Fiber Musings

Random thoughts of a fiber enthusiast - mostly fiber related, sometimes coherent

Month: November 2013 Page 2 of 3

Tablet Woven Band

By

On 13 Nov, 2013

In Weave

TabletBand

My first tablet woven band after the latest round of classes. It is also the longest single tablet woven band, and all done in the same mind numbing pattern, 4F/4B, all 40 odd inches of it.

I had measured 47″ (maybe, I forgot, but I think that’s what it is) on the loom, but off loom and relaxed, it was only about 42″. That is 10% take up! It’s one thing to be told to expect take up but to actually measure it out, it hits home. This mattered because I wanted finished ends, not just cut to length. Good thing I spaced out and wove extra on the extra that I already planned for.

What is it for? It will be a the band for a D-Ring belt. It’s a sample for a more complex pattern that I have in mind. This was made with #10 crochet cotton. The real thing might be tencel. I haven’t decided yet.

On The Go Spinning Kit

By

On 7 Nov, 2013

In Spin

This post falls under “Things you learn at SOAR, but not during class”.

ExtCordSeal

John pulled one of these out one night while we were yakking and spinning. What is it? It looks like a giant suppository, doesn’t it.

It’s an extension cord safety seal for outdoor extension cords. It keeps the cords from pulling apart and protects the junction from the elements..

ExtCordRing

But, as you can see, it’s also the perfect size to hold a Golding Micro 2″ RingSpindle along with some silk.

ExtCordMandala

And here it is with my Golding Napalese Manadala spindle.

You know what I like best about it? It keeps the hook end of the business away from my silk supply and messing it up!

Silk!

By

On 6 Nov, 2013

In General

GreySilk

It only took me two years, but I finally finished spinning the singles from this half silk brick from Northeast Fiber Arts Center. I bought the half silk brick at SOAR in 2011. At that SOAR, I also purchased a Golding Micro Spindle. I immediately started to spin it.

As happens to all travel projects, they get very little love when you aren’t traveling. I brought it along to SOAR this year. I didn’t bring a spinning wheel this time so the spindle is what I had. I finally finished spinning the singles at the Spin-In on the last evening.

Over the weekend, I finished plying the singles on my Matchless. After a long soak in hot tap water, per John’s instructions, I hung it up to dry. I squeezed out excess water with my hands and snapped the skein a bit to straighten it out. I then let the weight of the wet silk keep the silk “weighted” until it dried.

And, yes! After plying, what you see on the paper quill is all that remains of the singles. There’s probably a couple of yards left. I couldn’t be happier!

The color is really subtle. The overall color is a dark grey but there are bits of white and green in there. It looks a bit like a black beetle that shimmers in the sun.

I’ve since started the other half brick I purchased to go with this. This one is sort of bronze with greens and reds. I hope it doesn’t take 2 more years before the singles are spun. I have plans for these two silks!

Specs:

  • Half Bombyx Silk Brick from Northeast Fiber Arts Center
  • Spindle spun;  plied on Matchless with 22:1 flyer
  • 2-ply
  • 55 grams
  • 1,004 yards
  • 8,280 ypp

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