Flirting with Skirting

The spinning guild I belong to organized part of the Escondido Wool Festival a couple of weeks ago. This is a by-product of a sheep herding dog training facility. They are only interested in training the dogs but they need sheep to herd so we get the benefit of raw fleece.

The flock is a special breed of "Dorset" sheep. One of the characteristics of this down based breed is that it does not felt. This makes this fiber ideal for socks.

All these new terms I'm getting to learn. Skirting is basically picking out the poop & dreadlocks etc. out of fleece that was sheared off a sheep. The beginning of a wool sweater.

It all starts with the bah bah sheep.

First the sheep get a hair cut. Then we have this pile of dirty wool that gets rolled up and bagged. BTW I am the proud owner of one of those bags, it is waiting for me in the special yarn cave where I store all this good stuff.

The raw fleece is spread out and you start picking. Oh it smells real nice like a barn, sort of gives you that being down in the farm kind of feeling.

After all the dirty undesirable bits are picked out about 1/4 of the fleece is put in very hot water and dish washing detergent. Most people tout Down but I think Palmolive dishwashing detergent cuts grease better. Just my own opinion. There must be a reason for touting Down by most but I am the sort who likes to test it for myself.

Fill up the bucket with very hot water add a 1/4 of a cup of dishwashing detergent gently, you do not want suds, and add your fleece. You will need some sort of tool to shove all the fleece in there because the water is ouch hot.

After a half hour a lot of rinsing takes place. More hot water NO soap but rinse rinse rinse and you have white fleece. Take the screen off your window and lay all the wool to dry in the California Sun. I was very surprised how fast it was drying.

There are more new words here, comb, drum carding, roving, spinning woolen, singles or plying etc. After you do all that work you may get this 5 ply wool. Below is Pamela's harvest of one sheep's fleece spun 5 ply, enough for a sweater maybe. I'll have to ask her how much in yardage it was and in weight.

Now only the knitting is left to do. All I can say is I have a new found respect for the prices we can buy ready made yarn for. Hours and hours of back breaking work.

I still have my raw fleece and am not sure if I will do this but it's fascinating. My friend Molly told me that I could just send my bag of fleece to Morro Fleece Works and for a slight charge they will do all this cleaning and send back roving ready to spin. Hmm.... decisions, decisions....

Monogamous Knitter I'm not.

A long time ago I was faithful to one project and would start and finish it before I started another. What happened? Slowly my stash and my knitting needle collection has grown and the next thing I knew I had more than one project started. At first it was only one "main" project and another small something. Like a married man who has their "main" relationship their wife but also has a little mistress once in a while. But I think I've totally crossed over the line and have become a Polygamous Knitter.

I have projects started all over the place. I would get new yarn and just could not help myself I would bust out another pair of needles and cast on another project. Then Ravelry.com came about and this habit got super sized. There are so many beautiful projects I just can't help myself. It has gotten to the point where I keep promising to finish or "frog" it. I actually have a storage box with "finish or frog" label printed on it.

The way I now have it rationalized is when I pick one of the projects that needs finishing I think oh wow I'm halfway there maybe I'll just finish it before I start another. This works some of the time. While lost in the land of Moebii (I'm still there) I was hoping to finish with this Moebious jag so I visited the "finish or frog" box and found this little shawl I started months ago and was 99% finished and success I managed to add the button and crochet the last edge, BTW choosing just the right button was no easy task. I think that was what hung me up on these is the perfect button hunt. I think I found it.

The original pattern is by Stephen West "Daybreak". Needless to say my version is sort of that pattern with a few modifications. I should call mine "Nightfall". When I look at other projects of this pattern on Ravelry they look totally different. So what you may say, the only reason this matters is because I've had more than usual eMails with questions about this pattern. My good friend Molly who usually follows patterns pretty closely pointed out to me that mine looks different than what the pattern calls for. Yes the first part, I knit until I got tired of knitting that part. I felt it was totally useless to count rows just knit it till it looks good to you. Then the stripes started, and I did one stripe plain and simply did not like it but I left it because it really did not matter if one stripe was different.

I decided that raising the stripes with a purl bump would look better.
Sort of goes like this: Main color k 1 row purl 1 row, Contrasting Color knit 2 rows

Then of course the bind off which is demonstrated below.

