eco-tricot

Direct warping on a rigid heddle loom

2011-11-28T11:26:00.010Z

This summer I traded in my old Ashford 24" (60cm) rigid heddle loom for a 20" (50cm) knitter's loom. The knitter's loom is still a rigid heddle design but has the advantage of being foldable and therefore easier to store when not in use.

So far, I'm pretty happy with it. Rigid heddle looms are great for freeform or saori-style weaving, which is what I like doing, and are very easy to set up and use, particularly if using the direct warping method.

Now, I'm perfectly happy with the direct warping method - it's quick, it's straightforward and great for shorter warps, but I've had a few problems when working with longer warps.

In their 'Learn to Weave' booklet, Ashford suggest taking the warp around a strategically placed chair. Other options include clamping the warping peg to a distant surface, such as a shelf or another table top. However, longer warps mean extra weight and can cause a chair to shift and move; clamping the warping peg to a distant surface can cause the yarn to sag. I even had one fiasco when the warping peg came adrift from the shelf, just as I'd finished warping up, and the whole lot collapsed in an irretrievably tangled mess. I was not a happy bunny!

What I needed was a way of warping up longer lengths which was secure and didn't involve trailing yarn all over the house. So, I thought, why not use additional warping pegs across the width of the table top and use it rather like a warping frame? Unfortunately Ashford don't seem to make extra warping pegs available as weaving accessories - you get the one that comes with the loom as standard and that's it! However, they're not difficult to make and MDH kindly knocked up a few for me out of some dowel and strips of wood which can be secured to the table with regular C clamps. It works a treat - just add as many pegs as you need to get the length you require.

Simple and secure!

More rainbow yarn

2011-10-17T15:05:00.008+01:00

Yet more experimentation with rainbow dyeing, using my own handspun yarns and a range of different colours. Some have worked out better than others. This skein on the left I particularly like as the colours seem to merge together quite well and I like the secondary colours that have been produced.

I chose three colours from the Ashford Dye range: Rust, Hot Pink and Navy Blue. I used just one quarter of a level teaspoon of each colour mixed to a paste with a little hot water and then added each to an empty 350ml jam jar, so the colours are on the lighter side. I added 4 tablespoons of white vinegar per jar and then topped up with warm water to fill the jar. Hopefully, by careful measuring, I can replicate the colours in future.

The actual dyeing was done by laying the yarn on some cling film on the kitchen worktop, donning the Marigolds and squirting the dye onto the yarn by means of a syringe and squishing it around. Just remember to keep a separate syringe for each colour and to rinse the Marigolds between squishes otherwise the colours will muddy up. Any excess dye was mopped up with some kitchen towel before adding another layer of cling film, rolling it up into a sausage and steaming for about 30 minutes.

The colours merge to give a range of purples, pinks, blues and oranges as well as some more muted greyish/browns where the blue and orange have mingled. I love it!

Cat blanket

2011-09-21T11:16:00.009+01:00

So, having spun and plyed about 150g of Lleyn fleece, I rainbow dyed the lot and turned it into a fabric on my new rigid heddle loom ( a 20" / 50cm Ashford Knitter's Loom). Not enough fabric to do too much with, so the cats are going to get another new blanket.

I had three skeins which were rainbow dyed using Ashford Dyes in navy blue, pink and yellow, chosen because I wanted to experiment obtaining secondary colours where the two primaries overlapped. I dyed the skeins in different batches. The first skein had the most saturated colours (on the left of the picture), the dyes being diluted for the second and third skeins. I also 'painted' smaller bands of colour on the last skein, resulting in a more yellowy look overall.

I used a green 4-ply wool for the warp and a 5 dpi heddle, which resulted in a more weft-faced fabric. I had problems with pooling of colour with all three skeins which meant having to cut the weft every so often to break up the colour repeating in the same place all the time.

It was an interesting experiment and a first for me as it's the first time I've ever used any homespun to create something, even if it's only ever going to be a cat blanket!!

Andean Plying

2011-09-12T12:52:00.014+01:00

Well, I think I got lucky with my £6 bag of Lleyn lamb's fleece. It really is a joy to work with.

Fortunately, the fleece was fairly clean to start with, but, after a wash, it combed up really smoothly. To me, the staple length seems the longest of any fleece that I've worked with so far, including the Bluefaced Leicester. I don't know whether this is a feature of this particular animal or the breed as a whole.

I spun the rovings on my Turkish drop spindle, then I tried out some Andean plying with the help of Shiela's very useful video, followed by some experimentation with rainbow dyeing. I ended up with two very psychedelic skeins of wool. The first was very bright indeed. The one pictured here is the second skein, dyed after I had diluted the dyebath slightly. I started off using 1 whole teaspoon of dye to one 250ml jam jar of water and vinegar solution which is way too deep for what I wanted to achieve. Next time, I'll try just one quarter of a teaspoon, maybe even less. I'm using Ashford wool dyes and I notice on the page about microwave dyeing on their website that they suggest one eighth of a teaspoon of dye per jam jar with two tablespoons of vinegar.

I'm so enamoured with my Lleyn spinning experience, though, that the breed has just shot to the top of my shortlist for sheep to keep on the field.

Exmoor Fleece Fair

2011-09-04T09:06:00.005+01:00

From FibreFest to Fleece Fair!

As part of the celebrations for Wool Week (September 5 - 11), Lesley Prior of Devon Fine Fibres held a fleece fair today on the outskirts of Dulverton in West Somerset.

This was a fleece market true and proper. There were a couple of stalls and spinning demonstrations, but centre stage were large plastic sacks of fleece from local producers and a steady stream of customers poking about.

I promised myself I would buy some fleece, but it had to be something I didn't already have in my stash or had spun before, so that meant no Bluefaced Leicester, Jacob, Shetland, Bowmont or Ryeland. As it turned out, there was a lot of Bluefaced Leicester, Jacob, Shetland and Bowmont...

Actually, there were a lot more fleeces to choose from and this is where I realised I hadn't a clue. Several people were taking fleeces out of the sacks, spreading them out on the ground and giving them a good poke and a prod. Should I do that? Would I know a bad fleece from a good one? The short answer to that is, probably not. In the end I just wandered around putting my hands in the sacks, pulling out bits and asking myself, "Could I spin this?" Anyway, as the price of these huge sacks started at about £5 and even the most expensive wasn't more than £20, I didn't think it would be too much of a problem if I made a duff choice. Anyway, it's all part of the learning experience!

In the end my choice was between Lleyn lamb, Exmoor Horn, Exmerino (a cross between Exmoor Horn and Est-a-laine) or Zwartbles. I thought about trying some Exmoor Horn but in the end decided on a sack of Lleyn lamb's fleece. A hefty 2.4 Kg for just £6!

Well done to Lesley for organising this. It would be nice if the Exmoor Fleece Fair became a regular event. Next year I might even have a better idea of what I'm looking for!

No photos, I'm afraid - forgot to take the camera, but Lesley has a couple over on her blog.

In a spin

2011-08-31T10:02:00.009+01:00

All this...

I've dedicated a fair bit of time this summer to improving my very rudimentary spinning skills. I was fortunate in being given plenty of raw material on which to practice - a mountain of raw Jacob fleece, dags an' all.

One sunny morning back at the end of June I spread the mass of smelly fleece out on the patio and sorted it into three piles, gently pulling out the dags and worst of the vegetable matter as I went. I ended up with three large garden refuse sacks of fleece - one for black wool, one for white and one for the mixed / grey fleece. Then, working on small batches at a time, I scoured the fleece and prepared the fibres for spinning.

...from this!

Something I've come to appreciate is that the key to a good yarn lies in the fibre preparation before spinning - no surprise there. For this reason, I've abandoned carders for combs. Picking through the fleece and carding just wasn't enough! There really were too many short fibres, neps (or should that be noils) and hard-to-remove bits and pieces for my inexperienced skills to cope with. This may have something to do with the fact that the sheep were not sheared with home spinning in mind and consequently less care may have been taken with the shearing. Carding produces more waste, but a smoother end product.

I've got three spindles: a top whorl, a Turkish (bottom whorl) and a Rakestraw. I've been practising with all three, but the one I feel most comfortable with at the moment is the Turkish spindle, so I'm sticking with that for the time being. There's been a bit of a learning curve and my first efforts were pretty dire. I've still got a long way to go, but I'm getting to the point now where I like what I've done and could see myself actually using the yarn.

The yarns are all singles as I intend to weave rather than knit - and, anyway, being self-taught, I haven't quite got to the bit in the book about plying yet.

I dyed the yarns myself using Ashford acid dyes and I'm really quite chuffed with the results. There is something so very satisfying about turning a mound of smelly fleece into a silky, smooth yarn with just a little effort and a minimum of equipment.

