Part One: A Gal and her Goat...

I have a real 'thing' for spinning new fibres... I'm always trying to track down something I haven't tried before!  I mentioned to my pa-in-law once that I would love to try spinning some mountain goat, and he told me if he ever saw some stray clumps caught up in the bushes around his place up in central BC,  he'd collect them for me to try! And I got very excited.

However, he did me one better...

He tracked me down an ENTIRE mountain goat skin! He brought it to Vancouver with him last year on one of his visits. I was a little perplexed about how I should get the fibre out, and if it would even be usable because I am sure the pelt must have been preserved with chemicals. But I showed the skin to Judith Mackenzie at her workshop last year, and she showed me that if I used my fingers, I would be able to pull out clumps of LOVELY fibre from deep inside the coat! I happily took my mountain goat home, and put it in my closet until I had time to tackle such a challenge...

... Fast forward one year. This February long weekend, I decided I needed the closet space and I was going to 'recycle' that goat skin.  I knew once I started, I was going to need to finish it all at once, for it made a rather big mess and if I stopped, it might be months before I was brave enough to bring it out of the closest again...

So I set up an old shower curtain on the playroom floor and unrolled the pelt. Yup, it was even bigger than I remember. This thing must have been the size of a cow! (A little cow at least).

Fun fact - there was a little envelope left in the box with all the information about where and when the goat was originally hunted... It was kind of neat to learn a little about it's history!

I tried pulling a few tuffs of undercoat out with my fingers, but I knew that was just going to be WAY too much work. So I decided to see if I could work some magic with my mini wool combs... and they worked PERFECTLY! Within an hour of combing on the floor, I had recovered 3 ounces of fibre.

The next day, I decided to get serious.  I moved my loom off it's workbench and set up 'shop' in the middle of the playroom. I could sit in my spinning chair, wear an apron, and comb much more comfortably than I could on the floor. That first day I combed for about 5 hours (on and off) and I had only worked about a quarter of the pelt... but I had collected 12 ounces of fibre!

The process took longer than expected, but I tried to finish it up as quickly as I could because my apartment was getting FILTHY - there was goat hair everywhere! I could tell my lovely husband really wanted the space back (our place just ain't that big!). We went to the Marilyn Manson concert one evening and the dress I wore was black... big mistake. I was picking stray clumps of mountain goat hair off myself all night!

My husband was nice enough to capture some video of the process! If you would like to see exactly what I am doing, check out these clips we put on Youtube:

I finally collected everything I could from the pelt by Wednesday... my shoulders are pretty sore, and I have nice callouses on my fingers that are making knitting a little awkward! But I now have FORTY SEVEN sweet, sweet ounces of fibre ready to tackle in a big blue bag in my closet. 

Funnily enough, that bag is almost bigger than the original box I had the goat pelt in...

I'm not sure what I am going to do with the remaining leather and fibre, but I will keep it around for a bit until I come up with a good idea. Spinning wheel bag perhaps...?

My Next Step - I will have to finished picking out the remaining guard hairs from the fibre and sort it into 4 ounce allotments for spinning. Then I would like to learn how to spin semi-woolen.  I have some good quality cotton in my stash that I bought just for that purpose. I think I will make that my March Skill Study... so look forward to some more pics soon!

February Skill Stretch: Over The Fold

This month, I am going to try to spin 3 skeins of yarn from the fold.

When using a prepared top, this drafting method produces a slightly loftier yarn than my default worsted forward draw. If using a rolag or batt, the results will be even more woolen. I have also seen "over the fold" used to control colour blending.

This morning I rummaged through the 'yarn pantry' and pulled out my materials...

This merino/bamboo/silk blend from Sweetgeorgia will be my first experiment. This is a prepared top, where all the fibres are aligned in one direction.  When I spin this from the fold, it will bend the fibres in half before they are taken onto the wheel.  This SHOULD create a loftier yarn than using my worsted drafting method.  Also, the shiny fibres of the bamboo and silk should react differently to the light once the fibres are bent.  I will do a teeny sample of this fibre worsted first, then spin the remaining 4 ounces from the fold, and see what happens!

