Roddyknit

New Sizing For Socks

pamulla — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:24:34 +0000

Shrunken

This is a mini rant: I don’t mind doing laundry but my DH ~~insists on~~ is generously doing it now that he is retired. He does it during Prime Time so we don’t get the benefit of the weekend electric rates and has had to learn about spot treating and getting stuff clean. But he didn’t know that wool doesn’t wash in the washer. He shrunk the handknit socks.
ETA He thinks he can still wear them, even though they aren’t even the same size and could stand by themselves. I have banned him from washing sweaters for life. 8~)

WIPs

pamulla — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:20:28 +0000

I got a stitch calendar from Vogue Knitting: a stitch a day. It has some interesting stitches but you need to tear away a day at a time and somehow I feel like I might want to save the pages. But how.

On another note, I did a knitting needle reorganization brought on by my dissatisfaction with my circular needle storage system. I decided to scrap the fishing binder in favor of an accordian file (The Martha Stewart Collection at Staples) After counting all my various needles (single point, DPNs, and circs)I came up with more than 200 needles including 8 sets of size 8 DPNs and 5 sets of 7 DPNs. Plus my interchangeable set. But I don’t see the need for portability of my major storage since I have the interchangeable set.

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Stacey Shawl

I started this DK weight shawl, it is a curved shawl designed to sit nicely on the shoulders from the book Wendy Knits Lace by Wendy Johnson out of MadelineTosh Merino DK in dark green/teal tonal. I finished the first set of graphs and am moving onto the second set with repeating patterns. This pattern is only graphed which is the way I like it.

I made a vanilla sock for DH out of the Raumaragg that Jonathan brought back from Norway. It is warm, rough, and rugged so I am making boot socks. Today, it is snowing outside, there is a fire in the fireplace, dog resting by the hearth, so I think some progress on the sock. Hopefully, this will be a start on sock completion in 2012.

Woven Scarf

The scarf, made from sock yarns Colinette Jitterbug and Sanguine Gryphon Codex, is finished and blocked. It is amazing how everything seems to even out after a vigorous blocking.

Washed Corriedale Fleece, 8 oz. from the Spinning Loft

I washed 8 ounces of Corriedale Raw Fleece from the Spinning Loft using a cold soak, a hot scour, and several hot rinses. I rolled the fleece up in a towel and left it in my cool study to dry for about a week. I put it in a big basket and kept turning it. Once it was dry, I drum carded it using my Strauch’s Finest DC. I pulled the fiber apart by hand and placed it by clump of locks perpendicular to the drum. I loaded it with more fleece towards the sides. I did one pass per batt. I pulled off about 5 batts for the total amount of fiber and then I tried spinning it. I wonder if it would have benefitted from further carding but I am learning what works. The fiber drafts nicely with a few little noils.

Drum Carded Batt from Corriedale, on the Strauch Finest Drum Carder

Carded Batt

Spun from Corriedale Batt using supported long draw

I still have a lot of fleece to wash, spin, card but nothing like the stash that Discontinued Name Brand Yarns scored at an estate sale in Chicago: the first round was 300 cartons of yarn, kits, quilting supplies. Made me feel a little better about my paltry stuff. Still after an airing of the stash last week, I found so many projects that I love but I haven’t worked on in ages. I hope to make major inroads into those WIPs this year: Inishmore in Rowan Magpie (bought that yarn at SE in King of Prussia); Celtic Dreams in Jaeger Aran (they don’t make yarn anymore); Autumn Cardi in Kauni (way too much was bought in Estonia); Henry VIII in Jamieson; Nansen, a Dale ski sweater; Espresso in Ultra Alpaca; Shawl Collar Pullover in Leicester Handspun; October Frost in Plymouth Tweed. Then, in the pipeline: Jean Frost Jacket in Plymouth Tweed; vanilla pullover in Brown Sheep; Dark and Stormy in California Red Handspun.

Finally, I am so happy that somehow I got the words and pictures to match up on the page, which is not automatic or intuitive. More to follow as I knit. BTW, Knitpicks is having a book sale. Curiously, they initially had Meg Swansen’s new book on color knitting, Knitting With Two Colors on the site and then it disappeared. If it comes back, I can probably cobble enough stuff together for free shipping. I have been collecting some stuff for a while.