I must give the carders another go, though - perhaps when I get another fleece from a different breed to work on. These articles on fibre preparation seem quite useful.

FibreFest 2011

2011-08-20T16:53:00.010+01:00

If you want to see knitted sharks, lobsters, octopuses, rock pools, lighthouses, sandcastles (yes, really, - knitted sandcastles) and a nearly life-size mermaid, then you need to get down to Bicton Agricultural College, near Budleigh Salterton, this weekend. They're all part of an exhibition - a knitted seascape - in aid of the RNLI and just one of the many things to see at FibreFest's 'celebration of natural fibre'.

We went along this morning and couldn't have timed it worse. Firstly, holiday traffic meant the motorway was pretty clogged but this paled into insignificance compared with the weather. It rained. In fact it was a deluge, starting pretty much just as we got there! Fortunately, the exhibits were undercover but going between tents still meant that we got drenched. Such a shame as Bicton is a grand 19th century country house set in beautiful grounds and it would have been so much more pleasant to stroll around in the sunshine.

As with the Mid Devon Show, I gravitated towards the animals. I'm still making up my mind what sheep breed to go for, so I take every opportunity to check them out. Gotland sheep are on my shortlist (not strictly a British breed, but I do love the wool) so I made for Whitehall Farm. Evidently they can come in black and silvery white as well as various shades of grey. They have animals for sale and usually sell out of stock pretty quickly. The best time to buy is about now as there is more choice; leave it any later and the choice becomes more restricted. Something to bear in mind, when I get round to buying.

We then worked our way around the various tents - a fibre fiend's idea of heaven. I have to say I resisted all temptation to buy any more fleece / yarn as my current stash at home already exceeds life expectancy. Instead I bought buttons - lots of buttons - a shawl pin and a thingy for counting wraps per inch.

Back in the trade marquees, everybody seems to be doing space-dyed yarns, but I think my favourite stalls were those doing naturally-coloured, undyed yarn such as West Yeo Farm and Woolcake. Woolcake's simple, chunky but contemporary designs particularly appealled to me.

The bad weather finally drove us away. We got back home an hour or so later and, what do you know, the sun was shining and it turned into a beautiful afternoon. Ah well!

A fence and two gates - first steps towards a forest garden

2011-08-04T11:12:00.010+01:00

Finally it feels as though something is starting to happen down the field. A stock-proof fence has now been put up to divide the field in two, so that we can start preparations for the forest garden.

The fence runs north / south dividing the field in two. In the image on the left I'm standing at the northern boundary of the field looking south. The plot on the right of the fence is now about 6,580 square metres or 1.63 acres and, to the left, the plot is about 3 acres. I'm standing in the area that will become the forest garden and to my left is a gate that will give access to it. In the image below, I'm standing on the other side of the gate looking into what will be the forest garden.

If you follow the fence down to the southern boundary of the field, there is another gate, as eventually we plan to subdivide this part of the field into two again, the top for the forest garden and the lower area for grazing a few sheep. We haven't done this yet as we're not quite sure how big we want the forest garden to be. We're thinking about half an acre, but we want to keep our options open for the moment.

We've decided to put the forest garden in the top north west corner because this is the most sheltered part of the field. As it is, we will still need to put up some wind-proof mesh along the fence, as the field, on its eastern boundary, is quite exposed. We're about 200 metres above sea level, so when the winds blow around here, they sure do blow! The wind-proof mesh will be a temporary measure until we plant a native hedgerow and it gets established.

I'm always on the lookout for stories about other people's experiences of forest gardening and this article from The Guardian recently made interesting reading. Watch the audio slideshow as well to see how one guy (with a little help from his friends) creates a "high biodiversity, low carbon polyculture" on just 1.5 acres and grows produce worth £25,000 per annum! I'm sure there are a few farmers around here who would like to get that kind of income from their acres.

Sheep

2011-07-24T09:38:00.013+01:00

Border Leicester - rabbit ears and a Roman nose!

It seemed a good idea to go to the Mid Devon show this year to check out the sheep as we're thinking of getting some for the field.

It's three years since our last visit and the show is bigger than ever. So big, in fact, we had a hard job trying to locate the livestock! My feelings about this type of show haven't much changed since my last visit and, to me, it seems a shame that a major focus of an 'agricultural' show has become such a peripheral event. Still, the sun was shining and, when we finally managed to find our way to the livestock area, there was plenty to see.

I know that if and when we actually do decide to get some sheep, they will be kept purely for their fleece and not for meat as I have a fearsome fibre habit. Recently I've been trying out some different pure breed yarns for various knitting projects including Jacob, Blue-faced Leicester, Gotland, Shetland and Ryeland to name but a few. My favourite fleece for dyeing and knitting is Blue-faced Leicester, but they all have their different qualities. I like naturally coloured yarns too and here the Jacob has the distinct advantage of producing three colours from one animal: white, dark brown/black and grey (arrived at by combining the brown and white fleece together). I'm working my way through a mountain of Jacob fleece at the moment kindly donated by a friend and, whilst it's not the finest fleece in the world, it's quite pleasant to work with. Gotland is another favourite - it has a lovely lustre and a silky feel and comes in a range of lovely grey shades.

Well, that's the fleece. What about the animals themselves? I must admit, although I like the cute teddy bear Ryeland sheep, I find myself more drawn to the primitive type of breeds, like the Shetland. The Shetland is a small, compact breed that makes them easier to handle (although it can also make them better at escapology) and they come in a range of different colours, black, white, grey, moorit and many shades in between. Shetland wool is also generally accepted to be one of the finest of any UK breed, so these guys are currently at the top of my wish list.

Naturally I made a quick visit to the DGWSD tent. Although I'm not a member, I like to see what they're up to. This lady was spinning up some rather nice looking Romney fleece. Glad to see they've ditched the mob caps!

Egg eating chickens update

2011-07-14T09:30:00.021+01:00

Still haven't sorted this one!

I had some initial success when I moved two of the bantams into the broody coop for a couple of days. While they were out of the way, Dot laid normal eggs in the nest box. I put the bantams back in the run and Dot returns to laying soft eggs under the perch. That's the bad news. The good news is that the eggs aren't being eaten.

All the chickens have been getting high-quality layers' pellets with a mineral supplement and free access to oyster shell, so I don't think Dot's soft-shelled eggs are down to dietary deficiencies.

Which leads me to believe it's something to do with the bantams.

In spite of Dot being a normal-sized chicken, it's the more diminutive Light Sussex bantams that rule the roost. We have three. The two removed to the broody coop were Iris (head honcho) and Olive (deputy head honcho). Of the two, it's Olive who's more assertive with the other chickens ('Attila the Hen' springs to mind), but it's Iris who keeps Olive in her place. It's also Iris and Olive who like to cosy up in the nest box at night. They've never been ones for 'roughing it' with the hoi polloi on the perches. So, now I'm thinking it's because Dot can't get to the nest box first thing in the morning that she lays eggs on the floor of the coop instead. But why are they soft? Could stress be causing this? After all, when she has free access to the nest box, she lays normal eggs.

Only one way to find out! The bantams' former home, a coop which has been serving as a log store for the last year or so, has been cleared out, dusted off and put in the run. Tonight the bantams are going to be sleeping in separate accommodation.

Egg eating chickens

2011-07-07T15:21:00.015+01:00

This is bad news! It started a couple of weeks ago when our Cuckoo Maran, Dot, started laying soft eggs in the coop. These soft eggs are always laid, very early morning, on the floor of the coop rather than in the nest box. I usually let them out around 6 a.m. at this time of year (sometimes earlier), by which time the egg has already been laid and eaten, leaving behind an empty shell.

I think the soft shelled eggs must have originally broken by accident and the hens started eating them. Now I suspect that one or two of them have started breaking whole eggs on purpose to get at the contents. What to do?

I guess the first step is to boost Dot's nutrition. I'm not sure why she is suddenly laying soft eggs. She seems perky enough in herself and her comb is a nice, bright red. Her normal diet is layers' pellets throughout the day, a handful of corn in the evening, supplemented with fresh greens and the occasional soft fruit from the garden. Oyster shell is scattered liberally around the run but perhaps this is not enough. I've started adding a mineral supplement to their feed, but so far this doesn't appear to have made any difference. I'm also now questioning whether it's something to do with the layers' pellets. We changed brand a few weeks ago, moving to a cheaper brand. Well, I guess it's cheaper for a reason, so we've decided to go back to our original brand.

Egg eating? Moi?

There's plenty of nesting space and a good layer of straw in the boxes, so I don't think this is part of the problem. A couple of the bantams are going broody, however, as they've been hogging the nest boxes for a couple of days now and have stopped laying, so I've removed them to the broody coop for a day or three. I know for a fact that these two have been eating eggs as I caught them both yesterday with egg yolk all over their beaks and a guilty look on their faces! Fingers crossed this gets sorted.