Next, I will experiment with some colour blending. I have this completely unknown fibre I bought with a vast amount of drop spindling supplies off craigslist. It feels a little rough to the skin, but maybe it will soften with a wash...? Regardless, I will do a small 2 ply worsted sample of this yarn, and then spin the remainder from the fold, and see how the colours blend together differently!

Finally, I will try something BRAND new for me - spinning from a BATT! I bought this batt from Fibres West last year because I thought the colours and sparkles were beautiful, but I wasn't sure how I was going to spin it! So I will try spinning a chunk of this from the fold, and see how I like the results!

Sara's Saltspring Hat

Today I am publishing a new free pattern: Sara's Saltsping Slouchy Hat.  Based off my original Saltspring hat design, I have used the same short rows and purl ridges to create a lighter, slouchier hat.

You can download the pattern here:

Or nab it from my Ravelry Store!

From the pattern notes:

"Every artist needs a muse, and I have been lucky enough to have acquired more than my fair share in the various facets of my life, including members of my family, mentors from the local spinning guild, and my good buddies at work. Sara is among the latter; she is a beautiful spirit who knows what she likes, and isn’t afraid to let you know. Her personal taste for design and fashion is what inspired me to create a variation of my “Saltspring” hat to fit into her unique style. This hat is softer, slouchier, and is intended to be a fashion accessory rather than a keep-your-ears-warm worsted weight toque. Thanks again Sara!"

This pattern requires knowledge of short rows: an excellent tutorial can be found here, courtesy of the Purl Bee: http://www.purlbee.com/short-row-tutorial

I hope you enjoy! Please send along any feedback, and I would love to see your work!

Cheers!
-Grace

January Skill Stretch: Big Ol' Singles!

This month, I decided I was going to complete some 'knitable' skeins of singles. Normally, I ply EVERYTHING. If I would like to keep a colour progression intact, I would chain-ply my single, turning it into a three ply yarn. But there are sooo many advanced spinning techniques I would like to try, and many of them involve being able to create a balanced (or as balanced as can be) single.  I thought this would be an excellent skill to stretch for January, at the beginning of my explorations!

My first attempt involved some lovely superwash BFL and nylon I purchased at Fibres West in 2010.  I bought this yarn from Smith and Ewe in the colourway "Sunflower." I just opened the bag, and spun the colours as presented.

Next, I decided to play with my 'gift' from Judith Mackenzie last year. This very special skein of yarn was given to me at the beginning of the comprehensive spinning course she presented to the GVWSG last year. She gave all her students one skein of her own hand dyed BFL/silk, and I have been saving it for a special occasion. I figured learning how to make something new would be something she would approved of. 

Finally, I decided to explore some of the colour skills I learned at Cheryl Huseby-Wiebe's Colour Control workshop last year.  I took a braid of Sweetgeorgia's Fibre Club October 2011 offerings (aka "Panda" fibre dyed in the colourway "Rockwater"), and split it into many narrow stripes. I marled two random stripes of this colourway together with a small amount of green Angelina fibre I purchased at Fibres West last year.

I gave all these singles a solid washing, then the '50 Shades of Grey" treatment to whack them into shape, and let them hang un-weighted to dry. I took them outside into the beautiful BC January sunshine and took a few photos:

Sunflower: (on Ravelry)

Judith's Gift: (on Ravelry)

Rockwater and Angelina: (on Ravelry)

Wonderful! Sure, there are a few little kinks, but once they are knit, I'm sure any biasing will barely be noticeable. I can't wait to swatch these skeins - I am already planning a linen stitch scarf with the Sunflower. I think Judith's Gift will become a small cowl for me, and who knows what will become of of the glittery Rockwater! I think it looks like mermaid hair... maybe something fun and lacey? 

I would also like to acknowledge Felicia Lo's blog post on the Sweetgeorgia website. She talks about pushing new spinning skills, spinning with other people, and dedicating the time to your craft - EXACTLY the values I am working on this year. Thanks to Felicia for her very kind words, and the nod towards my Ravelry stash. It's so exciting to see other spinners in my area feeling the same way - I live in a place with a great community for sharing, exploring, and encouraging each other to try something new.

