Here again.

  Ello folks, just a short post today while I try and get back into the habit of blogging. I managed 4 rows of knitting on the five fold aran braid cable for the pocket. Its still only half done I think, the more I knit it the more I think it should be a deep warm pocket, or maybe that's because of the really cold temps we are having at the moment.

  I've really been struggling to get back into knitting recently, seems more of a chore than a hobby and chores are never any fun. Hopefully once this very late Christmas present scarf is finished I can relax and start to enjoy knitting again. I do have plans for some future projects, I want to finish up spinning some yarn and knit myself some fingerless gloves.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Tobacco's on the march

   Not much done this weekend but I did buy Respect the spindle video from interweave for 10 cents/7p and watched that on Sunday. Respect the spindle was the first spinning book I bought and theirs loads of information and detail in there. I have one complaint about the video and that was on the plying section, Abby didn't mention which direction you should ply compared to your singles which might be a problem for newbies. For 10 cents/7pence I'm not complaining, I'm very glad I have the book though, much more information in there.

   I'm planting the tobacco out today, or at least the big ones. Its nice if you don't see your plants for a day or two then come back to a couple of monsters. I was starting to think they had all stopped growing but I guess a watched pot never boils.

  Short post today, got to get on with the tobacco. Hope you all had a good weekend, have a great day and take care folks. 

Dandelions

   Walking the dog this morning over the top field and its a sea of yellow with dandelions. There looks to be more dandelions than there are blades of grass. Give it a few weeks and that sea of yellow will turn into a sea of white until the first winds blow then the air with be clogged with chocking seeds. I still love to kick the seed heads though.

   I got a few more rows knitted on the pipe pouch. Its pretty stiff and at times hard to knit, I really should of gone with the 4mm needles instead of the 3mm ones.
  I didn't do a lot of weaving, a couple of inches but with weaving its so much quicker. I'd like to get this scarf finished and put something else on the frame loom while I'm in the mood for weaving.
   I really need to get back into my spinning as well, I haven't spun in a while and have loads to do. I honestly don't think I'll be wearing this jumper for winter at this rate so might knit myself something smaller with my own homespun yarn. A hat maybe or gloves.

   Its another day to be outside so I'll finish here, don't want to be sat at the computer all day while the sun shines. Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Early April Showers

    Its raining today, first rains we've had in a couple of weeks I think. I'm filling the last water barrel ready for summer, will have over 150 gallons which should be enough as it will get replaced as its used.

   I haven't started on my woven clothespin peg bag yet, I was hoping I could sew inkle bands side by side with the sewing machine but have no clue how or even if it can be done. I guess I'll have to do it by hand. I could do one in 3 pieces easy enough on the frame loom, I might combine the frame loom and inkle loom weaving.

  Not got anything to knit right now, think I will start a Iphone sock tonight. I do want to use up that chunky yarn I got before Christmas so I'll dig my knitting book out and have a go at knitting a vest/body warmer/gillet for myself. I also still have those socks on the needles, forgot about those again.

  I spun half a batt last night, could of done more but towards the end the yarn made a grab for the fleece and made a mess. I'll get the rest of that batt spun up today.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Clothespin peg bag update.

    The clothespin peg bag is coming along but I'm not liking the cables, because I'm knitting with cotton theres no elasticity to the yarn and knitting so many stitches in the round is causing me problems. The purl stitches between the cable panels look like there laddering and because the bags going to get a lot of heavy use I think this will become a bigger problem. At the moment I'm seriously thinking of frogging the whole thing again.
    
      If I do frog the clothespin peg bag I'm not sure what to do, I need a peg bag but don't want a plain knit one. I could do one with slip stitch colour work that would look interesting or I could have a go at weaving one. 
    Right now I'm leaning towards having a go at weaving a peg bag, I've weaved a lot but never made anything out of it so this would be a good first project. Ok then thats my mind made up, one of the good things about blogging and writing stuff down helps clarify the mind. Now to decide whether to do it in inkle bands, frame loom or both.

   I unwound the drop spindle at the weekend and wrapped it around a tupperware box until I get the rest spun up. The last time I did some spinning I was getting approx. 150yrds before I had to unwind the spindle, this time I've gotten 379 yards. Not sure if I've suddenly gotten good or if its the blend I've made but increasing the amount by more than double is pretty good either way. I think this yarn will make a nice 3 ply yarn for my aran sweater.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Belt up

   I tried one of the eyelets in the band I had on the inkle loom yesterday. I might need to rethink the whole belt concept as the eyelet wasn't completely enclosed by the woven fabric. I'll get some of the washer type eyelets and try again, also have a play around with my technique.
    I had a long look around for the sort of buckles you get on canvas belts but didn't really have much luck, lots in china but with min orders and some of the workmanship looked bad. I did find one place in America that I need to look into more, not as cheap as china but I don't think there are min orders. If I can get the military style canvas belt buckles cheap enough I think that will be the way to go.