Happy New Year 2012

pamulla — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:52:16 +0000

Click to view slideshow.
2011 was a banner year for fiber prep, learning and acquiring tools. I made yarn and made some mittens from the yarn as well as a start of a sweater and hope to weave a scarf from some more yarn I spun. (see previous post)
For Christmas, I got some Corriedale raw fleece to process and use on my new drum carder. I ordered some angora to spin in also, but I want to be sure I have the right stuff to blend. I now have several different fibers that need scouring and I hate scouring it in the sink, plus I really need to get some stuff to dry it on. This fiber habit is getting costly. My SIL got a tabletop spin dryer which works well for water extraction so I may need one of those as well as one of those sweater racks to dry it on. I need to clean out a closet just to store all this stuff.
I spun up the rest of my Leicester and plied it on my new bulky flyer. That is awesome. Plus I got some yarn from Norway to make DH a pair of socks. I started these using a vanilla sock pattern, developed on my Sock Wizard V.2 software. I updated my knitting software and added a few new programs for mittens and hats. It is so simple if you want to knit something basic.
I made DIL married to oldest son some mittens for Christmas: I used Classic Elite Lush and I added in a strand of Kidsilk Haze in the body of the mitten for extra fluff/warmth. They came out nice but I can’t believe I forgot to take a picture. Plus I was going to give Bethany the extra leftovers so she could make a ski band and they left without them.
I warped my loom finally, although too late for daughter to try it out. I practically finished a scarf in a couple of hours. Now, I remember that you must pay attention to the tension when warping. The colors came out quite nice and now I am anxious to try my homespun as the weft on the next scarf.
I got out the scarf knitted with Sanguine Gryphon yarn and worked on that as well. I feel like I want to start finishing some old WPIs instead of starting new ones. I just wish I had a decent place to wash fleece because I have a bunch to wash.

Mittens et al

pamulla — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:32:31 +0000

Mitten from Ann Budd's Schematic in Holiday Knits 2007

California Red Roving

Did a little review of the stash and discovered I have very little DK weight yarn besides Heilo. I was planning to warp my rigid heddle and use the Three Rivers handspun for the weft. Doesn’t seem like weaving is a stash buster if you have to get more/different yarn to do a project. (ETA: I did find some more appropriate yarn to use.)

I also ordered some more dry cleaner’s bags for storage; I plan to put project quantities of yarn in them to get some order on the shelves. Right now everything is in baskets and things fall at the drop of a hat. Also Fiber Dog snatches stuff from the lower shelves.

I finished the mittens in a week and despite trying them on, found them a little small. The shaping decreases make the shape faster than needed so I guess on my next pair, I will knit longer before finishing. A super pattern from Ann Budd but I didn’t like the little holes from the M1 increases for the thumb gusset; I think I would like to use a different method.
I started a hat for DH from the same handspun as the mittens but I need to spin/ply some more before doing more. I also used my bulky flyer to ply some more Leicester (actually all the Leicester) and that needs to be finished off. I need to spin more of that also. I don’t think I have enough for two sleeves. I should weigh it and see.
I hate my scale: I bought on ebay and I don’t like the way it locks the weight for at least 10 seconds before going to zero. Sounds little but is an eternity if you are weighing a lot of stuff. I also think it is not tht accurate.

