kitty: Happy Sumer Soltice

Setting outside between 8 - 9:30 tonight in observance of Candle Night . Sadly the bugs didn't agree with me staying outside until 10. I must admit that I found out about it from MG flickr stream. :) So I am a copy cat in the observation of the event. I may have also jumped on the textured shawl band wagon tonight since I will be in a conference latter this week I needed something to work on that is mindless. Pattern: textured shawl recipe Fiber: Habu A-1B Kakishibu Tsumugi Silk Colour: 52

MG: spinning silk hankies

last time i saw Kitty Kitty, we were fresh from seeing this youtube video on spinning silk hankies. (there is also a good tutorial on Knitty.) we were curious and fascinated. and two spinners together are meant for attempting new techniques. so, Kitty Kitty pulled out a beautiful cochineal-dyed hankie from her trip to Maryland Sheep and Wool in 2006. and we spun.

layers of stretched silk cocoons

a thin layer peeled and predrafting

predrafted into translucent loops

Kitty Kitty drafting back at an angle...

...then feeding forward w/ a shortdraw

me, backwards worsted draft

still me

our shiny thread on the bobbin

MG: hone

i'm still at the mercy of my spinning in thickness and consistency. i don't quite spin what i mean to spin. instead, there are particular yarns i drift towards--they escape from my fingers--the thickness of which ebbs and flows depending on the session. it's always a thin yarn; singles thicker than sportweight are difficult for me to maintain, but even the thin yarns i spin as my rhythm bids are not consistent.

after an eye-opening post on spinning for consistency over at Twosheep (why have i been guessing and remembering, relying on amorphous memory?), i began spinning the above (blueface leicester. larger photo here.) with my physical eyes towards consistency. i didn't make a sample card, but i stop often and twist a length over itself to compare with landmarks on my fingers.


i've also been practicing thicker singles (larger photo here). the white one is blueface leicester (again), and the yellow/green is Blue Moon Spinnery's 80/20 merino and silk in the Guardians of Water colorway. no, still not consuming conventional (versus peace-silk) silk; this was a gift and will be going to homes elsewhere. both the blueface and thicker merino/silk range from 6 to 17 wraps per inch but average about 9-11wpi--bulky. the thinner merino/silk is light worsted to fine fingering, 13-17wpi or so.

all three are relatively low-twist; hanging skeins wind about a quarter turn. they are soft and fluffy, and i can't stop smooshing them. oh, note to self: do NOT wind low-twist yarns (before setting the twist) on tension (duh, you say. i know... i wasn't thinking). too little twist to ply probably means too little twist to stand up to tensioned lazy kate? i paid for my foolishness with many knots. an invorgorating warm bath fixed everything. twist set. strong and bouncy and elastic now.


these yarns were instant gratification. they took me hours rather than days. extremely satisfying. and even though i don't love bright greens and yellows, am rarely taken by wild color variegation, i still somehow find these little skeins appealing. they make me think of parrots. i covet more handpainted roving.

MG: Lelah!

here is my Lelah. thank you Christine! thanks for a gorgeous pattern and for enticing me into lace knitting. i used 4 balls (50g) of Jaeger Cadiz (50% silk/50% viscose). other than stitch/row adjustments for a customized fit, i followed the pattern scrupulously.

Lelah was quick and satisfying to knit, but the finishing process involved lots of procrastination on my part. i was intimidated by the elastic casing across the top, so it took me a while to procure the proper thread--clear nylon (to hide inexperienced hand-sewing). then it was another long while before i gathered myself to sew. though my effort is a bit wonky in places, it really was less scary than i thought.

i wanted spaghetti straps for my version of Lelah, since strapless makes me feel self-conscious. my straps are crocheted chains (same for the empire waist tie), but attaching them became another time-extending event. the first time around, i was in a rush. i put on the top, hurrily pinned the straps in place, and got sewing. the results were less than stellar--too close in front and too short.

i learned the importance of proper straps. knitted fabrics stretch to any pulling force, greatly altering the lines of the garment (in this case: unflattering). so i took another long hiatus to ponder placement and to summon the will for ripping out the first try. i finally made the second effort this week. i took my time, measured for length rather then pinning them. i'm finally happy and done; no more fussing! closeup of the straps (two strands at each shoulder):


my favorite part of Lelah is the lace. i loved knitting it. more lace stitches with medium weight yarn in my future i think!

MG: deeper into the fiber fold

Lelah has been blocking for a couple of days; this yarn takes a while to dry. here it is waiting impatiently on my towel-on-a-basket blocking system:


my thoughts about the yarn... though there was a learning curve involved, i thoroughly enjoyed Cadiz (50% silk/50% viscose by Jaeger). once acclimated to the 12 (i counted) itty bitty plies (great potential for pulling in different directions or splitting) a lovely fabric emerged. as long as i didn't work against the twist, the yarn created beautiful definition and dimension. post-wash, the fabric plumps into marshmallow-y texture and drapes beautifully. i really love this yarn.

but i don't think i will use silk again... sigh... i recently found out about how most sheep are treated in the Australian wool industry. such practices are... i don't know how to describe such knowing infliction upon living beings...

i'm still working out what this means to me in detail. i will not use Australian wool from now on, unless it's specified cruelty-free, but how much do i know about where the wool in my yarn comes from? most labels do not reveal this.

i don't think petro-chemicals (e.g. polyester, acrylic, etc.) are a healthy alternative for me or for the earth. and for now, i don't think using wool is inherently cruel. i can imagine some ideal situation: if a flock were lovingly tended and caringly sheared, the use of wool would not be extracted at a cost paid by the sheep. it's important my wool should not be bought with physical or mental trauma. but really, how much do i know about how the sheep who produce my wool are treated? how much do i know about whether shearing traumatizes them or not. i don't know... i need to learn more about this.

this prompted me to re-evaluate what i know. i do know cute little silkworms die in silk production. so, no more silk for me...

well, one needs positive conditioning as well as negative, so what fibers can i be excited about? organic cotton, hemp, tencel, bamboo, soysilk; all lovely to covet but expensive and/or hard to find. i know i say this a lot, but i'm a graduate student... i'm poor! which led me to this:


i went to a spinning class at Deep Color Studio this week!!!!!!!!!!! [please tolerate a few more]!!!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!! i'm addicted. spinning fibers are much cheaper than yarns, but still i have to ration; if i'm not careful, there is the distinct possibility i would spin myself out of house and home.

for the duration of the class, i can rent a wheel at $5/week. which means, there is an Ashford Joy in my apartment RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!! the photo above is the yarn i spun in class--my very first. it's all lumpy, uneven, undertwisted, overtwisted, but Claudia at Deep Color Studio, the instructor, promised it would still knit into an object of beauty.

deeper and deeper... and quite content.