Friday, February 29, 2008
It's here!
Amazingly, even though I've never spun on a wheel before, it only took a few false starts before I was off and running. Still got a learning curve to work through, of course, but I think it helps that I could already spin on a spindle (at least drafting is nothing new!)
I ended up going for the Lendrum single treadle-- a great price, solid maple, treadles easily, plenty of accessories to add on as my skill/needs grow. Plus it folds up and stores in a handy bag! I didn't like the idea of double treadles, mainly because I don't want to have to sit "front and center" all the time and the single treadle reminds me of keeping time with my foot in band class-- more natural for me.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Quick break
For instance, I made a spindle!
It spins GREAT-- and for a loooooong time. Here's what I did:
Materials: An old size 11 bamboo needle (from a Suss Cousins shawl kit I bought years ago on clearance at Barnes and Noble), a round, flat stone with a hole in the center, about 2 1/4" in diameter (bought at Michael's for about $3 in the bead department), some stretchy illusion jewelry cord (had lying around, but originally bought at Michael's) and a small cup hook.
What to do: 1. Slip the stone over the needle, leave up at the top near the cap. 2. Beneath the stone, at the point you want the whorl to be, start wrapping the illusion cord TIGHTLY, narrower at the edges and thicker in the middle, about 1/2" wide in total, until the center of the cord wrapped part is a bit bigger than the hole in the stone. 3. Tie off the cord. 4. Gently force the whorl down over the cord wrapped part. It should be nice and snug. 5. Screw the cup hook into the cap of the needle.
That's it. You might want to put a dab of glue where the knot was tied to keep it secure (I did).
Also, I learned to Navajo ply on my spindle:
(The wool is some Blue Faced Leicester I bought at Knit Michigan from The Spinning Loft).
And here's the sock I haven't been knitting much lately:
That's it. Guess I'd better get back to work... especially because a really exciting thing is arriving on Thursday (my birthday is coming early this year!!) and I want to be able to play with it.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
And for my next trick...
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Valentiney Spinning
Monday, February 04, 2008
And the winner is...
Bizarre, yet nice
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Finished at Knit Michigan
Finally, at last, I finished the Frolic Socks (so called because I bought the yarn at the Knitter's Frolic last year in Toronto) yesterday at Knit Michigan. We had a great day of knitting, spinning, shopping, classes, food, Ravelry meetup, and just hanging out. I started myself a nice new fiber stash to go with my new hobby (okay, obsession). Fortunately I'm in for more of the same with my knitting friends today-- I'm hoping I can cross another long-suffering personal knitting project off my list before returning to "work knitting" on Monday.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Coziness
Even though I'm working on a few designs right now, I think I'm going to give myself the weekend off of "work" knitting and knit whatever I want tomorrow and Sunday. What a treat!! Next week I need to get a bunch of stuff off my plate (editing-wise and design-wise) but it can wait until Monday, I think.