Drum Carding

pamulla — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:00:37 +0000

Drum Carded Batt: Gotland Fleece Rhinebeck

The Gotland Fleece I bought at Rhinebeck this year is lovely with about a 4″ staple and 2 crimps to the inch, more curl than crimp. The color is charcoal with some silver and some brown tips. There is also some other fiber that must come from different parts of their body that is short, very crimpy to almost frizzy and matte black. I did a number of different things to try it out: the festival worker suggested spinning it in the grease from the locks. I tried this but I found it a little hard to draft and hard to be consistent. Then, I washed several flats, not really organizing the locks like I did with the Leicester. I fluffed them rather than flick carded them and spun them up. There was a lot of variation in color and although more consistent, still some lumps and bumps and variation.
I found a drum carder, a Strauch Finest, on ebay and won the auction. It arrived on Monday so I read the directions, watched a few UTube videos, and set about it. I fluffed the fiber and tried to feed evenly and not to overload it. I didn’t separate by fiber color/type but tried for some homogenous blending. I got a big batt, nothing like the purchased roving I have worked with and it seemed a little too loosey goosey but I tried spinning it. I worked on trying for a supported long draw; it was somewhat successful and I like the resulting single. In the following picture the bottom bobbin is spun from the lock and the upper bobbin is the carded fiber. I need to scour some more fiber for the next run and this time when I card it, I will separate the different types of fiber, similar to the article in the latest Spinoff. My finished product is still a little inconsistent but I am happy with it. Of course, I will continue to experiment with the drum carder.

Comparison of Different Fiber Prep Singles

On another note, I have finished one mitten out of California Red. It is a little still but the color is pretty and it will be warm. The second cuff is half done and I should be finished with the pair soon. I still have some plied yarn on the bobbin waiting to be finished if I need it and plenty of roving to spin. I am still not used to spinning worsted; I didn’t agitate it or whack it or anything.
I also finished the Three Rivers Yarn and it needs to be wound into a ball. It was a little fragile in places and broke; I guess it could have used more twist. It is funny but I seem to overspin the long fibers and under spin the short ones.

New Look at Leicester

pamulla — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 17:30:30 +0000

Shawl Collar Sweater: back and ribbing for front

I have been knitting the back and the front of the Shawl Collar Sweater from the book Knitting for Him by Martin Storey. I found the best fabric using size US10 needles and I will wet block it to make the spaces fill in a little although I think it will be plenty warm. Fairly scratchy, but with the shawl collar, easy enough to wear something underneath. I had some trouble unwinding some of the storage bobbins when I was plying and I don’t know what was up with that, however most worked out quite well. I still have a few more to ply but I think I will need to start spinning more soon. I have a huge bag of locks to use but they need some flicking before I spin from the fold.

In other news, I finished spinning the bump from MSWF, the red stuff from MSWF Three Rivers booth and I want to use it to warp my rigid heddle loom. I got the trestle stand for my birthday but I need an adapter kit because my loom is older than 2/2010 when changes were made to the stand. I want to teach Jenn how to weave on it but we will see how that works out. I look at my little scarf from SE 2010 weaving class on my end table and just love it.

Three Rivers: Late October

I should probably pick up one of my UFOs to work on now that I am making this simple knit sweater, something that requires some brain cells and has been languishing in the bin for at least 5 and maybe 10 years. Otherwise, I will not allow myself to cast on anything new and cast on I want to do: Dark and Stormy sweater for myself in some yarn not yet purchased but eyed at Webs, Rowan Tweed; the jacket in Plymouth Tweed in cranbury from the Jean Frost Jacket Book; the shawl from the Wendy Bernard Lace book; another pair of dk/worsted socks for Hoshang to name a few.
Then the UFO bin: Inishmaan in Rowan Magpie Tweed; Celtic Aran in Jagger Aran; Galway in Plymouth Tweed; Espresso in Ultra Alpaca; generic crew neck with edge embellishments in Brown Sheep Worsted; a Dale of Norway stranded knit; Henry VIII; and some pattern in Kaunai; yoke sweater in Louet Riverstone; random single socks finished and unfinished. Please keep me away from Webs’ podcasts and yarn shops going out of business.
Last but not least, found a Strauch Finest Drum Carder on Ebay and won it at auction. No very robust bidding but it did get bid up from the initial asking price. It should be here soon and then I will have to find some time to learn how to use it. I have some fibers to try out but they themselves need a little work: Tunis-scouring and flicking; Wensleydale-flicking and fluffing; Leicester-flicking; I also have some mohair that I can blend with something, maybe the Tunis since it is white also and then try dying it. I need a pair of mittens and that could make some pretty ones.

