Hillevis Trådar

My fiber studies

2012-01-27T12:37:00.000+02:00

For those of you who are interested in my fiber studies:

I'm spinning for the Online Guild's Certificate of Achievement, not every day but still several times a week. I can't show what I'm doing, because my work has to be anonymous when the assessment takes place, and that will be about 18 months from now.

But I'm spinning other yarns too, and those I will show in my blog, only not so often as earlier.

Gold part 2

2012-01-19T20:34:00.000+02:00

The two batts I showed yesterday became a glittering varm golden brown yarn:

Gold!

2012-01-18T20:23:00.000+02:00

Ingrid from Sweden gave me two small batts:

They are lovely! Draft like water. There's a lot of golden glitter in them, and the colors are beautiful. I only have to finish the skein tomorrow.

Blue cardigan - again

2012-01-13T18:21:00.000+02:00

I bought two cones of blue Jumper Weight Shetland yarn from Jamieson & Smith a year ago. It wants to become a cardigan. I found a nice lace pattern in Barbara G. Walker's "Charted Knitting Designs 3":

With my usual knitting speed I think it will be finished next year...

January pink

2012-01-12T10:17:00.001+02:00

Walking the dog in January can be an aesthetic pleasure. I'm sorry I can't send you the lovely smell of cold and snow in the air, and the petrol (or whatever they use) from the snow mobile.

The sun is setting behind the trees surrounding our house.

Dramatic skye above the neighbors' houses.

Kasper's claws are far too long, have to do something about that. They don't wear down in the soft snow.

What's that on the field? Shall I bark at it?

It's a neighbor's father making the base for a skiing track with his snow mobile.

Our house looks like something from a postcard. Maybe I should print a postcard from that photo, the sign sticks for the plow tractor are nice. The track going left is the base for a skiing track. Hubby loves that!

Earlier in the day Kasper was out in a snow fall. See how good his isolation is? The snow took some time to melt.

Keep the Blues Away

2012-01-11T22:13:00.000+02:00

I have been spinning. There's a SAL in Ravelry group Spinning in Sweden now in January, and before that we had a Tour during Tour de Ski. Here's some of the yarns I've spun so far:

A 2+2 cabled yarn, fiber from Easyknits.co.uk:

A slub yarn, fiber from MallaC and an unknown source:

A tweed yarn I will finish in the SAL. Red Finull dyed by Renee Darley at Ullaffären, scraps from my stash, silk waste:

So, busy as usual :) I'm also spinning a silk yarn on my tiniest Turkish spindle, and knitting a sweater, and carding some tops together into something pink.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T09:27:00.001+02:00

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

God Jul och Gott Nytt År!

Hyvää Joulua ja Onnellista Uutta Vuotta!

Weaving

2011-12-14T14:55:00.001+02:00

Something odd happened when I took my first weaving lesson in the 80s. I'm quite sure I had never used a loom before that evening. When I sat down and picked up the shuttle and put my foots on the treadles I new I had done it before. The loom was old and in a bad shape, but it didn't bother me. I was fascinated. The familiar feeling from that first evening never left me during the years I wove.

Some time later one of my friends also wanted to weave, so we bought a big loom together and I put it up in my living room. Yes, I put it together myself without help. I used stools and chairs to keep the different parts in place while trying to lift the very heavy warp beam and secure it. I'm not a big person, so getting a good grip of the beam was difficult, but I made it. My friend was off on a trip and I had no patience to wait for her. When she came back it was time for the warp. I had taken our yarns to a warping service, because warping a towel warp felt a bit scary.

A good advice: keep your puppy in another room while warping... we where a bunch of colleagues from my job having a good time warping the big loom, and suddenly there was a puppy holding on to the linen-cotton warp with her small sharp teeth. We had a hard time trying to fix that later when we started weaving.

Life went on into new directions, so some years later we sold the loom. Hubby and I moved into a small house with no space for a loom, and even if we later moved to a bigger house, I have no loom.

I'm weaving on a mini loom now. I bought one this autumn to calm down, because the weaving bug had bitten me once more and I found myself being restless and nervous because I couldn't weave.

It's fun to make small squares. I sew thread after thread and think of nothing. (As far as that is possible.) If you want to buy one, search Etsy for "mini looms", or buy one of these: Hazel Rose Looms. My 5 inch square loom is from bigfam15.

Here is one of the towels I wove on my big loom, and on top of it four squares woven on my mini loom. I used a very dull handspun woolen yarn that I didn't know how to use until I thought it would be a good weaving yarn.

Drama: December morning light!

Walking the dog, walking the sheep

2011-12-09T20:50:00.000+02:00

It's the time of the year when you have to look very closely to see any colors but faint grays, beige, and white. On my walks with the dog I can get overwhelmed by the beauty of a landscape where the colors are so sparse.

Kasper can disappear in a moment. He's the same color as nature this time of the year, and if he's standing still it's difficult to see him. On an open field it's easier to keep an eye on him, but there are interesting things like hares also. He's fast, he's a herder, he starts in no time at all.

The beautiful yellowish grass I showed you some time ago has now got a layer of snow and will soon disappear.

The ice has funny faces :)

The anthill's chimney. They are warm and nice in there.

Foxgloves waiting for next summer.

My sheep...
And the valley we walk in:

Those clowds gathered snow. An hour later it was snowing.

New sheep

2011-12-02T11:06:00.000+02:00

Gift from DH:

It's so CUTE!

Socks and first snow and spindle bags

2011-11-29T19:32:00.000+02:00

I've been knitting socks. Surprise? And today we got the first snow. It melted.

The yarn is hand dyed Super Biffle from Easyknits.co.uk, a semi solid BFL yarn I like very much. Cat Bordhi's Ocean Toes to the left, Jane Cochran's Hedgerow to the right. Someone will get a Christmas present :)

I bought more sock yarns at the fair in Tampere. Surprise? Four skeins of Hopeasäie Sukka, BFL of course. It's finer than the Super Biffle and very good for really thin woolen socks.

The rest of the shopping is a new singing Tolvana from Tolvana to keep company with the one I bought last year, a nice hand dyed Merino top from Louhittaren Luola, and a box for my sewing whatever they're called in English (bobbins?). Now I have to buy more bobbins so I have something to keep in my new box.

My sewing is almost finished. Here are my first three box bags:

Long and narrow for spindles! Someone will get a Christmas present :)

Wovember

2011-11-28T09:21:00.000+02:00

A link for all wool and sheep lovers: Wovember

Look at the Gallery on the site also. Great pictures!

A new sheep

2011-11-23T19:18:00.000+02:00

This cute little sheep came home with me from Tampere:

It's for putting out candle light, so it's hollow.

Presents for Christmas

2011-11-22T16:12:00.002+02:00

This time of the year is dangerous. So many fiber and yarn shops have filled their supplies for Christmas.

Here are a few suggestions for shopping in the Nordic countries:

Finland

Hand dyed (semisolids): Hopeasäie
Yarns, knitting supplies (blocking wires!), spinning equipment (Schacht, Majacraft), and hand dyed yarns and fibers from KnitLob's Lair aka Louhittaren Luola: Villavyyhti
Knitting accessories: Succaplokki
Natural dyed Finnwool, knitting kits: Riihivilla
Fibers: Woolgrey

Sweden

Fibers, hand dyed yarns, knitting supplies: Limmo-Design
Hand dyed fibers and yarns: Friday Studios
Hand dyed, also custom dyed fibers: Kariola
Fibers, pelts, yarns, spinning supplies like very handy and well made wool combs, weaving supplies, knitting supplies: Gammeldags
Hand dyed yarns and fibers, handmade textiles: VickeVira
Fibers: The Wool Business - Ullaffären

Denmark

Yarns (also hand spun), fibers, spindles, knitting supplies: Garngalleriet
Roving: Henrichsens Uldspinderi
Fibers: Uldportalen
Fibers: Uld og Silke
Hand dyed yarns and fibers: Marezidoats

Norway

Stitch markers: Mono! =)
Yarns, fibers, spinning equipment, books: Spinnvilt
Yarns, fibers, spinning equipment: Fiber and Art
Hand dyed fibers, knitting bags, hand spun yarns: Tante Ull
Hand dyed fibers, felted items: Ullgruven
Hand spun and hand dyed yarns, knitted garments, soap: Maskesprell

Overwhelmed by beautiful things

2011-11-21T10:20:00.002+02:00

I saw these fascinating paper bowls in a shop for paper crafters in Gothenburg in Sweden. They are made by Cecilia Levy.

The craft center Verkaranta in Tampere (Finland) shows design by Ritva-Liisa Pohjalainen until December 6 2011. She is a versatile designer, works with textile, metal, glass and cheramics.

The dress miniatures are small sculptures:

My main reason for going to Tampere last week was the gigantic yearly craft fair Kädentaidot. I didn't take many photos because the artisans are so afraid of copy cats. But I have permission to show this:

I fell in love with the red/orange bowl at the front. It's made by Tuula Herranen in raku technique.

The fair was big as usual, and as usual I got overwhelmed by all the beautiful things our artisans produce. I met a dear friend, saw a few vendors I've come to know, and met a couple of Ravelry people I hadn't seen IRL before. It was fun, I'm broke, I was SO tired the next day.

Still sewing...

2011-11-20T14:27:00.000+02:00

Yes, I'm still sewing, spinning my Shetland, knitting socks, and knitting a nice scarf as a Christmas present for a friend.

Nothing to show yet, but tomorrow I'll show some of the nice things others have done and I've seen in Gothenburg and Tampere.

Our barn glows in the low November sunlight:

Sewing!

2011-11-07T17:06:00.000+02:00

I'm so excited! Tini talked about a Sew Along on her podcast Twinneedle and I thought why not, maybe it could get me started sewing again. So I'm in! I've never taken part in a Sew Along before. Read about it here Ravelry thread and listen to the podcast here Knit Purl Gurl.

Autumn cleaning

2011-11-05T17:50:00.000+02:00

Hubby is cleaning up in the garden.

I love mushrooms

2011-11-03T10:02:00.000+02:00

Walking the dog in the autumn takes a long time. I love the autumn, there's so much to see. In November it's usually been snowing a few times so everything is grey and brown on the ground, but this autumn is mild with no snow so far. There are lots of mushrooms you don't usually see. The vegetation is still green in some places, but there are also the pale yellows and browns I love so much.

Here's what I saw yesterday. The first mushroom was someone's lunch. Probably a magpie, they are so curious:

In the garden my wild teasel has decided it's spring and started growing new plants:

Wouldn't it be better to do that on the ground?

The house plants are still pretty. This is Oxarv, an old Swedish pelargonium:

The Streptocarpus I stole from Sarah shows us two pretty flowers:

This glowing beauty I took from mother in law's summer house about ten years ago:

Spinning Shetland again

2011-10-31T15:02:00.000+02:00

The gorgeous fleece I bought at Jamieson & Smith in Shetland last year, I wonder if I'll ever get it spun? I have combed it on my finest dog comb, spun a few sample skeins, I've tried a light spindle and my wheel... Now I've started again. This time I comb the already combed locks on Gammeldags' mini two pitch wool combs, and the result is amazing.

This is Oliver Henry showing Shetland fleece at J&S:

This is what I did last year: my fleece last year

And this is what I'm doing to my fleece now, combing the once combed fibers again:

Spinning suddenly became very easy :)

Swap yarns

2011-10-28T15:24:00.000+03:00

I like swaps, you never know what your partner will send you. Two days ago I spun two singles and yesterday I plied, skeined and washed the yarn. I'm so pleased with this yarn! I spun the hand dizzed tops with merino, alpaca and silk uneven, and the commercial merino top even, and got a yarn with character and structure.

The merino-alpaca-silk tops to the left, sorry I don't have a better picture

Merino top

Singles

The finished yarn shows the different fibers in a nice way

I also spun the pink Shetland-Merino-Nylon batt in the photo above:

Now I'm thinking of what to spin to ply it with. Gray would be nice, but I can also imagine other pink shades in a 3-ply and another gray 3-ply for a warm Fair Isle hat.

The swans have been grazing in the fields for a couple of weeks. Soon they will be gone.

In the garden the plants show colors you didn't know they had:

This is a cactus I got from a friend a couple of years ago. She sent it to me in a milk package, I put it in a pot, it grew roots and started growing bigger and bigger. Last summer it was hanging in a rowan for a couple of months. A few weeks ago I got the sad news that my friend had passed away. I call my cactus "Marie" in remembrance of her. Marie has four flowers now.

Spinning again!

2011-10-26T11:35:00.000+03:00

So after knitting only for six weeks, I'm back at spinning and that feels so good. I have finished two yarns I started spinning in August. Four of the tops Jon from Easyknits.co.uk gave me are now transformed into a nice 3-ply yarn.

Have a look at Easyknits' new site, it's really good, and there are wonderful yarns, fibers, and recipes if you need inspiration for cooking. I love the new product, "Small Guys", I'd like to knit something really nice with the small skeins.

I also finished the BFL-silk I bought from Kariola. I spun it on one of my IST Russian spindles and plied on the wheel. Carola is now thinking of what color would be a good companion for this yarn. It's incredibly soft, so the only thing I can think of making with it is a shawl, and doubled as a hat.

