Thursday, September 30, 2021

Tudor Textiles

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 Look at paintings of the Tudor Court (Henry VIII ==> Elizabeth R). Now, sit down and spin threads and weave samples of fabrics that matc...
Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Sheringham

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 If the fine yarns the Sheringham ganseys were knit from had/have the beauty of the yarns I am spinning, then I can very much understand the...

Bias

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 As I began producing these finer yarns, I had a problem matching singles twist to ply twist.  This was resolved with a new drive band betwe...

The Economics of the yarns I am making these days

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 I start by spinning worsted singles at 17 tpi and between 11,000 and 14,000 ypp.  In an hour, I can spin about 300 yards, using about 10 gr...
Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Spinning and sampling - Jacob

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   September 28, 2021 - spinning singles from dyed Jacob fiber,  then plying into 4-ply yarn at about 2,700 ypp. I knit this yarn on 1.3 mm ...
Saturday, September 25, 2021

Romney, 4-ply, 2,300 ypp

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Is it like the old Baldwin's BeeHive? No!, that was spun from a finer fleece. As I knit this (Romney, 4-ply, 2,300 ypp) on 1.3 mm needle...
Friday, September 24, 2021

Besotted

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 For twenty years was besotted with 5-ply/ 1,000 ypp gansey yarn. That despite the fact that the first weatherproof fabrics that I produced ...
Thursday, September 23, 2021

Learning to knit, again

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  A swatch of worsted handspun 4-ply (about 2,500 ypp, singles at 17 tpi, plied at 17ptpi) knit on 6" by 1.3 mm needles (in photo).  Fl...
Tuesday, September 14, 2021

In the beginning

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 In the beginning, I hoped others would read my explorations with wool and help me find the path. It did not happen. I have walked alone, as...
Monday, September 13, 2021

Academia fails to pay attention to details.

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A prominate English academic tried to replicate some of my fabrics, and did not achieve "weatherproof", and thereby assumes I am a...
Sunday, September 12, 2021

Sampling beyond Sheringham

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It was a change of perspective to be spinning to 80 wpi (20 warps per 1/4"), rather than 18.7 wpi trying to spin 5,600 ypp (10s).  An o...

Why I knit and spin

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Spinning and knitting is an ongoing  intellectual and physical challenge at many levels. Textile work has mental  and physical challenges th...

DRS Failure

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 In the spring of 1991, I was tasked with a regulatory compliance audit of the US Petroleum reserve in  Bakersfield, California. Mostly it w...
Sunday, September 05, 2021

Weatherproof socks

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 Someday, here in Ca it will rain again, and we may need weatherproof socks. (My friends and family  in New England, may have an ongoing int...
Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Spinning fine to replicate traditional yarns

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I acquired my copy of  Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys, and Arans by Gladys Thompson  (GT), shortly after I posed the question of : "H...
Sunday, August 29, 2021

4-ply sock yarn knit on 1.3 mm needles

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 more on handspun  4-ply sock yarn, again the plies are ~11,200 ypp but this time they are only 12 tpi and 12 ply twist per inch  an unfinis...

The Historical president of 4-ply/2,500 ypp yarn being knit at 12 spi by 20 rpi

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 In making my 4-ply / 2,500 ypp yarn, I was thinking in terms of the classical 11,200 ypp sock yarns that were spin at 17 tpi. They must hav...

Old school sock fabric

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  It is not dry yet, so it still wants to curl. It is under the needles used to knit it. The inspiration is knitting done circa 1900 includi...
Saturday, August 28, 2021

Testing, 1, 2, 3, 4

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 Sure there was the 5-ply, 1,000 ypp gansey yarn. There was also a 4-ply, 2,500 ypp "gansey" yarn. The last commercial relics of t...
Friday, August 27, 2021

Plying for warmth and pretty stitches

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 Alden Amos liked 3-ply yarns because the 3 strands in the yarn fit together and made a strong, cohesive yarn. That is the view of a weaver ...