crossing the tour

Approx 9 oz and ~1600 yards of 3-ply
can you believe how big they look compared to the matchless bobbin? like 3x+ as big...

Just off of the bobbins this afternoon with the twist not set, but yay! I finished my Tour de Fleece spinning :) You may recall initially I wanted to comb, spin and KNIT Yvonne in the 22 days... but I am pretty pleased to have apparently spun enough for the pattern (and to spec!) in the timeframe instead.

I do feel I've gained something over the past three weeks, even if it wasn't a yellow jersey or a finished shawl. Sampling for the grist and even the possibilities of the different plies in knit samples was a bit of a chore (and waiting for them to dry was !!!), but all said and done, as I spun my singles to a consistent 32wpi unstretched...


(don't you just love the barberpoling in the single?)
edit: my spinner's control card can be sourced from mielke's fiber arts, and Girl on the Rocks has acyrlic and bamboo versions as well

...I felt free knowing I was spinning something that would (knock wood) definitely work when I was done. It's a strange feeling for me, picking a pattern first and ALSO the commercial yarn to copy/spin to. Prior to TdF I was spinning and knitting the 50th anniversary WoolGathering cardi/sweater (WG 79) from my black RamboxCorrie fleece, and my previous comb-spin-knit-comb-spin-knit is without a doubt going out the window after this experience. (A too-late discovery, one of my RxC skeins was much lighter/thinner than the others and I've basically "lost" being able to use it in that sweater... but more on that project later.)

Having so many singles to ply at once (over the past 3 days with a break for the fleece judging in Monterey with FranticFiberFun) was also really good for me-- I managed to do a decent job managing my 3 singles *without* the plying guide/diz from GVPencheff I had made especially for the job...


(5.5, 6, and 6.5mm holes-- special order in red oak)

...I love the diz! But am happy I can probably move it from my spinning basket and into my spinning/fiber tool case permanently now.

Backing up! Since I combed everything at once (oy, I have a LOT of combed sliver left!) I was able to really focus both on the technique and the finished fibers in a way I don't think I have before. I probably will not continue planking the fibers as I always had before; I didn't for this project because of the time constraint and didn't really see a noticable difference in not doing so. I will plank for some things-- I have a fleece with cotted tips that leave lots of little neps and planking helps me move them about and to catch more of those in the tines, but for regular lovely fleeces? Prolly not.

I also had the new combs (Valkyrie minis, did you hear the maker is going to restart produx on them this year?!) to compare to the larger English set... to be honest I don't really have a conclusion as to favorites. Both produce beautiful fiber and have a place in my heart/toolchest. The minis left marginally more neps in the sliver but also less waste weight, the English produce a heavier sliver but need to be clamped to a table and stood in front of to work.

What was interesting was both still worked as combs should work, that is both allow the comber to draw off the longest fibers first and leave the shorter parts behind. I'm a bit compulsive when it comes to measuring staples and getting the same lengths lashed on the comb to begin with (I had jokingly toyed with the idea of tattooing a ruler on my hand but my twitter friends thought it may be a bit... intimidating outside the fiber world ;)) and this fleece was no different. You may remember how my half grey, half white stapled Romeldale lamb pulled off into a striping sliver? The half grey, half brown Corriedale lamb here did something similar.



I've laid the first end of the sliver (bottom) against the last end of sliver pulled off of the combs (top)-- it may be hard to see, but the first end is not only darker, but has more crimp than the lighter colored last bit. I could tell when spinning just by feel that the end of the sliver was approaching-- the last length (it was not very much for each sliver) was discernably softer, more downy soft feeling than the rest. I washed the fleece in lock formation and sorted for length, so I don't think this is an issue of sorting prior to combing but that each set of combs did its job in sorting the longest fibers out even though they were grown in and amongst the naturally locking staples. I also don't think it's a coincidence both were lamb fleeces that changed dramatically in color and perhaps type over the course of a year. Dunno, but it makes me love lambs even more :)

I'm not a purist in combing, I don't mind mixing staple lengths among the sliver and don't strive for a true worsted (that would require all fiber in the sliver to be the same length). I sort it to try and reduce waste-- which is why I didn't just remove the last few inches of sliver on each bit. I also like the idea of random shots of concentrated lighter grey the last few soft inches showing up in the 3-ply yarn... I spun one bobbin from only slivers from the English combs, one bobbin from slivers from the handheld Vikings, and one by alternating slivers... we'll see once I start knitting how those work up, if they stagger like I think they will.

