Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

I just started the sixth towel in the Green Fiesta Towel warp. You can just see the orange separator yarn and plain weave hems (end of fifth towel and beginning of sixth towel) under the front beam. Mitchell asked why there was so much wrapped around (the cloth beam), and what I was going to do with it. I tried to tell him that was the towels... I also got a wild notion and did some spinning this weekend. It is all I have spun in September. I just had one bump of Southern Cross Fibre club, "Marine Predator" on Blue Faced Leicester. I've spun the whole four ounces into singles and plan to N-ply. That won't happen until next weekend, at least... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I'm trucking along on my green towels. Here is a picture of the first one, taken from under the front beam. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished threading the Green Fiesta Towels, and I'm tied onto the back beam (apron rod of the back beam). The little white leaders are an idea I found in Tom Knisely's video, "The Loom Owner's Companion." The leaders reduce loom waste, firstly by reducing the thread that goes around the apron rod (about two+ inches on my loom). Secondly, the leaders allow the end of warp to get closer to the heddles than the apron rod can go, in this case, another two+ inches. The apron rod is extended all the way in the photo above, and the warp knots are about even with the eighth shaft. Since I only used four shafts in this threading, I could have made my leaders a bit longer, and reduced waste a bit more, though I'm not sure it's a good idea to have the knots right up at the heddles... I cut my leaders 15" long, which is what Mr. Knisely advised. At first, I tried to scrimp by cutting shorter, but they were too short to actually work the loops (shown below...

I wound my warp for the Ocean Towel Swap. You may be able to discern in the photo that there are two (at least two) colors in each section. That's because the loop of warp has two directions (of course). Even "aligned" in color repeat, the warp isn't wound clockwise or counterclockwise all the time... it goes from one end peg and then back the other direction. (This isn't a surprise... I saw this coming... Really!) So, I plan to sley alternating colors into groups, nine threads at a time. The " wave " draft is 18 threads per repeat, so this will give the waves one color on the leading edge and another color on the trailing edge. I say "at least two" colors in each section because the color repeat did vary a bit. It got longer as I went. That's better than shorter, I suppose... I think the yarn must have been wound in a "stacking" fashion when it was dyed, with the loop a bit longer as it stacked. Anyway, I adjusted it a bit ...

I received the warp yarn for my Ocean Towel Swap (see weaving draft in previous post). It is Webs 8/2 unmercerized cotton in the colorway "Lake Combo." I lined up a color repeat and measured the length. I will make the warp a multiple of the 58" repeat. At four repeats, I should be able to squeak out seven towels. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished up my first project on my new Mighty Wolf loom, a repeat of my lessons project. After all, I had enough yarn... waste not, want not! My next project is a towel swap arranged through a group on Ravelry... We are all doing "ocean" themed towels. I ordered some blue variegated cotton yarn for the warp, and I plan to do an undulating twill that will look like waves, using white weft. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Yesterday, we made our annual visit to the Latzer Homestead. ( Here is last year's visit.) That means our anniversary is coming up in a few days... nine years. Mitchell enjoyed the animals and the corn box, as he always seems to do. I also had a chance to talk to some folks from the Artisan Guild of Southern Illinois who were spinning and weaving. Go figure! We were there for the tractor parade. Some of the miniatures were fun! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I've been tooling away on various projects, including finishing a pair of socks. The simple socks are plain stockinette using a "Harry Potter" colorway from Opal. These are toe up with the "gusset heel" from "Socks From The Toe Up" by Wendy Johnson. I've also started another sweater using some handspun I made during TdF, Hello Yarn "Blossom" on Finn. I have one pound, so this one will probably get short sleeves. It is over the same pattern as my last sweater. I'm also making progress on my first project on the Mighty Wolf, more Fiesta Towels like I made in lessons. Here is a shot from underneath the front beam, showing cloth rolled onto the cloth beam. The orange stripe is the break where I will cut apart two towels. And here is a shot from above the front beam, with the temple in place. In case you can't tell, the black area in front is a utility tray (the "Wolf Trap.") Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

A few of months back, I was asked to put together an article on spinning bamboo. It appears it will not be used for its originally intended purpose, so I’m posting it here… even though it may look a little out of sequence with some of my other posts. What is bamboo? My first thought upon undertaking an article about spinning Merino-Bamboo blends was, “What is this stuff?” Of course, I know what bamboo is. It’s a plant that pandas eat, of course, just like eucalyptus is a plant that koalas eat. I know these things. However, my experience with bamboo products would imply that harvested bamboo is not something one would wear, but somewhat stiff and perhaps suitable for making furniture or picture frames… more like wood, in fact. The picture in my mind does not have a soft fluffy payload provided by a pod on the end of the plant, the way cotton does. So, how do they make bamboo into fiber? A quick Internet search turned up a vast amount of material. (1) (2) (3) Basically, bamboo is...

I finished warping the loom last night and started weaving this morning. When I got some light in the room, I decided to take a couple shots of the assembled and warped loom, and there was a little sprite that decided there ought to be a model in the shots. Sometimes I can't get him to sit still for the camera... Happy Knitting, Lisa kay

I finished the Wicked Troll handspun sweater, adding long sleeves with eight pairs of decreases along the whole length, ending with two inches of k1p1 rib and tubular bind off. (I'm a real convert to tubular cast on a bind off. It just looks so tidy!) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay