Finished Wrap

Recently a journalist, Jo Garcia-Cobb, from a local newspaper came here to interview Ed and I about our business. Jo was frequently at the Mt Angel Abbey Library working on a book she was co-authoring with her husband, Keith – who was studying for his Masters at the seminary during the time I worked at the Library. This summer I saw Jo when she came to Scotts Mills to report on the annual Summerfest. It was wonderful to catch up a bit with her and her young daughter. She was please to hear that our small business is keeping us busy and asked to write an article to help encourage people struggling during this tough economy; to let them know that there are people who have successfully built up a simple business. The article came out a week ago today. It’s evident that Jo well knows the writing craft and has honed her skills though the years. We feel honored that she wrote such a good article and took a very nice picture of us. (I need to ask her for a copy of the picture to share here.)

The body of Mirth’s shawl/wrap was finished Tuesday night, just before midnight. With drooping eye lids I put it aside until morning when I could see better to weave in all the ends. Up with the early birds the task was done with time to put it in for a long soak then a rinse and blocked on the bed to dry.

By late-afternoon it was almost dry, enough to take to its new home along with some dinner.

Mirth was completely delighted with it. The softness of the alpaca, the ample size, warmth and yet extremely lightweight. And a color she loves. 🙂Doesn’t Mirth look great! She’s a terrific fighter and optimist, even in the face of ongoing, and changing chemo treatments as the doctor tries to find the most effective method to eradicate the cancer.

It was a tad damp so she hung it in over a heat register.

I’m working on a video showing one simple way to join the strips, and possible a couple more of ideas that are percolating, which will be added to YouTube when complete.

 

On the other side of the glass door this mother and her kittens were waiting for their dinner. Though little Blacky is being quite rude. 😉

 

Hairpin Wrap/Shawl for a Friend

A long overdue project is closing in to the finishing bath. A year ago I posted about a hairpin lace wrap for a friend. I mentioned it was going slower than I’d anticipated. Between the need to get knitting on the grandkids’ socks for the early Christmas gathering, then the scarves, and spinning – lots of spinning, the wrap fell by the wayside.

Sometimes a person’s way of thinking is convoluted: at the back of my mind was the tiny notion that if I didn’t work on the wrap my friend, Mirth, wouldn’t need it. Denial. The desire to ignore bad.

A number of years ago cancer struck and knocked her off her feet for a bit. Mirth came roaring back full of vitality, love and good cheer after dealing with the dreadful trio: surgery, chemo and radiation. Cancer clawed at her skin but didn’t dampen her joy of life. Over a year ago it attacked her bones. She’s fighting with every molecule of her being and strength of will. Chemo and blood transfusions are a reality but she is optimistic. Frosty mornings, the advent of bone-chilling winter rains and her ongoing struggle have compelled me to take the wrap out of the bag and tackle it with renewed commitment to finish it.

Many people ask about the joining and finishing process for hairpin. As with much in crocheting (hairpin lace is a form of crochet work) there are not set rules.

First off: Beginning the join at the bottom. The trick here is to alternate picking up loops from each subsequent panel (aka strips) as follows:
Panel #1 The hook threaded through the first 2 loops on the right panel, hooked the first 2 loops on the left panel, #2 and pulled through the #1 loops and continue alternating the entire length of the panels. Two panels joined.Panel #2 joined to Panel #3
This time thread the hook through the first 2 loops on the left panel. If you were to always start with the first 2 loops on the right panel you’ll end up with a parallelogram instead of a rectangle or square. In the picture the right panel loops have been pulled through the left loops. Here I’m ready to hook the next 2 loops of the left panel.

This  2×2 join produces a neat “braid” joining the two panels. Go through 2 loops on one panel and hook the 2 opposite loops from the adjacent panel. I like to join each new panel as soon as it’s complete for a couple of reasons:

1) Accumulating a bunch of panels seems like a recipe for disaster.
2) I don’t cut the yarn until the loops are all joined in case I miscounted the last dozen loops can be slipped back on the loom to make more loops.

When the wrap was as wide as needed I did a line of single crochet (sc) up the sides hooking 2 loops per sc with another sc between each group. Since hairpin lace is stretchy I needed to avoid a tight edge so used a crochet hook a couple sizes larger, an I/5mm hook – the Ebony, rather than the G/4mm hook which I used for the panels.

After making enough panels for the width I wasn’t happy with the length. I double crocheted the beginning edge loops at the ends hoping that would add enough extra length.  (This looks messy what with the ends from the tails at each end of every panel but they’ll be crocheted in and all will be tidy.)Still not quite the length needed to cover Mirth’s arms. Now a lace panel  is being added to each crocheted end. It should all smooth and even out with a good bath and blocking. There are a few errors here and there but decided not to take the time to fix them, they are a reflection of the imperfection of a life well lived.Many prayers have gone forth for Mirth during the making of this wrap. I pray that God wraps her in love and peace, and gives her strength.

More Videos, More WIPS

I’ve posted two more videos: One of Ed making a Turkish Spindle shaft. It’s a silent film. For some reason the sound didn’t record and I still haven’t figured out how to add sound while editing. The second shows the setup of a hairpin loom and the start of making a strip.

Works in Progress?
How about some socks?

