You could be forgiven for thinking that this site hasn’t really been about knitting lately. What with all the spinning and the dyeing (and even the weaving), there hasn’t been much knitting content around.

That’s mostly because I’ve been knitting a sweater on size 2 needles. And that doesn’t really make for good progress shots. Until now:

The Briar Rose sweater is finally finished. I was hoping to have photos for you today, but it has decided that it is also going to take a long time to dry. (August is like that, I suppose.)

In the couple of days since the Briar Rose sweater was finished, I’ve been zooming along on Branden’s MacGyver sweater. This one is knit from my Shetland handspun, bought almost exactly a year ago at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool. The sheep’s name was MacGyver. I knew from the moment I heard that that it would end up being a sweater for Branden. And so it is.

The wool ended up a little heavier than I was expecting (story of my life, at the moment), but on size 6 needles at 4.4 stitches to the inch it is knitting up amazingly fast. I’m already halfway to the arm split on a top-down Raglan. The knitting is slowing down as I add more stitches, but for now I’m enjoying the speed.

I’m also considering breaking project monogamy and casting on for a lighter-weight project that will be slightly easier on my hands. It’s not completely decided yet, but this sweater is quickly approaching the too-big-to-travel stage, so it may be necessary.

I still can’t talk about the secret roving, but I thought I’d show you the other two colorways that I dyed along with it. I’ve been enjoying using photos as a jumping-off place for my dyeing, and so both of these colors began as photos.

A week or so ago, Branden sent me a link to this fabulous photo of some very colorful ducks sitting on a log:

The photo was taken by Alan Shapiro, and he has lots of other great photos on his website; check it out, if you get a chance. The people photos are particularly striking; there’s one of an old lady that I love – she is just the essence of an Italian grandmother on a mischievous day.

When Branden sent the photo, he naturally expected that I would be interested in the ducks, but all I could see was that water. Look at those greens! There’s even yellow in there, when the sun hits it just right. Not at all what I’d expect from water, but I fell very much in love with the colors. Here they are on Polwarth:

The final yarn ended up a little heavy on the yellow; I was worried about bleeding between the colors, and so left wide open swaths of yellow. The shading is beautiful; I love the way the different greens mix on the fiber, fading from deep spruce all the way down to sunshiny yellows.

There’s just something about greens that is catching my eye at the moment. I’ve recently discovered Pinterest, and have started a collection of photos for color inspiration. This one just jumped out of the collection the other day:

Since I suddenly find myself with an embarrassment of wool types to play with, I thought I’d do a bit of a comparative study.

I started out by pulling a lock of wool from each of the different fiber preparations that I have, and then began organizing them, first by staple length:

From left to right: Manx Loaghtan < Finn < Portland < Whitefaced Woodland < Shetland < Polwarth < Welsh Mountain

< Falkland < White Welsh < Cheviot < Norwegian Gray < Corriedale < Blue Faced Leicester < Wensleydale < Lincoln < Masham

I noticed very quickly that staple length had very little do do with the coarseness of the fiber. Just comparing the four longest staple lengths, you can see what a difference there is in coarseness of the fiber. The White welsh (the shortest of the four) is incredibly hairy, with guard hairs that are almost like fine wire. The Lincoln is also pretty hairy, but the Masham is actually quite fine.

Grouped according to coarseness, I get the following:

Finn < Falkland < Polwarth < BFL < Shetland < Manx Loaghtan < Portland < Cheviot < Masham < Wensleydale < Corriedale < Welsh Mountain < Whitefaced Woodland < Norwegian Gray < Lincoln < White Welsh

The Norwegian Gray and Lincoln really are very coarse; they feel more like human hair than wool. The stiffness of the hairs will make them poke out of a spun yarn, and it will be more likely to feel itchy (think low-quality alpaca, mohair or cashmere that hasn’t been fully dehaired).

Still, I noticed that some of the fibers were more scaly than others, too. When drafted, some of the wools stuck together strongly, and some pulled out pretty easily. The ones that slipped easily felt softer, even if they had a coarser fiber. I think this scaliness is also part of what makes wool feel itchy. Ranking according to scaliness, then, I got this ordering:

Manx Loaghtan < Finn < Polwarth < Falkland < Shetland < BFL < Wensleydale < Masham < White Welsh < Corriedale < Norwegian Gray < White Woodland < Portland < Cheviot < Welsh Mountain < Lincoln

By this ranking, even the White Welsh with its wiry guard hairs is smoother than the Lincoln, which is a very grabby fiber. Both the Wensleydale and the Masham are very long-stapled fibers, but they are about as “sticky” as BFL (which is not very sticky).

