The more things change…

Moya, dressed up and ready to go

…the more they stay the same. It’s a cliche, but no less true because of that. Let’s face it, there’s a reason for cliches, and it’s not a lack of truth!

Take, for instance, knitting looms. I played with some version of them ceaselessly as a child. Mostly, I had the spool type of knitting loom, creating dozens of thin little tubes that served no actual purpose but were fun to make. I loved them, but I outgrew them. Flash-forward nearly forty years, and here I am again. There are thirteen knitting looms at present, hanging on my walls. Almost caught up with my weaving looms. Yes, I bought the longest of the Authentic Knitting Boards. It’s 38″ long and fine gauge. I haven’t used it yet, as I’ve got two afghans going already on other knitting looms, but I have one planned for it for me! I’ve already got the yarn for it. It’s acrylic, but it was so pretty I couldn’t resist! I also emailed a lady who makes knitting looms on Ravelry and asked her about making one of the infinity looms that are about 60″ if you straightened them out. The only ones I’ve seen are plastic with a wide gauge, and my preference is wood with metal pins. She’s looking into it, and I’m looking into my budget! She said $65 plus shipping, which is a great price, but I’ve got to work that into the budget.

I’ve got Moya warped for the first time in awhile. I’ve missed her! One of my guilds, Front Range Fiber Artisans, is having the annual sale in November, and I want to put at least one inkle bag in it, more if I can, so she’s ready to go. I’ve got the largest warp on her that I’ve ever tried yet, so I’m hoping to be able to make a good-sized bag. 

I also went up to Table Rock Llamas yesterday, just because I love the Black Forest views, and had one of the owners give me a quick demonstration of how to spin on a spindle. I’ve got two of the things and could never figure them out, no matter how hard I tried or how many videos I watched on Youtube. I’ve got a better idea now, and have actually  managed to spin a respectable bit of yarn, though it’s slow going. I’m having trouble with drafting and keeping the spindle going, but I love the things, and could easily see myself collecting them! There are some truly gorgeous ones at Golding Fiber Arts. I’ve never bought one, and certainly wouldn’t have the experience to say how well they spin, but they’re beautiful. They’ve also got some beautiful weaving looms and spinning wheels, but they are truly expensive…way over my budget!!

Hubby and I had another discussion about life plans, and we decided that I’m going to go for it as far as veterinary technology. Hubby says that he will stay home with the girls while I’m in school for the next two years, putting off finishing his own degree. So I’ve done my entrance interview at Colorado Academy of Veterinary Technology. Assuming I can get financial aid, I’ll be starting in January. I’ve got my fingers crossed!

Read Full Post »

Too many interests!!!

European 4-1 chain maille

I have just reached the conclusion that I have way too many crafting interests. It’s the only logical conclusion. And, as much as it galls me to admit it, hubby may be right in saying my studio is too small. Yes, I said it galls me, because he is always right, and it irks me to no end.

By special request from Aneira, I have bought the 28″ knitting board from Knittingboard.com at JoAnn’s, along with some skeins of really screaming loud, neon purple acrylic, which I am to use to make her a throw blanket. I have begun this. On the longest Knifty Knitter loom, there is yet another throw in the works, in two shades of purple (nowhere near as loud), for Bryony. On Talyn, there is a sampler. On the sock loom, there is my ongoing attempt at making a sock. On Anansi, there is a half-full bobbin of Siberian yarn. On Kaylee, we have another attempt at sprang. On Aeryn, there is an unfinished scarf.

Now, there is something new I’m trying out, only it’s not fiber-related this time. I’m talking about chain maille. Yup, yet another new craft. What can I say? This is another of those things I always wanted to try but didn’t know how to start. Lo and behold, one of my jewelry crafting classmates does chain maille. Yesterday, he wore a chain maille shirt to class that he had made. He took it off and let me really examine it. Fabulous! And heavy. It weighs roughly fifty pounds. And knights wore this under plate. My only thought was sympathy for the horse that had to carry the weight, on top of its own armor!!! And this is only one piece of a full suit of armor!

Anyway, my classmate is happy to teach chain maille, and started out by teaching me the European 4-1 weave, which means it’s a European weave where four rings are all attached to one ring. I had fun playing with that until class got underway. His rings are steel, and I had a really hard time closing them properly, but a great time playing with them all around. So I came home and pulled out the jump rings I’d had sitting here for months and made a much longer piece. Then I went to the websites he had given me and found other weaves with details on construction. Some of this work is really intricate!!

