The subject of muddy colours comes up multiple times this month. Deb Gerish says that fibre is not paint and continues her 'carding for colour' tutorial. Sara Bixler says that size matters and looks at the way that smaller threads mix optically in woven fabric and craftmehappy talks about the way our eyes can blend balanced colours into grey or brown at a distance, and does a thorough job of finding out which drafting methods can keep bright colours separate.
A number of popular events have announced dates and are listed in the UK events, including Buxton, Bakewell, Perth, Leeds. Shetland Wool Week will be back as an in-person event this year but in a reduced form.
Van Gough's Starry Night has inspired two separate projects by sagestutsman and seaflowerspins
Read on for this month's round-up of news, views and reviews for spinners, knitters, crocheters, dyers and weavers. This is the full edition for April 2022.
Cover photo: April Edwards / Alamy Stock Photo.
Contents
In the media
Alpaca - more prized than gold by the Incas, wool parade on the Champs-Elysées, wool used to repair Isle of Skye path
Handspun stories
Custom wheel, carding for colour, avoid spinning mud, using singles, emerald green to dye for, safely storing your woolen clothes, Christmas exchange, Frida Hansen, Yan Zhang, Li textile warrior
Tips and tutorials
Spinning basics: minicombs, colour theory basics, thread plying, colour formulas for blending boards, twist Direction and handedness, cross-lace your flier, wavy weaving, crewel embroidery, cast-ons you should know, diz and blending board, spin wool from an Icelandic sheep
Alpaca - more prized than gold by the Incas, still scorned by the west
If you're new to spinning and have yet to try spinning alpaca, then this is a good introduction.
In inhospitable regions, as with sheep, alpaca can help turn inedible vegetation into food and clothing.
Veronica Kassatly writes that alpaca is expensive, but alpaca is also cheap, depending how you look at it. In this first part of a series, she introduces the animal. In parts two and three she looks at the claims about welfare made by PETA.
Have you bought a brightly-coloured braid of fibre, only to have it turn into mud?
craftmehappy has made a very thorough job of investigating and demonstrating why this can happen, and how different drafting methods affect the result.
Singles yarn is often used in weaving, where biasing isn't an issue. It can be successfully used in knitting too, but there are some considerations.
You have to control the amount of twist carefully and find the line between too much which will cause biasing, and too little which risks breakage and pilling.
There are more considerations, and in this article Josefin goes into details.
The British soldier's standard battle uniforms for the first world war were made of thick woolen tunic colored in khaki.
Wool is a wonderful fibre, but maybe not suitable for the conditions that these men found themselves in. It gets heavy when wet and is susceptible to lice and other pests. Those experiences led to the development of the modern uniforms seen today.
what.the.fibre describes an exciting variation on secret Santa, where you provide yarn in a plain package. You knit the yarn you receive into something of your choice and give it back.
She received this Alaska hat. It's made from her own yarn, spun from an art batt by spunwareovertherainbow
You may remember the 100-day challenge posed by Wool&: wear the same dress for 100 days.
Cheap textiles now allow us to fill our wardrobes but this wasn't the norm very long ago.
This is Heather Curlee Novak's story. She wanted to give up after a month, but coped by finding ways to vary her look - tucking it into jeans, adding scarves and swopping eyewear.
"People admire it," she says, "but they don't want to do it." She's now eager to wear something else.
A 'waist loom' incorporates the weaver's body into the machine. Huang Daopo (1245-1330) brought the techniques back to China from the Li people of Hainan Island.
Yan Zhang is helping to keep traditional Li weaving alive.
Hand combing gets less attention than carding, so if you're new to the craft you may not have come across combs yet.
Full-size combs can be a big investment, but minicombs allow you to prepare top for smooth worsted yarn at home with less outlay. They can also be used for blending.
When it comes to weaving, the rules change, says Sara Bixler.
Very thin threads mix very well optically but with a dramatically larger thread viewers can pick out the two different colours unless they stand a considerable distance away.
