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.

Still more Shenanigans... Earth Day challenge

Another Shenanigans has arrived in Franquemont University, with some recurring themes, and some new ones. In typical 'me' fashion, it's going to be a bit of a jumble - hopefully, I can sort it out by hammering the words into something coherent.

First up, the challenge I hadn't planned on doing - the one that I started last, and so far, the only completed item.

We were tasked with finding a way to work the usual '3 Rs', Reduce, Re-use, Re-cycle, into a project. I had _no_ idea where that would lead - so I skipped it... and then came the phone call...

Someone had contacted my Guild, searching for a repair on a much-loved baby blanket. The person who made it had passed away before they could give it in-person to their grandchild - who is now 6... making it extremely special.

The child has been sleeping with it EVERY night, for their whole life, and it's showing some signs of 'becoming Real'... It's been literally loved to tatters, and the wee owner is inconsolable without it.

It could not be replaced - because it wouldn't be 'the one from grandma'... It could not be binned, because the child isn't SLEEPING properly without it... It had to be repaired.

To add to the adventure, some of the loose threads had been cut, by a well-meaning parent, in an attempt to halt the progression of the damage. 

(this was not, in fact, helpful... we think that's the cause of the larger hole)

*slight* signs of damage...

...The 'fun' begins here, because I am _not_, and have never claimed to be, a crocheter. I generally dislike the drape, and don't care for how much more yarn it takes to cover a given area... I *have* used a crochet hook for knitting repairs, and have even occasionally added a bit of embellishment to things - like the spines on knitted toy dragons, or shell edging on a knitted item.

I'm not a 'hooker' - and don't play one on TV...

...but this is a very real child, in crisis over a beloved comfort object - and the 2 people I would recommend to attempt this repair... either don't do more complicated work, or have _never_ repaired their crochet. (I may have made some interesting faces when I learned THAT one!)

That meant it fell to me - because I could not simply say 'no' in this situation.

First, I had to figure out how to 'zipper' the ravelled row back together. It took a bit of trial and error, because it works more like Tunisian/Afghan stitch... you need live loops, so you can pull them through the base of the row above.

...I ended up doing the first bit slightly wrong - but my instructions were to get it to a point where it could be used again - not to get it perfect... They didn't even care if it was never square again - it hopefully only needs to survive another year or two at the current level of use... 

...I wanted to do better than THAT.

First tentative steps, figuring out how to patch the pattern so it was relatively similar to the original.

I got into the swing of things, and reached the area where the original yarn was missing. I'd been given a similar yarn, in a different colour, that also belonged to that grandmother's stash. It worked up tighter, but part of that is the degree of wear on the blanket - it may well be the same yarn, but 6 years of heavy use later, the blanket seems close to one size finer.

Nearly done with the BIG hole.

Still square! I declare tentative win... 

Then came the part I was really concerned about. That center hole was so worn-through that the yarn couldn't easily be picked... and I was hoping to preserve as much of the original yarn as I could... That meant doing another thing I had NEVER done.

I had to make a granny square. (nope, never did that, EVER - and I foolishly decided to simply leap in, and fudge it) With no pattern, I grabbed my replacement yarn, and fiddled a bit - I have a pretty good idea HOW they work, I've just never wanted to make one.

First try - other than not climbing out in the right spot, not bad...

With that hurdle out of the way, I needed to turn it into a STURDY center, that kept all the original yarns, to the best of my ability.

The best course I could come up with was to put my square underneath, as a support, and chain the remaining tatters of yarn more-or-less where they should be. It's very thick, and doesn't drape like the rest of the blanket - but visually, it was the best I could do... and the chain stitch set me up for the next phase of repairs.

Not a hole! Success! (but THICC)

There were several areas that were worn to the point that they'd need support, or there will be holes within a wash or two... Shoring those up was next.

I grabbed my trusty thrift-store Q-snap, and FINALLY used it for the first time...

Center finished, preparing for the first chain-stitch add-on.

I tried to keep the worst area relatively square, but it pulled in a bit...

Then I added some zigzag squiggles on the thinnest spots. The culprits were the columns of holes - where a single exposed stitch was subject to more wear. The zigzags were fairly easy to do - and they don't get too much in the way of the drape or hand of the fabric.

I fixed the most-worn areas, but finally decided I had reached the stopping point. The goal was NOT, after all, a complete reconstruction - and at this point, I declared it repaired, to the best of my ability.

Final result, same orientation as original photo.

Closer view of the repaired areas.

close-up shot of the center - I left a few stray tails, because clipping them seemed wrong, and they can't really go anywhere.

Back view

I delivered the completed blanket to the person who contacted me, and am looking forward to hearing what the tiny owner thinks when it arrives back in their hands.

Word of the Year, 2022...

 ...another year already? The pandemic has been both the longest, and the shortest, span of my life...

This is only my second run at this 'word to frame my year' thing... and I'm hoping it goes at least as well as last year.

