Nouveauwest

The Raleigh Roadster

2010-07-11T17:52:00.000-07:00

We've been doing a good deal of biking lately. Of course, one must be decently dressed & accessorized. The bike is a 2009 Raleigh Superbe Roadster that Nick has been upgrading. The hammered aluminum fenders, "rat-catcher" rack, hub light and customized handle-bar bag are all add-ons. Not visible in this shot is the Brooks saddle with architectually significant springs and the polished aluminum chain guard.

Blacksheep Gathering 2009

2009-07-03T13:45:00.001-07:00

I had a great time at BSG this year; this was my 2nd year attending and 2nd time camping at the fairgrounds.

All three of my classes were excellent. I had heard such good things about Judith MacKenzie-McCuin’s Popular Weel Mechanics workshop that I was wondering if it could possibly live up to expectations. It did. One of the most useful things she did was line up several of the spinning wheels in attendance and use them to demonstrate the evolution of wheels. I also now understand what is going on with “slow” vs. “fast” pulleys (whorls) and how it changes what is happening when you spin. One thing she did that was so simple but really informative was to demonstrate step-by-step what happened the the yarn produced when she loosened the tension gradually on each sized pulley going from the largest pulley to the smallest. Since taking the class, I’ve been exploring all the different possible combinations on my wheel (Schacht Ladybug) to get the yarn I want. I am much more confident about how my wheel works and what I can do to adjust it.

The thing that impressed me most about Lace Knitting: Beginnings and Endings taught by Cynthia Heeren was how organized the instructor was. That doesn’t sound like a big deal but I walked away with more usable information and hands-on knowledge than I ever have from a 3-hour knitting class because of the way she prepared. Her handouts were well done, and came in a folder, in the right order, and 3-hole-punched to put into a binder. She had the class materials put together in ziplock bags, even the little balls of lace knitting yarn were lined up in the bag in the order that you would be using them. This made it possible for her to cover a lot of information and have time for practicing the techniques. I was particularly interested in how to finish (weave in ends, block, etc.) lace projects and she gave me exactly the information I needed.

On Sunday I took Natural Dyes Are Not Dull! taught by Laura Cunningham. This class is best described by showing the sample yarns we dyed in class. From left to right are: indigo, osage orange overdyed with indigo, osage orange, osage orange overdyed with cochineal, cochineal, indigo overdyed with cochineal, lacmadder, and quebracho green. I had read a lot about natural dying before; but now, after this class, I don’t have any doubts that I could do it myself. I would highly recommend it to someone who wants to get started doing natural dying.

I enjoyed getting to hang out with everyone at the BSG, playing Blacksheep Bingo, and shopping. My big purchase was a woolee winder for the my Ladybug. Nathan was extremely helpful about getting the woolee winder working for me.

I am looking forward to Blacksheep 2010.

Still Spinning

2008-11-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

I had the second wheel-spinning class today. When I tried to practice spinning at home last week, things went from bad to worse. The main problem was that the yarn would not take up onto the bobbin. I would end up with an over-spun, coiled mess. I concentrated on getting an even up-take in class today and although, it is far from perfect; it is going much better. We continued to work on long draw and learned to spin combed top "over the fold". I was encouraged enough that I bought the wheel I have been renting from Tactile. I now own a Schacht Ladybug. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to me!

Tired, tired, tired

2008-11-03T20:46:00.001-08:00

I got nothing tonight. Have a cute 10-year-old dressed like Indiana Jones.

First time on a wheel.

2008-11-02T16:35:00.000-08:00

My first spinning class was equal parts fascinating and frustrating. I wish I had a day to do nothing but practice. I am a total disaster at this but I'm hoping I'll get the hang of it if I can carve out some time to work on it. This week is going to be tough but I do have some holidays coming up soon.

As the picture shows, my rental wheel is a Schacht Ladybug. It seems like a good wheel. We are leaning to do long draw and at the moment it appears that control of the twist is happening by magic. And if I get the twist going, then something happens when I try to let it wind up on the bobbin. I can get the treadling going, I can get one of my hands doing what it is supposed to be, but combining everything together, not so much.

Spinning with a wheel class

2008-11-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

I'm going to take Brooke's four week spinning class at Knit-1-1. I don't own a spinning wheel, so I'll be renting a one for the duration of the class. I think the rental wheels are Schacht and Louet, if I remember correctly. I don't anticipate buying a wheel right now, but "everyone" always says you should spin on a wheel before buying. Perhaps after the class is done, I'll know how to do that.

I just had to rip out 8 rows on the current WIP, the Baby Suprise Jacket. I should check the pattern more often. I needed to stop decreasing after 22 garter stitch ridges (44 rows), not 26.

A Little Spinning Success

2008-10-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

I went to the second of two drop-spindle spinning classes today at the Knit One One studio. Brooke of Tactile Fiber Arts was the teacher. I took her one hour class at the Color fiber festival and was inspired to sign up for this class. She is an excellent instructor and I think I'm getting the hang of spinning finally. I'd had a friend show me the basics over the summer; she explained things very well but I just couldn't put it all together. I bought a book. I watched YouTube videos. Still no luck. This time it seemed to click. It is beginning to be fun and relaxing instead another source of frustration. I bought some combed Blue-Faced Leicester top in a natural grey color to practice with. I'm optimistic enough to start imaging knitting a pair of fingerless gloves out of it in the not too distant future.

Knitting continues on the Baby Surprise Jacket for a friend's expected-any-time-now baby. Since I'm knitting a toddler size, I'm not feeling too under-the-gun to finish. I wish I liked the yarn better. I'm sure the wool-acrylic blend was the practical choice but it isn't all that fun to work with.