I spun about one meter of gold:

Aluminum and wool, gift from Ingrid whom I met in Gothenburg earlier in October. Bosworth midi spindle

And I have started a new yarn from two swap gifts. I spun the first thread from wonderful hand dizzed tops from Hilltopcloud with merino, alpaca and silk. The shop owner is hilltopkatie on Ravelry. She has very good fibers, so keep an eye on her shop! I spun an uneven yarn trying to keep the character of the tops. Today I start the second thread, a merino top I got in another swap. I'll spin it thin and even. Photos when I have yarn to show!

Kravallslöjd nästa vecka

2011-10-13T19:00:00.000+03:00

Nästa vecka bloggar jag på Kravallslöjd! Som några kanske såg i en kommentar här på bloggen för några dagar sedan fick jag en inbjudan som jag naturligtvis med glädje svarade ja på. Vi ses på Kravallslöjd på måndag!

I morgon åker jag till Göteborg över veckoslutet för att titta på dans: Leinonen/Franzén/Zappalà. Min son Jukka har komponerat musiken till Fading.

Next week I'll blog on Kravallslöjd, only in Swedish I'm afraid. I got an invitation that I gladly accepted, so will return here after next week.

Tomorrow I take a weekend trip to Gothenburg where I'll see a new dance production at the opera. My son has composed the music to Helena Franzén's choreography Fading.

Baaa!

2011-10-06T08:39:00.001+03:00

The third thing I found at Loftet in Vaasa on Monday was:

Felted and knitted sheep flaps for my ears this winter! I love the pink ears sticking out! I love the face of the sheep and the cute locks on it's head! On the other flap there's a similar sheep.

Made by Marika Halme for BothniaDesign.

Faroese textiles

2011-10-05T16:06:00.001+03:00

Sometimes you're just lucky - like I was on Monday this week. I went to town to buy something small and nice to send in SWAP packages. In Loftet I met Anna-Maija who had a book for sale, or to be exact, she didn't know she wanted to sell it until she saw me :)

The book is in Faroese, a language I don't know at all. I soon found that I understand the essence of almost everything as I can read Danish and Norvegian without bigger problems. Faroese is closely related to these languages.

The book is a journey through the history of Faroese sheep and textiles, a golden treasure written with love and knowledge. I have actually met the author, Nicolina Jensen Beder. We sat beside each other at the Nordic Knit Symposium in Vaasa ten years ago. The class we took was Domino Knitting and our tutor was Vivian Hoxbro. Keeping up with both Viv and Nicolina was an ordeal... they were both talking all the time in what we call "Scandinavian", a mix of Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Faroese, and Nicolina wanted me to teach her to knit Continental as she only knew how to knit English. And she wanted to learn it at the same time as I was trying to learn Domino Knitting! Viv kept looking at us with wrinkled eyebrows... but honestly, I had not the nerve to stand up against Nicolina, she's a person with great authority and she sat closer to me than Viv did...

Later I have been thinking Nicolina was joking. During the hours we sat together I understood she had more textile knowledge than anyone else I had met. It's therefore not surprising to me that she wrote this book, but considering she's now 83 years old, I find it an achievement of even more huge proportions.

"Seydur, Ull, Toting" was published 2010. It has 378 pages, illustrations, is printed on good paper (the book weighs almost 2 kilos), and has a good lay-out. ISBN 978-99918-71-21-9.

The book can be bought from the netshop Sprotin in Faroe. An e-mail to the shop would answer questions about shipping abroad: sprotin(at)sprotin.fo. Sprotin has a short presentation of the book, and if I can read it right it says that Nicolina is not afraid of telling her opinion on things :) It also says she got the M.A. Jacobsen's award for the book in 2011.

Nicolina was worried about the Faroese sheep already in 2001, and had been for some years. As so many other sheep the breed is being "improved" by crossing with other breeds. The result may be bigger lambs and more meat, but very often the wool is changed also. The typical long double coat of the Faroese sheep has become shorter and the quality isn't as good as earlier. The Faroese sheep belong to the northern Short Tailed group. In the photo below you can also see white Cheviots, one of the breeds that has been used.

Beautiful spindle spun singles skeins and examples of spinning wheels:

The vegetation on the islands is sparse, but you take what you have to produce dyes:

Nicolina and I changed a few words later in letters. She wrote to me about Faroese sheep, and sent me three locks that made me marvel. I still have them. Here they are beside a lock of shorter wool from Åland sheep, the old breed from the group of islands between Finland and Sweden:

The Faroese guard hair is very long, longer than anything I've seen, and the brown and black colors are deep and strong. These locks are of the old Faroese type, and as I understood among the last of the kind, so I value them very much. I still have to find out if there are any efforts to save the Faroese sheep. The Åland sheep is also threatened, but I'll return to that later when I start spinning the samples I have.

I didn't know much about how to prepare such wool, but I've gotten some hints from Deborah Robson's and Carol Ekarius' book "Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook". Nicolina shows how it is done. Here's a pic of how you can separate the long guard hairs from the soft underwool:

On the following pages Nicolina goes through the different ways you can work with this wool. Separating the guard hair from the underwool is of course not the only way you can do it.

She then proceeds to spinning, knitting, weaving and dyeing, and making furs and hides. She shows garments, spinning mills, equipment, shearing, crofts. All through the book there is history and as I have understood by only browsing so far, lots and lots of cultural history.

Nicolina Jensen was born as a farmer's daughter. She learned much about textiles from her mother, and when grown up she became a textile teacher. Her husband was a priest, so they lived in the vicarage where Nicolina was able to raise sheep, shear, prepare wool, spin, dye, knit and weave.

Tvåändsstickning och nålbindning - Two end knitting and nalbinding

2011-10-04T13:33:00.002+03:00

Swedish and English mixed today! - Svenska och engelska om vartannat i dag!

Jag gick till Loftet i Vasa för att köpa presenter och råkade komma just när en ny utställning presenterades. Det var tvåändsstickade, pärlstickade och nålbundna plagg. Allting var respektingivande väl utfört av Lise-Lotte Håkans och Inga-Lena Högback. Utställningen heter "Nyfiken på stickning" och kan ses 4-22.10.2011. Lise-Lotte och Inga-Lena kommer till Loftets stickkafé och visar teknikerna på onsdag 5.10 klockan 16-18. Det blir också en artikel i Vasabladet någon av de närmsta dagarna.

I went to the handicraft house Loftet in Vaasa to buy some presents, and happened to arrive when a new exhibition was presented. Two women show their two end knitted (aka twined knitting), bead knitted and nalbinded garments. Everything was awesomely well made by Lise-Lotte Håkans and Inga-Lena Högback. The exhibition is called "Curious About Knitting" and can be seen 4-22 of October 2011.

Lise-Lotte till vänster, Inga-Lena till höger - Lise-Lotte to the left, Inga-Lena to the right

Vackra nålbundna vantar - Beautiful nalbinded mittens:

Tvåändsstickning - Two end knitting:

Pärlstickade fingervantar och tvåändsstickade muddar - Bead knitted gloves and two end knitted wrist warmers:

Det z-tvinnade garnet är från Sverige - The z-plied yarn is from Sweden:

Titta på den här geniala uppfinningen - Have a look at this ingenious invention:

Det är en roterande ställning för de två nystan som används i tvåändsstickning. Ett irriterande problem med tekniken är ju att garnerna tvinnas om varandra för varje maska. Med ställningen är det problemet löst.

It's a rotating stand for the two yarn balls needed in two end knitting. An irritating problem with the technique is that the two strands become twisted around each other for every stitch you make. That problem is solved with the stand.

Tvåändsstickning har inte funnits i Finland så länge. Det finns inget ord för tekniken på finska, även om man nu har börjat använda "kahdesta päästä neulominen". I delar av Sverige och Norge är tekniken känd sedan 1800-talet, möjligen ännu tidigare. I estnisk stickning finns liknande tvärgående flätor i två eller tre färger som i tvåändsstickningen, men de stickas på ett annat sätt. I Estland kallas dessa flätor "vikkel".

Varför ska man använda z-tvinnat garn i stället för det vanliga s-tvinnade i tvåändsstickning kan man undra. Svaret är att snodden ökar i s-tvinnat garn för varje maska man stickar, så efter ett tag har man två hopplöst hopsnodda garner som är svåra att sticka. Om man använder ett z-tvinnat garn löser snodden i stället upp sig. Om man spinner själv ska man därför spinna s med litet snodd i trådarna, och tvinna z med mycket snodd. Medan man stickar försvinner den extra snodden på ett mirakulöst sätt och garnet blir balanserat.

Det finns många sidor på svenska om tvåändsstickning på nätet, och ett flertal böcker. Klassikern "Tvåändsstickat" av Birgitta Dandanell och Ulla Danielsson har nyligen kommit ut i ny, utökad upplaga.

Nålbindning är däremot en välkänd teknik i Finland. Vi har flera varianter av stygn, varav vissa har kommit österifrån. Titta på den här fantastiska bloggen med mycket information om nålbindning: Hibernaatiopesäke. Bloggens språk är finska och engelska med mängder av fina foton.

Two end knitting isn't very well known in Finland, in fact there isn't a term for it in Finnish until resent times when "kahdesta päästä neulominen" (knitting from two ends) is sometimes used. In parts of Sweden and Norway the technique has been known at least since the 19th century, maybe earlier. In Estonian knitting you find similar looking horisontal braids in two or three colors as in two end knitting, called "vikkel" braids, but they are knitted in a different way.

There are many good sites in English about two end knitting, here is one to start with: Knitty two end knitting tutorial with links. One of Sweden's grand old two end knitting ladies, Anne-Maj Ling, has published one of her books in English: "Two-end Knitting". Another book is "New Twists on Twined Knitting" by Laura Farson.

Why should you use z-plied yarn instead of the common s-plied in two end knitting you may ask. The answer is that the technique increases the twist in an s-plied yarn with each stitch, so after a while you have hopelessly overtwisted yarn that is difficult to work with. If you use a z-plied yarn the twist will decrease. That's why yarn for two end knitting should be spun with low twist in the s-singles and plied z with extra twist. While knitting the extra twist magically disappears and the yarn becomes balanced.

Nalbinding on the other hand is well known in Finland. We have several stitches, some of them have come from the East. Look at the fantastic blog Hibernaatiopesäke, link above, for more nalbinding. The blog is in Finnish and English with lots of good photos.

Loftet är alltid en magisk plats. Jag är så förtjust i det gamla huset, strategiskt placerat mitt i stan. Där finns ett härligt café, en liten butik med hantverk av hög kvalitet, och rum för kurser och möten. Om jag bodde i Vasa skulle jag antagligen sitta där varje dag och titta på folk, läsa dagens tidningar, och träffa trevliga fibergalna vänner.

Loftet (yes, The Loft in English!) is always a magical place to visit. I'm so fond of the old house, strategically located in the middle of the city. A nice café, a small shop with high quality handicraft, and rooms for classes and meetings. If I lived in Vaasa I would probably sit there every day, looking at people, reading the newspapers, and meeting nice fiberholic friends.

Kom ihåg att titta upp i taket också när du är i Loftet! - Remember to look at the ceiling too when you are at Loftet!

Darlings

2011-10-02T21:48:00.000+03:00

Yes, I do knit. No, I don't spin

2011-09-27T20:47:00.000+03:00

I'm knitting a cardigan so I can go out without feeling badly dressed.

I like domino squares very much. I started knitting domino many years ago, when Vivian Hoxbro published her first book. I have met her twice. I took a class for her about ten years ago, and last year we traveled in the same group in Shetland. This is from an exhibition in Vaasa last year:

Miriam, Mardette, a working collie, and Vivian in Shetland:

Look at Vivian's fantastic knitting here: Vivian Höxbro

I don't spin for the moment because I'm busy knitting and carding. I carded the Herdwick fleece Sarah gave me last year:

I won't spin it until next year, because I have a lot of other fibers to spin first. There's a lot of kemp in it, but also very soft fibers. Interesting :) Herdwick sheep in Lake District, UK:

I'll write about them when I do my fiber study, but I asure you they are very interesting sheep. The lambs are born black and turn into a lovely gray when they grow up.

Twinneedle Podcast

2011-09-26T10:18:00.001+03:00

My friend Tini in Germany has started a podcast about knitting, spinning, books, cooking, twins! The introduction episode is out: Twinneedle or if you prefere, in iTunes here: Twinneedle in iTunes Tini's voice is great! I liked this first episode very much, it'll be exciting to listen to what she'll talk about next. Her English is perfect.

Walking and dyeing

2011-09-19T15:02:00.001+03:00

Sunday was one of those days when everything was just perfect. Hubby, the dog and I went to the Bronze Age buildings in Vitmossen. We only planned to have a cup of coffee and sandwiches, but suddenly we found ourselves taking the long route up to the old graves and settlements.

This photo is from earlier in the summer. The two houses have been built by enthusiastic amateur archaeologists from Vörå, the community where the Bronze Age is well represented.

There's only stone heaps left of the graves. They are marked on the map:

The path is partly very difficult to walk, so don't take your party shoes :)

There are stony parts, wet parts, easier parts, but on the whole it's not an easy walk in the park.

Hope you like watching hubby from behind... I'm walking behind because the dog gets crazy if he has to walk behind me, and I have the camera to take care of so hubby takes the dog. Kasper has to be in leash all the time, because if he runs after game like hares or moose outside the hunting season he may be shot by bird hunters. There is no guarantee at all that Kasper will listen to us if he sees a hare.

