At Judith MacKenzie's feet - Part 1

I had the opportunity and privilege to take 4 days of classes with Judith MacKenzie last week. It was amazing. The woman really knows everything there is to know about spinning, fibers and weaving. This was a spinning workshop but we discussed using handspun in weaving.

We started off by making marled yarns. A marled yarn is one that has 2 or more colors in the yarn. A ragg yarn is an example of a marled yarn that has 2 colors. To create these marled yarns, 1 held 3 colors together, parallel to each other. Assuming ! started at the left, they would be color 1, 2 and 3 from left to right. I could start on either side but in our example, 1 started spinning on the left side of color 1 and spun across the width of the fiber. When 1 came to the right side of fiber 1, I continued across the join, spinning a bit from color 1 and from color 2 at the same time. This blends the join. Then I moved across to color 2 and spun across its width. At the join with color 3, I spun again from both and then across color 3.

At this point, there are a few options:

1. Spin back across all 3 colors and keep going back and forth
2. Add a 4th color and drop color 1. Judith recommends being consistent in where one adds and removes colors.
3. Spin back across some of the colors but not all of color 1, 2. 3

I tried a little bit of each, but holding 3 colors was not comfortable. So I tried holding 2 and 1. The issue with holding 1 is that you don't get enough of the transition of blended color. I also tried holding one, then holding two during the transition, and then dropping the first color. I ended up dropping a lot of colors on the floor! I also found it difficult to be consistent in the add/remove direction. I think a written plan and a place to keep the various colors in order close by would help.

Once you have the singles made this way, you can 2-ply, 3-ply or do other things with them. Some of the people in the workshop made traditional 3 plies. I decided to make a cabled yarn because the colors come out as dots when you do that. I used bright colors for my first attempt. Judith recommended knitting samples with one's spinning - something I rarely do until it is time to actually make something. The purpose of the class was to learn to 'spin for a purpose' so sampling makes sense in this context.

 These were my attempts in class. The long narrow swatch in the middle was done with 2 different needle sizes - a US 3 and a US 4.  That was my first attempt. The top swatch was the second and I'll discuss it further below. The skein was my third attempt. It isn't finished so is a bit squirrelly still. Judith's critique was that I am adding too much plying twist so the yarn is hard and dense.

For my second swatch, I combed 3 colors together and dizzed them off to create 3 similar nests. They weren't all the same as a class mate added some silk to one and I didn't actually plan the colors. I had 3 and I randomly added some of each to each section of top. Then Susan of Abstract Fiber gave me a sample of her Targhee/silk/bamboo to spin. I added that to the bobbin and plied and cabled the singles. The green/yellow colors in the swatch are from her sample. The rest are Ashland Bay standard colors in their merino top.

As you can see, blending the solids creates a more even color palette without the pops of color that come from the marled yarn. Now, I chose to use a bright pink which dominates my marled yarn but that was because I wanted to see what it would look like. I used less of it in the skein and combined it with some more muted colors. In the swatch, there are 2 brights and they clash - a yellow and the pink.

I picked out the two solid colors because one can use them as contrast solid stripes in a piece. Cabled yarns are very durable and make good socks yarns as the yarn is rounded and very smooth. Plus the pops of color are interesting. The marling can be adjusted to create self striping yarns for any diameter item. Longer repeats for sweaters and hats, shorter repeats for mitts and socks.

This was fun! I have some solid colors from other classes at home. I brought home bits and put them all in a bag. I plan to have fun playing with samples this winter using those.

One of the challenges with spinning this way is that you need to be able to evenly spin across a width of top without it all getting tangled up and uneven. I am pretty good at this but not perfect. I realized that when I was spinning the 2 red braids together. Therefore, I decided to pick Judith's brain and took my top to her to explain the problem and ask what I was doing wrong. My top tends to split into an upper and lower layer and I find it hard to integrate the two.

