Random thoughts of a fiber enthusiast - mostly fiber related, sometimes coherent

Month: May 2004

Fibers

Merino/Silk on bobbin  Merino/Silk singles

I have found a new favorite fiber to spin. It’s better than merino, and better than silk. What is it? It’s 50/50 merino/silk blend. What a dream! The fiber flows smoothly through your fingers. The singles have a beautiful sheen to it. The sample plied yarn has a wonderful drape. I can’t wait to knit with it. I just have another small bundle of roving and I can start plying. The handpaint is from Paradise Fibers. I bought 2 bumps of the Monet colorway from them at Stitches West. I thought the second one was all merino, so that I can ply on of each together. Unfortunately, what I picked up was superwash wool. It just won’t do. So I will just ply this with itself.

This blend isn’t new to me. Last year, I bought about a pound of short ends of Zephyr from Pollywogs. But I didn’t have time to play with it before the move. The small bits that I spun took dye beautifully. The fiber is still in a box somewhere. I will have to dig it out because I think I will need more yarn to make a summer top with the handpaint.

Card Weaving

card woven band

Not much has been happening here. Things have been crazy at work, so you’ll just have to whet your appetite with this little bit. It’s a card woven band that I was shamed into finally finishing this past weekend. I took a card weaving class from Gundrun Polak of The Loomy Bin back in March. I attended the TWIST meeting at CNCH this weekend. There was a young man (middle or high school) who took the same class a month later, showing off his beautifully finished woven band. I’m such a slacker.

But finishing this piece, I remembered all the fun I had with this technique. Doing something new is always exciting. That thrill of discovery with every turn (literally!). But there’s also something mathematically challenging that appeals to me. I find that there more interactivity with card weaving than with weaving on a loom. The planning doesn’t stop after you warp the loom.

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