The Sweet Georgia Show & Teaching at Loop

Thank you to everyone who let me know they were struggling to do anything creative after the election. I am still knitting chunky cowls, but at a slower pace. It feels good to make things, no matter how slowly. My spinning wheels are all poised with a project to-be sitting in front of them; I can't wait to get started on every single project. I'm not feeling patient, more antsy and needy. Needy in the sense that I need to make lots of things all at once. It's coming and I'm feeling happy about it.

Is anyone sick of hearing me talk about my book? I'm not sick of talking about it!

Felicia Lo recently asked me to be on her podcast The Sweet Georgia Show and it aired yesterday. We had a great time talking about spinning, weaving and of course, color. I think we're going to run away together and spin and weave on a desert island. You can find the show on her website, iTunes and Stitcher.

Do you live in or near Philly? Come spin with me at Loop  January 20th - 22nd! We're having a spin-in on Friday night, I'll sign books and have the Yarnitecture trunk show with me. On Saturday I'm teaching Yarnitecture , a class based on my book (Hey, I wrote a book! I'm still excited by it!). On Sunday I'm teaching Twist & Ply: The Difference Ply and Twist Make to Your Knitting and Cheaper By the Dozen: 12 Ways to Spin Variegated Top. There's more information on the Loop blog. Oil your wheel, come down and play in the fiber!

Saved By Chunky Cowls

Right after the election I was sad, angry and scared for so many people that I love and for so many people I don't know. I was a tornado of emotions, just a mess. I couldn't knit or spin, I just sat, occasionally yelling or crying. I usually can spin or knit my way through almost anything, it's a stress reliever, it's calming, it's repetitive, but I just couldn't do it. The closest I got was hand winding balls of yarn.

More yarn to cowl

Until late last week. I saw Rachel Atkinson's Cecelia Cowl and had to make one, right that instant. I found the exact yarn in my stash, cast on and knit until it was done. Then I dug out more bulky yarn and knit another cowl in a single stitch and I'm onto my third cowl. I'm feeling better, still a whirlwind of emotion, but now with less sorrow and more cussing. I've donated money, called Senators and Congresspeople and am making a plan to volunteer.

I've knit three cowls in less than a week and the need to keep making them is not going away. Thankfully my LYS has a great selection of chunky yarn and I suspect I'll start spinning big yarn soon. It's getting me through, clearing my head, focusing my thinking on how and what I want to fight for during this next presidency. I'll be the one out there wearing a chunky cowl.

On the Road: The Gathering

Do you really need to see anything more than that photo? The Gathering this year was held at Lake George, New York in the Adirondacks. Look at that lake! The Gathering is the Northeast Handspinners' Biennial retreat and I was a lucky-duck to get to teach there.

Beth Smith taught this year too and we traveled together, which of course meant the hunt for superior hot chocolate and fountain pens and ink. We found both in Buffalo, New York.

I taught Colorplay and Fractal Frolic and had some of the nimblest spinners I've had yet. They asked fantastic questions that are sending me back to sampling and are the first group I've had to spin all the way through their Fractal Frolic fiber.

There was a spin in with live music and a tasty marketplace. I finally got to meet Casey from Port Fiber. I had a fan girl moment and might have done a bit of shopping at her booth. I saw several Devices in action, including Device #1. I drooled a little, but I really don't need another wheel. There was even a wedding at our hotel. It took place looking our at the view of the top photos.

I visited with some old friends and met so many new people at this event. I know I need to get back to New England soon. Thank you for having me Northeast Handspinners!

Spinning for a Project: Matching a Yarn

This week I picked apart, literally, the yarn my friend Carla is using for her Beekeeper's Smock. I'm going to try to match it with my Cormo/Romney fiber with a few changes.

The yarn is Green Mountain Spinnery Yarn Over, a yarn that is a mixture of many fibers. It's more than a wool pool yarn it's a mill pool yarn - it's made of leftover fibers from the mill that normally would go to waste. The yarn is tweedy, with a woolen prep and worsted draft, it's dense and sturdy. It's smooth-ish, the combination of a big variety of fibers and woolen prep makes it slightly fuzzy.

When I try to match a yarn, I gather every piece of information I can on the the original yarn. 

I start with the fiber. Since there is no single or even a couple of clear breeds in this yarn, I'll go with my impressions. There is a silkiness to the yarn leading me to believe that there is either a long wool or mohair as part of the mix. The majority of the fibers are middle of the road length-wise, like Corriedale and it doesn't seem like their are any fine wools in this mix. This yarn wouldn't be next-to-the-neck comfortable for many people, but would make amazing outerwear.

