Greens

For the last week or so, I've been working on the first of three bobbins of singles in shades of green which will be Navajo-plied into a three-ply yarn. I've had the wool for some time, but hadn't decided precisely how I wanted to spin it. With five shades of green to work with, I could have made it a fractal. Likewise, I could have run it through the drum carder, blending it into a batt. Several other options crossed my mind before I finally settled of Navajo-plying. What is that, exactly? It's a way of making three-ply yarn from a single bobbin of singles, essentially using your hands to make long loops of "finger-crochet" chain. It's also called "chain plying" for exactly that reason. One hand is held stationary in your lap. The other hand manipulates the yarn, drawing a loop toward the stationary hand while carrying a third strand along with it. When the stationary hand is reached, you draw up a loop through the end of the chain and feed the yarn onto the bobbin with the active hand while holding the new loop in the stationary hand. Sounds complicated, but it's just making a hand-held "crochet" chain on a longer scale. I finished up this bobbin this morning (and man, is it loaded!). It needs to rest for at least 24 hours before I begin plying it.

"Warped Weavers" Tartan Ruana

You'll have to forgive the less-than-glamorous model. Your attention should be directed to the ruana. This is the "Warped Weavers" tartan, developed by Caryl Bohn for the Acton Creative weavers' group on Facebook, and registered with the Scottish Registry of Tartans, #15142. After much experimentation to get a 50/50 weave using 8/2 cotton, I settled on 24 epi with a slightly harder than usual beat. It was woven as two panels matching the wider red stripe in the center back. Finished, it measures 60" x 40", and has a turned hem. There are many ways to wear a ruana (belted or otherwise), the most elementary being to just drape it around your shoulders as I have done in the center photo. Alternately, one end can then be thrown over a shoulder. It's perfect for those times when you just want to warm up a bit without putting on a sweater/jumper or a long-sleeved shirt.

Going for Gingham

Now that the tartan ruana is off the loom (I'm not quite finished with hemming it yet), I wanted to take a break from complicated patterns for a while, so I decided to make some plainweave towels in a gingham pattern. Gingham is traditionally woven tabby. If I changed it up and wove it as a twill on the same threading, it would be called "check" instead. "Buffalo check" is a larger version and is woven as a twill. Since my squares here are only six threads wide (roughly 1/4" at 20 epi), I am carrying the unused colour up the side, white on one side and blue on the other (and yes, they will be square once the piece is washed and fulled). For some strange reason, I keep singing "We're off the see the Wizard" as I weave this.

Stuffed

I might have been able to squeeze another couple of yards of plied wool onto this bobbin, but when they say Nano bobbins hold two ounces, they mean two ounces. This is roughly 2.25, and I knew I was pushing my luck. So...details! This is my first spin on the EEW Nano, and it was an absolute joy! I spun two bobbins, each with a smidge over an ounce of Corriedale wool, and then rather than plying them on my Louët, I decided to see how the Nano behaved with a full load. Because the singles were so fine, I had a little trouble controlling the amount of twist due to not staying focused on the job at hand. My tendency was to feed the plied yarn onto the bobbin before twisting it sufficiently, which I could have remedied by turning the speed down, but then I tended to overtwist in compensation. It's just going to take a little practice, and having said that, this is still a perfectly workable yarn. I'm very curious to find out how many yards are on there. I'll add a footnote when I find out.

Footnote: Unbelievable! It measured off at 266 yards!

Holodiscus Discolor

 

Ocean-spray (Holodiscus discolor) is a common shade-tolerant shrub native to the Pacific Northwest. Its profuse flowers are something of a roadside attraction in June and July. It is sometimes called "ironwood" (not to be confused with the Acacias, or any other of several dozen trees/shrubs bearing the same common name). Indeed, the stems are quite hard, but are generally too small to be of any serious use. The flowers, however, are another matter. Pollinators love it. It also serves as a larval host to at least one of our Swallowtail butterflies, and also to Lorquin's Admiral (a butterfly I see fairly regularly around here).

Formative Eggplant

It's going to be an eggplant! I have never had much success with growing vegetables. Fruits and berries, yes. Veg, no, but I went out on a limb this year and bought starts rather than trying to grow anything from seed. So far, I have only harvested one zucchini, but this formative eggplant gives me hope. The peppers (sweet and jalapeño) are almost ready to bloom as well. The tomatoes are flowering, although I have yet to see any sign that the pollinators are doing their job. And then there's the kale. After enjoying the thinnings as "microgreens," I've returned to my original opinion that it's not fit for human consumption. Scratch that one off next year's list of possibilities.

Second Go at Fractal Spin

My first two skeins of fractal-spun yarn turned out better than I'd expected, so I moved on to Experiment #2. It is now ready to be turned into a three-ply yarn (the last bobbin needs to rest for 24 hours). It was harder to control the colours, but I have only myself to blame for that. I should have read the description of the fiber more carefully, but when you search a fiber supplier's website for "top," you expect to be shown preparations with the wool aligned lengthwise, not roving, in which the fibers are hodgepodged. Yep, it was roving, not top. I prefer spinning worsted over woollen with the exception of when I'm spinning specifically for a nålbinding project. That's where this will wind up...something to do this winter. As for whether it will be adequately fractal when it's finished, well, we'll just have to wait and see. Chalk up one more on the side of "not going to buy this again."