She took one look at the piece of fiber and spread it out so there was no folding. The spinning edge was U-shaped and she immediately told me what I was doing wrong. In order to spin evenly across the edge of a combed top, one spins in one place for a while and then moves to the right or left by slightly angling the remaining fiber or the drafting triangle or both. This picks up neighboring fibers and slowly moves in the opposite direction from the tilt. I was not spinning long enough in one spot. One should spin till the staple in that spot is exhausted and then move. This was especially true at the ends, because one gets to the end, spins the current staple and then has to drop down to the next level before going back. I wasn't doing this. That is why my edge was U-shaped.

I went back and tried what she said and voila! I no longer had the problem. I can't wait to try this on the red braids. I had lots of opportunity to practice this during the workshop so I'll come back to it later.

Next up, we were introduced to camel top. Judith showed us various ways to spin it and one way she recommended we didn't spin it. That last way was an attentuated long draw as is done for cotton. It takes too much air out of the yarn and creates a dense yarn that reduces the softness of the camel.

For a change, I went back and created a sample card with all the different ways of spinning it. Actually, it is two cards. The left side is 3-plies and the right side is 2-plies. These are all plied back on themselves so sometimes there isn't enough plying twist. Woolen yarns have less spinning twist and more plying twist to make them stable. That is what traps air in them.  So some of the ply-back samples don't have enough twist. Judith adds twist by rolling them on her thigh but I haven't mastered this technique. I tried it but after discussing it with her, I don't think I was pressing hard enough when I rolled.

I also made a little skein of the semi-worsted draw which I plied in the normal way. I ended up putting it in the indigo dye-pot so I'll show it to you when I discuss that.

I bought some fiber from The Homestead Hobbyist.

 I spun some of this in class and it also ended up in the dye-pot. So you'll see it later. I flew to this workshop and I love traveling light. So I didn't take any fiber with me and that is why I had to start spinning this right away!

 I haven't told you this yet, but I have some cotton spinning in my future. Details at a later date. I bought some of this to try.

I don't know what I'll do with this but I think I will spin it and then dye it. Let's see.

I also got some camel from Judith. I think I will end up spinning this from the fold. I love spinning camel top worsted but it isn't the best way to spin such a lovely airy fiber. The semi-worsted way I spun the small skein wasn't as even as I would like. That involved letting twist between the hands but drafting forward short distances. I have some more downs at home and I am more confident about spinning them now.

I'll stop here for now and continue with the rest of the class in the next post. It might be this week.

I decided my sweater was not a good travel project so I took one of my handspun skeins and a simple pattern with me on the trip. I managed to finish it between the two travel days and some knitting in class while listening to Judith. I needed to take a break from spinning to rest my hands.

 That was the wound ball before I left.

This is what it is now. I love it. It is too hot to wear though. It is on the window sill where I can admire it. I call it my Superb Starling shawl because it reminds me of a Superb Starling.

Turtle-like progress and flowers

I have been rather busy with yard work. We had a cool and rainy spring with some warm spells. This sent all the weeds into overdrive so I had weeds everywhere in my flower beds and under trees and shrubs. We have been battling weeds since they grew uncontrolled during our China stay. They all set seed and developed strong runner root systems and therefore we generate a large crop every spring. The key to getting things back into control is a ruthless weeding every spring - to pull up every little weed sprout. Then it is possible to keep the new growth under control over the summer and fall, resulting in fewer runners and seeds for the next spring. It is getting better but things are still a bit weedy in the spring.

I go around the entire house and remove all the weeds while patrolling already cleared beds for new entrants. It is pretty exhausting in the spring but makes the rest of the year better. It also leaves very little time and energy for fiber crafts.

I haven't taken photos of the flowers I planted this year yet so you are going to see the spring flowers that are already done and gone.

 I missed most of the lilacs due to really bad allergies. When the trees are flowering, I have to stay indoors because my allergies get really, really bad despite all the medications. But I caught the tail end of the lilacs. I have also got 3 Josee re-blooming lilacs growing in pots on the deck. We've had really bad luck with the ends of our lilac hedge. The first and the last 3 plants keep dying. I am trying to see if letting them grow a bit bigger on the deck before planting helps.

