One exact week beyond my own birthday is that of my beloved, never-to-be-forgotten, Ma. Agnes Marion Belde (nee Mayer), was born on December 28th in St. Paul, Minnesota. From an astrological standpoint, Ma and I swung from two, very different stars. I'm on the cusp of Sagittarius and she was a Capricorn. According to Molly's Astrology, Capricorn: pessimistic, responsible, serious, hard working, materialistic, ages well; Sagittarius: optimistic, extravagant, outgoing, idealistic, impractical, open-minded (gee, my sign didn't say I would age well....what's up with that?) It's no wonder Ma and I often butted heads and pissed each other off. We may have only been born 7 days apart in December, but we were light years away in our demeanor. Or were we?If Ma was still alive, she'd be 92 this year. 'course she'd proudly never admit to that, as for years she used the excuse that we had no written proof as to just how old she was. She adamantly claimed no birth certificate of her's was to be found anywhere in anyone's important papers. I remember her coyly recounting that in "those days" babies were born at home and who knows what births were recorded...or not. Last night I spoke to my wonderful and amazing Aunt Loraine, who'll be 95 on her next summer birthday. Aunt Loraine thankfully (for the sake of our family's sanity) is related to us by marriage to one of Ma's five brothers, Robert. On the topic of my Ma's age, Aunt Loraine said, "She was born in 1914." I asked, "How do you know for sure?" Aunt Loraine, still living near to the St. Paul area where Ma was born, recounted how about 20 years ago Ma had asked Loraine to secure a copy of Ma's birth certificate. I'm guessing Ma needed the certificate so the authorities would let her drive again (she was then in her 70's!), after about a 50 year hiatus from behind the wheel (note to spider's friends: Surely you see NO resemblance here with regards to "Driving Ms. Jenny," do you?! Naaahh...) Now Ma has been passed away for near to 12 years and I never saw nor heard of this certificate prior to speaking to Aunt Loraine. Well one thing's for sure, I didn't get my own sneaky nature from thin air. See Aloysius: A Non-Spinnable, Short-haired, Black Cat for just how sneaky I can be! I can just hear Ma say, "tough bananas," in my mind's eye, regarding this passed on trait of our's. And while we're at it, I think it would be pretty safe to add a fair dose of vanity, from an age and looks standpoint, under both the Capricorn and Sagittarius signs.
I've come to know that I owe my Ma more than I could ever have realized when I was younger. She, herself, had youthful hopes and dreams of becoming a fashion designer in New York City. Coming from a family of 9 children, where her own father died early in her life, she was forbid to take such a leap into the creative world she craved. Instead, she worked for a tailor and later in a clothing factory. From a housekeeping standpoint, she cleaned ALOT. It was simply expected of her from her own Mother and she never forgot it.
I had always wondered why Ma didn't teach me "housekeeping" skills. I think this was because she wanted me to look at life differently and take that leap. Ma never totally understood the roads I travelled, but it was she who granted me the opportunity to take them. I have never felt bogged down by cooking or being overly concerned with cleaning. This may not have made me the hostess-with-the-mostess, but it sure did make things interesting in my adult, wedded life. While my home is not a pig sty, to this day you may be told not to look too closely if you need to visit our bathroom (my all-time, most dreaded, cleaning job!) And thank goodness Chris is a great cook or we may have been inviting Stouffer's to the table regularly. Whew...not!
Ma was an impeccable dresser. She loved her matching shoes and purses. No one could wear a suit like Ma. Her hair had to be "just so." I once asked Chris if I was an impeccable dresser, too? He said, "Ummm, no." Well, no need to beat around the bush about that, eh?
Ma met and married my Dad, Alvin, (who adored his Agnes) at a time when devout Catholics (Ma) didn't marry Lutherans (Dad). One of her favorite things to say to him was, with a twinkle in her eye, "Al, you'll not be allowed on my side of heaven if you don't become Catholic!" Dad never did convert and she never expected him to. I have a feeling they're enjoying "chasing around" (Ma's words for going out and having a good time) alot these days.
Happy Birthday, Ma! We miss you!!! Above are some photos of her. I particularly love the pic with my Dad (second from the bottom), which must have been taken in one of those photo booths. The two top snapshots show Ma pictured with me. Resemblance?
