Thank you for an amazing show today! You all made it so special to be here and record with you. We had so much to talk about – namely, spinning consistent yarns and continually trying to improve, and sweater knitting. We always seem to fall down rabbit holes when it comes to sweaters! Thank you again!
Thank you for being here today, especially those who were able to make it to the Live Stream. I appreciate your time spent here in this place and me. I hope you feel most welcome because you are welcome here.
In today’s show, we chat about my finished Mariechen cardigan that I was able to cast off and block this past weekend. We also discuss a large finished spin: My Falkland yarn I’ve been working on since Knit City! Enjoy the show!
James made a weaving on the Ashford SampleIt loom! I helped him weave it off because he got a bit bogged down but he loves it.
Giveaway
Carded nests of fibre … need to make them! Getting out my carder this weekend and will share them on the next show. We will draw a winner the first show of December! In the Episode Thread for November on Ravelry, please tell us what you find the HARDEST thing about making. It might be something general or specific … but what is something you find the hardest, besides time. For me, I find the project planning and stash the hardest part. Because we don’t have a lot of room for my stash, I find I look at it and wonder about it a lot of the time and it takes up space in my brain! I would like to free-up that space to think about the actual projects themselves and deeper thoughts about making in general.
Breed & Colour Studies
Megan (@lykkemeg) posted in the Slack channel her two yarns for the study. Totally in love with both of these yarns – one is thick n’ thin then spiral plied and the other is a gradient. She broke apart the colours and spun to 2 bobbins, then made a traditional 2-ply. Note the twist angle and how bouncy the yarn appears – amazing fibre characteristics!
I made 2 yarns. For the white fiber I stripped it into 6ths. I took care NOT to spin them end to end with the same color first, but at random. I made a thick and thin singles. For someone that is normally a consistent sweater spinner type, it was weird to just let it go! Then I did a spiral ply with a 100% silk sewing machine thread in wine color. I love how it keeps the white and colors just barely blended and intact.
For the full color braid, I broke it into color segments and then spun the color segments together end to end to 2 different bobbins to make a 2 ply gradient. I did high twist singles and high twist 2 ply at about a thick fingering weight. I spun short forward worsted. I have only spun polworth woolen before, so I was surprised and how shiny it was spun worsted!
Project to come……
Finished Objects
Mariechen by Isabell Kramer – Ravelry project page here
- Clun Forest spin, traditional 2-ply
- Alternating skeins
- Loving this stitch patterning with this yarn!
- 00mm needles for close gauge – knitting size S
- Soaked in Eucalan wash for ~45 minutes – finished fabric is lovely
- Traditional 2-ply, spun to three bobbins due to amount of fibre spun
- Worsted style – short backward, smoothing as I spun
- Plied from multiple bobbins to mix up the colours as much as possible – will still be knitting by alternating skeins to really mix the colours up
- Still thinking about the Copenhagen cardigan idea …. Need to swatch next and calculate yardage
Copenhagen Cardigan by Petite Knits
- Westcoast Colour Falkand, striped and pre-drafted
- Moderate to high twist
- Traditional 2-ply, light fingering weight
- Will be knit with Mohair/Silk blend from local dyer – Farmers’ Daughter Yarns
Works in Progress
Hyssop by Leila Raven
- Ripped out a previous knit to re-claim this yarn
- Was torn about which pattern to choose out of Leila’s new book, To The Point: The Knitted Triangle.
- Wanted to knit something that would really showcase the yarn because this is still to this day one of my favourite yarns! Chose the pattern with the wrapped stitches
- Pattern calls for aran weight yarn – substituting sport/light DK and downsizing my needles to 4mm from the called for 5.5mm for a slightly smaller shawl
Shifty by Andrea Mowry
- Super inspired by Hanna (habiho – post no. 366 & finished post no. 373) of our Handspun Sweater Makers thread on Ravelry!
- Part of my capsule wardrobe that we will be discussing in The Wool Stream
- Started spinning the green, main colour for the sweater: Westcoast Colour, BFL & Silk
- Traditional 3-ply, 300 grams
- Spinning to a WPI of 12-13 for sport weight to match the one called for in the pattern
Weaving
Tea towels & bath sheets for the girls (Norah & my niece) – 2/8 cotton and cottolin
- Will discuss them when I am finished – weaving at 18EPI
- Have not had a chance to really work on them over the past couple of weeks
- See The Wool Stream for more!
Housekeeping
Be sure to sign up for the Wool n’ Spinning Newsletter at welfordpurls.com
Unbraided – EBOOKS available here & book orders can be made here.
Changes to the publishing schedule means a steady drip of content all month! Please watch your Patreon emails for content that you are subscribed to as the month unfolds. At the moment, patrons of Wool n’ Spinning Radio EARLY RELEASE is available, as well as the monthly teaching content for ALL patrons! This month, our 51 Yarns SAL this month is all about SINGLES! Please check out this post for the intro VLOG.
How I Spin this month is about finishing off our current Breed & Colour Studies. I’m knit my way through the yarns and share my FOs! Watch your Patreon notifications for the posts as they come available!
Support the Show for small business owners – information on the blog and/or email me directly for more.
Spinning Growth
Reminder to share your yarns and projects that you want to ‘reflect’ upon – it is an opportunity as a community to learn from our ‘mistakes’!
Thank you so much for joining me today! I hope you enjoyed it. Until then, Happy Spinning!
I really enjoy your show, Rachel. Always gives me food for thought and keeps my spin-jo humming!