Hemp Spinning

I almost called this post "High on Hemp" but thought better of it.  Who knows where something like that might end up?  Anyway, last summer at Convergence in Long Beach, I bought 2 oz of dyed hemp from Opulent Fibers (color = Rust).  My idea was that I would spin the hemp and also some dyed flax purchased at the same vendor during the hot months of August and September.  Life happened, and my plans were interrupted for the next several months.

Now August and September are with us again.  Temperatures in San Diego have been in the upper 90s (and us without an air conditioner - 88 degrees in the living room for several evenings). I was spinning cotton and thought of the hemp.  I wanted a cap or scarf but 2 ounces was not much to work with.  I needed to be efficient.

I knew it had to be spun fine; the fibers are somewhat short (3-4 inches) and very slippery.  Since it is top, I spun it worsted, smoothing down the fibers as they entered the twist.  I used my Matchless wheel, scotch tension, smallest pulley (15.5:1).  Careful treadling to keep control.  I ended up with a bobbin of somewhat wiry singles, rather on the thin side.  I thought perhaps I could chain ply the singles to improve the hand and make the yarn a little thicker.  This was a mistake; it was very difficult to control the sliding part of the chain plying process.  I produced about 1.5 yards and stopped.  New idea.

Since I had already wasted some yardage of the precious 2 ounces, I did not want to risk dividing what was left based on weight for a 2 ply, and having some left over.  So I used my center pull ball winder to create a ball with two ends and plied from that.  I think it turned out great.

I now just have to finish the yarn, get it dry, and I will be ready to go.  Still not sure if it's going to be a scarf or a cap.

Milkweed, Cotton, and other Projects

The last month has found me very busy.  In addition to an increased schedule of participation in the Fiber Arts Guild in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, I have been catching up with my own projects.

First project: Milkweed Spinning.  We gathered dried milkweed this winter and it has been curing in the garage.  I got some of the stalks out and processed the fibers, practicing the local Native American method of spinning and plying at the same time.  This is done on the thigh and produces a thicker to a very thin thread.

The fiber is on the left, the spun thread on the right.  As with flax, it spins happier when it has been soaked a bit.

Second project: Dyeing cotton.  Using the guidance provided on Joan Ruane's website, I purchased some Cushing direct dye in the primary colors and dyed close to a pound of ginned Pima cotton from Cotton Clouds.  Oh, the colors.

So, what could be more fun than carding the various colors into punis?

Third project: Multnomah Shawl.  I spun about 10 ounces of the dark gray Romney I purchased from Thompson Romneys at the Black Sheep Gathering.  It knitted into the shawl I wanted.  See below, it is blocked and drying on a warm August day.  I can wear this anywhere, Old Town or just in the evening.  I knitted the pattern so that the garter stitch section would cover my back and shoulders, which are always chilly.  The border uses the traditional and superfun Feather and Fan pattern.

I forgot, there is one more project; I made the pelerine for my day dress.  It is indigo linen with white braid.  I will have to save that for the next post.

Black Sheep Gathering

We used The Black Sheep Gathering as a handy excuse for a road trip, and we were not disappointed! After a ritual stop at Village Spinning and Weaving, we headed north, had a great time with old friends in Sacramento, and dropped into Oregon.  A couple of days at Crater Lake turned strange when we drove into a snow storm.

The lake was entirely invisible the first day.  Therefore, we had to simply enjoy the wonderful amenities at the lodge.  I enjoyed watching the icicles form on the edge of the roof.

It broke clear the next morning, and we went for a short hike to see the view.  On our way out, the clouds returned and covered the lake again.  At least we got a glimpse.  From there, we continued to Eugene.

Yes, I bought some Cotswold fleece from Bear Hill Farms.  Very clean and soft! I just finished washing it and it's drying in San Diego's 95 degree heat.  We spoke at length with Art and Kathy, who were very interested in our living history activities in Old Town.  In addition to the barns full of sheep, there were many vendors and demonstrations.  I met Galina Khmeleva, Robina Koenig (Tumble Creek Farm BFLs), and Ken and Carol Ledbetter.  Galina graciously signed my copy of her book, Gossamer Webs.  I also visited Thompson Romneys and purchased roving to dye.  What a wonderful event, and the weather in Eugene was great.

Then, on to Healdsburg with a side visit to Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park.  Since we visited on a weekend, the water wheel was working and the mill was in full production.  The park is operated by volunteers, due to budget issues with California State Parks.

Eventually we wound our way back to San Diego where I am busy washing the fleece and spinning more cotton.  I can't wait to do more weaving with handspun cotton yarn.  Stay cool!

