Two More Sleeps!

 Young children, when excited about an upcoming event, often express the counting down of the days as a number of "sleeps". Well, I'm counting sleeps! Two more to go before the big day. On Saturday little Teddy will be coming home with us!

Teddy's vet visit went well. His eye abnormality is due to Microphthalmia. He has one eye that is smaller and underdeveloped. He is blind in that eye. It can't be corrected or "cured", but he can live a normal and otherwise healthy and happy life. Everything else about his health looks good.

Here's a photo of him with his siblings at the vet's office. He's the second from the left.

He was being such a good boy --- so tolerant of the antics of his rowdy littermates.

Sewing In My Remaining Time

Time is short so I've been getting some necessary things done. One of those things is the addition of a couple of needed night shirts. I've made them before so no learning curve, and the confidence of a good fit means getting a couple more into my drawer didn't take long. Good thing, since if all goes well there will be a distraction that makes finding sewing time difficult. Well -- he will make ANY hobby time difficult for at least a few months I think! 

If his vet check up goes well on Wednesday, this little guy, an 8 week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, will be joining us on the weekend. He has an eye problem that needs further investigation, but baring any other complications we will be welcoming him with open arms. Please send your prayers, well wishes, good energy, whatever positive thoughts you can muster. We love him already!

So after shamelessly using a puppy photo to drag interest to the blog, here's the two nighties. 

Adding Ribbing

 Although the original pattern, Drops 51-21, did not have ribbing on the bottom hem, I have added some. I think it will look and fit better this way. I picked up the 1x1 ribbing from a provisional cast on and knit it top down, ending with a tubular cast off.

I've also chosen to carry the cabling pattern all the way across the whole sweater, rather than just on the fronts as instructed in the pattern. I want the back to be as impressive as the front!

Here it is, pre-ribbing, laid out flat so you can see the intricate patterning. These long long rows that go all the way around the body are very slow to knit. 280 stitches per row!

Yubinuki and Temari

 This is not my work, these were gifts from a very talented friend and fellow guild member, but I wanted to show you. Aren't they beautiful?

The spheres are Japanese Temari balls. They are balls of thread wound and needle woven into intricate patterns. They were traditionally a gift given to children on New Years Day but have become a collectable art form.

The beautifully patterned rings displayed on the fingers of the hand mannequin are decorative Yubinuki, a traditional Japanese paper and silk thimble-ring worn on the middle finger and used during stitching or embroidery to push the needle.

Still Spinning

The Tour de Fleece has been over for a month already and yet I still continue to spin on a near daily basis. I ended up helping out at the Chilliwack Fair by supervising the Needle Arts displays for the entire weekend long fair and during that time I got a lot of spinning done. I finished spinning these drum carded batts of Superwash Merino mill ends ---

--- and made them into 8 rather large 3 ply skeins. Although I haven't yet weighed them, I estimate that there is over 3 pounds of wool there.

I have now started knitting them in to a cabled cardigan for myself. This was an early picture, I have more done now --- a full repeat of all the charts --- and it is going well.

And while I'm knitting that large batch of spinning into a sweater, I am still spending a little time each morning spinning on my next project. This is a BFL hand dyed by Jude of Ewesful Creations. I bought three 4 oz. braids of it and will make a 3 ply. I have no specific plans for the finished skeins but 12 oz. should be enough for "something" worthwhile.

 

 

End of the Tour

Today is the last day of the Tour de Fleece. It won't be my last day of spinning though. I'm hooked! I really love spinning outdoors each day using my Electric Eel Wheel 6 (EEW6), so that will likely continue, at least in the mornings, all summer long.

Above is all of the spinning that I accomplished during the 23 day Tour de Fleece. The last skein was the drab green one. The colour doesn't excite me, so the Superwash Merino mill ends have languished in my stash for many many years. I finally got around to drum carding them during the tour. I have enough remaining to spin another large 3ply skein. I'll get started on that today. 😄

Still Spinning Daily

The daily spinning for the Tour de Fleece continues. This 50/50 merino/tencel blend, hand dyed by Jude of Ewesful Creations, is on my EEW6 right now. I'm almost finished spinning the last of three 4 oz braids of it and then will likely get to the plying this afternoon. 

