Wow...

How did the week go by without a post? I really don't have much to report again though, so you didn't miss anything.

I've done a little bit of spinning on the the new Pedal Pusher:

I'm finding it harder to spin slowly with it but that is probably just something that will come with practice. And it wouldn't hurt me to spin a little faster, as I am slooooooow. :-) This fiber is whatever Nels sends with the Babes - my weaving/spinning friend thinks it is merino.


I did a little weaving too:


I sure do like this pattern! I have about 8 more inches to go, and I'm using a single color for weft (white). I'm doing hems on this one using carpet warp, and will probably do that on the next one as well. I meant to take a picture of the hem for you; it looks a bit different from the last hem I wove. I had to use a longer shuttle and beat it pretty hard, as it didn't want to 'beat in' very well.

It's looking like the next towel will be a bit narrow, as I'm running out of warp (because I used the wrong number when I measured out my warp sigh); I'll be using a single color for weft again (blue, this time). I'm hoping I'll remember to measure my loom waste this time so I have a better idea when planning my projects.


Today I'm cleaning out the guest room as we've sold the bed that was in there, and DH is going to build a futon so we'll actually be able to use the room (YAY!). Currently the plan is to put the exercycle and spinning wheels in there - sure hope the room is big enough, but we really need to get the exercycle out of the kitchen!

Not much to report Sunday...

I haven't been doing much crafting again this week as I was getting stuff ready for the first meeting of the new spinning group. It will probably take awhile for word of the group to get around, but a good time was had by those who came. :-) And I did get most of the red stuff spun, and finished spinning it yesterday:

I think I'll try plying it on the Pedal Pusher after winding it off the bobbin into a center-pull ball, since the Pedal Pusher's flyer is meant to accept the plying bobbin as well as the 'regular' bobbins, unlike the Production wheel.

I realized I hadn't posted a picture of the first towel done on the Harp yet either, so here it is:


For the next towel I will try hems of carpet warp, to keep the bulkiness of the hems down (thanks to my weaving friend for reminding me of that!). I think I will also do just one color for #2, and also for #3. White for this one, and blue for the third - I'm pretty sure I'm only going to get three off of this warp.

Later today I intend to do some weaving and some spinning, but I'm also doing some summer housecleaning as well. And trying to declutter the house - which is always challenging. I'd rather be spinning/weaving/knitting. :-D

It's here!

The new wheel has arrived:


Some assembly required.


But all you need is a Phillips screwdriver, less than 10 minutes (less than 5 if you don't have dogs 'helping'), and violá!



They look like sisters!


It pedals a tiny bit differently, but it shouldn't take long to get used to it. Same wheel size so all my bobbins will work the same; square pvc instead of round pc; and it has a larger base because of the Pedal Pusher. Oh and the lazy kate is a bit different, but I probably won't use that anyway since I made my own tensioned lazy kate. The Pedal Pusher is supposed to be a bit heavier than the Production wheel, but didn't notice a difference yet (and they both fit in my car - yay!).

Hmm... maybe I should've gotten the version with the "X" wheel - I could've named it after Hugh Jackman's character in the X-Men movies. That would open up some interesting decorating ideas for it. :-D


Tomorrow is the first meeting of the spinning club that a friend of mine (and my NEW local Babe seller - woohoo!) and I are starting. So far we know of three people attending - including the two of us! LOL But that would be ok - I know we'll have a good time. And now we have at least one spare wheel, and my friend is planning to bring two wheels as well. I thought I had a second folding chair, but neither DH or I can find it now so I might pop out to the store for one before the meeting - I have some time before I need to be there. Wish us luck!

Picture Sunday!

I haven't been getting much crafting done, so I don't have much to report. But I'll show you what I've been doing:I would like to have a spot where I can keep a wheel and chair together, where I can just sit down and spin for a few minutes, instead of the current method of 'dragging' the wheel out of the bedroom (where I'm currently keeping it - good thing it's lightweight!), finding where I stashed the chair (usually in the living room), and then finding enough open floor space to sit & spin.

