Mandy Moore's Blog, page 114

Spinning Tuesdays: A Winner, Kid Mohair and Churro

Our winner of the spectacular spinning gift basket is : Rachael from Rochester.

Congratulations Rachael, happy spinning and learning about different fibers.

A big Thank You to Storey Publishing, Interweave and The Spinning Loft for supplying our prizes.

 

On to our spinning!

First this week I spun Kid Mohair

Kid Mohair: fleece, yarn and swatches

Wow this was fun to work with! Silky and sexy – it's most of what makes up Rowan's famous Kid Silk Haze after all.

I didn't both to wash the fiber, it had a little vm, but no real dirt and it wasn't sticky.

Kid Mohair yarn

I combed the fiber and made two samples, one thin and one thick spinning woolen-ish. Then just to be ornery I carded some (which some folk frown upon for long stapled fiber) and spun it long and fluffy draw. I was surprised at a couple of things: How shiny it is even when spun woolen. How fast it got away from me and got lumpy.

This is a fiber that piqued my curiosity and I want to spend more time learning to control it, learning how it loves to being spun.

Two fun facts about Kid Mohair from The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook:

Kid Mohair can be as fine in diameter as merino
Mohair kids are first shorn when their fleece is 4 inches long

 

Next up is Churro

Churro kind of made my head explode

Churro: dirty and clean fleece and yarn and a knitted swatch

It is a unique and a little odd fiber. It has such a rich and important history I really wanted to like it, but looking at it it just confused me.

The fleece wasn't dirty and it was only a little sticky. One wash and it was clean. It is a sort of double coated fiber, different looking but not different enough in coarseness to separate the fibers.

I watched the Churro portion of the Handspinning Rare Wools dvd, and prepped the fiber exactly like Deb suggested. I carded it.

Churro yarn

It only did two passes with my handcards and spun it longdraw. It made an even and lofty yarn, much softer than I expected. I wouldn't wear it next t0 my skin, but I was surprised how soft it felt in comparison to Navajo rugs that are woven from Churro.

This fiber is strong. Prepped and spun woolen I couldn't break even a single with my hands.

Two fun facts about Churro from The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook:

Churro are the oldest breed in North America
Churro are a breed original to North America

The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy rates Churro as a Threatened breed.

 

Until next week, happy spinning!

 

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Knitting Mondays: What's On Our Needles

I am crazy about Laura Nelkin's new pattern Ribband , the first pattern in a collection of knitted jewelry pieces called Adorn.

 

Addictive knitting at it's finest

It uses a few yards fingering or laceweight yarn and seed beads. The result is a long loop (about 34″) that can be worn as a bracelet, like Laura's shown above or a necklace.

I made one over a few days and loved it. The knitting was straight forward and I nearly lost my mind and wallet going shopping in a bead store.

My Ribband as a necklace

I used Collinette Jitterbug (colorway: Copperbeach) as my yarn and dark teal beads. When I make the next one, I think I'll make it a little longer.

I did try to be smarter than the patten a couple of times and it totally bit me in the butt. I didn't want to thread all of beads on at one time, so I broke off the amount of yarn the pattern called for and figured I would just thread the beads on from then end as I needed them.

Who remembers that I have an issue with gauge? Apparently not me. I ran out of yarn and had to add more. I had to add more in a way that beads would still slide over the yarn.  I tried knotting, no go. Russian splice, no dice. I ended up knitting with two strands for the last two stitches of one row and the first two of the next, then dropping the old yarn and continuing with the new.

It left a little blip, but the blocking did wonders for it. That's my other tip, block it. (My first tip being, don't try to be smarter than the pattern.) It looks a little funky while you're knitting it, but after blocking it really smoothed out.

This is my fixed spot. Just a little bump in the knititng road.

I can't wait to started my next one. This one has already been thieved by my daughter. I'm going to make a couple as end of the year teacher gifts too.

A little leftover Koigu and blue beads

What are you knitting?

