Summer 2013: Navajo Weaving

Time to start Navajo-style weaving...

First, I started with one tapestry weaving class working on this tiny loom, using purchased tapestry yarn. Not a lot of fun but it helped me to come to the decision that yes, I do want to pursue Navajo style weaving. (Navajo-style because I will never be able to do what those Two Grey Hills Navajo ladies do on those warps! My designs will obviously be much, much simpler.)

Next I re-warped this small loom and did the piece below in Navajo style, using my own handspun yarn. Now I'm hooked.The gray (fuzzier) yarn on top and bottom, and the white in the middle, was churro spun on a navajo spindle; the dark brown was Brown Sheep basic wool spun on a wheel, and pretty thin or a project like this.

The next project, in full blown Navajo style, will be a throw pillow cover, done on a roughy 24"w x 28"h loom that Bill is soon to construct; we gathered supplies at the Depot this morning, as I finally decided (while in-store) which style loom to build from two different tabletop plans. (Weaving Southwest's student loom won; only because Weaving in Beauty's is pretty big.) It will be a smaller loom for a 16" square. If I decide I like the process -- then of course I'll have to upgrade to a big floor-mount one. But one thing at a time. I've been self teaching, reading intently from about 4 books on the process. I am learning so much from each one that combined I hope to have the basics covered. And what I don't know, I'll make up. Below is the simpler loom that will be built.I wonder if I'll ever be able to walk on one. I should, that's what they're for, but .... I doubt it.

This weekend is the Intermountain Weavers Conference up at the college, featuring a big room full of vendors where I'm hoping to find the comb for beating down the layers and some battens. Oh boy.... can't wait! 

(I'm currently sourcing out the proper weaving uniform, as seen below: yeah, hot, I know...)

October Project Flurry

Back at home after a busy summer travel schedule -- Montana to South Dakota, then Moab and Bluff, and finally the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque -- so once home I put the projects into high gear. And there's been a lot. (How do I do it I don't know... just make it the priority I guess. Like the Roycroft door says: "The love you liberate in your work is the love you keep." I just love it.)

First, a recap of projects finished and ones started:
1 - Frank Stained Glass continues
2 - Finished River's Edge Jacket
3 - Learned how to knit with beads, finished knitting second project; now need to add zippers
4 - Three Heads cabled handspun white sweater back into action
5 - Started red and silver scarf - leftover from Vic's vest
6 - Started spinning Ricci's pound of fiber
7 - Finished spinning the Mystic Topaz superwash into singles; now needs to be plied.
8 - Birdhouses! Bill built a stunning adobe one and I decorated another, that will be an ongoing project
9 - Need to start designing a columbine stained glass panel for Texas
10 - Hand carding - FINALLY hand carded a very luxurious batch of fibers from Estes in 2010: angora, pygora, alpaca, silk, yak. Lots more to card and also the spinning
11 - Made a Navajo spindle that works! Been spinning lots of churro on a shorter navajo spindle for weaving projects scheduled for the future. 
12 - Oh yes, one more sweater in the works: Peasy. Supposed to be easy-peasy but now after having lost over 25 lbs I decided to rip the few inches I had done and redo as a medium. On size 5 needles so might take a bit.

#1
Frank stained glass for front door area. Coming along, slowly... pretty big so will either have to be reinforced or maybe a frame could prevent that. There's a chance it could sag due to the heavy weight of the glass and lead. Don't want that to happen.

Here's the finished product of #2

This sweater, over a year in the making, is known as the Casey Anthony Sweater as I was knitting it while watching the trial in 2011. Bought the yarn in 2010; it sat around for a time while I searched for for the perfect project (found it in a 2009 magazine). Had to knit the sleeves twice. Thought I was clever to knit the sleeves in the round so I wouldn't have to seam, but turned out the circumference ended up too small to fit in the armholes. So total do-over. For both. oops. I was knitting those off and on while on road trips so didn't think about measuring as I went along. Took several nights to do all the seaming and knit the cabled bands on the sleeves and bottom. Anyway, all done, it fits and I do love it. whew.

Actually fits too! This is 100% wool (cascade) knit on #6 needles (or was it 7?)

