a beautiful setting. They have even devoted a line of knit, woven and hooked projects to Seguin.

But I digress. Back to MY geraniums. As we closed up last year, I found two potted geraniums under the porch. They had been in outdoor planters that brightened the entry during the season and were now discarded. I was determined to bring them home, by dinghy, the Leeward and car to nurture them over the winter. And they flourished.

Here they are featured on the back cover of the catalog from last season on Seguin.

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And here they are brightening my dining area today.

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A convergence of passions: Seguin and fiber – and pretty flowers.

Betwixt and between

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I feel a sense of urgency to finish (and start) a few projects. I’m leaving my loom and sewing machine when we head out to Alaska. Happily my knitting travels well and I already shipped a small quilt I intend to hand quilt. Just have to remember needles, thread, thimble and hoop.

I finished weaving a large throw blanket from a project in Weaver’s Craft. It’s made with Plymouth Encore, which is a machine washable wool acrylic blend. It works perfectly. It’s long enough and put the recipient right to sleep.
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There was enough warp leftover to weave a small baby blanket.
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Next on the loom are two rugs for the log cabin. 420 ends! The reed is sleyed (I love fiber’s archaic terms) and I’ll take my time dressing the loom.

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My knitting consists of a sweet cotton skirt. First skirt adventure. It is knit in tiers with 40% increase in stitches with each tier. I’m on the fifth and final tier and don’t think my needles could hold much more. The pattern is Sea Glass Skirt from Yarn in the Farms. They have a number of cute patterns for the warmer months. I’m considering knitting a dress next.
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My cats love quilts. It doesn’t matter what season it is, if I quilt it they will come. Here’s Loki atop my son’s quilt.
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He sits contentedly WHILE I machine quilt and move the quilt all over the place. Go figure.

I hardly have time to use my new hula hoop.

My fiber is killing my garden

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Maybe not killing the garden but, at least, preventing it from flourishing. I should be out there weeding and planting despite our November-like weather.

But the loom beckons me to finish a blanket I have started after “tying one on”.

20130611-074714.jpg There are two more weaving projects in the pipeline. Next up – not sure of the order yet – two rugs for the cabin and a few more placemats for my darling daughter. Her first set was a trial and I only ended up with three plus a little mat.

20130611-075246.jpgNot exactly great for entertaining. The mat will become a purse but she needs at least one and probably three more. While I’m at it, I’ll make a few ( more than three) for myself because the colors are so cool.

I just finished knitting a bathmat and a scarf. The bath mat

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is from Knit 2 Together, by Tracy Ullman and Mel Carter, which has several go-to patterns in it. I love the baseball hoody,

20130611-075702.jpgballet slippers

20130611-075855.jpgand little cape. Here’s a link to the book on Amazon.
http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=islandnorcoul-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B001993V0W&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr
The scarf is my second Swing scarf, knit with Ripple by Tahki. I gave my first one away and wanted a replacement. It’s a quick knit and a nice spring (summer here) scarf.

Next up, I’m going to knit a cotton linen skirt. Call me crazy. I’m obsessed.

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Fiber Play

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Yesterday was a perfect day to spin outside and whatever I left behind was a gift to the birds for their nests.

Grey bulky

I have plans to make a pair of leggings for a friend in South America, where it is almost winter.  She wanted grey.  Amazingly, I don’t have any grey yarn but I had grey roving and I spun it up into a worsted/bulky two ply.  Not my best effort but I have let my spinning wheel languish for far too long.  In order to wind a skein of my new yarn, I had to take a skein of Blue Faced Leicester/Alpaca blend off the bobbins.  It is luscious and I have tons of it.

BFL - Alpaca

I think I bought a pound of BFL roving and I distinctly remember buying the alpaca fleece.  There are several breeders in the area and when I saw an ad for alpaca fleeces I headed out to the address.  To my surprise, it was a chiropractor’s office.  I walked in and approached the receptionist.  As if I was engaged in an elicit trade, I quietly asked if I was in the right place for an alpaca fleece.  Sure enough, she pulled 3 bags full from behind the counter and I paid with my credit card.  I cleaned it and carded it and have been gradually spinning it.  I plied it with the BFL and think I’ll either knit a soft, cushy warm garment from it or use it as weft for a blanket.  After I dye it.  Perhaps with the lichen I have been collecting.

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My braided rug is coming along.  I tore strips from several old sheets and it will make a great rug for one of the bathrooms.  I began with an old table cloth in the middle and it wasn’t the right weight or material.  But it will remain as a reminder.