The wood is so beautiful and smells wonderful this time of the year. There was so much mushrooms and even herbs I've never seen before, or haven't noticed. Like these orange mushrooms on a birch stem:

These mushrooms (polypores) are familiar, but I don't know their names:

The forest:

The path:

The vegetation on the solid rock is very vulnerable. It will take years and years for the lichen to come back. Finns in general are careful when walking in nature, so there is not much damage done to the plants, moss and lichen around the path.

This is one of the easy parts to walk, astonishingly beautiful.

So what did I pick? I always bring home something from the wood, mostly something you can eat. But not this time. Don't eat these, whatever you do. You will most certainly get very ill, maybe die.

So why did I pick them? I didn't even dare to eat the lingonberries after touching the mushrooms. You can never be too precautious with mushrooms. These are Cortinarius Sanguineus, Bloodred Webcap, and Cortinarius Semisanguineus, Surprise Webcap.

I used the mushrooms for dyeing. This was my first attempt ever to dye with mushrooms, and I didn't know you have to put these particular mushrooms in the freezer first, so I didn't get the red color you are able to if you do this properly. But I got a very nice color from the first bath, and a lighter one from the second bath.

This is Finnwool yarn, soft and of very high quality. I'm quite satisfied :)

If you want to know more about dyeing with mushrooms, look here: Riihivilla

Rosa garn och getskinn

2011-09-17T20:48:00.000+03:00

Vi var på marknad i dag. Där såg jag det här garnet:

Det är färgat med blodspindling, Cortinarius sanguineus . Jag hittar inte såna svampar. Jag går nog på andra ställen antar jag. Jag söker ju mest ätliga svampar, fast jag tittar gärna på andra också.

Jag såg också ett vackert getskinn ovanpå ett kritvitt fårskinn. Jag är ju spinnare, ifall det undgått någon, så jag kikade närmast skinnet, och visst finns där väldigt fin, grå bottenull. Bara att kamma loss under fällning och vips har man fake cashmere :)

Skinnet kändes fasligt varmt när man lade handen på det. Säljaren berättade att man förr gjorde byxor av sådana getskinn. Det måste ha varit fruktansvärt varmt. En holländare hade berättat för henne att männen gick och kliade sig på rumpan dagarna i ända.

Kierikki Stone Age Village

2011-09-16T09:07:00.000+03:00

This is a place both hubby and me love, and Kasper too: Kierikki Stone Age Centre

When we visited it last week the archaeologists were just finishing the excavating for this year. They didn't find anything in that spot, but they have found bone and stone items earlier. This is a fascinating place. There is now a re-constructed stone age village with items made in the same way as thousands of years ago.

And here's what hubby, me and Kasper saw on our visit:

There's also an impressive research building with museum, shop and restaurant, and close by an apartment hotel (not shown here):

You need a whole day, maybe two, to see the whole area. I show only one photo from the hunting area, the bird trap that looks like a cage. There are traps for most of the game there was during the stone age in northern Ostrobotnia.

Hannu Hautala, photographer

2011-09-14T11:15:00.000+03:00

When hubby and I traveled in northern Finland last week we visited the Hannu Hautala Gallery in Kuusamo: Hannu Hautala Gallery. Hannu Hautala is one of Finland's most nenowed nature photographers with a long and successful career. This was the first time I've seen his photographs in real life. It was impressive, both the photos and the gallery. Hannu is the nestor of Finnish nature photography, and I think all Finns taking pics outdoors have learned something from him. He has frequently shown his work on TV, and as we are a reading nation, we have seen at least some of his many books.

The light in the gallery was excellent, as you can expect from a gallery built for showing photos. Hannu collects owly items, I liked the sea shell owl and it's babies.

In the showroom you can see some of Hannus best photos in a large scale, and listen to him telling the story of his life. There is also a big light board with Hannu's photos. Upstairs is a play room for children. There is a café and a shop, and changing exhibitions. If you want to look at Hannu's photos, please use the link above.

Lapland

2011-09-12T13:36:00.004+03:00

Hubby, me and the dog went for a short trip to Lapland. I'll show you some photos.

Wooden cattle next to the church in Suomussalmi. This cow is being milked by a lady with a bucket

Installation in a field in Suomussalmi: Hiljainen kansa - The Silent People by dancer, choreographer and performance artist Reijo Kela. The Silent People will be dressed in winter clothes in the autumn.

Walking among the man high, almost one thousand "scarecrows" is a magical experience

We slept in cheap log cabins by two of the hundreds of Lapland's lakes. Wall decorations in two of the cabins:

Yes, that's The Abduction from the Seraglio", and to the left a statue of Shiva...

Hm, that's a very interesting frame :)

The sunsets where very beautiful. We had a sunny weather most of the time, there were no midges or mosquitos, and the trees, bushes and under vegetation was turning into all the colors you can imagine.

Kuusamo is a landscape with lots of possibilities for fishing. We didn't fish, but I want to show a small part of one of the walls in a wild life shop, Kuusamon Uistin. I LOVE wild life shops!

We bought a knife set for handling fish. If the knife is as good as the Marttiini we bought 20 years ago I won't have to buy another one as long as I live: Marttiini Knives

As usual there were reindeer on the roads. They wander about this time of the year, soon the mating season will begin. This seems to be a family.

Pentik is a place I recommend very strongly. Anu Pentik who started the business has succeeded in engaging very talented ceramicists beside being a very good one herself. Together with her husband she has built a culture centre called Pentik-Mäki with studio, gallery, three museums and a wonderful shop in Posio, a small community in southern Lapland. Pentik have shops all over Finland and a few in Sweden and Norway. From their netshop they ship all over the world.

A couple of photos from the Old Times Museum at Pentik-Mäki:

And an interesting thing: a frame for quilting. I remember my grandma had one of these. To the right is a typical Finnish loom from earlier years.

Three of my favorite ceramicists represented in the Pentik Gallery:

Pottery by Anu Pentik

Small bowls and shopping bags by Minna Niskakangas, and behind them big pots by Suku Park

Suku Park

The Gallery

Pentik shop entrance

We went hiking in Oulanga Nature Park. The kind staff has built very nice roads in the park, and you may take the dog for a walk too.

We went to see the Kiutaköngäs rapid. It's as always very difficult to take good photos of fast running water in Lapland because the sun is so low, but here's a try:

Oulanka Kiutaköngäs

A small rowan had dressed up in nice colors. I love rowans, it's one of "my" trees. Later in the autumn it will be a strong orange, but I think this mild color is so tender and beautiful.

The last photo shows a shy goat in our last overnight place, an old school where a young couple lives on the ground floor and lets rooms in the rest of the building. Cheap, clean, a big bedroom and a huge bath room, our own kitchen. Horses, cats and a few goats. Not far away from many of the places we want to visit, so we'll come back.

New cardigan

2011-09-01T08:59:00.001+03:00

My handspun Bog Green and Pomegranate, and a beautiful gift from Sarah, blue Wollmeise. I'll knit a cardigan. But first I'll finish some UFOs.

Birds

2011-08-27T23:09:00.002+03:00

Birds we saw today:

Starlings. Must be at least ten years since I saw moving starlings. 50 years ago they were everwhere.

Swallows. Not so rare, luckily

Shoes. A new species.

Sparrow. Doesn't live near our house, this is a citizen bird. Liked my smoked salmon.

Hm. Dog and hubby. Nice birds.

Rainy day

2011-08-26T10:04:00.001+03:00

Det regnar i dag - It's raining today.

My Schlumberga has been out all summer. Now she has moved closer to the stairs, she's coming in soon. But first I'll fix her a bit. She has a lot of debris amongst her branches, and spiders, and other living things with legs. The birds have pooed on her, shame on them. She has to take a real shower, not only sitting in the summer raing. She needs a bigger, sturdier pot, she's very heavy. I got her as a tiny branch from my mother's Schlumberga many years ago.

I the autumn she will explode in pink flowers.

I watched a documentary yesterday. It was about a man they call "Hästmannen", "The Horse Man", in Sweden where he lives. In the film he lived as they did a hundred years ago, only he had a radio in his house. He loves horses, he had three Ardenners, big working horses. He had a few cows also. Later he got ill and couldn't take care of the animals, so they took them away from him. Pics from the film:

There are so many eccentric people in our world. I so wish Hästmannen would be able to have at least one horse, but he really can't take care of them any more. Just look at the pic below where he's trying to harvest in a snow storm.

I finally bought this wonderful book, ten years later than I had planned. It's a treasure. See that sweater with the sheep? There must be all the varieties of Shetland sheep in it. Isn't that awesome? The book was edited by Deborah Robson.

Shetland Flock by Teresa Gardner. Eleven different yarns from nine sheep handspun in the natural colors of Shetland sheep.

Pink!

2011-08-25T18:51:00.000+03:00

I have knitted a pink shawl, and I like it! Who could have guessed? Pink is not a color you would think I could wear. Two yarns are handspun merino+bamboo (pink) and merino+silk (reddish). The variegated is Manos Lace, alpaca+silk+cashmere. Needles 2,5 mm. Edging from "A Gathering of Lace" or "Victorian Lace Today", I have forgotten which one. Shawl pattern "The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief" by Orange Flower on Ravelry.

Nalbinding and supported spindling

2011-08-25T14:34:00.001+03:00

I was out early this morning and there was a wonderful light over the valley. I'm still nalbinding this hat, it's not a very fast technique. And I spin some lovely BFL-silk hand dyes by Carola: Kariola's Hand Made Items. The Russian spindle with brass tip is from IST Crafts. It's a fantastic spindle, just as good as the small doughnut stone whorl spindle I got from a friend in France.

Morning with the spiders

2011-08-24T15:36:00.000+03:00

Hundreds and hundreds of spider webs everywhere! And mushrooms. Only the mushrooms are sometimes difficult to see.

British wool makes me happy

2011-08-18T20:28:00.000+03:00

Four happy flowers with their fleeces at Woolfest in Cockermouth in June! I have blogged about that earlier so please look in the archive of July 2011 if you want to see more. I want to show this photo that Knit magazine kindly let us use:

Barbro, Malin, Sarah, Tini. Sarah has taken off her scarf, but the rest of us wear the beautiful scarves she knitted for us

What more? I'm knitting a scarf from two of my handspun yarns and one commercial, Manos Lace:

That edging takes forever to knit. Kasper thinks it's interesting, but says "Another scarf?? OK, you only have about 20 scarves so why not?" He's a reasonable dog most of the time.

And I finally started a nålbindning project again. This is an Along in the Blacker & Beyond FFSB group on Ravelry to celebrate the group's first anniversary. I love nalbinding, so I have no idea why I do it so seldom. The yarn is gorgeous: it's Pure Castlemilk Moorit with Silk from The Natural Fibre Company. The mill spins small special yarns and this yarn is one of those. Sometimes they are one of a kind, so it's not always possible to get more. Buy enough from the start for your project! Here's the webshop: Blacker Yarns

It's a perfect yarn for nalbinding. The tight twist keeps the yarn together, and it's easy to pull through the loops.

OK, so my right thumb isn't very kind to me right now. I have to alter between techniques as not to stress it too much, so I started a BIG project: crocheted throws for our beds. I'll crochet two so I can wash them in the machine. I like this pattern I found in an old Swedish crochet book.

VIP

2011-08-13T17:57:00.001+03:00

Titta! Nu är det bevisat: herrn och jag är VIPar. Vi har fått kaffe och bulle :) Vi blev inbjudna för att vi säljer elektricitet till idrottsfolket.
See: it's been proved hubby and me are VIPs. We got coffee and coffee bread :) We got invited because we sell electricity to the sports people.

670 orienterare med avecs höll till i skogen ovanför vårt hus och på grannens åker.
670 orienteers where up in the woods and on our neighbour's field.

Hösten har kommit. Så här tidigt har bonden aldrig förr tröskat åkern nedanför vårt hus under de 20 år vi bott här. Nu kan jag plundra de vilda svartvinbärsbuskarna på stenröset.
Autumn is here. The farmer has never harvested the field next to our house so early during the 20 years we have lived here. Now I can go and raid the wild black currant bushes that grow on the stones in that field.

Spinning in public

2011-08-07T20:17:00.000+03:00

Malin and I spun in a museum today. It's an outdoor museum with many attractions. We both had our modern spinning wheels today, because we wanted to show what spinning is today. In another house a lady showed how people spun around 1900. There was a fire in the open firerplace in our room. It's been raining the last week, so the fire made it more cozy.

In the same room as Malin and me was also a lady doing bobbin lace. Here she's doing a corner.

In another house was a knitting friend of mine, Marianne Wasberg. She's a master in twoendknitting. Today she knitted a sock.

This is a Finnsheep lamb, very curious. It wanted to eat my camera.

Here is an owerview of a small part of the museum.

I didn't have time to look at the other crafters, but I saw a small knife made for a woman, and a pair of small scissors used by a young lady who's working with herbs. She gave me a recipe I'll try. Apple vinegar and what wild herbs you can find is put in a glass jar and is kept in the window for a couple of weeks. Then you sieve it and use it in food and dressings. It smelled delicious.

Violets

2011-08-05T23:54:00.000+03:00

Prize yarn

2011-08-05T17:02:00.000+03:00

I won a prize in Tour de Fleece. This is nittydread's handspun yarn. Two skeins singles, two 2-ply, fibers dyed by Spunky Eclectic. Have you ever seen so beautiful yarn? Nittydread is amazingly skilled in spinning space dyed fibers. Oh how I look forward to knit these!

