One towel is done, and not without drama!
Toward the end, the warp was very tight on the ends, and looser in the middle. I really want these to turn out well, so I undid the warp and retied it so the tension was even. Well, after several times of winding and unwinding, it was finally right.
Here’s the obligatory pic-the pink lines are where the towels will be separated when finished:
Here’s the beginning of my first attempt at towels:
Valley Yarns 10/2 Cotton, 483 ends. This was supposed to be waffle-weave, but as I was threading the heddles, I realized I had made sure that I had enough heddles in total, but I was short on the 2 middle harnesses. As they’re string heddles, I wasn’t about to untie 60 of them on each of 2 heddles and re-tie them.
Plan B: Twill:
I can see where I either missed a treadle or…who knows? But, I am happy with the way they’re turning out so far (she says after about 3 inches of weaving)!
Here’s a closeup:
See the diagonals? Me too!
This guy joined us for spinning at the farm this morning:
Pretty, isn’t he?
We’re having a beautiful stretch of dry warm weather, and tomorrow is supposed to be in the 80′s, so today I’m washing the merino which I packaged up weeks ago.
Merino is a very greasy, yet delicate fleece, so it has to be handled carefully. I found instructions to soak it in a cooler, allowing the wash water to drain without handling it. Sold!
The little packets are soaking away, and the cooler is doing a great job of keeping the water hot-it’s around 160 degrees. Power Scour is what I’m using to cut the grease.
Updates to follow! Hope this works well…
In case you can’t tell from the picture, that water is nasty…
I LOVE the results! This is the finished yarn-can’t wait to knit it up!
Now that I’ve been spinning for a while, I want to make the fiber do what I want, instead of just spinning & seeing how it turns out.
My first attempt is fractal spinning, best explained here.
I started with a 4 oz braid of Falkland from Into the Whirled – here’s the bigger piece being spun:
I just love the colors in this fiber-I hope my spinning will do it justice!
About a year ago, I decided to try Miriam Tegels method of knitting. And here I am a year later. I think the last time I posted about it was actually the last time I tried it.
This time, I’m going to try the method by JaneAliceMarie, which is based on the Yarn Harlot’s knitting style.
Here goes…
Edie and I bought this fleece at Rhinebeck 2010 – it’s a 7 pound Merino fleece, so we decided to split it – and it’s been sitting here patiently ever since, waiting to be turned into yarny goodness.
Here it is, out of the bag – the second picture has the chair so you can get an idea of the size:
Here’s 1/2 of it, locks lined up & waiting to be put in tulle for washing:
If I can get this half bagged today, I can do some washing tomorrow – I have to accept that this isn’t an afternoon project, but will take a while to be finished. The last big fleece I washed (a 10 pound Border Leicester) ended up in the trash – I like this one too much to rush the project & possibly ruin the fleece.
Update: 12 tulle bags, ready for the wash. Only 1 column in the picture above is in the bags – the 2nd will have to wait for another day.
I am addicted to Golding spindles – they spin like a dream, and are truly little works of art. Here’s the latest acquisition:
CELTIC CROSS VII
2″ Cherry Whorl
Pewter Inset with Rhodonite Gemstone
Sterling Silver Ring (Handtooled)
0.90 oz
Size 4 needles, figure 8 cast on, 16 stitches. Too wide – the silk isn’t stretchy.
2nd try – size 3 needles. Figure 8 cast on, wrap 12 times. Increase to 20 stitches.
