Almost Finished

It really caught me by surprise that several (three) people have mentioned over the past few weeks that they haven’t seen any new blog posts in a while and asked if I’m still working on anything. Honestly, I think that is my entire reader base and I was surprised that anybody would even notice, but I appreciate you all keeping an eye on the blog! Rest assured that I am always working on something and hope to have some finished projects to share soon. Right now it feels like most of my projects are nearing the end, but nothing is quite done yet.

In my last post I had shared that I was working on weaving a pair of scarves for Kyle and me. I finished the weaving over a month ago and cut the scarves off the loom, but haven’t quite managed to wrap up the finishing work in order to call them done yet.

The fabric is a little bit stiffer than I had anticipated, but I am hoping it will soften and become more supple after washing/fulling. before I can do that, though, I have to finish twisting the fringe on either end so the weft doesn’t try to escape in the wash.

I am only halfway through one side of Kyle’s scarf and haven’t even begun working on mine yet. It would only take a matter of a few hours to finish both scarves, but a combination of the beautiful spring weather we have been having down here which eliminates any need for a wool scarf, and the temptation of newer, more alluring projects has me distracted. As long as I finish these scarves before cold weather sets in again in October everything is fine, right? I’m only half joking – I really would like to finish these and put them away much sooner than that. Finishing these scarves will also inform future weaving projects because I will have a better understanding of how this yarn behaves when washed and whether my sett (how close together the warp threads are – 15 ends per inch in this case) was the appropriate choice.

Spinning has taken over my crafting time lately, partly due to my latest acquisition all thanks to Kyle – a brand new Ashford e-Spinner 3 (pardon the terrible photo).

Last month, Kyle and I visited the nearest yarn shop for the first time since moving down here over a year ago. Please understand that “nearest” is relative and it was still an hour-long drive to get there, but almost anywhere around here is an hour away so it felt perfectly manageable. We got to chatting with the owner and she had asked us what crafts we like to do and we got on the topic of spinning. She asked me what spinning wheel(s) I have and then started telling me about her electric spinning wheels and asked if I had ever looked at any of those. This is the part of the conversation where Kyle learned that OF COURSE I have read about electric spinning wheels and have been researching them for years as maybe a “someday” purchase. Well Kyle, sweet as he is (and because I wouldn’t stop talking about it after that trip) ended up ordering one for me. I have really enjoyed getting acquainted with it and learning its unique quirks. I found a braid of mystery BFL in my fiber stash to practice with as my first project on the e-spinner.

I don’t think this is necessarily colors I would have chosen for myself, but as a practice spin it was perfectly suitable. The e-spinner can spin FAST and while speed isn’t everything, I was curious to see how quickly I could spin up 4oz. of fiber. Another benefit of an electric spinning wheel is that it eliminates the need to treadle, which means I don’t always have to sit directly in front of the wheel to spin yarn. I can sit comfortably and reposition myself or the wheel as often as I want. And of course the most exciting quality of an e-spinner is that it is incredibly portable. The Ashford came with a carrying case so I can tote it around wherever I want to go, and it also has the option of being battery-operated, so you know what that means…

Creekside spinning! (I did move the battery pack out of the sun as soon as I took that photo.) I am really loving the portability and versatility of the e-spinner so far and it is a fantastic addition to my spinning arsenal. The 4oz. of wool spun up in no time, and now I have a full bobbin of singles that I will divide and turn into a 3-ply yarn. I approached this spin with very little worry about consistency and was more interested in playing around with the wheel, so the spinning is all sorts of lumpy, but hopefully turning it into a 3-ply yarn will help even some of that out. I was aiming for a thicker yarn than I normally spin as well, so I am eager to see what the finished yarn looks like.

I do love my Kromski spinning wheel as well; it feels so traditional and forms a connection to so many generations of handspinners before me. At only 13 pounds it is also quite portable, though a bit cumbersome, and I still love to drag it out to the porch for a bit of spinning when the weather is nice.

