Two lessons for the price of one scarf

This week I learned two lessons in one scarf, the first is don't leave your warp under tension and then cart the loom all over tarnation and let your cat pull at it, you will kill the warp.  The other think I learned, precious yarn is best when it's been used.

The scarf and the little ball of yarn add up to two big lessons that I seem to need to learn over and over and over again.

So both of these lessons are encapsulated in a single scarf.

The first lesson, about the warp, is one that I knew but managed to be willfully ignorant of the consequences.  By the time I decided to deal with it this week, my choices were to trash it, which seemed wasteful, or to weave it and see for myself the impact. 

One end of my scarf is weft facing fabric and the other end is warp facing.  This kids is why you don't leave your warp under tension!

What happened is that despite having the exact same beat, one end of this scarf (the end that was under tension) is practically a warp-facing fabric, and the other end of the scarf (which was nicely wound around the back beam) is a weft-facing fabric.   Because of the smooth transition between the two, it almost looks like a design feature, but it will work as a great teaching tool.

Now, the second lesson is about using that special skein of yarn.  We all have them, tucked up in our stashes, that skein that captured our imagination and were a bit of a splurge.  Mine was a skein of The Sanguine Gryphon Codex in Rachel Wall, now sadly discontinued.  A worsted weight single of 52% silk and 48% BFL, the yarn had the slink and shine like nothing else.   But it was also virtually useless for my knitting, too floppy for a hat, and with only a single skein it was too little for a shawl or garment.  

I bought this skein in the spring of 2011, when I first discovered hand dyed yarns, not knowing anything about The Sanguine Gryphon (or much about yarn at that stage).  I have caked and reskeined it many, many times, because I could never find the perfect pattern for it. 

However, when I looked at the poor, abandoned, overstretched warped, I thought, I bet that skein of Codex would be a nice complement to the laceweight warp.  And really if it's awful, its not like I've lost anything because it will still be a warm scarf and I had all but given up on finding a pattern for the Codex as is.

And, then something amazing happened.  

It turned out beautifully, albeit a bit off on the beat, but I'm declaring that a feature, not a bug, to borrow a term from one of my students from last weekend who is a software designer.

So the two lessons of this scarf are, always take the tension off your loom if you getting up from it for more than a couple of minutes, and don't let those precious skeins sit on the shelf, waiting for their prince to come.  Because sometimes you just have to make them into something unexpectedly awesome.

2013 and looking back

So back on January 1st I set a whole bunch of goals that at the time seemed totally attainable, but that was before I figured out what 2013 had in store for me. 

My sister moved, got engaged, got married and left her job, while I also moved, went through some changes at my job and adopted a kitten.  So it was a bigger year for her than for me, but 2013 was not exactly what I was expecting so.

For the last three years (wow, how has it been three years already) I have been doing retrospective and looking forward posts as the years end and begin, and this year is no different. I am using, today, December 30th, as the cut off day for finishing projects in 2013.  I will have several projects that will be carrying forward into 2014.

So 2013 in numbers looks something like this, 2012, 2011 and 2010 numbers are in brackets. Note, that this year I added a loom so these number include woven projects as well.

2013 by the Numbers:

• 24.39 (20.56, 14, 23) miles of yarn acquired during the year
• 44 (33, 22, 18) miles of yarn currently in my stash
• 5.9 (8.7, 6.2, 4.5) miles of yarn knit/crocheted/woven into projects
• 1.83 (1.82, 2.15, 3.93) Ratio of yarn acquired to used
•  1,327 (1,092, 2,771, 426) yards of handspun yarn
•  4.23 (2.5, 6, 5.7) pounds of spinning fiber acquired
• 24 (12.7, 12, 5) pounds of spinning fiber in stash
• 1.42 (1.37, 2.85, 4.68) ratio of stashed fluff to spun yarn
• 1 (1, 6, 7) pairs of mittens
• 2 (4, 5, 14) hats
• 6 (7, 3, 6) shawls or stoles
• 3 (10, 0, 3) scarves
• 0 (0, 2, 2) bags
• 3 (0, 2, 0) blankets
• 2 (8, 6, 1) cowls
• 6 (13, 3, 1) pairs of socks
• 2 (1, 10, 0) dishclothes
• 2 (2, 0, 1) baby sweaters
• 10 (3, 0, 0) toys

So the big thing in 2013 was the addition of amigurumi toys, which I love to crochet.  I had a good cadence to crafting until summer when I hit a big wall, I managed to make Carla's wedding shawl when lots of time to spare and then not that much else!  The arrival of Jack the kitten just put a nail in the coffin of my knitting this fall. 

I also got a new spinning wheel, a Schacht Ladybug, and just last month I got a vintage Strauch Petite drum carder so I'm feeing re-invigorated towards spinning, also the fact that I learned how to ply properly which makes all my yarns look better.