Blending hackle

2011-08-04T20:07:00.000+03:00

I bought a blending hackle from a spinning friend in Sweden. This is Carola's hackle:

Dark and medium blue longwool tops, light blue silk tops blended on the hackle. It's good to have prepared fibers in the stash.

Pepparkaka

2011-08-03T09:25:00.000+03:00

För flera år sedan fick jag ull av en fårägare på Åland. Jag spann det mesta av den då, men här ljuvliga bruna ullen som jag sparat för att spinna när jag känner mig mogen. Förra veckan gjorde jag det. Jag maskinkardade ullen och spann ett grovt kardgarn. Det är stickigt, så det passar bra att använda tillsammans med andra garner av liknande kvalitet i en kudde eller till och med en filt. Tackan som hade så vacker ull hette Pepparkaka.

Several years ago I got wool from a sheep owner in Åland. I spun most of it then, but I saved this beautiful brown wool until I felt ready for it. Last week I did. I drumcarded the wool and spun a thick woolen yarn. It's harsh, so it will go well together with other yarns of the same type in a cushion or even a blanket. The ewe with the beautiful wool was called Pepparkaka, Gingerbread.

Lazy kates and more

2011-08-01T18:22:00.000+03:00

The local museum, a small village museum, has about 5000 textiles and lots of other objects like furniture and tools. This year's summer exhibition shows cabinets that were designed for corners, and lazy kates. The oldest kates are from the 1740s, like this one in the front:

Also have a look at the cabinet that has been displayed in the stove. There is no back part in it, and has never been. It was made like this, was hanged on the wall and the shelves were attached to the wall.

I find this kate very beautiful:

Kates like the three following are common in Finland. They were often made in leasure times as a proof of how skilled the man was, and often given as a gift to his coming wife.

I was quite astonished by the blue kate. Blue spinning wheels are common here, but I haven never seen a clear blue lazy kate before (maybe I haven't seen enough kates yet). The design is interesting too. It must be very good, standing upright even if you have a kinky yarn.

This is an interesting one:

There were several kates of this type at the exhibition:

I also want to show a cabinet from 1815, with beautiful fading flowers painted on it:

And this one, made 1840 and painted white and decorated around 1900:

It's been decorated with wallpaper and something that looks very much like a needle point pattern:

This is a bed made up as they did in the late 1800s:

And this is a view from one of the rooms, with a loom to the right and one of the cabinets in the corner:

I love that museum. It's so full of beautiful things. There is a wind mill, and a smithy that is still in use for teaching new blacksmiths the old art of transfering iron into beautiful things:

The little yarn shop

2011-07-30T22:39:00.000+03:00

There is a little yarn shop in Leighton Buzzard. Malin, Sarah and I visited it last year, and again this year. I love the walk from the street through the lane and into the shop.

The shop has a good sortiment of yarn, patterns, books, embroidery yarn, knitting needles: Nutmeg Needlecrafts.

Knitting in the library

2011-07-19T14:59:00.000+03:00

This is a knitter's paradise: Knitting Reference Library. Sarah had contacted the staff and asked permission for us to visit it, and so Sarah, Malin and I were let into the library to have a look at the treasures. For me it was like coming home. I have spent about forty years in libraries. A library with this kind of collections must be one of the best places on earth for a fiber freak librarian. Thank you Sarah!

I liked this work of art on one of the walls in the campus (no, the tree isn't a part of the work):

We spent three hours in the library. In that time I only had time to look at a few magazines and books. We were pretty tired after seeing so many knitting and crocheting instructions, at least I couldn't have taken in any more. The photos show garments beginning with the 30s and ending with Elizabeth Zimmerman's Wool Gathering.

I didn't take photos of the oldest patterns in Richard Rutt's collection, because you can see them online on the library's site. That's a service to be thankful for! Because it's a reference library you may not borrow the books.

Feel a bit cold? Do you like to knit lace? An idea for a Christmas present!

The pi-shawl can be crocheted also.

When did you last see an angora bolero?? :)

This is Richard Rutt's collection. The boxes are full of knitting instructions from many, many years. There are quite a few of us waiting for a new edition of Rutt's knitting history.

Look at the illustrations above. Are there anyone else than me who would like to see close ups of knitting patterns? Nowadays you have to find out what the knitting is supposed to look like from blurry art photos and charts (yes, I love charts, but I still want close ups).

Here are a few of Elizabeth Zimmerman's now classic leaflets, full of ingenious knitting. Wish I had them all.

The library has books and magazines mostly in English, but there are also a few books in other languages. Now I know where to send my own textile library if I ever want to get rid of it.

As ususal we were hungry after our adventure. A gourmet dinner in the car:

No, this wasn't all I had to eat that day. Have I mentioned that Sarah's husband is a very good cook? He cooked a delicious dinner for us every night we stayed in his and Sarah's home.

Malin the Chef

2011-07-16T15:57:00.001+03:00

Malin cookes delicious omelettes, but she's good at cooking carrots too.

She needs some chemicals. Malcolm and Meara find this very interesting. Malcolm is deeply in love with Malin. Meara likes trucks. Malin likes my pizza. None of that is necessary knowledge for cooking carrots. But you do need chemicals. I have heard people actually drink them. First they mix them with water, I believe.

Then she needs some yarn.

Voila! Bon appetit!

Woolfest

2011-07-16T13:05:00.000+03:00

Woolfest in Cockermouth, UK was fun. See, four happy fiber freaks waiting to go in and start the raid:

Barbro, Tini, Sarah, Malin

Have a look at the shawls we all wear: Sarah made them for us, each in the colors we love. They are just perfect!

First we went to the fleece tables. I found my fleece at once. It's a Cotswold/Shetland cross fleece, coal black, long stapled and absolutely awesome. I'll show it when I start working with it.

Part of the fleece tables
There were sheep, angora goats, alpacas. I planned to go back to look at the animals next day, but I didn't have time so I only show two Black Welsh Mountain sheep.

I saw a lot of spinning wheels.

Malin and I tried the new Schacht Sidekick:

I saw a spindle that was new to me, a big, heavy bottom whorl you can rest on the floor:

I bought some fibers and yarns, but not very much as we were going to visit Jon Dunn of EasyKnits the next week. I bought a few spindles and other equipment, and gifts for fiber people. I got a HUGE t-shirt, and a spinning apron with the Woolfest 2011 logo. Still I had difficulties in finding my bed:

We hade a few very exciting road trips in the Lake District. The roads are, well, scaring. Sarah is the best driver I've ever seen, so it made the trips much less frightening than they could have been. Norwegian roads are child's play compared to the narrow, winding roads with stone walls on both sides. The landscape is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Open hill landscape, woods, gardens, sheep, stone walls, stone houses, iron work... I can't stop admiring the stone walls and all the work and skill put into them.

Yes, we did have time for a beer and the fish and chips you just have to eat in UK.

I liked Woolfest a lot. It's not big, but it's certainly beautiful. Nice vendors, and a lot of them in a small hall. If you take your time you can scan the booths without having to struggle even if the place is crowded. I saw many of the vendors I use to look at on the internet, and that is very useful.

Now have a look at the big Merino fleece that Sarah, Tini and Malin bought. Under the dirt ther is a white, soft, crimpy fleece:

Then it was time to pack, take Tini to the airport and for the rest of us to go on to other adventures.

Packing

Breakfast on the road

A hot day in London

2011-07-09T11:35:00.001+03:00

One day during my trip to UK Sarah, Malin and me went to London to see Jon who had kindly invited us to his home and his studio: EasyKnits.

But first we went to Camden Market. That was fun!

Then we went to Jon. He is a smart man, he served Pimm's and yummy muffins baked by his husband before letting us into his dyeing studio :) It was a very hot day, so what could be better than a refreshing drink?

And then we went upstairs to have a look at the yarns and fibers. Oh THAT was fun!

Jon dyes both semi solids and space dyed fibers and yarns, so full of color. The quality is very good, I love working with them. The skeins hanging to dry is the first glimpse of Jon's new colorway Deeply Wicked that he'll intruduce at KnitNation in London next week. He makes his sock rolls himself, starting by knitting them on one of his machines, then dyeing them. They make really nice socks and shawls.

The beautiful Orbit shawl is on my list of shawls to knit. You find the pattern through Jon's shop on Ravelry. On EasyKnit's site you find more shawls, designed by the ingenious Marleen from Dutch Knitting Design.

Here are some of my purchases and on top of them the wonders Jon gave me as a gift. Thank you Jon!

Then we had more Pimm's and muffins, and I tried Jon's spinning wheel, an impressive Mach II. The wheel is too big for me, but Malin seemed to be happy with it. I didn't take any photos, but you can find Mach wheels here: Spinolution.

Sarah's husband met up with us at Oxford Street, and as it was a really hot day we decided to eat in a Korean restaurant where they cooked some of the meals at the table :)

Chris bought us desert to eat in the train on our way home. Yes, I was tired. And happy!

Tour de Fleece has started, and Yes, I had a wonderful trip to England

2011-07-04T13:12:00.000+03:00

I have been very busy the last two weeks, I'll try to catch up here in a near future. Just saying that my trip to England together with Malin to see Sarah was wonderful, and Woolfest was wonderful too!

Woolfest

A kind and gentle Ryeland ram

An accelerated wheel from Woodland Turnery

Lake District... oh my

Yes, I did some shopping. Here is a spindle I fell in love with:

A rim weighted top whorl from IST Crafts

And Tour de Fleece, the biggest yearly spinning event started on Saturday, July 2. I am in three teams on Ravelry, so I spin three different yarns every day. Here are the yarns I spin in Team Bosworth and Team Nordic Spinners:

White Shetland for lace, variegated Merino on the Bossie
Sarah had filled a bag with awesome gifts for Malin and me. Some I have eaten, some I have been saying ooh and aah about, and this I started using today:

Jumper dryer, perfect for small amounts of washed fleece

My third yarn in the tour will be a sample of East Friesian, now drying on Sarah's great gift. Thanks Sarah!

Back to spinning. See you later :)

The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook

2011-06-21T14:54:00.000+03:00

Oh how I have been waiting for this book! I pre-ordered it from Amazon in January, and they promised to ship it i June. Then they changed the shipping date once, and then once again, so I canceled it and turned to Book Depository. They shipped it at once :)

I haven't had time to read the book yet, but I have looked through it. It's a beautiful book. Clear and interesting lay out, very good paper, easy to read (I don't know what the font is, but it's beautiful and clear). I love the photos. I don't know if you've read Deb's blog, but I read the postings about the photo sessions with great interest. You can almost touch the fibers, yarns and swatches.

I do believe the text is as good and informative as the photos. I already know this will be my new fiber and sheep reference book.

I'm off to UK to see Sarah, Malin and Tini, and probably Chris too, so see you after that adventure! Will be back next Thursday. Hubby stays home with the dog, hopefully taking care of the flowers :)

Soay and Soay/Poll Dorset Cross. My Fiber Studies 24

2011-06-19T15:28:00.002+03:00

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

This is my last fiber in the Challenge, but I'll continue later with more studies. There are quite a few samples on their way to me from people who want to contribute, thanks to you nice spinners! I also want to thank all who have commented my studies in the SpinDoctor group on Ravelry and by personal mails to me.

Special thanks to SpinDoctor! The yarns the people in the Challenge have shown in the group have been gorgeous, and the discussion has been a wonderful way to learn more about different wools. The podcasts have been like stepping into your studio and having a chat with you and the inventive cat :) For people who haven't listened I suggest you do it now! Much information, personal touch, and lots of people to meet.

Special thanks also to Deborah Robson! You are the primus motor of us who have fallen in love with rare wools. Thank you so much!

Photo from Spin Off, Summer 2011, Deborah Robson on Soay sheep

The last fiber study in the Challenge is - a challenge! I'm happy to finish with this :) It takes me right back to history even more thoroughly than earlier old breeds, and back to this day with the crossbreed wool as an evidence of how you can change wool by breeding.

Vitmossen. Reconstructed Bronze Age settlement in Vörå, Finland (1500-900 BC)

View from the smaller house on Vitmossen. My Soay and Soay Dorset cross yarns on the stool

Soay

The Sheep

Soay is probably the oldest sheep breed there is. It's origin goes back to the Bronze age or even the Neolithic age of the British isles. That means four thousand years of sheep in the St. Kilda archipelago. There are four varieties of Soay sheep in out days. The sheep has a fascinating history, far too long to cover in a short blog post. One thing though: the Soay sheep have been living on their own for long periods, and because of that they were feral for a while. They are still difficult to herd, but it can be done.

Today there are Soay sheep in other parts of the world also. Here is interesting information from Saltmarsh Farm about two types of Soay: British and North American.

If you are intersted in Soay I strongly suggest you read Deborah Robson's article about Soay sheep and wool in Spin Off magazine Summer 2011. She is very thorough and the article is a joy to read.

The Wool

Four unwashed wool samples from the same Soay fleece

Soay fibers have a micron count of 29-36. There are hair, wool and kemp in the fleece. The weather bleeched tips make a nice tweedy yarn, but they can also be plucked off for a deep brown-black color. The variations between the fleeces are big. The sheep molt, which makes the wool difficult to prepare and spin if the wool has been sheared at the wrong time, when the old fleece is coming off and new has already started to grow.