 

 

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Twinkle, Twinkle Little Jug

Our own Franklin, knitting humorist and historical interpreter extraordinaire, brings our attention to a truly magnificent piece of knitting art. In the Winter 2008 issue of Knitty, Franklin published an update of "Miss Lambert's" 1840 pattern for a knitted Pence Jug.

Franklin's original

The Pence Jug is an adorable and fascinating little sweet nothing – a historical curiosity with a very interesting construction.

At the Madrona Fiber Festival last year, Franklin met Betsy Hershberg. To call Betsy a bead knitter is to call Monet "a guy who paints". Betsy told Franklin she was interested in the Pence Jug, and would he mind if she had a go at beading it.

Simply stunning.

The most remarkable thing about this "transfiguration" (Franklin's word for it, and we agree, this is a bit more than a simply a new version) of the jug is in how it was worked… In Betsy's words, "it is worked on 0000 double pointed needles with half strands (3 threads) of two colors of DMC metallic embroidery floss and approximately 600 Size 11º Miyuki glass Delica beads. The finished jug is all of 2″ high and 1 1/2″ wide."

Kudos to Franklin for the original pattern, and double kudos for Betsy for her incredible work.

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Sheeping and Woolling in Maryland

I love a good fiber festival and I haven't been to one in a few years. When my friend Jennie the Potter invited me to join her booth crew in Maryland, I decided it was time for a return visit!

Everyone talks about Rhinebeck, and I've been to and loved Rhinebeck New York's Sheep & Wool festival many times. It's got a country-gone-urban vibe that's very different from what I've experienced at Maryland's Sheep and Wool Festival.

The Maryland festival [MDSW] is, frankly, huge. Very well attended this year — crowds lined up for the awesome branded merchandise with the festival logo [see poster at left] long before the show even opened Saturday morning. Barns full of every kind of sheep and many other fiber-bearing animals amused kids of all ages. Sunday was remarkable for the number of moms being ushered around the fair on Mother's Day, and pairs of bewildered sons and daughters trying to find just the right thing to give their mamas.

Me? I spent much of the weekend at Jennie the Potter's booth, helping write up sales and find her beautiful hand-thrown pottery new homes. I love getting to spend time with my friends this way, and having a home base at the fair means a lot of Knitty readers stopped by and got one of the new 2011 Knitty buttons. [Right now, the only way to get one is to meet me at an event somewhere...upcoming events for this year include Sock Summit 2011 and Vogue Knitting Live in LA.]

While waiting in line for the obligatory pit lamb sandwich, I heard the beginnings of the Parade of Sheep nearby. Did you know that there were originally 4 breeds of sheep that all current sheep descend from, and only one of these original breeds remains relatively unchanged? It's the Bighorn Sheep. Anyway, I had to get back to the booth, but next year, I'm going to grab a spot in the bleachers and watch all the different breeds go by with the interesting commentary to match!

I leave you with a few snapshots of my weekend. Did you go to the festival? Tell me about your experience in the comments!

Yes, I know that's not a sheep. It's an alpaca.

an excellent motto for the weekend!

Jennie's hand-thrown and carved mugs...they're fabulous

pluckyfluff -- free spinning lessons all weekend!

matching woolmark tattoos

some of my haul from the weekend: a new Dyak Swan spindle, Bullens Wullens tussah silk, yak down from Bijou Basin Ranch and silk/yak fiber from Shadeyside Fibers. plus a new Jennie cup to hold my spindles.

And for a great video of the weekend, visit this week's entry at Knitter's Review. You might recognize someone around the 5 minute mark.

—

Congratulations to our Denise Needles winner: Anna from Illinois!

WWW: Spin-Off Retreat, Breaking a record, A Knitted Garden

Spinner's alert: the 29th annual SOAR Spin-Off Autumn Retreat takes place Oct 2-8, in Manchester, New Hampshire. Info and sign-up details here.

Image courtesy Streetcolor

Excellent bike-rack yarn-bomb at the Berkley, CA public library. A great post on the installation is on the yarnbombers' blog.

