We found one!

So like any 'normal' crafter, I have trouble keeping to one path. Already there is knitting, spinning, dying, fibre prep (less of that although my carder is getting more use these days), sewing things, finding-restoring- and using fountain pens, and recently bookbinding. I say normal because most of the people I know are like that, a strange blend of monkey-see-monkey-want-to-do and intelligent curiosity about how something other people can do works. I do understand that there are people in the world who don't want to make things, or modify things or even customize things - but those people scare me. They do, I find it rather freaky when people don't have interests or hobbies or something in their lives other than making money and keeping the house tidy and the lawns mowed - where is the fun in that? So, when I found out you could make your own books, journals with nice paper and that stay open and have lovely colorful covers I wanted to see if I would like doing that. Seems I do like doing that, so after a few trials with the internet as a resource I hunted out the bookbinding section at the library and learned more.

Dangerous stuff - learning, makes me want more, makes me want to try other things, other ways of binding, makes me want to explore other methods and other materials. From the moment I understood that if you press something under a heavy weight while glue is drying it will dry flat ... I wanted a book press. So for the past month or so, whenever I have been in a the kind of shop that sells old things, surprisingly often, I have looked for a bookbinding press. I've asked and been told that 'you don't see many of those these days, bookbinders snap them up - I've not seen one in ---- oh 10 years or so'. This weekend Bear suggested we drive up to Hampden to check out the old equipment shop there, perhaps stop for coffee and lunch ... and look! A bookbinding press, this thing was investigated, found to be working, paid for and in the car before any one else could even get a look in - we were the only ones in the store at the time. Look it is pretty much identical to the one the cover of a library books I have borrowed. I can't wait to clean it up and make the pressing boards and put it to use ...

I have been knitting, and this does at time purport to be a knit blog, so here is my recent knitting progress. I finished the wash cloth, using 34g of luxury Rowan organic cotton. That left 14 g of luxury Rowan organic cotton over. Now 14 is enough to want to use, and not enough to plan something to use it all up.

I was inspired by Frankie Brown's Ten Stitch Twist to start a spiral and knit until I ran out of yarn. I modified the center somewhat, using a made up and not recorded mix of increases and short rows to increase from 4 stitches to 8 stitches around the first complete circle, then Frankie's method to shape the spiral, and blend it to nothing when there was nearly no yarn left. I ssk'd the last stitch to one of the edge loops to join the spiral to itself. On the reverse side the spiral appears as a chain.

Bears Bunker socks are growing, as fast as twisted stitch pattern socks will ever grow. I am loving the signature points on the dpns that I have to knit these on, they make twisting and traveling stitches easier than blunt needles.

And - I've been spinning, fine singles that is destined for 2 ply - with any luck approaching lace weight - an ongoing goal of mine. This is an amazing blend from Matt at Wabi sabi fibres, Merino, Alpaca, Angora, and Silk in a colour way called River stones. This was spun very predictably in a semi worsted, short forward draw. Next up is some Cashmere blend from Vintage Purls, that I am thinking will be spun from the fold. I did a little bit of pre drafting last night and considered the short cashmere fibres and how best to spin them .. and I wonder if from the fold might give me a more consistent fibre supply. This week I discovered that my SpinOff subscription has lapsed, and I had not had the last two issues - so I promptly ordered back issues and re-subscribed for the next two years. In doing all of that I went thru my Spinoffs and rediscovered several articles about spinning - fancy that!

take care - Stella

A big weekend all round

When you have younger people in your life, birthdays are significant events. I can understand that, when you have only ever had 11 birthdays, and I'm pretty sure the first few are kind of fuzzy and the memory is probably only the photos in the family album and stories you have been told, the number 12 is significant. Tomorrow my eldest, Toby, aka 'the toad', or 'tobe' turns 12. We try to be responsible parents, no first-person-shooter games, no playing with matches, and making a point of not letting go of what is on offer unless the please and thank-yous are said. That said kids develop interests that plain confound me, The littlest cub is into ballet, so I find myself doing ballet-hair, a bun, twice a week. The eldest cub finds WWII planes fascinating - who knew? That is all part of this weekend, then there is the start of the Tour, not the tour de France, but the tour de Fleece, with all the preparation and false starts that go with that. This weekend and there are knitted objects that relate to the tour, and knitting objects that might even be closer to being finished than they were a few days ago!

This is my 'birthday boy', with his new toys. I am thankful that Bear has insight into the tings that this 12 year old boy likes - as I never would have guessed that teeny tiny miniature planes that are used with a board game replicating the movements of World War II airplane engagements would the perfect present. Me, I supplied blank comic book drawing pads, A3 drawing paper and blocks of A4 210gsm cartridge paper because he is always wanting to use my supplies. I also provided a FC Tk9400 2mm clutch pencil, nice soft black lead refills and a Fabre Castel lead pointer. His sister supplied a vintage style slinky, and an environ science kit. If that boy even hints he is bored in the next few days .... I can't even imagine my surprised reaction. Equally how he will fit all that new stuff into his already full and tiny bedroom is a mystery that only he can solve.

