Bollywood yarns

This month at Experimental Spinning, we were playing with plying with a Bollywood theme. I brought some recycled sari silk yarns that I had purchased in San Remo. These provided the inspiration for colour combinations.

I'm not sure I quite achieved a real Bollywood effect, but they're very bold yarns.

There was some discussion about cable and crepe yarns. My take on this is that if all singles are plyed together at the same time, then it's a cable yarn. The yellow is my cable yarn. If the yarn is built up with successive plyings then it's a crepe yarn. The crimson yarn. They give very different effects. I think I might follow up this line with some research. In the name of accurately and consistently describing yarns, it might be worth it.

Puff yarn scarf

I think I'm in love. I took my Country Conference puff yarn down to the beach, just to knit it up quickly and see how it looks. It looks wonderful. I'm definitely going to make more of this yarn.

I knit on 15mm needles for this scarf as it proved to give a reasonably dense fabric.

I did try on 20mm needles, it was very open and if there was enough yarn, this would make a great shawl as it was very bouncy.

I love weaving, sometimes

Finally warped up my loom to make some of my 'Woven Memories' hangings. I thought I'd play with using my handspun yarns and recycled materials. I have my Experimental Spinning Birthday skein to make one for me, and I'll make a couple for sale.

This has got to have been the worst warp I've ever done. I like to think that I'm careful and don't make many mistakes. That nylon wire has made an idiot out of me. I did finally get it all right, then a broken thread. This stuff is hard to handle. No excuse, I've done it before!

I am happy, though with the way it's weaving. It should look spectacular at the beach.

I did retrieve my knitting from the beach and have, sort of, finished it. I'm not happy with the neckline and will open it up a bit more. I didn't finish the front twisted cable panels properly, just for this possibility. It's the right size, but is a bit tight around my tummy. Hopefully, it will be all right with a pair of jeans.

I'm still not sure if I'm totally happy with this jumper. We'll see after I fix the neckline.

I bought some socks.

As part of my checking out Etsy, I decided to buy something to see how it all works. Not being a great shopper, this proved more difficult than I thought. I did, finally, find these socks. Aren't they gorgeous?

They're made of recycled cotton. The originals are handknit, but they're made on a knitting machine, I assume a sock knitting machine, of course. They are made in pairs, but are "Mismatched with care in Vermont". I just love the deliberate mismatching.

The shop on Etsy is Rustic Seasons.

Altona Oil Refinery

The 3D5S trip for September was to Altona Oil Refinery. Meeting at the guild, and travelling together, we managed a side stop at docklands, where ships were being loaded with their containers. The structures here are amazing.

The trip to the Refinery had involved liaising with the public relations people who were very helpful and we were able to take photographs from around the perimeter without the interference. Security is obviously tight, sitting on all that flammable liquid must make you nervous at the best of times.

It is an amazing facility, which I don't think that those of us who have only ever driven past, are really ever aware of. There are pipes everywhere, it makes you wonder what they are all for.

It's going to be interesting to see how these translate into crochet and weaving when we meet next month. A fabulous trip.

Don't judge a book by its' cover

Looking for inspiration is always a pleasant experience.

I managed to find a Nicky Epstein book, only to find that it was on hold. Looking for a second time, I was a little desperate, I couldn't walk out of the library without something. This book did not look promising. Terrible looking 70's thing with an uninspiring title. It turned out that it was written in 2005. Couldn't someone have done better, there is very little that draws you to this book.

Except when you open it. It is full of fantastic ideas, swatches, techniques. I love it. I spent the evening just looking through it.

So excited was I that a small ball of leftover yarn was converted into a little sample of icords being included in the knitting, not just as a trim. I could see them going all over the place, both sides and extremely long.

I love libraries.

teesjourney on Etsy

It's official, I now have a shop on Etsy. (www.etsy.com) The shop is called 'teesjourney'. I've only got a few things up there, but it's a start. I've already had a few views and someone has put me on their favourites list. Very lovely. I just have to wait for the first sale.

It's quite a process setting up, deciding on your look, the banner, postage, pricing and the worst of all, photographs. I hope I will be quicker and resolve some of the problems with some colours. I would like to think that colourwise they are accurate. There's more to do in terms of putting information and doing promotion, and I tackle those things over the next few weeks.

I now have three weeks to the next 9"x5" market......I do tend to mark my time by each market....I am feeling the need to do something more creative than the fingerless mittens I need to make, the silk scarves and now silk yarn I would like to finish. The sculpture beckons, so lots of spinning of paper, but I think I need a big weaving job? Have to think.

This is not a block, I have plenty of ideas, just the desire for something substantial?