   I've put the batts. on charge today, I know, I know, its about time but I should have some picture posts for the next couple of Saturdays. Not a lot planned today, I will be having a go at tablet weaving once I figure a good way to put holes in the cards, think a drill might be best. I also want to get some spinning done, I think I need to take off what I already have on the drop spindle and begin afresh. Hopefully I can make a dent in the bag of batts I have so that I can start plying soon.

  Not been getting a lot of knitting done the last few days, I am trying to get at least one full round done a day but I really should be doing much more if I want to finish the clothespin peg bag before winter. Once I start knitting the cables it will probably slow me down even more.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

Dull days

   Its dull again, hope its not going to be dull all year like last year. My plants want sunshine. I haven't done anything else to the garden this weekend. Keeping an eye on my tobacco seedlings, there extremely tiny things and I'm not sure about transplanting them.

   This weekend I pretty much got everything done that I was planning to do. Saturday I did some blending, knitting and some work on the inkle loom. Sunday I did some spinning, knitting and some more work on the inkle loom.

   I'm starting to think about frogging the clothespin peg bag and starting from scratch, its too wide I think. I could decrease some stitches and see how that looks and redesign the cables I wanted to use. But at the moment I'm really thinking frog it and start again.

  Busy day today so this is all I'm posting, hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

1, 2, 4, 9, 23, D'oh

     I took a short break last weekend from knitting because of all the simple mistakes I was making. My knitting is now ok but I can no longer count. Made a cast on mistake and added an extra 20 stitches and now my counting has messed up my moss/seed stitch on the clothespin peg bag. Instead of undoing the lot I went back a little bit and have about 1cm of 1*1 ribbing then the moss/seed stitch.

    Today I want to try and weave a bookmark on my inkle loom, I need to figure a way to warp the loom so that I don't use loads of yarn but can also use the heddles. I'm thinking of cutting the warp for the bookmark then tying the pieces to yarns to make a full loop of the loom so that I have room to work and the bookmark will still slide along so the heddles will be easier to use. Not sure that makes sense but in my head I think it will work, I'll let you folks know tomorrow.

    I should get some spinning done today or very soon as I haven't done any in about a week. I've nearly got the drop spindle filled, think another batt or two will have it filled and ready to wind off. Once I start on an empty spindle it seems to make me want to spin more to try and fill it up.

    I'd also like to start a Iphone sock even though I have a knitting project going on right now. I think the clothespin peg bag will take a while to finish so a quick knitting project would be nice to do. I have the design for one and know what yarn I want to use I just hope I can count the stitches correctly this time.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

What I did this weekend.

     Saturday was spent mainly blending the Falkland and oatmeal BFL roving, its getting much greyer now. I think I need scales to measure the contents correctly, I was going for 75% Falkland and 25% BFL but as I've gone along I think its now more like 50/50 now. All the yarn is still on one spindle as well, hoping that plying it 3 times will sort out any inconsistencies.

  I spun up several batts and have loads more to be getting on with, I need to start spinning every day. The weekends spinning seems slightly thicker than previous but still thin enough for 3 ply. I'm wondering if its thicker because I've added more BFL to the mix, it certainly feels different when I'm drafting it. I'll have to force myself to try and get back to the original mix, think I'll order some more Falkland today.
  The spindle is about two thirds full now and at a wild guess I'd say there was about 200 yards on it, maybe more or that might be wishful thinking. I am spinning a lot thinner these days though.

  Sunday was spent playing with my inkle loom and doing a little more spinning. I should of finished off what was on the inkle loom but was itching to get started all on my own so I cut off what was done and warped it myself. The warping went fine, I used the already made heddles but next time I will make my own and make them a little longer. One small problem I had with the heddles was that I was threading the yarn through them instead of folding the heddle over, makes no difference really, just a little awkward.
  I went through my yarn stash looking for none stretchy yarns and used some stuff that can best be described as string, nasty itchy stuff. Weaving with the string didn't go very well and I gave up after a couple of inches and cut the warp off. At least I got to practise warping the loom and learnt to fold the heddles over so not really a wasted effort.

