Adaptability Challenge

Worsted spinning was the topic of the day for my class yesterday. The challenge was to spin three different fleeces according to their own characteristics: bulky, medium and fine. Here are my merino and English Leicester samples at the end of the day:

The English Leicester on the right is more than twice the thickness of the merino sample and it has less than half the amount of twist. So, what's so hard about that? The challenge lies in the fact that most of the difference in the spinning comes through my hands

• the amount of fibre I allow through my fingers to form the yarn
• the amount of twist I allow to build up in the yarn before it is wound on to the bobbin
• the amount of tension on the fibre as it forms into a yarn

. . . all the time maintaining a steady rhythm of treadling with my feet.

It was a good exercise and I have plenty to work on over the next few weeks. For starters, the merino sample I managed yesterday was only 4 grams--I need 20 grams for my folio. I also have to do a sample of Corriedale which is the in between fleece--that shouldn't be too challenging, now that I've worked at the extremes.

And Back Again

Back to the Guild this morning for another day of classes. Spinning this time. I jokingly suggested I should just take my sleeping bag yesterday, but I don't think I could fit the stuff I need for both classes in my car at the same time!

Now What?

A couple of months ago, I provided a blow by blow description of what it takes to get me to the Guild on the morning of a weaving class: from packing the car to finally arriving in the teaching area, coffee in hand. This morning one of my classmates got into trouble in that process. She was running late, and decided to park her car across the road and carry her loom, but she couldn't do without her morning coffee. I got back from the coffee shop with my customary latte and chocolate muffin to find her in this state:

I was cruel enough to snap the pic before going to give her a hand. She was kind enough to give me permission to use the pic:)

Counting Carefully

I was warned that the last exercise in our weaving homework would be time consuming and fiddly. That warning was so right!

Unfortunately the program that powers this blog has decided to orient my picture sideways--I've tried twice to fix it and I've had no luck, so please turn your head at right angles to the screen and have a look at the fiddly, time consuming cute little pictures I did for my homework: The technical word is brocade. Each little bit of colour is a different combination of shafts raised on the loom and in between each bit of colour there's a thread of plain weaving to stabilise it. Sometimes there are two colours on one line. You can also see where I mis-counted in doing the heart shapes and missed one of those tiny little red lines, but I'd already unpicked it once to fix another mistake, so that one is going to stay there. It reminds me of counted cross stitch, which I used to do once upon a time, but somehow grew out of the patience required.

So, I guess this is an example of the detail available on an 8-shaft loom. Not my favourite so far, but there you go, I'm not really in the mood for counting carefully today.

Washing Day

I've got a busy weekend coming up at the Guild. Today I'm working to get everything prepared. That means catching up with my weaving homework and washing fleece ready for Sunday's spinning classes.

We're working on worsted spinning using three different fleeces: a Merino, a Corriedale and an English Leicester. Because it's worsted spinning, I want to keep my wool as tidy as possible while I wash it. That way I can preserve the lock formation and keep the fibres all parallel. I need to have scoured fleece to go through the wool combs. I've tried using Gutter Guard (or gutter mesh) once before and was really pleased with the result:

• washed fleece at the front, all ready to comb
• behind it, some fleece still in it's mesh sandwich
• and a new roll of Gutter Mesh--from the cheap shop, because I'm going to need lots and I don't see the point of paying full price:)

Washing fleece is one of those jobs that can't be rushed. I put it to soak in hot water yesterday morning. This morning I started by draining that off, then soaked it in hot water and detergent. Then a couple of rinses and now it's on the line drying--still in it's mesh sandwich. I'm hoping it will dry happily, despite the stormy wet weather we've been having. By the way, if you're worrying about the hot water, it's ok--I mean hot to touch, not hot-hot and remember, the fleece isn't moving around. Meanwhile, back to my weaving.

Made for Me!

I had a visit from a friend this morning. Not only did she drive from Ballarat to see me for a few hours, she brought gifts! Hand-knitted socks in my colours and a fridge magnet which fits me almost as well as the socks do: Never before have I owned a pair of hand-knitted socks. T made sure they would be the right size by cleverly measuring my forearm some many months ago. They fit perfectly and they are so incredibly foot-shaped and warm and smooth and lovingly made. Thank you, thank you.

By the way, if you can't quite read the cute lettering on the sign, it says, "I am creative . . . I can't be neat too!"

One Skein Wonders

I'm just home after a few days interstate, and happily re-united with my textile to do list. High on the list is planning my "One Skein Wonders" workshop, which is scheduled at CCCK later this month. To get my planning juices bubbling I've pulled this little neck warmer out of the box: It's made from just 50 grams of hand-dyed wool. That certainly qualifies it for the "one skein" category. It's small, vibrant and surprisingly warm to wear. And it's a hot favourite as far as colour impact goes.