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.

Why do I keep calling it a baby blanket?

Update: I hit publish before I realized that I hadn't provided finished pictures of the zippered hoodie or the sock yarn!

 From left to right: the 3 ply sock yarn, the 2 ply from the remnants of the 2 bobbins, and the 2 ply from the last bobbin that had twist added to it and then it was plied on itself. I think I need to cut down on the plying twist in the sock yarn in the future.

The zippered hoodie with zipper sewn in and blocked. The i-cord edge is rolling. I think I am going to put a thin cord into the edge on the hood and ignore the others - pretend they are rolled edges.

I have been weaving on the baby blanket (there I did it again!) and making excellent progress. There are two reasons for that:

1. I am only working on one craft right now - weaving. No knitting or spinning WIPs
2. It is in bulky yarn! 

There are 3 panels and I divided up the colors based on quantity of each and how much I needed for each panel.

 Middle panel.

 Left panel.

Right panel.

So far I am half way through the second panel. I started with the middle panel because it had a red middle section and loops on both sides. The loops are used to join the panels. It is from Weave a No-Sew Baby Blanket from Interweave. The video shows the loops on both sides as Sara Bixler (the weaver) explains the technique. I thought it would be best to start exactly as indicated in the video and then modify for my own purposes. I didn't want loops on the outer edges of my blanket so I am only doing loops on one side on the two outer panels. And yes, this is why keep calling it my baby blanket!

 The warping is pretty fast - again because it is fat yarn. The two white strings on either side of the warp are used to make the loops. Every other weft pick is woven around the strings to create the loops.

 Finished middle panel off the loom. You can see the loops on both sides. The panels have to be joined before the fringes are knotted and the blanket wet-finished.

 Warp for the right side panel. This one has loops only on the left side. So there is only one string. I warped as far as I could do on the right until I ran out of the yarn in the ball and didn't want to go get another ball and tie it on. I am really not looking for symmetry in this blanket as there is so much asymmetry in the colors. The stripes are relatively symmetric and there is a wide horizontal band of a different color in each panel at the same place. In the middle panel, this stripe is red. On the two outer ones it is a violet.

You can see the violet in the photo above. I am much further along and you can't see the blue and red weft stripes any more. They have rolled onto the cloth beam.

I have also been planning my next knitting. As I said earlier, I am supposed to start Flieder. This is the yarn I am planning to use.

However, my brain is not in the mood for something as complex as Flieder. I think I am going to start it but I am also going to start a basic sweater that is mindless. I was going to make up my own but found this lovely one on Ravelry. The neckline is different from what I normally do and so I thought I'd knit it. My gauge is slightly off so I will have to do some calculations anyway.
It is called Grapevine and the designer is Heidi Kirmaier who designs classic elegant patterns.

The yarn that is calling to me to knit it is this color, again in Rowan Calmer. It is called Laurel and it reminds me of the young leaves of trees in the spring.

I still haven't settled on a spinning project. I am torn between spinning a DK with a gradient just to mix up what I've been spinning, or pulling out the Into The Whirled Odds and Ends and doing a random spin. Eventually my brain will tell me what to do. Until then I'm taking a break from spinning.

Serengeti National Park

As I mentioned in my last post, Serengeti is a Masai word that means unending plain. So while we were in Ndutu, we were still in the Serengeti. But there is also a Serengeti NP and that is where this post is going to focus. We'll pick up at the end of our Ndutu stay in the Ngorongoro conservation area and continue to Serengeti NP.

On our last morning, we went on a very early morning game drive before we left for Serengeti NP.

 Our first sight was that of a hyena, our first. Hyenas have a sort of hang-dog look and they look dejected most of the time. But I think that is because our domestic dogs have that same posture when they are guilty of something.

This is a Marabou stork. It also hangs around kills and its walk is very much like that of a funeral director. It is considered one of the ugliest animals on the planet but it is very cool. You can't see it here, but it has a large sac under its bill. Marabou storks inflate this sac before flying very high and are able to get oxygen from the air in it and so can stay up and fly higher than they could otherwise.

If you don't want to see a kill, don't click play on the video above. There is a story attached to it. When we came upon this kill, there were vultures and a jackal at the kill. Not the jackal in this video but another one. Then along came 2 other jackals to partake of the feast. The jackal at the feast chased off the other two and it was comical to see him/her chasing the other two around and around the bushes and trees. I didn't get a video of that. They all ran away - chasing and being chased. Then this jackal showed up. He/she circled the kill. The vultures had taken advantage of the jackals chasing each other and had completely taken over the kill. This jackal took his/her measure of the situation and then went in and aggressively chased the vultures away so he/she could get at the kill. In this video, you will see how aggressive the jackal is to the vultures and how the vultures take it.

We also saw a baby zebra that had received some horrendous injury to its back leg. The baby was down and couldn't get up. The mother was hovering near the baby and calling for help or calling to the baby to get up. It eventually did, but could barely walk. I don't think you want to see that. It was very moving and unbearably sad.