When that is complete I'll dive into this huge pile of fluffy batts. Both the white and the green were carded on my Patrick Green "Deb's Delicate Deluxe" drum carder from Superwash mill ends I purchased many years ago. I'll likely start with the green since there is less of it to get through and then I can recycle the cardboard box I have it stored in.

Somehow I totally skipped posting these two completed spinning projects. Both are BFL hand dyed by Jude. 8 oz of the green, 4 oz of the yellow. I love the vibrant colours!

Modified Long Draw

There was some discussion in a spinning forum about different drafting methods. I mentioned that with the ability to put an e-spinner to the side, rather than directly in front of me, my method, a form of modified long draw, has become very comfortable and ergonomic. I was asked for a video of how I spin and my husband made this short video. 

With the foot switch of the EEW6 up by my feet I am able to stop or start the e-spinner without moving my hands from the drafting in progress. 

Too Busy for Updates

 I've been lagging behind in photo updates of the ongoing spinning for the Tour de Fleece. As pledged, I have been spinning every day of the tour. This is what I've accomplished so far:

6 skeins of BFL in the "Crayon Box" colourway, from 4 oz. braids hand dyed by Jude of Ewesful Creations. The two on the left were spun and plyed as a fractual. The remaining four were chain plyed. I think I'll use all of them together in a Saori weaving.

These three skeins are also BFL wool from 4 oz. braids hand dyed by Jude and then spun and chain plyed by me.

I've now started in on a lovely wool/tencel blend. No pictures of that one yet.

Day 2

The second day of the Tour de Fleece was quite productive. The family was hiding out from extremely hot temperatures by staying indoors in air conditioned comfort. I spun through a movie and then a long visit with family and got quite a bit done.

I finished the first braid, all of it on bobbin one, and I'm now about 1/2 way through the second braid. 

Even with central air conditioning running constantly it is 80°F (26.67°C) in our house this evening! I feel so sorry for those suffering through this extreme heat without air conditioning! We've only had it ourselves for the past few years. 

Before the Start

Before the start of the Tour de Fleece yesterday I needed to clear my bobbins of another ongoing project. These two skeins are the result. They are 3 ply Superwash merino (of about a fingering weight I think) spun up from batts I made from mill ends I purchased years and years ago.

I have way more batts to spin and a lot more to card -- pounds of the stuff~ I'll get back to it after the Tour de Fleece. 

The Tour de Fleece 2021 Begins

I began the Tour de Fleece 2021 at 10am, spinning outdoors in the (hot) shade, but by noon I had to retreat indoors to air conditioned comfort. It's 40°C, (104°F) out there and will be getting hotter as the day progresses! 

My goals for the 23 day tour are to spin every day, and to finish up with enough handspun of this colourway to make something worthwhile. 

I have six of these vibrant BFL braids, all dyed by Jude Pilote of Ewesful Creations.

Tour de Fleece 2021

I'm stocking up for the 2021 "Tour de Fleece" which runs in conjunction with the Tour de France bike race from June 26th to July 18th.

This is the most recent acquisition. A blue faced leicester wool roving hand dyed by Jude Pilote of Ewesful Creations. The pile above is actually two different colourways -- the vibrant lime green that I love, and a very bright yellow. 

This large colourful lot was also dyed by Jude, at my request. I'm pretty sure that between those three batches I'll have enough to keep me going through the entire tour, since I don't spin all day long like some participants, but ---

--- just incase I come to the end of all that glorious colour I have been carding up some superwash merino mill ends. I'm not saving these prepped batts just for the tour though. I've begun spinning these up and will continue until June 26th when the Tour de Fleece officially starts. I won't run out -- there is plenty of this white yet to be carded.

Spinning the Rosebush

I've been spinning outdoors nearly every day, at least for a little while, ever since I received my Electric Eel Wheel spinner. Even on rainy days, as long as it's not too cold, I am able to sit out on our covered patio. I'm really enjoying it! 

This lovely stuff is made from rose bushes of all things. I can't claim to know the process to get it to the roving stage, but it was a lovely spin and resulted in beautiful, smooth, silky, fine yarn with a gorgeous sheen .

