Adventures in Cobweb Lace Making

Adventures in felt making.

Life has settled down quite a bit and I find there is space for greater creativity.  I found myself setting up a long table in my living room and breaking out my felting supplies. Nuno felting is done by felting on to silk or cheese cloth. Cobweb felting felts to itself without the benefit of a base fabric.  I first saw the technique on Pinterest.  Inevitably with Russian explanations.

Greenwood Fibers has a YouTube video on cobweb felting.

Video watched: check
Felting supplies:  check

Result:

This fiber is a 50/25/25  Merino/silk/bamboo in a hand dyed colorway from Carin Engen Fiber Ats which I purchased from the Tin Thimble.  I was looking to put small holes in the scarf but in the felting process any holes made at the beginning of the process will grow to three times their size by the end of process.  The picture doesn't really show it, but there are still fibers running through the holes and it actually looks better in real life than in the picture.  The felting process by it's nature shrinks and what began as 72 inches became about 65 or thereabouts.  

I liked the result enough to promptly buy several colorways from Greenwood Fibers for more felting fun.  Christmas is just around the corner.

My New Best Friends - Bookwise

Since I have become my dad's primary caregiver, time is at a premium these days and I am still struggling to figure out how to complete the Master Level 1 handknitting program. Time is at a premium and my knitting is the mindless kind these days, the kind I can pick up and put down and not think too deeply about. Having said that, I have been indulging in some knitting retail therapy - book wise. 

Charles Gandy recommended Nancie M. Wiseman's The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques.  I have been knitting a child's cardigan and I was at the point of fitting the sleeves into the armholes.  This gave me the opportunity to practice the joining technique.  Was it a great job?  Not really.  In the Master's Handknit we submit swatches which are to be a reflection of "our best work".  It is easy to get fixated on that one small part of the program.  I think the real value of the Master's hand knit program is the ability to research, practice and expand one's knowledge.  This sweater is also helping me practice weaving in yarn ends.  As a side benefit I learned that the duplicate stitch method is a great way to 'fix' or reinforce sloppy, loose gauge on the sides.  Sloppy side gauge is a separate issue that I need to work on. 

I also picked up The Knitter's Handbook. Small, portable and spiral bound.

I am finding there is a lot of different information out there regarding knitting.  Knitting is a very slippery business with different definitions for many of the techniques.  I am knitting a simple cowl that has mobious in it's title.  It is not technically a mobious.  It is just circular knitting with the cast one row having a twist in it. This does create a twisted fabric, but a true mobious it is not.

I am surprised how my knitting is secretly improving.  I used to look at Vogue knitting magazine and think "Yea right, I will never be able to knit that stuff".  Now it doesn't seem so out of reach.

Serious Whine - The More I Try And Improve The Worse My Knitting Gets.

Pity Party For One
Table in the Corner
Pass the Whine

It seems the more I try and improve the worse it gets.  I keep pulling out old items I have knitted and that K2P2 is just fine thank you.  It is even, consistent and there is a whole sweater of it, but can I knit a swatch for the Master's level1? - apparently not.

I even bought the metal signature needles that were getting such great reviews, but for me they are heavy, very slippery, and probably because of the way I learned to knit I have to grip them so hard to keep them in one place, my tension is tighter and my hands ache after awhile.  So, I am no fan.  I went looking for some wood needles but didn't find any at my local shop and my usual shop is closed on Mondays.  Actually, I think I am just chasing excuses - while I am sure I am learning things, the biggest thing I am learning is I probably don't have the technical ability to manage this program.  Others will breeze through it......but for me, well sometimes you just have to learn that not every thing you want to achieve is possible.

The Master's - The Process is the Destination

It has been a very busy last 30 days what with one daughter turning 25 and the other married last Saturday, being offered a space to set up a weaving/fiber studio in which to work and the acquisition of a community garden plot.  Seems like it has been one long party and not a lot of time for The Master's Hand Knit endeavour but I have managed to knit a few swatches here and there.  Okay, actually I have managed to knit the same damn swatch a gazillion times and I still can't get the decrease stitch to not look elongated.  I am going to try knitting it while standing on my head and chanting "Ommmm" next.