So yay for TdF, and tell my yarn to hurry up and start drying! I can't wait to get knitting it up :)

combing fleece on handheld valkyrie vikings, day 3

day 3 of tour de fleece 2009
514 grams combed total
426 grams sliver (88 grams waste not pictured)

Yesterday I spent my Tour de Fleece time combing fleece (again), but this time on my new-to-me set of Valkyrie handheld 2-pitch Viking combs instead of the Craftsmith 4-pitch fine English set. I swapped for the Valkyries on the Ravelry Spin or Dye swapping board (along with a bunch of other stuff I should show you sometime, super awesome forum for spinners, dyers, and raw fleece junkies) for some of my unloved stash and I'm glad I did.

Don't get me wrong, I love my big combs! For a while now though, I've wanted to be able to sit and comb. It sounds silly, but the first day of TdF I stopped combing for the day not because of time or upper body fatigue, but because my legs were starting to hurt. I'm not used to standing in one place for a long time at this point in my life, and the time does take a toll when trying to comb for volume and not just the day's spinning.

So yesterday was all about the Valkyrie handhelds... their "mini" size. Valkyrie isn't making these anymore but sometimes you can find them used (their tines are not stainless, be sure to ask on their condition if you find a set.) They are great, solid tools. I also swapped for the "pad" that holds the combs so you can pull off the sliver with both hands, or I suppose use it more as a fixed station to swing at like a large set. The appeal for me with these was to be able to use them freehand so I use it to be able to pull sliver off more easily.


(sunlight's giving the fleece a gorgeous, not true color)

I've been weighing my waste fibers and finished sliver as I've gone along on the TdF challenge, more for curiosity than anything (I didn't plan on using the Valkyries for combing to compare.) It is worth noting though that yesterday I hit 13% waste using the handheld 2-pitch versus the ~20% when using the 4-pitch English. It makes sense, more tines catching more waste. The fleece is also a shorter staple than probably optimal for the English set (3").

I also was using one less pass on the Viking set than the English (3 vs 4)-- since I use the English as a "fixed comb" (the stationary comb never leaves its pad), I need to pass fiber by a multiple of two (taking off, putting on) before dizzing off. With the Vikings as handhelds, I keep the stationary comb in my left hand and the working comb in my right, transferring fiber from left to right. Once I'm ready, I just switch hands (the full fiber comb goes to the left, the empty/now-working comb to the right) so I can transfer fiber in any number of passes before I decide to diz off.


gvpencheff diz and one of my dining table chairs

It is nice, being able to comb anywhere I like. Here I'm set up on the couch, watching star wars with the kid and making sliver with the Valkyrie pad attached to a chair. Tonite I'm combing at my desk watching Hulu :) I think I'll be done with TdF combing tonite!!

I like both sets, English and Viking. (Really!) I think a truer test as far as waste production goes should be made using a slightly longer stapled fleece-- I think my numbers were higher than normal on the English because of the short staple. (I also did not plank on either set.) There is also the body tradeoff... I found standing for several (several!) hours with the English set to be tiring on my legs, but I never feel tired in arms or upper body since I let gravity do most of the work. With the handhelds I could feel my arms and hands get tired just from repetition and grip, not as much a strength issue. Keep in mind I'm also trying to power thru combing to get to spinning for the Tour; I'm not doing it to the point of exhaustion but it is probably more than I'd usually do any other time. I do get more volume off of the big combs with less effort (fewer passes for weight combed, etc.), but it becomes a cointoss with everything else considered.

