More productivity

 

Before I am sucked into the vortex of work, I thought I'd do a quick update on a couple of accomplishments and FOs.

I finished the first pair of the wrist brace liners out of the CoBaSi. The second one went fast since I wasn't ripping it out 2 and 3 times. I can get 3 liners out of 2 skeins of the CoBaSi. I had 2 skeins of red and I went to the yarn store on Sat and bought 2 skeins of pink. So I'll have 1 red pair, 1 pink pair and 1 pair that is half pink, half red. I haven't decided if I'll actually make each one half and half or whether i will just make 1 of each and wear them together.

Here are the old and new next to each other

The old ones have gone in the trash. There are two more pairs that haven't started fraying. I did think about upcycling them into something else but they are rather worn and the yarn is all stretched out from years of washing. So I decided not to do something with them.

I had lunch with a couple of friends on Sat. I hadn't seen them in a while. I used to work with both of them and one retired a number of years ago. The other one and I were working in different jobs and weren't seeing each other at work. She retired in Dec and when I got her good-bye letter, I decided that we needed to get back to seeing each other regularly. Both are very crafty people. The one who retired years ago is an expert embroiderer who teaches and makes beautiful things. She also quilts and sews. The one who retired recently also quilts and sews and does other crafts. We had a really good time and plan to continue meeting regularly. This also reminded me that I have other friends who have retired and I need to get with them regularly also.

Yesterday I decided I needed to warp the loom again while I had time and energy. I won't have time to actually weave anything for a while because I want to finish up some WIPs. But the loom is ready for me when I am ready for it.

I showed you the yarn last time. Here is the loom all warped and looking pretty.

It took a bit of doing. My experience with the shawls told me that I had to be careful to line up the colors without stretching the yarn. I started by using a remnant ball but I found it hard to find the spot where the colors repeated around each other. So I undid all of it and started again with a complete skein. In the process I realized that I had miscalculated how many ends I needed for the width I was planning.

I started from scratch. Redid the numbers. Laid out the yarn on the floor till I found the correct repeat and then moved back to the loom and it worked better. I did warp the solid with a bit more tension than the multi but I took the time to wind the warp on carefully. I decided to do it all myself. Usually I ask DH to tension it while I wind on. But I wanted to see both sides on this warp so I used the yank-and-crank method. This means you wind one revolution of the warp beam and then you go to the front and give a good hard yank, bracing yourself against the loom. This removes slack from that revolution and then you repeat the process. I think it worked. The warp seemed to be wound on more evenly than in the past. But this is also a narrower warp. Let's see how it goes next time I warp the full width.

Next I have to calculate how often I can insert the solid into the weft. I need to weigh all the yarn and figure out some ratios. Once I have that, i can plan how often to add a solid stripe.

Tonight I want work on the Shleeves and make sure I have the correct number of sts on the needles to start the lace pattern. It is a simple pattern if I get the st count right. My last 2 counts came up with different numbers so I have to count and add in some markers every 50 sts or so to get the correct numbers on either side of the center.

I also spun a bit and finished the first half of the light gray merino/Rambouillet/sparkle fiber.

 

The WIPs I want to work on are the Shleeves, the 2 pairs of liners, and this spinning. Then I want to make a quick hat for me and after that I'll be ready to start the weaving.

I also have a sweater lined up for February after the current knitting is done.

And work starts tomorrow which will limit my time spent on these pursuits!

Happy new year again, now that we are actually in 2017.

 

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