I have taken a lot of classes, workshops, certificate programs, and formal academic studies in my life and I have been reflecting on some of the things I have learned or am discovering in the Masters:

1.      It is no "give me" process.  This is course work which will make you really think about your knitting, you will gain a much better understanding of how fabric is made and how to get the look you want when you want it.  It will also frustrate the hell out of you.  But it is no meaningless achievement to complete all three levels, and I have some really meaningless certificates kicking around in folders.  You will earn every bit of it.  Being a completely illiterate knitter I came to the table and hit the floor stumbling. 

 2.     Being somewhat dyslexic is not helpful in understanding the structure of knit stitches since it requires a certain amount of spacial ability I apparently don't have - so things take me longer to understand - probably why I love color knitting and hate lace.

3.     It is non competitive only if you don't count yourself.

4.     The support from TKGA and Raverly is phenomenal, they do want you to succeed but they won't do the work for you.

5.     The long tail cast on creates a series of "purl like bumps" on the first row if you knit it.  Generally I have always assumed the first row would be a knit and therefore the "right side", but you get a purl like appearance.  But if I purl the first row it looks much more in sync with the cast on edge.  This may or may not work depending on pattern, row counts, etc. but I still prefer the smooth side being the knit side.  Did I just learn something or am I making myself crazy?  Only time will tell.

I think we have all heard that it isn't the destination but the journey that matters.  I have come to the conclusion that the journey is the destination; they aren't separate things.  Each moment is both journey and destination with life as well as in the Master's.

Nana, the Other Fiber Source (a dog and fiber post)

I have a Briard and they are a lovely, if busy dog.  They also have this wonderful long fur and I have a thing for big fuzzy animals.  Unfortunately, it is possibly the all time worse choice for where I live.  Her fur is a velcro mat for every foxtail, cockaburr, corkscrew or miner's lice burr the grasses around here can produce.  Since she and I spend a great deal of time outside this is a problem.  One morning at the ranch equals 45 minutes of going through her feet and legs on top of the usual grooming requirements.  In addition, she really isn't a hot weather dog.  Consequently I took the desperate, radical step and had her sheared.

Before shearing

If you look closely you can see how she also collects twigs that have to be untangled from her furry feet.

After Shearing

She looks ridiculous - but she doesn't pant as much and after a morning at the barn she only required a quick foot check for foxtails and we both breathed easier. One of the side benefits of this shearing was a large zip lock bag of Nana hair and a book lent to me by the groomer.

 The guild heads to the 3rd annual Spindle Camp this June and I think it will be a perfect time to try spinning dog hair.  I wonder if I can get a nice scarf out of this and it is definitely time to get a pair of hand carders. 

As much as I love my furry dog and think she looks dumb naked, shearing may become an annual event unless I move to a much more friendly Briard environment.

To Dog or Not to Dog, that is the Question

"Tempest Meet Teapot" says S.L.

My fiber guild board has just passed a vote stating that dogs need to be kept on a leash and by the individuals side during guild meetings and Spinning Saturday due to some individuals being allergic or afraid of dogs if I understood the issue correctly.  Keeping a dog by one's side is a reasonable request as opposed to having it roaming around the room.  I commend the board for taking a measured approach to this concern.  I'm not sure what sparked this discussion or decision on the part of the board to take a stand on the dog issue.  As anyone who knows me knows, I love dogs and have brought my own to the Spinning Saturday meetings as have several others.  My dog is a major PITA, being young and still needing to learn to be good in public, and I keep her leased there. I bring her as a training exercise and don't keep her there very long.  Her idea of greeting a new person is to launch herself at them like some kind of offensive tackle.  But dogs, like kids need to be courteous members of the group and not cruising the room, going through a person's personal items or pawing people. 

There has been some public dialogue that this is about having "clean air" and not have dogs because of airborne allergens, if this is part of the issue I personally find it ludicrous.  Spinning Saturday is a guild event that happens monthly at the local library.  Requesting dogs be barred because of air born allergens is, in my opinion goofy (or a serious control issue on someones part).  If you take 20 people spinning every fiber possible the air is going to be anything but clean.  It is a melting pot of allergens all airborne.   It is going to be filled with bits and pieces of wool, camel, tensel, rabbit, silk, lama, alpaca, and dog hair.  Yes, people spin dog hair - you can't tell me the air is clean or that people need to make sure a dog can't be there because of air borne allergens. If you are allergic to some kind of fiber, what the hell are you doing at a group meeting that will have fiber everywhere?  And then you are going to complain about it? 

