SHORTY SOCK PEEK

Almost finished with Shorty Sock #1 from the skeins you saw spun up in last post.

Remember,

 these spinning batts came from Lindsey at Artifacts of Appreciation 

as well as her pattern for Shorty Socks.

I learned two new techniques:

a twisted 1 by 1 rib for the cuff,

 and a Dutch Heel Turn.  

Loved the new heel turn technique but hated the twisted ribbing.

The heel turn adds a bit of extra fiber for wear,

but the twisted rib,

well it was twisted

 and hard to get my needle point into each stitch to knit and purl

thru the back of every stitch.

But ohhh does it look nice!

For the cuff I used the dyed BFL/Silk braid spun and plied on itself.

For body of sock Lindsey's spun batts plied on themselves,

and for the heel,

the braid spun and plied with Lindsey's batts.

What I wasn't pleased with is the irregular stripping of sock body batts.

So for the second sock I'm going to experiment more with mixing the 5 batts up more frequently as I spin.

Not super concerned that they won't exactly match when knitted up,

since they are just to wear around the house in the evenings.

At the same time 

(because I have to have at least 10 or more projects going on at one time),

I'm restoring this older spinning wheel which was donated to me by 3-D art student and Alumni Rachel Strong.

Trying to remember when she graduated,

sometime in the early1990's I believe.

She was one of my Crafts superstars back in the day 

and really loved spinning her own yarn.

So her parents bought her this Ashford wheel 

to take with her to Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana.

After she graduated,

 it came back home with her to Cypress, Ca. 

where she volunteered her time in several Elementary schools 

showing the kids the how-tos of spinning.

But of course life got too busy for her to spin,

a child as well as the Owner/Dance instructor of her own Strong Dance Studio.

Needless to say this wheel has some history behind it.

It was stored in my kiln room 

(which was always a big mess about to be cleaned up type of a place)

for many years and has since lost some of its parts,

namely a Footman and it's Treadle.

But with the help of my husband 

I'm pretty sure we could fabricate those,

 unless,

 anyone out there has any other ideas?

I just finished gluing up the bottom of the Mother of All

so I'm pretty excited about that.

And have watched a few videos about taking the wheel completely apart

to de-rust and restore parts and finishes.

I can do this!

After all,

I put my first Ashford together 40+ years ago from scratch,

by myself,

and it only took me a full day.

HA!