Newest Fiber Obsession, Er, I Mean, Hobby

Yep, I've taken up a new fiber hobby. Look.Can you tell what it is?
A rigid heddle loom.

I've always thought weaving was pretty, but I'd never really thought about trying it myself. But then about a month or so ago for some unknown reason, I was suddenly seized with this urge to weave. So after some research, I decided to try the Ashford 16-inch rigid heddle loom. I thought I might not have enough patience to do something larger, and also didn't want too big of an investment in case weaving and I didn't get along.

It came unassembled, of course, but it really wasn't hard to put together. Soon it was warped and ready for my first project, a scarf.You can see it takes a little while to start getting the hang of it. Or it did me anyway.

Next came more scarves using some of my handspun yarn.And then I used some acrylic yarn to give plaid a try. This one is a table runner.I've just been using it on my lap. It works pretty well with the footrest up and a pillow underneath, so I can weave while watching TV in the evening.

There are all kinds of patterns and textures you can do with the rigid heddle loom, too. I should probably get to spinning up some more yarn...

Processing Velvet's Fleece

I've been working on Velvet's fleece. I had read somewhere about someone rolling the fleece in a sheet and letting it soak in the washing machine. I decided instead of a sheet, though, to use some netting that was in my stash, thinking maybe the dirt and VM could get out more easily. Here's the fleece laid out on the netting:
Next I rolled it up jelly roll style starting with the long side, then tied the ends and pinned it closed with safety pins.
I filled the washer with hot water, added Dawn dishwashing liquid, and eased the roll into the tub.
It soaked for about half an hour, and then I let the water spin out. (NO agitation.) I repeated this step, this time not letting the water get quite as hot, and then one more fill with plain warm water, almost a half-hour soak, and then one more spin.

Here's my make-shift drying rack. The panel is 16 feet long, so I just kind of laid it up on the porch and over the steps so some air could get under it. It was dry in about two days. (I did take it inside at night.)
I combed several locks with some Indigo Hound combs (the menacing beasts that they are), and here's the result:
I have to get some out now and then just to stroke it. :)

Did You Think I Flew the Coop?

I really didn't fly the coop, things have just been really busy, and blogging kind of got pushed to the bottom of the to-do list.

With the arrival of spring came yard work and mowing, and we put out a garden again this year. It was kind of late getting planted...several weekends were spend working cattle, and then there were several rains that prevented us from getting the ground worked up. Most things were planted and set out on May 22, and started coming up in about four days. I'll have to try to get some pictures soon.

Also, the sheep were sheared on May 21, so the girls are sporting stylish new do's. It was just in time, too, before the weather turned hot.

And can you believe it? I actually listed a new yarn today! The poor shop had been really neglected, too, having one lone item for sale for what seemed like ages.

Here's the new listing:I called it "Prairie Sunset." This is some of our own wool from our Rambouillet ewes, Belle, Scarlett, Rachel, and our Rambouillet-cross ewe, Lily. I spun it first and then painted it.

There's lots more things to talk about, but I guess that's all for today. Maybe this will get me back into the swing of things. :)

Our Wool, Now in Color!

I finally got around to playing in the dyepot the other day. Here's about four ounces of our Rambouillet top in some bright colors:
This particular batch seemed a little hard to spin...I think in my haste to get it finished I may have gotten a little too vigorous in my rinsing and caused it to felt a tad. I tried spinning up some with just pre-drafting, but it still didn't flow as smoothly as it should. So I ran some through the carder and that seemed to work a lot better. The colors, of course, are blended, giving it kind of a tweedy look, but that's okay. I don't like to fight with it as I spin. The plan is to use it in my adult surprise jacket. I've had to rip out several rows of the baby surprise jacket, after I figured out I'd been doing the Make 1's wrong. I guess that's why they say to do the baby surprise jacket before the adult one. Just think how many stitches several rows of that would be!

Baby Surprise Jacket

The other night I cast on for a new project: Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket. I was wanting to make a baby gift and thought I'd give the surprise jacket a try. Here's what's done so far:The pattern seems pretty easy to follow. It's still kind of hard to tell how it's going to turn into a jacket, but you're just supposed to trust the pattern and follow instructions. Kind of like "sit down, shut up, and don't ask questions." So that's what I'm doing. :)

I ordered the pattern that includes the adult surprise jacket pattern, too. I had wanted to make a sweater from the wool from our sheep, and decided maybe this would be a neat idea. You can use lots of colors and odds and ends of different yarns, so this way I can dye up and spin a little at a time and just add it in as I go. No worrying about do I have enough of the same color for the whole project?