My dog is my constant companion (yes, I do leave her at home sometimes) and I work hard to make sure that she continues to learn her social manners.   I think it completely reasonable for the guild board to request that dogs brought stay by the individuals side and be under leash or voice control.  I feel the same way about people who bring their kids to guild events.   People can be afraid of dogs and should not have to have some strange dog trying to sniff their crotch which is polite doggie behavior, but doesn't go over well with people. 

Again, I must commend the board on their measured approach to this issue,.  I think well behaved dogs should be allowed at meetings.  Well behaved being the operative word here.  But leave the airborne allergy card at home, it's a fiber meeting.  You might as well call it an airborne allergen meeting.  Next we will have people stating that members of the guild can only spin yak, because wool makes them sneeze.

Unfortunately, the public discussion just took a rather ugly and personal  turn for the worse this morning. 

Master's Knitting Program

I love design and I deeply admire the technical abilities of the great knitters.  It has become increasingly obvious that my technical abilities do not equal the knit designs that are rattling around my brain. I also love stranded work and after designing my Unicorn Hat I realized I needed to learn more techniques than the usual "fly by the seat of my pants" version. I think knitters have many teachers that contribute to their knowledge. 

I think we all learn from each other and the fiber community is amazingly generous in its willingness to share a love of the craft.  But it is time to really explore knitting, hence I have committed to increasing my expertise and have decided to enroll in the Master's Knitting program from the Knitting Guild of America .  This is a three level program with a review committee that guides the learning process. You may not proceed to level two unless you have successfully completed level one.   I have a University level Master's degree and frankly this Master's certification program seems every bit as complex.  It is probably the first certification program that I actually respect, and I have lots of certifications that I have picked up in the mental health field.  I have several goals in taking this course:

1.  To increase my technical abilities and really learn this craft
2.   Learn to design more effectively
3.   I would really, really like to be able to work part time in a knitting shop and know that I had the skills to help those who were just starting out in the very satisfying and addictive world of fiber. 



Design gone Bad

Sometimes the ole family motto:  "Seemed like a good idea at the time" applies when what happens is sorta yuck.

I wanted to design something different than a hat.  But I like the quickness of accessories so I thought I would design a neck/cowl thingy.  I wanted it to be somewhat stranded but not exactly fair isle.  Because it was stranded I thought it should be reversible so the backside of the stranded work wouldn't catch on things.  I also wanted a southwest flavor and since it was going around the neck - not scratchy.  I started fiddling with the math of gauge, size, yarn and charting to make it all work with 3 repeats of the design.  I came up with this:

Ye ole Chart

The white background of the chart would actually be a black yarn and I was looking for gold, turquoise, red and black.  I chose KnitPicks Gloss DK yarn for it's softness; and I was thinking about submitting it to the Independent Design Program.  Well...I have said before I am not the most technical knitter and figured  I would just duplicate stitch the sun motif (which I didn't), and do a modified intarsia for the deer rather than carry the threads from one deer motif to the next.  This brilliant idea gave me a gazillion ends to weave in.  I am thinking a duplicate stitch for the deer motif and the sun would have been a better choice over all.

Now I generally don't mind weaving in ends, but this was just plain obnoxious.  It also created another problem - showing through the front.

You can see the woven ends showing through the black - yuck!

To use the yarn more efficiently I stripped the back side which made it look way to "Cat in the Hat" for me.  But then I am not a big fan of stripping.

I have just sat on this thing for weeks.  I am at the 3 needle purl bind off, once I finish weaving in the rest of the ends, and I am having the hardest time looking at it.  I can say that it won't be going to the IDP program for consideration. I am so disenchanted with this I don't want to spend the money to buy yarn for test knitters.  I might in a moment of madness buy more yarn for myself and do the whole thing over again doing a duplicate stitch for the deer and sun to see what happens. 

 I will probably post it to Ravelry for the usual $1.99 with a serious "You really don't want to do this because you will regret it sales job" description.  Charging for something kicks in the cognitive dissonance function and psychologically peeps are less likely to be irritated then if you give the pattern away for free - go figure.