Sock Pattern: Brigid

Yarn: Ball and Skein Sock Yarn: Mountain Spring
75% merino / 25% nylon
450 yd. skein … 4 ply
Needles: DPN Brittany US3

The second sock leg part is almost done, the cables seem to make the rounds go by quickly. This is a wonderful introduction to knitting cables.

Want a quick gift idea? Hairpin lace bracelets. Fast and fun.

The first one was for an exchange. To personalize it even more I used some of my handspun silk. The clasp part still needs some refining, at this point I’m just crocheting a knotty ball.

Next I made one for myself with linen thread.

I could get addicted.

Linen warp was put on the loom last Thursday. We had Faith on Friday and she spent the night with us not much was accomplished those days but I’m hoping to make decent headway on the my first block rug. I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around new concepts for tying up and block weaving.

Faith’s little brother was due to make his appearance last Tuesday, May 20th. He’s taking his merry time. I’ve been taking the phone to our bedroom at night, just in case. Faith will be staying with us while Mandy’s at the hospital. Any bets on when he’ll make his appearance?

Copper Wire Hairpin Lace

Last week Aurora handed me a bracelet crocheted with copper wire. Immediately I wondered if I could make something similar using hairpin lace technique. In my stash was some 24 gauge copper wire and a container of small green seed beads waiting to be used to try hairpin lace with wire.

Instead of working diligently on the birthday socks for a friend’s upcoming birthday, hairpin lace was on my brain. What can I say? It usually takes at least two weeks to make a pair of sock – if everything goes smoothly. I’d started a pair using the perfect colorway of sock yarn from Ball and Skein and the Dolomite pattern from Knitspot but a few inches later realized the yarn obscured the pattern so then I had to search for a basic pattern the yarn won’t overpower. It’s great yarn, and I found a pattern that will be perfect for my friend. Will be.

Copper hairpin lace intruded.

The loom is set at one inch and I’m using a metal crochet hook size 6. Using wire is definitely not as fast as yarn. It’s not very forgiving and while pliable it has a breaking point that rough handling will quickly meet. Since this is totally a wingin’ it project as well as the first time of using wire in hairpin I learned by doing. First I slipped a bunch of beads on the wire. And all over the floor. I’m still finding them, even after crawling around with vacuum hose in hand. Faith was here Friday -spent the night 🙂 – and I was sure her sharp eyes would spy beads.

Beads on wire is slick – no pushing or coaxing, they slide happily into place.

Ed came in the house late yesterday afternoon as I was finishing the last rows. He obligingly stood behind the camcorder and took some footage.  I still need to edit it but hope to have it in YouTube in a couple of days.

I still need to finish the ends and attach some type of clasp. This was a fun project and I’m eager to do some more.

I know that blogging about the weather isn’t cool. But. Today is April 20th. Right?
This morning’s view in our yard:

If you haven’t seen the YouTube video of Ed making knitting needles, please scroll down to link in next post. It’s amazing.

Hairpin Lace Wrap

The hairpin lace wrap is finished for K.

Yarn: Brown Sheep Co – Prairie Silks: 72% Wool; 18% Mohair; 10% Silk
Used three  50 gr skeins – approx 176yds Bought in 2004 at the Weaving Convergence for $5.60/skein!

Method: Hairpin Lace Loom, Size F Crochet hook
180 loops per strip, total of 11 strips joined together.

I’ve been asked to put a hairpin lace tutorial on the blog. I’d like to, once the December rush is over. 
It’s very soft and warm and comfortingly cuddly.

This was a yarn with purpose. When I fell in love with it three years ago I had no idea what it’d be used for though I had vague thoughts of combining it with other wools in weft for a woven vest or jacket. On Saturday, the 17th, K came over to learn how to crochet. During the lesson I showed her various skeins in my stash and talked a bit about the different uses. When one of these skeins was brought to light she immediately grabbed it and held it to her face commenting that she loved the feel and colors.

Slow smokin’ socks

Finally! The header reflects this fiber related web blog. It’s not quite what I was aiming for, but for now it’s acceptable. The yarn pictured is merino/tencil, from Chameleon Colorworks, handspun on a Turkish spindle during March.

How long does it take you to knit a row of 60 stitches? Does it make any difference if the needles you’re using are #1 (2.25mm) or #5 (3.75mm)? I’ve been frantically knitting a pair of socks for a deadline. Stitches do not fly off my needles. No, they languish on the tips compelled only by my fingers to move along. Except when trying to do a p2t, then they slide off before the needles are engaged.

1080 stitches an hour on #1 needles is what I’ve been able to knit when concentrating. That takes care of one full repeat on the Knitspot Smokin Socks. I’m doing a total of eight repeats – for each sock – without including the heel and toe areas, add an extra hour or two for those. You’d think these socks would have been finished in July. Ha! They are a bit further along than this:

The toe of the first one is nowseamed and another 12 rows have been finished on the remaining sock. They were worked almost simultaneously until the heel. One pair was worked on two 16″ circs, which I really started liking except the stitches don’t show up well on the rosewood needles in the evening, my primary knitting time. The other was worked on Brittany dpn, the old tried and true. The soft, beautifully colored yarn is from Fearless Fiber, I’ve been enjoying working with it and look forward to making something with the yellow Citrus yarn I got at the same time.

There’s been a lot happening around here which I’d like to put into future postings. The garden is calling for my attention at the moment.