Peace and Slippers

Slippers are done! Based on Faroese footlets from a Threads knitting article, back when they had knitting patterns. Toe pattern my own. Handspun brown wool!

How the Peace fleece is spinning up:

I'm planning on a 3-ply yarn.

The white yarn is navaho-plied, or "chained singles" as Spin-Off is calling it. I spun the white single to use for boucle. Since boucle turned out to be more time intensive than I expected, and I needed the bobbin for the Peace fleece, I used the opportunity to practice navaho plying. It's a bit dense and ropey, but has nice shine, and looks crisp. And best of all, I have a free bobbin. I'd love to get a bunch more, but at $25 a pop, I think that 5 ought to hold me. It's incentive to not have too many projects going.

Red-orange sunset spinning

Ruthie is a spinning friend of Charline, who taught me how to spin. She makes wonderful blends to spin, and I was lucky enough to buy some from her at the Black Sheep Gathering.

This is a blend of wool, rayon, and linen (the white stuff). I bought it on the day that I'd brought my spinning wheel to the show, so it went from purchase to project faster than I thought possible.


I spun it quick'n'dirty.



I'm really not sure what to do with it. I think that I'm going to leave it as singles to crochet a border on whatever I'm spinning right now (the Peace blend) as the colors are stunning together. If I'd thought that I would leave it as a single, I might have spun it a little more consistently.

It's about 2 or 3 oz.

Silk caps! There was a great article in Knitty on how to spin them. This is my new color to play with. The plan is to ply it with either some brown wool from New Zealand, or with the roving of similar colors that I bought at the show.


Back to my wheel, I think I hear Rumplestiltskin calling...

More boucle blather

This was me getting adventurous and trying Z-Z-S ply boucle. Since Judith Mackenzie McCuin said that it could be done, I tried. Not so fabulous, but I'll knit it up in a swatch anyhow.


For the good stuff, I'm going back to the bigger photo. The skein in the front is my handspun:

(The ball in the back is Debbie Bliss Astrakhan)

For this one I spun up generic white wool singles, and plied it with No. 12 Finca cotton thread (for tatting? I bought it at an emboidery/ribbon store) twice, once with light pink, and back the other way with light peach. Just enough difference to give depth.

I'm pleased as punch with the results, but good heck it takes forever to spin.

Haul from Black Sheep Gathering

Especially for Hibiscuitsgirl who thought I could have possible escaped the Black Sheep Gathering without much stuff. First, the multicolored roving, that if I remember right, is corriedale wool. 4 oz, $9:


Next is Three Bags Full, the color is Peace, as in the Peace rose. I've bought Three Bags Full wool the past few years, and loved it. My blue hat is made from their roving. I bought 2 bags of about 4 oz each, and divided it into 3 parts to make a 3-ply yarn. I used my little drug-logo kitchen scale for dividing it.


And do you remember that I have disavowed all affection of drop spindles? After discovering silk caps, I decided to give them another try. A turkish spindle found its way into my bag (for $45). Yesterday I bought some more silk caps at dyelots, so be expecting some updates here.

And it's time to get back to real life, so I'll ponder boucle structure later.

White S, Z, S Boucle

So what is this S, Z stuff? The direction that I spin yarn. If the fibers are twisting like \\, then it's S, as in the direction the diagonal goes in the letter S. Vice-versa for Z. (Contrary to what the Boucle instructor said, it's not the way your wheel turns. Digression possible, but skipped.)

I was re-reading my Spin-Off Winter 2005 issue (because I bought a weavette loom, but that's another story), and read an article on novelty yarns including boucle. Judith Mackenzie McCuin says that boucle is one S, one Z, one thick, one thin, one tight, one loose, and in any combination. I'm working on a boucle right now, with generic white wool singles, overspun as I could get them without twisting back on itself, plied with needlepoint? cotton.

My current dilemma: Do I keep on keepin' on, or wind it off and experiment with other techniques with the same fibers? Tune in next time to find out what I decided.

Birthday questionnaire

For the birthday swap! And blame the font funkiness on cut and paste. Couldn't figure out how to fix it.

What day is your birthday?

August 5th

Are you crafty?
Yup! Sewing (a little), quilting, embroidery. I'm a spinner too.
Would you enjoy things like: Buttons, ribbons and embellishments?
Yes! I'm quite fond of ribbon. And buttons. And embellishments.
Do you dye your own wool?

No. I'll leave that to others.

Do you like to scrapbook or make homemade cards?

I used to make a lot of homemade cards, and still do on occasion. No scrapbooking.

What small project would you be interested in making? Socks, mittens, scarf, hat, baby items, wash cloths, doilies, shrugs etc

All except doilies.
What are your favorite scents?

I like unexpected ones, but I'm usually easy. Pomegranate is one of my reliable favorites. Hard to find, but yummy.
Do you like stationary and cards?

Yes.

Do you like hand lotions or soaps?

No.

Do you like to sew or embroider items?

Yes!
Do you like beads?

Yes!
What kind of mail-able snacks do you like to eat?

I'm easy. Sweet or salty. With a serious sweet tooth.
Do you like to wear costume jewelry? Necklace, earrings, bracelets etc.

Necklaces are about the only jewelry I wear.

Do you like to play cards or board games?

Very much.
What are your favorite colors of yarn?

I'm into greens right now, but it's hard to find good ones. I've got too many purples.

Do you like solid, variegated, heathers, or self stripping yarns?

I'm not so fond of self-striping unless the tones are very close to each other. I love subtle variegated, and solids and heathers.
Do you like kitchen magnets or key rings?

No.
Do you like picture frames?

Maybe?

Do you like to make/or use stitch markers?

Not yet.
Do you collect anything?

Poodle items. Ahem. I've never admitted this in public before.
Do you have any allergies? Smoke, food, fiber, pets, etc..

Cats and hazelnuts.
Do you have any hobbies?
Besides crafties? Hiking and biking.
Do you like scented or unscented candles?

Maybe?
Are you a fiber snob?

Yes. I hate acrylic (blends can be ok). The scritchiness just gets to me. If all there was to knit was acrylic yarn, I wouldn't knit at all.