Category: Knitting

Fibery stuff this week

PiaFelting

Pincushion progress:

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First one felted and stitched up ready to fill, but I want to add icord loops or something to have the option of hanging them from a hook. (if I can find a suitable location away from cat paws) I decided to try out the dye with regular laundry detergent, twice. Original yarn included in the photo. It turned out rather larger than I expected after my blanket adventure, but I liked the fabric the way it was, so didn’t want to give it another go at a higher temp.

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Second one felted and ready to be stitched. Yarn is dyed with madder exhaust and Dyer’s Chamomile. Also washed with the clothes and detergent.

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Third one – yarn chosen but the shape hasn’t presented itself to me yet. Possibly a cube. Originally all three were going to be like the first, but then the second wanted to be different and I obliged. Apparently my inner self does not want to be classy, and for now I’m listening – as long as it’s actually saying something, fine! Even if it means the house will look like a cirkus… Skeins are dyed with Dyer’s Chamomile and Weld (the lighter one).

Suffolk preparation started:

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I’ve decided to just finger pick everything to get rid of the tiny bits of vegetable matter, then loosely blend on hand cards, which I hate but really doesn’t take such a long time as I imagined. To be spun into yarn for the tapestry testing, and when I’m done I have a huge box of Dorset that I’ve plant dyed which needs the same treatment. I thought I said something about not production spinning?!

Sample loom 1 done:

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Seems to be working fairly well, I’ll be testing various widths of warp, how many meters of yarn go into xx cm of weaving etc. I tried at first without nails, just wrapping around, but I think it will work better with nails on the front. Possibly because the frame is so small, pulling the warp up from the back really makes it very taut. As well as being fiddly to adjust the gaps.
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danishUgens fiberprojekter

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Nålepuder af plantefarvet garn undervejs: Første er klar til at blive fyldt, og så skal jeg lige have lavet en løkke i toppen til at hænge den op, inden jeg kan sy den sidste kant. Garnet er farvet med vaid.

Nr. 2 er filtet og klar til at blive syet sammen (kraprod og gåseurt), den sidste er der fundet garn frem til (gåseurt og vau). Jeg har vasket det sammen med tøjet og almindeligt vaskepulver, noget plantefarve kan ikke lide den behandling, men jeg ville lige prøve at se hvordan disse, normalt ret farveægte typer holdt sig.

Jeg er endelig gÃ¥et i gang med den sidste klargøring af min Suffolk ham som jeg gik og sjatfarvede i sommer. Det bliver pillet fra hinanden med fingrene for at blive fri for plantefnuller og hÃ¥ndkartet løseligt (hvilket jeg er herredÃ¥rlig til, men det gÃ¥r faktisk hurtigere end antaget.) Ja, og sÃ¥ er der naturligvis den kæmpe kasse Dorset jeg har plantefarvet, som skal samme vej…

Og så har jeg lavet en miniature væveramme til at lave lidt garn- og tekniktest på.

Felted blanket

PiaFelting

I decided I wanted another blanket covering the box by the stove, and that it would be a fine way to test some of the plant dyed yarns. The original lid has white cloth on it, not very practical for cats with muddy paws.

The plan is to leave it there and take new pix after summer and after a year, after wash etc. to see how lightfast they are. Especially useful info for the tapestry project!

To make it sturdier I decided on a felted blanket, so I knit some squares very loosely, then threw it in the washing machine with soap flakes which are neutral and should not disturb the colours is my previous experience.

  • Start size: 75×85 cm, rather a lot larger than my swatch had indicated!
  • Size after 60 degree wash: 46 x 47 cm
  • Blocked: 50 x 50 cm
  • Colour development: No loss but some seem to have changed a bit. I guess I’ll have to find those skeins in the box and compare.
  • Yarn used: 185 g

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I’d expected to have to do another 90 degree wash and perhaps tumble dry AND handfelt a bit on the long side. It must have been the larger size and being washed with other items, because it ended up smaller than I wanted in the first wash. So instead I had to block it a bit. Actually I should have blocked it more, but whatever.

I used the same yarn base for all squares, and they were identical when I assembled them – so it’s quite funny how some now look smaller than the others. It’s fine, I meant it to be a bit random and organic looking. Now to see if I can get used to all that yellow. I’ve been saying that it’s amazing how nearly all plant dyed yarns seem to go well together. Well, they don’t quite. When I’m done with this, suntesting etc. I think it might have a meeting with an indigo vat. Which in itself will be interesting!

