DesigKnit

Branden and I spent last weekend learning how to silk screen.

The “why” is kind of a long story, but it has to do with a new, non-knitting project that’s been going on in the background lately. It all started a few months ago when Johnny* (a blog writer I follow) was bored and felt that things needed some shaking up.

*Warning: Johnny likes to swear. That’s not the tone of my site, so I want to give fair warning before you go clicking over there and being shocked. Photos to follow also include edgier language than you usually see here. If at work or otherwise in public, consider yourself forewarned.

So, Johnny had a project in mind to get things moving. He’s generally in the business of inspiring people to set out on their own and create their dream business, and runs into a lot of “I would, but…” kind of excuses. He’s also run into some people doing incredible things despite the odds. There’s Jon Morrow who became a real estate tycoon, despite the fact that he’s in a wheelchair and can’t even enter most of the houses he buys and sells. There’s Warren McDonald who climbs mountains despite the fact that he lost both his legs in a climbing accident, and there are lots of others. I’ll bet you’ve even met a few of these people, the kind that Johnny calls “badasses.”

So the question is, if they can do it, why can’t the rest of us? Just think of how much the able-bodied world has to learn from those who have seen life’s challenges and then raised the bar. He wanted to get their stories told, both to honor them and to inspire the rest of us to get out of our own way and just do the things we’ve been dreaming of. And so, the Badass Project was born. (Johnny explains the project in full on his blog, if you’re interested.)

Honoring and enabling excellence is something I believe in. I’ve known a few badasses of my own, and I am excited to help bring their stories to light. So I stood up, and I got involved.

You’ve probably been around long enough to know that “I got involved” is often a bit of an understatement for me. I’m now officially running the fundraising effort for the first year of the project, among other things.

One of my various jobs is the task of obtaining t-shirts and other merchandise for the project. I’ve been poking around online, noticing how expensive it is to get t-shirts printed (did you know it costs $5 more per shirt if you want black instead of white??). We have ambitious fundraising goals, but nothing’s in the bank yet, so that first run of orders for a hundred t-shirts is a bit steep to start out.

And then, last week, I ran across this post, and my brain went “click.”

Clearly, the solution is to learn a new craft.

We bought some silk screening supplies, and spent Saturday morning coating the screens with a light-sensitive paint, which we then cured under a very bright light. We had printed text for the shirts on overhead transparencies, and laid these over the screens while they cured. After a few minutes, we washed out the undeveloped paint, and we had a silk screen:

Then, we taped up any areas we didn’t want to print right away

and filled the rest with fabric paint.

Then, we washed out the screens, retaped them, and applied the second color.

And finished the printing

We have a long way to go to get to expert, and we need both a coarser-weave screen and some alignment tools before we’re in business, but we’ve learned the basics, and we had a really good time.

I don’t know if we’ll actually end up making the final set of shirts, but it was fun to learn a new skill. I’m not sure yet exactly what will come of this collision of crafting with the non-crafty areas of my life, but I can see all kinds of ways that this could come in handy.

And even if it doesn’t, at least I know how to silk screen.

Well, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? We’ve gone from first snowfall to third snowfall, and nary a post. Unfortunately, all of this fluffy white stuff falling from the sky has not inspired the usual amount of knitting. I’m not sure why, really…just a lot going on, I suppose.

The sweater is still stockinette, on small needles, and hasn’t really changed much. I did at least pick it up for an hour or so last night.

The hat now has a companion of (almost) one handwarmer. Theoretically, the other will soon follow. Theoretically. (It had better, as this is definitely on the Christmas list, headed for my sister. I like it, but it’s just not me, and it’s 100% her.)

There is a new hat, which barely made it past the ribbing before screeching to a halt because I need to think about it for a few minutes to figure out what’s next.

And yesterday, I realized  that we’ll be leaving for Christmas in 8 days, and I have no idea what I’m bringing for knitting, and none of the current projects are good candidates.

Well, then. Guess that tells you what I’ll be doing, huh?

When the whole world turns white outside…

….it’s time to make some color.

I took advantage of being housebound by yesterday’s snowstorm and used up some dye solutions that were starting to get a little old.

I’ve just finished washing the skeins, and now they’re hanging up to dry. Can anyone guess which ones are my favorites?

Remember the acid green yarn?

With some help from Branden, I finally finished getting it onto the loom last weekend, and wove a sample. I then cut the sample into three smaller samples, and have been playing with different ways of finishing the fabric.

On the left is the fabric as it comes off of the loom. It actually looks a bit thin, with distinct gaps between the individual threads. I was a little worried that I’d woven it too loosely, until I washed the second sample. The piece on the right is shown after simple washing. The wool bloomed beautifully, and makes a good, firm fabric. It also feels completely different; softer and more stable.

I saved one large section of the sample for “fulling” (the weaver’s version of felting). I’ve actually tried pretty hard to full it already, but have not succeeded yet. I transferred it back and forth between boiling and cold water 5 or 6 times, agitated by hand in warm water for about 15 minutes, and generally did all the things you’re not really supposed to do to wool. It hasn’t really changed much.

It’s always reassuring to actually try to felt something. It’s a lot harder than it seems, and it reminds me how overly careful I am with most of my woolen goods. (Except roving. You can never, ever be too careful with roving.)

The big sample is waiting for laundry time, when it will probably get tossed into the washer for a while to finish the felting process.

Unfortunately, I put this fabric on the big loom that I’m borrowing from a friend. I spent several weeks this summer cleaning the reed (the metal piece that all of the threads go through), but I apparently didn’t get enough of the rust off. I stripped it 3 times with vinegar, filed both sides of every single one of the 480 slats with an emery board, carefully brushed it out with a toothbrush, and then buffed between each of the slats with a piece of oiled yarn to get out the extra dust. And still, there is enough rust left to break my warp threads. I lost 6 threads just weaving the sample, and the yarn is thick enough to be difficult to repair, since any knots catch in the teeth of the reed. So, I think I will be moving this warp over to the smaller loom when its current project is finished, rather than trying to limp my way through on the rusty reed.

Despite the setback, I’m looking forward to finishing this project. The green yarn that was far too bright on its own really makes this fabric into something interesting, and I’m looking forward to getting it finished so that I can make things with it. Cutting up that sample confirmed for me that I really want to weave for sewing, rather than just working toward a project that comes off the loom already finished. Call me crazy, but I really like making a fabric that I can chop up and turn into other things.