Rob Hopkins interviews Martin Crawford

2011-06-27T09:58:00.005+01:00

Rob Hopkins has just posted an interview with Martin Crawford, of the Agroforestry Research Trust. They are discussing the effect the spring drought has had on cereal farmers in the east of the country and how agroforestry could be a much more resilient alternative to large-scale monoculture.

Rob included two video clips of Martin, the first taken from Rebecca Hosking's, A Farm for the Future and the other an introduction, by Martin, to his forest garden in Dartington that we visited last year. According to Martin a forest garden of 1 acre is enough to feed 10 people! For the two of us, a plot of .5 acre should be more than enough.

Rob also talks about the work of Professor Martin Wolfe, somebody, I have to confess, I haven't heard of before. Professor Wolfe has been conducting research into agroforestry at Wakelyns Agroforestry, an organic silvoarable system in the east of England.

Having googled 'Martin Wolfe' I came across this interesting bit about growing willow as biofuel. I wonder if this is something we should consider for the field.

Land management course

2011-06-26T07:14:00.020+01:00

Yesterday we attended a one-day course on land management at South Yeo Farm East, a rare breeds farm not far from Hatherleigh in West Devon. Gillian and Ian Dixon run these courses on behalf of the Devon Association of Smallholders (DASH), although, at 93 acres, I hardly think their spread qualifies as a smallholding!

We covered a large number of things on the course: hedges, ditches, banks and boundaries, managing land for grazing and wild flower meadows, control of invasive plants, and what plants are poisonous to stock. We also touched on the management of ponds and wetlands, orchards, the difference between hay, haylage and silage and much more. The last part of the afternoon was spent looking at farm machinery and ploughs, the different type of harrows and when they're used, rollers, toppers and mowers. And all in one day!

Most of the day was spent outside, so we were lucky that, after a week of quite heavy rain, the day was dry, if a little overcast.

Obviously nothing was covered in great detail and some of it was not particularly relevant to our situation (I don't think our budget will stretch to tractors and the numerous bits of rather alarming-looking equipment that go with them), but it's useful to know what they all do. The pros and cons of getting contractors in to do the work were also discussed for those who don't want to go down the do-it-yourself route.

So much to think about! We are under no illusion that having a field, even it it's just a few acres like ours, won't require quite a bit of looking after and this course really spelled that out for us. Nevertheless, we left the course feeling tired but enthused!

I particularly liked the wild flower meadow and came away with a stem of Yellow Rattle seed heads (donated by Gillian) that I intend to dry off and scatter in a corner of our field. Well, it's a start!

Finding a vision

2011-06-13T07:45:00.008+01:00

Well, it's all change on the weather front. The long, dry spring is over and yesterday the rain finally came. We had pencilled in the diary to pay a visit to Linscombe Farm, the local, organic farm which has provided us with a weekly veg box for the last twelve years. They have an open day about this time every year, which we've never been to, and this year we thought we'd check it out. But down came the rain, so we wimped out and went to the pub instead.

Still, we had a chat about our plans for the field. We've agreed that we would like to do three things: (1) have a conventional allotment with a small polytunnel in one area, (2) plant a small orchard (perhaps undergrazed by a few sheep) in another and (3) plant up a 'perennial allotment' based on the forest garden approach where we'd keep some bees. The conventional allotment is something that MDH wants, the perennial allotment is for me.

Forest gardening is something that I've been interested in for a while now. About this time last year we visited Martin Crawford's forest garden at Dartington, near Totnes. Over the last seventeen years, Martin's been creating his forest garden out of a two-acre field. It's a magical space, stopping just short of wild nature at its most rampant, and yet it's full of interesting, unusual and edible plants. Once established, it requires a modest amount of maintenance with just a few hand tools.

In an age when fossil fuels become more and more expensive as production declines, then forest gardening might just be the way to go. Martin explains it all here.

Five-acre field

2011-06-03T20:22:00.004+01:00

We've just come back from viewing the field. Fab views, but the ground is suffering from a distinct lack of rain.

The field is bordered on two sides by mature hedgerow and on the other two by stock-proof fencing. We are planning to subdivide it, leaving one larger area of about 3 to 4 acres and a smaller plot of between 1 and 2 acres, which we'll cultivate. This will be tucked away in the north west corner where it is more sheltered.

First job, though is to get the water connected, although I don't honestly think there'll be much else happening in the field yet awhile. We have to put our thinking caps on and do some planning.

An added bonus though is that our field comes with a lane.

Long time, no post!

2011-06-03T15:02:00.026+01:00

Eighteen months since I last posted!

I took some time out to do a course (the equivalent of one third of a master's degree), which exercised the old brain cells somewhat, as well as upping the number of hours I've been working, so this left no time for blogging. I haven't abandoned knitting though (as if I ever could) and I've completed a number of projects over this time, but just haven't written them up.

So, what has prompted a return to blogging? The purchase of a five-acre field, that's what! I've literally just received an email to say that our purchase has completed and it's officially ours. Yippee!

We've been wanting some extra land to cultivate for a while, but have had to wait years for a suitable plot to come up. By 'suitable' I mean land that was a) within easy walking distance of where we live, b) the right size (i.e. not too big) and c) within our price range.

MDH and I are just about ready to take on a new project. Over the last five years we've transformed a jungle into a garden and, now we are planning to turn a field into a jungle (well, not quite a jungle, more a forest garden.)

We've lots of ideas for this field, best summed up as:

food
fibre
natural dyestuffs
wildlife
diversity

So now we're off to see our new acquisition and take some photos.

January jerkin

2010-01-31T00:00:00.011Z

I had a couple of false starts with this one as my 'vision' kept changing.

Finally, the sub zero temperatures and severe wind chill factor convinced me to use the yarn double but that would probably mean not having enough yarn for long sleeves.

So, a cap sleeve cardigan it was to be.

The construction is top-down and made without a single seam - it would be a doddle to rip back should I ever be so inclined. I also removed the recycled plastic buttons from the Swing Jacket to use on this because I've just purchased some rather swish horn buttons to use on the jacket.

It worked up much bigger than I intended (should've doublechecked tension) and quite stretchy (should've used as a size smaller needles) but overall I'm not too disappointed with the result. It seems to have turned out more of a jerkin than a cardigan as it fits quite comfortably over even my thickest jumpers; great for nipping out to see to the chickens first thing on a bitterly cold January morning...

Alternatively I could try bunging it in the washing machine for a bit of intentional shrinkage, but that could be a risky strategy...

I've come to a conclusion though about top-down knitting. The amount of ease I require for a seamless garments can be reduced compared with that for a conventionally constructed, seamed garment. Seams are rigid and restrict 'stretchability' and therefore garments need a certain amount of ease to compensate. This is not the case with seamless garments which can quite easily stretch in any given direction.

I'll put this theory to the test with my next project.

Solstice Sweater

2010-01-01T13:47:00.004Z

So called, because I started it on the Monday 21 December, the day of the winter solstice.

I couldn't make up my mind initially whether to call this a 'sweater' or a 'jumper' which got me thinking what the difference was, if any, between the two terms.

A quick trawl of the internet suggests that both a sweater and a jumper are "knitted or crocheted garments which cover the upper part of the body", the term jumper being used more in Britain and Australia than the US where sweater is preferred.

More than one definition suggests that they can have a front opening or not, which is interesting as I've always thought of sweaters and jumpers as pullover-type garments.

It's rather obvious how some garments get their name, such as pullover or sweater, but I could never figure out how jumper came about - presumably nothing to do with jumping. Evidently jumper might derive from jump, an obsolete name for a type of man's loose jacket which, in turn, might have its origins in the Old French jupe (or jubbah in Arabic).

So, there you have it. Personally, I'm partial to the word jumper but I think Solstice Sweater sounds better.

As with the Swing Jacket, it's of top-down construction, the collar being knitted first and then the stitches for the collar being picked up along one side. I gave it some gentle A-line shaping throughout the body and finished the lower edges by simply casting off for a rolled edge (although having blocked it, the edges don't seem to want to roll particularly - not that I mind).

The wool is Shetland DK in a natural moorit brown from Welland Down Farm, the same yarn as I used for the Swing Jacket, Rib Warmer and Shrug Jacket. Although this yarn is actually quite soft, I don't like close-fitting collars around the neck, so I made this one deliberately quite wide, boat-neck style.

Happy knitting in 2010!

Swing Jacket

2009-12-22T13:54:00.023Z

I might not have posted for a while but I'm still knitting...

I bought some wool at Crediton farmers' market earlier this month - 10 balls of natural dark brown Shetland wool from Dodie Huxter of Welland Down Farm. Her wool is processed at the Natural Fibre Company in Cornwall, so its eco credentials are good.

