Shawls and Bags

My posts are still lagging behind the weaving that I'm doing.  Actually that's not such a bad thing.  In fact it's far better than  blogging more and weaving less!

Dorset loom on left and Baby Wolf loom on right

 
In this somewhat odd photo there's a new project on my little Dorset loom.  Right next to it is my Baby Wolf.  I took this photo because without giving it too much thought I positioned the Dorset within spitting distance because I find the new Wolf Trap so useful.  For anyone not familiar with this piece of equipment, it is the little hammock-like shelf attached to the breast beam of the Baby Wolf.  In this photo it's holding several items that I'm using on the neighboring loom!  I particularly like how much easier weaving with two or more shuttles is with the Wolf Trap in place.

Prayer Shawl yarns

I think I mentioned one or two posts ago that I'd be including items here that I weave with fibers other than wool.  Here's one.  I am a member of what is called the Prayer Shawl Ministry at my church.  If you are unfamiliar with the concept of prayer shawls, you will find more information here.  One requirement of prayer shawls is that they be machine washable and dry-able.  This eliminates the use of many beautiful fibers.  The need to keep material costs down (I'm already donating an awful lot of my time!) eliminates purchasing lovely wash and dry yarns.  I try to make do with donated yarn and those bought at thrift shops etc.  Lots of acrylic.

Prayer Shawl; fringe not yet trimmed

This one starts with a warp of pale green Softball Cotton.  For the weft I tried two acrylics: a marly green Lion Brand Homespun, a yarn that is used by many knitters and crocheters.  It's actually difficult to knit and crochet with: terrible to frog.  It's great for weaving!  The second yarn, chosen for value contrast, is Moda Dea Metro.  I'd like to do another one in other colors soon because I think this one worked out nicely.  Next time I'll reduce the EPI from 10 to 8 to create a more drape-y effect.

Meadow Muffins yarn

Presently I have a warp of my Meadow Muffins sock yarn on the loom in variegated yellow-orange-pink.  I'm weaving a series of little drawstring bags based on one that I saw in Fabrics That Go Bump.  the weft is the same as the warp with strategic shots of novelty yarn or hand-spun to create a honeycomb effect.  Love these colors!

Boot Toppers With Meadow Muffins Yarn

I'm not much of a knitter.  I knit far too slowly and make many mistakes.  Worst of all, activities that require my fingers to act as levers repeatedly cause much discomfort.  I need to preserve my hands for the necessary activities so needle knitting is out.

I like to wear footless tights or leggings over fairly thin socks.  The thin socks fit well in my shoes and are easily-replaced when they wear out. The leggings are so cozy with a dress or skirt.  But something nice and bulky and hand-knit was needed between the socks and the leggings.  Here's what I came up with:

Boot Topper on Knifty Knitter Loom with Meadow Muffins yarn

This is my first go-round with using a round knitting loom.  I used a blue (24 pegs) and worked with three strands of Meadow Muffins yarn, working stripes of approximately one inch.  No fancy stitch work... I just followed the directions that came with the knitting loom.

Boot Toppers on Knifty Knitter Loom: Close-up

 

 

 

Here's a close-up of the work.  It shows that each stripe was actually made up of three closely-related colors.  I used eight stripe colors, repeating once.  Each boot topper used two ounces.

Boot Toppers from Meadow Muffins yarn

 I really enjoyed using a circular knitting loom and plan to make more Boot Toppers.  Next: I'll try working with two strands, one a constant color and the other will change as I knit.  I will also use a different, more elastic method for binding off as using the bind-off directions that came with the loom resulted in a lower opening that I could just barely get my foot through.

Summer, Swiftly...

It's just not been a summer for blogging.  I envy those who blog regularly, with beautiful and well-written posts.  I take photos and they languish.

But that doesn't mean the summer has been unblogworthy.  Here's a feeble attempt to catch up:

Natural Dyes Workshop with Sara Goodman

In mid July I spent three days with Sara Goodman, learning about using natural dye extracts for dyeing fiber.  This was one of the seminars offered through NEWS: New England Weavers Seminar.  I've kept quiet about it on this blog but using natural materials for dyeing has been on my mind this year.  When it comes to natural dyes I'm most interested in sustainability and focusing on materials that can be gathered locally.  This workshop involved using dye extracts from far away places... but I'm still glad I participated.

Samples from Sara Goodman's Natural Dye Workshop

Here are some of my projects from that workshop:
At twelve o'clock are some skeins of the first yarn that I had commercially-spun years ago; one dyed with walnut extract and one with a mixture of extracts.  Perhaps a shawl.

At three o'clock  is a skein of my sock yarn, originally dyed with a local plant material, then overdyed in the indigo vat that we learned all about.  I tried to allow some of the original color show through the indigo.

Center: dye samples on a silk strip.

At six to eight: a small pre-felt dyed in a mix of extracts.

The remainder: some of my lambswool yarn painted with a variety of colors for warp, along with a skein of the same yarn for weft.  Both were over-dyed in the indigo vat.  Enough for two scarves.

Would you like to see how yarn dyed in an indigo vat changes color as it is lifted out and exposed to oxygen?  Follow this link.

And here are my Pygora girls, up to no good.  Notice that when I called Tina's name at the beginning of the clip, she answered.

Finally, yarn destined for Meadow Muffins, dyed with alder cones, and two intensities of walnut.  Gathered from trees that are in or next to the pastures that my sheep graze.  Cafe au lait?

Meadow Muffin yarn, dyed with locally-gathered dye materials

The Lucet: A New Favorite Tool

Lucet and braid created with Meadow Muffins light sport yarn

A lucet is a very old fiber tool that has been used for a thousand years to create braids for closures (remember: no zippers, no snaps, no hooks and eyes, no Velcro when the lucet was first used).  I'd been aware of it and it was on my list of things to try until my good friend Victoria taught me how to use one.  I'd tried to follow the written and video instructions on the web but really needed a live demo to learn it.  Then I was off and running!

The first lucet purchase was a failure: too small, too narrow, the surface was too rough, and the hole through which the braid passes was way too small.  My second lucet from Lynn the Weaver is just a joy.  Created from rosewood, it feels smooth and wonderful in my hand and is beautiful to look at.  Lynn answered my questions and shipped the lucet promptly; her prices are very reasonable.  She has other models as well as tutorials on her site.

A lucet and a small ball of yarn take up very little space so are quite portable.  The technique is easy and the process is the sort of activity that can be pulled out at any time to work unobtrusively.  Perfect for those times when all one can do is wait patiently.

Lucet braid and Meadow Muffins light sport yarn

Both  photos are of two strands of my Meadow Mufifins light sport yarn worked together.  I'm looking forward to moving on to combinations of various types of fibers.

There's a very quiet Yahoo list on the subject as well as a less quiet group on Ravelry.  It's worth a try!

Socks from Sojourner Design Yarn

My local customer who enjoys knitting with Meadow Muffins yarn has been at it again!  This time she used a more subtle combination of hues.  Just in case you haven't seen them, here's the shot of her first pair of socks with this yarn.

I'm hoping to see more work from this gal!  Also, notice the backgrounds.  The first socks were finished early last summer and laid out on lovely green grass.  The new socks ... done in December and resting on pristine Northampton snow.

Speaking of snow, here's a view of my sheep pressing in around the winter haylage feeder this morning as the snow was falling.

I've refreshed the Home Page of my website with a couple of photos taken this morning.  In fact, you'll find a number of changes and additions (such as the Prefelt page) there.  Here's one of the photos I added to that page:

I've added a few listings for carded wool to my Zibbet Shop... now I just need to figure out how to make all those Meadow Muffin hues available online!