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!

A PEEK AT WHAT I'M WORKING ON

A recent discovery is Lindsey and her site at 

www.artifactsofappreciation

up in Canada.

She is an avid spinner/knitter who sells the most luscious batts to spin up.

So yummy they include wool, alpaca, silk and kid mohair all carded together.

Above I separated the 5 batts she sent me into smaller segments.

Each batt was a bit different but they all flow beautifully together

as you can see.

The top half are separated into 8ths and then staggered,

the bottom half are separated into 4ths and lined up into rows.

Then I experimented spinning and plying them different ways.

I also wanted to add a bit more color into some of the yarns.

I had a braid of Blue Faced Leister wool and Tussah silk

that seemed to look good combined with Linsey's batts,

bought from Cowgirls Yarn in Laramie, Wyoming.

Below a much thinner length of the braid being auditioned & ready to spin up.

You can really see above the shine of the Tussah silk peeking out in all the batts.

So from left to right below,

the first skein is one of the experiments plied on itself,

same with the second skein.

I liked the second one better because more of the darker fibers showed up.

The 3rd skein is the braid spun up and plied on itself

Btw, 

I also experimented with how to spin up these batts,

woolen or worsted,

long or short draw or off the fold.

I ended up spinning long draw woolen off the fold for the most softness and shine.

My favorite skein is the 4th one,

 a singles of the braid plied with a singles of Lindsey's batts.

A close-up below.

I haven't used my spinning wheel in at least 3 years now,

and it just feels so good to get back at it.

Because spinning is a global skill,

like riding a bicycle,

it comes right back to you.

Super relaxing while I binge on Netflix's Longmire,

a modern Western murder mystery series about a Wyoming sheriff,

his Deputies & town,

and the Cheyanne people that live on the reservation nearby.

Starring the older but still very handsome Australian actor,

Robert Taylor,

as well as Lou Diamond Philips and A. Martinez. 

The scenery is gorgeous so I looked to see where it was filmed.

Several locations in New Mexico were used

including Santa Fe, Eagles Nest, Espanola, Red River, Los Alamos and Las Vegas.

And the most iconic location in the series is Longmire's log cabin 

filmed in the Valles Caldera National Preserve.

So what to make out of these delicious yarns?

Stay turned for my next post,

or ha ha,

maybe my next one after that.