My Experience

Soay

Jane sent me half of a Soay sheep. It was a deep, rich brown with a few bleached tips before I scoured it. It was pelty! I wish I had a place to wash fleece outdoors so I could take the water to the flower beds. Something to wish for in the future, a wool room with sinks, hot water, shelves, a sturdy table for combs and drumcarder.

After the scouring the fibers were still very dark blackish brown with bleached tips. A good thing was that I could spread the wool on the attic floor to dry. The attic is a warm an undisturbed place in spring, summer and autumn, in the winter it's as cold as it's outdoors. But I can't leave the wool on the floor for long. Moths will come in, and that is one of my biggest fears in life. They live on fat, so a properly scoured fleece is not a big temptation for them.

The wool was short, and there were skin flakes as you can see in one of the photos above. Deb writes in her article that a Soay fleece has many types of fibers from quite harsh to very fine, and from very short to about 2 inches long, and I could see that in my fleece too. Separating them would be impossible.

Preparation:
1. A few locks combed on Gammeldags two row mini combs
2. A few locks carded on Louet fine cloth handcarders
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:8.5
Draw: woolen (both preps, producing a few meters of semi-woolen and woolen yarns)
Twists per inch in singles:
1. semi-woolen 8
2. woolen 9
Twist angle in singles:
1. semi-woolen 45
2. woolen 45
Twists per inch in finished yarn:
1. semi-woolen 10
2. woolen 12
Twist angle in finished yarn:
1. semi-woolen 45
2. woolen 45
Wraps per inch in singles
1. semi-woolen 18
2. woolen 20
Wraps per inch in finished yarn
1. semi-woolen 10
2. woolen 10

I combed a few Soay staples. Deb Robson has showed it can be done, and she advices you to comb if the fleece has skin flakes or curf like this one has, because combing takes away at least some of it which carding does not. We are so focused on fiber lengths nowadays that we often forget combs are much older than handcarders. The short fibers from primitive breeds was combed for thousands of years before there were any carders. With combs designed for short fibers we can still comb them.

I lost about half of the fibers in the process, so I decided to leave the rest of these precious fibers for now and prepare them later when I have more time, and perhaps use other combs that would leave more of the short fibers in the prep (Louet one row). The bleeched tips came off i the combing process, and the carding also produced lots of neps.

You can spin Soay yarns in the same ways I spun the Boreray fibers if you select your fleece carefully: Boreray, my fiber studies 17

Conclusions

If I one day would spin, weave and sew the dress I have been thinking of, I think Soay and/or Boreray would be very high on my list for fibers. Just like Deb Robson I feel a bit solemn when working with wool with such a long history. I like the uneven, stretchy but somehow very real yarn I can spin from wools like these.

The dress is this one, or one of the others that have been found in Finland: Euran muinaispuku

Soay/Poll Dorset Crossbreed

A spinner on Ravelry had Soay/Poll Dorset crossbreed fleeces for sale, and I was lucky to have one. The fleece was in very good condition with very little to skirt off. I washed a few locks and realized I had to be very careful. The wool was long compared to the Soay, and it was fine. Poll Dorset is a sheep breed with 8-10 cm long white wool with a micron count of 33-34. The cross wool from this Soay/Poll Dorset fleece is of very good quality and as I estimated of medium range.

I spread out the fleece on the kitchen table. The fleece had been folded in one piece, so it was easy to skirt. I loved that! Usually you get fleece in one heap with no sorting been done, and that's much more difficult to work with.

The first thing I noticed was the length of the wool. It was much longer than the Soay. Then I found that the fibers were very soft and fine. The whole fleece seemed to be very consistent compared to other fleeces I've worked with. The harshest parts had already been picked out, so I saw only a few locks where the Soay genes were visible.

My experience

Preparation: combed on Valkyrie Extra Fine combs
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:8.5
Draw: short forward and short backward (changing the draw while spinning depending on what the fibers asked for)
Twists per inch in singles: 10
Twist angle in singles: 45
Twists per inch in finished yarn: 8
Twist angle in finished yarn: 45
Wraps per inch in singles: 42
Wraps per inch in finished yarn: 13

Combing the fleece showed a double coat. I combed out some of the undercoat, but left some for more loftiness in the yarn. As the fibers are of different lengts I get tops with fibers of different lengths, and that explains why I have to change my draw while working through the top.

I spun with a worsted draw because I thought the fiber wanted to become a smooth, fine 2-ply yarn even if it has quite a lot of crimp in the undercoat, but also found that a short backward draw worked better in the parts of the top with undercoat in it.

I also tried to spin a thicker singles to be used in the same way you use Faeroese yarns in lace shawls, but I'm not very good at that kind of spinning yet. But I realized I have to comb out more of the undercoat to be able to spin a smoother yarn. I would also have to spin with less twist to get a more balanced yarn. But you could knit a nice garter stitch shawl from this yarn also.

Conclusions

Spinning this wool was much like spinning longwools, but there was far more crimp. I like the color, a warm light brown. The combination of Soay and Poll Dorset in this particular fleece came out very nice. I read in the Ravelry forum where I found the buyer that the lady who breeds these cross sheep takes very good care of them. You can see that in the fleece.

The finished yarn bounced up far more than I had expected. The WPI was 42 in the singles, and 13 in the finished 2-ply. The crimp in the fibers is the reason for this, but also the low amount of twist in the singles. This allows the fibers to move away from each other when the yarn is washed. The yarn is also much more stretchy than I thought it would be.

This is really nice wool. I don't yet know how I'll use the fleece, but I hope to keep the color variations and be able to catch them in the finished garment, and also to use the crimp for a soft and warm result. Because of the way I combed the fleece the yarn will not be consistent. There will be parts with only hair, and parts with both hair and wool.

Conclusions about the Soay and the Soay/Poll Dorset

If someone would give me the cross fleece without me knowing what it is I could never guess. I would also have big difficulties in deciding weather I have a Soay or a Boreray fleece. The Soay and the cross are two completely different wools, but both make squishy, medium soft yarns with a lot of air and quite stretchy. They can be used for knitting, weaving, crochet and nalbinding.

Read More

Internet
The Soay and Boreray Sheep Society
The Soay Sheep Chronicles. Blog about raising Soay
Saltmarsh Ranch
Rare Breeds Survival Trust

Literature
Deborah Robson, Soay Sheep. Connecting today's spinners with thousands of years of heritage. Article in Spin Off, Summer 2011, pp. 86-91. The article has an impressive list of sources for further reading.
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth,2007
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010
Nola & Jane Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995

Oho, Lättähattujen ilkivaltaa

2011-06-19T15:06:00.000+03:00

The Famous Berny Hamburgers

2011-06-18T19:33:00.000+03:00

We went for a drive today because I wanted a Salmon Hamburger from Berny's and hubby wanted a hamburger too. So, we drove over the looong bridge, took a look at the sea, and had our hamburgers. Worth the trip? Yes!

I'm still here, but the weather has knocked me down

2011-06-11T23:05:00.001+03:00

A week ago hubby and me went north. We had salmon soup at the Kukkola Rapid in the very northest part of the Baltic Sea.

We were very close to Ikea (see the sign in the middle of the pic?), but we couldn't cross the border to Sweden because of this:

Dogs may not cross the border between Finland and Sweden without an EU passport, and Kasper didn't have one.

I met a nice old cat. Yes, it's a she, and she was very occupied with her fur like all decent women.
She was also very interested in my camera.

She travels from Germany to Finland and back again every summer. She's a globe trotter. In the summers she's a hunter, she spends much of her time outdoors in the bright northern summer nights.

At home the garden had exploded with weeds. And I was a bit tired :)

It's been so hot the last week. That's not the weather that makes me feel good. I like a cool, friendly weather.

Småländsk korsningsull - Crossbreed wool from Småland. My Fiber Studies 25

2011-05-26T11:00:00.000+03:00

Mixing Swedish and English today! This fiber study is not part of SpinDoctor's rare breeds challenge, as neither of the wools come from an established sheep breed.

Jag fick två ullprover av Anna. Det är ljuvlig ull från korsningsfår i Småland, troligen svenska finullsfår och någon köttras. Ullen är lång, glansig, perfekt lockig och mycket stark. Det säger "twing" om den när man gör ett ryckprov vid örat. Den påminner om de mjukare och finare longwool sorterna, faktiskt väldigt lik finsk lantrasull av ryatyp. Båda fällarna har täckhår och bottenull, mera i den svarta än i den vita. Fibrerna är fina till grova.

I got two wool samples from Anna. It's lovely crossbreed wool from Småland in Sweden, probably Swedish Finullsfår and a meat breed. The wool is long, lustrous, has perfect crimp and it's very strong. It says "twing" when you pull it beside your ear. It reminds me of some of the softer an finer longwools, in fact it's very close to the upholstery type of Finnwool from the Finnish landrace. Both fleeces have outer coat and under coat, more in the black than in the white. The fibers are fine to coarse.

Jag beredde ullen på flera sätt och spann flera olika garnprover.

I made several wool preparations and spun different yarn samples.

1.
Ullen öppnad på handkardor (flick kardade). Jag lade 2-3 lockar på kanten av en karda och drog dem genom tinnarna. Sedan vände jag lockarna och gjorde likadant. De öppnade lockarna förvaras med topparna åt samma håll.

I opened the wool on handcarders (flick carded). I put 2-3 staples on the edge of a carder and pulled them through the tines. Then I turned them and opened the other end the same way. The opened staples are stored with the tip ends in the same direction.

Jag spann två fina trådar med kort framåtdrag på spinnrock, Louet Victoria med ratio 1:8.5. Om jag hade använt slända skulle jag ha tagit en medeltung (ca 28 gram) topptyngd slända. Jag spann från toppänden. Jag tvinnad med ganska hård snodd och fick ett kamgarn som skulle vara mycket bra i spetsstickning.

I spun two fine threads with a short forward draw on a spinning wheel, Louet Victoira with ratio 1:8.5. If I had spindled, I would have chosen a top whorl medium weight (about 1 oz) spindle. I spun from the tip end. I plied with a pretty tight twist and got a worsted yarn that would be very good in lace knitting.

Man skulle få ett liknande garn om man använde hundkam för att öppna ullen och spann på samma sätt.

You would get a similar yarn if you used a dog comb to open the wool and spun in the same way.

2.
Jag gjorde ett likadant kamgarn av den svarta ullen.

I made a similar worsted yarn from the black wool.

Jag ber om ursäkt för högdagrarna i det vita garnet. Jag fotograferade på flera olika ställen, men det vita garnet reflekterar ljuset på ett sätt som verkar omöjligt. I den svarta härvan finns lite garn med en vit och en svart tråd. Det här bekräftar det som många spinnare vet: kamgarn reflekterar ljus på ett annat sätt än kardgarn. Jämför med kardgarnet nedan, fotot är taget vid samma tillfälle på samma plats. - I apologize for the highlights in the white yarn. I took photos in different places, but the yarn still reflects light in a way that seems impossible. This confirms what many spinners know: worsted yarn reflects light in another way than woolen. Compare to the woolen in the photo below, taken at the same spot and at the same time. In the black yarn is a meter or two with one white and one black thread.

3.
Jag kardade några vita lockar till kardrullar med mina gamla, slitna finska kardor. Jag spann ett tvåtrådigt kardgarn på spinnrocken.

I took my old, well used Finnish hand carders and made a few white rolags. The wool opened easily. I spun a 2-ply woolen yarn on the wheel.

4.
Jag gjorde ett likadant kardgarn av den svarta ullen. Jag spann med dubbelt drag, eftersom det var fibrer av olika längd i kardrullorna. Mitt dubbla draget börjar med att jag släpper upp lite snodd i fibrerna samtidigt som jag hastigt drar ut dem till en tjock ojämn sträng. Sedan jobbar jag på en liten bit i taget av den tjocka strängen, jämnar till och drar ut den så tunn jag vill ha den samtidigt som jag ger tråden mera snodd. Sedan släpper jag upp den på rullen.

I made a similar woolen yarn from the black wool. I used a double draw because there were fibers of differnt lengths in the rolags. My double draw starts with letting twist into the fiber supply and at the same time drafting a thick and uneven sliver. Then I go back and even and thin the thread while I let in more twist and finally let the bobbin wind it on.

Rexenne spinner dubbelt drag på ett liknande sätt. Jo, hon pratar mycket men hon är en mycket skicklig spinnare också, titta gärna på henne. - Rexenne spins double draw in a similar way. Yes, she talks a lot, but she's a very good spinner also, so please take a look: Double draw.

5.
Det här var intressant. Jag ville jämföra två kammar, Louet enradiga minikammar och Valkyrie Extra Fine ullkammar. Jag visste från tidigare att Louets små oansenliga kammar har potential för verkligt rolig ullberedning. Och jag älskar mina Valkyrie! Titta vad som hände:

Now this was interesting. I wanted to compare two combs, Louet one row mini combs and Valkyrie Extra Fine wool combs. I knew already that Louet's small, unimpressive looking combs have potential for really fun wool preparation. And I love my Valkyrie combs! Look what happened:

Till vänster ser du den ull jag dizzade sist från Valkyrie, i mitten den jag dizzade först, under dem är de korta fibrerna som blev kvar på kammen, och till höger all ull jag lade på minikammarna och sedan drog ut med händerna (nästan inget skräp alls). - To the left you can see the wool I dizzed off from closest to the Valkyrie comb, in the middle the wool I dizzed first, and under them is the waste, and to the right is all the wool I put on the mini combs and then pulled off with my hands (almost no waste at all).

