Unlocked Episode 144 Live: The Shift, SiMPLE SOMETHiNG WIP & colour play
Dear Spinning Circle,
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.
Enjoy the show!
NEW! Virtual Spin Group! There’s been a call from the community for many months (ehem, years) for a virtual spinning group! There is LIMITED SPACE and the link is here (look to join the “Spinning Group” tier!) to learn more. We hosted our first one yesterday and we had a great time!
Attentive Spinners! Be sure to sign up for the Doodle to be part of Wool n’ Spinning Radio in the new year! We will be working on Word Prompt episodes and if you are a part of the Attentive Spinner tier – you are invited to join!!
Community Participation
For March, I’ll be sending out another 4oz of Shetland in pin-drafted form from Disdero Ranch in Tappen, BC. Please enter in the March Episode Thread and answer: What is your favourite YARN you’ve even spun & why?
For February, we’re still looking at the answers to Amy’s question: what is the item that you made that you love to wear the most and why?
My most lived item…I don’t have many to choose from because I often gift my hand knots to friends and family, but I finished my Nellissimo Shawl around a month ago, and I think I can count on one hand the number of days I haven’t worn it since then.
Community-wide call to everyone in the community to participate in our Crafty Jaks Along to honour some of the people in our community! Cast on date: April 1st, 2020 with cast off deadline July 31st, 2020
Prizes! There will be fun prizes! Read the post linked above for details!
This is a time to do what we do best and get creative. This is the time to make and lift up others – please read Rebecca’s blog post to learn more about this Makealong and event if you would like to learn more about the creation of this amazing event.
Excited to be casting on with Katrina’s B-fabu-licious yarn in an OOAK that she had in stock (that I love) and making Anker’s Cardigan by PetiteKnits, a PURELY selfish knit at this time!
Handspun Thread in Ravelry – Example of a Zero to Hero Make-Along Project
Liz – @XtremeYarnbyZan (post no. 128) posted about her Zero-to-Hero:
This will go on my loom at some point…1,330 yards so far, with probably another 1300ish to be plyed. I am spinning it specifically to weave with but I am not sure what it will end up being in tge end
UPCOMING Yarn Substitution Content – May – August 2020
Our mini-series trailer was released back in January and I have been working on this content in the background for a long time! I hope you will watch the TRAILER and find out more. An Intro video will be released at the end of April/early May to get you started.
Breed & Colour Studies
In December’s newsletter, I shared the beginnings of my Breed & Colour Study thoughts that will be vlogged about in the How I Spin content beginning January 2020. For the initial thoughts, please have a look here (YouTube). Part I and Part II of my personal study are now available! Part I can be found here. And Part II can be found here. Both are part of the How I Spin content released monthly!
Mariko (kosamari, post no. 143) says:
I just finished my Breed & Colour Study. I got 2 sets (four 4oz braids) thinking I’ll spin for a garment or something substantial. For few months, I could not make up my mind on how I would spin the entire braid, so decided to treat it like color mixing study in the end. I broke up braids in to 14 different color / combo. Maybe I could’ve come up more combinations but I kept one braid as whole.
After some sampling of combination drafting and well blended one using hand cards, decided to put thru each color combination to a drum card just once keeping fiber aligned as much as possible. This distributed colors evenly but not blend to one color. I also kept small strip of fiber in sample card so I remember what the original color looked like.
The braid that was left as whole, I striped down vertically to pencil roving size and spun randomly into two bobbins.
End result is 14 20g-ish minis and a full 100g hank.
Some colors I predicted how it would look (like blue + white, or pink + yellow), the most surprising one was “just yellow” one. Even tiny bit of teal (because yellow and teal was dyed next to each other) tints the color a lot.
I also was surprised how different the carded batt drafts compare to the top even if the fibers are still mostly aligned.
Organic Polwarth is something I spun before, and absolutely love the puffiness even when spun from combed top.
Since minis make few nice fade sets (pink and red, blues, and tinted ones), I’m going to stash them for now and use it in accessories when I find good pattern for them.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Make NINE Progress
Making some changes to my projects that I would like to make this year, based on some purchases from ‘Fibres West’ last weekend & thinking about what I would like to make, wear & add to my wardrobe.
Many recent changes have resulted in some major purging of my closet so I have been thinking about what I’d like to add & make!
Thoughts have lead me to some simple, cropped sweaters & some really lovely lace, open-front cardigans that can double as ‘jackets’ in the Spring and Fall
Make Nine Ravelry page – changing & fluid project page as things progress, my thoughts solidify & I think about what to commit to going forward
Work in Progress – Knitting
SiMPLE SOMETHiNG by Ankestrick
Loving how this is working up – holding yarns double throughout process
Cast on contrasting yarns at top neck
Construction: top-down with raglan increases and short rows at back-neck
Larger gauge than pattern so separated from yoke early for sleeves
Intuition for colour blending based on her suggestions in the pattern – extensive instructions for colour blending, which is very helpful
Felix Cardigan by Amy Christoffers
Back to this cardigan again! Ripping to re-knit in slightly different shape that I will wear more!
Decided to do some stash diving for some forthcoming content that I am developing & felt inspired by this yarn
Swatched on Monday morning – dried quickly due to the loose gauge & stitch count
Loving knitting with it – enjoying the simplicity of this design & quickness
The Shift by Andrea Mowry
Continuing to plug away – on the decreases now & close to being finished!
Still loving the colour movement & texture
Perfect project for 3 skeins of wonderful handspun that coordinates in some way but is different enough to be showcased nicely!
Beginning the swatching process on Pesuta & Fractured Dawn to get an idea of gauge and changes I need to make for modifying the pattern to fit.
Lambda by Ellen Wright
Cast this on to work with Custom Woollen Mills yarn that I bought back in July 2020 from Whitehorse, Yukon
Wanted to rip and re-knit because I didn’t want this to fall into deep stash
Loving the set-up & lace – might be a slightly too tight gauge; loosen to 5.5mm
Housekeeping
Be sure to sign up for the Wool n’ Spinning Newsletter at welfordpurls.com.
For softcover copy of How I Spin: A Sock Study, follow here.
Unbraided – EBOOKS available here & book orders can be made here.
Thank you so much for joining me today!
Until then, Happy Spinning!