I won't call my Process year a resounding success, but it wasn't a failure, either - looking up at the word, written on a small whiteboard across the room from me, was a good reminder that I don't need to define myself by finished objects. The journey *does* matter at least as much as the destination.

I bought new equipment for the studio, I did a lot of thinking about workflow, I did some planning... I won't say I accomplished a TON, but I feel mostly okay about where I ended up.

As the year ticked on, at least one thing became clear. I want to continue the exercise - and by November, I was pondering new words - but reminding myself that Process wasn't done yet, so there was no rush to pick. 

In a chat with a friend, partway through December, I had it.

Purpose

Purpose is funny - because it can apply to objects as much as it does to inner direction. I plan to use both, this year. I've allowed myself time for reflection, during last year's (Process) decision to honour my need to 'just be'...and choosing a direction for growth is a nice stepping stone from there.

...but I've also spent nearly 2 years almost entirely within my apartment - only leaving for appointments, and, once COVID protocols were in place, to run drop-ins at the Guild Room.

This means I'm becoming more and more aware of the need to winnow some of my 'extras'. I don't think I'll ever achieve the Minimalist goal of a wide open, sparse, Zen-like space... but I could do better. The things I choose to keep in my life need to fulfill _their_ Purpose.

And if they don't, I need to find a way to let them go - so there's room for the items I choose to keep.

Purpose is also about using all the thinking I've done about workflow, and applying it. I have the tools, but they're no good to me if I don't use them. Purpose is about using all the skills I've accumulated over the years, and building better habits, so that I *can* be productive, even with minimal spoons.

Purpose is about choosing when to throw things away, when to donate them so they find purpose with someone else, and when to mend them, so they fulfill their purpose for longer, and don't clutter up the landfill...

...and it's about looking ahead, and not wallowing in stasis, or dwelling on things that could lock me in my past, and keep me from my course.

Shenanigans! - Rope Bridge Challenge, and Slow-Lane Sprint

 This should be my last set of entries for the current Shenanigans, as we're running out of submission time.

First up, the Rope Bridge Challenge - make cordage from found materials where you are... well, I cheated a little, and 'found' my materials in my apartment. 

First, I was spelunking in the depths of the Stash Cave, and found a bag of really untidily stowed line flax, that I know I never purchased - I suspect it's yet another Yarn Orphanage item (IIRC, it's from someone in my Community Knitting group, from a prior volunteer placement - she gave me a biggish paper gift bag, half-full of random fibre stuff, and this was near the bottom.)

In the process of tidying the flax up into pretty stricks, so it wouldn't tangle further, there was a bit of loose waste. I hesitate to call it tow, because it was still quite long - but it wasn't going back in the bag, so I made a bit of fine cordage with it...

There's less than a yard, and I found a different medium to use, so this isn't my formal entry - but I'll post a pic here, because it's the first cordage I *ever* made.

I've already found a use for it - it's the cord on my 'Sow's Ear' bag.

Then I looked around some more, and spotted the biggish bag of horsehair, that's been languishing around waiting for me to use it as weft for tabletweaving. ...AHA!

Now, it's not grass, and a lot of it is mane, not tail - but there was a smaller bag with a sampling of tail hair - so I got started during another Office Hours, and worked until my hands cramped... and then some.

Horsehair is _tough_ to work with, because its wiry nature makes it want to spring back to its previous state... which isn't 'twisted tightly into small rope'... so it was rough going, and I didn't get very far. but there are several joins, so hopefully it counts. I was adding a few hairs in every few inches by the end, to maintain about the same thickness throughout.

*This* one is the actual entry... such as it is.

I plan to make a bit more of this, so I have a bit of horsehair line for random historic camping use. The live end is clamped between a piece of metal and a magnet, so it won't unravel while it waits.

I'm still debating a small 'trial by fire' - to see whether taking a lighter to the pokey bits helps it any.

                                                    ------------------------------------------------------

Up Next: a small handful of items from prior homework.

I decided I wasn't going to be *too* systematic about this one, but I did want to tidy up a loose end or two... The first two were started during the Tour de Fleece, but hadn't been finished.

I turned a mix of 2 colours of wool, white alpaca, and some Tencel, into this:

One lightly-filled board, 3 passes, third pass pulled off into boardworms.

The ratios were 50/25/25 wool, alpaca, Tencel - with bright red and purple wool (5g of each element). I debated a fourth pass, but decided I liked the depth the variation provided, so I stopped at 3, then rolled everything off on a pair of dowels.

Spindles in the foreground, and one of the top skeins, are mentioned in this post.

...and there it sat, until Shenanigans started up, and I got it completed.

Still needs wet-finishing, but that's nothing new, around here...

I also wanted to spin a 'pop quiz' art batt for multi-element practice - where drafting style has to change a bit, due to sudden changes in fibre content - and one of my SpinTogether prizes worked out perfectly. It's mostly merino, with alpaca and baby camel, with a sprinkling of glitz... and it's minimally processed, so all the diverse fibre types, and the various colours, are in chunks, rather than smooth (art batt from Purple Lamb).

