Reconnecting with 'The Wheel'

Oh dear, I didn't realise it was SO long since I have posted on my blog. I thought it was only a few months ago... ummm... Weeeell, it was only eleven of them... Oooops.

Never mind, it has been go, go, go with work at Aurora House but for the last couple of days, I've pulled my wheel out and taken some time to relax and restore - she was complaining loudly about being so neglected - and have been spinning English tops, though I cannot for the life of me remember what fleece it is.

Even though its spinning up nicely, its quite coarse so will probably use it for something other than garment wear. It might turn into a bag; there is only about 100grams so it wont go very far on its own, though I could intermingle it with something else for a fashion effect...

Spinning English fleece is such a lovely change to the Australian fleeces - there is so much more choice. Considering I have boxes and boxes of fleece I've gathered over the last couple of years or so, its about time I got stuck in and started to whittle it down. Nooooo, not by de-stashing, I couldnt let it go, but by spinning it up - before I start buying more.

'Hmmmm... fat chance of that,' say all my spinning buddies.

I've also dragged out another fleece I'm spinning and decided to wash the balance of it in readiness for use. This one is Merino/English Leicester. A nice fleece, but very dirty - more so than I thought when I bought it. It spins easily but is more coarse than I thought it would be, so outer wear will be the end result of this one - a winter jacket, if I get it done in time.  :-)

There are a number of projects I have to finish - then again, I think we all have those...

A brand new year is about to get underway, and lots of new ideas are in the making.

If you are a knitter, its an excellent relaxation therapy - and can also help with other health problems, such as pain management, depression, stress, can help with dementia. There is so much more to knitting than just clickety-clack.

If you want to find out more about Knitting Therapy, take a look at Stitchlinks - stitchlinks.com -  It is a revolutionary method of helping many health issues. Research is being carried out in the UK with amazing results. There are many options, with tips for reducing pain, and helping to conquer addiction as well as many other problems.

Apart from that, knitting gets the creative juices flowing when re-hashing a pattern, or designing a new garment or item, playing with stitches for different effects, and intermingling colour to its most effective scheme.

So, get those needles out and clickety-clacking away - and have fun creating your masterpiece...

Winter Warmer Handspun Scarf

Brrrrrr... With the cooler weather in the northern hemisphere already set in, and starting to think about it in the southern climes, the time is nigh to set the wheels in motion for making sure that keeping warm this winter will be a comfortable affair, so knitting has commenced!

The first 'knit off the block' is a handspun, scarf with the addition of colourful flecks to enhance that winter coat or sweater.

I decided to be cheeky and add a teaser. This scarf is a chunky weight and will be medium length. It's still in its early stages - I knitted as I was watching Santos Tour Down Under, though I did more watching than knitting. Weeell, I have to get into practice for Le Tour in July, don't I? ...

Knitted on chunky needles, the scarf gives a rustic effect. The red flecks enhance the natural brown of the handspun yarn.

I'm working frantically to add more Winter Warmers to my store. There are other goodies in the pipeline too.

What?     Aaaah, that would be telling...




The new Winter Warmers will be in my  Etsy Store
The Woolly Mother and available for you to add to your winter wardrobe as they come off the production line.


Now - back to the knitting...

Yoga for Spinners and Knitters

Stiffness and limited movement can become a problem for many spinners and knitters. Extra exercise and movement will help to re-mobilise those stiff shoulders, wrists and joints.

I found this Yoga video when looking for something to re-mobilise myself and thought I'd share it with everyone. After only the one session, I already feel a difference and intend to work with it every day.You don't have to be 'Senior' to reap the rewards!

Esther is using a fold-up chair but I recommend using a dining chair or one that is solid. Fold-up chairs can be a little flimsy and tend to topple over. Once you know the moves, you can even practice this yoga in front of your spinning wheel while taking a break..




Give it a go, and if it helps do leave a comment so that we can let others share this excellent practice.

A New East Friesian Fleece for Spinning

It has been a marvelous week, I've had the place totally to myself. And guess what? Fleece and spinning abound - spread from one end to the other!

If anyone is thinking about taking up spinning - beware. It's addictive! Once you pick up that spindle, or treadle that wheel, there is no turning back. Your home will become a vast fibre studio with stash hidden in every spare, or not so spare, space imaginable.

My new East Friesian fleece arrived earlier in the week and I've been boxing it up for safe storage away from any moths. Moths hate newpaper, so that is what my storage consists of. And it works, I've only lost one fleece in thirty years of spinning due to moths.

