Wooly Links: March 2022

Wooly Links posts are a collection of interesting and helpful fiber arts links (and one or two other cool things) that I’ve found scrolling through the web.

Really appreciated this short demo from Jillian Moreno on spinning from the fold.

And another quick tip from Jillian Moreno about how to spin a yarn with stripes of intermittent color.

Local Yarn Shop Day this year is April 30th.

Why your stitches look different when you knit with different yarns be they singles, 2-ply, 8-ply, or chainette.

Love this quick example of how to cross lace your flyer to spin finer yarns.

What cute crochet rainbow pillow!

A short and to the point video tutorial about how to securely join fiber while spinning singles/plies.

Love the idea of using a three-needle bind off to seam a blanket together. I might use it on my next big blanket project.

Here’s a totally handy round-up of different ways to weave in ends with on a variety of knit stitches and with a variety of fibers.

This is Judy’s Magic Cast-on as I learned it, without having to knit half the stitches through the back loop. I love the structure of it starting out and how clean it looks when the sock is complete.

And now for something different…

How Dinosaurs Thrived in the Snow

How Many Sea Star Species Live in British Colombia?

#the100DayProject 2020

I thought up a few different ideas for 2020’s #the100DayProject. Drawing every day. Learning to play the ukulele. Daily journaling. Consistent pattern design work. Recommitting to my other preexisting daily projects. In the end, I decided to go with the very first idea I had: making yarn everyday.

Spinning has been sorely neglected around here. I spun my most recent skein of yarn in 2018 for Tour de Fleece. I’m writing up the first draft of this post in the lull of cooking cauliflower for dinner and can’t remember if that skein ever made it off the bobbin to set the twist. Ugh. So, April 7th is the day I start spinning again.

But not on my wheel, on my spindles. I need a project for during the day that I can do around the kiddo. I need to be able to pick it up and put it down quickly. It needs to fit in a bag that can go on a shelf out of her reach. So the spindle wins over the wheel. Plus, kiddo needs to see mom doing something that isn’t staring at her phone/screens and that thing should be something mom likes to do.

There was one other big deciding factor as well. There’s not enough time during naps or after she goes to bed for another project. Those hours are full, and I do have to sleep sometime. It’s also a big help that I already have the tools and materials too.

So I’ve picked out my favorite spindle, a 33g Jenkins Turkish Swan, and a few bumps of fiber that have caught my eye. First up is 5 oz of organic Polworth that I picked up at the Handweavers of Boulder Guild Show and Sale last year (I think it was last year). Looks like the second project will be 4 oz of heathered BFL from Greenwood Fiber Arts.

Aside from making yarn everyday, I haven’t attached many constraints to this project. I’m not spinning for a project (at least right now), and I’m not using it clear the stash (though it will). Mostly, I’m just hoping to make spinning a part of my routine again and refresh my muscle memory. As for the posting every day on Instagram part of #the100DayProject, nope. I’m thinking about doing a weekly check in to hold myself accountable and show off my progress. Something simple so that it doesn't feel like a chore.

I took the opportunity on Saturday to prep my fiber and spindle. So I am ready. Are you tackling the project this year? It not too late to join or start, even if it’s way past April 7th when you’re reading this and social distancing is wearing thin.

Yarn Along The Rockies 2019

Yarn Along The Rockies was the third week of August, and I happily joined in. I only visited the closest 3 of the 13 shops, but I still enjoyed myself. One of those shops, FingerPlay, was brand new to me and I’ve been meaning to get down there for months. It’s a cute shop with a great vibe, and frequent knit afternoons/open studios. I’m looking forward to stopping in again soon since it’s been so long since I’ve had a regular knitting group to visit. I also made it to Shuttles, Spindles, and Skeins which remains one of my favorite yarn and spinning shops. Maverick Fiber Arts was my other stop and had a nice selection of different yarns and notions.

The stash did get a little larger, but not by much. I have no shortage of sock yarn or spinning fiber, but everything I bought came home with intention. Both sock yarns, Cascade Heritage Wave and Regia Pairfect, made me excited to knit socks for myself again. That’s an exciting feeling after finding it lacking for so long. The fiber, 8 oz of Frabjous Fibers and 4 oz of Hummingbird Moon, will eventually be handspun gifts or play a part in a Nightshift shawl. My plans are still a little murky on that front. I also came home with a pair of sock blockers for the Bearded One’s socks. The blockers are a little shorter than I would like but will still do the job.

While I only visited a fraction of shops on the tour, I enjoyed myself. I got to visit different places, see new yarns, and go on a little adventure. Also picked up a nice project bag which is cool too. I’m glad I didn’t skip the yarn crawl this year, and I’m looking forward to next year.