I imagine that these “scalier” fibers will felt very well, though I haven’t tested that to be sure. Still, if I were looking for a rugged wool to felt into hard-wearing (but not particularly soft) items, Lincoln would probably be my first choice. White Welsh might work well here, too, since it has so many fine fibers mixed in with the coarse ones. The finer fibers might help the felt hold together nicely. Honestly, I can’t imagine using the White Welsh for much else; those guard hairs are just too stiff (and too plentiful) for me.

For spinning and knitting, I would happily use any of the finer fibers. I was surprised to find that Corriedale – which is one of my go-to wools – is so high up on the coarseness scale. I would have expected it to be much closer to the fine fibers, but it’s pretty far down the list. Unsurprisingly, my favorite “special” fibers like Finn, Falkland, Polwarth and BFL are at the fine end of the spectrum. I was surprised and somewhat amused to realize that, with all this wool in the house, I have no Merino to compare to. It’s never been a must-have for me, and it’s apparently faded out of my collection entirely now. I wish I had a little to compare to these other breeds, though, as a standard yardstick measure for fineness.

From the longwools, I would definitely knit/spin with the Masham and the Wensleydale. I think they will probably make a slightly coarser yarn, but one that’s comparable to Corriedale, which I don’t find itchy at all. It will be really fun to work with a staple that long, too. For me, BFL is a long staple at 5-6 inches; both the Wensleydale and the Masham are pushing 9 or 10. I think that the Cheviot will also be similar to Corriedale, and the Portland and White Woodland may be a little less soft.

The Norwegian Gray is an interesting fiber. It is very coarse and heavy, but it isn’t terribly scaly. It feels almost like a coarse alpaca, with that similar oily texture to it. I don’t really know how it will spin up, but it will be interesting to try.

The Manx Loaghtan is completely different than the rest. It has an incredibly short staple, and looks like a very delicate fiber. This particular preparation is not very good (I was warned before I bought it); it’s full of vegetable matter, and it looks like it has a fair number of second cuts. Still, it is very, very short and a little slippery, and it reminds me of the exotic fibers like Yak or Bison. I’m not sure how it will spin up, but it will be interesting to see if it is as soft.

Of course, now that I know a little more about these fibers, I need to start coming up with projects that will let me use them to their best advantage. I am thinking that the coarser fibers might make good wools for rug weaving. I’ve never tried that before, but having a rugged fiber to begin with seems like a good start for something meant to be walked on. The fine fibers will probably turn into garments of some kind. I’m also considering spinning up some samples for another side-by-side study, which would let me test some of my guesses about how these wools will behave. We’ll see if I manage to get to it before getting distracted, but I think it would be interesting to see how these different wools behave when spun, especially how the coarseness and scaliness play into the final texture of the yarn.

Look!

Know what that means?

(Well, it means that I need to buy new gloves that don’t rupture every time I use them, but besides that.)

It means I’ve been dyeing again!

I have to be a tiny bit hush-hush about this one, because it’s kinda a surprise, but I thought I’d give you a little sneak peek:

Full story coming soon!

The doorbell rang just a little while ago. It was the UPS delivery guy, with a box full of goodies for the dye studio.

That would be 12.5 pounds of fiber from Copper Moose. I make one of these big orders every year or two, and then all of the dyeing comes from this stock of bare fiber. That way when I am ready to dye there is always something on hand. The last batch of stock has been running dangerously low, so it was time to order more.

This time, we have Shetland, BFL (of course), Polwarth (because I loved its bounce so much the last time I spun with it), Wensleydale, White Welsh, Finn, and Masham. Much is destined for Etsy, and some is for experimenting to see what other fibers might be fun to carry in the future.

Now it’s just a question of what colors to put on them.

I’ve been playing with some Falkland lately, and I’m a little sad I didn’t order some of that, too. It’s lovely stuff. You can’t really see it here because of the cat who was insisting on being in the photo, but at least you also get cat trying to be cute.

(She seriously inserted herself into at least 4 different photos before I gave in. Someone is jealous that the fiber is getting all of the attention.)

I think I might actually have succeeded in spinning this up pretty fine. I’m not sure it will be a real laceweight, but it’s heading in that direction. All of this sweater spinning lately has gotten me into a worsted-to-bulky rut, and it’s proving harder to break out of than I’d expected.

The Falkland is very soft and has a nice loft, but not quite as much as the Polwarth (so I may not end up with my “laceweight” singles becoming heavy fingering weight yarn when I ply, as happened last time!). It’s a nice medium-to-short stapled fiber, and has a good bit of shine for such a fine wool.

I’m about halfway through my 8 oz sampler, so I should have a nice finished yarn to show you soon. It didn’t make the order deadline this time, but I think it’s likely that Falkland will be top of the list for new fibers in the next ordering cycle, if the yarn turns out to be as nice as the spinning has been.

