Getting Ready

Tuesdays are my Stitch 'n Bitch day at Four Leaves Cafe, so armed with my now started top down jumper, courtesy of 'Knitting from the top' by Barbara Walker, I have something to do!

Then, I have to get busy and work on this lovely fleece from Sheila Kempson at Perrynook, that I've washed to get ready for the plying class that I'm giving for the Handweavers and Spinners Guild Spinning Certificate course. 

I have to fill two bobbins and then start plying!

 Any wind the rest of the yarn ready for my jumper.

Not another Mystery KAL!

As I seem to be spending my time today doing anything but important things that do need doing, I might as well add in a blog entry, for good measure.

My wasting time project is the HWSG Mystery Knit A-Long that has been divulged over the last four Treadles newsletters. You can catch up with others that are also participating, at Ravelry on the Guild's Forum.

I'm not usually very good at the KAL's as I either run out of time or enthusiasm, but I've decided to do this one with the dual purpose of supporting this lovely effort and making a blanket for my oldest son.

So far I've completed the first three along with two filler squares. I'm using blue for the pattern squares and brown for the fillers, all from stash. Yet another attempt to stash bust!

So, today I finished the second brown square for last month and have now started this month's square. Called 'Sea of Cables' it gives me a good chance to practice cabling without a cable needle. It is possible. Here's a video to show you how. Isn't it wonderful what you can learn on the net, though I did learn how to the old-fashioned way, in a class. 

Catching a train tomorrow, so more knitting!

Five on Friday - what on earth have I been doing?

Well, I have been overseas, and yes, there will be photos, but I'm still sorting them out!

Here are my Five on Friday. I have started working well this week and am feeling active, we arrived back at the end of July after 6 weeks away and it's taken 4 weeks (or more!) to get my act together.

From the last experimental spinning, where we worked with Blending boards, I've spun up this, and it's nearly finished! We're at experimental this Saturday (the 5th) where we'll be spinning embroidery threads and the rooms will be buzzing with activity as the Handweavers and Spinners Guild has a Spinning Open day from 11 till 3pm.

I need to practice my weaving and thought I'd try something simple! A spaced warp with a separate warp for a little bit of seersucker. Warp looks good.

Actually weaving very nicely, except the seersucker is just a softness, rather than a bubble. Maybe when it's washed. 

I'm not supposed to buy anything this year, but couldn't resist the amazing fleece from Andyle when the Black and Coloured Sheepbreeders came to the guild. One of the few meetings I attended. It's been sitting in my car.

Thought I'd better spin up said fleece. It's gorgeous, happy so far.

 And I did fit a bit of knitting in as well.

Five on Friday - Five Finished Yarns

I did manage to do a bit of spinning over the Summer break. I have my Ashford Traveller permanently at our beach house, so I can swap bobbins between my two Ashford Wheels.

I've finally washed the skeins and reskeined half of them, all I have to do now is photograph, measure and put them on Etsy, the least enjoyable part of the job. Anyway, here they are:

A fibre sandwich from the Harrietville weekend, plyed with purple. Have more to go!

Alpaca, with knots throughout. Not my best knots, but always give that little extra texture.

Dyed wool from Kathy's Fibres, purchased at Bendigo, navaho plied to keep those gorgeous colours alive!

Dyed yarn from Experimental Spinning, plied with fine Polwarth from Tarndwarncoot. The fine single was not scoured, so was scoured AFTER plying. The two different fibres reacted differently and I manage to get a slightly more textured two ply.....deliberately!

This is English Leicester and was spun for a non-spinning Leanne who won it at a Harrietville weekend. I think we'll be able to make a pouch for phone and keys when she goes on one of her photographic expeditions.

I've now started several more spinning projects....but I must finish the Samoyed!

Lessons learnt at Harrietville

No, this is not a tale of woe, but a celebration of the weekend away at Harrietville, in the Victorian Alps, organised by the Handweavers & Spinners Guild of Victoria (thanks Marilla, Diane! and Dorothy for bringing the shop).

 You book in before Christmas, never seems to come, and then it's over in a flash!

This year I attended two classes, properly, and watched in another. Unusual, as I just like to sit around, drink coffee and knit or spin. Some of that did get done, as well as the catching up with friends and making new ones!

The first class I attended was the Moebius cast-on with Nicole. This is the Cat Bordhi method of cast on and what fun it was. Spun your head around a little, but once past that it's just knit.

This is my first one, in progress. I decided to go big, I mean BIG! With 8mm needles, a fine kid mohair, I cast on 150 sts and then proceeded to use ALL the yarn. Usually, I can get two decent sized cowls with this, but decided to be extravagant.

This is the result and it's gorgeous. You can see how it twists quite nicely, and there's lots of it.

I have immediately begun another. This time, same needles, same yarn, but now only fifty stitches. You can see how the needle is a double loop, as with the cast on, you cast on down the middle and work outwards on both sides. It means, somewhere in the middle the twist means that you effectively change sides. This is a little mind blowing, as you can just knit and end up with half purl and half knit ??? I think a mathematician would have a field day with that description, but, hey, I'm not a mathematician!

I'm trying for a five rows of knit and five rows of purl to give it bounce.

After this, I'm going to try another little one, but a more conventional use of yarn. An 8 ply and try and find a reversible stitch pattern.

Love Harrietville!

Little treasures on sale!

Yesterday the Handweavers and Spinners Guild of Victoria had one of the twice yearly Textile Bazaars they hold at their guild rooms. I generally try and get to these as they are that wonderful jumble of all sorts of textiley things that just makes you feel that if you hunt hard enough you might just find a treasure!

It was easier getting there this year as it was held on the same day as Experimental Spinnning. I was still later than I wanted to be and sadly followed a big bus load of ladies down from the country on a road trip, and, the early crowds. Oh well.

I did manage to pick up a few little gadgets that I will add to my weaving equipment. A rug beater, another simple shuttle, some plastic bobbins that I will work out if my bobbin winder can handle and crochet hooks.

More crochet hooks! They look good!

AND, there was a treasure...

Eventually worked out what it was, a cone winder, or holder, not sure which, but potentially useful nevertheless. It has 'Passap' on it and I assume it is meant to be used in conjunction with a knitting machine. I will be useful somewhere....Luv it!

Back from Harrietville

The annual Handweavers and Spinners Guild weekend at Harrietville at the Mountain View Retreat, proved to be slightly different from the past few years. This year, my photographer friend, Leanne, was asked to take a class teaching us how to take photos of our work. This encouraged me to take my photography a little more seriously, so each morning I took a quick walk to get some exercise and take in the surrounds.

We also stayed on an extra night and went off to Lady Bath falls in the Mount Buffalo National Park, Leanne, to take photographs, me to sketch and Rhonda wandered further on. A lovely afternoon, that was terminated by the impending storm. Funny sitting in sunshine, listening to thunder!

I liked my photographs, you should see Leanne's, but had a frustrating weekend with my spinning. Note: DON'T drop oil on your drive band, it will slip for the rest of the weekend! It's my new wind wheel and it's still not quite right, nearly.

We drove back through Milawa where we stopped at Brown Brothers and I tasted and bought some wine for my husband. Oh, and I managed to stop at First Editions going up, to buy, and going down, to introduce my friend Rhonda to their wares!