This fleece is absolutely superb, and about the best I've seen in a while. Its well grown, clean, strong, soft with a downy feel and will be excellent to spin. It is the first time I have tried Friesian and so far am very impressed. The weight would be about 3-4kilos (7-8lbs) - and enough for a number of items.

The whole fleece.

 

A selection of the staples - very clean, long and white.

Fleece being boxed, to keep it safe from moths. It also stops it from becoming 'creased', which makes it hard to find the tips of the staples as they tend to fold in and hide.

The preparation process will be minimal because of the good quality - it always pays to buy sound clean fleece and walk away from those which seem very dirty or heavy in VM (vegetable matter) - a mistake I made a while ago when buying some merino at a show. Two washes later and its still not clean, and now slightly matted making processing more time consuming, and frustrating.

Part of this fleece will most likely become a handspun and knitted jacket for me. I'm not sure yet whether I will dye it or leave it natural white. Being a 'down' type fleece, it will be hardwearing, springy, and therefore will hold its shape very nicely. The soft feel is a bonus.

Some of the fleece I will spin into yarn and have on offer in my The Woolly Mother store on Etsy. There will also be sock yarn spun with this fleece as it will be both soft and hardwearing, so keep checking in and be the first to knit a pair of socks with this unique wool!

Ok, back to the fleece - Oh dear, do I really have to waste time to eat and sleep? ...

.

Socks, and More Socks

Seems the 'sock bug' is going around. And I caught it. After recently completing one pair of socks, I immediately started on more - for my granddaughter.

Thank goodness they are a good fit, or Nana would be in trouble! And she loves them - especially for sliding around on the wooden floorboards...

Women's Support Network

In conjunction with Brandlady.com The Woolly Mother is helping to spread the word about the online Women's Wellbeing magazine.

Brandlady.com is a well-respected publication for supporting and empowering all women around the world. It is creating a network of women from all walks of life to help and support those in need or not so fortunate. There are many thousands of women who desperately need extra support to help give them courage to either move on, face another day, work through an illness or constant pain, remove themselves (and/or their children) from abuse, recover from depression. These are just a few areas where words and thoughts can give much needed support.

In light of this, the magazine is currently seeking writers in a number areas, including the art and crafts section - Knitting, Spinning and other handcrafts have a place on the mag. Knitting is one craft that is gradually becoming renowned as a Therapy, (see Stitchlinks.com)and here at The Woolly Mother it is whole-heartedly encouraged. Spinning, Needlework, or any of the handcrafts that supplies are relatively easy and cheap to get hold of could save a life.

With this in mind, anyone who would like to contribute either by telling their story, or adding to the craft or any of the other topics to help fellow women improve or change their life, please email brandlady@gmail.com to register your interest.

I am positive someone, somewhere, will thank you for your words!

Handspun Corridale/Alpaca Cardigan in the Making

Seems I am not very prolific on my blog at the moment - much of my time is being taken up with my online women's wellbeing magazine Brandlady.com. I have been updating and streamlining the article submission area to make it easier for writers to submit their work. And also adding a few things to the magazine.

One addition is "In the News" which is being hosted by Clare Hudd of A Krafty Catch. She will report on items of interest specifically relating to women, the new "Army Couture" currently taking pride of place.

On the knitting front, I'm still awaiting delivery of my knitting needles. Having discovered I needed the 5-set DNP's for the socks I am planning, and not the usual 4-set, and of course finding nothing in town, I proceeded with haste to Ebay where of course I found what I was looking for and duly ordered the item, via Hong Kong. Now it's a waiting game, with impatience running high, and patience running low.

It's weird having no knitting on the go, but I refuse to start anything else or will become sidetracked. This time I'm determined that is not going to happen!

In the meantime, I've been hand-carding and blending more of the corridale and alpaca for the next project, and spinning some along the way. The challenge will be adding the 'slubs'. Slubs in themselves are easy, but these are no ordinary slubs. These slubs are a different colour, in fact they will be of white alpaca, against the 'denim' blue of the main thread. It will be interesting to work, but fun.



The spinning process of hand-carding and blending is a time consuming, but worthwhile one. Starting with the blue base and a small amount of the white alpaca, blended until most of the white is absorbed into the blue corridale.

The resulting colour is a few shades lighter than the original blue, giving a mellow shade that will be enhanced with the planned 'slubs'.

Finally, enough has been carded and prepared for the next lot of bobbins. So far, one and half bobbins in a fine lace-weight thread sits ready for the next stage.