This does not show how I add beads but the basic idea is here:

Lost in the Magical Land of Moebii....

Moebeeei ..... Moebious' ..... ok lots of Moebiuses ...

I think I will go with Moebii because that is what Cat Bordhi is calling them and after all she must know because she is so very clever. The cast on for the Moebius is a bit tricky but not very difficult and once you got that down it's a very easy knit.

What I've been up to is knitting these Mobii.

The reason I stopped knitting my stranded vest is because I was getting ready to teach the Moebious at the Slipt Stitchers Guild. When I asked how many hand outs should I print they told me 50. Fifty? Does that mean that there will be 50 people in the class?

Really? 50 people? But I've never had 50 people in a class! But I kind of had no choice I was on the calendar and canceling was not an option. How hard could this be? So I figured I better knit a moebius to kind of freshen up my moebii skills. Well I just can't knit one! It is such a fun and magical thing so I got lost in the land of "Magical Moebii".

One after another I keep casting on for just one more. Now it's warmer outside, ok it's supposed to be 90 degrees today, that is hot and I can't wear wool Moebii so I cast on a cotton Moebius. And then there are the beads, I've lost my head and got into beads! But that is a whole other blog post "Lost in the land of beads..."

Inspired by Sivia Harding's Harmonia's Rings I designed what I call the "Erroneous Rings". Sivia's pattern does not fit me so this version fits better and is an easier knit. I just cast on for another and I will write down the pattern, I'll let you know when I will have it available.

The class went really well and yes there was 50 people in the class and somehow it all worked. I sent ahead the link to Cat Bordhi's video on YouTube for the cast on and her pattern. That way the more skilled knitters had a chance to try out the method and were able to help each other. As I said the cast on is a bit tricky but not hard once you get the idea. Cat did a wonderful job on the video and was kind enough to post it for all to see and learn.

CatBordhi.com

The Moebius Cowl Pattern I've been using. (Only slightly modified)

YouTube Video by Cat Bordhi

Progress is slow but coming along

My vest project is coming along and taking shape. I have steeked & cut and it's starting to look like a real garment. Crochet the cutting line for the under arm area then CUT. The first snip is the scariest and after that I got very brave and cut cut cut.....

To be continued soon I hope. This is 100% wool yarn (Kauni) and it is a bit "crunchy" ok some would call it "itchy" but for me it feels like wool should feel. Because it's so rough it's very sticky so ideal for steeking because it just sticks together sort of like velcro.

Madrona? Did I go there?

Now it seems like Madrona was just a dream, long gone and I'm back to the every day ho hum.... and sometimes not so ho hum of life. Yes there are exciting moments but excuse me for venting but there are days I could do without. When I'm in a mood like that I take a walk at the beach and just filling my eyes with all that beauty seems to soothe my soul.

The sun was shining and the tide was out, the wet sand just glistened.

A couple of pictures from Malibu, California.

Madrona Report

What fun! I had a terrific time but then again what "fiber lover" would not have a good time at a Fiber Arts Winter Retreat?

Seattle my first stop and one more time the sunshine from Southern California seemed to follow me and the skies were clear and the sun was brightly shining on the famous Space Needle. I've never gone up there but one of these days I would like to visit the Space Needle.

On to Tacoma, WA the view from our hotel room. Puffy clouds the air was crisp and the blue skies peeked through. A beautiful day but I was inside taking my first class in spinning.

Fiber preparation by Judith McKenzie McCuin. Wow what a great class! Everything I've heard about Judith was true. She has a wealth of knowledge about fiber and spinning and life, she was soft spoken and gentle and the class was a pleasure.

I sometimes get very "antsy" in an all day class, I get tired and overwhelmed with all the information. Not in this class I was there early and I left late. I really got a lot of great information about how to prepare fiber for spinning. I can't say enough about Judith she is the "Spinning Goddess" and she is very nice.

I got her book with a dvd and brought her home with me. And yes I got her to sign my book and will treasure it in my library.

My Pocket Wheel was perfect for this class and she fit into my suitcase really nicely. BTW there was 3 Pocket Wheels in the class. Here is Judith trying out one of the older Pocket Wheels made by Doug Dodd the original designer of this little gem of a wheel.