Det här bekräftade det jag redan visste: om man vill öppna ull från en dubbel fäll som är besvärlig att karda, kan man använda minikammarna. De separerar inte de olika fibertyperna särskilt effektivt, och om man inte dizzar utan drar ut fibrerna från kammen med händerna får man ett flor som kan rullas ihop och spinnas som kardgarn.

Vill man separera fibrerna i en dubbel fäll använder man kammar av samma typ som mina Valkyrie. Och det här var det riktigt intressanta med just den här ullen: jag fick två olika tops från en kamning. Först dizzade jag de långa täckhåren, sedan den kortare bottenullen. Du kan se skillnaden på färgerna på fotot: täckhåren har bruna toppar, bottenullen är grå.

This confirmed what I already knew: if you want to open wool from a double fleece that is a bit difficult to card and still keep the two different fibers in the prep, you kan use the mini combs. They don't separate the wool very effectively, so if you don't dizz the fibers but instead pull them off from the comb with your hands you get a "batt" that can be rolled into a rolag and spun woolen.

If you want to separate the fibers in a double fleece you can use combs like my Valkyrie. And this is the really interesting thing with this wool: I got two different preps from one combing. First I pulled the long outer coat, and then the short under coat. You see the difference in the colors on the photo: the outer coat has brown tips, the undercoat is grey.

Jag spann topsen till två olika kamgarn med kort framåtdrag. I spun the the tops into two different worsted yarns with a short forward draw.

Överst - Above: täckhåren, garnet är svart-brunt i verkligheten - The outer coat, the yarn is black-brown in reality. Nedan - Under: bottenull med lite täckhår, garnet är gråbrunt och mjukare än det andra - The under coat with some guard hair, the yarn is gray-brown and softer than the other

Det här garnet tycker jag själv är ett av de bästa: det är kammat med Louets enradiga minikammar och spunnet med kort framåtdrag. Det är både underull och täckhår i det - This yarn I think is one of the best: it's combed with Louet one row mini combs with short forward draw. There is both under and over coat in it.

6.
Jag kammade lite av den vita ullen på Valkyries Extra Fine kammar, och spann ett kamgarn med kort framåtdrag. Det påminde väldigt mycket om att spinna en del longwools, t.ex. Cotswold. Jag spann ett garn som skulle passa för inredningsväv antingen som en- eller tvåtrådigt. Jag tvinnade mitt garn 2-trådigt. Titta på min nya söta niddy i äppelträ! Man kan ta isär den. Den är från Gammeldags, länk i nästa stycke. Niddyn på första fotot ovan är från Kromski, också väldigt användbar.

I combed some of the white wool with Valkyrie Extra Fine combs, and spun a worsted yarn with a short forward draw. It was very much similar to spinning some of the longwools like Cotswold. I spun a yarn that would be suitable for upholstery either as singles or as a 2-ply. I made a 2-ply sample. See my new cute sample niddy from apple wood? You can take it apart. It's from Gammeldags. The niddy in the first photo above is from Kromski, also very nice.

7. Till sist kammade jag några vita och svarta lockar med mina nya 2-radiga minikammar från Gammeldags. Jag kammade tre pass. Kammarna är utmärkt för den här typen av ull. Jag gillar det lilla träskyddet för kammarna också! Man kan blanda de olika färgerna mer eller mindre beroende på vilka färgeffekter man vill ha i garnet. Den här topen skulle bli lätt melerad.

The last prep I made with my new 2-row mini combs from Gammeldags. I combed a few white and black staples in three passes. The combs are perfect for this kind of wool. I'm very happy with the small cover that protects the combs too! You can mix the colors more or less depending on what effects you want in the yarn. This top would become a sligthly variegated yarn.

Slutsatser - Conclusions

Det här är väldigt användbar ull. Det var jätteroligt att jobba med den, och bara de här få proven visade att ullen kan användas till många olika saker: sockor, vantar, mössor, tröjor, filtar, och, vilket är väldigt intressant: rya eller textilkonst. Den vita ullen skulle antagligen ta upp färg väldigt bra, och de långa glansiga lockarna låter sig spinnas till underbart kamgarn.

Också i de här små proven finns det grövre och finare typer av ull. Om man är skicklig på att sortera ull, eller har hela fällen framför sig så man ser de olika delarna, kan man plocka ut den finare ullen till sjalar och de grövre till andra plagg, och inte minst, de längsta och glansigaste lockarna till vävning.

This is a wool with many possibilities. It was great fun to work with it, and even these few tests showed that the wool can be used for many different things: socks, mittens, hats, sweaters, blankets, and, which is really interesting: rya (a Finnish and Swedish upholstery technique) or textile art. The white wool would probably take dyes very well, and the long, lustrous locks are easy to spin into a gorgeous worsted yarn.

Even in these small wool samples there are coarser and finer types of wool. If you are good at grading wool, or have the whole fleece in front of you so you can see the different parts of it, you can sort the finer wool for shawls and the coarser for other garments, and, not least, the longest and most lustrous locks for weaving.

Hade jag roligt? Gissa! Tack Anna :) - Did I have fun? Guess! Thanks Anna :)

Bear poop among the dandelions?

2011-05-24T12:50:00.001+03:00

This is our "lawn". The black things are not bear poop. It's Black Welsh Mountain yarn, 528 grams, 1080 meters handspun for a sweater. But I need moore, so I'm very happy Woolfest !!!!! is only four weeks and two days from now! Woolfest

I made a purse for my phone because I keep mislaying it among all the things a normal woman's handbag is supposed to store for sudden needs. The purse has a closet for all the things a normal phone needs nowadays.

This is where I want to live when I get rich

2011-05-20T22:33:00.002+03:00

Cheviot. My Fiber Studies 23

2011-05-18T14:03:00.000+03:00

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

Cheviots have a fascinating history. It's far too complicated for a short blog post, so I suggest you read more in literature and on internet. There are two links to very informative blog posts from Deborah Robson in the "Read More" section below. I suggest you start with them, and continue with Deb's book The Fleece & Fiber Source Book.

Shortly, it's an old breed, and there are several different Cheviots, Border, North Country, South Country, American. They origin in the Cheviot Hills on the Scottish border, and they have been around since the late 1300s. Cheviots were imported to US in 1838, and to Australia 1938. As often happens when a breed is introduced in new surroundings, it changes. That has happened both to the American and the Australian Cheviots. They are not the same as the British ones.

Cheviot sheep are not threatened, but Cheviot wool is, as the breed is mainly bred for meat in our days.

The Wool

The white wool is of down type, with high crimp, light, dense and strong. The British Wool Marketing Board classifies Cheviot as "Hill" type wool. The staple length is 7-13 cm, the micron count 28-33 or harsher. Cheviot has traditionally been used for tweeds, but also for knitting yarns. Cheviot is often used to blend with other wools to create a lofty yarn.

My Experience

I had a small wool sample of unknown origin, but very nice Cheviot from the Super Sampler package I bought from The Spinning Loft.

Preparation: I washed the raw fleece sample, then combed it on Valkyrie Extra Fine combs
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:8.5
Twists per inch TPI in singles: 8
TPI in finished 3-ply yarn: 16
Wraps per inch WPI in singles: 38
WPI in finished 3-ply yarn: 14
Twist angle in singles: 45
Twist angle in finished 3-ply yarn: 45

Crimpy, short wool like Cheviot is usually carded, but I wanted to use my new combs, so I combed. The result was wonderful: lofty, even tops. As I wanted a lofty and elastic yarn, I chose the woolen draft and 3-ply.

This time I just wished to sit back, relax and spin, not thinking too much about what I was doing. I spun only one yarn. I chose a rather low whorl for the spinning so I wouldn't get very much twist in the thin singles. I just let the wheel do the job, held very lightly on to to the wool and enjoyed.

Then I plied with a little more twist, but with the same ratio. I always ply by measuring the singles between my hands before I let the yarn wind on to the bobbin. In that way I don't have to think while plying. Once I have decided the twist, I just pull with my left hand until I have reached as far as I decided I should while keeping the singles in order with my right hand, then I wind on, pull, wind on...

I look out of the window and see whatever there is to see. Right now there are tractors. Are they mating?? They seem to multiply... Whatever they're doing they raise a dust cloud over the valley, no use hanging laundry out this time of the year, or cleaning windows.

What an easy fiber to spin! I had a great time. I got a yarn I could use for lots of different garments, but this is only a sample so it won't be used in anything else than a swatch.

Swatch pattern from Barbara C. Walker's Charted Knitting Designs 3

Read More

Internet
Cheviot Sheep Society
American Cheviot Sheep Society
Wikipedia with links to three different Cheviots
Deborah Robson on Cheviots
Deborah Robson on Cheviots

Literature
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, 2011
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007
Nola & Jane Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995
Clara Parkes, The Knitter's Book of Wool. Potter Craft, 2009
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010

Graffiti

2011-05-16T08:53:00.000+03:00

Vi var ute och handlade i Karleby och råkade gå förbi Rehnlunds museum, som hade stickad graffiti överallt utomhus.

We went shopping in Kokkola, a town a bit further north and happend to see some graffiti at the museum.

A Day for Green Boucle

2011-05-12T17:57:00.000+03:00

Today I have just been having fun. I spun a green boucle. It's Finnwool, dyed locks I bought at a fair last autumn. I combed them, spun a thick and thin singles and plied with blue sewing yarn.

Bare foot spinning

2011-05-10T21:43:00.000+03:00

So it's May, and it's sunny, and I have been out spinning bare foot. Life can be so wonderful :) No hurry, no worries, just fun.

This is a favorite: a light, longshafted spindle from Spindlewood, applewood. It's perfect outdoors even if it's blowing, like it's almost always doing here.

When the spindle isn't working, it lives in the whisky box thanks to Sarah.

Can you see the stone garden in the background? There are buds! And in the flower beds there are flowers.

Tjidivippon - och var är maten då?

2011-05-05T21:14:00.000+03:00

Vilken trevlig gäst! Men den kunde använda dörren. Ventilationskanalen är inte ett bra sätt att ta sig in i ett hus. Titta uppe till höger i bilden, där kom den lilla Tjidivippon in. På riktig svenska kallas den sädesärla. Den satt i kanalen ett par dygn för ingen förstod varifrån det försynta skrapandet kom. Nu är den ute och bygger sitt bo någon annanstans. Hoppas vi.

Dorset Horn. My Fiber Studes 22

2011-05-05T14:37:00.003+03:00

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

Dorset Horn is one of the oldest British sheep. Both sexes have horns, and both the sheep and the horns are big. The sheep can breed almost at any time of the year, with two lambings a year or three in 18 months. The New Zealand rare breeds site says it's "very active", whatever that means. The history of the sheep is quite interesting. Dorset Horn and Poll Dorset are closely related. You'll find more information on the New Zealand site, link in the "Read More" section below. Rare Breeds Survival Trust (UK) classifies the breed as Minority, and American Livestock Breeds Concervancy as Threatened.

If you want to see what the sheep look like, please go to the links below.

The Wool

Wool from Dorset Horn is mostly used for mattresses and futons. The wool is very white, fine, soft and crimpy with a staple length of 8-10 cm and a micron range of 33-34. It can be used in many garments, and handspinners find it most interesting.

Dorset Horn, washed wool

My Experience

Fiber from The Spinning Loft (Super Sampler package). Staple length 4-6 cm, very much crimp, very soft

Preparation: scoured and then hand combed on Valkyrie Extra Fine combs
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria

I combed the crimpy, short and soft wool because carding was quite impossible. I got awesome tops, bouncy, soft and very clean. My new Valkyrie Extra Fine combs are very, very good tools! Here: Valkyrie.

Tops as they come from the combs: Lincoln longwool to the left, Dorset Horn to the right. Both combed on Valkyrie Extra Fine combs. Two completely different fibers

1st sample. Semi-woolen 2-ply yarn

TPI (twists per inch) in singles ratio 1:8.5: 10
TPI in plyback from ratio 1:8.5: 6
TPI in finished 2-ply yarn from "rolags": 15
WPI (wraps per inch) in singles: 32
WPI in finished 2-ply yarn: 18
Twist angle in singles: 45
Twist angle in finished 2-ply yarn from "rolags": 45

I was a bit nervous about not being able to spin a soft and bouncy yarn. I decided on a woolen draw from the fold. That was not bouncy enough, so I rolled small bits of the top into "rolags", and that worked very well. I also tried ratio 1:6, but that was not good as there was almost no twist at all in the singles so when plied they flattened out. Next time I know not to draw out the top as thin as I did this time if I want to spin from "rolags" made of tops. A thicker top would make bigger "rolags".

The 2-ply spun from mini rolags with woolen draw really bloomed when washed in hot - cold - hot water. WPI in singles was 32, plied and finished 18. TPI in singles was 10, in ply back 6, and 15 in plied finished yarn. This fiber can take a lot of manipulation.

2nd sample. Navajo 3-ply

The same singles as 1st sample
TPI in finished navajo 3-ply yarn: 10
WPI in finished navajo 3-ply yarn: 15
Twist angle in finished navajo 3-ply yarn: 45

This became a bouncy, soft yarn, as one could expect. The bends in the navajo chain adds loftiness too.