 Rhododendrons. I have 3 colors and this is one of my favorites.

 This is the least favorite of the 3 although I still love it. I love all 3 so it is merely ordering the top of the heap. It is peculiar, though, because I usually love purple.

This is my other favorite. I love the white flowers.

 Spider worts. These are a source of my weeds. They spread their seeds far and wide and I am still finding plants that entrenched themselves in odd places when we were China.

 One of my two azaleas. The others are pink.

 A pink weigela. I also have a darker rose/reddish color.

 I love this combination of colors. The blue of the fescue with the pink creeping thyme and the red of the Japanese maple.

 Tree peonies. My disappointment with these comes from their very short flowering period. But the flowers never disappoint.

 A gratuitous sunset. I've been taking fewer sunset photos this year.

 Blue irises with the last of the azalea in the back.

 Pink herbaceous peonies. I have a white also that wasn't photographed this year.

 The red herbaceous peony flowers with a light flare from the sun. Why is it guaranteed that there will be a heavy rain when the peonies flower? The rain makes them bend over till they are on the ground no matter how much I stake them.

 Siberian Irises.

We put up a bird feeder this year. I got a squirrel proof one and very carefully positioned it more than 18" away from branches as recommended. One morning we found a squirrel had happily swung a branch close enough to the feeder to grab it - Tarzan style. It was then happily holding on the feeder with one hand and eating with the other. The feeder will close if the squirrel's weight is on the feeder but this way the branch was holding the weight of the squirrel. Smart squirrel!

We then pruned all those branches so there is a dome now under the tree, as you can see. Our next non-bird visitor was a chipmunk. A chipmunk is light enough that its weight doesn't close the feeder. It just climbed down the wire hanger and was siting and eating. Birds didn't come when the chipmunk was there. My husband took an old metal sheet and bent it and made the baffle you see in the photo. It is unstable and slippery and is far enough from the feeder that the chipmunk hasn't climbed down over it. I've seen the little guy on the tree and down on the ground foraging for dropped seeds. But I haven't see it on the feeder so I think we've baffled it. Let's see.

The birds keep me busy filling the feeder every few days. They love it.

I started weaving the color gamp scarf in squares, which is the traditional thing to do. But I got tired of changing colors that frequently. So after doing one set of squares, I switched to rectangles. Each rectangle is 3x the height of the square. After two sets of rectangles, I will end with a set of squares so the ends match.

 Here is a rectangle and a half.

 I found it easier to knit in between other things. I finished the body of my Grapevine and have started on a sleeve. I've modified it to add the lace at the bottom and will add lace cuffs. I am debating throwing in a band of lace further up on the sleeve too.

I also, unusually for me outside of Rhinebeck, bought some fiber. Juliespins had a sale and I bought 2 braids from her. This one is called Fig Tree.

 This one is Fushimi Shrine. I tried to buy some colors that were not my usual saturated choices.

Inglenook fibers dyed a couple of colorways for the Tour de Fleece and I bought a batt from them. You can see the inspiration photo on the bag. I probably won't spin it in this year's Tour de Fleece but maybe next year. My plans for this year are pretty well set.

The CSA farm season has started. We had a few weeks of great strawberries. We picked more than my husband could eat and I can't ear fresh strawberries due to an allergy. So I make these strawberry crisp bars which we love. I am on the third and last batch this week. I think it is now too hot for strawberries. I eat raspberries and blueberries fresh so I don't bother making these with those fruits.

Next blog post will be about my Tour de Fleece plans. 

More spinning!

I have been spinning about an hour a day and it is amazing what one can get done by doing just that.
I finished the merino/yak.

I haven't plied it yet because I started spinning the dark grey and I am loving it.

 This is a dyed merino/Rambouillet/sparkle nylon top.

 Beginning the spin and without the flash...

