Onward into 2024 - and Word of the Year

Another year, and I get to look back on whether I met my goal, to focus on Balance for last year.

Newsflash - it's never that simple ;)  ...I did achieve a better balance of some aspects of my life. I had some altogether new challenges and roadblocks come up, and I sold yarn again, for the first time in a few years - so some of my gamble on putting up embroidery yarns paid off.

I launched those yarns at what I knew would be an introductory price (still more than 'grannycrafter' levels, but not a reflection of the skill involved). It was an experiment, and the market here is not always receptive to new things. Now that a few stitchers have given me feedback, (including that my prices are low, which I knew) I'll be making a bunch of updated tags for the New year.

Maybe they'll still sell at the new price, and maybe not - but I will only find out if I try. 

I need to CULTIVATE the things I want to see - in so many parts of my life.

I still find myself feeling out of step, though - with a world that seems bent on leaving me on my own, as everyone forges 'ahead' into the new 'Post-COVID' landscape... which is what led me to this year's word.

I intend to begin as I mean to go on, so I need to do something that builds a framework for my success down the road...

CULTIVATE is a word with very few negative connotations - it speaks of hard work, but not of harsh judgement... and it implies that there could be a worthwhile outcome, somewhere in the future.

Friendships, and business ideas, and the neglected plants in my window - they all need effort on my part, to build them into something that supports me, and those around me.

It started with a meme that went around Facebook in December - the cartoon about expectations for 2024... one character asks what the other expects in the new year, and the answer is:

flowers

When asked why, the response is "Because I'm planting flowers". Trite, sure - but oh so very true.

We can't expect to reap what we never take time to sow - sometimes you can have a lucky moment, when the wind brings you the seed you wanted, but for the most part, you have to put in some effort.

If you're reading this, you are 10000% worth that effort. So CULTIVATE is what I'll try to do - maybe not in any big sweeping way - but if I want to see flowers, I should probably scatter some seeds.

The World, with all its hustling, and getting 'back to normal' -  may not find an opportunity to do it for me.

Still Shenanigating!

 It's Shenanigans time again, and this time, I took it slower than I have in the past. I had a few Real Life things come up, including my annual participation in the Great Cycle Challenge (half an hour or so on a stationary bike doesn't SOUND like much, but it sometimes takes a _large_ chunk of my spoons.

No Animals Allowed

I have a significant stash, in a relatively small space - some of it is non-animal. (if you include regenerated cellulose, more of it counts in this category) I recently acquired some flax from the Berta's Flax project, in hopes of getting my guild exploring other fibres, but that was NOT my starting point.

I decided I would stop carrying my pushkas and canti to Guild events, so I would be forced to focus on the cotton I keep attached to my purse.

It was not as effective as I had hoped. I started here:

Two brass taklis, waiting to be full enough for next steps.

...with spindles that already held some singles.

So far, I've spun a few yards... Nothing else to report.

Andean Weaving 120

I really enjoy every weaving style I've tried - which becomes a bit of an issue with studying Andean weaving - it's one option in a sea of enticing choices. Thinking about this is what shaped my challenge.

Instead of stretching myself to do even more new and exciting things, I took a hard look at my WIP pile, and chose the challenge of Doing The Thing.

Andean weavers don't earn bragging rights by 'just' getting good at the complicated patterns as quickly as possible - they arrive there by repeating them until they're as easy as breathing... and at the start of the month, I'd only ever finished 13 bands... the last one was completed in early May. 

Time to stop being a waylaka, and get to it!

On the 13th of this month, I gave away  one of my reference bands, to a weaver who asked whether I might have something suitable for a hatband... that's really what prompted this whole thing.

I had to replace it, so I have a copy of the patterns on it. In an ideal world, I would already have woven just that pattern over a dozen times... but I've barely completed a dozen total.

So far, since the 13th, I've finished these:

The satisfying twisties ALWAYS make me so absurdly happy!!

Completed bands 14-16

I've also woven about half of another band - 5 pairs, first in sakas, then in a stairstep variation of sakas that was among the Team Vampy challenges. 