#3 Knitting with beads

Thank you Carole M for showing me the way on this. The worst part is prestringing every bead according to the design you've created on a grid. Mis-count and you're in trouble. It can be fixed, but what a pain. I think usually people use #11 seed beads, but they looked so small I went for #10. Found some in Albuquerque... well, now I find out #10's are hard to find, so I'll probably have to go to a #11. The black, blue and white one is with Hobby Lobby Beads and they seem to be a variety of sizes. Thanks China. Still obsessed with the Pendleton pattern San Miguel: look familiar? Used the same type of design on the locker hooked rug. Using "double-aught" needles -- like, smaller than a size one, with cotton 10/2 thread. Plan is to put two sides together, make a liner, and add a zipper to make a little bag. HA, yeah, that is the plan.

#4 "Three Heads" Cabled Sweater from Handspun

This handspun yarn goes back to 2009, when I first started carding. I bought a huge bag of alpaca at Pagosa Fiber Festival, and carded it with three different "white" wools, not realizing each one is so different -- in color and texture. This is BFL, part others, which means yep, they're different. The front is much softer than the back, but oh well, maybe I'll use the right ones and have the sleeves match each other -- or match the front. I don't care, I'll wear it anyway. Back looks like the front with cables, and I think I'll put them down the sleeves too. Kinda winging this from a pattern in one of my books.

#5 Red and Silver Scarf

no pic yet, not much more than the cast-on done so far. but a lacy pattern called Fawn's Eye. Otherwise known as "Fonzie".

#6 Spinning for fun and profit

Doing this for Ms. R, said it is a 1 lb bag of alpaca, but I'm thinking it's not alpaca. Any my spinning comrades agree -- so not sure what it is, but probably wool, very clean and a very easy spin. Yet it still will take a while to complete a POUND!

#7 Mystic Topaz

Needs to be plied and sold! Went pretty thin on the singles. This will make a nice light lacy project for someone out there.

#8 Birdhouses

A little inspiration to the man and look what he creates! An adobe birdhouse, with real stucco finish coat. Throw in a few Christmas ornaments and it's a living space but not for the birds. Not sure this one will go outside any time soon.

This is the house Vic sent to decorate, and I finally gave it an oak bark roof and it's own little birdhouse. More to come when the inspiration does.

#10 Hand Carded Fuzz

Oh yea, this is going to be soft! Yak, silk, alpaca, bunny angora, pygora locks and maybe some mohair. Ready for me to spin up. one of these days. And much more to card but at least I got a feel for it. Did it on the fine hand cards. And I can't remember how Sarah the Navajo told me to do it so I'm doing it my way, again....oh well, it works.

#11 Navajo Spindle

Made my own! No biggie, found a sorta-straight dowel at Ace, and added two drop spindle discs I still had. Put a point on the top end and you're done. This one is 32" high, but the standard 30" would probably be fine. Then roll on your thigh and draft. That's the tricky part. This is the churro for the weaving in my future.

#12 Peasy Sweater

Trickling along on this, but only because the handspun cable sweater is taking the lead. This is store-bought wool, not the greatest but hoping will come out ok. kinda splitty. Once I get past the fancy lace pattern on the top fronts it's just straight knitting so should go fast, or as fast as can be on #5s. I'll save this one for the trailer trips.

New Stained Glass Project

This one's for me: a large Frank Lloyd Wright design, appx. 24" x 30". It will be mostly clear glass with some green, cream and amber accent colors added. It's going faster than expected. For me the hardest thing is cutting the mitered corners of the zinc frame.This is to hang in the window by the front door, but it will have to be reinforced before it hangs: it's going to be heavy.

This far after three afternoons.

Spring and Summer 2012 Projects

Rovers over to spin in June

Been a busy spring and summer, our last Hot Dog trip was mid-June so we have been sticking around to watch the plants grow, and, unfortunately, dodge fires. As I type this on July 24, we've had three serious fires very close to home: Weber Canyon Fire in Mancos, Lightner Creek Fire, and just now the Air Park Fire, which reached Lake Nighthorse. All but the first were lightning caused, so not much you can do about that except be on the sniffer-lookout after a storm passes. Apparently when it's as dry as it has been here, a lightning strike can smolder for days before winds can whip it into an actual fire. Not a comforting thought when you see lightning all around.

Smoke trailing by from Weber Canyon Fire, shot from the driveway.

Lightner Creek Fire shot from across the street. This was the closest.

Air Park Fire shot from our side yard, toward Lake Nighthorse, maybe four miles away.

Air Park Fire it's first night, shot from the side yard with the Nikon zoom. This fire reached about 500 acres.

Anyway, back to the projects!