I am still working on the same project I have had going on this wheel since December, 2021. It truly feels like it will never end, no matter how many hours I put into it. But I am getting so close to the finish line now!

The fault is completely my own because I am spinning this so so so much thinner than I should have. The idea was to create a sock yarn by chain-plying the singles; creating a 3-ply yarn that preserves the colors and will end up being somewhat self-striping. I am worried, however, that even with three plies this is still going to end up being more like a laceweight yarn. Hopefully we will find out soon, because this little fluffball is all the fiber I have left to spin.

It’s hard to believe, but because I am spinning so fine, that little ball of wool is still going to take an hour or two to finish. However, for a project that has already taken over a year, a few more hours is a drop in the bucket. I am almost finished! This is also BFL wool and it was really interesting to have spent so much time working on this project to then pick up another braid of the same type of wool and spin it on the e-spinner. Both were mixed BFL top – essentially natural cream and natural brown wool striped together. Once hand-dyed, the stripes of brown in the base add more depth and complexity to the final preparation. The braid I spun on the e-spinner was much coarser and had quite a few neps (clumps of tangled fiber). What I have noticed with the wool I am spinning on my Kromski is that the fiber quality is significantly different between the base cream and the brown. The cream has a long staple length, is well organized and lustrous, while the brown is made up of much shorter fibers with quite a bit more crimp. This makes it more difficult to spin them together and I end up spinning the longer fiber first before drafting out the shorter brown wool. I do like the variation in color, though.

My spindle project is also nearing the finish line, with only half an ounce of fiber left to spin.

I took the first two ounces of fiber I had spun and wound it off onto one of my spinning wheel bobbins so I could then spin the other two ounces. This fiber has been a pure joy to spin. It is so soft and lofty, I am kind of sad to see this project coming to an end, but I am looking forward to trying out some of the new spindles I bought once this project is done. I am definitely going to keep this fiber in mind again when I am in the market for more stash acquisition. This is the “River Rock” colorway from Crafted by Locals on their 75% BFL/25% tussah silk base. I’ve said it in a previous post, but I am just so impressed by the quality of this fiber, it has been effortless to spin.

I bet you thought I was done talking about the e-spinner by now. Not a chance! I wanted to show this comparison between a bobbin that came with the e-spinner versus one of my other spinning wheel bobbins. On the left is a full four ounces of wool spun onto an e-spinner bobbin and you can see there is plenty of room left. On the right is 2 ounces of wool on a regular bobbin. Also above in the photo of my spinning wheel you can see that the bobbin is almost entirely full with 4 ounces of wool. The e-spinner bobbins, however, can hold at least 8 ounces! That will be excellent for larger projects or plying multiple 4oz quantities together.

I do have a sweater-quantity of fiber I bought at a fiber festival last April and the bobbins on the e-spinner will help me continue right along without interruption when spinning a bigger batch of wool. I am looking forward to giving that a try once I get more acquainted with the wheel. For now I am going to stick with 4oz braids while I get more accustomed to the little adjustments to speed and tension needed to make a consistent yarn.

On the knitting front, I finally bit the bullet and blocked the sweater pieces I had knit over a year and a half ago now. This is a sweater for myself using yarn I purchased from a local shepherd in 2018 at a wool festival in Minnesota.

I have sewn the button band and collar to the sweater, and attached one of the sleeves. All that is left now is to sew the second sleeve on, weave in the ends, and attach my buttons. I think this is going to be a great addition to my wardrobe come winter. It is so cozy (I tried it on with one sleeve) and with 15% alpaca added to the fiber blend, it will be extra warm. I am usually not a fan of alpaca because it can be quite heavy/drapey, but at such a small percentage the wool in this yarn still gets to be the star. I found the perfect ceramic buttons from an artist on Etsy, too.

Fingers crossed I will have finished projects to share with you in my next post! I will share more details about all of these projects as they wrap up as well. Or will I get distracted by the next two weaving projects I have designed? Only time will tell.