I liked the colour but didn't have the faintest idea what I wanted to do with it. In the end a trawl through the pages of Ravelry gave me plenty of inspiration and I decided on a cropped swing jacket with three-quarter sleeves.

No pattern, of course, just an idea.

It even turned our pretty much as I hoped. The jacket is in stocking stitch with moss stitch borders. However, I couldn't decide whether I wanted one large button or several smaller ones, so I decided to dispense with buttonholes all together and use metal snap fasteners instead (cheating, I know but if M&S can do it...) In the end I went for several smaller buttons as a decorative feature.

I would normally use 4.5 mm needles for this type of yarn but I wanted a denser fabric so I used 4 mm needles instead. Even so, it knitted up quite quickly - just over a week from start to finish.

I'm really quite pleased with the way this has turned out. It's quite a smart jacket (not something I tend to associate with the more 'rustic' style of Shetland wool) but looks good with jeans too.

I washed the jacket when I finished it and soaked it in some Ecover fabric softener so it's now soft, warm and smells heavenly. Snow? Bring it on, I say.

Oh yes, a welcome and indulgent addition to the Crediton farmers' market is the lady who sells those wonderful little cupcakes, Cakeadoodledo. Just can't resist them!

Perfect Day

2009-03-16T08:41:00.003Z

That's exactly what it was - a perfect day.

Birthday Boy decided he wanted to get some sea air in his lungs, so we headed for the North Devon coast.

Blue skies, warm sun, gentle breeze, pub lunch, stroll along an uncrowded beach...

and, yes, he's wearing the Weskit!

As I said, a perfect day.

Weskit

2009-03-15T09:11:00.007Z

Evidently the origins of the waistcoat go back to King Charles II when it was introduced as part of the correct dress during the restoration of the British monarchy. Originally called a vest, the garment was much longer and only became known as a waistcoat or weskit when it was shortened to waist length.

History lesson aside, today is MDH's birthday and, this year I've knitted him a waistcoat. MDH loves waistcoats and this isn't the first one I've knitted for him. The last one was a multi-coloured Kaffe Fasset design, so this one couldn't be more different.

I'm using up the last of my stash of Kate Palmer's organic wool, (produced from sheep reared on pastures less than six miles from where we live) and decided to go for a classic, traditional-style waistcoat as I thought this complemented the yarn.

I started by knitting the two pointy bits at the lower front, then joined them at the bottom edge to knit the body all in one piece up to the underarms before dividing for the front and back. This means the only sewing up involved is the shoulder seams.

The edging is worked in double crochet. Elizabeth Zimmerman wouldn't approve (she didn't like the idea of mixing knitting and crochet) but I find working edging like this so much easier and neater than picking up stitches and knitting them.

The Rowan buttons are from the recycled button box - not exactly 'recycled' in this case because they've never been used. They came with an unbelievably complicated Rowan multi-coloured cardigan kit (a Paisley design - I ask you!) that I bought many years ago. I managed about four inches and gave up.

Anyway, as I'm nearing the end of my stash of Kate's yarn, I guess my 'grey phase' is all but over. Now spring is just round the corner, I shall be able to get out into the workshop and do some more dyeing, so colour will be back on the menu soon!

Asymmetry

2009-03-08T09:30:00.022Z

The knitting projects are stacking up now. There's the Seamless Hybrid Sweater that I want to make from the recycled wool and then there's MDH's birthday present (only one week away - eek!) which has to be top priority. So it's just as well that I've just finished my latest project. Hot off the needles, this is another 'not for me' item - an asymmetrical cardigan.

I love garments that have unconventional construction or quirky features. This pattern by Sirdar has a modicum of quirkiness with the right front knit sideways. The garment however has totally conventional construction. You know the sort of thing - a back, two side pieces, two arms and a collar all knitted separately and requiring sewing up.

As I was knitting this I kept thinking it could have been made virtually without seams and if ever I were to knit this again I would certainly adapt the pattern to make it so. Seamless garments have so many advantages: not having to sew up the garment being the most obvious one. I hate sewing up knitwear and, by all accounts, I'm not alone in this. It takes care to get right.

Also, as Elizabeth Zimmerman (who so strongly promoted the idea of working seamlessly) pointed out, there are no seams to split apart or come undone. The finished garment looks neater, there are no loose ends to weave in and it's so much easier to give your garment a professional finish.

And last but not least, in these eco-conscious days, ripping back the garment to reuse the wool becomes a breeze!

ADDIction!

2009-02-25T09:46:00.029Z

I'm a huge fan of circular knitting needles and don't use anything else these days. In particular I love my Addi Turbo circular knitting needles. For me they live up to their name, the smooth metal needle tips and the ultra flexible cords really help the knitting to glide along.

Knitting the throw last month would have been much harder work on straight needles as it got so heavy and bulky towards the end. By using a circular needle the weight of the knitting was distributed evenly and caused much less strain on the hands - making for easier, quicker knitting.

The one downside of circular needles is that, depending on the size of project, you not only need different sizes of needle tip but also different lengths of cord. This can add up to an awful lot of circular needles and, if using Addi, a big dent in the bank balance.

Enter the interchangeable circular needle - a set of needle tips in different sizes interchangeable with a number of cords of differing lengths.

There are several sets on the market and Addi, bless 'em, brought out their own version last autumn, Addi Click, which uses Turbo needle tips. How could I refuse such temptation? Well, I did hold out for a while on account of already owning a set of Denise Interchangeable needles, but a few weeks back I finally succumbed and now, having used both sets I thought I'd share with you my view on the pros and cons of each.

The Denise set retails in the UK for under £40 (I got mine from Kangaroo Yarns) and contains 10 sets of needle tips, 6 cords and 2 connector pieces, allowing you to join cords to make even longer cords. It also contains 4 end pieces. These allow you to use needle tips and cords as 'straight' needles should you wish to do so or to use the cords as stitch holders, a feature that I find really useful. All this is very neatly packaged in a case 22 cm x 33.5 cm (7" x 8.5") making the set easily portable.

The Addi Click set also contains 10 sets of needle tips (but not the same range of sizes as the Denise set, see below), 3 cords and 1 connector. There are no end pieces but the set does contain a dinky little gold heart pin - to my mind a bit of an unnecessary gimmick. The set comes in a black box which is smart but rather bigger than it needs to be (sort of A4 size) and, at £89, it doesn't come cheap either.

With both sets of needles the connecting mechanism is fairly straightforward if a little fiddly at first.

So which do I prefer?

Without doubt the Denise set is well packaged, extremely versatile and offers good value for money. But (and this is a big 'but' for me) everything in the set is plastic including the cord and needle tips. Some people like knitting with plastic needles - indeed, some people even prefer plastic. I don't. Quite simply I find that plastic has a 'drag factor' which slows down the flow of knitting. Plus the cords are quite rigid and tend to retain the kinked shape out of the box.

On the other hand the Addi Click needles are just like Turbo needles - same smooth metal tips, same ultra flexible cords. A completely different knitting experience!

So by preference Addi will always be my first choice, but, as the Denise set gives you more options, I won't be putting it up for sale on eBay just yet!

Here are some 'knitty' gritty details for you.

The Denise set contains the following needle sizes: 3.75 mm, 4 mm, 4.5 mm, 5 mm, 5.5 mm, 6 mm, 6.5 mm, 8 mm, 9 mm and 10 mm. There are no 3.5 mm or 7 mm needle tips.

The Addi set contains: 3.5 mm, 4 mm, 4.5 mm, 5 mm, 5.5 mm, 6 mm, 7 mm, 8 mm, 9 mm and 10 mm. There are no 3.75 mm or 6.5 mm needle tips.

The cords in the Denise set are the following lengths: 6" (15 cm), 9" (23 cm), 12" (30 cm), 14" (35.5 cm), 16" (41 cm) and 19" (48 cm). The Denise needles are made in the US so all sizes are in inches. I've given the nearest metric equivalent.

The cords in the Addi set are as follows: 60 cm (24"), 80 cm (32") and 100 cm (40").

The Denise needle tips are 4.5" (11 cm) in length and the Addi needle tips 13 cm (5").

One final thought - the shorter needle tip of the Denise set allows for the use of a shorter cord. This means that you have the option of using a circular needle for working sleeves in the round, something not available with the Addi set where the shortest cord is 60 cm.

Thrifty knitting

2009-02-18T07:00:00.020Z

A serious case of eco-consciousness has taken hold of me just recently. I have unraveled a ten-year-old sweater that has seen better days in order to reuse the wool.

Yes, honestly!

'Reuse, recycle, repair' as they say.

The sweater in question was lovingly worked by me for MDH from wool bought one holiday on the Isle of Skye.

It has to be said it was not one of my better designs - I was still in my 'four rectangles sewn together' phase.