In 2013, I:  (goals I have met are in Italics)

Quantities

• Spin 5lbs of fluff - NOPE, only did 1.5lbs
• Use up 10 miles of yarn - NOPE, only 5.9 miles
• Create 40 items (knit, crocheted or woven) - NOPE, I managed to finish 37 items
• Knit 15 pairs of socks - NOPE, only 6
• Knit an adult sweater for myself - NOPE, but this one is sticking around 

Techniques

• Complete a project in Tunisian Crochet - NOPE, I was into Tunisian but I never went back to complete a project
• Learn and complete a project that uses Broomstick Lace - NOPE, after getting part way through the Craftsy class I never got myself a pin for doing broomstick lace so I never actually really learned or finished a project.
• Learn and complete a project in Brioche Stitch - YES! I made a very cool scarf and I would really like to do more brioche, it makes such a nice fabric.
• Learn and complete a project in double knitting - NOPE, I tried double knitting and wanted to pitch it out the window, so I may try again someday but its not on the shortlist of techniques I want in my knitting repertoire.
• Complete a tatting project - NOPE, and I'm not sure why, I really did intend to try tatting again
• Give stranded colorwork another try - SORTA, I started working on some stranded colorwork stockings, but I lost my mojo, however that may have had more to do with the deadlines than the technique.
• Complete the sampler in The Weavers Idea Book by Jane Patrick - SORTA, I did a a sampler with all the Pick-up stick drafts from the book.
• Complete a weaving project using overshot techniques - NOPE
• Compete a weaving project for something OTHER than a scarf or cowl - SORTA, I made a sampler, but I don't really consider that completing the goal.
• Spin a semi-woolen yarn (long draw from a combed top) - I THINK SO, I started making yarns I like which was part of my intention when setting this goal.
• Spin an "art yarn" - NOPE
• Spin a laceweight yarn - NOPE
• Give needle felting another try - YES, but I tried it and was certain that I hated it and so I gave away my supplies.
• Give DPNs another try - NOPE, and I'm okay with that, but I did start using 9in mini circs for socks.

Yarn and Stash

• Use my handspun yarns in knitting, crochet and weaving projects - NOPE, but this needs to be done in 2014
• Use more yarn than I stash -- More specifically get my stash ratio to less than 1.0 for 2013 and try to get my lifetime ratio to less than 2.0 by the end of the year (as the end of 2012 it was 2.43) - NOPE, but did manage to get my year ratio to 1.83 and my lifetime ratio is 2.16, so I'm getting there.
• Destash yarns I don't absolutely love and probably won't ever use - SORTA, I pulled it all out of my stash but I haven't found new homes for it, but I'm calling it a win.

So, two goals accomplished, oh well!  As I mentioned 2013 was not the year I was expecting when I set the goals, but I also learned so much more about myself this year and what I enjoy doing with respect to my fiber life. I like setting lofty goals, because it gives me something to strive for and also to have something funny to look back at the end of the year.

Also in 2013, I:

• Knit my sister a wedding shawl, a beautiful pi shawl that used over 1,100 yards of lace weight silk.  This was a huge accomplishment for me.
• Crocheted a whole bunch of fun amigurumi toys, and discovered how much I enjoy doing it.
• Taught a rigid heddle weaving course, and designed a pattern draft to do with it.
• Designed a couple patterns, which I need to write up properly, format and reknit/crochet to have some nice samples.
• Found out how much I like having DK weight socks, and I have plans
• Learned how to embroider and started my 

So 2013, the year I wasn't really expecting, but I think of it as a development year, like in sports where you don't hit the big goals but you set up so that the next year is awesome!

So tomorrow I will unveil my goals for 2014, and we will see if I'm as deluded as I as was on January 1, 2013.

Rigid Heddle for the First Time!

Yesterday I had the great honour of introducing five great women to the joys of Rigid Heddle weaving at the Muskoka Yarn Connection in Bracebridge.  They were a great group to teach. Everyone was engaged in learning and they were all game to participate in warping a loom.

The goal of the class was to get everyone up to speed on terminology used in weaving, and getting the store loom warped up so that everyone who comes in can fall in love with the simple joy of rigid heddle weaving.

Everyone took turns doing every part of the warping process, and while it took a little longer than planned we got a great plain-weave project on the loom. 

I'm hoping to get the group back together after Christmas to spend more time talking about the in and outs (or ups and downs) of weaving as we just made it to weaving the first inch before we were a full half-hour over schedule.

I designed a weaving draft to go along with the class and I need to put it through some more fine tuning and then I can hopefully release it, for anyone who wants to make their first woven scarf.

Based on the response to this class, I'm hoping to run it again in the spring. I know there are lots of fiber fans out there with rigid heddle looms stashed away i n their basements that would love to learn how to made good use of them.

The class project, I hope to get the pattern together so that I can release it soon.