Handspun Cotton Scarf is Done

The cotton scarf only took a couple of days to weave.  It is 56" long without the fringes, which are 4" long at both ends.  No broken warp threads, which is great news.  I really like the way that the green and dark brown came out.  And I have plenty left over for another project.

I am carding some reddish brown ginned cotton into punis.  That is, when Frida lets me.  She is sitting on a bag, inside a bowl.  It was a challenge for her to squeeze herself into the bowl, but she managed to do it.  On the left, you can see some ginned white cotton that I am spinning on a Bosworth suspended spindle.  The spindle weighs 0.5 ounce and works just fine for this cotton.

I think I will try knitting with the yarn made from the ginned cotton.  It is not as fine as the yarn I made from roving.

Handspun Cotton Scarf

I finally have enough handspun cotton to start weaving a scarf.  I thought I had enough earlier this week, got nervous, spun some more green, and convinced myself.  I boiled the last of the dark brown last night and it is drying today. Tomorrow I will warp my Schacht 20" FLIP rigid heddle loom.

That is, if Frida will let me.  While I was winding the prepared cotton yarn from skeins into balls yesterday, I noticed that the white ball was missing.  I thought I had merely set it down somewhere, and kept winding.  But then my husband informed me that Frida was playing with it in the dining room.  It was a little messed up, but no harm was done.  I have now placed all the balls of cotton in a location that, I think, she cannot get to. But one never knows with a Maine Coon Cat.

I used an Alden Amos T-Frame to spin most of this cotton, as well as a tahkli and a Bosworth attache (the green).  I may have spun the white cotton on my Matchless, can't remember.  All the plying was done on the Matchless, which did an expert job of it.  The colored cotton came out very nicely.  The green finished up a soft moss color.  I have two browns: a medium and a dark.  Then there are some mixed colors that I experimented with, plying two different colors together.  I have 4.5 ounces of cotton yarn.

Today we are off to the Zenas Sikes Adobe, which is operated by the San Dieguito River Park.  We'll spin there for a couple of hours this afternoon.

Vallecito Days 2013

We participated in the Vallecito Days event on March 16.  It was very well attended by both the public and by volunteers,  and was less windy than on previous events.  Vallecito Stage Station is located in the desert east of San Diego. The original sod building was constructed in 1852 as a stop on the Butterfield Overland Stage Line and the southern emigrant trail.  In ruins by the early 20th century, the station was reconstructed in 1934 and has been restored carefully by the County of San Diego.

The stage station was in great condition, thanks to San Diego County Parks.  Parks produced a video of the event, which can be viewed using this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr2qZ5y6u0U

Because of past experience with using the spinning wheel under windy and dusty conditions, we chose to card and use handspindles this year.  The last time I tried to spin on my wheel at Vallecito it took me a week to get all the sand out of it!

I even received some mail, delivered by riders, from Rancho Guajome and La Brea Tar Pits.  You can see the Tar Pits postcards in the video.  Although it takes a couple of hours to get to the stage station from San Diego, it is well worth the effort.

More Fire Pit Dyeing

I have done a couple more batches of dyeing over the fire pit.  I am so pleased with the way these are turning out!

The yellow is very bright, and I got nice definition between the yellow, orange and purple.  This was on a mixed roving, not the gray like the previous samples.  

While I was reorganizing my spinning and weaving area this winter to make room for a few pieces of furniture from my mother's estate, I found some old packets of dye that I purchased in 1985.  It is Spectrum Dyestuff's Kiton in several colors.  Some of the open packets are no longer associated with their labels, and some are unopened.  I don't exactly recall what I dyed in 1985 or what the results were.  I decided to dye some of the Corriedale roving that I purchased from Alpenglow Yarns using these old dyes.  I used the same fire pit method: I mixed the dyes in the afternoon, and poured on three colors: Blue, Turquoise, and what I thought might be Burgundy.  It soaked for at least two hours in the pan.  Then, after cooking dinner in the dutch oven, I waited until the coals were glowing (I managed to sneak in some gluten-free biscuits in the meantime - fantastic!).  Then I put the fiber pan over the coals and just let it sit all night.  In the morning, the bottom of the pan was still warm, but the colors were set.  

Doh, I guess it was not Burgundy - it was Purple.  But oh my, those blue colors came out so deep and nice.  It's hard for me to get a good, deep blue color when I dye, but this time I was really happy.  The weather has been very cool and damp here in San Diego so it's not drying very quickly.  But I can hardly wait to spin this up. For sure, I am going to use some more of these old Kiton dyes.

Lots going on next weekend: Old Town, Powell Sheep Ranch, and Earth Day in the Backcountry.  More updates to come after that.