Waffling about color order

I finished the blanket and it has turned out very well. I am quite happy with it in all respects except for the fact that I have a decent amount of the bulky Lopi-like yarn left! I may be able to make a shawl or even a small rug with the remnants. Oh well. At least there is less.

That is how much is left. I need to weigh each color so I know approximately how much yardage there is. There is one full skein of the magenta.

The blanket panels are joined by linking the loops on the sides. One loop from one panel is pulled through the corresponding loop on the other panel. Then you alternate that up the sides of the panels. The last loop is secured by pulling part of the fringe through it. When the fringe is knotted, the loop is secure. It is an easy way to join. In the photo above I had just finished joining the three panels. It goes fast.

 This is a closeup of the join before finishing.

 After washing, the join flattens out. I fulled the blanket because it was a loosely spun yarn. As you all know, Lopi-like yarns full very easily. One trip through the handwash cycle on the washing machine and it is a nice fabric. This is one side of the join.

 This is the other.

The fringe took forever. I thought I could twist it with my fringe twister but with 90 ends on each panel, I had to pick either 2 or 3 ends in each fringe section. 5 is the other factor of 90 and I thought 5 was too big a number for twisting or braiding as this is bulky yarn. I decided on 3 and thought I could make a nice 3 ply twisted fringe. But it wasn't working. I have no idea why. Instead of wasting time trying to figure out the problem, I decided to just braid the fringe. Since it was knotted in 3's, that was easy. Except that a couple of the ends had frayed and come apart. I had to secure those by adding a neighboring end to strengthen it. So some sections are 4 ends.  So much for my exact mathematics!

It took 30 mins per panel end to braid and knot the bottom of the fringe. I didn't time the removal of the waste yarn and the knotting of the fringe at the top but that was a lot less per section.

I also used a technique I learned from one of the videos I have. Instead of knotting 3 (or however many) adjacent ends together, which leaves a portion of the weft exposed, one exchanges ends between groups so that they cross after the weft and that prevents those little gaps between fringe groups. To do this with an example:
First group: Ends 1, 2, 4 (3 and 4 change groups)
Second group: Ends 3, 5, 7 (6 and 7 change groups)
Third group: Ends 6, 8, 10 (9 and 10 change groups)
Fourth group: Ends 10, 11, 13 (12 and 13 change groups)
etc.

This is the finished blanket on a queen sized bed. It looks much nicer after finishing. I am going to cut the knots off the fringe as the braids are fulled and shouldn't come apart. I am just wondering if I should send it through the wash one more time. I can still separate the warp and the weft if I push with my finger. One of the finishing videos I watched says that woolen spun yarn should be fulled till the warp and the weft become a single cohesive fabric. I haven't decided whether to wash it one more time or not.

I started Grapevine. As usual, I have to increase the depth to the armhole. I don't know why but every pattern i've followed has about a 7" depth to the armhole. I feel that is too tight and I feel constrained in moving my arms. I guess I just have wide shoulders and a bigger upper arm.

I have about 18 more rounds to the sleeve/body separation.

Now on to the waffling.

The rigid heddle weaving group in Ravelry has a monthly theme for weave-alongs. It is good because it gives you ideas and allows you to explore new things. The rag rug resulted from April's Weave with Fabric theme.  June's theme is Weave a Color Gamp.  A color gamp is a way to explore how colors interact with each other. You warp with a set of colors and then weave with the same colors in the same order. But the weft pattern can be different - different widths of color, interspersed with other colors, etc.

Since I am weaving to use up my stash in useful ways, I picked a selection of Shetland jumperweight yarns that weren't earmarked for a fair-isle project. I am having real difficulty deciding the order of the colors.

 I also decided to look at the values. Sequence C has them in a gradual color shifting order where I am picking up the tweed colors in the next yarn. Sequence D has them more in an alternating value order with the higher value yarns more evenly spread across the warp.

I am still in 2 minds about which one to warp. I only have 1 ball each of the gold and the green so I was happy to see that there is enough in one ball of each color to do a scarf. I have 1 extra ball of the blue and the rest are the duller colors in the sequence except for the burgundy. I have a lot of that.

I think I will do a color in weave pattern sampler with the remaining yarn exploring how patterns look when you alternate light and dark colors. Here is one example.

But first I have to decide on the order for the gamp. 

Tarangire - Tanzanian home of elephants

The last part of the safari is at Tarangire NP. Amboseli NP is the park most associated with elephants in Kenya. Tarangire is the equivalent in Tanzania.

Tarangire is wooded and there are tse-tse flies there. So we kept our game viewing to mornings and late afternoons when the flies are not as active. There is no insect repellent that works with these flies and they transmit sleeping sickness. Also the bites itch like crazy. We were still plagued by buffalo flies but they don't bite. They just are attracted to eyes, mouth, nose, ears, exposed skin, etc. which is annoying. I found that the scarf I used to keep dust out of my nose and mouth helped a lot with the annoyance of the buffalo flies. It was just a cheap Target scarf which I dampened with water and wrapped around lower face. I washed it every night and it was usually quite dirty from all the trapped dust. I should have taken a dust mask!