 The next morning as we left Ndutu for the NP, we ran into this family of giraffes slaking their thirst. It is a lot easier for a baby giraffe to get down to the water than its parent!

 You can see that never-ending plain here in Serengeti NP. In the conservation area, there are some trees but the Serengeti is flat and treeless.

 Ostriches kicking up dust. This was our first view of the big birds.

 This is a secretary bird. He looks as if he has a quill or pencil stuck behind his ear like an earnest old-timey secretary.

 A few elephants appeared as we started climbing the hills to our lodge. Trees also appear here and the area is forested.

And some Cape Buffalo. They are big!

 We came across a hippo that wandered out of a pool and started eating grass. Apparently hippos eat grass at night and hang out in pools in the daytime to keep cool and rest after their night-time eating. This guy needed a mid-sleep snack.

 Our lodge was up in the hills and had great views. You can see the balcony of the next door unit here in the early am light.

 We started to see flowering acacia trees and the baboons who like to feed on them. Baboons travel in large troops.

 If you look carefully, you can see a tiny baby next to its mother in the middle. The baby whipped back into the mother's shadow just as I clicked.

At one point, we had to stop for a wildebeest crossing. Here is a photo of them all massed by the side of the road. In the video below you can see them moving. They generally play 'follow the leader'.

We crossed a river that had more hippos in it. There is a baby in there but all you see is its back.

 I've talked about wildebeest and zebras but I've mostly shown you pictures of wildebeest. To even out the equation, here are some zebras with their wildebeest brethren.

 All these animals were spotted as we worked our way down from the lodge to the plain. That is why there are more trees here.

 A close-up of two Cape Buffalo hanging out.

 A baby elephant.

 A giraffe having breakfast.

 One baboon grooming another. Baboons groom members of the troop with higher status as a mark of deference.

 Back on the plain, we went hunting for leopard and this is the best I can do with my iPhone camera. Some of our van-mates got better pictures. I could see better with our binoculars but they can't take photos.

 This is called a sausage tree. Can you guess why?

 This is another pride of lions relaxing after a meal. Down the slope to the right, there is a zebra kill. One of the cubs was not sure if he/she was full or not so went back to get some more to eat.

This is the cub with the kill.

In this next video he is walking back to the group.

 In case you didn't have your fill of zebras, here are some more...

 Lots of them.

 We had a boxed lunch at the visitor's center in the park. People had apparently been feeding these mongooses because they came up to us and had no fear. It was almost as if they were expecting a handout.

 That is a hyrax or a klipschliefer as one very nice German man told us.  We actually were calling it klipschliefer till our guide told us the English name. They look like rodents but are related to elephants. Go figure.

 We were supposed to take a short walk to the top of the rock below to get a view across the plain. But guess what? We found the way barred with this hand-written note. In Africa, you believe such notes and stay away from rocks with lions.

 So we ate our lunch and left, without our little walk.

A

 A beautiful blue heron. So graceful.

 More Marabou storks hanging out.

We also had more zebra and wildebeest running across the road.

We came across another leopard snoozing in a tree. Fortunately, he was sleeping with the light on hims so I got a better photo. None of them were on trees close to the road. Unlike in Nbutu, we have to stick to the roads in Serengeti National Park.

 This is a topi. One of the many antelope we saw on the trip. What makes the topi unusual is the splash of indigo on its thigh. Our guide called it 'blue jeans' because it does look like the color of blue jeans.

 Do you know what those are up in the tree?

 Yup. Two lionesses. Who said lions can't climb trees?

 If you are chased by a lion, don't think climbing a tree will save you. They look quite comfortable there.

 More elephants as we head back into the hills for the evening.

 Sunrise the next morning..

 casting a glow over the view.

The pool in our hotel that we never even found till it was time to check out. We were so busy with game.

And now on to the usual things happening here.

 

 I was going to knit Cross Pockets in Rowan Calmer in the Garnet color. But I'm not getting row gauge with either a US size 7 or 8. So I decided to do a basic raglan but make it a zippered hoodie with pockets a la Cross Pockets. The pattern name is Giorgia and the color this time is Carnation. It reminds me that spring is around the corner.

 I started and finished spinning some Corriedale that I dyed at Rhinebeck in my dyeing class.  You can see the fiber in the back in this photo. And here are the two bobbins with the singles on them. I still need to ply it.

I think the green has too much blue in it for the other colors but I'm pretty happy with the way it spun up. If I had been more careful about applying the colors, I think I could have madd self-striping yarn.

I blocked Shleeves and tried it on. It looks quite nice. It will be a nice shawl to wear on top of a sari in the cooler weather. 

And lastly, I started weaving the scarf that I warped over New Year's. The selvedges aren't very nice as I am learning how to manage carrying the second color up the side. They should get better as I progress and I've learned that the finishing fixes many problems. 

The next post will get us to Ngorongoro again but a different part of the huge area.