The make of the handheld Valkyrie combs overall is very nice. Like I said the Valkyries are no longer in production, but the new sets designed by Robin Russo and manufactured by her husband Pat under the name "St. Blaise" are very similar and in several ways nicer (the pad can be used for storage/hackling across, finished cherry wood as opposed to unfinished, commercially available now etc.) You can order St. Blaise combs from your favorite fiber pusher; I just was drooling over a set at Verb (they'll ship if you're not local.)

Off to finish my tiny pile of locks and oil up the wheel for spinning tomorrow. Yay!

handcombing wool two and natural dyeing 1(01)

day 2 of tour de fleece 2009
362 grams combed total
294 grams sliver (68 grams waste not pictured)

I had to start putting the sliver in cleaner's supply bags since my foam boxes couldn't hold any more after this picture :) (meghan, these are the boxes i was telling you about from a while back!)

Not a bad showing, especially since Sunday was my last installment of the 3 week "Natural Dyeing 101" class I've been attending at Verb for Keeping Warm's Workshop in Berkeley. In the two previous weeks, Kristine had taken us thru mordanting...



...dyeing and dyestuffs...



...and yesterday was washing all of the beautiful BFL we had created.



I knew how intense the setup and work involved in natural dyeing was, but didn't body-know it. It really did take us three weeks to get from white wool to color, which is just crazytalk to me when I think about dyeing with acid dyes and being said and done in a matter of days (drying time occupying most of that).

I'm glad to have taken the class-- Kristine is an excellent teacher who fielded our questions like no book ever could. I know she'll offer the class again in the fall (after the cakewalks of vending at sock summit and soar :))... and it'll be a prereq to further classes such as cochineal, natural dyegardens, and indigo (lovely indigo discussion on anne's blog here today) that I'm already looking forward to.

For me, I was mainly interested in natural dyeing as it would apply to dyeing fleece... it really has gotten out of control here again fleecewise and for some reason, dyeing fleece would make it somehow more acceptable to have a wall of fleece come avalanching down in my closet as a regular occurance. Anyhow, I was able to take away enough information about natural dyeing to actively start daydreaming about how some of these colors would look over fleeces washed in lock formation, naturally colored and no...



Back to combing :)

handcombing wool, day one

day 1 of tour de fleece 2009
170 grams combed total
134 grams sliver, 36 grams waste

Have to admit, kind of pales when I already see others' finished yarns and full bobbins :) I do enjoy seeing the brown overtake the grey of the half-colored fleece, though it's a little less in different lights and makes me realize I was right... I have too few grey colored fleeces in the stash.

Sarah aK: (a) teleknitter helped me on that one, recently...


"Florence," CVM from teleknitter yarn farms

No, I can't believe the crimp either :) Flo's already been washed up and stored waiting for inspiration to strike; she's actually half a fleece, around 2.2# raw and ishouldhaveweighedherscouredbutobviouslylessthanthat and even less once I'm done combing :)

Combing for the tour is going to be a good way for me not only to work on building up more muscle memory with the combs, but also to be able to track where I'm hitting re: waste fiber. Velveeta is a shortish stapled fleece, 3"... so I'll see more than if she were longer and less likely to get caught in the tines. She is also a lamb's fleece so I'm getting the lamb tips in with the waste as well, but 20% loss isn't too bad. I'd like to get it lower but I also admit I'm working more for speed than cleanliness with the deadline ahead.

I am also still deciding on how much to comb prior to spinning. Yvonne only calls for a little under 1300 yards over 13 ounces, and I'm pretty sure I read Julie say that she didn't use all of the 3rd skein when knitting her sample. I don't mind combing, and part of me thinks I should just get it all done so I don't have to go back and stop to comb if I run out while spinning... but another just wants to get in front of the wheel right about now.

We'll see :) Off to finish more prep before my day is thru :)

halfway

Everything's halfway done 'round here (glass half full?)


warp: Tactile Fiber Arts superwash merino/tencel, "orchid"
weft: Hand Jive Knits' Nature's Palette, "odd duck 5"

This wrap has been done longer than it took to weave... I want to do something different (read: not overhand knots) to finish the edges but can't decide, so it's just been sitting around waiting to be fulled for almost a week. Really pretty though-- I think once done the tencel blend from Tactile will shine-shine and the Nature's Palette will puff up even more.