Remember the bright green warp that I put on the loom a few months ago?

Well, it’s been calling to me and promising that it really can play well with others. So I decided to give it another chance.

This time, I paired it with a plain weft yarn in a darker shade, hoping that that would tone it down and not get overwhelmed. With two simple yarns, I chose a textured stitch pattern with interest of its own.

And, it worked. I tried dark green and black

And teal and navy blue.

I noticed that the weave structure is a little unstable (the threads are so slippery that they don’t stay in place when subjected to even mild friction),

And so I tried a slightly heavier, woolen weft. On the bottom you can see purple bamboo, and on the top purple and teal wool.

The slightly thicker wool really brings out the wave pattern, and the fabric is more stable, though still a bit delicate, which I hope will work out when I wet-finish the piece.

I finally settled on the teal wool for a weft, and am reveling in texture of this weave. I love the thick, heavy waves of teal, separated by flashes of bright green.

It manages to look different from every angle.

This camera doesn’t do the colors justice, but you will see more when we take it off the loom. It’s so interesting how poorly this warp matched the first project, and how versatile it has proven to be in the second. I could have woven it with any of the colors that I tried. It just needed the quiet of a dark, solid weft to let its true colors shine.

Every summer, I get the urge to play squirrel and start packing things away for the winter months ahead.* As more and more beautiful produce comes to the garden (or this year, the farmers’ market), I find it harder and harder to resist the urge to pack it all up in jars to line our shelves.

This weekend, I caved.

I’ve been slowly building up a collection of red currants, bought in pint quantities and frozen until canning time. Some became red currant jelly, and some became rhubarb red currant preserves that will make an amazing substitute for cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving time.

And then there were the raspberries. Oh, the raspberries. There are many, and they are beautiful right now. We made a few jars of raspberry sauce, and a few more of raspberry jelly. I cannot tell you how in love I am with the raspberry jelly. So in love that it will be almost impossible to escape the summer without another batch (or three). Some things really are pure heaven.

We’ll probably do a few more jars of the sauces, too. They make a great addition to plain yogurt for Branden’s breakfasts, and tend to be better than the fruit stuff that comes from the store. Fruit sauce will also work wonders on my rice pudding in the mornings, or on pancakes, as salad dressings, on ice cream, or anything else you can think to put it on.

I know it’s a little early yet, but my mind is already beginning to turn toward fall, toward the tucking in and the storing up, laying aside jars of distilled summertime to be opened in the gray days of February. Seasons are a beautiful thing.

*However, unlike our neighborhood squirrel, I tend to wait until things are ripe before picking, and I don’t make off with every. last. green tomato from someone else’s plants. Just saying.

It has been quiet on the blog here lately. Things have been pushing in, crowding out the crafting time. They’re important things, so I’ve let them push and have put off the crafts for a calmer time. After this past week, most of those important things have been done, and it’s time to start pushing back.

I believe that this is the key moment that defines whether we dream, or whether we create. Productivity is determined by the point at which you push back, the time when the creative urge becomes as important as (or more important than) the other things that cry out for attention.

I also believe that being willing to push back is essential to being productive in the non-creating times. I am willing to work hard and to forgo my crafting time without resentment because I know that I will return in due time. In fact, a break is sometimes the best way to recharge and refresh my drive to create. When I live without it, I realize what it means to have it there.

In that spirit of pushing back and reclaiming mental space, Branden and I have been hard at work preparing the physical places where we carry out our work. This has been ongoing for several weeks now, and has been mostly complete for the last two. Now, it is just a matter of finishing touches.

Today, we bought a carpet for my office.

We’ve also been working on turning the basement into a dye studio. When we first came to view this house, we were excited to find a sink in the basement that is suitable for dyeing.

We were a little less excited to find that that sink is surrounded by a very nicely finished basement with new white countertops and beautiful cabinets.  It’s much easier to ignore a few stains on an unfinished cement floor than it is on linoleum and new cabinetry. To avoid damaging the property, the first step of creating my new dye studio was to protect all the surfaces.

We bought a huge roll of sheet plastic, and I began cutting pieces to size.

We wrapped the countertop, the cabinet doors, covered the walls, and lined the cabinets with plastic. Every surface that belongs to the house is covered (or will be soon). Then we bought a roll of archival quality artists’ tape, and hung it all in place. We added in my dye tables, and a piece of utility carpeting to keep it from being slippery. So far, I think it’s cost about $30, and most of that was the tape. (It is worth every penny.)

We’re also planning to buy rubber standing mats, but haven’t ordered them yet. Soon.

All my empty jars are ready and awaiting dye.