I know the adult jacket is an awfully ambitious project for me...she of the Mountain of Unfinished Objects, but maybe the added inspiration of it being from our own wool will help. :)

Working in the Wool

Remember some time back when we sent the wool from our sheep off for processing into combed top? It came back in a long, long rope, and the tag didn't say how much wool was in the finished product.I was curious as to how many pounds were in the sack, so I decided to weigh it out into approximately 4 ounce balls and then see what the total was. I used my digital scale and then marked each with the weight. Most are between 3.7 and 4.2 ounces. Added together, there are 5.4 pounds. That doesn't seem like much weight, considering that before processing, the wool weighed 19 pounds! The raw wool contains lots of dirt and lanolin, and many of the shorter fibers are removed in the combing process.
I'm probably going to keep part of it back for a sweater, and maybe some hats, and then probably put some in the shop just as dyed top and some as handspun yarn. The shop has been kind of neglected lately, so hopefully all this softness will inspire me!

Felted Mittens

So what did your groundhog say? We've had mostly cloudy weather today, but the clouds may be breaking up a little. Maybe it depends on what time the groundhog looks outside.

Wow, this post is actually about yarn and knitting! Can you believe it? I finally finished some felted mittens I'd started some time ago.I used some KnitPicks "Wool of the Andes," holding two strands together and knit them in kind of a combination of two patterns. (And although it doesn't look that way in the picture, they really are both pretty close to the same size.)

I was in a hurry, of course, to get them felted and forgot to take a picture before throwing them in the washer. I used warm water and a little dishwashing soap, and ran them one time through the heavy duty wash cycle. It agitates faster and longer than the regular cycle on our machine.

It took them two or three days to get completely dry. They're really thick (which makes them a little stiff), and seem like they'll be really warm. You can find lots of patterns for felted mittens on Ravelry if you think you want to give some a try. :)

Our Wool Becomes Yarn

My newest spinning project? Our wool. I finally got around to spinning up a little bit of our Rambouillet combed top that arrived from the mill.
I spun some just as it was. Except for pre-drafting, of course. It wasn't quite as buttery smooth as I thought it might be, but still it was nice. There seemed to be some clumps that were kind of hard to draft, but the yarn came out really lofty and squishy.There were about 80 yards in the first batch. Being impatient, I just spun it up without dyeing it first and then used some big needles and the chunky yarn to knit a little scarf.
I tried putting some of the wool through the drum carder a couple of times for a batt. That seemed to break up the clumps and made for a smoother yarn. It was still nice and lofty, though. The twist was set by washing in lavender baby shampoo and then another rinse with lavender Eucalan. And boy, does it smell nice! :)

Look, An (Almost) Finished Object!

Remember awhile back I started on the Brooke's Column of Leaves Scarf? It's finished, sort of.

The pattern says it needs to be blocked. Being new to lace knitting, I've never blocked anything before. I don't know if it would make much of a difference or not. Here's what it looks like now:
It's about 35 inches long and 6 inches wide. That's not a very long scarf, it's more of a neck warmer, but I just knitted until I used up the skein. It was worsted weight, 220 yards. With the lacey holes, it could probably have a couple of buttons added somewhere to keep it in place. Okay, expert knitters, let's hear your advice!

The Wool is Here! The Wool is Here!

Yesterday the UPS man rumbled into the driveway and came out with a HUGE box. "My wool!" I squealed. Our processed wool had come back from the mill!Back in September you might have seen the raw wool.Off it went to Zeilinger's in Michigan for washing and combing. This was the first time we had gone to the extra expense to have it combed instead of just carded. We'd had it processed elsewhere a couple of times before (with just carding) and there had always been more VM left in it than I wanted to pick out before or during spinning. But this time it was different.

This fleece:Became this combed top:
Amazing, isn't it? I can't wait to spin some up! That is, if I don't just curl up and cuddle in it. :)

Newfoundland Mittens

After trolling around on Ravelry one day looking at patterns, I came across these Newfoundland Mittens. I thought they were SO cute! I'm still working on both of the scarves I started, but being awfully bad about starting something new before finishing the project I'm working on, I went ahead and cast on.

I had some leftover yarns in my stash, and used a natural white wool for the body and some hand dyed wool yarn for the rest. This was the first time I'd used a colorwork pattern. I always thought colorwork would be really complicated, but this pattern has been pretty easy for the most part. I had a little trouble now and then figuring out where to start each row for some reason, but it wasn't too hard to get back on track.