I've been almostthere with the "Sunny Side Up" merino/silk from A Verb for Keeping Warm for what seems like ages-- usually I don't want such a fun color to be over, but I was hoping to have something finished to wear to Keep the Fleece/Sheep to Scarf this weekend. Admittedly all my fault (again), I got sidetracked playing Jenga with fleece.



Very little makes me as happy fiberwise as arranging locks for washing when the fleece is as greasy and willing as this one. From Whitefish Bay Farm, "Velveeta."



Buying a fleece from Whitefish Bay Farm is a crazy ordering experience-- they publish their list of available fleeces (no photos) and a time they will start taking orders, and its off to the races. I was hitting redial on the phone for an hour and half trying to order (just!) one, and didn't get my first, second, or even third choice. Crazy thing is, I am always super pleased with what I do end up with. Maybe cos both times, the lamb fleeces from WFB were some sort of magic and shifted color midstaple.



Halfway indeed :)

Miss you, only thing more than half.

handspun wisteria sweater from twist collective

Umpqua, superfine Corriedale lamb fleece-- silver to steel grey with taupe tips
from Whitefish Bay Farm


scoured in lock formation


handcombed into sliver


spun worsted (short forward draw)


...all for Wisteria by Kate Gilbert from Twist Collective, Fall 2008
Started: August 25, 2008
Finished: October 17, 2008
(spun yarn during same timeframe)
US 8 needles, variety of lengths

Yay!

I really like this sweater. The idea, the shape, the silhouette. The top down yoke! More than just on me, from browsing finished Wisterias on Ravelry I really like how well this sweater seems to fit a huge variety of sizes *well.* I tried and tried to take a picture of myself in it and nothing worked (not used to taking full on body shots and not feet, I guess), but I like how it looks on me-- a rare thing. I knit the 47" (!!) size, giving myself 3" for the bust for ease and relying on the gentle shaping at the waist Kate provided to give me some shape (illusion with my linebacker frame) and it worked. I guess I'm just surprised that a sweater can really fit a range of body shapes and sizes in a complimentary way :)

I'm also surprised I managed to spin an entire sweater's worth of yarn as I knit... I'd comb-spin-knit, comb-spin-knit... I spun 1355 yd over 7 skeins and 500 grams (not including combing waste) and really, IT WASN'T HARD. If I can do it, anyone can :) Now, was each skein the same yardage per gram? Nope. Should I/could I have spun all my singles at once and mixed older and newer bobbins when plying for a more even end yarn? Probably. But I was impatient to knit, as fast as this sweater knits up I wanted it done. I'm not entering it into a wool show, I'm not asking for curious viewers to turn it inside out and look for irregularities where I added in a new skein*... I just wanted and got a really nice sweater that I'll wear and wear and that I am thrilled I took from fleece to finished object.

Speaking of wear and wear, I've worn this sweater a lot over the past few days... at least five. (Yay for cold weather and putting off turning on the heater!) I'm already seeing pilling wear at the underarms and across the lower part of the body.



Aside from needing to buy a sweater shaver, I don't really care. I do find myself thinking about it though... I intentionally spun the combed sliver with a short forward draw (inchworm) for a "true worsted" yarn (inchworm from fibers all the same length and combed in one direction), so I was a little surprised to see it appear so soon since a true worsted yarn should be smooth and dense. The more I think about it though it makes sense... the lamb's fleece was very, very short (2.5") and extremely crimpy/lofty-- not really the wools "meant" for combing and smoothing down into worsted yarn. I did remove a lot of waste from the fiber when combing, but maybe the prep and spinning method couldn't overcome the nature of the fleece itself.

Too esoteric.

As you may have guessed, I find myself locked in a love affair with raw fleece lately... I actually take a lot of enjoyment from every step, and really dig the individual characteristics of each greasy beast as I wash, comb, and spin them. This one-- the color of the fleece was what had my toes curling, pale to deep grey all tied together with the taupe tips made the color change on how you looked at it. First it was grey, bands of grey where you can see each little puff of sliver spun and run out...



...where a different angle brought out the warmth of the light brown shades mixed in during combing.



