Fingerloop braid

Sample braid
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

I like finger loop braiding, but it's kinda hard on the fingers. There's constant abrasion as you keep the loops taught, swaping and weaving them from finger to finger. It's even worse when you have bicolored loops - each half is a different color and there's a knot that digs in to your fingers.

You can create some wonderful braids, but anything more than 60 cm is kinda hard. The knot is the anchor point, but to keep the pattern consistent and properly tensioned, you spread your arms wide with each loop swap to push that new cross over toward the knot. If you have short arms or you're doing something pretty long, you need a buddy to snug up at the far end.

Tablet woven text

Tablet woven Kona
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

My first attempt at tabletweaving text turned out far better than I anticipated. It's actually quite easy.I just followed the instructions, and lo, there be words! This is my proof of concept before I start a leash for Kona. Her current leash is a commercial nylon leash with screen printed "I <3 my bulldog" that the guys at Snug Pet Resort can never find when I go to pick her up. I figured I needed to create one that was distinctive and told the world who my little buddy truly is.

I'll keep working on the text (Gill Sans from Linda Hendrickson's *Please Weave a Message*) and work in the dog paw pattern she used on her custom leashes. I'm also planning to do the initial cap in Kona in some sort of brocade (glittery silver?), but I'll have to design the pattern myself. Problem is, this type face is only 24 tablets wide, and I'm sure any brocade of merit will have to be a bit bigger. Oh well, it forces me to think.

Acrylic! hemlock ring blanket

Hemlock ring blanket
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

I wanted to take a my nice lace alpaca project to finish, but somehow it didn't leave home. Here I am in Hawai'i with no knitting, so we had to get something to keep me occupied. This isn't the yarn I wanted to use for this project - I've spun but not plied the yarn I need. I just need to keep going and complete the project to use the blankie on the plane rides home.

Selbuvotter mitten

child's mitten
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

Made this a few months ago - my first attempt at stranded knitting. Pretty inconsistent as far as tension goes, but provided practice with a new technique. Maybe someday I'll make a second and someone can wear them!

Purple Cheviot

Purple Cheviot
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

I currently have 1220 yds of green and 668 yds of purple Cheviot singles, but I need at least 240 yds more of the purple before I can begin plying and knitting. I'm sure I can do that with the fiber I've dyed, but it would be nice if I could get more, a lot more.

John's gloves

John's gloves
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

I finished knitting these a week or so ago, but needed a photo to share. This was my first go at gloves, I think I learned a few things so that the next ones will be better. Still, they're completely functional!

Dyed and ready to ply

Dyed and ready to ply
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

Here are Cheviot singles spun and dyed in preparation for making green/purple, worsted-weight plied yarn for the Hemlock Ring Blanket. I have enough green singles spun for the large size (900yds), but I have only three hanks of purple - still enough for the smaller size. I wasn't feeling great this weekend, so I didn't spin as much as I wanted, but dying is a sedentary occupation.

I'm wondering what sort of bind off/edging I should put on this thing - the colors are going to be pretty wild as it is. I think I'll dye more Cheviot - maybe golden yellow this time - for a really annoying combination. I have only two problems: how much yarn will I need for the edging (depends on the final size and edging used) and how badly will the dark colors bleed. I dyed batts of the green years ago when I was learning to dye, and it was crocking as I spun. The yarn I just dyed (both purple and green) seem to be color fast.

Cheviot on bobbin

Cheviot on bobbin
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

A little over a year ago, some fellow known as brooklyntweed provided the world with the Hemlock Ring Blanket pattern. I'm really in need of that shawl - the AC at work is pretty brisk, and on occasion, there are mornings and evenings that actually feel cool. Oh, and it's just really, really attractive and seems easy to knit.

Cheviot is an odd fiber that's very springy, so it's a little easier to make the fatter yarn that's needed for this pattern. I usually do lace, so getting a single for a two-ply worsted is taking a bit of concentration. I'm thinking I'll dye the singles green and purple for a jewel-toned, spooky colored throw. I think I have two fleece scoured and waiting. I hope I have enough to make the 600-900 yds (US pattern, US units) it requires. I spun this much in about an hour, and since it's not lace weight, I can't really gauge how much is there ... other than actually taking it off and measuring it.

Crux

Lace edging
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

According to Merriam-Webster, crux is:
1 : a puzzling or difficult problem : an unsolved question
2 : an essential point requiring resolution or resolving an outcome
3 : a main or central feature (as of an argument)
Etymology: Latin cruc-, crux cross, torture

The lace edging is essential to the completion of the shawl, and it's torturing me.

Consuming itself

Consuming itself
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

I named this color "leopard frog." but maybe something more reptilian like "Ouroboros" would have been in order. When I start a project and part way through decide it's not worth the effort, it morphs into something else. Here I've caught the process of a scarf/shawl transforming into a pair of fingerless gloves. When I originally spun the batts, I'd planned to make socks, so this is just another stage in its transition to life.

And no, I still haven't finished the Pi shawl.

Fuzzy red yarn

Fuzzy red yarn
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

Over the past few weeks, I've been keeping myself busy scouring, dying, and spinning. Over the past couple days, I've been plying, and I have to admit I didn't spin it tightly enough. It is mohair, and very slick, so I need quite a bit of twist to get it to stick to itself. When plying, it just unwinds. I had to restart a few times, so multiple skeins.

Da-glo fuzz

Brightly colored
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

Over the past few weeks, I've been scouring more mohair in preparation to spin. I've also been dying with my new colors to see how they come out. I'm very pleased with the fiber that I'm rescouring and dying - it's clean, very soft, and easy to fluff. I didn't have time to fluff and dry the darker green this past weekend, so it's not quite as clean as the rest. Still, it's lovely.