Now because I find it hard not to put some fiber art technique in my once-a-week post, I'd like to address the following comment left on last week's post:
bibliotecaria said:
Plies needed? I have successfully used two plies in my socks. I have also successfully used more plies than that in socks. If the fiber was of the longer, and perhaps stronger, type, I don't see why singles couldn't be used in socks! If the fiber was of the really shorter type, I would probably choose to ply to add needed strength.
Softness needed? Choose fiber(s) that feel good to you, but keep in mind that whole strength issue. I have heard and seen written by THEM, that certain wool breeds should be absolutely avoided when making socks. It's my feeling that if the spinner addresses how to add strength or other wanted qualities, a wide variety of wools and other fibers can be spun and successfully used for socks. Merino, Polwarth or Corriedale are not out of the picture!
When I'm designing a yarn, such as for sock knitting, I also like to look in vendor's knitting yarn catalogs, such as that from Woodland Woolworks. There's a wealth of info (ie.wraps per inch, fiber content, etc.) in the description and specs of various yarns that can be of help to a spinner looking to replicate, including life-size photos of the yarn. Owning a McMorran Balance can be useful to figure out if the yarn you're spinning will match the yds/lb figure listed by the yarn you're looking at in the catalog.
Regarding particular spinning techniques used for sock yarns, I'd have to say they vary depending on the fibers used. I often start with one of the drafting techniques detailed in Drafting Techniques For Handspinners or Opinions On Drafting Techniques For Handspinners. If one technique is not producing the results I'm looking for, I try another....simple as that. I know of no one, "magic" spinning technique for socks, however. That said, Navajo 3-plying has a nearly magical way of keeping space dyed colors on fiber separated and clear, if the spinner should so choose...and since sock spinners and knitters seem to like this kind of color spinning/knitting, then Navajo 3-plying would be a good technique to add to your arsenal (if it's not there already!) Any thoughts or opinions on this readers?
As always, these tips are based on my own work and pondering. Sock spinners and knitters, I implore you to come out of the woodwork and add your two cents, please!
Yule Greetings to y'all! Happy Chanukah! And wishing folks a delightfully Merry Christmas, too!
Like many of you, I've been more or less happily scurrying about as I prepare for the holidays...shopping for gifts, decorating and even a bit of candy making. (Do you know how messy making popcorn balls is?! Disgustingly sticky popcorn everywhere!!). For the most part, things have gone well and I've been feeling pretty on top of my need-to-dos. But if I've learned anything over the years (and on December 21st, that'll be 49 years!! Yes, my birthday sits smack dab on Yule and the Winter Solstice) it's that the best laid plans of mice and spiders can, and may downright insist, to go awry.
Call it "Holiday High Jinx". Call it "Seasonal Shenanigans". Let me begin by saying that the mantra I found myself chanting this very morning was, "What goes up must come down". I awoke to Chris calling to me from the living room, "Jen, I think you need to come down here. It's a bloody disaster!". He went on to say, "I think THE CAT (which is Chris's name for Al when he's been naughty) tried to climb the tree". I knew the trouble was extensive when Chris said to put something on my feet.
Yes, the frickin huge Balsam that we carefully picked out at the Brattleboro Food Co-op had toppled completely over. All the spilled water from the tree stand wreaked havoc on some of the wrapped presents. Ornaments had flown to the kitchen in the crash, only to land as a heap of cragged glass. One of those other-worldly moans escaped from my mouth as I witnessed the fiasco. The sound stopped when I got handed a broom and dustpan. This was no time to lament. It WAS a time to quietly question why none of us heard this CAT-astrophe when it happened.
Now as you can imagine it took awhile to put all in its place. Yes, precious, old ornaments were broken.
No, not too, too many...could'a been worse. I found myself saying, "It might not have been Al, don'tcha know?" Both Alexander and Chris gave me that you-must-be-in-lala-land-kind-of-look. I responded by saying I was glad they weren't the hanging judges 'cause they only had circumstantial evidence afterall. Surely you wouldn't condemn Aloysius, innocent black cat, who sits under the tree in the bottom photo. Would you? Poor, little, misunderstood guy that he is....