  I warped the inkle loom again but using an acrylic wool, yes its stretchy and probably not the best yarn to be learning with but I don't have  a lot of cotton and none the same weight/size. Warping went much better this time, now I had figured to fold the heddle over instead of passing the yarn through them. I probably need to look into tying off more, changing colours and tying was easy enough but tying the whole bunch I'm not sure I'm doing it right but it does seem to work.

  I'm not 100% happy with the colours I currently have on the inkle loom but will finish the whole band as I really need to practise my edges. Its not that the colours are bad just that I've used pink for the edges and weaving and yellow in the middle and the yellow is hard to see in anything but good clear light. I havn't done the yellow in a solid band, I did a single line of dashes and two lines of alternative dashes surrounded by pink. I should of used the yellow on the edges and for weaving and the pink in the middle.

  Coming from frame loom weaving I'm having a hard time getting the edges on the inkle loom right, I think they need to be much tighter and pulling then in tight seems odd to me at the moment.

  I've got several odd balls of cotton heading my way, I should of gone with crochet cotton but have no idea on how that stuff is measured. I'll have a better understanding when I get my book on inkle weaving this week.

  Over all a pretty good weekend, oh I did some knitting as well. I got the variegated cable plait bookmark finished but haven't started another one yet, I'll do that today as well as some more weaving on the inkle loom.

Hope you all had a good weekend, have a great day folks and take care.

Fun weekend

   Not a bad weekend really, though I didn't produce all that much. I did get some spinning done both Saturday and Sunday. I really enjoy spinning this yarn I've blended myself, it seems to draft so easily compared to single type batts I've spun before. I'm not saying its perfect but it is much more consistent and pretty thin so should 3 ply ok. Not so sure about the colours but seeing as its going to be for a traditional Aran sweater an off white, dirty light grey colour should look fine. I could dye the yarn once its all spun, I think the mix would produce some interesting results.

  I finished the plait cable bookmark and started another one with a slightly different background. I started the new one a couple of times while I tweaked the design, I really need to stop doing things on the fly. I'm doing this bookmark in a nice red colour, no idea what the yarn is though. It should easily be finished by Wednesday.

  I didn't do any blending this weekend, nor did I do any finger weaving. I did try to finger weave but had trouble setting it up where it would be comfortable to do. I did read a lot and watch some videos on tablet weaving, I really want to have ago at tablet weaving, its looks simple enough and the results look amazing. I'm going to need some sort of frame or way to hold the yarns, I might get an inkle loom or I might  try and knock something up myself.

 Hope you all had a good weekend, have a great day and take care folks.

Crack the whip

  Didn't get much done yesterday, this is becoming a habit it seems. I have all day today to do stuff but do want to kick back and relax as well . I'll set the drum carder up after this coffee and spend some time blending, I think the next roving I buy will be coloured stuff. I should get some dye and have a go a dyeing batts, I need to learn how to handle them sometime without felting them.

  I need to spend more time spinning rather than blending really, I have a fair few small batts already blended and ready to be spun. I'd like to get a spindle full but don't think I will this weekend. If I can keep spinning the way I have been doing I'll have a go at 3 ply with this yarn.

  Didn't get the Iphone sock finished but only because I decided it needed to be longer, I should get that finished today. I didn't get any knitting done on the pair of socks but will hit those again this weekend as well. I also want to start another small project, which will probably be a knitted cable bookmark. I've been itching to do some cable work for awhile now.

  I didn't get any snow and don't think I will now, just rain and more rain. At least its not as cold as I thought it would be but I did put the central heating on last night for a short while, first time in over a week. I need to take gas and electric readings to work out what I owe, I've been putting it off due to the cold start to winter. I did get my metered water bill the other day which was a lot lower than I was expecting, happy dance.

  Hope you all have a great weekend, take care folks.

More Iphone Socks

   Started another Iphone sock yesterday using slip stitch colours again, this one is two tone in blue and green. Its some more of the dodgy fluffy yarn though, its the only way I can think of using this stuff up. I'm thinking of opening an etsy type shop but one based in the UK to sell the Iphone socks through or I might just use ebay, first though I will need some stock so I best get more knitting done.
  I have a few ideas about what I can sell but am keeping them to myself until I'm more sure of what I want to do. I know I could never make a living form selling knitted things but a little cash towards my yarn stash would be nice. Having the time is the killer though.

  As well as starting another Iphone sock I got a couple of rows knitted on my other socks and also managed to spin a little more of the blended yarn. The batts are spinning up very nicely and I'm managing to keep the yarn pretty thin, with some slightly thick bits but even those are pretty thin compared to my earlier yarns.