".....the Pocket Wheel is 18 inches tall, weighs 6 pounds, and easily disassembles to fit into a tote bag. Ideal for fiber events, spinning in the car or RV, or anyone who prefers a compact ultra-portable spinning wheel."

I'll share more as time permits.......

Project Update

I have named my new Vest,

"FeeFee Swirl"

My sweet, sweet doggie Fee Fee is now 17 years old and she is slowing down dramatically. Each day I can see her struggling with the simplest of things like trying to get up the 3 stairs from the front yard or when she first wakes up her little muscles are stiff and it takes her a minute or two to get going. I can relate to that Fee Fee, as a matter of fact I can relate to the whole aging thing.

As I once heard Andy Rooney say on 60 minutes "I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes."

It is so very sad to see a precious pet come to the end of their life. It is part of nature, we are born and then we come to the end of our life on this earth the cycle repeats. So as I sit here with my faithful doggie right next to me charting out the front of my new vest "FeeFee Vest".

Yes I'm charting this pattern by hand because it just seems easier and kind of relaxing to draw out with pencil and good old fashioned paper. I wonder if there is an app or some sort of chart generator that had been created for this job? An app for my iPad would be ideal. But until I find such it is pencil and paper.

The back is almost finished and I will be steeking it, because it's being knit in the round. The stranding fair isle pattern is just easier to knit in the round.

Scurf attack

Some of you may not be interested in this detail about about fleece but I find it fascinating. What exactly is Scurf? Basically it's animal dandruff. Tiny little flakes mixed in with the fiber. It's a skin condition of the animal, little bits of dead skin. Exactly the same as if we shaved human hair with a slight condition of dandruff.

I bought a pound of this magnificent Mohair soft and wonderful to the touch but when I started to spin it I noticed these tiny little dandruff looking bits. Coincidentally I had just taken a class last weekend at a "Fiber Frolic" I attended and they talked about scurf. Prior to this I had never heard of it or knew such a condition existed. Little did I know that a few days later I would be confronted with Mohair with scurf!

I have eMailed lots of people that I thought could advise me because I really did not want to hear that I should send this pound of wonderful mohair back to where it came from. I like it, I already have some projects in mind for it and so I have a dilemma.

No I don't think Head and Shoulders would help. I did think of it though. The lucky part is that the color is almost the same as the flakes and I can flick, pick or kick them out. But do I want to add this extra work? Dilemma.

See the bag of fleece that is 8 oz, I have 16 oz that's a lot of dandruff. But at least it's not black. I placed a pencil in the picture to give perspective of the size of the little flakes. I'll let you know how it goes.





- Posted by Ana Petrova

I'm on a "fair isle" roll

I've finished the hat and LOVED knitting fair isle but.... a bit more practice is needed. I've been searching for a good chart, one that fit my specifications. As usual I needed to make modifications to suit my style of knitting. Took out the old pencil and paper and designed my own. Wish me luck.

Cast on and fingers crossed (figuratively because if I cross my fingers I can't knit). I'm hoping this does not turn into a hat. Lately I've been making a lot of hats I'm not sure why but I love making hats. Here is my progress so far and it's starting to look suspiciously like a hat.

Knitting the back of what I thought would be a vest, in the round and will be steeked (cut) to make a flat piece. But when my DH saw me knitting he asked if I was making another hat? And he put it on his head and it really did look like a hat. But NO it's a vest!

Blog neglect....

Writing entries in this blog are fun, that's why I do it but..... it is time consuming! I have decided to write on my blog once a week on Fridays. Until further changing of my mind here it is a Friday and I am blogging about how my knitting week went.

I have started several projects and surprise surprise not one got finished. I've been knitting socks for "Big Foot" aka. dh. (Dear Husband). He has discovered the wonderful world of hand knit socks. I have created a monster, his socks take a lot longer for me to knit and they are boring. He does not like the colors I want to knit or any fancy stitches. Just your basic socks like the Tami Socks but a bit bigger and on smaller needles. Shish....

Cascade Sock Yarn, navy blue. Size 2.5 Signature needles. Pattern: Tami Socks

While I'm on a sock knitting kick I thought I would start a new colorful pair for myself. Yarn is Blue Moon Fibers, 2.5 mm needles. Pattern: Basic toe up short row heel & toe.

I'm going to teach knitting socks at the Slipt Stitch Knitting Guild in September. I know that is several months away but I thought I would practice some new techniques. I'll let you know how that goes.

