Knitting

Jennie · Post by **Jennie** » Mon May 15, 2006 6:45 pm

Cynth wrote:I don't know if your wife would think this website is funny or not. It has knitting pattern pictures and also sewing pattern pictures. The comments can be a little off-color, but nothing extreme.

http://weirdbabe.typepad.com/threadbared/

Cynth, these are a stitch!

Highly recommended even for those who have no idea what the whole stockinette stitch discussion was about.

Jennie
(who still has to start over on the sleeves for a sweater she promised her husband two years ago)

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Mon May 15, 2006 8:03 pm

Reminds me of James Lileks (author of The Gallery of Regrettable Foods.)

Berti66 · Post by **Berti66** » Sat May 27, 2006 12:34 am

great to finally have a topic on knitting.........
does any of you do spinning too? I do.....its cool to make your own yarns, much cheaper too if you are into natural materials, like me.
and no it is not all plain boring white or brown

good that all those traditional crafts seem to be making a comeback:
spinning, knitting, crochet, baking bread, what else???

berti

Cynth · Post by **Cynth** » Sat May 27, 2006 8:26 am

Berti66 wrote:great to finally have a topic on knitting.........
does any of you do spinning too? I do.....its cool to make your own yarns, much cheaper too if you are into natural materials, like me.
and no it is not all plain boring white or brown

good that all those traditional crafts seem to be making a comeback:
spinning, knitting, crochet, baking bread, what else???

berti

I read a little bit about drop spindle spinning, I believe it's called. You don't use a wheel, but drop a spindle while trying to get some wool to turn into yarn and wrap around it. It sounded fun, but I thought I probably should stick with my knitting and at least finish a few things I've started.

Do you buy the wool already cleaned and ready to spin?

Berti66 · Post by **Berti66** » Sat May 27, 2006 9:26 am

hi cynth,

oh yes I do dropspindle spinning too and it is great fun! especially because you can take your spinning with you and get wonderful reactions from curious people watching you play with your spindle.
for me this was the start into the wonderful world of wool, the spinning wheel, all the sheep breeds available and EACH one different and all the possibilities of fibers you can use to create your OWN yarn.....

its easiest to start spinning on a spindle with roving, that is, the wool has been washed etc and then combed into a long soft fluffy thing that you can prepare to spin directly from.
there is so much to find on the internet with instructions and resources.
and yes I do buy fleeces from breeders when I can, but suggest to try get a roving (or "top" as they are called sometimes) to start with.
there are plenty people sticking with just this.....it is a bit more expensive but saves you the work to hop right in with the FUN part

feel free to contact me by PM if you have questions (not only cynth, anyone feel free) and I will love to help any of you out.

cheers
berti

Tyghress · Post by **Tyghress** » Sat May 27, 2006 10:02 am

I've thought of dropspindle spinning too, but right now the Peacock Feathers Shawl is keeping me too busy. I have one month to finish this for my sister's trip/birthday, and at 440 stitches per row (and growing still) it takes an effort to complete.

Of course, I'm lining up the next projects that I hope to have done for the middle sister's birthday in October...

Berti, is dropspindle spinning something you can learn online, or do you need someone to show you the techniques?

Tyg

Berti66 · Post by **Berti66** » Sat May 27, 2006 10:20 am

OMG tyg, 440 stitches a row..........that's quite a job indeed!

and yes you can learn dropspindling online, if you are looking for a tutorial online let me know.
it's only that you have to know a few things beforehand which most tutorials don't tell, that is how to prepare the roving/ top (that I was talking about earlier).
there is also a yahoo group called spindlers, which is a real friendly place where you can get help with all the questions you could ever think of

if you need to know more, just yell ....
berti

JessieK · Post by **JessieK** » Sat May 27, 2006 2:13 pm

A year and a half ago I was doing a crafts fair and I bought, because it was SO soft, some handspun angora (rabbit) yarn. Over a few months that followed, I crocheted my daughter a sweater out of it. I had no pattern and no idea what I was doing, but had learned a simple (half double crochet) stitch years ago that was somehow still in my brain and fingers. It came out really well, if I do say so myself, and an obsession was born.