 At the entrance to Tarangire, we had to sign in and sign out. So we had a little time to stand around, take photos of signage, and chat up other tourists. We didn't often have that luxury so it was a nice break.

 We stayed at the Tarangire Safari Lodge, which was an experience in itself. We stayed in tents, with a permanently installed bathroom and shower facilities. But electricity was only turned on in the tent area from 6 pm to about 8 am. If you wanted electricity, you had to go to the common areas during the day. Food was also not allowed in the tents due to the primates (baboons mostly) who had figured out how to open zippers and get into food. We had to put monkey locks on the zippers but there was still no food allowed. Our food either stayed in the reception area or in the vehicles.

Tarangire is lowland. The NP is around the Tarangire river, which I will show you in other photos. So it was hot and humid. There were also no fans in the tents. I was able to get one for the night but it quit working the second night. We were also in the lodge in the afternoons due to the tse-tse fly situation. Therefore, this was one lodge where we actually hung around the lodge and spent time with each other as a group outside of meals.

The view above is what greeted us when we got there. it is the view from the patio outside the lounge area. It was too hot to do more when we got there around lunch time.

 But on our way in, we were greeted by the elephants who welcomed us to their home. The elephant above is stripping bark from the tree to eat it. They also bring down branches when they can't reach the higher leaves with their trunks.

 That was one of the tiniest babies we saw.

 And this one posed for a portrait.

On our afternoon safari, we first ran into ostriches. A group of them ran across the road in front of us.

 We crossed a little brook where we saw zebras and antelope.

 At Tarangire, we finally saw some signs of major rain. Previously, clouds appeared and disappeared but now we were starting to see clouds on a more regular basis. And, of course, when one sees clouds, there is always the possibility of light effects.

 Vultures seem to have staked out this tree as a chill zone.

 A baboon strolls along the road by our vehicle.

 This is the sort of cave lionesses and leopards use as dens to birth their cubs.

 Dik-diks drinking water on the patio at the lodge.

 At the river, we saw many animals feeding and drinking. I was fascinated by how hard it is for giraffes to get down to water.

 The evening light lit up these impala and made their coats turn to gold.

 Here, for the first time, we saw baobab trees. These are the trees that are emblematic of sub-Saharan Africa. In the dry season, when they lose their leaves, they look like upside-down trees. But now, in the rainy season, they look pretty normal. They have big trunks though and are a very useful part of the ecosystem.

 This is a termite nest. We saw them everywhere. But this one had some mongooses hanging around. They eat the termites so the dig down into the nests.

 A lilac-crested Roller on a branch. These are some of the most gorgeous birds I've seen. I want to dye some yarn with the colors of the bird one day.

 Two hornbills on a branch. Hornbills mate for life so you always see them in pairs.

 More elephants hanging out by the water's edge. This was a big group that we watched for a long time.

 Warthogs at their burrows. They build burrows in an area where they raise their young. It is communal living. The one with his butt in the air has his head in the burrow. I caught him going in. But it is only my guess that it is a he. Could be a she, also.

 Even giraffes can't get all the way up to the tops of trees without reaching!

 One afternoon, we caught a snake on the ground and watched as it slithered around on the branch and then went up a tree. It can really move fast. In a matter of seconds, it was gone. These were the smaller wildlife we were able to watch due to the increased downtime at the lodge.

 This is a Superb Starling. We saw many of them but I had a difficult time getting a good picture as they are always moving. You'll see this photo again below in a different context.

 Baobab trees often have these holes in them. This one is large enough for a human to sleep in. Poachers often hide out in such holes. Animals also use them for shelter.

 This is the landscape at Tarangire. Lots of trees and pretty flat.

 We came across this lion family enjoying dinner. Dinner was a wildebeest. But we realized part-way through that it was a wildebeest who was either giving birth or close to giving birth. The lion cubs are eating the baby wildebeest. Situations like these were sad to see. We saw many kills over the course of the trip but this one tugged at our heartstrings the most. However, it is the way lions feed themselves. Those two lives (the mother and baby wildebeest) sustained the 3 lives in the lion family - the mother and 2 cubs - plus the hyenas, jackals, vultures, insects and bacteria that would feed on the carcasses after the lions were done. It is part of the ecosystem. The predators keep the prey animals in check and provide food for other animals, birds and insects who feed on carrion. It is the real circle of life.

 And what is better to lift our spirits than a rainbow?

 The next morning - our last, we were rewarded by more dik-diks on the patio at breakfast.

Back at Arusha, before most of our group headed out, we visited a Cultural Heritage Center where artists work and there is a shop of handicrafts. I wasn't very interested in shopping but I found this kitten hanging out among the items for sale. The mother cat was a little suspicious of my photography and was giving me the side-eye as I tried to snap photos of her adorable offspring.

