Showing posts with label art yarn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art yarn. Show all posts
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Weaving with Handspun (or Noro)
Ever wondered how difficult it is to weave with yarn that has long sections of color? (like handspun or Noro) How do you manage to get the color sequence to match up when winding your shuttle? Actually it's not too difficult, it just takes a little extra planning unless you have a stack of extra stick shuttles or bobbins.
Supplies:
yarn, 2 bobbins or shuttles that are exactly the same, small postal scale, paper and pencil (or calculator)
Start with winding one bobbin until it is full, and cut the yarn from the main ball. Weigh both the full bobbin and the empty one and find the difference in their weights. (For example my full bobbin weighed .87 oz, and the empty one weighed .32 oz, .87 - .32 = .55, so there was approx .55 oz of yarn on the full bobbin.)
Next wind your skein of yarn into balls, weighing as you go to make sure none of them are heavier than your calculated weight. Note: Be sure to keep track of the order that you wound the balls.
Finally re-wind the first bobbin directly onto the empty one (notice how the yarn tail that was the first you pulled off your skein is now ready for you to weave first). You are now ready to begin weaving. When you are finished weaving with the first bobbin of yarn, then you can continue by winding the first (then second, third, etc) ball to your shuttle.
Supplies:
yarn, 2 bobbins or shuttles that are exactly the same, small postal scale, paper and pencil (or calculator)
Start with winding one bobbin until it is full, and cut the yarn from the main ball. Weigh both the full bobbin and the empty one and find the difference in their weights. (For example my full bobbin weighed .87 oz, and the empty one weighed .32 oz, .87 - .32 = .55, so there was approx .55 oz of yarn on the full bobbin.)
Next wind your skein of yarn into balls, weighing as you go to make sure none of them are heavier than your calculated weight. Note: Be sure to keep track of the order that you wound the balls.
Finally re-wind the first bobbin directly onto the empty one (notice how the yarn tail that was the first you pulled off your skein is now ready for you to weave first). You are now ready to begin weaving. When you are finished weaving with the first bobbin of yarn, then you can continue by winding the first (then second, third, etc) ball to your shuttle.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
A little Weaving
Isn't it amazing how different the same yarn can look when it is used in a different project?
After finishing up my V-Junkie Socks there was quite a bit of yarn left, so I decided to weave the leftovers into a pooling scarf. I love how the color transations came out in this scarf.
And of course I had a little "helper" who wanted his picture taken too.
After finishing up my V-Junkie Socks there was quite a bit of yarn left, so I decided to weave the leftovers into a pooling scarf. I love how the color transations came out in this scarf.
And of course I had a little "helper" who wanted his picture taken too.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
A Little Crochet
Finished up this crochet project last week. I am quite pleased by the results. The yarn is Paradigm Sock (80% Superwash Merino, 20% Nylon, 400 yds per 100 gm skein), dyed by my talented friend YarnLuvinLizzy. The yarn was quite lovely and soft to work with, and dyed beautifully. The pattern is my own "Ilithyia Shawlette",
available on Ravelry and in the Etsy shop.
I used a little over a skein and half for this shawl, though one skein would be enough for a smaller shawlette.
available on Ravelry and in the Etsy shop.
I used a little over a skein and half for this shawl, though one skein would be enough for a smaller shawlette.
Fibery Resolutions?
Do you have any fiber related resolutions for 2012? Here are a few of mine.
1. Keep track of my yardage knit, crocheted, and spun for the year. I've always wondered how much yarn and fiber I go through in a year, and as I don't always remember to update Ravelry with all muy projects, hopefully at least I can keep track of it with a Knitmeter
2. Add at least one photo to my Ravelry Projects for each completed project.
3. I am determined to try some colorwork next year, still haven't picked out a potential pattern yet.
4. Knit a sweater..... maybe.
5. Spin some funky art yarn.
6. Learn some new weaving techiniques, perhaps something with two heddles or a pickup stick.
7. Make time regularly for spinning.
I have a feeling there should be something else on this list, what's on yours for 2012?
1. Keep track of my yardage knit, crocheted, and spun for the year. I've always wondered how much yarn and fiber I go through in a year, and as I don't always remember to update Ravelry with all muy projects, hopefully at least I can keep track of it with a Knitmeter
2. Add at least one photo to my Ravelry Projects for each completed project.
3. I am determined to try some colorwork next year, still haven't picked out a potential pattern yet.
4. Knit a sweater..... maybe.
5. Spin some funky art yarn.
6. Learn some new weaving techiniques, perhaps something with two heddles or a pickup stick.
7. Make time regularly for spinning.
I have a feeling there should be something else on this list, what's on yours for 2012?
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
December Shop Special
Special for the month of December at Little Monkey's Stitch n Spin, mention your two favorite colors at checkout and whether you knit, crochet, or both, and recieve a free surprise set of stitchmarkers with your order.
Clip-Style Stitchmarkers for Knitting or Crochet
Snagless Knitting Stitchmarkers
Snagless Mini-Markers for Knitting
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Spinning Outside the Comfort Zone
What is your "Comfort Zone" in spinning?
As a new spinner I tended to focus on trying to spin thinner (ie more yardage) and more consistent yarns, and always went with 2-ply. I just didn't feel confident enough to tackle a single ply yarn, and didn't want to "waste" yardage making a 3-ply yarn. But lately, I've been trying to branch out of my comfort zone a bit, after all, handspun yarn isn't supposed to always try to look like mill spun, it's uniqueness is it's charm. And some looks are better achieved using different spinning techniques.
This summer I worked on spinning singles yarns. Singles yarns are a bit of a challenge for two reasons. First, you have to get the twist just right, too much twist and your yarn is still a curly mess after washing, not enough and your yarn falls apart; without that second ply to stabilize the twist it can just be more difficult to work with. Secondly, if you want a consistent thichness yarn you have to concentrate just a bit more in the spinning as you cant count on a 2nd ply helping to even out the pits that are a little thicker or thinner than the rest, or if you want a thick & thin yarn you have to re-train your fingers (that are now used to spinning thin and even) to draft a little more unevenly and allow the slubby bits through).
I still need to take on the challenges of n-ply yarns, and art yarns like corespun and super coils (though I think I probably need the bulky flier for my wheel before I try coil yarns again, that was a bit of a mess).
So what new techniques do you want to learn as a spinner?
As a new spinner I tended to focus on trying to spin thinner (ie more yardage) and more consistent yarns, and always went with 2-ply. I just didn't feel confident enough to tackle a single ply yarn, and didn't want to "waste" yardage making a 3-ply yarn. But lately, I've been trying to branch out of my comfort zone a bit, after all, handspun yarn isn't supposed to always try to look like mill spun, it's uniqueness is it's charm. And some looks are better achieved using different spinning techniques.
This summer I worked on spinning singles yarns. Singles yarns are a bit of a challenge for two reasons. First, you have to get the twist just right, too much twist and your yarn is still a curly mess after washing, not enough and your yarn falls apart; without that second ply to stabilize the twist it can just be more difficult to work with. Secondly, if you want a consistent thichness yarn you have to concentrate just a bit more in the spinning as you cant count on a 2nd ply helping to even out the pits that are a little thicker or thinner than the rest, or if you want a thick & thin yarn you have to re-train your fingers (that are now used to spinning thin and even) to draft a little more unevenly and allow the slubby bits through).
I still need to take on the challenges of n-ply yarns, and art yarns like corespun and super coils (though I think I probably need the bulky flier for my wheel before I try coil yarns again, that was a bit of a mess).
So what new techniques do you want to learn as a spinner?
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