Thursday, December 30, 2021

Cassandra said, "Beware of knitting in the dark!"

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 I am trying to learn to knit cross stitch. I had done a few rows - I thought I would test myself by knitting cross stitch while watching th...
Wednesday, December 29, 2021

As usual, when I try something new, I get part of it wrong!

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 It is perfectly possible to knit cross stitch / twisted stich / plaited fabric with blunt needles (and a knitting sheath.  It can be done a...
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Monday, December 27, 2021

Statement of errors (again)

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 Since taking Gladys Thompson as my primary teacher some 15 years ago, I have focused on uncrossed stiches. Neglecting crossed stitches in k...
Saturday, December 25, 2021

How I got ply-twist on Sheringham & Jersey yarns so wrong

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 I use  differential rotation speed (DRS) control of twist insertion as I spin. It is a well known technology - both Henry Clemes and Alden ...
Friday, December 24, 2021

Walking through a cave

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I find knitting crossed stitches to be like walking through cave -- it is an adventure. One never knows what one will find. Left over right ...

Notes from Sheringham

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  Knitting “Sheringham” fabrics has been a goal since I first picked up Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys, and Arans by Gladys Thompson some 1...
Friday, October 01, 2021

Swatch knit from handspun 6-ply ~1,700 ypp sock yarn

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  4" by 4" swatch of latest sock yarn. One of the most elastic yarns I have ever spun and one of the most elastic fabrics I have e...

New Draperies

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 Consider the explosion of exports of English worsted textiles in the 16th and 17th century, the so called "New Draperies". It has...
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...