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Of course just now we won’t have any sun to speak of for about a week at least, so the photo conditions are not the best. But could I wait? Noooo….. I’ll have to compare colours to the remaining skeins. But it looks pretty much the same as what I put in the machine. Some plants are there twice, but dyed with different methods or mordants/modifiers.

I’m going to have to follow up later with the actual real colours in proper light, it’s just too dark here inside and out.

Filtetæppedanish

For at komme i gang med at bruge noget af mit plantefarvede garn, besluttede jeg at lave et lille tæppe til brændeovnstaburetten. Den har et lÃ¥g med hvidt stof, ikke sÃ¥ smart til dovne katte med mudrede tæer, men vi har hidtil bare “midlertidigt” haft et spejdertæppe lagt hen over.

Så jeg tænkte jeg samtidig kunne bruge det til at lysteste nogen af planterne og strikkede derfor nogen meget løse firkanter af hver sit nøgle garn, så jeg bagefter kunne filte tæppet uden at ende med et bræt. Jeg har primært brugt de ældste fra 2011 fordi jeg også går og lurer på, om de falmer i sig selv af at bare ligge.

Det blev lidt rigeligt stort i forhold til min strikke-vaskeprøve, men jeg smed det frisk i maskinen pÃ¥ 60 grader med sæbespÃ¥ner og et par hÃ¥ndklæder. Jeg havde egentlig regnet med, at det ogsÃ¥ skulle tumbles og mÃ¥ske vaskes pÃ¥ 90, men det kom faktisk mindre ud af maskinen end jeg skulle bruge! SÃ¥ det mÃ¥tte lige blokkes i stedet. Start: 75×85 cm, efter vask: 46×47, blokket: 50×50.

Farverne ser ikke ud til at have ændret sig i styrke, men nogen virker anderledes, så jeg må nok have kassen frem og finde de respektive nøgler, så jeg kan sammenligne. Sjovt nok er nogen af firkanterne mindre end de andre, altså filtet uens, for jeg har brugt samme garn hele vejen igennem. Men det er helt ok. Nu skal jeg så lige se om jeg kan vænne mig til alt det gule. Ellers ryger det i en gang indigo når jeg er færdig med at teste lysægthed. Der kommer et opdateret billede af de reelle farver, når vejret er til at fotografere uden blitz.

Jeg har brugt i alt 185 g garn.

Sweater SAL 3

PiaAcid Dyeing

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It’s knitweek at the cottage, so I finally managed to assemble my handspun sweater. Just have to weave in all the ends etc on this thing. I’m no grand knitwear designer, but it’s warm. I knit a double collar with silk to protect my dainty neck from scratchies.

Now for the second Shetland project, for which I need to dye more wool first, then spin.

Spindeforenings SAL del 3

Fiks og færdig pÃ¥nær et par løse ender – ikke sÃ¥ køn, men varm, med silke i halsen for at beskytte mit sarte skind.

Hexagon non-progress

PiaAcid Dyeing

I’ve decided to make my hexagon blanket in superwash only and preferably the same brand, a super soft merino. I have a whole bunch of solids as well as white and grey yarn to dye up in smaller skeins over time. I’m aiming at only a few duplicates of each, so some of my initial big batch dyeing projects have been put in the shop in case someone likes this yarn too, and that will enable me to get more yarn and keep playing. 😉 I want to dye as many different skeins as I can possibly cook up.

I’m also not making the hexagons double like a puff, making a very lightweight blacket. That may be a mistake, since they are stretchier and not as sturdy, I’ll have to come up with a non-stretchy edge/assembly method. I may want a contrasting border between each cell anyway. And yes, it’s going to take forever…. I’ve only made 15 so far + one that is too small because I forgot how many stitches I used for the others.

I’d like some opinions, do you think I’ll regret not making them double? I was thinking of perhaps backing them with fabric, but maybe I should go double knit like a puff, to help it keep its shape better? They ARE very thin, I have to admit that. I can always lay my singles double and mount them with the knitted doubles, so no work is wasted. I don’t want them stuffed.