Still, MDH, bless him, wore it proudly. Over time though the sweater has sagged and bagged and was being relegated 'for garden use' - the end of the road for all our sweaters - but the wool is still good and, despite its rustic appearance, nice and soft, so I am determined to give it a new lease of life.

I only wish I could remember what breed of sheep it came from. It's probably a traditional Hebridean variety, given where I bought it and the dark brown colour sprinkled with flecks of grey (typical of Hebridean breeds, evidently). I hope so.

Anyway, what to do with all this wool? I feel an Elizabeth Zimmerman project coming on - something like the Seamless Hybrid Sweater. Having just spent hours carefully unpicking the seams of the old sweater, I can definitely appreciate more and more the distinct advantages of seamless garments.

Cusco (almost) completed

2009-02-10T09:34:00.038Z

I actually finished this yesterday but decided the whole thing was way, way too big, so immediately set about taking it in.

Fortunately that's not as much of a pain as it could be because of Cusco's simple construction.

Essentially the jacket consists of two identical halves, each made from a rectangle folded in half and joined leaving a number of live stitches which are then worked on a circular needle to create the sleeve. The two halves are then joined by seaming up the back using three needle bind-off. No sewing up required - always a plus in my book!

To take in this garment all I've had to do is unravel the sleeves and some of the body to reduce width then redo the sleeves.

I've included the photos of the jacket with its second sleeve still unfinished because it gives a better view of its somewhat unconventional construction.

I have to admit, though, I was having serious doubts about how this was going to turn out as I was knitting it up.

However, now I've resolved the size issue and tried it on again, I'm really pleased with it. I like the drapey fit which works well either worn open or fastened with a brooch or pin.

The Cusco jacket is featured in Cheryl Oberle's book, Knitted Jackets.

The pattern actually uses Cascade Pastazza but I used Kate Palmer's organic wool instead which knits up as a light aran. I therefore had to rework the pattern for a yarn which knits up (for me, that is) at 17 sts over 10 cm rather than 14 sts as in the pattern.

The pattern also calls for a simple edging which I may or may not do - I haven't quite decided yet. I'm worried it will stiffen the edges and spoil the drape - but I might try it and see. After all, it can always be taken out if I don't like it.

Cusco

2009-02-03T11:57:00.036Z

Overnight snowfall has completely transformed the garden into this rather stark, monochromatic landscape.

Beautiful but cold, very cold.

So it's rather nice on such winter evenings to stoke up the wood burner and get on with a bit of knitting.

I recently bought a new knitting book, Knitted Jackets by Cheryl Oberle, on the strength of one jacket alone, Cucso, which I fell in love with.

The only trouble is the jacket is made in yarn not widely available in the UK.

Added to which I've got lots and lots of lovely grey, organic wool in the yarn stash (payment for the throw I completed last week) so it really would seem rather a shame not to use that.

Fortunately the jacket is very simply constructed (four rectangles - two for the body and two for the arms) so it shouldn't be too difficult to rework the pattern using a different yarn and tension.

After the magnum opus marathon this should seem a lightweight project by comparison.

PS: I'm very chuffed, by the way, to have been included in ttwcreative's blog about vests.

C'est fini!

2009-01-28T15:54:00.016Z

The magnum opus is finally finished. This throw weighs in at over a kilo and took more than sixty hours to make but it is so, so warm and snuggly that I'm totally in love with it.

Alas, though, it's not for me and tomorrow it goes to its new home.

The wool is organic, undyed wool from local farmer Kate Palmer at West Yeo Farm.

Back in 2001, Kate was so disgusted at the price that she was being offered for her fleeces that she decided to produce her own yarn to sell direct to the public.

To maintain the eco credentials, the yarn is spun at the Natural Fibre Company on the Devon/Cornwall border ensuring absolutely no air miles and a minimum of road miles in its production.

In addition to her yarns, Kate produces both knitted and woven textiles and was actually the first producer of organic, woven items in the UK.

A project for January

2009-01-22T08:12:00.021Z

I've spent the last couple of weeks tackling my online self-assessment tax return - a 'bang your head against a brick wall' kind of experience.

Having so far clocked up seven calls to various Inland Revenue Help Desks, I am now engaged in active correspondence with my local tax office (which rather negates the idea of being able to do it all online methinks). So far we've reached a bit of an impasse.

In spite of having a 12 digit user ID, a 10 digit UTR, a 9 digit national insurance number and a 12 digit password, all at my fingertips and ready to go, the system won't let me get any further without a 10 digit business registration number. The fact that I even have a business registration number is complete news to me - the Inland Revenue has certainly never told me about it. Actually, I've since found out I DO have a business registration number, which makes it rather worrying that I've just received a letter from them telling me I don't and they'll need to set one up. Am I confused or am I confused? I press on regardless and enter the business registration number that I'm not supposed to have and, hey, it works!

Well at least that's over for another year.

As the end of January deadline has been creeping ever closer, it's been giving me a few sleepless nights. Thank goodness for knitting, at least I can worry and knit at the same time. My January project is a bit of a 'magnum opus', a tasselled, cabled throw/wrap in creamy, locally produced, organic wool.

Sadly it's not for me. It also needs to be finished fairly pronto. So far it's taken 23 hours of solid knitting and it's not even half finished. It's good to work on in cold weather though - as it gets longer it keeps the legs nice and warm.

Fingerless mitts for frosty mornings

2008-12-12T12:38:00.012Z

With all the heavy frosts we've been having recently these garter stitch mitts really have been most welcome.

They're designed by Ysolda Teague and the pattern is free on Ravelry.

Very simple and quick to do, they are knit flat with some short row shaping and a bit of grafting together to finish. I'm on my third pair now and can make them in my sleep!

With this pair I've just added a simple crochet edging with a bit of contrasting wool I had left over from a previous project.

Dyeing with onion skins

2008-12-07T07:24:00.016Z

At the risk of getting a bit repetitive here - I've done some more dyeing. Well, the onion skin collection bag in the cupboard was full to overflowing, so something had to be done. And yes, I know I've been complaining about having too much yellow in the yarn stash, but I guess that's the whole thing about natural dyeing - you work with what's available, when it's available.

I washed the skins first (local, organic onions - covered in good Devon soil) and gently simmered them for about an hour before leaving them to cool - then forgot all about them! Being in the outside workshop they were out of sight and rather out of mind.

When I did finally remember them several days later, I gave them another quick boil as strange things were beginning to happen on the surface of the 'stew' and, although mould might add some interesting new dimension to the dyebath, it wasn't an experiment I wanted to engage in at the time.

Finally I got round to using the dyebath. And this is where I have a confession to make. My natural dyekit that I bought when I first started dyeing had a range of mordants in it, including tin and chrome. Having clued up a bit since then, I now know that some consider these not so environmentally friendly as other mordants and generally more hazardous to work with. But they are sitting there in the workshop and, given that I have to dispose of them some way, I thought perhaps the best option would be to use them up a little at a time and resolve not to buy any more. So the Bluefaced Leicester wool I used here was mordanted with (from top to bottom) tin (with cream of tartar), chrome and iron.

The tin-mordanted wool has turned out a very bright yellow and, although a lovely colour, will almost certainly get overdyed at some point.

The chrome-mordanted wool was a total disappointment. Not only was it streaky but the wool felt hard to touch. Obviously I got something wrong here, although I don't think it would have been using too much chrome as I was erring on the side of caution. The colour's OK but I can't help feeling that I can get that sort of yellow with a hundred and one other dyestuffs and a pinch of iron.

The iron-mordanted wool actually turned out a lovely deep, khaki green (the picture doesn't do it justice) which I was happy with.

As for the tin and chrome mordant water, I ended up diluting it considerably and emptying it on a piece of ground at the bottom of the garden where it's all gravelled over.

Dyeing for green

2008-12-01T07:31:00.030Z

Well, frustratingly, I haven't managed to try out my new spinning wheel yet and probably won't get an opportunity to do so now until next week.

I have done a bit more dyeing, though.

I've got rather a lot of yellow yarns in the stash at the moment and decided to have a go at overdyeing some of them with logwood in the hope of getting greenish colours.

The first dyebath was made up with just 10g of logwood. Into this went 100g of wool which had been dyed in October with some apple mint from the garden and had turned out a very much paler yellow than the one I got back in August from the same plant.

I guess I left the yarn in the dyebath too long because it turned out a dark bluey purple. I must admit I was rather surprised to get such a marked colour change with only 10g of logwood. So, no green there then. That yarn can go and join the ever increasing pile of dark purple yarns I've got - it's a good job I like purple.

The second dyebath consisted of 44g fustic chips with 6g of fresh logwood chips, the 10g used logwood chips from the first dyebath and, just for good measure, an extra 6g of turmeric to increase the depth of yellow. (Now I keep detailed notes, of course, I have all this information at my fingertips.)