Just a couple more projects I've been working on this week. Another AnaBandana scarf, in pale grey and white shadow knitting with beads. Alpaca yarn, so so soft!

About 80% done with this project, it's on my schedule to finish this weekend.

Last but not least my fair isle attempt. I have never really done a whole entire project "fair isle". For those who may not know all these fancy knitterly terms, it's simply multicolor knitting. The are two main ways to knit with different colors and strands. One is Fair Isle and the other is Intarsia. Fair Isle is usually done in the round because it's just easier to accomplish this technique. It is where one color is used for the knit stitch and the second strand of a different color is carried in the back.

The technique I use is the left hand does Continental knitting and the right hand uses "The Throw Method" or English Knitting. I am a Continental knitter and it's kind of awkward for me to "Throw" but I'm getting used to it. This method kind of equals the playing field because if you are a "Thrower" then the "Continental" method will be awkward and vica versa.

I did make a little mistake with my chart and did not realize that I had turned it sideways. Oops! Also I trimmed a few stitches to match my cast on. Oops again. But I think all is well that ends well and so far it looks like it's going to turn out well.

On a personal note, I will be going to the GLASG (Greater Los Angeles Spinning Guild) meeting tomorrow and we have a program: Long draw and short draw. As you may know I'm a beginning spinner so I welcome any instructions to master my new love of spinning wool.

You are as good as your tools.

I have always paid very close attention to tools. My dear mother used to say (with her Hungarian accent) "You've always tooled up elegantly". I love to work with my hands and no matter what I am making the right tool can make the difference between a fun easy pleasurable task or miserable one. And the outcome is proof that the old saying "You are as good as your tools." There is this other one translated "Good tools are half the work."

Using a good tool that was designed thoughtfully well is indeed a pleasure. Yesterday I got just that in the mail a set of Signature double pointed needles. Ok they were not cheap but my dear far superior to any other double pointed needles I have.

Happy New Year....

This last year 2010 seemed like it flew by. Yet when I take a look at all the pictures I took last January seems like it was so long ago. I love taking pictures I always have and now that I can save them on the computer and have such easy access I use photography all the time. I use pictures to remind me how I did a certain knit pattern or even what brand of underwear my husband likes so when I go to the store I can just look it up on my iPhone. I love gadgets and when they work some of the new ones are brilliant.

This is a knitting blog primarily so I will post about what I've been knitting on since my last post. Last year I got into spinning and dyeing yarn. What fun it's been, I love spinning and the dyeing is just the cherry on the cake. I only use food coloring that I get at my local Smart & Final. Primary colors 2 bucks a bottle and I can use all my kitchen utensils and it's non toxic and permanent. That is the first question people ask me is will it last? Yes it's permanent and will not wash out. Of course like other dyes some colors fade faster than others.

I first started spinning on a drop spindle, the one I love is Jenkins Woodworks Turkish spindle. Mr. Jenkins is an artist and the little wooden spindle is like a work of art. Beautifully made and functions superbly, balanced just right and it's a source of hours of hours of entertainment. For those who do not understand why anybody would work so very hard on making yarn when you can buy it readily made all I can say is that it's not about the yarn you make but the process. Hey it's better than taking Prozac, it's a very relaxing activity and with the world so crazy around me I need calm and relaxation. Also it makes me feel like I've taken a step back to simpler times when you made your own wool to make your own socks etc.

Here are some pictures of the first project of the year. Simple wrist warmer, oh but it feels so wonderful and it's warm!

The pattern:

"One Ply" Single yarn spun from Pagewood Farm merino wool. 50 grams about 80 yards. Needle used 1.25 dpn knit in the round. (Any sock yarn will do for those who do not spin.)

Using a size 3 needle co 72 sts using the German Twisted cast on method for a loose cast on. Join to knit in the round, place a stitch marker so you know where it starts and k3, p3 for about 2”.

Beginning at the next round K2 tog, k3, p3 for 4” (Spiral rib)

Beginning at the next round K1, M1, K1, k3, p3 for 2 more inches.

Crochet picot bind off: take your crochet hook slip 3 sts and pull the working yarn through all 3, chain 4 and repeat all the way around.

(Here is a demo of this bind off I made with a different stitch count.)