And another.



Definitely not a brown sweater, but not just a grey either.

As happy as I am (and that those who love me think it's spectacular, too)... I'm thrilled to be finished combing this fleece so I can start on another. :) Big plans!!

Til then, moo!


*one more idea i had spinning and knitting this sweater... i've seen designers use a smaller needle to achieve shaping across a garment where a pattern would make it difficult to insert traditional shaping. what would be cool is to think about spinning different weights of the same yarn from a single fiber to achieve that effect-- slightly lighter weight yarn at the waist/lower sleeves for a clingier effect, slightly heavier when incorporating cables and don't want to do increases to compensate for the pulling in, etc. lots of possibilities where shaping is concerned. i can't think of any commerical yarn where it comes in weight/grist gradation across the same colorway (much less dyelot), but for spinners! kind of a neat thought experiment, anyways :)

easing in

Long time no nothing! :) Feels weird, trying to get back into writing about what's going on fiberwise when there's that stretch of time between... my little hater says I need something more stunning than a not even half finished sweater after coming back from so many days of silence but here goes nothing :)


Wisteria in handspun Corriedale

I started with 2 skeins of handspun corrie and have been spinning as I complete parts of the sweater... the spinning actually has been going very quickly-- it's the combing that is taking the time. This is the corriedale I have been combing out on my Craftsmiths, I'd guess the sweater has about 650 yd and 10 oz in it-- the bag is still pretty full :)

I was excited when I saw Wisteria, the cabling is just enough detail for me, and since the corrie was 2.6# washed and I lose quite a bit to combing in waste, I wanted a sweater that wouldn't eat yarn and still fit (I'm knitting the 47" inch size!) I also liked the way the sample looked with the slight variegation in color-- Umpqua was a variegated fleece, and try as I might I wasn't going to get a consistent color without lots of combing and blending pre-spinning (mixing different slivers together to even out the color)... I know I should probably have waited and spun each skein at the same time, but I just don't have the patience :)


love the taupe hints in the grey from her oddly colored fleece

I have been using my spinner's control wpi card from vip fibers to help... I'm pretty happy with the result when spotchecking the wpi of the singles and plied yarns, I haven't had any weird variation in gauge. I'm also spinning this up in a 'true worsted' style, inchworm from the handcombed sliver, and though I prefer the freewheeling of Spinning for Softness and Speed, the prep and the method of spinning is giving me a really consistent yarn.

As much as I love the grey, I needed a little color break so I started spinning the 1/2 oz samples from the latest Rhyme Times Sampler from The Bellwether.


spun samples unfulled-- they'll be super plush when set

You know I love this club, but I've never actually spun the samples before! Sure, they'd arrive and I'd be all !!! and pet them as they sat on my desk while I ordered a few bags of my favorites before they were for sale to the public (at a discount!)... but after a while I'd just stash them in the fiber closet and not look at them again. I think I'm going to start spinning each sample up and maybe knit them together into a lap blanket or something.

The Crosspatch Creations and Three Bags Full fibers are always a fun spin, texture and once shocked and set give a really soft, squishy yarn. Maybe a crazy scarf knit longways with tons of fringe? Don't know... but I'm keeping a half ounce sample in my spinning basket all the time-- it's a really nice distraction between larger (even 4 oz!) projects.

What else? I did receive my new camera (yay!) and took a bunch of photos of stitch markers for my etsy shop that had been lingering too long. I also toted it with me to the Asian Art Museum in SF last weekend...


full set here

I don't have a clue what I'm doing-- my sturdy Canon S410 was simple and reliable, but didn't really push me to think about anything other than being steady handed :) I am going to have to read a book on photography in the near future to do my camera justice. Work in progress, same as everything!

Aside from these mishmashes, I've been washing wool with Unicorn Power Scour and hope to have a (longish) post comparing it to my standby favorite blue Dawn rilly soon. Til then, moo!

combing corriedale from whitefish bay farm

Combing you say? Oh goodness yes.


