Knitting Machine Gift

In the early 1990s, my family and I were enjoying a short vacation, and were staying in a hotel.  As we ate pizza together and watched TV, we saw a knitting machine demonstration that seemed fantastic. When pitted against highly-skilled knitters, this machine knitted fast and evenly.  My dad bought one for my mom, and she spent countless hours of enjoyment while making us blankets with her own hands, that we still have over 20 years later.

In late 2016, I asked to use her knitting machine on some lambswool I had died with Indigo dye from Mrs. W., my spinning teacher.  The lambswool came from her as well, and I wanted to make her a Christmas gift she would appreciate.  It all began when I started to hand knit a warm head wrap with the lambswool.  There was still plenty of wool left, so I decided to make a shawl, of the shorter variety. There were hiccups along the way, especially when almost the entire project fell off of the needles,  but all in all, it was a good project.   Like most stockinette it tended to curl at the edges, so I decided to open up the pattern by making runs in patterns, on purpose, as a kind of lacework or open work. It opened up the fabric remarkably well, and gave the shawl a nice, artistic look.  Mrs W. loved the gift set, especially since it was made from her lambs of long ago.

Spinning Jelly Beans

Sometimes, it’s great to pull some fiber out of my stash, and watch it come together on the spinning wheel.  An adult music student of mine gifted me with some alpaca and llama slivers from an older lady friend and grower.  It was so soft, and very well milled. When I had one of my dyeing days, I used Easter egg color kits to transform these fluffs into colorful slivers.  They took dye very well, and I later spun them together in a “single” experiment.  The colors remind me of jelly beans.

Wool Treasure

My friend and mentor, Mrs. W., and I have been trying to set up a fiber day since early spring brought fresh breezes and hints of free time.  The summer sped by, and though every golden day was filled with good things, the visit remained a thing of the future until this week. Saturday, my sister and I finished our chores and drove over, feeling a bit tired from the week’s adventures. 

When we saw our friend, however, and felt the sun-warmed breeze that breathed across the valley, we felt refreshed and excited for the chance to visit. The first stop on the farm was the fiber room, a small finished building beautifully painted in pastels and home to an antique carpet loom, totes of clean fiber, and essential tools. The room is well-lit and has a fresh, cheerful atmosphere.  The sheepdog lays at the foot of the loom or in the doorway with a stick in her mouth and a happy question in her eyes. We looked at the project on the loom and were invited to try weaving a heavy carpet with a white cotton warp, and a weft of plastic baling twine, the stuff that held the sheeps’ dinner together.  It is not only a creative recycling project, but also a durable carpet project that goes along quickly.  You can really experience weaving progress with baling twine!  The various shades of light blue made a cloudy effect and the royal blue added contrast.  After I wove a few lines, my sister took over and became addicted to the process.  Like spinning, there is a comfortable rhythm to the whole series of actions that soothes the mind while it exercises the body.

My friend has asked us over to see if we want some of her stored wool.  If not, it will be turned out for compost, nourishing the soil and growing beautiful vegetables and flowers on her farm. Having an idea of the labor of love that has gone into the fiber to bring it to this stage, it makes me feel queasy to think of it even touching a compost pile, and I’m eager to see what is in the box.  When several boxes are opened, and I run my fingers through the wool of Leicester, churro, Wensleydale, and several others, I feel overwhelmed with amazement.  What treasures are mine today!  While my sister weaves, we begin to pack the fiber into bags for transport.  Mrs. W. is glad to have storage space, and I feel like a fiber pirate carrying off a cargo of loot.  She mentions she hopes it will be ok with our parents at home, and I assure her they know it is coming. 

We have spent some time de-cluttering the attic this week, partly to relieve the floors. Book lovers need strong floors, which we have, but it is still disconcerting to sleep beneath a small-scale library of congress.  I mentally calculate space, and realize I’ll need to work out some extra space, but it is so worthwhile! 