How many of you have ornaments that look ridiculously awful, yet are always highly sought after to hang on the tree year after year, making you downright sappy as you reminisce about them? Thus is the ornament in the top photo. Once again Alexander, youngest son, graced me with his presence and unfailing dry wit and sarcasm, helping to hang the seemingly never-ending supply of ornaments onto our Balsam. I tried not to pay attention to his pissing and moaning when yet another full box was opened for business. Smirking, as he dangled the above photo flash cube he said, "Ma, what the hell IS this?". First of all, most folks under a certain age wouldn't even know it was made from a flash cube since they've never seen one. But the birth of this ornament has become family legend and Alexander knows the story all too well. I was about 8 years old and had seen in a craft magazine (or maybe the Carol Duvall Show on TV - I heard she's STILL doing craft shows. Geesh!) how to make a "picture" ornament from a used flash cube, the kind that sat on top of a camera and turned to present a new bulb for use when a flash photo was taken. Once all four bulbs on the cube were used just once each, the thing was generally tossed into the trash - NOT an environmentally friendly item by a long shot. Why not do something with the used cubes? Now the thing that gets folks scratching their heads is when they ask who the women are that are pictured in the cube? I've not a clue. I had cut their photos out of the TV Guide back in the 1960's. I have no idea why I didn't use photos of my family or friends!! Alexander figures that if the women in the cube were 20-25 years old back then, they're about 60-65 now. Wonder what they'd think if they knew their photos were used as Christmas decorations every year in our home for over 40 years?! Alexander decided the ornament is really kind of creepy...as if the women were trapped in the cube and never let out by us....There's some nice, cheerful, holiday thoughts, eh?
On a knitting note, Leslie, friend and blog commenter, e-mailed me and asked whether or not I ever reinforce the toes and heels of my handknit socks and if so, what with? Like many of you, I have tried to keep the holes at bay by adding or doing something to heels/toes. I had even once, long ago, tried a knit-along for a pair of Chris's socks of fine, clear, nylon sewing thread but the wool yarn wore out amazingly fast, leaving the weird and wiry, nylon webbing. I was able to kitchener stitch over the nylon, only to have the wool wear out quickly yet again...making me think it was the nylon itself that was the culprit, literally abrading the wool via foot action.
The most successful, commercial, knit-along I've used is wooly, serger nylon (available at sewing centers). This nylon still has great strength but lacks the hard, unforgiving nature of clear, sewing thread (dah, Jenny!).
As a handspinner and handknitter, I usually choose to add/do a few things that have seemed to work well for me in the past to reinforce the heels/toes of socks. I've sometimes used handspun mohair, silk or nylon (Louet's fake cashmere or for a more glitzy version, Icicle is fun) to knit-along or use as the main yarn for heels/toes, as these fibers have good strength qualities, yet are comfortable. I may spin and ply the mohair, silk or nylon with quite alot of twist in order to up the strength. I ofttimes knit the heels/toes with smallish needles, upping the strength in the fabric itself by making it firmer than the rest of the sock. I sometimes use the "heel stitch" but don't find it as an absolute requirement for my heels/toes.
How many of you get holes in your socks in "other" places than the heels/toes? Isn't that infuriating?! How dare those holes be so brazen?!! What are some of YOUR ways to beat the sock holes?
Happy Holidays! Thought I'd pull a few Santa photos from the snapshot archives of the Bakriges' and Belde's. Perhaps not surprisingly, there are a few handknits in the photos, too.The top picture shows our oldest son, David, (now 26 years old) wearing a 100% wool, raglan sweater. The pattern was featured in an early 80's knitting magazine, however I changed it to be circular and seamless, using Elizabeth Zimmermann's EPS formula. What's up with that Santa? He's looking a little bizarre and downright scary in the photo, if you ask me...The middle photo shows our youngest, Alexander, (now 19 years old) trying to skedaddle, far and away from jolly, ol' Santa. Alexander wouldn't have dreamt of sitting in Santa's lap. Come to think of it, I don't think Chris and I were able to persuade Alexander to even get in proximity of any big guy with a fur-trimmed, red suit ever again...with me or without me present. Alexander is wearing a part commercial yarn/part handspun yarn hat and mitts. The hat shape itself, complete with earflaps, is my design. The sheepy color pattern is not, but I'm not sure what publication I found it in. The handspun yarn is what the sheep and some trim are made from - Samoyed dog fiber, I do believe. My tam is none other than the one Beverly Royce made for me, written about in the past post, Tangled Up In Blue.