Craftsmith 4-pitch fine English combs

As with apparently all of my fiber tools, purchased used and in excellent condition. Craftsmith no longer makes these combs, a shame since they are really nice and don't have super dangerous sharp tips. The tines and rows (pitch) are closely spaced for finer fibers*, which is perfect for me and my bias for them... like the superfine Corriedale from Whitefish Bay Farm.

I heard about Whitefish Bay Farm on Ravelry-- just in time to snag one of their covered, colored fleeces the minute they were put up for sale. (No joke, they sold out nearon immediately.) A week or so later, Umpqua arrived...






"Umpqua"-- corriedale lamb fleece from Whitefish Bay Farm

Gorgeous silver to pewter grey tipped with taupe. So neat-- the brown tips? Not lanolin or sun bleaching... it was like she started life a light brown and then decided to change color midway :)

The WFB fleeces are all covered, so this was super clean for the most part. Being a lamb meant she wasn't covered right away, so there was probably more gunk and farm refuse embedded in the tips of her fleece than an older sheep would have, but I was able to pull apart and remove matting with my hands (and later my flick carder) prior to washing with no problem.

Also being a lamb, she still had her "milk tips"...



...the little curls she was born with that are different than the fleece she grew later on. Again on Ravelry I was warned that these lamb tips may snap and break when carding since they were fragile (true), but I had every intention of carding the fleece anyway. Even so, I separated the locks and kept their structure thru scouring, something I find really soothing to do.



I had been washing this fleece up half a pound to a pound at a time, leisurely since I was really getting steam on carding the cormo at the same time. By the time my new-to-me combs arrived, I had a big bag of washed locks just perfect for the task. (even though I promised myself to wait and get more carding done instead!) A really, really big bag.






I was really curious to see how this half-taupe, half-grey fleece would look all blended up-- a surprise. The taupe was much more dominant than expected, but the color shifts depending on the time of day (a good thing in my book).



I do love combs, and combing though. How much?

This much.



It doesn't look like a lot (and it's not! only about 6 oz)... but each nest makes me feel more confident with the process and result. It is hard to come to terms with the amount of waste fiber generated though.




(hard to see, but just short fibers and neps)

One reason my combs may have been particularly suited to this fleece were the milk tips-- combing helped separate the tips that would be prone to breakage when spinning (and becoming pills). Even so, it's almost hard to look at the "waste" knowing if I had carded it all together, and spun a heavier weight yarn, almost all of the fiber would ahve been useable. Maybe the thing is I don't know what to do with the waste... mulch has been suggested but I don't garden, toy stuffing but I have enough polyfil to last me a thousand toy-making lifetimes.

I really, really like the result of the handcombed top, though :) It does make me nervous about the total fiber I'll end up with... Umpqua started as 4.13lbs and clean she washed up to 2.62, a loss of about 35% (same percentage loss I had for the Cormo). Combing though is going to knock that 2 and just over a half pounds down though-- how much? Hopefully not too much so that I can't get a sweater's worth out of it... a true-worsted spun, cable-y sweater from A Fine Fleece :) We'll see!

Til then, counting the days!


*looking for mini combs for fine fibers/small batches? i was going to buy a set of st. blaise combs from Carolina Homespun, and I still may. they aren't listed on CH's site but you can see them here-- they are really, really nice (i was thisclose to buying them at retzlaff, so much in love with them i was.) they're made in the usa, come with handle clamps so you can freehand use them or attach them to a base on a table and almost use them as a hackle, are comparable to the alvin ramer super minis except not *quite* as fine (so they should have more range for more fleece types), are less expensive and in stock at carolina homespun (last time i checked) if you drop them a line.

gregory shared the exact differences she found btw the SB and AR combs with me...

"ARs are 3.5 inches wide and have 19 tines and a tad more than 3 inches long (I am talking about the front row only. Both have two rows of course). The St Bs have 13 tines and are 3 inches wide, but they are almost 3.75 inches long. I have not measured the actual spacing, but the ARs has sixteen tines in three inches to the thirteen in the same distance on the St. Bs. So to summarize, the ARs are slightly finer, shorter and wider than the St. Bs. They would probably hold about the same amount of fiber if you load them about half way."

their name is roxx0r, too. :)