The fibers glisten in the late summer afternoon sunlight, and as the dark fibers warm, they become especially soft and cozy.  The white wool speaks to me of colorful dyeing sprees on winter afternoons when the bleakness of winter seems indomitable.  It gives me a kind of satisfaction to fight the bone-crunching cold, sloppy slush, and general grayness of winter with sunny yellow, spring green, magenta, indigo, red, purple, peach, coral, and any surprising combination that happens to pop up in the fiber.  In winter, the warm kitchen comes alive with light, music, good cooking, and a colorful project going on.  It is a good place to be.
To me, a recipe for a good project begins with a person who loves to serve, fresh materials, and most of all, SURROUND SOUND!  Actually, that’s not a bad recipe for most projects.

After we loaded the wool into the car, Mrs. W. asked if we could use any tomatoes.  Her garden is quietly producing a bumper crop of delicious red heirloom tomatoes.  While we picked some, I was reminded of the time another sister asked me to come over and lend a hand while she was delivering her twins.  She too had a garden of tomatoes to deal with, but a limited amount of time and energy.  We washed the tomatoes, cut out the top area, quartered them, and chopped them quickly, skins and all, in a blender.  Then, we put the sauce into a crock pot and slowly cooked it overnight with a toothpick under the lid to allow moisture to escape.  In the morning, I added green pepper, onion, herbs, salt, and oil.  It tasted acidic, and I remembered my sister did not deal with acids well.  What could I do to decrease the acid without losing that great thick and chunky texture?  I remembered that when we maintained a pool, the chlorine would raise the acidity and we would use baking soda to counter the effect.  “Well, it is a food ingredient,” I thought, “and I’m planning to freeze it instead of canning it, so decreasing the acid really will not be a food safety problem.”  I decided to add a pinch and saw the sizzling and sputtering with satisfaction.  After stirring and waiting for the foam to go down, I tasted a bit and found the acid much reduced.  A little brown sugar finished the sauce to perfection.  My sister enjoyed the sauce with no unpleasant effects, and it was declared a success, even by my picky eating brother-in-law.

My friend was glad to hear of a quicker method for processing the crop, and we agreed that it ruined the traditional canning method forever. A professional teacher considering retirement in the next five years or so, she loves working with her farm and her students and is looking for a way to combine her skills without giving up what she loves or her income.  I suggested developing a retreat for groups of fiber enthusiasts to attend, spend time in the country, and learn the process of wool preparation from sheep to finished product.  I am sure our fiber friends from all over would enjoy the learning and fellowship, but especially those who live in big cities like Manhattan. Folks who wish for a garden and livestock, but make do with a windowbox and an angora.  I have read your posts, and know you long for a day like the one I just had.  A weekend, or half-week would be even better, right? 

She is attracted to the idea, and has been told by her Amish farm helper that if she started a fiber processing venture, several local people would be interested in working to make it come together. It is exciting to contemplate, don’t you think?  I am interested in hearing your thoughts, questions, and concerns, but especially your experiences. 

When I was a member of a New York quilt guild, several members would take a week or weekend to go to a campground and return, having made an entire quilt while away. They came back aglow with ideas, techniques, contacts, and information to share with the rest of the group.  I began to notice that often, those with specialized, highly developed skills do much of their work alone.  They learn to deal with the quiet, and maybe the skills are a way of helping with unavoidable loneness.

Finding fellow fiber enthusiasts next door is uncommon, and the internet, while very helpful for obtaining supplies, ideas, patterns, pictures, and just about everything else, comes up short in the area of actual friendships and the essential, elusive joy of being in the presence of someone who understands. Someone who wants to join minds and handiwork in the amazing process of becoming a team.  The best kind of team feels the anxiety of new beginnings and acceptance, the patient plodding for improvement, and the joy of success mixed with plans for further development.  Could that happen for us in central Pennsylvania?  What do you think?

The golden honey batt.

Smoothing it back with my hand helps.

Exerpts: Spinning for Alpacas of Alagaesia

Click here to see the original Spinning for Alpacas of Alagaesia post.

Pennsylvania Farm Show Pictures

Pennsylvania Farm Show Pictures

Harrisburg, P.A.

Alpacas

http://www.farmshow.state.pa.us/EventPhotos2014.aspx

Hats and scarves made from alpaca fiber on sale at the 2014 Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg.

Children getting a hands on experience with an alpaca at the 2014 Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg.

Pam Potts from Mt. Joy, Lancaster County, spins alpaca fiber at the 2014 Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg.