I’ve also considered knitting them larger, making a solid border round each hexagon, then assembling those. Won’t make the blanket any thicker, but quicker to put together. It could become my meditation blanket, both making it and using it only for that, as I easily get cold when I sit still – that way it gets put away when not in use, and won’t be ruined by the dog making nests in the sofa, as well as not giving me an excuse to get up before time. I’m not one for such ritual paraphernalia, really, but some say it’s a good thing, so maybe it is.

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Just a bumpy testknit on a too small hexagon, not so sure I like this idea. Needs to be darker and perhaps the same for all if I do this.

Hexi-tæppe

Ud over at have besluttet mig til at kun bruge superwash strømpegarn til mit tæppe, er jeg stadig i tvivl om jeg skal strikke dem enkelt eller dobbelt. Jeg vil gerne have et meget let tæppe, men det skal dog kunne holde faconen og ikke blive trukket fra hinanden. Man kunne quilte noget stof pÃ¥ bagsiden, hvis man ellers vidste hvordan, eller jeg kan begynde at strikke dobbelt puffer alligevel og bare montere de enkelte lapper dobbelt. Men jeg ved jeg ikke synes om at kun binde hjørnerne sammen som de gør pÃ¥ beeskeeper’s quilt. Og der skal i hvert fald ikke fyld i.

Har også overvejet at påstrikke en ensfarvet kant på hver og derved få større lapper og minimere samlearbejdet. Men det bliver stadig et meget tyndt tæppe som måske strækker sig lidt for meget. Har overvejet at bruge det som meditationstæppe, både at lave det og bruge det kun til det, da jeg let bliver kold og derfor distraheret, på den måde bliver det heller ikke ødelagt når hunden bygger rede i sofaen, hvis jeg lægger det væk og kun bruger det til det ene formål. Normalt er jeg ikke til den slags ritualer, men der er nogen der siger det er en god ide.

Jeg vil stadig have så mange forskellige puffer som muligt, så i fremtiden bliver der farvet meget mindre portioner end jeg begyndte med, for nu har jeg en masse dubletter i overskud af små 6 g fed. Muligvis lidt for ambitiøst, men nu ser vi. Indtil videre har jeg ligesom kun lavet 15 + ovenstående som blev for lille fordi jeg begyndte med 10 masker istedet for 12.

RÃ¥d, ideer og vejledning modtages med kyshÃ¥nd! Man skal kun udfylde sit navn i kommentarfeltet….

Knitting progress

PiaKnitting

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Been making a bit of progress on various projects, some ups and downs such as making the waist decreases on my sweater at the red stripe only, to find out the yarn is so heavy that it’s actually more the brown stripe that is at my waist. But it’s got a comfortable amount of ease all the way up, so I’ll leave it, maybe block it a bit. Right now the sides are only loosely seamed with cotton to test it on, so it’s looking kinda lumpy. I’m knitting an inner collar of silk (Shetland is scratchy), then I’ll have to spin more yarn before I can continue to the sleeves. This was expected, I just didn’t realise what a quick knit this was on 6 mm.

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The remaining sweater yarn is sitting on a quick improvised scarf I did for my mum with some leftover DROPS, nice warm silk and baby alpaca for her vulnerable neck (disc surgery). It blocked way longer than I anticipated, so it could have been wider (used up the yarn to within 20 cm), but I’m not going to redo, I have another scarf on the needles for her. Different yarn, same fiber combo. She needs them light and small as she’s not a very big person. (just under 5′)

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Strikkeri

Det gik hurtigt med at strikke min tykke sweaterkjole, måske lidt for hurtigt, for jeg fik lavet lidt for kraftigt sving på taljen og lidt for tidligt, garnet er tungt og elastisk, så det var svært at beregne den endelige længde på trøjen. Nå, men der er ikke noget der strammer, jeg lader det være, måske blokker lidt eller kigger på sammensyningen. Lige nu er den bare løseligt rimpet sammen med bomuldsgarn for at kunne prøve den. Jeg er i gang med at strikke inderhals af silke, så jeg ikke bliver kradset helt op, og så skal der spindes mere garn før der kan blive ærmer, men det vidste jeg godt.

Er også i gang med tørklædeproduktion til min lille mor, som skal have varmet sin opererede nakke med florlette silke/alpaca ting. Den grønne er bare improviseret med en rest, og blev noget længere end beregnet, så det kunne godt være blevet bredere, men det fungerer. Jeg brugte vitterlig alt garnet, så ingen rettelser der heller.