US-based artist Sarah Gonzalez is making her directorial debut with a film about yarnbombing, its origins, and its practitioners. Gonzalez's film will investigate the philosophy of guerilla knitting as well as its history, why it is dominated by women, and how the evolution of the art affects the knitters – for example the act of "selling out" and creating commissioned work.

The project is in development – you can track it here.

Organizer Pauline Stanley, with a small portion of the garden.

The public library in Bournemouth, UK, is temporary home to a knitted garden. The project, created by over 1500 knitters from the ages of three to 99, includes a vegetable patch, a knitted barbecue, a washing line, a gnome or two, and all the usual flora and fauna, including slugs and snails.

A great story with video from a community knitting event recently held in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia. 20 knitters gathered to make skullcaps for Australian Defence Force personnel stationed in Afghanistan. One of the knitters tells a story about the work she did making camouflage netting during World War Two.

1,147, actually.

Many groups have tried, and one has finally succeeded… the Guinness World record for most knitters in a public place, previously set at 937 at the 2009 Sock Summit, has been smashed… 1,147 knitters gathered to knit together in public for 15 minutes at the recent Roscommon Lamb Festival, in Ireland.

A nice story in which a new knitter talks about her learning process, on the Grand Junction Colorado Sentinel newspaper website.

 

Spinning Tuesdays: Southdown, a Break for Color and a Giveaway

Today's Must Spin is a double. Southdown is on both Deb Robson's list of animal fibers to spin and on her rare and endangered wools list.

Southdown was another springy down fiber. This fleece was dirty, but I learned my lesson from my last down type fiber and didn't over wash. I was in a hurry to spin this one [soft! springy! must spin!] and I learned a different lesson this week. When prepping elastic fibers, they don't like to be rushed.

Look at those nepps!

I carded the fiber on my drumcarder and I did it quickly. The result was a whole lot of nepps in my batt. I wish I had flicked instead of carding, or had more patience carding.

Soft and elastic yarn

Because of the nepps it spun lumpier than I thought it would. I spun it long draw without using a support hand and it needed a little more twist than I initially thought. It was a wonderfully compliant fiber, willing to hang out while I made  adjustments to my treadling with out falling apart or getting wiry.

This is the softest of the down and down types that I've spun yet. If I could get all of the vm out I would absolutely wear this yarn next my skin.

Two fun facts about Southdown from The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook:

There are records dating back to medieval time of sheep believed to be Southdown
There is a Miniature Southdown that is less than 24 inches tall.

 

Give Me Color!

I took a break from spinning raw and natural colored fibers and spun 8oz of gorgeous Abstract Fibers in a weekend. I combined two colors and two types of fiber.

Abstract Fiber Mossy Rock BFL

Abstract Fiber Laurelhurst Merino/Tencel

Lots of beautiful yarn

Look at the matte and shiny together

I spun both fibers with a sliding long draw, a little thinner than I usually do. I came out with 408 yards of 12 WPI yarn. I chose the fibers because I love the contrast of shiny and matte. I chose the colors quickly, with little to no color agony. I made sure that there was one color similar in each bundle, grabbed the fiber and started spinning. I really like how it came out and boy did I need an infusion of color; it felt like scratching an itch.

Giveaway Time

I have a fantastic giveaway for you spinners out there! A prize package to keep your spinning brain and spinning hands busy!

 

Fabulous fiber book!

A  copy of Deb Robson's new book, The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook, retail $35. It will arrive on your doorstep in June. Thank you to Storey Publishing for the donation.

38 rare and endangered sheep

A copy of Deb Robson's DVD set, Handspinning Rare Wools, retail $34.95. Thank you to Interweave Press for the donation.

Spinning Loft fiber sampler

And a raw fiber, Fleece and Fiber Soucebook sampler from The Spinning Loft, similar to the one I'm spinning over these 10 weeks. Big thanks to Beth for providing the sampler.

Retail $85

The usual rules apply. Leave a comment before midnight on Friday May 13,2011. A comment will be chosen at random to answer a skill testing question. If he or she answers correctly they will our prize package.

Hooray! Happy Spring Spinning!