With the flash to show the luster of the fiber. I am almost done with the first singles. I have 4 oz of this so each bobbin is slightly longer. I am spinning a light fingering weight to fingering weight and think I will use it in a weft.

I wound off 2 skeins of plied yarn but i haven't washed them yet. I still need to wind off the larger bobbin of the beaded Gotland yarn.

 That is the beaded yarn.

This was the pretty sample that came with the Hansen Pro.

These are the possibilities for the next spin. Weigh in if you have a preference on what I should do.

 This is from Into the Whirled. I am thinking I might do this as a fractal because the colors are so bright. It is a club shipment that I got as a gift.

 This is the Autmnal Dawn color way from Fiber Optic. It is easier to see the colors in the link because I photographed these at night and they are still in plastic.

 This is a One-of-a-Kind dye from Fiber Optic.

 A Chocolate Alpaca/silk from Gale's Art.

 Two bags of random odds and ends from Into the Whirled. These are fun to spin. I would have to decide if I was going to spin them separately, sort them into similar colors and spin or just spin them into one long yarn. I tried to pick two bags with similar color and Chris (of Into the Whirled) sorts by  colors that go together anyway. So they will all go together.

A Espresso-Crimson-Gold gradient from Fiber Optic. Again, better picture at the link.

Decisions, decisions. I want something bright but I was picking variegated fibers. I have some semi-solid in a pretty bright red. I also have a couple in spring-like colors so maybe I will do those. They are the Cyprus and the Wild Thyme colorways from Fiber Optic. The purple and the blue are slightly different on the two but I thought I could blend them as I moved from one to the other and spin them as one big gradient.

Lastly, I wanted to show you what I did with the basil salt. I've given away most of it but I packaged it in bottles and decorated it with washi tape and a label.

I ended up with two different bottles because I bought some and then went back to get some more and they were gone. I've been using mine a lot and love it. It is going to be a standard summer product from now on.

Finally finished! and Rhinebeck 2016

I spent the past few weeks finishing up a blanket that is going to get donated to the local domestic abuse shelter. Many moons ago, my professional society asked me to run the knitting part of a community outreach project and I thought of Project Linus. However, we wanted to do something local so we decided to make a blanket or two and donate it locally. There was also a parallel quilting project. Fast forward a year and the quilts were done and donated but we didn't have enough patches for our blanket. So we continued and then I disconnected from it for a few years - between work and going to China. When I came back, the board asked me if I would take it over. I agreed and was promptly presented with a large bag full of patches. Some had been crocheted together but most were just sitting there. They were all different sizes!

We met once in 2015 and made a little progress but not enough. So this year, I tried to do a monthly meet-up to work on the blankets. Thanks to a core group of dedicated people, we did. We crocheted around the smaller patches to make them the same size as others and sorted them into similar sizes so we could make two blankets. I brought one blanket home to finish crocheting the last strip on, weaving in the ends, and doing a border and another lady took the other one home to do the same as we were very close. I haven't had a chance to wash and block hers but mine is done.

I'll post a picture of the other when it is blocked. They will be donated in the next couple of weeks. It feels good to have completed this project.

Beyond that, I haven't done much but I am planning to now spend an hour every evening working on something. I did start untangling the silk yarn that got into a huge tangle. I think one more evening and I can start knitting it again.

I also took an inventory of my Rowan Calmer stash and have planned to make a hooded sweatshirt type of sweater from one of the colors. I may make a few more in other colors. I thought I'd make a Wonderful Wallaby but the gauge doesn't match up so I'll just work up a similar sweater in the Calmer gauge.

Next up was Rhinebeck. I took 2 classes. A two-day acid dyeing class and a 3 hour indigo-dyeing class. During the acid dyeing class, we used Washfast dyes and made a color wheel and a grey gradient to learn how to mix and dye colors from a set of primaries as well as dye various depths of shade. Then we went to town and handpainted yarn and fiber. I worked on fiber only. I dyed some Corriedale roving and a bunch of Montadale/Corriedale locks that I had washed from a partial fleece.