3rd sample. Semi-woolen 3-ply yarn

TPI (twists per inch) in singles ratio 1:8.5: 12
TPI in finished 3-ply: 19
WPI (wraps per inch) in singles: 32
WPI in finished 3-ply: 15
Twist angle in singles: 45
Twist angle in finished 3-ply: 45

I made a 3-ply yarn by spinning the tops with a woolen draw without rolling or folding them, using ratio 1:8.5 and a slow drafting speed for better control. I got an even, soft, stretchy yarn.

4th sample. Worsted super fine yarn

TPI in singles spun worsted ratio 1:20: I couldn't count the the twists because I couldn't see them...
TPI in finished worsted 2-ply yarn: 29 (I think)
WPI in singles spun worsted ratio 1:20: I didn't measure
WPI in finished worsted 2-ply: 40

Just for fun I spun a really thin yarn. I changed to high speed flyer and bobbins and ratio 1:20 (I think, I'm not sure about the ratios, middle whorl anyway). If I'd do this again I'd go through the fleece very carefully to get all double cuts out. But it was still easy to spin a super fine yarn. The fibers are so crimpy and so strong that they catch the twist imediately without any fuzz. I used a short backward worsted draw.

5th sample. Slubs and coils

I didn't measure this yarn

This was just for fun also. I spun a few meters of slubs and coils and knitted a swatch. Yarns like this could be used in a hat or a vest. The swatch har considerable strength and holds together well. A baby blanket would be nice too.

Conclusions

I'm still not very good at spinning soft, crimpy fibers, but I'm getting better. I have a tendency to spin too compact yarns with a lot of twist and not much bounciness. The Dorset Horn is one of the softest and crimpiest wools I have ever spun. I had to slow down my treadling and drafting speed quite a lot to be able to master the fibers. It was a good experience. My yarns have bounce and softness.

I have never before spun a fiber with so much memory and with such capasity to do exactly as I wanted. I am amazed and full of wonder! I think I got the neck part of the fleece from the look of some of the locks. That could explain why the the fibers are so soft and so strong. I could pull even the finest singles back from the flyer without it breaking.

Read More

Internet
Dorset Horn and Poll Dorset, UK
Dorset Horn, New Zealand
Rare Breeds Survival Trust
American Livestock Breeds Concervancy
Dorsets, USA

Literature
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, The Fleece & Fiber Source Book, 2011
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007
Nola & Jane Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995

Lazy kate!

2011-05-04T11:21:00.000+03:00

Jag fick en ny lazy kate av min underbara man! Titta, kate för båtskyttelbobbiner (Louet Victorias lazy kate i bakgrunden):

My wonderful hubby gave me a new lazy kate! Look, kate for boat shuttle bobbins (Louet Victoria's lazy kate in the background):

Man kan använda den med spinnrocksrullar också.

You can use it for spinning wheel bobbins also.

Wensleydale. My Fiber Studies 21

2011-05-03T18:08:00.001+03:00

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

Wensleydale sheep can be found mostly in Wensleydale in North Yorkshire. The rams are used for crossing with local hill breeds, producing crossings like the Masham for meat and wool. They are big, strong sheep with dark skin and big top knots. Wensleydale is listed as "At Risk" by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

Photo from Beautiful Sheep almanac 2011

The Wool

Wensleydale wool has high lustre and silkyness. The staple length is 20-30 mm, the micron count 26-30. It's one of the finest of the luster longwools. It's used in many kinds of textiles, mostly for garments. It's also used for blending with other wools to add strength an luster. Wensleydales are white to creamy, and you can also find small flocks of black sheep.

My Experience

Raw fiber that I washed and prepared.

Worsted yarn sample

Preparation: hand combed on Valkyrie Extra Fine combs
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio spinning and plying: 1:8.5
TPI in singles: 12
TPI in worsted 2-ply: 8
WPI in singles: 30
WPI in finished 2-ply: 17
Twist angle in singles: 50
Twist angle in finished 2-ply: 45

A lovely fiber from The Spinning Loft! It's the first fiber I've combed with my brand new Valkyrie Extra Fine combs. The combs are designed for finer and shorter fibers than Wensleydale, but I took care in not to load the combs too full and to be careful when combing. The result was wonderful tops with nothing else than the longest and strongest fibers in them. They were very easy to spin.

I spun a fine short forward worsted 2-ply and from the left overs on one bobbin a 3-ply navajo.

Woolen yarn sample
Preparation: standard Finnish handcarders
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio spinning: 1:13
Ratio plying: 1:8.5
TPI in singles: 9
TPI in finished 2-ply: 6
WPI in woolen singles: 20
WPI in finished 2-ply: 13
Twist angle in singles: 50
Twist angle in finished 2-ply: 50

I got a lot of combing waste, which I carded on my standard Finnish handcarders. I spun a 2-ply woolen yarn, trying not to smooth out all the neps.

Conclusions

I loved working with this wool. I was happy to get a sample of the extremely rare black Wensleydale in The Spinning Loft's Super Sampler package. The two yarns I spun are both nice. I like the color changes and the structure of the woolen yarn, and I like the lustre of the worsted one. Both are very strong yarns.

Woolen to the left, worsted to the right

Read More
Internet
Rare Breeds Survival Trust
Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Breeders

Literature
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, 2011
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007
Nola & Jane Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010

Valborgsmässoafton - Walpurgis Night

2011-04-30T19:26:00.001+03:00

Valborgsmässoafton med fin gäst - sjöborrekaktus. Den första bilden tog jag klockan 15.22, den sista 18.04. I morgon är föreställningen över.

Walpurgis Night with a celebrity - Echinopsis. I took the firs picture at 3.22 pm, the last one 6.04. Tomorrow the show will be over.

Ute hämtar violerna krafter efter att ha fått större krukor.

Outdoors the violets are gaining strength after being planted in bigger pots.

Och Kasper njuter av kvällssolen.

And Kasper is enjoying the evening sun.

Butterfly and socks - Fjäril och sockor

2011-04-28T19:16:00.000+03:00

There are lots of butterflies now. And I have new socks, knitted from my own handspun yarn.

Det finns mängder av nässelfjärilar nu. Och jag har nya sockor av eget, handspunnet garn.

Teeswater. My Fiber Studies 20

2011-04-25T08:38:00.000+03:00

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

Teeswater sheep has been bred for about two hundred years in the Teesdale area in UK. It's a large, white, longwooled sheep, hornless, and with a big topknot. The face has dark brown markings.

The sheep is listed as "Vulnerable" by Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

If you google for "Teeswater sheep" you'll find plenty of pictures. It's an impressive sheep even on photos.

The Wool

This is a citation from the British Teeswater Breeders: Teeswater wool

Good, clean open lustre staple, not too strong and of medium length, with no black fibres.
Uniform over the whole fleece.
This should be fine, long-stapled lustre wool with no dark fibres in the fleece. It should be uniform in texture over the whole body.

The wool is mostly used for hand knitting yarns.

My Experience

The Teeswater top I bought from International Fleeces was just like it's described in the citation above. It was a joy to spin, I wish I had bought more of it.

Spinning

Fiber preparation: top from International Fleeces
Staple lentgh: 15-33 cm
Hand: medium
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:8.5
TPI in singles: 12
TPI in finished 2-ply:
WPI in singles: about 33
WPI in finished 2-ply: 25
Twist angle in singles (unwashed and at an average): 50
Twist angle in finished yarn: 45

I spun a thin high twist 2-ply yarn I thought could be used in a shawl.

Conclusions

I'm still not so used to spinning longwools. I liked this Teeswater top even if the big differences in staple length made it more difficult to spin even than a staples of the same length would be. I'm pleased with the yarn. It's quite soft and it has good luster. I didn't measure the yarn, but I think there is enough of it for a small scarf. The color is yellowish, which may come from the canary stain that sometimes occur in longwools. It may also be the natural color of the fleece.

I'm getting more and more fond of longwools. I need to spin much more to get the yarn I want, but I feel I'm closer to my goal this time than with other longwools I've spun.

Read more

Internet
Teeswater Sheep Breeders
American Teeswater Sheep
Rare Breeds Survival Trust

Literature
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, The Flecce and Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, 2011
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010
Nola & Jane Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995

Flygekorre

2011-04-23T18:01:00.000+03:00

Ibland är livet bara så förunderligt! Vi stod ute vid fönsterrabatten och tittade på vad som överlevt vintern när en grå varelse flög mellan oss i höjd med våra huvuden. Jag såg den inte först för jag studerade tulpanerna, men min man såg den landa några meter bort. En flygekorre! Den flög upp i en tall, sprang uppåt längs stammen, ut på en gren och så flög den vidare in i skogen.

Nu vet jag vad det är som håller till på taket ovanför mitt huvud ibland. Jag brukar tänka, "vad är det där, det är inte en skata och inte är det en katt". Flygekorre! Små skrapljud från små klor!

Här kan du läsa om den: Flygekorre i Wikipedia

Påskhäxor - Easter Witches

2011-04-23T14:44:00.000+03:00

I våra trakter går små påskhäxor omkring i byarna och tigger godis på påsklördagen.

In our region small "Easter witches" walk around in the villages begging for goodies on Easter Saturday.

Barnens påskvandring går tillbaka på äldre påsktraditioner då man skulle avvärja ont bland annat genom att tända påskbrasor. Hur det kom sig att onda häxor förvandlades till små oskyldiga barn vet jag faktiskt inte. Antagligen är det en omvänd besvärjelse. Genom att föreställa det onda värjer man sig mot det.

The children's Easter passage goes back on older Easter traditions to avoid evil by for instance burning a bonfire. How the evil witches came to be small innocent children I don't really know. Probably it's a reversed evocation. By visualizing the evil you protect yourself against it.

En annan tradition är att tuppen värper på påsklördagen. På söndagens morgon finns det godis, förslagsvis chokladägg, gömt i barnens sängar.

Another tradition is that on Easter Saturday the cock lays eggs. On Sunday morning the children can find hidden sweeties, like chocolate eggs, hidden in their beds.

Påskhare - Easter Bunny

2011-04-22T17:01:00.000+03:00

Vi var ute och gick i det vackra påskvädret. Bland grannens blåsippor låg den här lilla bollen:

We went for a walk in the beautiful Easter weather. Among the neighbor's liver leafs I found this little ball:

Det är bottenull från en skogshare. Den har antagligen suttit bland blommorna och putsat pälsen ren från vinterull.

It's under coat from a Eurasian hare. It has probably been sitting among the flowers cleaning it's fur from the winter wool.

Harens ull har använts till vantar och mössor. Den är otroligt mjuk, varm och vit.

Under coat from hares has been used for mittens and hats. It's incredibly soft, warm and white.

White Face Woodland. My Fiber Studies 19

2011-04-20T11:49:00.001+03:00

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

The Whitefaced Woodland sheep is one of the largest of Britain's hill sheep. It has a long tail, and both sexes are horned. The status of the sheep is "Vulnerable" due to Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

The photo shows pictures from "British Sheep & Wool" and "Sheep & Man". I'm very fond of the shepherd's dress code in the newer photo!

The Wool

The white wool is mainly used for carpets. Handspinners find it very interesting for blankets, and blended with other wools for garments. Softer fleeces can be spun for sweaters and cardigans. It takes dyes well.

My Experience

Fiber preparation: roving from International Fleeces
Staple lentgh: 4-12 cm
Hand: medium to coarse
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:6
TPI in singles: 8
TPI in finished 3-ply:
WPI in singles: about 22
WPI in finished 3-ply: 9
Twist angle in singles (unwashed and at an average): 45
Twist angle in finished yarn: 45

I found the roving from International Fleeces very easy to spin with a woolen draw. I wanted to spin a yarn that could be used in a light carpet, so I used a low ratio and plied a 3-ply. A 4-ply would be even better, and a 2-ply could be used in blankets.

Conclusions

I have a feeling my roving was of the softer kind. Roving from coarser fleeces would be even better in carpets.

I remember my grandmother used to weave stripes in her rug carpets with rough, colorful yarns spun from wools that I think where very much the same as this. My hands remember how it felt. I think she bought the dyed yarn in the local store, because I never saw her spin even if I later was told she was a good spinner. But she was still weaving when I was a child, so I like to think she used yarn from a sheep bred for the kind of wool you get from Whitefaced Woodland.

Read More

Internet
Whitefaced Woodland
Rare Breeds Survival Trust: Whitefaced Woodland

Literature
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, 2011
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007
Jane & Nola Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995

Stockholm

2011-04-19T19:10:00.000+03:00

I took a weekend trip to Stockholm to see my son. We spent a lot of time in the underground. Here Jukka is waiting for the train while I'm trying not to loose him. He moved pretty fast when not sitting down... I was happy about my new shoes which I showed you in an earlier blog post.

We spent a lot of time in Moderna Museet, because my son was working during the weekend. He was playing the organ in a dance performance he had composed the music for. Here he's waiting for the performance to start. The audience has not yet arrived, so you can see the fantastic Andy Warhol wall:

There were three dancers moving their way along a pretty long and narrow corridor on a yellow carpet:

The choreographer was Helena Franzén, who also was one of the dancers. I liked both the performance and the corridor with the interesting light. The audience became part of the show because we were so close to the dancers and the musicians. The was a cello also, played by Mattias Helldén. People were moving all the time, going to the photo exhibitions in the other parts of the museum. It was interesting watching their reactions when they realized they were part of a performance. Go tip toe, try to be invisible, just walk on, or stay and watch?

Stockholm is a beautiful town, I suppose I don't have to stress that. Impressive buildings, water, boats. We took a sightseeing boat that took us under lots of bridges:

Food... we ate salads composed for hungry people...