I think they're going to be really warm, too, because of the double strands. The first one is done, and the second just needs the thumb and the ends woven in. Surely I can stick with them long enough to do that! :)

Plying with the Lazy Kate

In my post a few days ago, I showed you the lazy kate with bobbins ready for plying. Here's the result:

I thought it was actually a little harder to use than the built-in lazy kate on the wheel. It could just be that I'm new at it and need more practice. I had one bobbin on the top and one on the bottom. It might have been better if both bobbins had been on the bottom at the same level. It seemed as though sometimes they didn't quite turn exactly together.

I really like the colors in this yarn.

It was a Falkland wool dyed roving I bought from Fat Cat Knits on Etsy. There were about 140 yards as I wound it off the bobbin onto the niddy noddy. Of course, it will shrink up a fair amount when the twist is set. It should be listed in the shop soon! :)

Lazy Kate

Awhile back, when I ordered the jumbo flyer for my spinning wheel, I also ordered an Ashford lazy kate. My Ashford Traveller (see the picture in the sidebar) has a built-in lazy kate on the front of the wheel, but it will only hold the standard size bobbins.

Of course it came unassembled. The assembly wasn't complicated, but it was really hard to put the screws in on the sides. I think I almost had a blister before I got it put together.

But anyway, here it is, ready to ply with some Falkland roving I ordered from Fat Cat Knits on Etsy. There were four ounces all together, with about two on each bobbin.

I haven't tried it out yet...I'll have to let you know how it works.

A Closer Look (10/12/09)

Can you tell what this is? Don't worry...it's not another spider. :)

It's a black walnut from the tree north of the barn.

I need to get out and pick up a bucketful. You can use the hulls to make a natural dye for wool. It makes a beautiful rich brown color.

And you don't need a mordant to set the color, which I'm sure you know if you've ever crawled on your hands and knees to pick up walnuts. The stain doesn't wash out of your clothes. It's been awhile since I tried dyeing fiber with walnuts...sounds like a good fall project.

Fiber Update

Just a little update on the fiber I sent to the mill for processing. I received a receipt in the mail from the mill that said the wool I sent weighed 19 pounds. Of course, the processed top will weigh a lot less than that because washing removes a lot of dirt and lanolin, and combing will remove quite a bit of the short fibers. Can't wait to get my hands in it, though!

New Critters on the Ranch

I recently added Google Friend Connect to my blog and soon discovered a bunch of terrific and interesting sites. I kept finding other folks interested in fiber, sheep, etc., and came across several blogs about Shetland sheep. They looked SO cute and small! The Suffolk and Rambouillet sheep we have are pretty big sheep, so that really made the difference obvious, too. Anyway, it's getting time to put a ram in with our ewes for spring lambs. We were needing a new ram this year since some of the ewes are related to the one we had.

I wondered what kind of fiber you'd come up with by crossing a Shetland ram with the Rambouillet ewes. They have really soft, fine, crimpy fiber, but it doesn't have a very long staple length. I understand that the Shetlands' fiber is soft, too, and long. That sounded to me like it might be a good combination. Also, I love the beautiful natural colors found in the Shetlands.

My search led me to Fairlight Farm and Tammy's registered Shetlands. She had a ram for sale that I thought would fit the bill. He was being boarded at another farm, and Tammy agreed to meet us over there to see the ram. With the help of her excellent directions and our GPS, we found the place without any trouble. We met the Jacksons of Three Ring Ranch, who happened to have a few registered Shetland ewes for sale also.

Here's what we brought home:

The ram, whose registered name is Fairlight Omen...

And this little ewe, whose registered name is Three Ring Mai Tai...

Check out these gorgeous fleeces:


The ewe was just born this spring, so although some people go ahead and breed them the first year, we'll probably let her wait until next season, so hopefully it will be a little easier on her. I have another young ewe lamb I'm keeping back till then, so they'll each have some company.

The ewe seems really friendly already. She likes being petted and doesn't seem to mind my fascination with her wool. The ram is still a little wary, but that's probably normal for rams.

So as soon as the paperwork all goes through, I guess we have the beginnings of our own flock of registered Shetlands. Their registered names will stay the same, of course, but I'm hoping the previous owners don't mind if I give them each a nickname. Haven't settled on anything yet, but am still thinking.

Hopefully over the weekend we can get everybody situated and let the ram get on the job. I'm thinking he's hoping so, too. :)

P.S. Be sure and check out the Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival at Alpaca Farm Girl!