  I've not got any more blending done, think it will be the weekend again when I'll have the time or maybe I could fit a couple of hours in on Thursday. Think I'm going to be busy for awhile.

  I just ordered a ball of the cream yarn I need to finish the pockets for the moss/seed stitch scarf but theres no rush to finish that now I've decided its a Christmas present for next year. Though it would be nice to finish it asap, don't think I've had a Christmas present finished so early in the year before. Will be nice to not have to wait until December to start knitting presents.

 Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Blending & spinning

   It was looking sunny when I got up this morning but by the time I walked the dog the sun had gone and the clouds rolled in, its now looking pretty dark and gloomy. There is definitely a chill in the air with a stinging wind. I put the heating on last night, I didn't really need it but wanted to dry some bedding. I think I will need the heating tonight though.

  The blending of the white falkland and oatmeal bfl went really well and was extremely enjoyable and relaxing. I've not blended it all, maybe about half of it, it took a lot longer to do than I imagined but I think thats part of the relaxing aspect of it. Slowly turning the drum was very meditative.
  The colours of the blended batt/sliver/top/roving(?) are a very light oatmeal or off white colour, not great but not bad either. I've mixed the fibers in pretty well all across the batt, if I was using dyed yarn I can see how you can have fun blending the colours in stripes vertically and horizontally. I will be getting some dyed yarn so I can have a play blending, I really should get some kool aid and do some dying myself.

  I spun a little of the blended batts yesterday and they draft really really well and spin up very nice. I'm very happy at this point as I was worried they'd all drift apart. Its been awhile since I've done any spinning, before Christmas, but I haven't forgotten a thing and was spinning pretty thin yarn for the most part, I even think I'm a lot more consistent but we shall see next time I spin. If the yarn stays thin I'm going to 3 ply it, reading about 3 ply in my new book and it makes a lot of sense, 2 ply being flat and 3 ply being triangle and more of a round shape.

  Over all I'm very happy the way things turned out without a single problem with the carding, I was worried about tearing the yarn to pieces. I even managed to knit a few rows on a sock, a pretty productive weekend really with a bit of blending, spinning and knitting done. No weaving though.

  Hope you all had a great weekend, have a great day and take care folks.

Another project?

   Got my oatmeal bfl this morning, it looks really good. Not sure I want to blend it with the Falkland white or just spin it as it is. I'll blend it, I've been holding off using the carder since Christmas. 
    It will have to be the weekend though I think, I'm pretty sure its not as easy and straight forward as I imagine and am going to run into all sorts of problems. Best to leave it for the weekend when I'll have more time to play.

   Got the sock knitted back to where it was when I frogged it, now I can start knitting them both again. I'm going to make them a little longer than I usually do so it will take me awhile to get to the heel stitches. Pretty boring from here on out until I get to the heel stitches. Now I'm back to square one again I might start another small project, I didn't want too start another one until I had gotten caught up with the sock.
  Still itching to do some cable work, I really should start the peg/clothes pin bag seeing as it will soon be warmer weather. I'll have to put pen to paper for this one I think, not sure what I want to do with it cable wise. Seems I'm going to be a little busy for a while now then.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care folks.

Darn knots & joins

  Knitting the moss/seed stitch scarf last night and I'm near the end of a ball, few yards of yarn left and in the middle of the row I discover a join in the yarn. Grrrr I hate when that happens. I should of unknitted the row back but was feeling lazy so have made the join in the middle of the row,very sloppy I know, I know.

  Had to cook my chips/fries last night the old fashioned way with a chip pan and basket. I did cheat and used a thermometer. It seemed to take forever to get anywhere close enough for frying and by the time it was up to heat my pork chop was a little dry. I'll be happy once I have another mini deep fat fryer. I do have two spare big deep fat fryers upstairs, well 3 really as one is a double bowl one. Not going to use those as they take at least 3 l of oil.

  I didn't get any weaving done but did have a play in mspaint to see how the colours would look together. Its a long way from looking like tartan, I need to be able to join two vertical colours without any bumps. I think the way to do it is to wrap the yarns around each other, one going under and the other going over(push down the heddle, pull up the heddle). 
   I really need to practise a lot more, its just that setting up the loom takes an age so it kind of off putting. I do want to try these yarns I have to see it they work together on a small scale seeing as there mohair. I'll have a go at a vertical line then.