The bottom photo shows myself, sometime during the mid-1960's, looking rather content hanging out with Santa. For those familiar with the Detroit area at that time, there's a good chance I saw this particular Santa on the top floor of Hudson's Department Store; downtown location no less. 'course Hudson's is long-gone, along with their enchanting, decorated windows and their magical, walk-through, Santa's Wonderland - complete with elves, glitter and lots of twinkling lights. To this day, I still love all the sparkling, holiday window displays at the retail stores. Looks like I'm going to have to get my glitz-fix by make a trek to NYC's famous, shopping district, 5th Avenue!
As mentioned in last week's post, Finishing Handspun Yarn - Part One, I had inadvertantly deleted, in my inbox, pertinent yarn finishing questions posed in Ted's recent email sent to me. The spider lucked out, however, as Ted had his own, saved copy of his e-mail! Some of Ted's excellent questions, paraphrased, include:
1) Why would I choose to wet, steam, simmer or boil yarn and why?
2) What technique(s) "set the twist"? Is setting the twist the same as finishing yarn, or only one way to finish yarn?
3) Does simmering correct an "unbalanced" skein? When simmering, does the skein need to be wound on something like a PVC niddy noddy?
4) Once unbalanced, always unbalanced?
5) Why would you intentionally "felt" your yarn by dunking it alternately in hot and cold water and/or agitating it with a toilet plunger and/or smacking it hard against a counter top? Does this set the twist?
6) Does cotton need to be boiled to set the twist? Does cotton need to be shrunk before use? Will cotton fall apart when not under tension and thus should be wound on a bobbin of some kind whilst boiling? Can it be twisted in a skein to be boiled? If cotton has "no memory" will boiling help it remember? What should cotton be remembering?
7) Should wool and silk be ironed to finish them?
Leslie, fantastic frequent commenter on the blog, asked a few more yarn finishing questions:
1) How long do you soak a skein to set the twist? Is there a minimum?
2) Do you always use the hottest tap water? Will you ever use warmish water and will it still set the twist?
3) Do you try not to move the skein around in the water? Or would you press down to get out any dirt or oils?
4) Do you always lay your skein down to dry? Leslie drapes her's over a line and wonders if that makes a difference?
Whoosh! That's alot of questions on finishing yarn! Let's dig in.... Now again, I don't propose to know the best or the only way to finish handspun yarn. What follows are my opinions and what generally works for me. And do note that I, just as you do, have the right to change my opinion down the line!! Your opinions and ideas are most welcome in the comment section below this post. When we share our ideas, we all benefit, so please comment when you can. Also, I'll try not to repeat myself too much from last week's post on finishing handspun, so if you have questions, do check that earlier, finishing post again as the answer you're looking for may be there. Below you'll find me mixing and matching Ted's and Leslie's questions. Hopefully we'll address all of the queries in the end.
I view "wetting" yarn as what we do when we wash a skein to "finish" it. Does anyone else view "wetting" as something other than washing? Washing allows the yarn to relax and brings out all it's qualities (for better or worse, depending on how it's spun and what fibers are used). This yarn washing is how I finish most of my handspun yarns for knitting. I would soak the skein for no less than 15-20 minutes, the usual time recommended by the products I like to wash with. I have been known to let a skein sit longer in the water (especially if the skein is on the hefty side or made from fibers that don't take up the water easily, such as silk), but not long enough to have the water go cold. I would, indeed, gently press the skein under water when it first goes in to aid in the absorption of the water and cleaner-of-choice. Once the skein takes up the water and cleaner throughout the fibers, I walk away and let the cleaner do its thing (in other words, no agitation or moving around of the skein). I generally use warm to quite warm water to wash skeins, but I don't usually use HOT, nor the hottest tap water we have. I do wash fleece, however, with HOT, to remove excess grease, oils and dirt. I do usually lay the skein down to dry because I feel this fully supports its weight and eliminates any possibility of stretched fibers. If you hang wet skeins to dry, I would suggest that you move and rotate them occasionally so there's no kink from the line they're hanging on and that you make sure excess water (which may act like a weight) is blotted out before hanging.