Searching

pamulla — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 16:36:06 +0000

Click to view slideshow. This Leicester longwool has been a pleasure to look at but finding the right project for it has been a quest. I started a top down raglan with a pattern I cobbled from Ann Budd’s Sweater Pattern Book (need to look up the proper name) This sweater had a rolled neck with raglan sleeves. I knit the first ball of plied yarn and put it aside until I could ply some more yarn. When I picked it up, I didn’t like the neck at all; far too wide and gaping. Frogged.
Then, I looked through my patterns for something else. Cobblestone by Jared Flood came to mind. It is in an old Interweave Knits which is a treasure issue, full of great patterns. I started knitting but found that I had a hard time getting gauge (18/4) and my imperfect yarn was hard to keep in line. I dropped stitches and got the garter stitch parts messed up. The fabric was a little stiff. Frogged.
Next, a Jared Flood pattern from Wool called Ranger. A really nice slipped stitch cardigan. This was designed for his new yarn Shelter which is again 18/4. I started the sleeves and found that the gauge was off and the fabric was terribly thick. Glad it was only a cuff and part sleeve. Frogged.
I have two books dedicated to men’s sweaters: Knits Men Want by Bruce Weinstein and Knitting for Him by Martin Storey. There is a nice sweater with 1/2 Fisherman’s Rib (doesn’t knit into the stitch below) which is simple and nice. I have decided that a simple knit is better than anything fussy. I did a gauge swatch in the pattern and while it works to gauge, the fabric was think and the hairiness of the yarn obscured the textured stitch. Waste of time.
The Shawl Collar Sweater has a large gauge and I tried knitting a swatch on 10 1/2 needles. I got around 13-14/4 and 12 is needed. If I go up a size needle to an 11 (which is called for anyway), I think I can get gauge. The fabric is a little loose but I know if I wet block it will fill in. I am going to give this a try. It has contrast ribbing in a darker color. I can decide on that later by using a provisional cast on.
Actually, this yarn is a workout for the fingers and the smaller gauge actually bothers my L thumb, where I have a little arthritis. The goal is to have a wearable garment not armor that will stand up by itself so the quest for the right project and the correct gauge.
Going forward, I think it should be spun thinner or perhaps think weaving?

Some New Pictures and New Wool

pamulla — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 16:21:11 +0000

I took a class from JC Briar at Stitches East 2011 called Slick Set-In Sleeves to knit a sleeve from the shoulder down using short rows to shape the cap. Once the sleeve is finished, the body and sleeves are knit together by removing a provisional cast-on from the underside of the sleeve to generate live stitches. It is all quite ingenious and seamless. Click to view slideshow. I, however, screwed up the first set of instructions and knit too many short rows at first. This added a little pouf to the top of the sleeve but no big deal. My problem was trying to remember how I did it so I could replicate it on the second sleeve. I also forgot how to do the provisional cast-on and ended up using a traditional one and later picking up stitches. The side with the PCO looks much smoother, needless to say. My SIL learned Japanese short rows, which I need to look into which eliminates the wrap and closes up the hole by slipping a stitch.

I swatched some of the Plymouth Tweed to see what it looked like for the jacket I want to do from Jean Frost’s new book Custom Fitted Jackets and from whom I took a class from at Stitches East 2011. I am going to make one of the starter jackets and see how the custom fitting works out.

I ordered a lb of California Red from Applerose Farm in NJ after seeing it advertised on the Fleece Sale board on Ravelry. Gotta stay off there. This is the source that Sasha reviewed on the Spin Doctor podcast last fall and it was every bit as nice as she says. It is creamy with red hairs in it which give it a rosy tone, the roving is springy and crisp. It is not reputed to be a soft fleece but this one is not terribly harsh. I am thinking of plying it to bulky weight and knitting a pair of felted clogs from it if I can find a top loader washing machine to felt in. I have perfected my long draw with this roving and it is really a lot of fun to spin.

I have wound off a few storage bobbins of Gotland. Gryphon, the fiber dog, got a hold of one and started chewing it but he didn’t do much damage (none to the singles and a little to the bobbin but it looks like it will still work. I am thinking that this will become the Boyfriend Jacket from the Jean Frost book.