If you too are planning spinning goals, please PLEASE share them! Put your handspun on Ravelry, show it at a guild meeting, blog about how you did it! Challenge yourself in a class or workshop. Improve your technical skills, finesse your technique. And then share, share, share!

Cheers!
-Grace    

Teaching!!!

Yes! I am going to give teaching a try!

Starting in February this year, I will be teaching a beginners knitting class at Bird On A Wire Creations in Vancouver. We will learn how to knit and purl, the differences between stockinette and garter stitch, and how to make a pair of funky wrist warmers with that knowledge!

I am still working on the course outline and putting together my own unique pattern just for students of the class; and I am TOTALLY stoked. I have never taught a large group before, and I can't wait to get started. I will admit, I'm pretty nervous, but I think once I get talking about yarn and needles I will start to feel right at home!

Classes are currently scheduled for Friday nights from 6:30 - 8:30pm on February 8th and 15th. I will also be teaching an intermediate class in March - more info on that coming soon!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at graceverhagen@gmail.com or Bird On A Wire directly!

Cheers!
-Grace

Another Year, Another Goal

Even though I don't really buy into traditional "New Year's Resolutions", I just can't helped being swept up in wanting a fresh start at the beginning of January. A fresh year, a fresh goal, and twelve brand new months to give myself a chance to stretch myself...

Last year about this time, I decided that I wanted to self-publish 6 knitting patterns by the end of 2102, and see how they were received. I am happy to report that I was able to follow through with my goal, as we well as exceed it. Not only have I created and published all the patterns now available on this blog, but I have two more almost ready for free download, and I have also been working with Felicia Lo from Sweetgeorgia Yarns on publishing two new shawl patterns to be released this summer. So exciting!

So what are my goals for this year? Keep designing. I have binders of drawings, and a basket of swatches, and one tiny little brain that's bubbling with inspiration. If only I had more fingers, and more time...

My other goal this year is to push my spinning limits. I LOVE learning about spinning. I love to experiment with different techniques, play with different colours, and learn to create new textures.  However, sometimes when I sit down to spin, I find myself just creating the same ol' worsted yarn I have been making since I first started spinning 2 years ago. And there is NOTHING wrong with that - I am creating the wool I want, that I know I can work with afterwords, and it feels good doing it. However, I would like to try make myself jump out of that comfort zone on occasion and see if I can make something new. I think the best way to test those limits it to try a new technique once a month, and post the results to this blog. Most of the these 'experiments' will certainly not be new to anyone else (in fact, January's 'test' is going to be a nice fat single, because I overspin and ply EVERYTHING I normally make), but eventually I want to build on these techniques and try more elaborate art and novelty yarns, such as featured in the book "SpinArt", or inspired from online magazines and Ravelry.

So in the future, please look forward to some more posts about my spinning experiments! I will label them as my Skill Stretches, and try to post one per month, but who knows, maybe I will be inspired to try more!

Cheers, and Happy New Year!
-Grace

Saltspring Slouchy Hat

Today I have published my "Saltspring" slouchy hat! A fun, big slouchy hat knit from worsted weight yarn that requires some knowledge of short rows (I have not included directions for the theory of short rows themselves - there was many wonderful tutorials on for free on the internet that explain them much better than I! My favorite is from the Purl Bee - http://www.purlbee.com/short-row-tutorial/).

Please download the pattern here!

or check it out in my Ravelry Store with my other patterns!

From the pattern notes:

"Anyone who has travelled to this small island off Vancouver Island’s coast can tell you how beautiful and unique Saltspring is. Home to an unlimited amount of crafty talent, robust little farms, and the welcoming community of Ganges, this area is one of the highlights of our province. It has its own laid-back style, and I tried to capture that charm in this slouchy hat. This long toque uses short rows to create a fun and funky shape, and its simple pattern really emphasizes the use of any colourful or textured yarn. Try it with worsted weight handspun, or with a special handpainted yarn. "

As always, please send along your feedback if you knit this pattern, and I just LOVE seeing photos of finished objects too!

Cheers!
-Grace