So I'm converting our guest room into a room we (or, probably more accurately, I) can use daily. The bed will be sold or donated, and we'll put a futon or daybed in there. The room is really small, so we can't put much in there, but I would like to move the exercycle in as well as the ready-to-spin wheel (and a set-up RH loom, if possible). The guest room has been serving as a 'keep the dogs out of stuff' room so it catches everything. I spent quite a bit of time sorting through the stuff that was in there and putting it where it belongs.

I also organized my spinning fiber, and except for what is in-progress and what is next in line (and the silk hankies), it is all put away now. :-) I found some really pretty stuff to spin that I had completely forgotten about - good thing I'm getting a second wheel (that does mean I'll get more spinning done, doesn't it? ;-) ). Though I seem to be missing a couple of bobbins; hopefully they'll turn up soon.

I also did this today:I finally broke down and set the twist (or washed) the plyed alpaca. I had been putting it off as I am somewhat paranoid about ruining my first plying job. I used a little bit of Orvus soap, as I don't think the alpaca was very dirty, and then did one rinse. I think it looks clean, don't you? I don't think I'll use the niddy noddy for this next time though - I had to use way too much water to cover it. Living on a well has it 's drawbacks - such has having to drive to town for a tank of water when you run the well dry, which happens regularly in the summer here. I'll just skein it on the skeinwinder and then I'll be able to use a tub or the kitchen sink, and much less water. The top is already dry, but the bottom is pretty damp - it's going to take awhile to dry, it appears.

In the interest of trying to get organized and not having so much clutter, I've decided to let one of my other rigid heddle looms go. Luckily it is going to a new home where it will be used to teach others. If you remember, last summer I tried switching the warp from the Mattel to my NSI loom, and discovered the Harp had spoiled me - though the NSI loom isn't a bad loom, the Harp is ever so much easier on my back, and much sturdier. But the NSI loom is good for beginners, and I hope it gets used a lot, as it wasn't likely to get used here anymore. I'll miss it though - it was my first RH loom. :-)


And lastly: a commenter asked for a picture of the Flip's heddle block, and here it is (the Flip is folded for storage):

Not much of an update...

I haven't been doing any crafting, unless you count sorting through and organising some of my spinning & weaving stuff. And getting my new wheel (Babe Pedal Pusher) ordered. :-D

I use the guest room as a 'catch everything' room, and it has caught a bunch of weaving and spinning stuff and has become quite a mess. So I'm working on sorting it all (though not very hard) and putting the stuff I'm not going to use soon away. Hopefully I'll get it cleaned up by the end of this weekend, and get in some weaving and spinning as well.

Stay tuned!

Picture Sunday!

Wherein I demonstrate my incredibly bad sewing skills. :-)

I love sewing machines - particularly very old ones (which I collect - this particular model is from the 70's, and is the second-newest I have), but actually using them is another story. At least I only broke two needles on this project. ;-) I did get to try out the walking foot a friend sent me, and I think it helped some, but not completely. I was having trouble with the hems shifting while I was sewing (which is a problem I almost always have, no matter what I'm sewing). Better yet - I think I'll use my favorite treadle sewing machine for the straight stitching on the towels - now that is a sewing workhorse! (Hmm... maybe a Sewing for Dummies book would be appropriate....)

This is a good machine though;

and one of three new enough to have built-in zigzagging; I just wish I could do it justice. Isn't that strange that it already had the right color thread on it? The best thing is - I didn't have to thread it - YAY!


Onwards and upwards...

First we have to set up the machine for zigzagging, so we can keep the cut edges from unraveling. I tested stitch length & width on a fabric scrap and then dove into sewing.
My first zigzag just covered a yarn's-width;


so I increased the stitch width a bit more (I also took settings notes, for when I do the towels).

This was bound to happen (me + yarn/thread = tangles), and of course happened on the first stitching, but with careful gentle tugging I got it all out.

I misread the instructions I was following in the "Ashford Book of Rigid Heddle Weaving" - they instruct you to zigzag all of the edges, and I only did the edges that would be cut. I think that would improve the overall appearance as my non-cut edges look rather unattractive. I'll try it on the towels - that will give me time to see if washing the dishcloths makes much difference.

After zigzagging each side of a spacer, I pulled the slat-spacer out,

and then cut the warp between:

and then pulled the spacer-yarn out.