 

 

 

 

 

Giveaway! Denise Interchangable Needles

For those of us knitters and spinners not partaking in Maryland Sheep and Wool this weekend, I present a giveaway!

12 pairs of needles in one kit!

All wrapped up in a Della Q case!

Denise Interchangeable Needles

Pink Breast Cancer Research needles set in Della Q case

Includes 12 needle pairs from US5/3.75mm to US19/15mm; 6 cords (5″, 9″, 12″, 14″, 16″ and 19″) (13, 23, 30, 36, 41 and 48 cm); 4 end buttons; and 2 extenders. Even more than is in a Denise knitting kit. All in a specially adapted della Q Que-i case of luxurious poly/silk, with needle pockets labeled in US and metric sizes.

1 person will win this prize.



by Denise Interchangeable Needles

prize value: $79.95

 

Here's how to win: leave a comment to this post by  Tuesday May 10, 2011 at midnight eastern time, and you could win! We'll choose a winner at random, make them answer a terrifically difficult [cough] skill-testing question, and post the results next week.

Have wonderful weekend!

WWW: Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival; Summer Knitting Events; Forbes

Not to be missed!

This weekend marks the 38th annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. The event, held at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship, MD, is one of the highlights of the knitting year in the eastern seaboard.

The event boast over 250 vendors selling yarn, fiber and related goodies, a fabulous list of classes, and a long list of special events like sheep shearing demonstrations, sheep dog trials, and on Sunday, there will be a book signing event showcasing the latest and greatest in knitting, spinning and fiber books.

Festival admission is, as it always has been, free, but costs are increasing and they are taking donations at the door to help cover the expenses of the event.

Amy will be there – say hello if you see her! She has new Knitty buttons to give away…

Forbes Magazine published a list of " on its blog. Yes, that's right. Forbes. It's a nice summary of groups and activities in the yarnbombing world, and the piece reminds us that June 11th is International Yarnbombing Day.

Many cities and towns around the world will also be celebrating World Wide Knit in Public Day that weekend, June 11-12. Find a full list of events near you on the site.

And since the baseball season is well underway, so begin the annual Stitch & Pitch events. Check the site for listings for your area and team. The first major league event takes place May 13, at the Washington Nationals. And it's not just major league… there are minor league Stitch & Pitch activities, too!

Well on their way.

A group in the UK is working on a knitted blanket to raise funds for the charity group Bliss, which supports premature babies. The blanket, to be the size of a football pitch (that is, 75m by 110m/83yds by 122yds) has been in the works for three years, and it is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2012 Olympics.

Spotted at the Railroad Revival Tour music event in Marfa, Texas over the Easter weekend, a rather lovely yarnbombed trailer.…

Cozy!

Design for Knitty! We are now soliciting designs for our Deep Fall Issue, which goes live in September. Deep Fall is traditional knitter-heaven time: warm sweaters and outerwear that takes you from what used to be summer into what will soon be winter. It's the warmest fibers and coziest garments you can think of. It's stylish knitwear that you show off at places like Rhinebeck [fiber festivals], and the first thing you want to grab and put on because it's finally cool enough outside to wear it!

Submission guidelines are here.

Spinning Tuesdays: Mohair and Tunis

This week I've spun adult Mohair and American Tunis from Deb Robson's list of Must Spins.

Mohair:

Dirty and clean fleece, worsted and semi woolen spin

Mohair is everywhere, blended into lots of commercial yarns for a little shine and a little fuzzy halo.

I've never worked with adult mohair by itself before. The locks took 3 washings with Power Scour before they were clean and shiny.

I combed the locks and boy are they tough! I never really understood how a spinner could bend or break combs before and now I do. I overloaded my combs on my first go round and ended up taking almost half off, rather than tug and fight with it. Once I used a smaller amount, the locks combed beautifully and I was able to spin right from the combs.

Worsted and semi woolen yarns and swatches

I spun a fine-ish worsted yarn. I discovered just how little twist mohair needs. A portion of my yarn came out wiry from over twist. I spun a second sample long draw and it came out shiny, thick and wonderfully hairy. I'm not sure I would use 100% adult mohair for a garment, but I'm not done considering yet.