The angora started to fluff and pill over time, so I didn't go for more of that, but I do love natural fibers and handspun yarn. I have crocheted spiral scarves, regular scarves, intricate hats, simple hats, half of a dress, a blanket, parts of sweaters, etc., all without a pattern. I don't do patterns. I did get a book of stictches, though, and I am varying that a bit. I am getting into freeform crochet, which is intimidating and REALLY COOL. Here's a link to freeform links:

http://www.freeformcrochet.com/fflinks.html

I tried to knit, but it didn't happen for me. I really like to crochet.

I was obsessed with acquiring handspun yarns back in November/December, and I have enough to last a long time. I am keeping moths out of them by putting lavender essential oil on paper towels all around the yarns. I really hope it will work. I would be very upset if moths got to my yarns.

Here's a link to my favorite spinner's eBay store:

http://stores.ebay.com/Fraydknot-Handspun-Yarns

She is a wonderful woman with whom I have developed a friendship. Her yarns are inspiring and thick, easy to turn into beautiful things. She happens to live next door to Casey Burns.

I got into spinning for a while. I did it on a drop-spindle. It's too time-consuming for me, though. There is SUCH beautiful yarn available that I want to spend my fiber time crocheting as opposed to spinning.

Fun topic.

Cynth · Post by **Cynth** » Sat May 27, 2006 8:09 pm

It is really interesting to see what types of things appeal to different people. I am the least freeform person you would ever find. I can't imagine knitting a sweater from just sort of going ahead and doing it

. That freeform crochet is really neat looking. One hat looked like something that had been under the ocean and many things had grown on it. I would like to have a hat like that! I think I may have seen a knitting book with similar ideas. It looks fun. They probably have some instructions for the freeform-lacking person.

Just on a slightly different note. I saw a book about Andean knitting today and many people use old bicycle spokes sharpened on each end for double pointed needles. Men and women knit. They put the yarn around their necks in some way I couldn't quite understand to maintain the tension.

And, I am going to knit my husband a necktie! He has to wear ties quite often so it would actually be useful. I found some patterns. I like teeny tiny knitting stitches and I like knitted neckties. I'll use machine washable sock yarn I think, and then when he gets a spot on it I can put it in a little bag and just wash it in the washer.

And Berti, I haven't forgotten about drop spindle spinning. They had absolutely no books on it at the bookstore! But I think I have to use up some of the yarn I have before I get into something new. Or, maybe not!

Lambchop · Post by **Lambchop** » Sun May 28, 2006 8:22 am

I wasn't too good at drop-spindle spinning. It required too much coordination, so I got one of these:

It's very easy to spin on this. Spinning is easy, and it's an "organic" experience. It's satisfying and you may feel a remarkable connection with the earth when you do it. The knowledge of how to do this, for me, almost seems genetically programmed.

Bertie is right, you should begin with pre-prepared roving. They wash the fleece, card it (comb it), and get it all lined up nicely in a loooong roll about the diameter of a paper towel tube. You spin it directly off the end of that roll. Works like a charm.

If you use a whole fleece, you can spin it off of the tufts of wool while it's still sticky with lanolin. That works ok. Or, you can card it with a pair of special brushes, from which you roll it into cigar-shapes, from which you spin it.

Fleece is sticky with lanolin grease. Unless the sheep has worn a cover, it's also filled with dirt and bits of vegetation, sheep droppings, and bugs. And sheep dip. (They're not all as clean and fluffy as I am!)

Cynth · Post by **Cynth** » Sun May 28, 2006 9:15 am

Lambchop wrote:I wasn't too good at drop-spindle spinning. It required too much coordination, so I got one of these:

It's very easy to spin on this. Spinning is easy, and it's an "organic" experience. It's satisfying and you may feel a remarkable connection with the earth when you do it. The knowledge of how to do this, for me, almost seems genetically programmed.

Bertie is right, you should begin with pre-prepared roving. They wash the fleece, card it (comb it), and get it all lined up nicely in a loooong roll about the diameter of a paper towel tube. You spin it directly off the end of that roll. Works like a charm.

If you use a whole fleece, you can spin it off of the tufts of wool while it's still sticky with lanolin. That works ok. Or, you can card it with a pair of special brushes, from which you roll it into cigar-shapes, from which you spin it.

Fleece is sticky with lanolin grease. Unless the sheep has worn a cover, it's also filled with dirt and bits of vegetation, sheep droppings, and bugs. And sheep dip. (They're not all as clean and fluffy as I am!)