Two local women place at Farm Show – Lockhaven.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information – The Express

Have you ever watched or attended the Sheep to Shawl event at the Pa. Farm Show?

It’s quite an amazing process.

Katherine
Dashner and Joanna Smith, both of Clinton County, were on the first and
second place sheep to shawl teams at this year\’s Farm Show.

Article Photos

Above,
Time Warp members holds their first place shawl, ‘Pollock’s No. 18,
1950.’ From left to right are Libby Beiler, weaver; Emily Kephart,
spinner; Ivy Allgeier, spinner; Pa. Department of Agriculture Secretary
George Greig; Katherine Dashner, spinner; Jeff Johnstonbaugh, carder;
Carl Geissinger, shearer; as well as Pa. Farm Show Wool Princesses.
Below right, Time Warp members Libby Beiler and Emily Kephart weave and
spin during the Sheep to Shawl competition at the 2014 Pa. Farm Show.
RAY DASHNER/For The Express

Dashner has been spinning since 2005 and began participating on her sheep to shawl team, Time Warp, in 2010.

Members
of Dashner’s team include Carl Geissinger (shearer) of Reedsville;
Emily Kephart (spinner) of Baltimore, Md.; Ivy Allgeier (spinner) of
Westminster, Md.; Libby Beiler (weaver) of Montour County; Jeff
Johnstonbaugh (carder) of Northumberland and Donovan, the team’s
Romeldale/California Variegated Mutant/Lincoln cross wether sheep.

Time Warp won first place this year with their “Pollock’s No. 18, 1950” shawl.

This was Katherine\’s fourth time receiving first place as a member of Time Warp.

Joanna has been interested in Sheep to Shawl since she first watched one at a state fair years ago.

She
has been participating in the event as a spinner for about five years
and was on this year\’s Northumberland County team, the Dream Weavers.

For the full story, check out today\’s print edition of The Express.

http://lockhaven.com/page/content.detail/id/549178/Two-local-women-place-at-Farm-Show.html?nav=5009

via Two local women place at Farm Show – Lockhaven.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information – The Express.

Using Vegetable Dyes by http://krydderuglen.blogspot.dk/p/plantefarver.html

Visit the original site for beautiful pictures!

Translated from Danish with http://www.winsite.com/translator/translator+toolbar+for+firefox

Vegetable dyes – Plant Dye

In my color kitchen I use only non-toxic stuff, there are children in the house, and I’m allergic to many things without looking for it to spread.Pickling:

    All my woolen dressed only in 20% alum. I wind the yarn up and bind loose on a couple of places, so it does not filter along the way. Alun dissolved in a spot of hot water in a pan, then pour cold water and soaked yarn also met in. It is heated over a low flame for 80 degrees – that’s when it småbobler the edge if you do not have a thermometer ( it is a worthwhile investment). The pot is kept at 80 degrees for an hour and then I turn off and leave it until it is cold. I often wash the yarn after priming, but it’s not necessary. Wool yarn can stand to cook without something happens to it, it just heated up slowly and cool down slowly again, it sometimes happens that it boils ;).

   All yarns are stained as soon as it comes in the door. It does not hurt, even if it’s unnecessary, and I take no mistake. Alun I buy Matas, and it says on the tub that it can both be used to make clay for children and cooking, so it is not toxic in my book. It tastes the way, pretty atrocious.

    In thrift stores, I am always looking for white wool, even if you have knit any of it. It can be unraveled and stained.

    After pickling and drying wraps I wool yarn into small keys, 10 g each, if I got it done before. Then they are ready for trial when I find an interesting plant or fungus.

   For clothes I knit only with alpaca yarn. Wool itch for so vile 😉 Alpaca yarn takes less well against the colors, but it gets pretty.

Staining:

First I put all plant parts in a BIG pot, so I pour water into the pan to the plants is more than covered, so I do the yarn thoroughly wet in warm water and put it at the top of the pan. The pot is then added over the fire on low setting and warms up slowly. It may take several hours before the soup color when the correct temperature, somewhere between 75 and 80 degrees for most plants the. So I keep the temperature there for an hour and have additional hot water ready if the water level gets too low. Sometimes I turn gently around it with a stick and I also draw a bit of the yarn up to follow staining. Carefully, so as not to filter. After an hour I turn off the pot and leave it to it’s cold, preferably to the next dag. Often can “urtesuppen” recycled, it is called 2 bath and gives a lighter shade of the same color. Very beautiful tone-on-tone dyeing of yarn.