Two fun facts about Mohair from The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook:

An adult mohair goat can grow 2 cm of fiber in a month
Mohair goats are shorn twice a year

 

Tunis:

Dirty and clean fleeces, woolen yarn and swatch

Another spingy down-like fiber. It felt and behaved similarly to the Clun Forest fiber. I made a mistake and overwashed my first batch (2 rounds with Power Scour) and it felt a little dried out. I washed a second sample with just one round of Power Scour and it felt much better. I really don't like taking out all of the lanolin, I just don't like how it feels to spin.

 

Woolen Tunis yarn and swatch

I opted to make this springy fiber springier. I drum carded the the fiber, pulled it into roving and spun long draw. There were a few lumps and bumps, but it happily took as much air as I wanted to put into it.

The yarn was round for a 2-ply and elastic. Another fiber I would use again. I would use it for a garment, not completely against skin, but it didn't prickle my neck or wrists.

Two fun facts about Tunis from The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook:

Tunis are raised primarily for their meat
George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson all had Tunis sheep

Thanks to Beth Smith of The Spinning Loft for providing the fibers for this week.

 

Here's another way that this spinning project is changing my fiber brain. I can't keep my hands off of fleece. Now when I got to a shop or show I go straight for the fleece, the gorgeous dyed and prepped fiber now come second. I poke and prod, wash a lock, consult the book if it's handy. I haven't started buying lots of whole fleeces, but I have a feeling that's coming.

 

Checking in with my other spinning:

I've been spinning for this project and for a Knittyspin project, just work. I love spinning but I was feeling a little bleh about my spinning. I hadn't realized how much I needed some just fun spinning until this weekend. I fell on some gorgeous Abstract Fiber and spun 8oz in two days. It was wonderful. I haven't plied yet. I'll show you next week.

Note to self : All work and no play makes Jillian a crabby spinner.

Sock Summit 2011

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The highlight of the sock knitting year!

Here at Knitty we're thrilled to announce that two of our team, Amy and Kate, are teaching at Sock Summit this year.

More information on Amy's classes here, on Kate's classes here.

Registration starts this Wednesday, May 4th, at 12 noon PST/1pm Mountain Time/2pm Central/3pm EST/8pm BST/9pm European Time – info here.

When we looked at the teachers list, we noticed something rather wonderful:

a remarkable number of the Sock Summit teachers have been published on Knitty (often on the subject of socks).

• Cookie A – Yes, THAT Cookie A. Some of her great contributions to Knitty here.

• Star Athena – designer of the most excellent Frankensocks.

• Kate Atherley – our own Tech Editor for Socks, and author of Socks 101 & Socks 102 and designer of The Vampire Boyfriend.

• Deb Barnhill of the must-have classic Back to Basics toe-up sock with gusset pattern.

• Judy Becker of the world-changingly terrific "Judy's Magic Cast on for toe-up socks".

• Cat Bordhi, all-around sock goddess.

• Donna Druchunas joins Knitty with a brand-new column, coming in our First Fall issue.

• Chrissy Gardiner – designer of the wonderful colorwork Naniboujou socks.

• Franklin Habit, our "Stitches in Time" columnist.

• Anne Hanson – designer of the Lighthouse gansey socks.

• Sivia Harding, mistress of the beading, and designer of the wonderful, and naturally beaded, Reptilian Lace sock.

• Lana Holden – of the mind-bendingly clever Skew sock.

• Denny McMillan – spinner extraordinaire, spinner of the Sheep Wrap.

• Syne Mitchell – who does a lot of fabulous thinking about color.

• Clara Parkes, who wishes not to be disturbed.

• Stephanie Pearl-McPhee – designer of the very lovely "Tiptoe through the tulips" sock.

• Amy Singer – our editor-in-chief and proponent of all things Sheepless.

• Jeny Staiman – inventor of the amazing Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off – ideal for the tops of toe-up socks, and designer of the truly adorable Duck Socks.

• Gladys We – another amazing color expert.