This year I am again on tour, the Tour de Fleece, spinning along with the Tour de France, resting on rest days and trying to challenge myself. This is pink combed perendale that I dyed last year. This year I am spinning on my vintage Pippy wheel, I've not used this much since the two new wheels arrived and every time I visit the back room I admire it and think I shouldn't be ignoring it. So Friday I rearranged the family room, gave the wheel a dust and an oil (silicon spray really), and pre-drafted the fibre.
In any event of the size of the Tour (france and fleece), there are bound to be false starts. My participation started disappointingly. The Pippy and I had to get reacquainted, for I thought I had her all adjusted and drawing in nicely ... but in truth I forgot that treadling with one treadle is very different to treadling with two. Of course any coach will stress how important it is to train with your competition equipment so you are familiar with it, and I didn't. My first 11 grams were thicker than I wanted .. but I have 160g to use. So I thought about it overnight, and decided to sacrifice the 11 grams, and start again. The second start was much smoother, the wheel and I are not quite one, but my hands and feet are more in tune with my spinning and the wheel.

In prepareation for the Tour I spun up the lovely cross breed that KathyR gifted me. I was aiming at lace ... and I'm closer than I have ever been to lace weight yarn. And I do think this my spinning is becoming more even. Once I was compelled to spin three ply yarn - only because I knew the averaging out of three plies would even up my yarn, now I happily spin two ply knowing that my control is improved the point that there is not as much difference between the thicks and thins. Details, fine fingering, 2 ply, shifting from pale to darker over its length, 115g, and 550m. I am still thinking of a a shawl or blanket that uses the transitioning shades to add drama, with the dark as the final outside lace edge. Thank you again Kathy!


With the tour looming I felt the need to knit up some of my previous tour spinning. 2010 I spun 3 skeins of texel fleece into a sweater weight of yarn. This year I plan to turn that into a simple sweater for Toby. He has outgrown the gansey I knit him way back in early 2009. Time for a new one, and as he is a boy with boy traits peer fashion dictates it be plain and simple and serviceable. Bang goes my idea of embellishing the front and back with Barbara Walkers spider or some such crazy motif. The things we knitters do to hold back for the ones we love, like knitting a plain sweater when a patterned one would be so much more fun to make. So I have swatched a gansey edge, a few rounds of garter, then a 2x2 rib, followed by another garter band and three sections knit on needles increasing in size from 3.75 to 4.5mm. I think I like the 4mm best now the swatch is washed. I tried to hide a slip stitch chain pattern along the top ... but I'm not sure it will stay in the final design although in the photo it looks tidier than the garter bands.

And lastly I have finally finished the tip of the second mitten, only of course as I won't be using the first mitten this is technically the first mitten. This will be the third time I have finished this tip ....... only a thumb and a whole n'other mitten to go and I will have a matched pair. I assume that there are other projects like this out there, in terms of the frogging and the redoing and all? The thumb is looking a little puckered as I have a knitters safety pin holding the stitches. I do like the evil owls more than the running dogs ... and the double knitting chart reading has become much much more fluent.

So I'm off to complete other computery things, upload photos and tidy up things that need tidying up. I submitted my second article to Entangled this last week, but I still need to prepare and send thru the images. then there is some long overdue correspondence to catch up on, a pen or two to prepare to send away for repair, two favorites. There was a good frost this morning, which means a sunny clear crisp day - a good day to work thru things inside - before returning to the wheel for more spinning.

take care, if you are touring, may your wheel fly, and your fibre flow, if not please cheer on spinners and cyclists in your circle of crafters.

Day four on the tour ...

I'm still here, still spinning and knitting .. still officially touring with the Tour de Fleece, although I suspect I've been riding along with the crowd neither shining as a leading light .. or dragging behind as a lost cause. I've spun two 100 g bobbins of Texel, one part bobbin of merino silk at spin night, and nearly a third bobbin of blue Texel. I thought I had 500g of the stuff .. but I've just weighed the remainder and there is 390 g left so I must have had a lot more than 500g before I started.

This is my place at the end of days one and two ... and wee bit of day three... Sunday, Monday Tuesday. 2 bobbins full. I have been spinning for a few hours each day .. and surprisingly have not had any aches and pains for it. I'm spinning on my big Grace wheel, with two treadles that work in sync ... which is supposed to mean the body balances as both legs work as one. So far so good ... although that hard Ashford spinning chair is a tad firm for hours of spinning.

This is my result for day four, mid-day on day four, I'm planning to finish this bobbin before the end of 'racing' today. I am so lucky to be on leave this week and the next and that means that I have time to spin during the day, sitting in the sun, the weak winter sun but the sun just the same. The cat, Yo-yo seems slightly perplexed(would that be purr-plexed?) that the whole family is home all day - every day right now, but seems to enjoy the variety of laps to settle into during the day - I had no idea she spent so much time sleeping in the sun.

Monday I spun a little silk merino .... I am finding it hard to have two things on two wheels that are being spun to different thickness singles. I find it easier to spin to the same consistency ... so this has ended up slightly thicker than I'd planned .. but that is how it goes with my spinning sometimes. I am loving the play with the pale orange, the yellow and the lime in this colourway ....refreshing and quite citrus.

And because there has to be knitting, there is progress on Nightingale, grand progress. Look! I'm past the heel, and working just above the ankle. I made a mistake and thought that there were 6 birds on each sock, when there are only four ... so I've now done nearly two of the four I need to work to complete this sock.

And here is the heel .... I did something odd as I worked it and had one stitch fewer on one side that I should .. but a little fudging and all seems well.

Ok .. I'm off to spin some more
na Stella