YPLT Bridge

Yesterday morning, I took advantage of cooler temperatures to take a walk out to the new footbridge on the Yelm Prairie Line Trail. The trail terminates where I was standing to take the photo, but eventually, an extension will take it to the town of Roy some four miles to the north. Western Washington has a remarkable bike/walking trail system already, and this is part of a grand plan to connect existing trails. As it stands right now, YPLT connects to several others, allowing ambitious riders to pedal to Tenino and Lacey/Olympia, with spurs to various other locations. The longest ride I've ever made on the network was just over sixty miles (round-trip distance), but that was ages ago. On this occasion, I went by shank's mare for a round trip of four miles, averaging 3 MPH. I was surprised to see that trail developers anticipated "love locks" being hung, and had even encouraged the practice somewhat by stipulating that they were to be placed only on the fence and not on the bridge structure. There are only a few at this time, and I particularly liked the brass "love birds."

Nano Ounce

There it is! My first Nano ounce of Corriedale singles is done, and I am loving the way the Nano lets me spin a fine thread almost effortlessly. When this is made into a two-ply yarn, it will be a lace-weight, and I am really curious to know how many yards...miles!...of wool thread is on this bobbin. As someone who swore they'd never buy an e-spinner, I am eating my words. As for the fractal spin I've been doing on Bronka, the second skein is resting, waiting to be plied. I've given her another fractal-ish project to keep her busy for the rest of Tour de Fleece.

Parnassius Clodius

"Stay there until I get back!" I ran into the house as quickly as I could manage, grabbed the camera and started adjusting settings on my way back out through the kitchen door. Whatever this butterfly was, it certainly wasn't a Swallowtail. Had I ever seen one before? Possibly, but I couldn't recall the name. Fortunately, it was still enjoying the milkweed when I returned, but it was being very reluctant to open its wings for a portrait. However, that gave me the opportunity to observe two orange spots on the underside of the wings which, if you look carefully, can be seen through the semi-transparent forewing on the left in the image. The transparent nature of the wing is not due to worn scales as I initially assumed. It is typical of the Parnassians, in this case, Parnassius clodius. Fortune favoured me, and my visitor spread its wings before fluttering off to the woods. Yes, I had recorded the species once before in my yard, but it was still a thrill to see another one. My milkweed garden is paying bonuses!

Fractal 1

The first skein of fractal spin is done and dusted. The photo shows it before washing and thwacking (I don't "thwack," as such; rather, I "sprong" by looping the skein around both hands and then snapping my arms out to the sides several times over several rotations).  Now it's hanging out on the line, weighted and drying in the warm weather. It turned out much better than expected, and despite the colourway, it even looks kinda like a fractal spin. Before finishing, it measured 106 yards and 1.9 ounces (53 grams). Those figures put it at a worsted weight, although it feels slightly finer (but not fine enough to be DK).

Spinning My Eel

I swore I wasn't going to do this. In fact, only last week I told a friend I wasn't even remotely tempted to buy an e-spinner because I enjoy the treadling action of a spinning wheel. And then...because I wasn't tempted, you understand...I started reading up on them, and I discovered that the Electric Eel Nano was receiving glowing praise from all quarters. Plus, it was affordable...and by "affordable," I mean under $150 when other e-spinners go for $800 and up. Okay, it's tiny, but it holds two ounces. I usually put my yarns up in two-ounce skeins, and that's two-ply, i.e., two one-ounce bobbins, so the Nano would be more than adequate for my purposes. I looked at my budget. I looked at the calendar. I hadn't bought myself a prezzie in a long time, and September Morn is kinda just almost not quite nearly around the corner. I said to myself, "I need something new to learn," and that was the final word in the mental argument. The Nano arrived on schedule Tuesday, and after 15 minutes of thinking I was never going to get around the "no takeup" issues I'd seen other people posting about, I realized that I was using too heavy a leader, and the friction against the O-rings on the flyer hooks was preventing it from winding on. I changed out to a leader made out of sewing thread, and bingo! I was off and running. What I'm spinning here is some rather coarse Corriedale, and I'm drafting just enough hairs to hold together to make a very fine yarn. And what a great add-on challenge for the Tour de Fleece!

Plying Fractally

This isn't turning out as badly as I thought it might. In order to have enough bobbins for the second half of my wool allotment for the fractal spin project, I needed to free one up (I forgot I had one of six filled with lilac-coloured singles). That meant plying the three singles from the first half, and y'know what? I think I like it. Okay, it's lumpier than it should be (that was me, fighting with the clotted Malabrigo), and I could have chosen a colourway with better distribution of the colours, but it'll pass. The second half is working out better insofar as the spinning is concerned. The Louët is my "ply wheel." Her name is Lily. She lives in the back bedroom behind a closed door where Merry is only allowed with supervision. He wants to play with (or eat!) the wool, and he thinks the lazy Kate is a cat toy.