Pixels vs. Paper (a fiber post)

There has been some discussion lately on Ravelry which is a knit and crochet community, on pricing of knit and crochet patterns.  It might be helpful to know that Ravelry is the Facebook of the knit/crochet world and there are some amazingly gifted individuals there creating and offering patterns for sale (and a bunch that offer free patterns, I mean really good free patterns).  Money in the knit community is made from patterns, not from knitting an item and then selling it.  Okay, you can also make money being really, really clever and doing workshops and teaching people things or writing wildly funny blogs that get you book contracts, like the Yarn Harlot  http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/.  But for the rest of us, we make a pattern, then post it for sale here, there, or submit it to magazines or Independent Designer Programs, etc. This brings up the question of how do we price?  I waded in on a discussion that was occurring regarding this issue on Ravelry with the comment that we are selling Pixels not paper and that if we are selling a pdf download it should be cheaper than if they were selling a paper pattern we then mail to a customer.  I received not a few "disagrees" over that opinion.  But I still hold to it.  My panties haven't untwisted over one of the big publishing houses fight with Amazon.  Amazon wanted to sell the Kindle version for less than the trade paperback version.  The big publishing house wasn't having it.   Amazon lost over what I see was definite corporate greed by the publishing house.   

If I create and actually print the pattern for sale I have costs I don't have when I create a pdf download.  I have paper, ink, printer wear, storage, my time, postage for mailing.  These are hard costs and it seems reasonable to factor them into the price of the pattern.  But if I create a pdf download then the majority of those costs are yours not mine and if does not seem reasonable to pass those costs on to you as if I actually incurred them.  But that is essentially what that big publishing house did when it faced down Amazon.  I'm reminded of what I used to say to my kids (I'm sure they hated it)  "Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should".  I don't think you should charge paper prices for pixels.  My pattern is priced at $1.99.  I think it is probably priced a little low, but I don't think it should be priced higher than $2.50 max.  It is a pdf download, all associated print costs are yours.  If you want me to print, mail, etc.  I will charge you $5.00 for the pattern, otherwise $1.99 is reasonable in my opinion.

Just because I could charge more, doesn't mean I should.

Fiber Artist at Work

I apparently have been remarkably mellow the last several months.  Other than the ongoing adventure with Nana that can be found on my other blog - I have had only moments of small irritation, not enough to get all fired up and write about.  Of course now that I think about it there has been a recent knit pattern that I have my panties in a twist about because it is poorly edited, contradicts itself and the designer is not particularly responsive.  Really cute item, but I will never buy from that designer again.

My attention has been directed to my own knit designs.  I submitted a knit pattern to KnitPicks and they accepted it into their Independent Designer Program.  I have two other design ideas in progress, not counting the current project I have on the needles by the designer that will remain nameless and life is pretty well taken up with dog, horse and fiber.  It occurred to me that almost all the designers have blogs or websites and I figured that I already had a blog, in fact two of them.  I thought about creating a third which was just crazy.  I don't keep up with the two I have.  So I thought I would just tweak this one to be more fiber oriented.  Unfortunately, Stitch and Bitch is taken so Tired of Being Nice Sometimes Designs will just have to do.  Heck.....I can stitch and bitch to my heart's content here without having to create anything new.  Who knows, maybe I will get so mellow I will have to change the title to Enjoys Being Nice. Frankly, I wouldn't bet on it.

I'm Having Commitment Issues ( A Fiber Post)

I've decided that yarn projects are like dating.  About a month ago I consummated a blind date with a Fair Isle Tam kit I picked up when I was in Washington.  Like most blind dates, I wasn't sure how it would all turn out, but was willing to try. I loved it, it was fun....I got all lit up and decided that I should do this again.  In fact, I decided to design my own Fair Isle Tam.  I started searching sites for suitable matches to my inspiration.  I was all giddy anticipation, romantic delusions in place. Would this all work out, would there be a happy ever after?  And then reality strikes, oh my.....hmmmm......this yarn doesn't quite have the texture I was looking for, that's ok...I can compromise a little.  I stare at the yarn, it stares back.  There is an awkward silence. 

It is time to commit, to cast on, to actually get started.  What do I do?  The dishes, the laundry, anything but cast on and commit to my fantasy of trying to create something with these 10 balls of fingerling color.  I can do this...really, it's just a matter of ...ummmm.....casting forth, I mean on.  But what if I get it all wrong, I internally wail.  What if it is awful? 

Sigh....I guess I will never know unless I at least commit to a second date with this yarn. As I said, I am having a small commitment issue.  Well, I can always kick it to the street if it does me wrong and then start searching the Internet for a better match - one more my type.