The first yarn in the dyebath was an undyed yarn which had been mordanted with copper and vinegar. This turned out a blue with only just a hint of green - nice colour, though.

The second yarn in the dyebath was a yarn which had been mordanted with copper and vinegar then dyed with turmeric. The original colour was quite a deep mustard yellow. At last, this one turned out green - an olive green. Just what I want for the next knitting project.

Spinning wheel

2008-11-24T07:26:00.003Z

A very important date is coming up soon, about the middle of the fourth week of December to be precise - my birthday. Not to be confused with anything else that might just be happening about the same time, of course.

So an early birthday present arrived last week- a spinning wheel - a present from MDH and me. (Thank you muchly MDH and me!)

It's an Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel and, no, I haven't a clue how to use it, but I've never let details like that stop me before.

I've spent the last few days waxing and polishing it and painting the wheel. I could have done something really artistic with it (see Jo's dotty design at freestyle fibre) but in the end I'm just too darned impatient to get spinning.

The new arrival has caused much turmoil in our household over the weekend. It can't go just anywhere, it has to live in the right spot. The ideal spot meant moving a desk to a new location, which meant moving the cupboard that was already there somewhere else, which, in turn, meant removing some shelving, which subsequently necessitated the total reorganisation of the contents of three large book shelves and then the entire rooms they reside in...

So, it's Monday morning, I have a new spinning wheel and a totally reorganised house.

Modular knitting

2008-11-14T10:16:00.021Z

Having had great fun learning all about natural dyeing over the summer, the yarn stash has now grown to immense proportions and requires immediate action. So, I've decided to try my hand at modular knitting as a good way of working with all those lovely coloured wools.

There's 'domino' or 'patchwork' knitting of course, where you knit individual modules which are joined together as you work. Great for working with lots of different colours but involves cutting yarn and possibly (I may be wrong here) rather slow going.

Or there's Iris Schreier's approach where modules are created using short row shaping. The pattern for this scarf comes from her book Modular Knits: New Techniques for Today's Knitters.

The big difference with the short row technique is that it creates modules in one continuous piece of knitting. If I had worked the scarf above using the domino/patchwork approach I would have created individual triangles, casting off and cutting the yarn after each one. Each new triangle would be created by picking up stitches from existing shapes.

Obviously there are limitations to Schreier's approach. For a start, you're limited to two colours (although many of the projects in the book use multi-coloured yarns which are absolutely perfect here) and you have less flexibility in the positioning of modules.

However, I found the scarf very easy and satisfying to knit and will definitely be trying out some more of her designs.

Getting organised!

2008-11-06T12:12:00.009Z

My first forays into natural dyeing earlier this year were embarked upon with such enthusiasm that I completely overlooked the obvious need to take any notes.

Now, of course, I look at the yarn stash and wonder how on earth I achieved all the various colours. Did I get that particular shade of red using madder or brazilwood? And what about that funky orange? Did I get that green using iron as a mordant or a modifier? And so on and so on...

So my New Year's resolution (that'll be Samhain, the Celtic New Year, of course) is to KEEP DETAILED NOTES.

In anticipation of all this organised note taking, I popped into W H Smith's in Exeter last week to buy a ring binder, paper and some labels fully expecting to find a 'recycled' section in their stationery department. Was there one? Not at all! Deciding against dayglo pink plastic, I came home, searched the internet and finally found just what I wanted at eco-craft.

No excuses now not to be organised!

Diamond lace scarf

2008-10-03T05:54:00.001+01:00

After last week's belated burst of summer sunshine, the weather has turned distinctly cooler over the last few days - a chill wind has been scattering leaves and twigs around the garden and autumn is really started to take hold now.

Rather timely, then, to have finished my latest knitting project - a diamond lace scarf.

The stitch pattern is from my 1983 edition of The Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches and is called Fern Diamonds. It's a 10 + 1 stitch repeat over 16 rows and slightly more complex than I usually undertake but I really liked the look of the pattern and thought it about time I tackled something a little more lacy.

The yarn is 4 ply Bluefaced Leicester wool which I dyed myself using madder root. I dyed several skeins of wool in the dyebath getting a good range of pinks and reds, but this particular skein was modified with a little iron, turning it a deep, plummy shade.

With only 100g of this colour, I cast on 51 stitches and just kept knitting until I ran out of wool.

It's one of those stitch patterns that seems extremely complicated to begin with but, by the time you've done a few repeats, you can do it in your sleep!

Success and disappointment

2008-09-18T07:30:00.034+01:00

The Rudbeckia dyepot is still in progress but, I fear, is not working out too well.

I put a skein of wool, mordanted with alum and cream of tartar into the dyebath, heated very gently for a couple of hours then turned off the heat and left it overnight. The colour was most disappointing - that sort of sad yellow that many garden plants produce when used for dyeing.

I boiled up the flowerheads separately and, as this dyebath had a deeper colour, I decided to combine the two dyebaths together in the hope of improving the colour. Still murky yellow!

I'm leaving it for a while longer but don't hold out much hope for things improving. I'm envious of the beautiful fresh greens that evergreen knits got when she dyed with Rudbeckia. I suspect that maybe I should have 'cooked' the plant material a lot longer (see comment to previous post). Still, you live and learn - another one to chalk up to experience!

My onion skin dyepot turned out somewhat better. I've been diligently saving onion skins for weeks now. My book suggests 50g of dried brown outer onion skins for 100g of wool and when I weighed them them I actually had more like 75g. This might not sound much but it was a big bag full of onion skins.

Again the wool was mordanted with alum and cream of tartar but this time the resulting colour has turned out a rich, sunny yellow.

Black-eyed Susan

2008-09-15T11:58:00.031+01:00

Ever since I chanced upon an example of dyeing with Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) in ever green knits' blog I've been eyeing up the plants in our garden.

But when the head gardening honcho says things like, "The Rudbeckia are really putting on a great show this year, aren't they?" you don't go in there hacking them back without some prior negotiation.

Fortunately, minor cutbacks were agreed - helped, no doubt, by a little bribery in the form of a promise of a waistcoat for Christmas (comprising yarns dyed with garden plants, of course), although crucially, it must be noted, I didn't actually say which Christmas...

So, today stems were carefully cut, flowering heads nipped off and put in a bucket to one side (they give a different colour to the leaves and stems, evidently) and the remainder put to bubble away nicely in a pan of water for a couple of hours before being left to steep overnight. Tomorrow, as they say, we dye!

As for the pruned rudbeckia clump, MDH has yet to notice its slight diminution in size.

The yarn stash

2008-09-05T08:30:00.010+01:00

My stash of naturally hand-dyed yarns has been growing steadily over the summer, but what to do with them all? I've about 750g of DK wool in total but only small amounts of any one colour. Do I make a couple of larger multi-coloured items or a number of smaller ones? Do I knit, crochet or weave? Something I'll have to mull over...

I took the photo yesterday dodging in and out of the garden between downpours - it seems our wet summer appears to be turning into an equally wet autumn. However, I'm trying hard not to fall into the trap of calling the weather 'awful' or 'terrible' - just 'wet'. I know farmers are having a hard time of it, and gardeners too, but, I keep reminding myself that it's not a Hurricane Gustav or floods in Bangladesh and it's rain that keeps this lovely landscape green and lush (if just a little boggy).

We've certainly had wetter Augusts in the past - 166.3 mm fell in the UK in August 1917 - although rainfall in the South West and South Wales got alarmingly close to that this year at 156.9 mm. (The average for the UK as a whole was 139.8 mm showing that we had it wetter than most.)

On the plus side reservoirs are 98% full (with a couple on Dartmoor actually 100% full) which means they are now in a position to make hydro-electric power and that, of course, is green energy.

They keep telling us that in the future summers are going to get drier - something that hardly seems possible at the moment!

Tags: yarn,natural dyeing,august rainfall

The Baby Surprise Jacket, natural dyeing and why pH matters

2008-08-28T07:00:00.007+01:00

I've just finished knitting something called the Baby Surprise Jacket - one of Elizabeth Zimmerman's little gems. The surprise lies in the fact that it's knitted all in one piece, looks like nothing on earth while you're making it and, then, with a few quick origami-like folds, you end up with - surprise, surprise - a snazzy little jacket!

But that wasn't the only surprise for me. One of the four hand-dyed yarns I used for the jacket changed colour when I washed it - not a huge difference, but a distinct colour shift from pinky mauve to pale purple.

I think I know what's going on, though.

Given the amount of rain we've been having this summer, I decided to use rain water for my dyeing experiments as the water butts are overflowing. We're on a water metre here, so it seemed a good idea to me. Rain water, however, has a different pH to tap water and, although I don't have any pH testing strips to confirm this, I wouldn't mind betting the rain water has a lower pH (ie higher acidity) than the tap water. Dyeing in an acid environment will make colours redder and dyeing in an alkali environment makes them bluer, hence the colour shift when I washed the jacket in tap water.