And the other supplies are lined up and ready to go.

I placed an order for more fiber this Friday, and I’m hoping for a dye day in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for Polwarth, Shetland, and Finn. (As always, color suggestions and challenges are welcome…just leave a comment or follow the link in the sidebar.)

We’ve never lived in a space this big before. In fact, this is the first time that I’ve had a room all to myself since my sister was born (I was 2 1/2 when that happened). It’s a new thing, having all this space to spread out and work on crafts. We are very lucky, and plan to take full advantage of the area we have.

And lest you think I am getting all the room, you can see that Branden’s geek cave is also fully equipped with things to keep him busy and productively amused.

In fact he is – at this very moment – hard at play.

I think it is time for me to do the same. More soon!

This week started out with a kind of last-minute trip back to Madison on Sunday night, which lasted until Tuesday and in which I worked 24 hours in 2 days, but managed to collect a huge amount of data for our paper-in-progress.

Being back in Madison meant that I got to sneak out of lab for lunch and knitting with my favorite knitting group. The three of us have met once a week for over a year now, and it was nice to be back for a visit.

The other thing that was nice is that it actually gave me an hour to sit down and actually knit. I think I’ve only spent about 30 minutes doing that since we moved. (I know!)

The terribly neglected and not often mentioned sweater has acquired a second sleeve since the last time you saw it:

And that sleeve is moving closer and closer to completion. I did decide to pull back and redo the shoulder shaping for the first sleeve, so it needs a few more inches added, but it’s getting close.

But really? At this point I’m just glad to have taken up the needles again. Slowly, slowly, things return to normal.

Slowly, slowly normalcy is beginning to return around the edges of our lives. I’ve given up hoping for a return of sanity (at least not until mid-August or so, anyway), but at least things are starting to quiet down again, and there are glimpses of downtime amidst the rush. On Saturday, we went to our new farmer’s market.

It is berry season.

Actually, I almost missed strawberry season altogether this year. This was the last week for strawberries (and they were phenomenal) so we bought a lot. While we were at it, we bought blueberries, too.

If you buy nothing else at the farmer’s market, buy your berries there. They are worlds better than the ones we’ve been getting in the grocery store while we’ve been too busy running around to make it to the market on Saturdays. There is nothing like this flavor, and they freeze beautifully. I’ve been using a lot of frozen fruits lately, and the store bought ones are just never the same as these that come fresh from the farm to my freezer at the height of summer. They are beautiful.

We froze some, and then on Sunday I canned some. I’ve been hankering to try strawberry balsamic black pepper jam since I saw Elizabeth’s pictures on her blog, and so I started with that. I used low-sugar SureJell because that’s what I had, and kind of mushed together the SureJell and Ball book recipes to get what I wanted. The first day, I couldn’t taste the pepper much at all, but it’s beginning to bloom a bit now, and it adds a really interesting warmth to the jam. Definitely a keeper.

I also made blueberry sauce, which thickened up beautifully despite having no added pectin or apple juice, a testament to the berries’ quality and ripeness. It has already become my favorite salad dressing base. A little sauce, some white wine vinegar, fresh herbs from the garden, olive oil and a little salt, and you have instant gourmet dressing. Love it.

We don’t actually eat a lot of jam in our house, so most of the sweet canned goods I make end up turning into sweet-savory sauces of one kind or another. Plum and apricot preserves become sweet and sour sauce for chicken, strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry jams and sauces become salad dressings or pancake syrups. Cherry preserves get worked into muffins or brownie dough as extra moisture and flavor. Of course, the sauces and looser jams also make for amazing ice cream toppers, especially paired with chocolate sauce. Everything finds a use, and seldom on a piece of toast (especially since losing gluten, bread baking is not the same and certainly doesn’t happen as often).

So we added a few more jars to my absolutely favorite cabinet in the whole pantry:

All the remaining jars from last years’ bounty, and a whole row of empties just waiting to be filled. Who could ask for more?

And then, last night I finally sat down to do the finishing on the woven piece that I took off the loom just before the move. It would be nice if it were 6″ longer, but it fits almost perfectly on the dining room table that came with the house. I’m noticing in the picture that last night’s ironing didn’t really get out all the wrinkles, but I think I’m going to ignore that for now. I’m so pleased that it has found a home in the new place.

Tonight is the first night that I am going to take off from unpacking and preparing the house for guests. We’ll be going again full swing tomorrow, but tonight is time for a cease-fire. I’m not honestly sure what I’m going to do; I’ve been going for so long that I’ve kind of forgotten what was queued up before the rush, but I’m sure I’ll find something. Knitting is closest, I have some weaving books to peruse in search of my next project, and the wheel is calling. There’s never a shortage of things to do, is there?