And this is BEFORE the cat decided to sleep on the prepared rolags and squash them again!

From now on, I will make sure the lid is firmly in place!

The 'therapy' is not just in the knitting, but also in the preparation and spinning, providing the atmosphere is relaxed and not all up in the air.

Now, all I need is the time to sit and spin...

Knitting on a 'Go Slow'

Don't know about France being on a go slow with the new retirement age reform, but at this end of the world the knitting side of things is definitely on a go slow. Not from choice however, more from a case of being distracted with other happenings in the household. At least I have one mitten completed and the other well underway.

A bit of domestic news - thank goodness we missed most of the high winds and floods that seem to have found most people down the east coast - only a couple of showers of rain and very little wind.

With kids back at school, its time to get some semblance of order, though it seems a little slow in showing itself. Not for the want of trying, but distractions do seem to find their way into the mix and totally mess things up.

For instance, on Thursday I had it all planned out - edit and publish on Brandlady, one or two blogs on here, a bit of knitting and maybe some spinning if there is time....Noooo, not happening. I ended up dashing into town to find a birthday present for my eldest son and mailing it overnight express to reach him on Friday. It did. But by the time I got back from town, the enthusiasm had disappeared along with most of my day. Never mind, thought I, there is tomorrow. And still no knitting accomplished.

Friday dawns and moves along at a brilliant pace - the publishing happened, along with a little research and even a few rows of the mitten. Now if that could happen every day, I definitely would achieve a few goals.

So, today, I decided I would dedicate myself to 'the mitten'. It worked - for a while, until granddaughter got in on the act and wanted Nana's attention for every little thing. And then pinched my laptop to play on her iGoogle - this little girl is only seven years old mind you.

Oh well - there is always tomorrow...

Knitting for Therapy

Those of us who have been knitting for many years do not think about it as being a therapy, we just carry on regardless. But for newcomers, particularly those with pain or other health problems, knitting can be a lifesaver – literally. The advantages far outweigh any minor disadvantages, like cost of supplies.

When it comes to health, one always, or nearly always, does what is best for yourself. Knitting is proving to be one of the ‘must do’ practical self-help therapies. Besides which, once started, it becomes very addictive with some, if they can, moving on to dyeing their own yarn or spinning their own wool.

Not to get sidetracked – research is currently being undertaken as to how knitting has therapeutic advantages.

Picture left: Sick children from Bellevue Hospital New York knitting and weaving. ca. 1920-1925


Betsan Corkhill, a senior physiotherapist, and founder of Stitchlinks.com, became interested in the effects of knitting on pain, memory, depression and post traumatic stress when she was editor for a knitting magazine. She decided to look into it further and is now working in conjunction with five universities in the United Kingdom researching the effect knitting has on brain patterns, dementia, pain management and depression to name just a few health issues it may assist to minimise.

Knitting also has other advantages in helping people come together, it transmutes languages barriers, helps quieten children and can reduce stress in the workplace.

More research needs to be undertaken to map the changes of brain patterns as to how the therapy re-generates and grows healthy brain cells. Some of the benefits are listed below. If even one of these apply to you, then the whole business is worthwhile:

* Helps alleviate pain
* Assists in gaining control over you life
* Improves hand movement
* Helps break addictions
* Stimulates brain patterns by using visualisation
* Creates a sense of belonging (in a group)
* Gives back the lost identity and self-confidence
* Creates positive thinking
* Improves memory through remembering stitches, patterns, etc
* It can teach goal setting and planning, anticipation and excitement that can all be lost through continual pain and illness
* Compliment medical treatments by occupying the mind and keeping it busy
* Reduce stress in the workplace
* Quiets over-active or violent children

There are many more positive aspects that can be added but these create a starting point.

While knitters do not normally think ‘therapy’, looking at myself over the years I can see where it has helped me during difficult times and one instance in particular comes to mind when I was staying with friends and I felt ‘compelled’ to knit, so I borrowed a pair of needles and some wool and started knitting. I did not think too much about it at the time, but looking back it did remove the stress and relax my whole being.

Betsan is currently looking for funding for research studies to:

* Explore the Effects of Knitting on Memory Scan, Memory Recall and on Local versus Global Attention.

* Knitting and the Knitting Group as a Complex Intervention for the Management of Chronic Pain – a feasibility study for a definitive trial.

* A Brain Imaging Study of Knitters - Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics Reading.

