winter rules

Today is February 26th. Winter still rules my word.

My phenological notebook informs me that in past years, the snowdrops and the skunk cabbage should be blooming. Not so, this year. I think of them under all this snow and ice that covers the riverrim. I look for the Symplocarpus on my walks to the post office. Symplocarpus is the only plant I know of that generates it own heat, enough to melt snow around it...but I don't see that happening yet. I do see more snow falling today.



I've finished spinning the bump I've been working on. I spun all of this using the in-hand technique, from distaff to spindle. It was a delightful experience.



Trouble is, I didn't take good notes of the fiber before I started. I'm afraid I don't know exactly what the fiber is. It might be "Korny" , a Shetland Sheep roving that arrived in a box from Cathy. Then again, it might not be.



The eventual use of these singles has yet to be determined. I am undecided as to if I should ply them.



Or not.

shetland curves of pursuit

It is spring today! My tête-à-tête daffodils greet me at the gate! I neglected to dig them and move them into my window box where I can admire them easily at eye level...so I must kneel down to get a good look. I haven't noticed any bees coming to them yet.

But I have been busy with other things. In pursuit, you could say.

Wingspan is a pattern by maylin for Tri'Coterie Designs. I've been working it up in my Shetland Samples. Most of the yarn was spun during last summer's Tour De Fleece..some of the yarn is Wheel spun and some is Spindle spun...the combination makes a nice showcase for the breed colors and textures that are available by using different fiber preparations and spinning techniques.

It is a very clever pattern, reminiscent of a 4 point curve of pursuit. I didn't know what a curve of pursuit was..so I looked it up.

A curve of pursuit is a curve constructed by analogy to having a point or points which represents pursuers and pursuees, and the curve of pursuit is the curve traced by the pursuers.

The triangles are created by short rows..no wrapping required...

What could be easier? Just row after row of garter stitch with an occasional row that requires you to move your marker, or cast on a few more stitches. I change the color when I feel like it...moving from one shade to another..from a woolen to a worsted...at times I carry two threads at once over my size 4 needles...

...it is easy to loose yourself in a pattern like this one..the spirals take on a life of their own. ...around and around we go!

a crofters life

The National Library of Scotland and the Scottish Screen Archives have a wonderful collection of films about the Shetland Isles. Back in the 1930s, Jenny Brown made several films about the Crofters. One of which is called "In Sheep's Clothing".

This film depicts (silent) scenes of the men and women herding the Shetland Sheep, they can be seen gathering and then "rooing" sheep. There are also shots of the carding and spinning of wool and the women knitting to make jumpers and shawls.

You will have to go directly to the website to view the films, here is a link for you to get there:

http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=1129

Related films can be easily searched. I watched several. There is one that shows the washing and blocking of the finished shawls. I was amazed to see how vigorously the delicate shawls were washed and wrung before placing sticks in the ground on the open field for the blocking of the shawl. Very different from today with our blocking wires and mats and pins!

sample, sample, sample

Remember these?

I finally decided to use some of my Shetland Samples...collected over the years...spinning a little bit here...a little bit there..and now I am weaving with them...samples making a sampler.

I set up the rigid heddle loom in front of the window for light. As I glance up, I can see the river. I like to weave first thing in the morning..when the light is best..and I can linger a few minutes with my coffee...

I like to weave in the afternoon...when the days tasks are finished...and I notice the mallard ducks are on the move..getting to know each other..choosing mates..spring isn't far away. They preen and dabble in the last bit of sun as it sets over the mountain.

After the sun disappears...the deer wander in to see if the birds tossed any seed to the ground from the feeder above.

The light is fading--no longer good for weaving, so I study the deer instead. They dig down deep for something to eat.

Another day, and now I can cut the weaving off the loom. This project appears in Spin-Off Magazine...Spaced Out Warps...recommended for beginner weavers ...

The scarf is tossed in the washing machine and fulled to mask the errors of uneven selvedge and create a puckered cloth..

I am learning. Weaving with my own handspun and seeing how it behaves as cloth is so interesting to me. It is quite different from knitting with handspun. And it is only just a sample..a woven sample scarf from handspun samples of different (sample) breeds of shetland sheep. There is a lot of information in this piece of work. I can read it like a book.

the shetland connection

Cathy is my Shetland Connection. Over the years, (has it really been years?) I occasionally get a package in the mail from her...little (and sometimes bigger) baggies...with bits of Shetland sheep fleece tucked inside. I spin them up, I make notes...I set them aside...in my "Shetland samples" basket.

The baggies are marked with the name of the sheep, and occasionally the name of shepherdess and/or the name of the Shetland color. According to the NASSA..Shetland wool comes in one of the widest ranges of colors of any breed.

While reading up on the names and numbers of colors that can come out of the Shetland breed, I found this interesting quote:

"Besides the white, the sheep produce several shades of wool including moorit(reddy/brown), shaela (silvery grey), fawn, grey, dark brown and black. They are often patterned such as krunet (white crown), katmoget (dark belly) and gulmoget (light underneath). There are 11 main colors as well as 30 markings, many still bearing their Shetland dialect names. Unfortunately, many of these colors and markings have become quite rare as white wool has historically commanded better prices."

I'm starting to enjoy seeing the range of samples that I am slowly amassing...they look so pretty all lined up.