 That is my roving on the right in the top picture and the locks I dyed in the bottom.

With our color wheel and gradient skeins, we made color cards for ourselves with the recipe foe each color next to the sample. This is the color wheel we dyed. This photo shows the full 5 gm sample skeins that the teacher brought to class. We dyed the same colors in class but cut up our skeins to make the cards.

While I've dyed before and am quite a confident dyer, I didn't feel I had the details nailed down to produce consistent and repeatable colors. Now I can use my icing gel colors or synthetic colors like Washfast to dye more systematically and therefore repeatable and consistent.

My final results from the 2 day class:

I plan to flick the locks and spin them as is. They were a medium gray to begin with. I am surprised at how bright the color is on them. The roving is a sample from the Corriedale I bought in New Zealand. I want to spin it and see how it works up and then I'll dye more. I made notes on the colors I used. I was inspired by the fall.

The indigo class was a lot of fun also. The teacher made an indigo vat and we did shibori work and dyed a silk scarf. Mine needs to be finished with the last couple of soaks so I will photograph it when it is done.

There are the vats we used and a close up of what it looked like inside the vat.

I also bought fiber and an impulse purchased shawl pin. The only item on my shopping list was Power Scour as I believe it cleans at a lower temp than Dawn blue detergent. In order to get the Dawn to work, I have to add boiling water to my laundry tub that is pre-filled with the hottest tap water. This involves many 8-qt pots of boiling water that have to be carried from the kitchen to the laundry room. I don't enjoy this process because I am prone to dropping things and boiling water all over me won't be pleasant. Shipping costs on Power Scour are high so I wanted to buy it. I went to Carolina Homespun and was told that they don't sell it at fairs where they have to ship because of the weight! Fortunately, Susan's Fiber Shop had it. They probably drive here while Carolina Homespun ships their stuff to Rhinebeck.

The haul:

 A Cyprus gradient from Fiber Optic Yarns. I am going to spin this with Wild Thyme, starting with the green and going to the blue and blending the two blues before going on to the green in Wild Thyme. One blue is more purply than the other but I put them next to each other and they look good.

 A braid of Queen's Red. I have a one-of-a-kind braid that is similar to Queen's Red and I think I can ply them together to create more of a complex color. I'll have to see. Either way I love the red.

I also bought 4 oz each of 3 different tops from Maine Top Mill. This is the Lightspeed blend of merino, rambouillet and sparkle nylon.

 This is the cStorm from Maine Top Mill.

And lastly, this is 14.5 micron merino (in the cashmere range) blended with yak. The top is very good quality and very airy. A lady in the booth had bought an ounce the day before and spun it in the evening. She was back to buy a bunch more and said it spun like freshly combed top.

I got 2 bags of the Odds and Ends from Into the Whirled. These are inexpensive for hand dyed fiber and are a lot of fun to spin. You can spin them on the go on a spindle as they are small quantities. Then you can use them together because she has combined colors that go together in each bag. Last year I stopped by on Sunday and they were all gone. So this year, I went over after lunch on Saturday, after the hubbub had died down. I was able to pick from quite a selection.

This was my impulse shawl pin. It is sterling silver and copper and is knitting needles and yarn. I bought it on a total impulse and it was expensive but I love it. I hope it stays in. Most shawl pins fall off and I'm afraid of losing them so I don't wear them. It is from On the Bend. I asked if she could make me a spindle pendent and she said yes. That might be something I commission.

 In my dyeing class there was a lady from Australia. Her shop is It's Ewe! and she breeds 15 micron or AAA rated merinos. She says the fiber rarely leaves Australia and what does leave is snapped up by top designers. She gave each of us a sample of her fiber. It is lovely!

Finally, last but not least, this is a scarf a friend is making from my handspun. The fiber is from Gale's Art and is called Moldy Pumpkin. It was a Rhinebeck purchase from a few years ago.

I didn't try to keep the colors together. Just divided in half and spun it end to end and then made a 2 ply. I think that is the perfect choice of pattern for the yarn!