Skein 1 done, plying skein 2, spinning skein 3 - it's nice to have reasonably-matched spindles! (they're the same size, and 1g weight difference)

With this particular combination being fine wool and camelids, I was still able to spin smooth laceweight yarn with no issues, so I now have over 880 yards to play with. I'll take my time figuring out which skein order, and finding a GREAT pattern.

Top-to-bottom, in spinning order, self-plied. Still deciding the order I'll use to knit them up.

I worked in strips, from one edge of the batt to the other, figuring I'd take the colours as they came, ply each on itself from the spindle ball, and sort the order later.

I also got to thinking about useful things to do with samples from earlier classes... so I broke out my rarely-used triangle loom, and started on some meditative weaving. I can piece these together into squares, or make the hypotenuse the outside edges of a scarf, or do something else entirely - but first, I need more than 2!

Just plainweave at this point, but using most pegs 2-3 times each. I don't want it too open, so I press each new end into place, then assess whether the next pass goes on the same peg, or the next one.

I've had this loom for years, and only made 1 other triangle on it - about time it saw a bit of use.


...And that concludes the stuff I actually got done THIS Shenanigans - I got too involved in other things, including a charity ride here.

I've met my fundraising goal, and have almost hit my distance goal - both are pretty modest, but I'm not getting out much ;)

I even did a bit of plying while on the stationary bike!

Shenanigans! - I Can't Even, and New-to-Me Fibre

 Hey again - now we start with the flurry of info (I hope)

One of my other FFS projects was an 'attempt' to spin Highland Cattle. First, it needed a bath - and by the colour of the water, it REALLY needed one... (no pictures - but it was a very unappealing dark urine yellow-brown)

It looked like a pretty dubious prospect at first, so I flagged it for the 'I can't EVEN' challenge, then realized it's also the first time I've spun cattle hair, so it also qualifies as an entry for the 'New-to-You/Breed Study' as well. I like it when I can have things do double-duty!

Here's a photo of a sample 'lock' - it's not terribly long, but workable. On average, it's right around the 2", or 5cm mark... I'd bet a bunch of it is shorter.

2 very distinct textures!

For my first attempt, I carded the fibres together with my dog slickers, thinking it might be okay for a small bag, or something. The undercoat is very soft, and not unlike yak down, buffalo, qiviuq, or cashmere - though qiviuq and cashmere are generally longer. (I haven't spun any buffalo yet, but helped the guild dehair some for a class a few years back.)

I think it's what helped the initial yarn hold together. The coarser fibres are pretty slippery, but the finer ones made up for some of that.

It wasn't an *easy* spin, but went better than I anticipated. (still not something I'd recommend to beginners)

I did most of this first sample during an Office Hours - and Pimmie said it looked on-camera like I was spinning barbed wire... not entirely inaccurate! It's pretty bristly, and a fair amount of the hair fibre tried to shed out while I was drafting.

Usable yarn... sort of. (Who knew?)

That got me thinking: what would happen if I separated BOTH textures, and spun them individually? ("What happened when you tried?" - will echo in the back of my mind forever, I think)

...So I split them out, and did the following 2 samples entirely via hand-processing. These were going to be SMALL samples, and it wasn't worth trying to load even a dog slicker brush. It has also been awhile since I did fingers-only fibre prep - it would have been a nice change of pace, if it hadn't been THIS stuff.

The hardest part about the dehairing process was that the fibres aren't that different in length - and the hair portion is ABUNDANT. With the other similar fibres I've handled raw, the guard hair component was a bit more sparse, so the separation seemed to go more quickly... and it was generally from shed winter undercoat, so the worst of the hair remained on the animal.

This is ALL about getting enough twist into slippery, short, hair fibres to force them to hold together - it was considerably harder to make into a usable yarn, and kept drifting apart, or snapping on me - there was some mild cursing at this sample. I like the colour - shame it seems to only be in the hair, and not the undercoat.

THIS is the true 'barbed wire' yarn! Nothin' but prickles!

...and then, the only NICE part of this spin! As you can see, I missed a couple hairs, but overall, this is very soft, and was pleasant to spin. The 2 hairs beside the yarn are for texture comparison, because you can clearly see the finer-textured halo on this one.

I wasn't really trying for something super-consistent, but this was quite happy to be a fair bit finer than the first 2 samples. With no coarse hair fighting for dominance, this drafted more readily into a laceweight 2-ply - whereas the other 2 yarns are closer to a light fingering, after plying.

Totally wearable, and actually pretty nice - but VERY labour intensive!

So if I were stranded somewhere, with only Highland Cattle, or some other 'wooly coo' to spin, I wouldn't freeze, and might be pretty comfortable - but it's not the quickest process. I might even repeat that final exercise with the rest of the cattle fibre I have... eventually... for my own use only, most likely.

I suppose this means that someday, I'll have to do this again - if only for the bragging rights. (Now where can I find some Curly Horse? lol)