The third is the closest I've come to a doodle band - it's not just variations on one pattern, but switches between a few 6-pair patterns.

(It happened to be the first 6-pair warp I set my hands on when Vampy posted the first challenge - and the absolute WORST to photograph... or see. I do NOT recommend this!!)

The band that BARELY photographs... but I finished it anyway.

2 of these bands have a 'challenging' yarn in common - the dusty green in the first and third bands is a twist-added handspun mohair blend from my stash... and another grand example of learning 'what happens when I try. (I can say it's even less fun than the alpaca... ;) )

Told You So, and the Quiz-a-Tron

First, the I Told You So... 

A friend moved overseas a few months ago, and shipped me a large portion of her stash. When I saw the Lacis BEHEMOTH spindle, I knew I had a future Shenanigan.

The enormity of this spindle is difficult to overstate. This is sold as a DROP spindle... often to beginners (sadly, it was the first spindle my friend purchased). I'm thrilled to own it, both because my friend no longer has to attempt to use it, and as a cautionary tale.

NOT a floor spindle - and just under 5 oz... this is madness!

This is by NO means a 'beginner spindle'... and I'm appalled that they still sell it. It would almost work better as a candy dish!

The whorl is also unwieldy because it's so WIDE, and the shaft is really too short for something this enormous.

Some of the 'facts' I'm challenging include (some decisions were made AFTER the Quiz-a-Tron was run):

• You can't make corespun on a spindle.
• Your core must be a plied yarn.
• You can't spin fine yarns on a heavy spindle (for corespun this IS fine - but I may yet challenge just HOW fine I can go on this 'thing')
  
• If you are NOT using a plied core (as in coreless corespun), the singles has to have the same twist direction as the wrap.

Corespun, Z-twist, onto an S-twist singles weaving wool. This requires carefully controlling the point-of-twist in the core, so that it has structural integrity in the 'working' direction BEFORE wrapping it.

Having thumbed my nose at the 'Expert Hordes', and produced a small amount of serviceable yarn, I can carry on with the other half of this entry - my Quiz-a-Tron results.

Hastily scribbled on Launch Day - then forgotten for a week or two... I had SUCH hopes for getting more than one of these done - silly me!

My Major and Minor were Color and Plying Structure - the categories I thought would most challenge me. I thought they might even make me get back to some of the items I haven't done for homework yet... and they did just that!

It started off somewhat unassumingly - I drew a Natural main colour. Then I was supposed to add a warm colour to the palette, and my spinning challenge was to alternate between multiple colours in 1 ply.

For Structure, I drew a crepe yarn - so I decided to add to the challenge - and try to make a bubble crepe, with a corespun 'heavy' singles.

The goal was to make a headpiece of some kind - so I thought I'd do a hairband/ear warmer. I had seen photos of some cotton dishcloths in another Discord channel, and liked the look of the random check that can be achieved with short repeats of the contrasting colour.

The Chaos Goblin got ignored - so that was also a fail... I typically DO spin, etc, all over the house - but I didn't make a point of doing so for this challenge... boo on me.

I got all the singles done, using the Behemoth for the corespun/multicoloured singles, and my Nano for the 2 fine singles for the plying and crepe passes. I chose the Nano for this ridiculous photo... 

When your spindle DWARFS your bobbins... 

Then I started plying, on my slowest, firmest takeup, wheel - my Thumbelina.

Plying pass - spiral yarn coming together nicely.

Successful bubble crepe! Will need more practice to do this well... but it's not terrible for a first go.

I only completed 12 yards of it, but I thought the texture could work well. With such limited yardage, I decided on a 4-selvedge option, and went spelunking through the equipment stash.

I dug out my Lily Speed-o-Weave Twin, and assembled it in a configuration that I thought would work. Weaving began with 36 or so hours remaining in Shenanigans.

10 warp ends - and the game of Yarn Chicken begins!

I think I like the texture, and the way the orange plays off the natural dark brown wool

In the end, I lost - both at yarn chicken, and at completing the project before the deadline. I ended up using some leftover beaded chain-ply when the crepe yarn ran out. As of the Deadline, it's still on the frame.

Random pattern, or secret message?