   The next day I take the yarn up, rinse it until it does not give off color, wash it in soap flakes or homemade uldsæbe, rinse in three changes of water and then added a slightly acid.

   Then I hang it up to dry in a place with plenty of air, but not in the sun, I turn it few times along the way, if I remember it. Then it’s ready to win up and use.

Interestingly, this is definitely the easiest way to dye wool yellow or brownish with plants. The green color is also used to get while red and blue are very difficult. There must cochenillelus, fungi or low to the red, blue only available in indigo, the so comes from Vaid, indigo, Japanese indigo or black beans, it’s the same dye. And in contrast to the other colors, not requiring blue into the yarn, but settles on the surface of the fibers. Therefore, the blue the least durable of all colors. This also applies to jeans 😉

The plants are:
Most plants are good both fresh and dried.

Oregano

Oregano gives a beautiful golden brown color and a strong odor. The picture is too bright and the color really much deeper brown. 1 bath is darker than 2 bath, it gives a beautiful effect when using the yarn.

Tansy

Tansy provides a beautiful, bright yellow. Here are two bundles, the dark is 1 bath and the light at the back is 2 bath.
You use only the flowers, it’s a bit of a tweaking, but the yellow color is very delicious.

Birch leaves
Birch leaves gives the most beautiful and fade resistant color. It’s a real sunshine.
You should only use the leaves, not the stems or twigs, it makes the color cloudy.

Nettles
  H is b eet soap and wool dyed with nettles. I have used 6 parts to 1 part nettle yarn. The soaps lost quite fast color, but the yarn is still the same pale green two years later.

Scentless chamomile

is my favorite plant yellows. It grows like a weed in large amounts and it is great. Sunshine and summer. I use 4-5 parts plant to 1 part wool.

Note: The plant provides only yellow color from the start to bloom and the end of July. It can either be frozen or dried, as the other color plants.

Below mittens knitted from wool dyed with scentless chamomile and natural brown wool.

Black beans

They also contain indigo carmine. And is very easy to farms with. It should not boil, as it will be steel gray. Ask three parts beans to soak in plenty of water, they expand. Let them be cool for 3 days and stir occasionally. Add soaked wool to the beans without moving around too much in it and gently invert the yarn is twice the next 3 days.
The color is fairly light fast, but can not withstand machine washing!

See also this post on bean color:
Staining with black beans

The bundle to the right was in the bean water for 3 days. Bundled left came in bean water after 1 ½ days.

Ground elder

Yes, it’s also a color plant. Use just enough, it is not to eradicate 😉 Here 6 parts plant thru 1 part yarns. It was delicate pale green, a real spring color.

First attempt with St. John’s Wort.

St. John’s wort.
It grows in the parking lot in Helsinge, along forest trails nearby, and now in my garden. On alunbejdset yarn gives the whole plant green after 10 minutes to a half hour, then it changes to golden, then more brownish and last bundle is yellow-golden.
The first bundle to the pan along with the plants, so I boil another pot with another bunch wool in clean water. When the yarn in color pan is suitable green, I put it into the hot water and get the second ball of yarn in color pan. This, I repeat, after two hours of time with the now beautiful golden yarn into the pot and again the next morning with the golden brown, the last bundle cooling off in the color pot and gets light gulgyldent.

Below. All colored in the same St. John’s wort-pan. Clockwise around: Horse hair 2 Initially, alpaccagarn 1 turn (the two major’ve got less time). Wool 2 (The small) and 3 (The great) place. Kaninuld 4 game.

Walnut.
It grows in gardens all around, even in our neighbor, where I have been allowed to collect as many shells, I feel like – and a few nuts. The fresh peel color brown, a deep and lovely color. I can only find a picture of a tiny bundle, but there was more of the same glorious color.

Reed
Flowering reed found in large quantities near me. They provide a luminous green., A bit like a understregningspen. You do not need many flowers to give color to contrast color exhausted after a bath.