I should probably start with the finished shell stained glass project. It's done and now hanging in W. Palm Beach, Fla. 

In May or June I dyed some superwash merino roving and spun into 2-ply to sell on consignment at our local yarn shop. I'm finding the brighter the colors, the faster they sell. No dye, no sale, i.e., natural colors sit on the shelves. Last I checked the only one still available was pastel garden. I swear the name given helps sales so I always try to name it something regional based on the color. Or at least hope the tourists associate it with something local. (Proof that names matter: I named two skeins of a natural gray "Gray Hairs" and they're still sitting there. Guess no one wants to be reminded of that...)

Yesterday I dyed more roving, two 4 oz batches, to spin for consignment. I know the one on the right will be called Wild Orchid, as that is the name of one of the Cushing dye colors used; and the one on the left, I'm not sure, but so far it's reminding me of a type of topaz stone. That one was dyed with two Cushing dyes, then I crushed up two packs of easter egg dye pellets and sprinkled them on top! "Baked" them both (separately) one hour in the turkey roaster (in a 9 x 12 glass pan) and there you have it. Once spun up they probably won't look anything like this, as far as color definition, but can't wait to see what I get.

Still supplying top-whorl drop spindles to the local yarn shop, with all proceeds going to Building Homes for Heroes. As of June 2012, more than $300 has been donated. A fact I need to add that to the next batch of tags. Dad creates everything from the artwork I supply, then he ships them to me for painting, staining, assembly, hooks, and sealing. Actually it's a lot of work for something that only brings in $14 - $18.

Made another cabled throw. Lion Brand Hometown USA, LA Tan color, size #13 needles, goes pretty fast. This was made as trade for Dad for making the third metal raven we needed for the courtyard. Good trade!

And finally, thought I'd see if I could make a stained glass ornament using the now famous "Dancing Sheep" artwork I had created for the Taos Wool Festival T-shirt contest (it didn't win) but it proved popular with the locals so it also appears on drop spindles. It seems to be a go, this is the first and only one so far, but I've got two more cut out, copper foiled and ready for soldering, which is the last step. More to come.

BTW, it was while holding this up in the front window for a pic that I noticed the hazy background and stepping outside I could smell the smoke from the Air Park Fire. It blew up that fast. I had been outside just 15 minutes before and smelled nothing.

One more thing: Made the third panel for my shed doors so my technician has installed them in the window. Yes, an odd collection, but practice none-the-less. The first one I drew from a Roycroft Dard Hunter design, the middle one I made up, and the last one is a a partial design from an arts and crafts stained glass book.

Catching up

Here's some of what's been going on during January - March 2012:

Made this cabled afghan for Aunt B in February -- in 8 days! Large needles, #11, on Lion Brand chunky. Went fast, but first I had to rewrite the pattern: it was designed to be knit in four panels, and then sewn together. Why? Why not do them all at once? So after one evening of experimenting I put it all together with seed stitches in between to knit as one continuous piece.

In progress: took 13 skeins. Lion Brand Hometown USA or something like that.

It fits! Aunt B with Lia and Mimi the bunny, who has seen better days.

The beads are back! Tucson Gem and Mineral Show...stocked up on plenty, though components of the above made for B came from Albuquerque, Phoenix, Durango, and Florida.... everywhere but Tucson.

In February I hosted the Wild Woolly Spinners and here we are toasting Elizabeth, who was battling cancer at the time and not able to join us. She passed away almost exactly a month after this was taken.

Knitting Humane Society kitty blankets on our travels. Here are 10 ready for delivery.

Seashell Progress

After the third winter trip we are home long enough to make some progress. It was a slow-starter because, I now know, I was trying to use a very thin 1/8" lead, which meant that cutting had to be super precise so that it would fit evenly under the "H" lead. Not a good idea for a beginner, and one so long out of practice. So I switched it up to larger (3/16" I think) and things are moving along much faster. Here are two progression shots:

March 27th. The first two or three pieces

April 2nd

April 3rd

Seashell Stained Glass

Work has finally begun on the Seashell Project -- a 22" x 8" piece for Aunt C. At this writing I have 2.5 pieces cut and wow, it's tougher than I thought -- the design I thought I nailed but you really don't realize how tight a curve is until you cut it in glass and try to fit lead around it! Plus I'm using a very narrow 1/8 lead to my cuts have to be spot on (I hope). So off we go, here's what it looks like.

Cutting starts from the lower left. I'm on the piece that is second in from the left along the bottom.