It only seems to have affected the mauve yarn, however, the other colours have remained true, which is slightly perplexing and something I don't have the answer for right at the moment.

I think I'll keep using rain water for washing, mordanting and dyeing (at least, while we have it in such excess) but, from now on, yarns will be given their final rinse in tap water.

Hopefully, this will prevent any further colour change surprises.

Tags: natural dyes,dyeing yarn,baby surprise jacket,elizabeth zimmerman,knitting

Stinging nettles for the dye pot

2008-08-24T08:10:00.001+01:00

Last week, in the torrential rain, I was out in the lanes gathering, of all things, stinging nettles.

MDH and I, like most people I guess, spend much time and effort eradicating this humble weed from our garden, so, when I read that stinging nettles produce a reasonable greenish grey dye, I had no option but to don the Marigolds and go out foraging in the hedgerows in search of some decent specimens.

Yet the more I read about Urtica dioica the more I'm changing my opinion of it.

You can eat it, of course. I, along with countless others inspired by Richard Mabey's Food for Free, have served up a bowl of homely nettle soup (a taste reminiscent of spinach, as I recall and equally nutritious). What I didn't know though, was that it has numerous medicinal properties and even produces a flax-like fibre that can be made into string, cloth and a high quality paper. In the veg garden (and this is the bit I particularly like) it is recommended as a companion plant and is great for enriching composts. Yet we rip it out! Perhaps we should actually be encouraging a few stinging nettles in the garden, after all.

Anway, back to dyeing.

I got my green - admittedly not a bright, clear green - that evidently is only really obtainable by overdyeing blue with yellow - but rather a delicate, light olive (see above left). I used alum and cream of tartar to mordant the wool and added a quarter teaspoon of iron to the dyebath as a modifier.

The yarn on the right is some wool I initially dyed with turmeric. This, I admit, was one of my less successful outcomes. The turmeric dyebath produced a bright, harsh and, let's be honest, rather garish yellow. So it also got a turn in the nettle/iron dyebath and, thankfully, has turned a slightly more respectable colour. (Well, MDH quite likes it. Perhaps I can sneak it into the waistcoat I've got planned for him.)

Tags: natural dyes,dyeing yarn,stinging nettle,Urtica dioica

A good yarn

2008-08-21T15:53:00.013+01:00

I'm always on the lookout for yarn which has good eco credentials. and, while there's a growing number of yarns which claim to be 'eco', 'organic', 'ethical' or fairtrade', I've finally found one which is actually LOCAL.

This yarn is a natural wool prepared and spun at Coldharbour Mill, Uffculme, Devon - a beautiful working wool museum which has been spinning wool and worsted for more than 200 years.

It's a fabulous spot - the pictures on the website don't do the mill justice and the machinery is just wonderful. (Believe me, I'm not the sort of person who normally gets excited about industrial machinery.) At the heart of the mill is a giant water wheel which is still used to generate electricity to spin the yarn - very eco!

The yarn is spun from British fleeces, comes in a range of colours (as well as natural) and, at £4.20 for 100g is, I think, quite reasonably priced. Money from the sale of the wool helps towards the upkeep of the mill.

I've bought some of the undyed Aran weight yarn and some DK as I want to dye them myself. The mill shop also stocks alpaca and Cornish, organic wool.

Worth a visit if you're in the area, but, if not, the yarn is available online.

Experimenting with logwood

2008-08-18T07:00:00.005+01:00

These skeins of DK wool were all dyed with logwood chips from my Fibrecrafts kit.

I divided the wool into three batches of 100g each. Two batches were mordanted with iron (3% of dry weight of fibre) and one batch was mordanted with alum (8%) and cream of tartar (7%).

The top two skeins above were both mordanted with the iron. The first batch in the dyebath came out a very deep inky blue - almost black (and darker than it actually looks in the photo). The second batch, not surprisingly, came out a lighter colour, but still blue. The last batch (mordanted with alum and cream of tartar) came out a light mauve colour.

According to Jackie Crook in her book Natural Dyeing, darker colours obtained from logwood with an alum mordant tend to fade but using iron as a mordant or a modifier helps to counteract this, hence my reason for using an iron mordant for two of the batches.

I've been devoting so much time to dyeing recently that I haven't been doing so much knitting but I did just manage a quick pair of fingerless, garter stitch mittens this week - using some of the wool I dyed with alkanet. This is a simple pattern by Ysolda Teague which uses short row shaping and is available free on Ravelry.

My first ever piece of knitting using my own hand-dyed yarn!

Tags: natural dyes,dyeing yarn,logwood

Dyeing with mint and other things

2008-08-12T07:00:00.020+01:00

Dyeing is proving to be quite addictive. I'm working my way gradually through the dye kit and have now started looking at the plants in the garden in a whole new light - much too MDH's dismay. I think he has visions of all his prized plants disappearing into a simmering dye pot!

One of our garden mints, the apple or woolly mint, had got rather overgrown, so I cut it back hard a few days ago. I remembered seeing something on the web about dyeing with mint so I thought I'd have a go. I chopped up all the cuttings - flowering heads, leaves and stems - simmered it for an hour or so in a large stainless steel pan and then left the brew to steep overnight.

It certainly smelled better than some of the other things I've been trying out recently - a bit like a Moroccan tea shop.

Next day I simmered the wet, mordanted wool in the mint dyebath for an hour or so and left it to cool. The result is a beautiful light yellow ochre - the colour of Dijon mustard.

Shown above are the results of this and a few other recent dyeing experiments. All the wool (British Bluefaced Leicester DK) has been mordanted with alum (8%) and cream of tartar (7%) prior to dyeing. I took Helen's advice (see comments to this post) and reduced the alum from 10% to 8% (as a percentage of dry weight of fibre) because of the addition of the cream of tartar.

The results are as follows

a) Apple mint from the garden.

b) Alkanet from the dye kit. This has turned out a sort of greige with slight pinky mauve tones.

c) Tea from the store cupboard - a yummy butterscotch colour.

d) This is some of c that has been modified with iron. I was pleasantly surprised at the degree of colour change - it's produced quite a dark brown.

It strikes me that this is quite an autumnal palette of colours but, with the weather we've been having in the UK lately, I guess that's not all together inappropriate.

Tags: natural dyes,dyeing yarn,marigold,alkanet,tea

Marigold confusion

2008-08-06T22:15:00.004+01:00

I'm a complete newbie to dyeing so I'm grateful for Helen for kindly giving me a few pointers about natural dyeing (see comments to previous post).

She suggests that my dried marigold flowers might have been a bit stale which is why I didn't get a brighter yellow colour.

Another possibility for the weak colour is that I was using the wrong marigold. When I went back to my book (Natural Dyeing by Jackie Crook) I realised that the book was referring to tagetes or French marigold whereas I was using calendula or pot marigold.

Both are members of the daisy family and both give a yellow dye but perhaps French marigold gives a stronger colour than pot marigold as this is the one that most dyers seem to use.

I don't have any tagetes in the garden, so I can't post a photo, but if you want to see what it looks like, click here.

Next time I shall try fresh calendula flowers from the garden.

Tags: natural dyeing,calendula,marigold

Do or dye?

2008-08-03T20:05:00.031+01:00

I finally got around to trying out my natural dye kit this weekend. The kit from Fibrecrafts contains a range of mordants and a selection of natural dyestuffs. My particular kit comes with alkanet, dried marigolds, turmeric, elderberries and logwood and some wool to practice on.

I decided to start with the marigolds. I prepared my dyebath (to which I added some fresh flowers from the garden) and, while that was steeping, I mordanted half the wool in alum and half in chrome. (Chrome, evidently, is quite toxic, so I'll use up what's in the kit, but I'm not sure I'll be buying any more.) I then simmered the mordanted wool in the dyebath for an hour and left it to cool overnight.

The result is quite subtle - but, that's all right, I like subtle. The wool mordanted with alum is a gentle honey colour (on the left, above); the chrome wool more greenish. I must admit I was hoping for more of a contrast between the two.

The kit doesn't include any assistants. Most of the books I've read suggest that cream of tartar should be used with alum and I wonder if this might have made any difference. The instructions with the kit say that assistants aren't necessary but I'm not so sure.

Still it's great fun, although a bit messy. I'm glad I've got a workshop to work in!

Tags: dyeing,natural dyes,wool,yarn

A tale of two Rib Warmers

2008-07-31T07:53:00.012+01:00

Anyone who's familiar with Elizabeth Zimmerman's work will probably know the Rib Warmer. It's knitted in garter stitch in two pieces: a left front and back and a right front and back.