I went through almost all of my jump rings last night, doing the European 4-1 and then the shaggy loops weave. I had a ball, and have, of course, ordered more

Shaggy loops weave

rings!!! It’s great, because all you really need are two pairs of pliers and a supply of jump rings, and voila! You’re making chain maille! I already had the pliers, since I have a set of jewelry making tools, so I was able to immediately get started.

Looking at the websites was an education in and of itself. So many people have posted pictures of various weaves that are much more advanced than anything I can presently do. I didn’t realize how many different things you could do!

I turned my pieces into a necklace, for which I lack a clasp at the moment, as well as a picture, and by request of Aneira, it was done in both her favorite color and mine. I will have to buy more rings in those colors to make a necklace for her now. Thankfully, they aren’t that expensive!

So now my studio houses all the tools and supplies for weaving, spinning, knitting, crochet, naalbinding, loom knitting, Kumihimo, beadwork, and chain maille. The tiny workshop planned for the basement will hold all the supplies for hubby’s woodworking and stained glass. Clearly, I am never going to actually be bored again. And now I have more books I need to order, for chain maille now!!!

If you’d like to see some far better examples of chain maille than I can presently show you, check out the links section at cgmaille.com. They have a good list of resources like message boards and suppliers of rings, or you can make your own jump rings if you’re so inclined.

Read Full Post »

More sock stuff

My friend saw the sock loom at a guild meeting the other night. She thought it was cute, but said it didn’t knit as tightly as you could with regular needles. Knowing that’s most likely true,  I started another pair on knitting needles.

This project is not going so well.

It did for a little while.  I had about six or seven rows done, which means a couple hours worth of work for me, as I’m pretty slow. It looked great, until I noticed the big, gaping hole where I had somehow lost a stitch or two. Way back, I might add, around row one.  And I’m not good at taking stitches out without losing them altogether, so I unravelled the entire thing and started over.

This, too, is not going well.

I haven’t gotten past row two since starting over. I worked on this for six hours last night. Somehow I either drop stitches or add them, and don’t have a clue how I’m doing it!

I walked away from it last night before I could lose my temper and go all Tazmanian Devil on the yarn. It’s a very pretty yarn! I’m going to try again, because I refuse to be defeated by a stupid piece of string and a pair of needles!

Read Full Post »

Sock knitting

Knittingboard’s sock loom

I bought a sock knitting loom. Seems like an odd purchase, doesn’t it? As I really don’t consider myself a knitter. Occasionally I enjoy picking up knitting needles, but I have discovered that my opinion of knitting really hasn’t changed much since I was a kid: it’s too slow. But I still remember the knitting looms I had as a kid with fondness, and I have a bunch of them that I do actually use! They have very large pegs, though, and don’t have a fine sett, and they’re also plastic, which is not one of my favorite materials for fiber arts tools. Wood or metal, no problem, but I’m not fond of plastic.

At Hobby Lobby, I’d seen an informational flyer about the sock loom, but I didn’t see the actual loom there, so I came home and went to my favorite online shopping source, aka Amazon, and there it was. Metal pins and wood frame, and a fine sett. I was sold. When it arrived the other day, I discovered that it was from a company called Knittingboard, and naturally, I had to go look at their site, where I found bigger knitting looms, all made of metal and wood. Obviously, their prices reflect the better quality materials. I have a set of four Knifty Knitter looms that cost me $25; one long knitting loom from Knittingboard is about $30 or thereabout, and the really long ones are up into the $40 range. So I’m going to slowly replace my Knifty Knitters with these. The ones from Knittingboard are also adjustable, and the plastic ones are not, so that’s a big plus as well.

I’ve been told that knitting looms are really limited as to what you can do with them, but the two books that I ordered about them indicate that they’re not as limited as one might think! There were a variety of knitting stitches taught in the books, including some Fair Isle type work. That’s intriguing to me.

I thought socks would be a good idea, as that’s something I might actually finish and use. I’ve never finished a knitting project I’ve started. It’s a very sad commentary, but it comes back to knitting being too slow. I’ve finished projects in weaving, Kumihimo, crochet, but never knitting. Socks are small enough that I might actually get through them. And I have to admit that I’m enjoying using this sock loom!!

Read Full Post »