Un Mal Abrigo

"Malabrigo" was an unfortunate choice of name for a company producing wool for spinning, and perhaps I should have paid more attention to it. It means "bad coat" in Spanish, and although most of the wool in this braid is spinning up nicely, the dark bits are absolutely horrible. I've raised sheep, and my hands can tell the difference in the wools of various breeds. The green shades (almost white to blue-green) are Merino, but the browns and blacks are something else, and I'd be inclined to say they're the leftovers which got caught in the combs when this was processed into top. They are coarse, kinky (as opposed to the silky smooth feel of Merino), and so tangled and full of nepps that they refuse to draft. When I come to them, I have to stop spinning and pick them apart. The first three bobbins for my fractal spin did not go well, but I'll ply them anyway. The second half of the braid is progressing a little more smoothly, but I have learned an important lesson: no compres un mal abrigo.

Footnote here: people in the Tour de Fleece group I'm in are confirming that they've had similar experiences with this product. I am definitely never going to buy another Malabrigo product.

Moussaka on the Hoof

Ever wonder what an eggplant flower looks like? Well, here ya go. The blossoms are like those of many other Solanums, but on steroids. Yep, eggplant is a member of the same family as potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and deadly nightshade. You might ask yourself why some of them are edible and others are not. It depends on the level of certain alkaloids (notably solanine). Most of us know that you shouldn't eat the leaves or flowers of any of the Solanaceae, and that the eyes and greened-up portion of potatoes which have been exposed to light should be cut away before preparing. That's where the highest concentrations of solanine occur. However, we're not likely to make that mistake because solanine also renders those parts quite bitter, making them distasteful to garden predators like groundhogs and bunny rabbits. Other Solanaceae like bittersweet and deadly nightshade have high (even lethal) concentrations of solanine throughout the entire plant. Finally, it should be said that some people are more sensitive to solanine than others, and should avoid any plant in the family which is otherwise considered edible. As for me, I like a nice moussaka.

Tour de Fleece

Over the years, I've heard "Tour de Fleece" mentioned numerous times, but I never understood what it was. I knew that it ran concurrently with Tour de France, but that was about the size of it. This year, I decided I'd try to find out more. Turns out it's a world-wide "spin-a-thon" which you can participate in either as an individual or as part of a team. Social media is full of groups, some of which are more restrictive than others in the rules they set, but many just tell you to set a personal goal and stick to it for the duration of the bicycle race. I've joined one of the latter type, and for my challenge, I'll be doing my first fractal spin. I bought a four-ounce braid, but being somewhat uncertain about how this is going to work, I'll be starting with half of that. I like to put my handspun up in two-ounce skeins when possible. If all goes well with the first half, I'll spin the second one the same way. And with that, I'm off on my Tour!

Toppin' and Tailin' Time

It's toppin' and tailin' time! If you are a gooseberry jam aficionado as I am, you'd be willing to put in the effort to top-and-tail, i.e., cut off the stem and blossom ends of each individual berry, which is necessary before they can be turned into jam. I pick, top-and-tail, cut each berry in two, and then freeze them in jam-sized batches so I can do the cooking during cooler fall weather. It took me 45 minutes to top-and-tail the three cups of berries from this morning's harvest..first of the year, with lots more to come. My bushes are absolutely loaded this year! I let a few of these get a little too ripe so they were hard to cut in two without squishing, but another batch this size will be ready to pick either tomorrow or the next day. I love my gooseberry jam!

Fill-in Spin

With Tour de Fleece set to start in just a couple of days, my initial challenge was to find a "fill-in spin" to keep myself occupied after finishing up the cotton. I had 50 grams of lilac Merino left, and although I knew I wouldn't be able to get it all done (I have other time constraints), I knew I could get one bobbin of singles finished in the time frame. And wouldn't you know it? Now I'm ahead of schedule. At least I have a couple of bobbins of singles waiting to be plied. That should keep me busy until the 4th. As for my Tour challenge, I'm not exactly happy with the braid I picked out for a fractal spin. It didn't divide well, and I'm afraid it's going to turn out muddy, but having never spun a fractal before, perhaps it will work out better than I see it in my mind's eye.

June Waxwings

 

On two occasions earlier this week, I was almost certain I had seen a couple of Cedar Waxwings, outside their customary (and quite irregular) visitation schedule. Last night at bedtime, there was no question. An entire flock of them (more than a dozen) showed up to scavenge the seed scattered below the feeders. Several even came to the back steps, picking seeds out of the dry moss and from pockets in the concrete. They were nervous and flighty, but I managed to grab this photo for documentation purposes. It was surprising to see them at this time of year. When they do show up (and that only happens every four or five years), it almost always coincides with the Mountain-ash trees either being in flower or when their fruits are ripe.