You make two identical pieces (being garter stitch they don't have to be mirror images of each other), starting with the front neck working down the front, under the arm and up the back. Shaping is achieved by working short rows.

It's easy to do and fun to knit.

So much fun, in fact, that I've had two goes at it. The first attempt, though, was a bit of a disaster. My fault - I chose to use ridiculously large needles for the size of yarn in order to achieve a certain tension and the whole thing ended up just too stretchy and baggy for words. A spell in the washing machine shrunk it and matted it (yes, 'matted' not 'felted') but somehow the bagginess still remains.

Worse still, for days afterwards, everthing came out of the washing machine covered in brown, hairy matter. Actually for 'everything' substitute 'MDH's work clothes'. He was not amused.

This particular shade of brown isn't exactly what you would call exciting either. Never mind, when the weather gets colder it'll be the ideal thing for cleaning out the chickens in - nobody'll notice if it gets covered in chicken poo.

Number two Rib Warmer is much better. I'm still finishing up some grey Shetland wool from my stash (my next piece might just have to be eyeball-searingly bright to compensate for all this neutrality of late), but using the right needles seems to have done the trick. I crocheted the two pieces together down the back and decided to have the seam on the outside.

Tags: knitting,elizabeth zimmerman,rib warmer

Show time!

2008-07-27T09:09:00.014+01:00

The Mid Devon Agricultural Show that is. Unlike last year which had to be cancelled because of bad weather, this year turned out to be a gloriously hot, sunny day.

MDH and I decided to go along this year. I'm in two minds about these events. It costs £11 to get in and an awful lot of space is dedicated to local businesses (estate agents, insurance companies, car salesmen etc) which I could walk down the local high street and see for free.

Still, we went to see the animals, to find out more about regional food and produce and, of course, I'm interested in local crafts.

I have to say, though, the general craft tent was distinctly disappointing - most of what was on offer was very second-rate to my mind. More interesting was the rural crafts section - wood turning, basket making and I was glad to see that the Devon Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers had a stall. There was better work on display here.

The ladies at the stall were all very jolly - three of them had wheels and were demonstrating spinning. I'm not sure about the mob caps and period costume, however. I'm not a spinner but I do know that, amongst, certain sections of the spinning community there is real concern that spinning and weaving is not attracting enough of the younger generation (see blog post from Devon Fine Fibres). Perhaps they might have a bit more success here if they ditched the quaint, 'olde worlde' image in favour of something a little more contemporary.

There probably are younger people out there who are spinning, weaving and dyeing (after all knitting and crochet in enjoying a huge resurgence of interest amongst all age groups), but I have a suspicion that they are more likely to join an online community such as Ravelry than a local guild because, rightly or wrongly, they perceive the guilds as having a rather staid image.

Tags: Devon Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers

Making a shrug jacket

2008-07-18T11:36:00.006+01:00

Here are the instructions for the shrug jacket I posted about a while back. You can use any yarn you want and any needle size as these instructions are more generic than specific. I used a shetland wool which knits up as DK (worsted weight) as that was what I had lying around at the time. I used slightly less than 5 x 50 g balls.

I recommend using a circular needle as it means you won't have any sewing up to do. You'll also want 3 different sizes of crochet hook, depending upon your chosen needle size - a size smaller, the same size and a size larger. I used a 6 mm circular needle with a 5 mm, 6 mm and 7 mm crochet hooks.

Firstly, make a swatch with your chosen yarn and needles. Make a note of the number of stitches per 10 cm. Now measure around your arm at the widest part. If you plan to wear your shrug jacket over something, then wear whatever it is when taking the measurements. Alternatively measure the arm of a jumper you like the fit of at the widest part. Multiply the number of stitches per 10 cm by your arm measurement and divide the total by 10. This is the number of stitches you need to cast on. For example, if your swatch gives 17.5 stitches over 10 cm and you want the arm to be 34 cm around, then 17.5 x 34 = 595. Divided by 10 gives 59.5. Cast on 60 stitches.

Another measurement you might want is from underarm to underarm measured across the back. (This is not so important as I simply tried the garment on as I was making it to get the fit.)

Cast on your required number of stitches and, working in the round, knit the sleeve for as long as you want to make it.

Switch to working back and forth in stocking stitch, working across the back for the required length.

Switch back to working in the round for the other sleeve and knit for required length. Cast off.

The border is worked in the round using double (US single) crochet. In the second and subsequent rows work into the back loop of each stitch only.

With your smallest crochet hook and the wrong side facing you, pick up and work a double crochet in each stitch which forms a row end.

Here you have to decide on the likely number of rounds you're going to want for your edging. I wanted mine big enough to turn back and make a shawl collar and turn the shrug into more of a jacket. To achieve this I estimated I needed about 15 rounds of double crochet. Divide the estimated number of rounds by 3. (It helps to start with a number easily divisible by 3, so round up (or down) to achieve this.)

Work the first third of your rounds with the smallest crochet hook, the second third with the next size up and the last third with the largest hook. Using increasingly larger sized crochet hooks results in the flaring needed for the shawl collar without having to increase the number of stitches.

When done weave in ends and that's it - no sewing up required!

If I made this shrug jacket again I would make the sleeves slightly shorter and add a crochet edging to match the border.

Tags: shrug jacket,knitting,crochet,free pattern

100 Mile Diet - buying local

2008-07-15T08:08:00.005+01:00

I've joined a group on Ravelry called the '100 mile fiber diet' based on the book '100 Mile Diet: Local Eating for Global Change'. It's for those wishing to apply the principles of the diet to yarn/fibre acquisition.

As MDH and I already buy as much food as we realistically can from local producers, I don't see why I shouldn't try to do the same with yarn. A quick trawl of the internet suggests that this might not be as difficult as first thought, although variety might be a little limited. After all, you wouldn't expect to find silk farms or bamboo plantations in the west of England. But we do have sheep - lots of sheep! And then there is that alpaca farm just down the road.

Anyway, here's a recent yarn acquisition that seems to fit the bill. Ten 50g balls of wool from Castlemilk Moorit sheep roaming the pastures of Creacombe Moor near Rackenford - a mere 10 miles or so from where I live. The Castlemilk Moorit, a cross between the Manx Loghtan, moorit Shetland and wild Mouflon, is evidently one of the UK's rarest breeds, the entire current population coming from only ten animals that were saved from slaughter back in the early 70s.

Like a lot of wool from local producers, however, the fleece for this yarn was sent out of the region to be processed. It was spun at the Natural Fibre Company, when it was based at Lampeter in Wales, which by my reckoning is about 90 miles away as the crow flies. By road of course it would be many more miles than that - so perhaps the 100 mile fibre diet is not going to be quite as easy as it first seemed!

Tags: 100 Mile Diet,100 Mile Fibre Diet,yarn,wool

Less surfing, more knitting!

2008-07-13T06:50:00.014+01:00

I chose my blog name for a good reason - green issues are important to me.

MDH and I try to do our bit to reduce our carbon footprint - low energy light bulbs, buy much of our food from local producers, switched to a greener car and are now eagerly awaiting the arrival of our solar panels etc.. but it was with some dismay I learned from MDH's MacWorld magazine that ball-park estimates suggest that one billion computers worldwide use an estimated 2.4 billion kilowatt-hours of energy each and every day. This means the IT industry accounts for 2% of the world's CO2 emissions making it as bad as air travel.

Now, before I became a downshifter, I used to work in the IT industry in London and I love my computer. Living a rural existence and working from home as I do, it is an essential part of my life, a link to the 'Big World Out There' that I can dip in and out of as I wish and, yes, my computer is left on all day, although I have (to my shame, only recently) started shutting it down at night.

Well, I maybe that's got to change. Perhaps in future I should do a bit less surfing and much more knitting!

First project completed

2008-07-03T10:28:00.006+01:00

Well, the knitting muscles have been flexed and my first knitting project in a while has been completed - and I'm really rather pleased with the result.

I know the world and its wife have been knitting shrugs for the last god knows how many years but this is a first for me.

I thought the shrug idea really ingenious - knitting two arms together in one piece and then adding an edging to form a collar and body.

Actually the edging here is crochet as I wanted a piece which involved no shaping and no sewing up at the end (I hate sewing) and, as I didn't have the right size circular knitting needles to complete it, a crochet hook it had to be.

The wool came from my stash and was purchased at Crediton Farmers' market a few years back. It's produced by Dodie Huxter who farms at Welland Down, just down the road from me and comes from her Shetland sheep. It was spun at the Natural Fibre Company when it was in Lampeter, Wales (it relocated to the Devon / Cornwall border a couple of years ago).

So, a project with no air miles involved - in fact, very few miles of any sort at all! For details about how I made this, click here.

Tags: knitting,crochet,shrug,jacket,cardigan