More Lace

The other day I showed you my first attempt at a lace scarf. I also said that I had cast on a more complicated pattern just for fun. It was another pattern that was on Ravelry, Brooke's Column of Leaves Knitted Scarf.

This was another of my hand dyed yarns (worsted weight). It starts out as a really pale green and gradually gets darker as you go. The pattern really hasn't seemed too difficult. The hardest thing I think for me about lace is keeping track of where I should be (kind of like the Kitchener stitch). So I did another color coded chart to make it easier, especially when I'm knitting while watching TV. The scarf pattern isn't mine, so I won't reprint it here, but I made up a sample chart to show what I've been doing. Remember, this isn't a real pattern...who knows what it would look like if it were actually knitted! It's just an example of how I wrote out the other one.

I wrote out only two rows on each sheet of paper, the right side row at the top of the page, and the wrong side row at the bottom of the page. Then I took a colored marker and put a box around two or three sets of stitches. Then with a different color, another box around the next few sets, etc. It somehow makes it easier for me to keep track of where I am on the pattern.

This lace is turning out to be more fun than I thought. Who knows what I might try next!

P.S. Be sure to check out the Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival at Alpaca Farm Girl!

Lace Knitting? Me?

After all my talk about simple knitting, for some strange reason the other day I was seized by this sudden urge to try lace knitting! Can you believe it?!

So I searched around on Ravelry and found this pattern. It said it was easy, so that sounded like a good one to try first. Here's my progress so far:

I used a fingering weight sock yarn that had been in the shop and didn't sell, and size 3 needles. I did change the pattern a little since the yarn was pretty fine and would have made the scarf awfully narrow otherwise. It has an 18-stitch repeat with two knit stitches at the beginning and end of each row. So I just doubled the repeat, making 36, and added the four end stitches, for a cast on of 40 stitches. The lace pattern repeat is only four rows, and was pretty easy to memorize even for a simple-knit person like myself. I'm kind of liking the way it's coming out so far.

I've even cast on for another more complicated pattern just for fun, but I'll save that for another post. :)

Yes, Sir, Yes, Sir...

Three bags full!

The weather has finally cooled off enough that I could get up the courage to sort through our fleeces. We had our sheep sheared later than normal this year and it was getting really hot by then. Too hot to want to play outside in the wool. So this afternoon I went through and skirted three fleeces to send off for processing. These are from our Rambouillet sheep. Their wool is really soft with a nice crimp. I'll probably have these processed into combed top. The sheep weren't coated (well, some of them were, but we had trouble keeping the coats on and finally just gave up), and I've been told that combing will remove the vegetable matter. This is the first time we'll have had any of our Rambouillet processed into combed top, so I'm anxious to see how it comes out.

Now to find a big enough shipping box...

Aaaack! It's the Kitchener Stitch!

Last night I finished the knitting portion of my "seven-needle" socks. Now to figure out what color to make them. What I did last night was to weave the toes with the dreaded kitchener stitch.

This time seemed to be easier than most times when I've done the stitch. I guess it's not really hard to do...the main problem I have is in keeping track of which step I'm on. Here's a trick I use to make that simpler. (Remember I like my knitting simple.) This isn't a tutorial on how to actually do the stitch. This is assuming someone already knows how, and like me, finds it hard to keep track of what to do when. I wrote up a chart with some color coding according to the directions I use for making the kitchener stitch.


The key to my abbreviations:

Step 1
FN, P, LO = insert weaving needle into the first stitch on the Front Needle as if to Purl, Leave On the needle.

Step 2
BN, K, LO = insert weaving needle into the first stitch on the Back Needle as if to Knit, Leave On the needle.

Step 3
FN, K, Sl Off = insert weaving needle into the first stitch on the Front Needle as if to Knit, Slip Off the needle.

FN, P, LO = insert weaving needle into the first stitch on the Front Needle as if to Purl, Leave On the needle.

Step 4
BN, P, Sl Off = insert weaving needle into the first stitch on the Back Needle as if to Purl, Slip Off the needle.

BN, K, LO = insert weaving needle into the first stitch on the Back Needle as if to Knit, Leave On the needle.

Then......(this is sounding more complicated as I'm writing it than it really is)...as I repeat steps 3 & 4, I can look at the chart and think "red," "yellow," "green," "blue" as I do each step and look at the corresponding directions for each color.

Wow, I don't know if that will help anyone or not...after seeing it written down I'm thinking maybe I'm just weird. :) But who knows?