The prep looks like it was woolen and it was likely spun with a worsted draft

Here are the measurements I gathered:

• WPI: 8-10, Aran weight
• Yards Per Pound: 600
• Ply: 2-ply
• Ply angle finished; 22 degrees
• Ply bumps per inch: 5
• Ply direction: S

When I spin my yarn I will keep the WPI and number of plies the same. This will help me get the knitting gauge the pattern calls for.

My fiber is two distinct breeds - Cormo and Romney. The Romney will lend a sturdiness to the yarn, but the Cormo will make it softer, less tough yarn.

My fiber is roving and I will spin it woolen, that in combination with my fiber blend tells me that my YPP, will be different. My yarn will be less dense, so the YPP number will be higher, maybe around 800.

I will wait and see about ply angle and BPI. I may want a tighter ply than balanced for this sweater. Since my yarn won't be as dense or strong as the yarn called for in the pattern, adding ply twist is one way to add a little more durability to the knitted fabric. I will have to sample and swatch before I know for sure.

Now I need to spin and knit!

Spinning For a Project: The Idea

Beekeeper's Smock by Kate Salomon. Photo @greenmountainspinnery

When I was at Rhinebeck I fell in love with so many sweaters, but one keep tapping me on the shoulder, The Beekeeper'sSmock by Kate Salomon of Green Mountain Spinnery. It looks like something I would wear and something that I would actually finish. It didn't hurt that all of my fiber buddies with me want to make it too. One even bought the pattern and the yarn there and then. It has pockets, come on, I have to make it.

Then I fell in fiber lust with a blend of fiber I'd not spun before Cormo/Romney roving from Blackberry Hill Farm. It's a gorgeous grey/brown and has this wonderful soft-yet-sturdy hand. At first I didn't buy any. It took me until almost the end of the show to put this fiber together with my pattern crush. It would be excellent fiber to spin yarn for the sweater. I bought two pounds! It's going to be perfect.

The pattern calls for an Aran weight yarn, 14 stitches to 4 inches in stockinette. I asked my friend who bought one of the yarns suggested (Green Mountain Spinnery Yarn Over ) for a few inches to study the structure before I start spinning and sampling.

I'm going to go through all of the steps of matching a commercial yarn to spin a pattern here on the blog. The next step is to analyze the yarn and pattern to see what I want to keep and what I want to change in my yarn for my sweater.

Rhinebeck 2016

I can't say Rhinebeck without adding a wistful sigh, it really is that wonderful. Fiber, yarn sheep, spinning, knitting and weaving are everywhere and no one thinks you're a weirdo for talking obsessively about any or all of those things, it's like finding a fuzzy Atlantis or Brigadoon.

The people are the number one reason I love Rhinebeck. I was lucky to get to sign my book for a bunch of spinners while I was there, so I got to see extra smiling faces. But the oldies are the goodies, the fiber friends I only see once a year or every few years. There was much hugging.

Some of the cool things I managed to get photos of:

• WooLee Winder has a new electric wheel - so new it's not on their website yet.
• Jill Draper's Studio party - it was a fantastic crush of people.
• Green Mountain Spinnery had Kate Salomon's Beekeeper's Smock in their booth - must make!
• The fleece sale, Into the Whirled and Lisa Souza, I petted a lot but resisted this time.
• A new-to-me fiber artist Classy Squid Fiber Co.

Then there is the shopping part, here's what I brought home:

• Two Jennie the Potter Mugs
• Mason Dixon Knitting's Field Guide No 1: Stripes - it is a sexy little thing.
• Seacolors yarn, naturally dyed in salt water.
• Cormo/Romney roving. Enough to make the Beekeeper's Smock.
• Jill Draper's new yarn, Beacon
• Cozy slippers for all!

It's always a lightening fast few days but the warm fuzzies last a long time afterwards.

And She Picked...

 The University of Buffalo!
I am so proud of my girl. She has worked so hard in the classroom and on the diving board to get this opportunity and her scholarships. I can't wait to see her make her way in the world and watch her fly!

Buffalo means I get to spend more time on the east coast and with my buddies in Ontario, plus it's cold so I have an excellent reason to knit all the things.

Tell me what you know about Buffalo!

Go Bulls!

Friends Can Fix Anything

I'm having a busy fall. I am enjoying every minute of it, but it's busy. Between teaching, writing work and college visits it's been a while since I've had a whole day off. By the time I hug my friends goodbye at Rhinebeck I will have traveled 5 weekends in a row and just snatched half days off here and there in between.

Last Thursday I was feeling particualry tired and wrung out, but then this happened and I was topped off and ready to go again. I really believe that friends can fix almost anything! Carla, Beth and I talked and laughed and poured out all things you do with friends you've known for more than a decade. Bonus points when they are in the same business and really get how much you can love traveling and how tiring it is all tied up in a pretty bow.

I'm on the road as I'm writing this, I'm still pretty beat, but I'm full of new ideas for projects, classes, articles and maybe a new book - all thanks to my friends.