Tien Chiu also tackles the topic of choosing colours for your weaving project. She has a flowchart which shows when you need to use her 'two primary rule'.
MIT researchers have woven a piezoelectric fibre into fabric to make a garment that acts as a microphone. It can capture sounds ranging from the characteristics of the wearer's heartbeat to heavy traffic. It can detect the direction of sounds and even act as a speaker.
If you like Yvonne, click the image to find her page, you can use next and previous to explore more cartoons.
Keeping this wheel spinning
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These are mitts for her husband. She has been working in a way that doesn't fatigue or strain her, which is to spin a little, ply a little and stitch a little.
kopletinka took part in a DreaReneeKnits March-May knit-a-long, in which you could choose any Andrea Mowry pattern. She chose to make Metamorphic and used some hand-dyed roving
The exmoor sock yarn recommended by this pattern is also available as top from John Arbon. It contains a blend of strong and soft wools plus a touch of nylon. As I write this, they have stock of a light natural colour which you could dye at home.
The idea for this pattern came from Erika's practice of using up every scrap, which is important to us with precious handspun yarn.
The pattern comes in the form of an e-book with four other patterns. Another of those also focuses on using scraps.
This bag uses 870 yards of Worsted weight yarn (9 wpi). It uses the entrelac technique, which you may know. This may be the opportunity to learn if you don't.
This is Kat's Lakeway Tam, which she knitted as a test knit (pattern is now available). She likes the way a 'tam' fits and doesn't give you 'hat hair'!
It has fair-isle patterning, which looks great in natural shades. It's graded using gauge differences. The designer says that it's great for using up stash. it uses 300 - 350 yards of Fingering / 4 ply (14 wpi) yarn.
This is aspiringtomte's Equinox. She used her own handspun made from threewatersfarm Corriedale.
The pattern is now published. Designer Brienne Moody quotes Kate Davies who said that cutting a steek into your knitting represents "some sort of final frontier" for even the most intrepid knitters.
She adds "Let's go!!! Let's go steeking!!"
The pattern requires 789 - 1536 yards of DK (11 wpi)
23-24 April 2022, Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells
First held in 2006 to promote the market for Welsh wool and add value to product for small wool & fibre producers in Wales, the festival celebrates the green credentials of Welsh wool and its versatility as a material for creative crafts, designer clothes, home furnishings and more.
Wonderwool Wales has grown year on year. It covers everything from the start to the end of the creative process.
A list of accommodation and camping in the surrounding area is available on the Wonderwool website.
7 and 8 May 2022, Grand Octagon room, Pavilion Gardens, Buxton
50 exhibitors will be displaying the best of yarn, knitting, and crochet in the gateway to the Peak District. The website contains an exhibitor list and ticket information.
The event's home page contains some charity patterns raising money for Macmillan.
This popular event includes a market offering a range of goods from local traders, workshops and activities, demonstrations of special techniques, a pop-up tea room and loads more.
Friday 10 - Sunday 12 June, 2022, John Arbon Textiles, Hacche Lane Business Park, South Molton
This legendary event returns as an in-person event in 2022. Includes mill tour and "all sorts of additional bits and bobs". More details to be announced.
10 and 11 September 2022. Dewars Centre, Glover St, Perth PH2 0TH
Bringing together independent dyers, farmers, knitters, spinners, felters and weavers. In 2018 nominated for the best yarn festival in the UK. Vendors' gallery marketplace, over 80 vendors, keynote event, social events and classes run over the weekend.
24 and 25 September 2022, Skipton Auction Mart, North Yorkshire
Stunning exhibitions, skill demonstrations and a full programme of textile workshops create a visual feast and make Yarndale a real must-visit for yarn lovers.
Shetland Wool Week will be going ahead in person this year. It will be a scaled back version of the usual physical event as the main focus will be on delivering SWW in full for 2023
Includes classes, talks, drop-ins, art. See website for the full events listing.
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