From dark to light:

Batty Grey (which was my favorite!)
Ana-Dark
Henna
Liberty
Sax Emsket multicolor
Fawn
Korny
Liberty light
unmarked
Nikke
Peeps

Some samples have been spun on the Great Wheel, others on the Ashford, or CPW...and a few are spindle spun. Some are woolen, some are worsted, and some are somewhere in between. Some of my samples are singles.

I have tried to spin the individual wool samples the way I believe they should be spun. In other words, I spin the wool in a manner that I think the wool would best lend itself to make the type of yarn they were born to be. If you don't spin, you may not understand what I am talking about. That's OK.

I still have a few baggies stashed away to spin up...they are marked:

Islet
Truffles
Pelageo
Willow fawn
Myrtle
Sass

And what is to become of all this yarn?

Cathy has completed a Shetland Samples sweater...gorgeous..did you see it? And Leigh has also worked with Shetland samples...did you see her finished Shetland Sweater? Oh my! I just love looking at their work! Each sweater reflects the imagination and style of the creator. When I think of the talents and skill and creativity that went into these sweaters, I stand in awe of them!

Both of these projects are so beautiful, and inspirational...one of these days, I will finish spinning up my Shetland samples, and create a sweater of my own. But I don't mind telling you, after looking at these two projects, it is somewhat daunting to think of making my own!

a shetland saga

There is an area in my garden- where there grows a small collection of plants that have been gifts from friends of mine who are spinners. Wandering down to that section yesterday, I finally caught a glimpse of the first bloom from a daylily that Cathy gave me last fall. I had missed the first bloom, the second had fallen off in a bad storm, and this third bloom was worth waiting for. Beautiful!

Cathy has been generous in sharing other things with me... fiber type things, Shetland things...for which I am very grateful.

Over a period of a year or more, I have worked with these samples...on and off..when time allows.... It has been a wonderful education for me. There are so many nuances within this breed.. the samples show the differences of color, texture, crimp, staple length and structure...I could go on.

So, in my hands, a wealth of information passes over and between my fingertips. Knowledge for my fingers to absorb, and retain. There is much to be gained by an exercise like this.

It has also been fun to read what Cathy and Leigh have written about the same fibers. Time spent reading their archives, adds to my experience. Their notations and thoughts about a sample are always insightful. For example: in 2007, Cathy had this to say about "Korny"...and Leigh writes and photographs her notes on the same "Korny"

I'm spinning Korny now...two years later! I save a little bit of each sample lock, and a few yards of spun yarn...I tuck them together on a tag with my notes to save for future use.

The sample skeins are starting to collect. I haven't had time to organize my photographs and notes, and I'm in awe of Leigh's talent in this area.

What will become of these samples...I wonder...(the saga continues)

making the bed

No hospital corners on the sheets here, just flower and vegetable beds. The seedlings are ready to come out of the "nursery" and get "tucked in" to their beds. We have been getting things ready, doing repairs, tweeking the soil...making sure everything is "just right". Here is a photo of the "broccoli bed".

The seedlings look so small out here in the wide open! I used to protect them from the cutworms with cardboard rings...but the chickens have done a good job of eradicating the area of cutworm, so they should be OK. I'll have to keep watch.

I had a chance to work with some Shetland that Cathy sent to me...this one was labeled "Sax Emsket Multicolor" After washing, I hand carded the locks, and dizzed (is dizzed a word?) them off...into birds nests...

The finished 2-ply is still on the bobbin...waiting to be skeined and measured. This was a real pleasure to work with! There was a little bit of undercoat, but not much. But still, I would call it a dual coat. And soft! Oh my!

nikke

Yesterday morning I reached into my basket of Shetland samples (from Cathy) and pulled out a handful that was marked Nikke from Shelley. I selected a few locks for inspection. Lovely crimp! Stretchy and bouncy wool! Wonderful memory! Soft salt and peppery tones with a touch of undercoat that appears like a cotton ball at the butt end of the lock.

Reaching for my combs, the locks fall into place. I spritz with a bottle of watered down creme rinse to tame the static. Then I diz. I love to diz. It feels like drafting backwards.

In the afternoon, I took my fiber over to Grace's Farm to spin for a bit. I was finished in no time at all.

This morning I put the bobbin on the kate, and plied. 42 yards. Another sample is finished.

spinning peeps

I just finished spinning up another Shetland sample from Cathy. This one was labeled "Peeps". Since I know that Leigh has been keeping such good notes about her Shetland samples in her notebook, I suggest that you stop by and look at her entry about "Peeps". She was spinning it last September. She has an image of the actual fleece sample. (By the time Peeps got to me, the sample was already processed into roving.) While you are over there, take a look at the gorgeous sweater she is making up from her samples. It is fun for me to look at it and imagine "Peeps" is in that sweater, somewhere.

I spun "Peeps" with a supported longdraw style, on the good ole Ashford Traddy. I wound up with a lot of these slubs...which I imagine to be smaller pieces of the undercoat that build up between my fingers. Try as I might, I cannot seem to spin in longdraw style without accumulating slubs.

No matter, they picked out easily enough, but the floor was littered with them by the time I finished. The notes are tagged...

I wound up with an ounce of 16wpi/ woolen....and have now completed 3 of the samples.