Finally, a 3 day weekend to pay homage to the vets, sit by the fire, and get some chores done in that order. I seem to be stuck by the fire. OH and Happy Birthday Gryphon

Gotland spun

pamulla — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:18:30 +0000

Gotland on the bobbin

I spun a full bobbin of scoured Gotland using the short forward. I first pulled the locks apart and spun from the butt end. As I have said, some locks are shiny, silky, and the black ones seem tight and frizzy. But when mixed together, they all look very pretty. This is a very pretty fleece. I got 2 x .8 ounces and 1 x .6 off a pretty full bobbin. I didn’t weigh the fiber before I spun; I am just not that organized.
I used a manual bobbin winder from Harrisville to wind the storage bobbins. I tried to measure the length using my fishline counter but it seemed to be going backwards and forwards. Whatever those people did at Nancy Knick Knacks or whatever they’re called to McGyver their fishline counter to work I can’t figure it out.

Winding on the Storage Bobbins

I think this will make a pretty sweater or jacket. I am going to try different plies to see what is best. I still have a butt load of fiber to wash but I also have enought to spin for a while.
I ordered some California Red roving from Apple Rose Farm. I have heard it is pretty coarse and it has red hairs in it that give it the tinted color. I will try spinning it and if I like it, I can get a fleece. I have quite a bit of fiber to spin up but I don’t feel any pressure to get it done. The stuff I bought last year at Rhinebeck is just not that great, probably because I had it processed.
ETA: The CA Red came today and it is creamy with a slight warm glow. It is somewhat rough but it spins easily with modified long draw. I am not proficient enough to do a long draw. I am spinning a more thick single but it is pretty consistent. Good fiber prep makes all the difference in the experience! Pictures to come.

Stitches East and Rhinebeck Wrap Up

pamulla — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:19:06 +0000

Click to view slideshow.I was anxious to sample this fleece and tried spinning in the grease without any prep per the suggestion of one of the Rhinebeck fleece workers. It was not too greasy but it was not easy to draft and it was hard to make a consistent single. I don’t think I like spinning in the grease. At Stitches East, my SIL washed some locks and it made a big difference, so I did a few trays. I didn’t arrange them on the trays but I did 4 trays with a hot soak, hot scour, and several hot rinses. It took a few days for the fleece to dry. I was surprised how much dirt came out. Then, I just fluffed it with my fingers and spun from the lock, sheared end and I was very pleased with the results.
The following weekend after NYSW 2011 was Stitches East 2011 in Hartford. My Sil and I met at my school in Milford and we packed my Jeep for the trip, an hour. We stopped for supplies (food and wine) and got there in plenty of time. We brought entirely too much stuff: the disadvantage of traveling by car. We needed two carts to get to the room. In retrospect, we didn’t need the spinning stuff: our class didn’t make use of our wheels other than to show them and we didn’t have time to spin. I wouldn’t bring that much stuff unless I really needed it for a class.
I bought a few books, some notions and yarn for a shawl and a Jean Frost jacket. The shawl yarn is Madelinetosh DK and the other is Plymouth Tweed. Seems to be discontinued and Webs was discounting. I really like it but they didn’t bring the full color range and didn’t replenish the stock over the show.
I liked my classes and learned some good info in all of them. I doubt that I will use the stitches I learned in the Jean Frost couture stitches class but she gave out a lot of info re: jackets which goes along with her new book. One of the great things XRX did was a measuring clinic at the Market; that is something you need an impartial observer to do if you want good fit.
The JC Briar setin sleeves class is very helpful although my SIL learned a better way to do short rows than to wrap the stitch in her Japanese Short Row class. Our spinning class was okay; refreshed my spindle spinning techniques. I booked out of my Latvian wrister class. I was done by Saturday afternoon and would consider taking less classes. The market was smaller this year with less Indi dyers but they were all at Rhinebeck the week before and at SAFF that weekend.
I did a gauge swatch with the tweed yarn and started figuring out my custom pattern based on my measurements. It is a little trickly. I might do the knitting on my knitting machine. We will see!