We stayed on an extra night in Arusha. It was cheaper to stay the extra night than to pay for the flights back as they were very pricey on the Saturday night. It rained that last day, a solid rain that was definitely welcome by the animals and the humans. Those of us who remained went to an orphanage. Each of us brought something for the orphans. We took notebooks and some school supplies for older kids. Others brought coloring books, stuffed animals, snacks, etc. We had the joy of taking them and meeting the little kids at the orphanage. We distributed some of the items - toys, coloring books and some snacks - to the kids but kept most of the for the teacher-in-charge to distribute and use as she saw fit. It was uplifting and heart-warming to see the care the children were getting despite insufficient funding. They were clean, well-behaved and were housed in orderly but spare dormitories. The kitchen staff were butchering chickens for lunch when we were there. They have a cow for milk, chickens for eggs and meat and a farm where they grow vegetables.

And with that, we went to the airport and flew home with tons of memories, some new friends, and lots of photographs!

I've been busy on the fiber front, which is why this post is late.

See how the fiber I was spinning mimics the Superb Starling? It hit me as I was sitting there spinning, wondering why the colors in the fiber looked so familiar!

 

The two bobbins spun up. You can see the skinnier stripes on the second bobbin. Since I divided the second half of the braid into 3 to spin it fractally, the color stripes are much thinner in that half. 

 This is the completed skein. I am in love with it.  The fiber is an alpaca/merino/silk from Into the Whirled. The colorway is called Sentinel and it was a club colorway that I received as a gift.

 I also finished weaving the scarf made of Lorna's Laces Swirl DK. The yarn is now discontinued. I had a multi and a solid that was one of the colors in the multi. So I striped the warp with both and also the weft. I succeeded at using up all the yarn. But I have a very long scarf. I also learned how to carry yarns up the selvedge neatly. The difference between the beginning and the end is dramatic.

I had to try on the scarf to see how it looked on. It is soft but has some structure to it. I think it will soften up more with use. The finishing made a huge difference to the drape.

I am now on to another project which I will describe in more detail next time.

New beginnings (spinning, knitting, book)

I finally have caught the spinning bug again. It started with the Spindolyn checkout and that reawakened the joy that spinning brings to my brain. While I don't seem to have the energy to do much in the evenings after work, I find that spinning late at night when I can't sleep works best for keeping the snacking monster at bay. I am really working on eating just 3 meals a day with nothing in between so snacking at night is a no-no.

I couldn't sleep last Tuesday night. I was up till 2 am in the morning and finished spinning the mystery fiber I got with the Spindolyns.

That is the cop on the Spindolyn. It went very well. I then wound off the cop onto a center pull ball and then wound that into a 2 strand plying ball so that I could divide the fiber evenly into 2 halves to make a 2-ply yarn.

To prevent the ball from collapsing, I left the center core from the ball winder in. I wound the plying ball onto a tennis ball so that the singles would stay nice and even. Sometimes I use styrofoam balls covered with bits of handspun yarn. 

There's the fully wound plying ball with the empty ball winder core. Then I couldn't sleep last night and plied the yarn on the Hansen Classic mini-spinner.

I haven't wound it off and finished it yet but it is yarn. 

I also took the Nano Trindle on a trip to the spinning guild meeting. We meet in a historic inn and I like to take spindles with me so I can not only spin during the business meeting but also walk around and spin while everyone else is eating and during the mini-workshops we run. This time the event was a Spin-in to collect money for the local 4-H shepherds. A couple of our members volunteered to donate $2 per spinner for the 30 min Spin-in. Plus, some of us also donated some money to the 4-H clubs. While we were spinning, we were entertained by jokes, spinning quizzes, information on ergonomic spinning, and prize drawings. 

I photographed the Nano against a dish at the inn. I wanted to get some of the historic aspects but there was too much rough wood and dust and the Nano is tiny and filled with cashmere/silk.

I also spun some more on Saturday afternoon when a friend visited. She brought me this luscious yarn.

I was nominally a member of Team Trindle for the Tour de Fleece, so I got a present from the sponsors. That was very sweet of them, given that I had not spun at all during the TdF. But they are very nice people. Jeremy, aka Trindleman, repaired my Nano last year for no charge when the hook came off during last year's Tour de Fleece. And he has replaced other shafts that split. Cat, aka Mrs. Trindleman, made me a lovely batt. It came accompanied by a bracelet which makes a great distaff and a card.

On the knitting front, I ripped out the shawl and restarted it. The increase rate on the edges is very high so the edge was tight and I was afraid it would not block properly and pucker. I am re-doing it with a yo at the edge that I drop on the subsequent row. This adds more yarn to the edge and allows it to stretch to accommodate the extra sts.

That's the current state of the shawl. Compare that edge with the one from before at roughly the same size.

See how much tighter the edge is? It is worth it to rip and re-knit and get the result one wants. 

Last night I also spun a little on the Gotland and am anxious to complete it so I can move on to spinning other things. Sadly, it all looks very much the same as it did when I left it so I didn't take any more pictures. 

Finally, a new book arrived today. Janine Bajus, aka the Feral Knitter, has finally completed and is mailing out her book. This is the essence of her 3-day 'Design your Own Fair-Isle sweater' in a book. I've never had the opportunity to take the class so I will be studying the book. I am anticipating diving into it with excitement.

I think I will knit a little more on my shawl and then head for bed with my new book.