I’ve been a little obsessed with the Tik Tok video of the person mending a tidy hole in a sweater. Of course, most of my holes occur in my socks and I usually do a combination of weaving and duplicate stitch. But I finally remembered to give it a try!
I used a crochet hook instead of a latch hook. And boy, I need some ptracitce. But it does work! It’s just…a little more work.
Saturday May 4 is the next SB Fiber Arts Guild meeting!
LEARN, SHARE, CREATE, INSPIRE
Enthusiasm could be felt in the room during our April meeting. I was glad to see so many people engaged at their tables in creative exploration. Building on that enthusiasm for creative exploration, in this next meeting we will be dipping into the talent bank of our guild membership. A number of guild members will share their expertise in certain techniques and lead a small creative activity or exercise at each of five stations/tables. Join us! Try something new, perfect a skill, or get questions answered by an expert – OK, so none of us are comfortable calling ourselves an expert, but we all have certain talents in which we excel and those among us who excel at a skill will share that talent with the rest of us.
Stations:
1) knitting
2) rope making
3) spinning
4) echo printing
5) embroidery
You will choose your own path next Saturday when we meet. Begin at one station and move on to another or stay in one spot the whole time, it is up to you. We hope to create an environment in which you will learn, share, create, and inspire.
Awhile back I was gifted (ok, someone sent a note to the SB Fiber Arts Guild saying they were giving away a wheel and when I say I JUMPED on that sucker…) a Thumbelina spinning wheel from Sleeping Beauty Wheels. I’ve read up a bit and I love finding references to other people working on them.
So for reference and for anyone else besides the person on Reddit who found one in Montana, I took photos with a caliper of my bobbin.
I really love this wheel!
I “snuck” away for a weekend to Santa Clarita and attended the CogKNITive podcast Fiber Retreat (#CFR23). Affordable, reasonable driving distance, & knitters, spinners, crocheters, and yarn fumes! As Dr. Gemma says, “It’s the Fiber Retreat of love” and boy, oh boy, it was lovely. Everyone was so kind, so friendly, and made it extremely easy for this introvert to walk up and say “Can I go to lunch with you?”
I even got to eat with the cool kids! Uh, that’s a fricking KNITMORE GIRL!!! Jasmin of the Knitmore Girls podcast, chowin’ on dinner right across from me. Could she be more intelligent, thoughtful, kind, quick witted, and dare I say beautiful?
I did a little nerdy and took small sheep to wrap up with me, some were stamped with “CFR ’23” to gift along when I traded sock yarn.
Speaking of, here’s the start of my sock yarn swap sock. I was listening in on the unofficial presentation from the Chiagoo rep.
Did I mention the nerding out? Not sure how long I sat with Sarah and compared the DIY e-spinner with her EEW6. it was such a cool opportunity. Especially as she comes from a different background (biology vs. more process/mechanical).
All the classes were informal, but there was loads of people around if you had any sort of question. I got to help set up some e-spinners. And there were loads of discussions about the best way to join new yarn or needle preferences.
Recently, a person asked on two separate forms (Ravelry and Reddit) what size second needle they should use to cast on over two needles. Apparently there were a wide variety of opinions expressed, which caused the original poster to grouse that they were expressing opinions rather than provide the “one true answer.”
Except knitting, while it involves a lot of math, does not have “one true answer” as math does. There’s a whole of art and ‘what works for you,’ which is why the answer to most questions is “did you make a swatch?”
I happen to be in the camp of “only beginners use the workaround of casting on over two needles. It’s sloppy and doesn’t look great.” I swear by the slip knot cast on, occasionally defaulting to German Twisted.
As it turns out, this knitter is quite experienced, is a self reported knitter of 60 years and male. I can’t help but think how those factors play in to the dislike of the answers and the demands for the “one true answer.”
Knitting is a practice. Something that can either be continually expanded (new cast ons, new styles, new pattern shapes) or it can be meditative and only knit stitch, endless rows of garter to soothe the soul. But it doesn’t provide, nor does it require, one true answer.
I feel like I want the breed study samples to be at least a two ply, so I’m planning on caking up the single and ply it back on itself. Even caking up the Navajo Churro left me with that twine/botanical feel. I’m going to have to research patterns that aren’t going to be next to skin. I can’t even imagine this stuff for slippers.
I finished it! My last spin was the Ramboullet and it was fantastic. It was definitely my favorite of the four. It felt like what you would be looking for in wool. It was bouncy, it was soft but a bit toothy. I tried to spin it up a little thicker and it was just so pleasant to work with.
I didn’t think I was going to like Corriedale. It just didn’t feel…interesting. It was bouncy, wooly, and just sort of there. But in the end, it did feel good. Kind of like your old, ugly slippers. I don’t think it’ll be a special purchase, but I’d be fine spinning it again.
I just need a place to put this. So many good cast ons in the same place:
https://www.knitgrammer.com/blog/cast-on-methods/
I was a devotee of Twisted German. Then I found slip knot and that is now my go to.
I like Judy’s Magic for Toe Up socks, but the tutorial for Turkish looked so good, I’ll have to try it.
And I was reading up on Double Chain (https://www.interweave.com/article/knitting/knitting-editors-share-favorite-cast-ons/ has an explanation of why it was called Chinese Waitress as well as why it shouldn’t be), and that looks interesting. I had thought it was the same as a Cable Cast on, but no!
My second sampler ounce from Dyers Wool is the Shetland. This felt much…woolier than the Navajo-Churro ounce. I’m continuing to spin my ounces on the Thumbelina, it’s a bit louder than my Ashford, but feels more portable and it’s not so noisy that I can spin a bit when we’re watching television as a family. It wasn’t super itchy when I held it up to my neck, but it is definitely sheepy. I won’t say I loved the spin, but I did enjoy it. It acted like wool should. It stuck to itself, it took up nicely, it felt good in my hands.
Next up is the Corriedale. I put it up on my neck and whoa, nelly! it was super itchy.
Knit One, Pug Two 