This Shenanigans has left me with a LOT of inspiration to continue - and several loose ends that still need tying up. Hopefully I'll have more to show by Reveal Day.

Solstice Shenanigans Return - 3 projects

 Another December Shenanigans month is just wrapping up, and I didn't leap in with the wild abandon I typically have. There were other projects that I took on, and I allowed myself some much-needed break time. I dabbled in a few Shenanigans projects regardless.

Slow Lane

The Slow lane is a cherished institution at Franquemont University. I chose my longest-running unfinished Shenanigan this time. It'll look familiar, because it was spun, warped, and started in the very first Shenanigans, 2 years ago. It also featured in April... I made progress, but stalled again, despite my best plans to do more

This go-round, I nearly doubled the amount that was completed, and have renewed excitement in seeing it finished. The bundle of finished tape is very satisfying to look at, and that warp chain keeps shrinking!

Shrinking warp chain at the top - December progress starts a bit before the pale string marker.

Andean Weaving 110

For my Andean Weaving category, I opted for a 6-pair warp, which is the widest I've worked on to-date, in a pattern that builds nicely on other skills I've been exploring. It's also 'penance' of a sort... I miscounted the number of pairs during a class session, and I'm on record with the wrong answer... so the best way to learn it, and really absorb the lesson, is to DO the Thing!

In true Shenanigans spirit, I set up a longer warp than my typical one - about 1.5 yards...
...and it's alpaca.

Partway through adding ply twist.

I didn't spin this yarn specifically FOR Andean weaving, but I have 4 natural colours, in my 'default' laceweight... so I added enough twist to help them handle the abrasion, and got started.

There are errors, and learning curve moments, in the band, but I chose not to go back - I don't want to make too many un-weaving attempts with this warp. The yarn is about as sticky as some of the wool warps I've dealt with using other techniques, and I can see why it's not recommended for learning with.

That said, it *feels* amazing. 

I didn't make a huge amount of progress on this band, and I may play with more 4 and 5 pair patterns before I come back to it, but it's off to a good start.

Back side

Front - There are errors, and lessons - getting them to LOOK good was part of the challenge.

And this corkscrew is delightful - it makes me smile just looking at it.

SPROINNNNG!

Abomination

This is the project that really captured my imagination... and I have very mixed feelings about it. I kind of hate how much I love the finished product.

It all started with a crazy idea... and a gadget.

i-cord machine, still in its box

I wanted to make YARN with that thing... simply to see how it worked up, and what it would do when used to make cord from stripey top. 

I have several lots of *OLD* Ashland Bay top, taking up real estate in my stash. They are great, and I've always enjoyed working with the muted, heathered yarns I got when plying them on themselves, or making marls with other colours... but I always wondered if there was something that would make the colours pop, without needing to spin from the fold to force them to pool more.

I even had some leftover singles - this was some of the first bobbin I spun on my EEW Nano 1.0 - and I'd already played with chain-plying it with beads, so I knew how it would look that way... plus it had rested a couple years, so it should be pretty well-behaved during testing.

So I sampled - first with a bit of cotton from my weaving stash, then tried the merino singles.

First sample - 2/16 cotton

The singles were a fair bit finer, and springier, but it looked like it would work.

Then I started thinking about twist, and having the right amount of weight on this yarn... the weight it came with would be awkward to wind yarn onto as the cord got longer, AND it felt a bit too heavy for my singles. Spindle to the Rescue!

takli, much more effective than the weighted plastic hook

The takli also allowed me to add a bit of twist, to compensate for the twist energy the singles still had, and make the cord behave a bit more like the hollow, 8-ply equivalent yarn it sort of is...

Much cranking ensued...

And I discovered another problem - and a needlessly complex solution. I wanted to leave the yarn on the old ballwinder core, and work from the outside end - only it wasn't co-operating, and would sometimes hang up. Those tension changes occasionally caused the singles to pop off the i-cord machine's hooks, or break... neither was a lot of fun to fix.

So I added a support spike, to allow the ball to turn more freely.

One more piece added to the 'workflow'

It was at this stage, that I started to realize, much to my horror, that I was starting to LIKE the result.

