Spinning Lessons

 

Two ladies came yesterday morning for a spinning lesson. Both of them did really well.  Swathi is going to be travelling soon, so she thought it would be more sensible to learn to spin on a spindle rather than a spinning wheel. Ute brought carders with her and learnt to card too, as she has fleeces she wants to spin. We had an enjoyable morning!

The Kaffe Fassett cardigan is progressing. I'm above armhole level now, so rows are slightly shorter. 

Progress

 

I've made good progress on the Kaffe Fassett cardigan. I won't be able to keep up this pace, but so far, so good. The two rows where I join in new yarns take some time, but the rest is easy enough. I've trimmed some of the threads, to see how it would go:

It's more time consuming than I expected because it has to be done carefully, but it's certainly quicker than threading the ends in with a needle. 

I've Made A Start

 

Right, I've committed to using the Kaffe Fassett kit and made a start. It feels a bit like that game where you rub your tummy and pat your head at the same time, but it is doable. I'm carrying the background thread of each square across the diamond and using a weaver knot to join in each thread. The rat's nest method works well:

Just pull out the thread you want to work with and don't worry what the rest looks like. I have woven in all the ends, but I know it's best not to cut them off too soon, or they tend to poke through to the front. 

I took the little sample I showed in the previous post to a knit'n'natter session on Friday. One of the people there suggested that I make a short sleeved cardigan. I think that's a really good idea. The yarn is a fine cotton, so the garment is never going to be warm. Making a cardigan that could be worn as a top makes more sense than the long sleeved coat of the pattern. 

Kaffe Fassett Kit

 

A few months ago, a lady came to my stall at the market and asked me if I would like to buy a Kaffe Fassett kit that she was given many years ago. Mmm, ok. She brought the kit the following month. To start with I thought it was a bit of a swizz that she was going to charge me for something she was given, but I think she needs the money and the price I paid is a lot less than if I bought all the colours separately. Fair enough. The kit has sat in the craft room until I had time to look at it. 

I had hoped the pattern would include tips for dealing with so many colours and  yarns. Nope. Not a word. Just 'cast on this many stitches and follow the chart'. I have a book by Kaffe Fassett and Zoe Hunt on my shelf, so I had a look there. There were a few hints from Zoe at the back of the book. I had a look on line and found a bit more advice. Apparently, it's best to use short lengths of yarn without bobbins, so the yarn you want to use can just be pulled out of any muddles. Right. My big concern is starting and finishing all those ends. I read that it's best to weave (knit) in the ends as you go, rather than sew them in afterwards with a needle. Otherwise, I guess you'd spend as long sewing in ends as knitting the garment! 

I cast on 33 stitches using the needles recommended in the pattern. Oh my goodness, what a fiddle, coping with all those bits of yarn. The needles were too big. Not only was the measurement wrong, but the knitting looked thin and horrible. I changed down a needle size but continued knitting. The pattern said to use intarsia, which means using three yarns for each square. I thought if I used fair isle technique to carry the background across the diamond, I'd only need two yarns per square. Fewer ends to deal with. I tried that on the third repeat. It changes the shape of the diamond a bit, but is easier to work. I'm still worried about the security of the joins. The yarn is mercerized cotton, quite slippery, and there's not much leeway to hide ends because there are so  many. I may use weavers knots. I'm sure I read once that Kaffe Fassett is happy to use knots. 

Here's the back of the work. Not shown in any of the books or articles I've seen!

It would be a shame for the kit to sit around any longer, but I am wondering if my life is too short for this. I guess that with practice I'll get better at the techniques involved. 

Tidying The Craft Room

 I love having a dedicated craft room where I can sew or spin and keep my supplies, not only the supplies for my own work, but for the craft group that I run once a week. Those range from fabric scraps to old greeting cards and toilet roll cores. I have a whole drawer full of buttons. I try to keep it all under control, but lately it has gotten out of hand. So I spent yesterday morning cleaning and tidying in there. It still looks rather chaotic, but now it is organised chaos!

Tatting

 

I've been tatting flowers for a food net. Our winter is drawing to a close, so I suspect the window for socks and gloves in handspun wool is beginning to close. I thought I had better make something else for Saturday's market. 

Mending

 

I don't mend my own socks; I chuck them out and knit a new pair. But at the July market, a lady asked me if I would sort out the heels of her socks. Mmm. I don't think my darning skills are good enough to cover such an area of sock. How about knitting an afterthought heel? Many years ago, I made my children tracksuits with knitted welts, following a pattern in Anna Burda magazine. The stitches for the welts were created by sewing over a knitting needle. Could I use the same technique for the socks? I could:

I created 48 stitches on four needles around the edge of the heel and then knitted an afterthought heel as usual. 

Voila, new heels on two pairs of socks.