leslee roberts :: shouting into the wind

koigu socks complete

i ended up having enough yarn to finish these socks -- it's the closest i've ever come to not having enough though:

berocco sox weaving

sox by berocco, 100 grams (440 yards), 4 ply, fingering, 14 wpi

intentions:

1. try out direct warping method

2. make a plain weave scarf

outcomes:

1. warping method needs practice; found out that i need to learn a whole lot more about the weaving concept of "sett" or how to space the fiber through the slots and holes of the heddle (i'm putting that on my list for my next weaving lesson). this weaving came out much more dense (and skinnier) than i thought it would. i also had a difficult time centering the warp evenly across the tension beam, the heddle and the cloth beam. i want to learn if there's a standard way to chart (or document the sett) so that i know how i produced a specific sample.

2. the scarf came out super tiny and the yarn is stiff and scratchy. it's softened up significantly since the second washing so i think that there might be some hope of actually wearing it.

here is the warping set-up -- i rigged up a couple of chairs. it was a creative solution that was only partially successful. after i had warped the entire piece, the chair fell over and i lost my crossover points, thereby making the ends a big mess

here is the beginning of the weaving:

here it is finished:

peg loom rug update

debbie's begun the experimental peg loom rug. here are some early pictures -- she says this rug is very, very soft:

Sheepie Dreams Farm

last month, urban fauna studio sponsored a one-day sheep retreat to sheepie dreams organic sheep farm in santa cruz. at the time, i couldn't find anyone interested in going with me but i signed up anyway and was able to car-pool to santa cruz.

the day was filled with many activities and the weather couldn't have been better!

there's a beautiful little tea house with a surrounding porch on the property.

it has an antique wheel, a drum carder and finished yarn and dyed locks inside and there are chairs and a rocking chair out on the porch -- a perfect place to spin and look out into the fields and watch the sheep.

we prepared and washed raw fleece:

we watched a dyeing demonstration with some of the plants on the property. we then got to gather our own plants and bring home some other things that would allow us to dye the fleece that we had prepped and washed.

there was hands-on dyeing, spindling, felting and a delicious lunch.

it was fun to watch the sheep being fed and to see the family snake, smoogles:

i bought some dyed romney locks (pink, yellow and blue) and natural dark brown wensleydale locks. here are the yellow and blue locks:

i used my drum carder for the first time and carded the pink into batts. i will be combining this pink batt with other colors and sparkle to finish the batts.

i used my hand cards for the first time and carded the wensleydale locks. i spun them into a single which i then plied with a single i had spun from hand-dyed merino wool from urban fauna studio:

i still haven't done the dyeing with the plants and the washed wool -- i'm saving that for another fun day.

works in progress

socks in progress: koigu kpppm, 100% merino wool, hand painted (dye code P511L dye lot 226). i'm worried about having enough yarn to complete these socks... will just have to wait and see:

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i'm spinning milk: well, actually it's milk protein fiber which is "dewatered and skimmed milk which is manufactured into protein skimming fluid suitable for wet spinning process by means of new bio-engineering technique. Milk protein is healthy for skin, comfortable, with bright colors due to good dye ability." creatively dyed yarn, hand dyed, 20% milk protein / 40% silk / 40% wool.

beginning weaving

last saturday i spent a few hours with vickie, a weaving teacher i was introduced to by jamie at urban fauna studio. i brought my +30 year old Beka rigid heddle loom (20") which grammy gave to me all those many years ago. i had never used it. i finally learned how to set up the warp and to do some basic weaving.

i enjoyed it so much that i finished this first piece by sunday evening. when it first came off the loom, it was pretty stiff but after washing and drying, it softened up a lot. i wore it to work yesterday. this scarf is done in cotton -- blue warp and purple weft which makes for a pretty electrifying color combination. The decorative part is done with a pick-up stick used to raise different warp threads to make the pattern.

after i finished the scarf, i decided that i'll be doing a lot more weaving so i sanded down the loom and refinished it with bee's oil. it's beautiful cherry and hardwood maple, soft and wonderful to the touch now that it's had a little loving care.

i'll be bringing the scarf with me to my next lesson so that we can go over some of the problems and little boo boos which occurred.

i'm going to warp up the loom again with some wool and begin another project soon.

super coil yarn for peg loom rug

i recently sent debbie a big bag of falkland wool roving and this super coil yarn which i spun on my mach 1 spinning wheel. she's going to experiment with making a peg loom rug for me with it. i can hardly wait to see how it works out!