It shows off every thick and thin spot, because a slub gets multiplied, and I was starting to wear through the plastic from the abrasion (I was applying a tiny amount of tension to keep the singles from coiling on itself as the twist 'woke up' with handling)... but LOOK at the difference in the colour!

That's the most distinct colour I've ever gotten with this type of prep.

I knew I would have to turn this into a project, just to see how it looked knitted up... 

In the end, I cranked out, exceedingly slowly, just under 170 yards of cord, with plying twist added. I needed a couple days off, because at one point, I was developing shoulder strain from the cranking. The machine makes about 3 stitches per turn, so it's 4 turns per 3 rounds of knitting.

I cast on a simple asymmetric scarf, using a 4.5mm needle. The fabric is everything I could hope for (and HARD to photograph, because this is Ashland Bay 'Night Garden'... a black base did me NO favours when it was time to take pictures.)

scarf, showing both the chainette yarn, and the beaded chain-ply from the same fibre.

That fabric, both colour AND texture-wise, is everything... but was the Abomination of a process worth it?

I suspect there will be more sloooooow cloth in my future... because at 1-2 mm per crank, it's still WORLDS faster than making the same 4 stitches by handknitting an i-cord.

Welcome 2023 - and word of the year.

 I'll admit right up front that neither my 'Process' year, nor my 'Purpose' year yielded the results I was hoping for... 

Some of that is tied to my personal expectations, some to 'Pandemic Fatigue', as COVID keeps wearing on, and wearing down my reserves... and some - some of it just IS. Neither year was a TOTAL failure, OR a complete success. That still taught me some things about this process, and about myself.

So in the spirit of actually learning those lessons, this year I'll revisit something that has long been a theme in my life, but also something I have never focused on with real intention.

Balance.

Balance has always seemed an unattainable goal - how do you Balance obligations and personal growth, or housekeeping and creative time - or any number of other impossible-feeling things... The more my health has become a factor over the years, the harder that gets. (do I stick with the exercise program, so I can forge more 'spoons' someday, or use that energy on dishes NOW?) I have made lists, I have tried apps, I have tried NOT trying so hard... with varying degrees of effectiveness.

Balance can be pretty elusive, and the more things you choose to care about, the harder it is to juggle every one of them, without dropping one or all of them at some point.

So that's my focus for this year. I want to really see whether I CAN Balance:

Health and Household
Creative Time and Connection
my Process and Purpose from past years...

...and so many other things.

The only way to discover what I am capable of, is to find that Balance, so my path meanders through everything in my life that I value.

I have to learn that it's okay to:

Rest
Say No
and Change Plans

...so that I get through this year. Balance is ALSO about not overdoing stuff, just 'because' you think you've committed to it. It's a complex, and ever-moving target.

And it's time I paid it proper attention.

Still more Shenanigans - Andean-Inspired

Tiny khaitu, and equally tiny project... 

I decided for the Andean-Inspired challenge that I wanted to flex my memory a bit, and work from the remembered photograph, and related discussion, in Abby Franquemont's Discord.

But first, I needed yarn. I decided I would try to make it work, in miniature - because that's just how I roll.

First khaitu - I do NOT recommend putting in this much plying twist on the micro-pushka...
...but now I know what happened when I tried.

Tiny skein, in all its sea-urchin glory. Probably enough twist... just.

I had to 'properly' fill this spindle, at least once. 

      

I also added plying twist to a handspun stash yarn of similar size, so I would have 3 colours for my warp.

Setting up the warp, I used my smallest warping board, resting on the floor, so the pegs faced me, a bit above knee level.

My very first Andean-style warp with my handspun. 3-pairs

This was my actual waste from the green and yellow - I had EXACTLY enough.
The burgundy is my mini, I put everything left after warping into it.

I already had my pattern figured out.

There was a textile that someone received, that looked like it was made up of a 2-pair motif, rather than the 3 pairs we started learning on. Abby Assured us that there ARE no 2-pair patterns in traditional Andean weaving, and dropped a couple of hints as to how the construction worked on 3-pairs... I wanted to make THAT, with the added challenge of not even going back to look at the picture in the Discord thread.