This little dress is on the needles and the baby has been born. IMG_8952 It’s the Clara dress and is an easy, knit, great for meetings and travel.

Busy, busy, busy

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On all fronts.  Despite nighttime temperatures in the 20’s f, Spring is definitely here.  Shoots are shooting, I see the grass but the wooly bear still hasn’t moved, even though  I sprinkled some sprigs of grass near him.

I have managed to layer four or five quilts and am getting ready to start quilting them; perhaps one or two by hand.

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My new Icelandic sweater is finished.  I had to attend a forty hour course, which provided at least thirty hours of solid knitting time.  I was basically done when the course was over but ran out of yarn.  Rather than go back to the Icelandic source for Lopi, via Canada, I ordered Reynolds Lite Lopi and knit the button and neck bands.  They match perfectly.  This wasn’t the same lot, or even the same brand!  Go figure.

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Four bracelets are in the works for a reunion with high school friends.  So are 12 placemats.

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Now the loom has a blanket on it.  My widest project yet but by no means the hardest.  I’m using Plymouth Encore yarn, which is very smooshy and washable.

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The kitchen has a batch of sourdough starter in the works.  I found a loose recipe on PBS’s site with Julia Child.  I took a pound of grapes, mashed them up a bit in cheesecloth and added flour and water.  The concoction has been bubbling away for about a week and will soon be ready to create a rustic loaf of bread.  And I will feed it more flour and water and perhaps it will last for years.  Will I want it to last for years?

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We miss fresh greens in the winter and even would like more in the Spring.  I found a little hydroponic grower and have sprouted arugula, mustard greens and red lettuce.  We’ll see how this goes.

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Now to get my butt off the couch and get outside and enjoy Spring!

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Snow incentive

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A winter storm warning is in effect (yeah!) and I have some unfinished business to take care of.

I finished piecing and layering this lovely quilt over the weekend.

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Cool, right? Each block is basically a nine patch but stretched in various ways.

I am considering finishing a bunch of quilts (I’ve acquired several almost finished projects) and then quilt them all at the same time, or serially, to work on technique. That should keep me busy for a while.

My Harmonia Rings möbius cowl is complete. I may have to arm wrestle Shirley for it though.

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Second time is a charm. I almost followed the directions to a tee, except my gauge was smaller and I added a few stitches. I even added beads for the first time. I think that’s why Shirley likes it so much.

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An afterthought

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It’s funny about mittens. They need thumbs. I am trying a new knitting technique, twined knitting, which creates a dense, thick, elastic fabric. So far I have used it with colorwork and haven’t explored all the textures you can create with it – yet.

I was so wrapped up in my twining and twisting and untwisting, I forgot to include a thumb in the second mitten.

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I didn’t want to rip back and decided to insert an “afterthought” thumb so I searched for the technique on the Internet.

Almost all the results weren’t an afterthought at all. They required you to knit waste/scrap yarn as a placeholder where you wanted the thumb when you passed by the thumb the first time. There was my problem, I never thought about it the first time as I merrily knit and twined past the where it should have been.

I used the same technique, but instead of ripping out waste yarn, I placed the row above and below on needles and carefully snipped, from the center, the thumb stitches in between.

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My main concern was the cut ends might be too short to weave in.

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They were short, but not too short and I used a crochet hook to hide them. I can’t tell the difference.

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Now they are drying by the fireplace before being sent off to a new bird lover’s home.

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An afterthought

/ one2travelfar / 1 Comment

20130309-075147.jpg
It’s funny about mittens. They need thumbs. I am trying a new knitting technique, twined knitting, which creates a dense, thick, elastic fabric. So far I have used it with colorwork and haven’t explored all the textures you can create with it – yet.

I was so wrapped up in my twining and twisting and untwisting, I forgot to include a thumb in the second mitten.

20130309-075405.jpg
I didn’t want to rip back and decided to insert an “afterthought” thumb so I searched for the technique on the Internet.

Almost all the results weren’t an afterthought at all. They required you to knit waste/scrap yarn as a placeholder where you wanted the thumb when you passed by the thumb the first time. There was my problem, I never thought about it the first time as I merrily knit and twined past the where it should have been.

I used the same technique, but instead of ripping out waste yarn, I placed the row above and below on needles and carefully snipped, from the center, the thumb stitches in between.

20130309-074844.jpg

My main concern was the cut ends might be too short to weave in.

20130309-074935.jpg
They were short, but not too short and I used a crochet hook to hide them. I can’t tell the difference.

20130309-075027.jpg
Now they are drying by the fireplace before being sent off to a new bird lover’s home.

20130309-075715.jpg