  No spinning done yet, haven't bought any more fleece even though I have the cash for some. Think I'll do that tonight when I get home. 
   Think I might need a more solid table for the drum carder, all my desks and tables are pretty flimsy and on wheels. I might clear out the back room and use that as my work room for all my spinning stuff. Hmmm tidy out the back room, thats a job I'd not look forward too.

  Hope you all have a great day, take care.

Slow going

   Throats still a little sore but I'm practically 100% better. Did a little weaving yesterday, want to practise combining colours. I need lots more practise, my joins are mostly bumpy. I do have a better idea on what needs doing now but am a long way from fully getting the hang of it. I'll play with it some more today then go onto weaving something else. I might even do a full project.

   The cable pocket moss/seed stitch scarf is coming along slowly, I haven't put much time into it really just a few rows here and there. I really need to sit down and spend a few hours on it to make any head way.

  Not done any spinning, I'm going to get some oatmeal bfl and have a go at blending it with the Falkland, no idea how it will turn out but I really want to play with the drum carder.

  Nothing else to write really, life has been pretty slow, which isn't so bad. Have a great day and take care folks.

Happy New Year

    Still feeling ill and I need to go the shop for some basics like bread, really not looking forward to it but needs must. Think I'll pick up some cold and flu meds as well, what I've been using isn't doing the trick. I shouldn't really complain, its very rare I get sick. I can usually go a few years and never be ill, the last two years I've been sick once each year so still not bad.

    I really fancy doing some weaving, if not today then very soon. I've not touched the loom in ages and need to start practising again now I have a couple more books on the subject. Been looking at balsa wood to make a heddle out of for the bigger frame loom I have, not sure how well balsa sands though and whether it will catch on the threads.

    Very little knitting has been done, it even looks like the scarf is going backwards and getting shorter each time I pick it up. I'll keep nibbling at it then hit it heavy once I'm back on my feet, just not sure how long that will be.

    Not got any more spinning done, been thinking about getting some oatmeal bfl or another colour(undyed) of soft fleece and blending it with the Falkland roving I have. Just itching to have a play with the drum carder.

  Thats all for today, take care folks and have a Happy New Year.

Bit better

  Feeling much better in my body but my mind still seems a bit cloudy and my throat is more sore. I'm also very cold even though the temperatures outside have been above 0c for a couple of days. I should be 100% by tomorrow or the day after.

  I had a little spin of the Falkland roving earlier today, it feels a little course when spun but that could be just me. It is very soft before its spun. I got 200g of the Falkland before Christmas and today was the first time I've unwrapped it, its all in one piece which was fun trying to strip it into thinner pieces.

  I got the ashford book of carding a couple of months back and hadn't read the sections on drum carders and blending so read that today. I think I might blend the Falkland with another type of fleece. Itching to use the carder.

  Very little knitting done the last few days, a row or two here and there. I'll keep at it, think in about a week the moss/seed stitch scarf will finally be done.

  Have a good day and take care folks.

Run down

   Think I might be coming down with something, feeling very run down, sore ish throat and a little achy in my upper joints. So if I don't post for a day or two don't worry I'll be back asap. I don't really feel to bad but want to take it easy just in case it catches up with me.

  Just ordered some tobacco seeds so I can grow my own next year, will order another blend before February. Going to do a biggish crop of potatoes this year as well, spuds will be one of those crops that will be going up in price during 2011 along with a lot of food stuffs. Cotton aswell is already very high. I'll have a go at spinning nettles next year, from what I've read nettles are nearly as good as cotton.

  This is all, my heads not in the game today, have a good one and take care folks.

Taking it easy

   Hope you all had a great Christmas.

  I managed to finish the bakers boy hat in time, even had time to wrap it. I'm still working on the moss/seed stitch scarf,at a much slower pace. I think it will be ready before the new year, unless I have to redo the pockets.

  My other sister who got the double basket weave pocket scarf absolutely loved it, she wore it all day with her hands in the pockets. Its always extra nice when someone genuinely loves your work. The bakers boy hat and winter flame scarf went over very well but think the double basket weave scarf was the most enjoyed.

  Time to take things a little easier for awhile, still have the moss/seed stitch scarf to do and I want to make a start on spinning the Falkland roving I got before Christmas. I also want to buy some washed fleece so I can have a go on the drum carder. I'll wait until spring before I buy a full raw fleece. Don't fancy washing and drying a fleece in this weather.

  Talking of weather, its thawing and raining/sleeting a little. If it freezes tonight getting around tomorrow is going to be very tricky. No fun at all, well the dog will enjoy it.

  Hope you all have a good day.