...just like I would have to do if I lived in the Andes, and saw a pattern I wanted to make... 

Of course, Abby ALSO hinted that this pattern worked better on wider fabric, IIRC - because part of how it works is a combination of tension, and the way high-twist yarns behave...

The false 2-pair 'puntas' didn't behave when I started weaving - it very clearly showed all 3 threads, rather than hiding one, so I did a few repeats of another pattern I hadn't done yet: 'ocho-ocho'... and let the pattern yarns accumulate a little slack...

After a false start, I chose a different pattern I hadn't woven, to try...
'ocho-ocho'

...then transitioned into my 'false 2-pair puntas' pattern.
You can clearly see the 3 threads when I start.

THEN it worked - after I tweaked my weft tension a little, to help 'squash' the extra thread into hiding.

Success! Tiny mountains.

Proof of twist... Probably enough... I think.

Still More Shenanigans - We all Need a Shrink

 Pocket 'paca, and going TRULY batty...

I'll admit - I LOVE the challenge of working at a small scale... so this is my favourite category. It's nice to find uses for my standard yarns, other than knitting lace.

The added challenge this time, was I wanted to use my smallest tools, as well - so I pulled out the cross-arm spindles a friend had 3D printed as holiday ornaments, and put one into service as a working tool.

At 1.8g, it's _not_ the best at maintaining momentum, but it DOES work. The micro-pushka is a better option, though.

The Pocket 'Paca is my official entry... because I'm probably not batty enough to finish the other project in time for the reveal.

25 yards of alpaca - spun on the purple cross-arm, but no photos.
Micro-pushka and tiny ball of khaitu are for another entry.

My smallest cross-arm, and a TurtleMade Femto - which I used when I plied the alpaca.

itty-bitty 'paca butt... (giggle)

FiberTrends Alpaca pattern, writ smol. Those are 1mm needles

Still needs some sewing, fulling, and stuffing... but pretty close to the size I was hoping for!

And then, we get to the TRULY batty project.

In honour of our Fearless Shenanigator, Captain Caiman, I want to make an even _smaller_ bat... on even smaller needles. But for that, first I needed even smaller yarn.

I forgot to photograph this spindle the FIRST time I filled it, so of course I had to start another project...
Merino/Cashmere mill ends from a SpinTogether prize.

Not stupid fine, in part because the mill-ends are in sorta-cloud bits, and I didn't bother to re-process them, but this will do for my intended project attempt. 

The finished 30-yard skein, spun and plied on this spindle. Because FU, that's why.

I found some fairly inexpensive beading needles when browsing the Evil Empire - so they followed another order home... They could use a bit of blunting, which I'm sure I'll remember to do SOMEDAY... lol... but work pretty well.

This is 18sts, after knitting the first 5 rounds... 
...and yes, my needles have eyes - they're .64 mm beading needles, IIRC.

But that's as far as I got.

Still more Shenanigans - Team Slow Lane

 Once again, there's a Slow Lane challenge - which is an opportunity to revisit incomplete homework, or in my case, an early Shenanigan... I haven't touched the handspun, handwoven tape in the year+ since the first Shenanigans... making it my OLDEST unfinished FU project.

I was... ambitious... when I warped this - there's a LOT of yardage waiting for me to get to it...

So how did I do? 

Progress was made! I added about half again what there was originally - the thread marker is the point where I stopped after the first Shenanigans.

Obligatory last-possible-second bedspread shot...
The thread marker is where I stopped after the first Shenanigans, December 2020.

I really like how this yarn behaves when I'm working with it - there's just something about handspun that FEELS so much better, and more lively, than millspun... and there's enough twist that I'm having no issues with clearing the shed, or any of the other problems that can occur when working with commercial weaving yarns.

This is staying in my active projects until I finish it - I have ideas about where it needs to go, and it's a nice, easy pattern to take anywhere... it's a simple 5-thread alternating S/Z 'knot' or 'skein', done in Baltic-style pickup, on a floating rigid heddle.

I debated changing the pattern, and adding an extra twist to the motif, but I think I like it as-is. That's a modification I'll probably do in the future.