For more information visit Stitchlinks www.stitchlinks.com

In the meantime, try it for yourself – knitting is an ancient, timeless craft and is achievable by all age groups, girls and boys, women and men.

But be warned – Knitting is Very addictive! So it might pay to ensure there is a well-prepared empty cupboard for all the yarn that will become your ‘stash’!


More websites where you can find support and friendship:

Crafting with Pain on Ravelry www.ravelry.com/crafting-with-pain

Fibromyalgia www.ravelry.com/fibro-froggers

iKnit www.iknitlinks.org

Multicoloured Knitting Yarns

Shopping should be banned! It's the most time-wasting, no-entity there is on this planet. Whoever says they like shopping, food shopping that is, ought to be banished to Mars.

After the weekly drudge of trawling through the supermarket, waiting in loooong queues at the checkout, then having to drag the bags into the car, I think we all deserve the best glass of wine there is to offer. Plus it takes us away from the most important occupation - Knitting.

And talking about knitting, the 'quick scarf' I started last week is finished. A little disappointing and annoying as whoever was at the winding machine in the factory to create the balls of the yarn decided that a fast colour change was the flavour of the day. Hmmmm...

This particular acrylic boucle goes through colour changes and melds beautifully from one colour to the next, until I come to about three-quarters of the way through the ball. Here, someone decided it might be nice to have a change of pace and instead of the 100gram ball being one continuous length, the golden brown was suddenly changed to a bright blue. Ouch! Needless to say, I am not impressed.

It has in fact spoilt the whole look of the piece. As this happened near the end of the ball, I managed to manouver the colours to blend a little, using the purple against the brown, following through with the blue, then the rest of the purple flowing into red. The colour changes still 'stand out' too much.

The moral of the story? Beware when buying 100gram balls of blended-coloured yarn. Maybe buy two balls, just in case and you need to blend the colours yourself.

Anyone for Continental Knitting?

It's definitely a learning curve. Using the wool in the wrong hand, holding the needles differently - its like driving on the wrong side of the road, in the wrong side of the car...

But, it doesn't take long to pick it up. This afternoon is the first time I have attempted left-handed knitting - even though I am a left-handed person - and after a few stumbles for an hour or so, I had it. Now I just have to keep it. That means practicing, regularly. Well, I am knitting a plain garter stitch scarf as well as the lacy one, so that will be a good opportunity to get in plenty of practice.

Oh dear, I don't seem to have any excuses not to practice...

I am quite surprised how easy continental knitting is once you get the hang of it. I'm by no means fast yet, too soon, and I still 'loose the wool' by the tension slacking off, but I'm getting the hang of it.

There are plenty of videos on YouTube of varying lengths for 'hands-on' tuition. Even with Continental knitting there are a few techniques. Some hold the wool wrapped around the little finger and over the forefinger, others double wrap the wool just around the forefinger, some hold the forefinger away from the needle when knitting the stitches, or it can be held close and 'pick' the yarn directly off the finger. These are just a few techniques, there are more.

I'm still working out which way is the best for me. Whichever way you find suits you is the right way - for you.

Handspun Lace Scarf in Merino/Silk

With a bit of a lag in activity after Le Tour de Fleece, I've managed to get myself back to 'The Blog' and put a few words on paper. Its been a busy time, completing the editing of a manuscript but that is now out of the way and I can concentrate on more important things - like my spinning and knitting.

The Shetland I spun for Le Tour has been stored for later use, I haven't decided on a project for it as yet but I'm sure something will crop up at some stage. The grey matter is already ticking over on that one. With only 250grams, its not really enough for a jumper, but might make a short sleeve summer cardigan...

Oh dear - think I just found a project for it. Whether to dye it or leave it natural white?

The yarn below is a beautiful purple Merino/Silk, which I've spun up in a medium lace weight. A pattern has been sourced and knitting has commenced.



As I have not used silk yarn as stated on the pattern, I decided on using larger needles as the yarn is not as fine, but it's still knitting up very nicely.






At the same time, I am also working on a cardigan for my daughter. The blue dyed sliver is to be blended with alpaca to spin into a fine slubby yarn.



So far, the corridale/alapca blend is spinning up beautifully with the first bobbin nearly complete.  It is a pleasure to spin.
To blend the fibres, I am using hand carders with 2/3rd sliver, 1/3 alpaca and carding until the white is fully blended, giving a 'denim' look to the yarn. One strand will have slubs of white alpaca, emulating the original yarn on the pattern as closely as possible.