There have been other spins too. I just haven't been keeping up with the posting. This next one is a jet black kettle dyed merino. It's been in my fibre stash long enough that I no longer remember how I acquired it.

As the label clearly indicates, this purple one is a merino top that I purchased from Brooklin Brothers. This is the first project of any size done on my e-spinner. I was just getting used to the feel of e-spinning so the resulting yarn varies a bit in grist.

I'm loving the Electric Eel Wheel 6.0! I haven't spun this often, or this much, in years! More to come.

 

Back on the Bench

Many other fibrey pursuits pulled me away for awhile, but I'm back on the bench again. The weaving bench that is.

Travelling Inlay

I purchased a studio wound vibrant green warp from a friend a while back and it is finally having its turn on the loom. The warp is 6m long, 245 threads, and mostly 5/2 and 3/2 cotton, but with one fifth of it being a single ply of a yarn called "silk cloud". I was a little concerned at first when, within the first few inches of weaving, I had one of those singles break, but I repaired it and have been weaving along with no further issues. 

Ribbon Insertion

I'm really enjoying weaving this warp and that enjoyment is translating into a very fast weave! I'm almost half done. 

In my usual style it is a real mixed bag of weaving techniques. Though I've stuck with (almost) all cotton as my weft the colours are being laid in randomly. I'm using numerous shades of green and ranging into teals and bluegreens. Much of it is stash generously donated by another weaver. It was in small bits and bobs that had been left on the cardboard cores weaving cotton comes on. 

 

In these final few photos you see the progression of a section of Sakiori.

A small piece of fabric chosen for it's vibrant colour, with no concern for the actual print, since it won't show.

The fabric was then torn into random (unmeasured) narrow strips. 

And then woven into the warp interspersed with several shots of the weaving cotton weft. 

My intent is just to use the fabric strips as accents in the weaving, not to create the densely woven fabric usually associated with Sakiori by inserting fabric strips with very little weft thread in between.

More of this warp yet to come. I think in the end it may be made into a jacket or vest.  

Morning on Slough

 We spent a lovely morning kayaking on the slough only minutes from our home.

We traveled quite a distance and were back before breakfast.

Fitting Muslin Saves the Day

 Well the "fitting muslin" does fit, but I don't know if I like the test garment enough to sacrifice the good linen I've been saving for the right project to come along.

This is Jalie 3678, otherwise known as the Rova Blouson Tank and Dress. True to the pattern name it "blouses" over a drawstring (or elastic) waistline, and I don't know if I want that effect enough to make a "good version" out of my hoarded linen.

I've worked hard to lose a significant amount of weight and I'm not willing to look like a sack of potatoes.

The designer used one fabric, top and bottom, and I know that would help avoid the visual widening effect that happens when an outfit cuts you in half, right in the middle. The half and half proportion is not one I would normally choose, but it worked with the fabric I had available for the fitting "muslin". 

It was a weird polyester sheet for a double bed, and oddly enough it was divided exactly in half, (vertically as far as I could tell), between the solid black and the black and white print. A Value Village find that only cost $4 CAD. It may have saved my expensive linen from a sorry mistake.

What really drew me to the design was the pockets. I do love to have pockets! There is a tunic length version too, but --- again with the figure drowning blouson waistline. I thought I'd like it more. What do you think?

Me Made May Nightwear

After sewing up 19 shirts for myself last month I have had no problem at all wearing something I've made myself every day throughout May. But what about the nights? LOL!

I know it's not a requirement, but I've tackled Me Made May nights too. Since my older night shirts are all hilariously large and sloppy on me now it was time for a couple of new ones.

Jalie.com patterns to the rescue again. I used a combination of pattern "3457 Dolman Tops" for the upper section and blended in the lower portion of the tunic view from pattern "3245 Raglan Tee and Racerback Tank". For the striped one above I had lengthened the tunic by 6", but have since decided it's too long for my tastes. I took 3 of those inches off for the red one below and I'm much happier with the length.

Both are made with a 95% cotton and 5%lycra blend jersey so they are very comfortable to sleep in. My bust measurement dictates a size that is 2 sizes larger than that for my hips but I just carried the one size from the bust down. I feel the extra looseness in the body portion is about right for a night shirt.