Lamby, is that a spinning wheel? I mean, it looks different than the ones I've seen, yet there is a wheel. Maybe it is a modern one and I've just seen those wooden ones. It does sound best to start with roving. It seems like it would be a little overwhelming to have to go out and shear a sheep and then figure out what to do with the wool to clean and prepare it.

I have a mitten pattern somewhere that has roving woven through the knitting somehow. They are beautiful and supposedly very warm. I didn't really know what roving was at the time and thought you had to make it yourself, which wasn't possible for me. But now that I know that a person can buy it, I should take a look at it again. Oh, but first I just need to finish these socks!

Lambchop · Post by **Lambchop** » Sun May 28, 2006 6:25 pm

Yes, it's a spinning wheel. Here are some more from Louet Louet. (I'm shocked at the prices now! Glad I've had mine for years!)

You can actually buy wool from particular sheep. There is a really nice feeling knowing that Buttons or Sphinx, for example, grew your sweater and it kept her warm one winter, and now you for who knows how long! Here's the link to JacobsArts.

Here's MarrHaven. Nice natural colors. (Merino wool is very nice.)

Look at the spectacular colors here at Outback Fibers.

I used to use sheep serum in one of my labs. We had a contract with a local lady who had this little flock of sheep she would bleed every so often as we needed serum. The sheep didn't mind, and she made enough from her accounts at NIH and all the labs in Washington, DC, to enable her to keep all those sheep and the little farm, too. She found out I was looking for a source for fleece. The next time she came out, she brought a huge bag. In it was a lovely gray fleece. Her son had shorn the sheep that weekend and had taken special care to shear "Emily" so that the fleece came off in one intact piece. The "leader" on my spinning wheel, the piece of yarn you keep on there to get everything started, is still from that fleece.

My spinning wheel needs a part. Two parts, actually. It's the flexible plastic piece that goes between the foot pedal and that stick-like piece of wood that attaches to the foot pedal. I also need the "drive belt" piece of stretchy plastic that goes around the wheel. As the wheel turns, the "drive belt" goes around the spindle holding the new yarn and turns it.

They're not expensive--none of the replacement parts are--but I've been avoiding ordering one because you have to find a shop in the US that will get one for you, mail it to you, etc. I've looked at the parts list and can't really tell from the names of things what I need. Goodness only knows what I'd get.

If anyone knows of a reliable shop, let me know, would you?

Berti66 · Post by **Berti66** » Sun May 28, 2006 10:28 pm

hi lamby

since louet are dutch products and I live in the netherlands, get in touch with me and send me your snail addy

I might have that rubber part for you.

have enjoyed your stories, let's keep trying to get them all spinning will we???

isn't it a lovely craft we have.......and a comfort in those times that we need it.
am really jealous you all living in the States, where you have such great resources for wonderful fleeces.
in the netherlands GOOD fleeces are real hard to find, only a handfull breeders, if at all........lots of fleeces with stuff in them and the farmers THROW THEM OUT while they could make money with just a little more care.
so I have found a breeder in new zealand and imported two fleeces which will last me a while.

cheers
berti

spittin_in_the_wind · Post by **spittin_in_the_wind** » Mon May 29, 2006 9:08 pm

OK....

So things were going pretty good, the scarf was lengthening nicely. Got a few feet into it. Then somehow I magically increased it by about 10 stitches over the course of about 6 inches in length. How the heck did that happen?!?!?! I am now decreasing it by about 10 stitches over about 3 inches in length and will call the resulting bulge a nosewarmer!

Robin

Charlene · Post by **Charlene** » Mon May 29, 2006 10:17 pm

Now that I'm through sewing my daughter's ren faire garb, I can get back to knitting. Nice, relaxing knitting. No tension getting fouled up and having all funny stitches on one side of the material. No cutting out patterns and pinning them together. Just knit and purl, knit and purl.

I've knitted several things - a few sweaters, a big shawl that took most of one summer vacation during high school, hats, mittens, vests. Now I'm doing slippers to replace the ones that have worn out. I've knitted Barbie clothes in the past. Those use really tiny needles.

I can crochet a chain, and can finish off the edges of knitted things with crochet, but never have been able to do more than that.

I was going to try tatting at one time and bought a shuttle but it was so tiny and the instructions sounded really complicated so I never did.