In the meantime, the bath-tub has been full of fleece leftover from other projects and washed in preparation for carding.
If that isn't enough, the thought of knitting my granddaughter gloves and beanie is also on the cards...
And if there is any time left over, I will see about a bit of sleep and food here and there...

A Coat of Many Colours - Dog Rescue part 2

Millie looked a sorry sight when she was brought back to my daughter's house - her coat was very matted, hair falling into her eyes and the longest eye lashes I've even seen on a dog! She was very unsure and barked at everything. The lady that found her and looked after her brought her back from death's door, spending a lot of time to get her back to health.

After a few days in her new home she is starting to settle down, quite quickly in fact, and is already becoming part of the family.

An appointment was made for her at the Pamper Parlour to clean her up a little, so today she went in a ragamuffin and came out a fluffy little pooch. They had bathed and blow-dried her, trimmed her coat and removed all the tangles, of which it was all matted, cut back the hair on her face, and downsized the toe nails.

With the arrival of the new dog, along came the request 'can you make her a new coat?' So out come the needles and some dyed handspun yarn and I start knitting. After finding a basic pattern on the internet, I customised it by re-sizing and changing the neck shape. I decided on a simple rib to give a bit of extra warmth. It knitted up quickly, and I was surprised at how well the colours blended together. The dyeing of this skein was an experiment and I'm pleased with the result.

The dog coat is a success and looks beautiful on her. Now she is bathed and trimmed, the fluffy pooch is much happier, can see easier and is more mischievous than ever. Hopefully, she will fatten up a little with good food, plenty of love and attention, enough exercise, settle in and become part of the family for a long time to come.

      

One very smart little girl, all snug and warm.

Handspun Cable Jumper

Done! Finito! It's finally completed! Considering the time it eventually took, I'm pleased with the result. The pattern was easy to follow after sorting out the three stitch variations and working the three of them simultaneously to keep track of the  rows in each pattern.

The pattern was easy to follow, especially once I had worked out how to cope with three different patterns, all with different numbers of rows per pattern. The main cable was twenty-four rows, and luckily the other two patterns worked into that number perfectly.

How did I do it?

I used a child's Primary School exercise book with the wide and narrow lines and going between the red lines, set all the pattern out in their multiples. It worked perfectly.

The yarn was a dream to knit - very soft with plenty of spring. Once I had got into the swing of the pattern, it knitted up very quickly.

Very little that went wrong, apart from a couple of times, one when one of the single cables insisted going the opposite way,  the second was when the middle section decided to go walkabout and it too went in the opposite direction so had to be unpicked - somewhere around ten rows before it was noticed. Ouch! But it all turned out fine.

And hopefully, the proud owner of the jumper will have many years of wear - as these handspun jumpers seem to last forever...

Latest Project - Knitted Cable Jumper

As its impossible for me not to knit or spin, I decided to create a jumper for my partner. But, not being satisfied with simple stocking stitch, I thought I would create something a little different - A V-neck long-sleeve jumper with cables and pattern front and back.

The fleece is a pale grey and spun as double knit. Then came the patterns - a trip to the library and I came back with at least three books of stitch designs. After much procrastinating I decided on a wide cable - Twisted and Crossed Cable, narrow four stitch cable and a middle block Little Cable Fabric , which I  scanned separately into photoshop (see pic left) then I created into one design to see what it would look like.

Next came the tension square, which was trial and error as I discovered the pattern pulled the work in enough to make a difference, so had to allow extra stitches to compensate for this. After starting the back and working about ten centimeters I saw that it was not wide enough, so the lot was unpicked and restarted. Once the process was computed into the brain, the patterns were easy to work and each pattern was divisable into twenty-four rows (twisted and crossed cable) so had the number of rows for each pattern written down to be crossed off as each row was knitted. The system worked brilliantly.

Throughout the knitting there were only two occasions when I 'mis-knitted' the pattern and had to unpick a number of rows. Apart from that the progress was smooth, if a little slow due to other circumstances getting in the way. I chose to use a book with 'Master Patterns' to save time - Teach Yourself Visually - Knitting Design. A very good book for all sizes from baby to extra large, with variations on neck design, sleeve tops, and body shape. This book I would recommend for beginner or experienced knitters to use.

The jumper is nearly finished and I will post a picture of it when its complete. The object of the exercise has been achieved - a unique garment, the only one of its design in the world.

The next project?  A scarf and beanie for my grand daughter. She chose the wool and colours - white scarf, black beanie. Hmmmm... that will be interesting.