Violet mohair for the masses!

UltraViolet mohair
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

Here's some fun I created from my Dharma Trading order! Last week, I scoured more mohair and dyed it while still damp from the scouring. The color is rich and vibrant, and the teased fiber is so very soft. When I'm done with my orange yarn, I'll do more scouring and dying so I can spin this, too.

This was dyed using more Jacquard acid dyes. The color is violet, really, really violet in person. I also got some cherry red, golden yellow, and chartreuse. (I assume it's supposed to be the same color as absinthe.) While tie dying, I saw a combination of yellow and green that just said, "go get the neon green - now!" And who am I to argue when a drippy drop cloth starts yapping out instructions.

I've started using Ravelry.com as my "current projects" site as well as repository of my stash, library, and queue info. I'm sure that I'll find other uses for it as well.

Hard effort yields soft yarn

Plied mohair hanks
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

Because the mohair wasn't as clean as I would have liked, it was difficult to tease and draft, left my hands filthy, and was a pain to spin. I'm surprised at just how nicely it turned out - I guess the second wash in hot water with degreaser I'm helped quite a bit. To get the same effect, I'll repeat the process, nasty fiber and all. I'm sure I'll have enough to actually complete a knitted project after all my dyed mohair is spun, plied, and rescoured. Just need to decide what to do and find the right pattern. So far, I'm thinking shawl or wide scarf - but with an open, lacy pattern so the fuzz doesn't obscure the stitches.

Drafting

Drafting
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

No, this has nothing to do with NASCAR, though it is Sunday. Here is a photo of me from a few days ago spinning "dyed in the fleece" mohair that was scoured by the goatherd. Not quite as clean as I would have done on my own, but I guess I can fix that post-spino.

I'd like to be doing a little spinning and more scouring/dying right now (and maybe watch the race), but yesterday I foolishly tried to clean up around the house and tweaked my neck. Last night I enjoyed Vicodin and muscle relaxants, today I'm drunk (muscle relaxants have a heck of an effect on me).

Click the image for interesting info on how to spin. I'm going to take a nap.

Humble flax

Humble flax
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

Traditionally, I'm a protein fiber spinner - wool, mohair, silk, and the like. I've done a little Ingeo, but since it's so hot, I thought I needed to spin something that doesn't mind if it gets wet. This ball of linen was spun from flax I got at Pennsic, and I just got quite a bit more from Paradise Fibers so I can spin enough to knit myself a top. I also got milk protein top and Norwegian roving - wanted to buy enough fiber to get free shipping!

After work today, I did some mohair scouring and dying. I have about 7kg to process, and I decided that if I want to dye it, I need to wait until I've spun it. By dying it while it's still in tight locks, all I dye is the outside - gotta pre-tease it, I guess. The mohiar I dyed was scoured by the vendor, and isn't as perfecto as I'd like. We'll see how this goes.

Not tomato soup

Not tomato soup
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

Still haven't finished my Pi shawl, but today I did some plying, spinning, and dyed my mohair. I'd hoped for a darker color, but I'm sure this'll be nice. I soaked the hanks of mohair in warm water, a little detergent, and alum for about 1.5 hrs before I dropped them into the pot. When it's cool, I'll hang it to dry.

I'm six rounds of plain knitting until the end of the Pi shawl, then I can start the lace edging. Thinking of a leaf-like edge. I also started a scarf using my black and green drumcarded mill-ends fiber, but realized I don't need a scarf. I stopped after a few pattern repeats and began to knit feather and fan from one of the edges. Should be ... interesting.

Kona, Morsbag, and drink

Kona, Morsbag, and drink
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

I mentioned I wanted to make Morsbags - here's one of about a dozen I made this weekend. I sacrificed blood to this cause - nipped the end of my finger, stabbed myself with a pin, and now the final insult of Kona warming her bottom on my work. No wonder I need a blueberry gin fizz.

Tabletweaving, knitting, and recycling

Tabletwaving handles for the bag
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

I just realized today that everyone must think all I do is spin and knit. I actually do a little weaving - narrow wares, to be precise. For me, that includes tabletweaving (also know as card weaving), inkle weaving (like tablet weaving, only you have just two permutations the warp threads can take, versus ... quite a few for tabletweaving), and finger loop braiding. This is the beginning of a handle for a bag that I knit for myself yesterday to use when I go shopping. I realized on my trip to the UK that I'm a poor world citizen and am learning what I can do to consume less, consume locallly manufactured/grown items, and recycle more.

I plan to start making Morsbags: http://www.morsbags.com/ over the next few weeks to hand out to friends, coworkers, and strangers to help reduce (and maybe someday eliminate) the use of plastic shopping bags.

Knitted reusable bag
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

I knew I didn't have enough of either color cotton yarn, so I did the bottom and edge in the dark color and the main bag with the fun color. This both showcases the varigated yarn and also puts the dark yarn in the places that are most likely to get dirty.

Shawl almost done

Blob of shawl
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

My first "spinning for a project" is nearing completion. This is a Pi shawl based on the one in A Gathering of Lace, but with a different final pattern repeat. I'd planned to knit this while in England, but since we didn't do many train trips, just the Tube, I didn't really have chances to work on it. I hope to have it done by the end of May. (Everyone needs a goal!)

London Bridge Dragon

London Bridge Dragon
Originally uploaded by darklordspet

What have I been up to? A month in London, more bronchitis, more upheavals at work, and knitting. When I can, I'll take a picture of my not quite finished pi shawl I took with me. And then maybe we can answer "why'd I spin so much yarn if the whole thing only takes two balls?"