... and tapas for hungry people:

Did I see anything fibery? Yes, we went to a yarn shop, Anntorps Väv. I bought three of the cones:

I saw spindle whorls and needles from the Chinese stone age in Östasiatiska Museet:

Jukka had booked a room for me in an awesome hotel in the Old Town. The place is loaded with antiquities, lots and lots of miniature ships and things related to seafare. This is the lobby in Hotel Lady Hamilton:

And this was my small and cosy room:

And the corridor on the second floor

It was a quiet hotel. I slept for eleven hours!

When I came home the snow had melted and the dog was the happiest dog on earth. Hubby had made a reindeer dish for me!

Paraden

2011-04-18T19:22:00.000+03:00

Jag har varit i Stockholm. Medan jag funderar på vilka foton jag ska visa kan ni titta på damen som deltar i paraden. Oj vad snabb hon var!

Portland. My Fiber Studies 18

2011-04-14T10:54:00.000+03:00

This is my first fiber study as a journeyman in spinning in my local craft guild Björken at Stundars. Because I now have to be more thorough in my exploration of fibers and spinning, I introduce a few things I have mostly ignored earlier, such as twists per inch TPI, wraps per inch WPI, twist angles, staple length.

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

The history of Portland sheep is obscure. It's probably what's left of the Western Tanfaced horn sheep that was common in the Southwest (Dorset) of England during the middle ages. Both sexes are horned. The sheep are small, and they have long tails. The breed is at risk for the moment. Here is a short video: Portland on Youtube. There are a few articles in newspapers and quite a lot of photos on Internet too. Google for "Portland sheep" and see what you can find. This is an interesting breed.

The Wool

The lambs have a foxy red color that fades into creamy white when they grow up. The micron count is 31-35 with a staple length of 5-9 cm. It's a wool suitable for many purposes.

My yarn on top of a photo of Portland sheep in Wild Fibers magazine, Winter 2010/2011

My Experience

Spinning

Fiber preparation: roving from International Fleeces
Staple length: 6-8 cm
Wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:8.5
TPI in singles: about 11
TPI in finished yarn: 11
WPI in singles: 34
WPI in finished yarn: 18
Twist angle in singles (unwashed and at an average): 50
Twist angle in finished yarn: 45

The roving from International Fleeces was easy to spin. The roving was clearly directional, so you have to find out from which end it wants to be spun. I spun two singles with a woolen draw, and plied a 2-ply, ordinary yarn, my default yarn.

Conclusions

I would use this yarn for hats, mittens, gloves, cardigans, sweaters. A 3-ply or 4-ply would be a good sock yarn.

Read More

Internet
Portland Sheep
Rare Breeds Survival Trust

Literature
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, 2011.
Wild Fibers, Winter 2010/2011
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man, Duckworth, 2007
Jane & Nola Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995

Spring! New shoes, new socks, dirty dog, Hillevi

2011-04-09T16:19:00.000+03:00

So it's spring. New shoes. The dog get's dirty. And Pelargonium Zonale 'Hillevi' is blooming.

Spring! Vår! Swap Yarn! Swap garn!

2011-04-05T15:01:00.002+03:00

Det är vår! It's spring!

Fast det finns nog snö på gården ännu. But there is still snow in our front yard.

Jag spinner swap garn. Topen, chokladen och stickmarkören har jag fått av Lillmor. Tack Lillemor!

Lillemor's website: Limmo-design

I'm spinning a SWAP yarn. Lillemor sent me the top, chocolate and stitch marker. Thank's Lillemor!

Gesäll! Journeyman! Och/and Echinopsis

2011-04-03T14:44:00.000+03:00

Nu är jag spinnargesäll och om ett par år är jag mästare om jag klarar provet! Now I'm a journeyman and within a couple of years I'll be a masterspinner if I pass the examination!

My Echinopsis is making good progress

And this is my newest little cactus

Bog Green Attic Yarn and Echinopsis

2011-03-26T13:34:00.000+02:00

First skein of Bog Green Attic Yarn! I like it!

And it's spring:

This is some sort of Echinopsis. The flower is white and has a lovely scent. It has two flower buds, can you see them?

Boreray. My Fiber Studies 17

2011-03-25T12:10:00.000+02:00

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

This sheep is one of the island sheep from the North Atlantic off the Scottish coast. They have an interesting history, which you can read more about in the links below. They really do look a bit wild, with their shaggy fleece and dangerous looking horns. The state of the breed is critical.

Photo in British Sheep & Wool, p. 155

The Wool

The wool shows a wide variety of fibers: soft undercoat, soft to harsh overcoat, and kemp, with a micron count of 18-35 and even coarser. It's used for tweeds and other fabrics, and can also be used in knitting yarns. The colors range from light gray to brown and black.

My Experience

Preparation: combing and carding, and opening locks with my fingers
Spinning Wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:8.5

The samples of fleece I got from Jane had been chosen with care to make a spinner happy: there was a lot of different fiber types. So many interesting fibers to spin! I roughly divided them into heaps: undercoat, over coat, both under and over, and in grey and offwhite. The fibers came from four different fleeces.

I combed some of the fibers, carded some. I pulled out the undercoat from a couple of samples.

I spun the rolags and tops with both woolen and worsted draw and a lot of twist to keep all the fibers in the yarns. I found myself changing my drafting a bit once in a while, but it seemed as if most of the fibers and preparations wanted to be spun worsted. I spun the coarsest fibers from the locks without preparing, only opened the locks with my fingers and spun worsted from the tip end.

In the yarns you can see the soft undercoat, hair (overcoat) and kemp. Some of the hair is quite soft, but there's also quite harsh hair.

Conclusions

What joy! Last spring I thought I'd spin primitive wool only if I have to. After my class with Deborah Robson in August I found I would gladly spin these wools again. I hadn't spun rare breeds before that, but Finnsheep and Finn crossbreeds have a large range of wool types, and that's what I spun in the 80s and 90s until exhaustion. Now I look at them with new eyes. I think I might start looking for funny fleeces among the meat sheep in the neighborhood.

The Boreray with all these wooltypes is so challenging, a wonderful fiber to work with. In the samples above you can see quite soft yarns suitable for spinning and weaving, stronger yarns that could be used in outdoor sweaters, and harsh strong yarns for weaving.

Yes, I want to work with this wool again.

Read More

Internet
Boreray sheep
Rare Breeds Survival Trust
Wikipedia

Literature
M.L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010
Nola & Jane Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, to be released in May 2011

Gulf Coast. My Fiber Studies 16

2011-03-25T11:30:00.001+02:00

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

Gulf Coast sheep is one of the oldest breeds in North America. It's ancestors could be the first sheep the Spanish brought with them in the 1500s. It has developed in the Gulf coast area for hundreds of years. After World War II not many were left. That was a dramatic change from the hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast sheep that had been grazing the lands before the war. The breed is now considered critical by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.

The Wool

Gulf Coast Sheep are mostly white, but other colors occur (brown, black). The wool has a micron count of 26-32. It's suitable for a wide range of products, for knitting, weaving and felting.

My Experience

Preparation: mill carded roving
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:8.5
WPI in singles on my wpi-tool: 28

The roving from Spirit Trail produced a wonderful knitting yarn. It was easy to spin with a woolen draw. I spun a 2-ply and from the left overs on one bobbin a Navajoplied 3-ply.

I have labeled the skein "Spinning Loft", but the roving is from Spirit Trail

Conclusions

I would be happy to spin more of this. A sweater comes to my mind first of all. Hubby would love that :)

Read more

Internet
Gulf Coast Sheep Breeders Association
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy

Literature
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, to be released in May 2011

Lincoln Longwool. My Fiber Studies 15

2011-03-24T10:14:00.001+02:00

Photo in "British Sheep & Wool", p. 99

The breed originates in the Middle Ages. There is much written about Lincoln sheep, so please look at the links below or read more in books. Lincoln is now a dual purpose sheep for meat and wool, in older days the wool was most important. It's a big polled sheep with dark ears and a white face. Lincoln is one of the breeds used for developing Polwarth, Columbia, Corriedale, Targhee and Montadale sheep. The breed is on both the British and American lists for rare breeds.

The Wool

The lustrous wool is creamy to white or grey. The staple length is 15-30 cm.

Lincoln wool is used in carpets and upholstery. Handspinners can use the wool in a large range of products.

My Experience

Preparation: hand combing Louet one row mini combs
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria
Ratio: 1:8.5
WPI in singles on my wpi-tool: about 32

I had a lovely sample of Lincoln from The Spinning Loft. My mini combs are far too small for this sturdy wool, so I combed only two small tops and left the rest of the beautiful wool sample for a time when I have combs suited for it. I first thought I'd spindle the wool, but I changed my mind. Anyway, this is what the top looked like:

I didn't try to mix the colors because I wanted them to show in the yarn. I got a strong, variegated yarn I would gladly use for weaving, maybe a bag or a sturdy cushion. For a carpet I would spin a much thicker yarn, or make a multiply yarn.

Read more
Internet
Lincoln Longwool Sheep
National Lincoln Sheep Breeders Association
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
Rare Breeds Survival Trust

Literature
M. L. Ryder, Sheep & Man. Duckworth, 2007
British Sheep & Wool. British Wool Marketing Board, 2010.
Clara Parkes, The Knitters Book of Wool. Potter Craft, 2009
Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing, to be released in May 2011
Nola & Jane Fournier, In Sheep's Clothing. Interweave Press, 1995.

Handspinning Rare Wools

2011-03-23T14:28:00.001+02:00

This video about spinning rare wools is a treasure. It's a DVD with two discs, showing the wools, preparation, spinning, and the history of 38 breeds. Deborah Robson was the editor of Spin Off Magazine for thirteen years and one of the persons who were involved in the Save the Sheep Project. I was reading about that project with great interest at the time, and every now and then I return to articles in the magazine to freshen my knowledge about certain breeds and how to spin their wools. In August last year I had the opportunity to take Deb's class on rare wools in Stirling in Scotland. It was a day that left me full of new knowledge, ideas, and above all, a humble admiration of Deb's tremendous knowledge about sheep and wool, and of her passion for fibers, sheep and history.

"Handspinning Rare Wools, how to spin them, why we should care" can be ordered or downloaded from Interweave Press. I think the video should be in every spinner's reference library.

Deb's and Carol Ekarius' book "The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook: Moore than 200 Fibers, from Animal to Spun Yarn" will be released in May on Storey Publishing.

Mökkipelargon

2011-03-22T19:25:00.000+02:00

Den här pelargonen blommar först av alla varje vår. Det är femte eller sjätte generationen. Jag tar ett par skott vartannat år ungefär. Den intensivt röda färgen är så glad. Vi kallar den Mökkikukka för den kom till oss från svärmors sommarstuga en höst. Den klarar sig lika bra ute som inne.

The Moon Is Close to the Earth Tonight

2011-03-19T20:38:00.000+02:00

Polwarth. My Fiber Studies 14

2011-03-17T21:34:00.000+02:00

I take part in the SpinDoctor Rare Breed Wool Challenge on Ravelry. My blog posts are tagged SpinDoctor. The challenge ends June 30, 2011. You find SpinDoctor's podcasts in my Link List to the right.

The Sheep

Polwarth sheep were bred in Australia in the late nineteenth century from 30% Lincoln and 70% Merino. It's a big and heavy dual purpose sheep for meat and wool. The breed is not rare, but I share it with the SpinDoctor group anyway.

The Wool

This is from Polwarth Sheepbreeders Association of Australia's site:

Polwarths produce a super type wool - stylish, white, long-stapled, soft-handling and high-yielding.
Under average conditions, it is visually a 58s/60s fleece which averages about 23 micron, with a staple length of 100-120mm. In recent years many studs have dramatically increased the size and fleece weight of their sheep and many commercial flocks now cut an average of 6-7 kg a head.
Polwarth wool has a very high resistance to fleece-rot - repelling water and drying faster than shorter, tighter fleeces - making the breed well suited to wetter areas.
They are straight bodied sheep with few wrinkles which minimises the potential for flystrike.
Polwarth fleeces are very even and because the rams throw to their own wool type, flocks are noticably even and wool clips are easy to class with a minimum number of fleece lines.

There is a fantastic photo on that page: fleece. It looks so soft and the crimp is incredible.

My experience

Preparation: Mill carded roving, dyed
Spinning wheel: Louet Victoria, high speed flyer
Ratio: 1:20
WPI in singles: very, very fine

I tried to spin this roving on one of my supported spindles, but it was difficult so I changed to Vicoria and the high speed flyer. The wool is really fine, and it wanted to be spun very fine. I chose a woolen draw and the fibers run into the yarn easily. I couldn't do anything about the large amount of neps in the roving, so I just let them go into the yarn. They add some interesting texture. I spun two strands of Polwarth and one in Merino-silk, which I spun worsted. I then plied them into a 3-ply sample.

Sample skein spun on Louet Victoria, the "sausage" was spun on a supported spindle

Conclusions

The yarn is quite stretchy even if there is silk in it and one strand was spun worsted. It's the fantastic crimp in the fibers that cause this effect. This would be a perfect yarn for wearing next to skin and for babies, but of course you would have to wash it very carefully to avoid felting and shrinking.

One day I will buy a fleece like the one on the Australian photo. It would be a joy to work with the fleece, and it would be possible to prepare it without neps.

Read more

Internet
Polwarth Sheepbreeders Association of Australia