Surprisingly, out of all the cloths there was only one spot where I caught the spacer-yarn enough that I had to leave a bit in the cloth - and even that came out eventually with gentle tugging on individual plys.


Next we need to fold over the edges we just zigzagged for hemming. The first time I didn't do the first fold quite far enough as it came untucked in spots while sewing - which could be bad since that is the 'raw' edge - so the next time I made a deeper hem. Here it is pinned and pressed for sewing (pressing helps to flatten your hem and makes it a bit easier to sew, plus you can get a better result).

(Yes, I know I use way more pins that most people deem necessary.)

And here you can see my incredibly bad sewing:


Luckily the right side looks better:


(Well, except the edges I didn't zigzag.)

And the finished result:


A very fun project, and one I will do again.

These are kind of small for dishcloths (and rectangular, instead of square). But this was an experiment using what was going to be thrown-away warp, and I just winged the size. Since I prefer smaller cloths anyway, as I have small hands, I will probably like these (if my sewing holds up). Next time I will be taking into account how much web the hemming may take up (about an inch - approximately a 1/4" each 'fold', so a 1/2" each hem).


Wendy of WendyKnits posted a picture of her odometer this past week, showing her new car's milestone of 8,000 miles. Hmm... I wonder what milestone my car is on...

Yes, that really is 261,501 miles. All but about 18 of them put on by me (that was the odometer reading when I bought it from the dealer). I absolutely love my car, which of course is no longer made in the wagon style. Sigh.

Tuesday!

Yep, yet another catchy title. :-)

I didn't get nearly as much done as I had hoped this past weekend; I did cut the warp off the Flip and the dishcloths are ready for the sewing machine. I hope to get to that today or tomorrow (I need to find the sewing machine manual first!).

I did some weaving on the Harp last night; the 10-dent heddle really seems to be making a difference - I can feel it drag on the Peaches & Cream yarn. Whether it's the size of the heddle holes on a 10-dent heddle (vs. the 8-dent I used on the Flip) or just the size of the holes on a Harp heddle, this is slowing me down a bit. If I decide I like the 10-dent result, next time I do these towels I'll be sure to run the Peaches & Cream through the slots instead of the holes.

I still love this pattern! Since I warped the entire width of the Harp, I'm finding the Harp shuttles just a little short for beating the entire warp evenly. As these are towels and cotton, I need more beating 'force' than I can get with the heddle; and thought the shuttles work for that I'd rather have an extra couple of inches on each end for that. So I'm probably going to cut a 'beater' for this project - actually I might have DH do it, as I think it needs a bevel cut lengthwise.

Nothing really to show picture-wise, but I plan to take pictures of the hemming process so stay tuned!

I don't think *that* was supposed to happen...

There I was, winding my first plied yarn onto my niddy noddy for washing, and THE BOBBIN WHORL POPPED OFF.
Surprisingly, it wasn't horribly tangled; probably because I started with the bobbin that was only half-full. Since it is the drive whorl (of course), I'm not sure this bobbin will work properly any more - I'll have to check with Nels.

But, I continued on (very carefully), and ended up with this:

It actually looks like yarn! :-) I think I need a shorter niddy noddy though - that wasn't easy!

I got a little more spinning done on the red stuff, but still can't tell that I've made a dent in it. Guess it's going to take longer than I thought (as usual).


I plan to get to the Flip project today, I'm just not sure when. DH wants to go to the matinee, so that will probably take care of the afternoon. Good thing I don't have a deadline!

TGIF!

Even though last night was Spinning Night, I didn't even touch the wheel or spindle. Nor the looms, nor the the knitting. I must need more caffeine! :-) (I think spending two hours waiting in LensCrafters for my eye doctor to call them contributed to my general lack of enthusiasm; but hopefully the new glasses will be worth it.)

Luckily it's Friday, I'm well-stocked with Pepsi One, and I'm taking off early from work. It's too wet to plant the garden, so that's one thing I can strike off my list (for at least this afternoon). I think I'll walk the hound first, then do some housecleaning, and then continue spinning the red stuff. Then tomorrow I can concentrate on learning how to finish the dishcloths (once I un-bury the zig-zagging sewing machine - that better be on tonight's list of things to do).

Wish me luck!