Setting twist! Hmmm. This is a loaded topic full of opinions. I'm not sure I even like to use the term, "setting the twist". I'd rather simply call it finishing yarn. The way I see it: twist is twist is twist is twist.... What twist, you as the spinner in charge of your equipment, put into the yarn, will show up fully, with all flags flying, after you wash the yarn. Here's an example, a bit of a mind-bender and a fairy tale all in one: You've made two bobbins of the same size of wool singles. The singles have been sitting on your bobbins for 3 months. You're a knitter and you now want to plain-vanilla, 2-ply these singles together to become a balanced skein. After plying you immediately remove the yarn from the bobbin by winding it on to a niddy-noddy. You secure the skein with ties to keep it from tangling. You remove the skein from the niddy-noddy. You shriek because it twists mercilessly in one direction and doesn't hang open like a balanced skein, even though you successfully practiced your tried and true techniques that insured you would have a balanced skein. My response to this scenario would be, "How could the plied skein do otherwise"? Of course it's going to twist in one direction at this stage. In other words, the singles yarn was temporarily deadened (or sleeping) by sitting on the bobbins for months. The twist you put into the singles is still in there, just sleeping (like Sleeping Beauty). You then plied these sleeping-twist-singles with fresh, very much alive, plying twist . Think of the plying twist as Prince Charming who has come to wake up the Sleeping Beauty singles. Aaah, but Sleeping Beauty can't wake up until she's been doused with warm water - the plying kiss with the Prince didn't quite do the trick (didn't wake her up!) in this case. Soooo, put that skein into warm water and watch her come to life, balancing out Prince Charming's very much alive plying twist...and behold, a balanced skein (that is, IF you insured it would be a balanced skein in your spinning of the singles and in your plying technique).
Worth repeating: Twist can go one way or the other, right or left, Z or S. In a plied yarn, if there's not excess twist right or left, the washed skein will hang like an open donut, with the two directions of twist neutralized. Ted asked, "once unbalanced, always unbalanced" twist-wise? Well, if I washed an unbalanced skein and dried it in my usual fashion (as written above and in last week's finishing post), it will remain unbalanced. If I washed an unbalanced skein and perhaps dried it in a way that held the skein straight and not skewed from the unbalancing, then it would possibly dry to look unbalanced (not twist in one way or the other when held and hung loose), but this is a temporary "set" at best. If the skein was highly unbalanced, it might act up after I washed the finished piece I use it in. Highly unbalanced skeins will often bias the fabric in the direction the excess twist is going in...this is especially evident when a knitter chooses to knit stockinette. Some knitted stitch patterns may more or less hide the imbalance. Slightly imbalanced skeins might not cause any skewing at all, but I would swatch just to make sure. In other words, spinners who knit may be able to get away with a bit of unbalance. But if I was looking for a final, balanced skein, I would make sure my spinning and plying techniques took care of that when making the yarn in the first place. I would never want to worry about attempting to balance a plied skein in the finishing.
Steaming and simmering, like washing, can achieve a temporary to even more permanent setting of the twist. The longer the fiber is subjected to either of these treatments, the more permanent the set tends to be. Handspinners need to be VERY CAREFUL not to overdo it with either of these techniques...a perfectly lovely yarn can lose qualities such as luster, bounce and more, even if these qualities were in the original fiber(s) and maintained in the handspinning processes. Mills often use steaming to temporarily deaden singles to get them ready for plying, making the singles less apt to tangle in the equipment, due to "live" twist. Mills may also do a final steaming of the plied yarn to make the yarn more compliant to be "put up" into whatever package needed, be it skein or cone. If mills apply ALOT of steam, they can even (more or less) permanently remove small twist balancing problems. Please understand that mills do this steaming in a very controlled environment, assuring that the yarn won't be damaged in the end. If handspinners want to proceed down this road (and I must admit I would not want to use ALOT of steam or simmering), they should do so with extreme caution, otherwise both they and their yarn just might end up as very unhappy campers.
I have used, maybe once or twice, a handheld steamer to temporarily deaden singles on my yarn blocker, but I generally don't need to do this since simply letting the singles dry on a yarn blocker tames the yarn enough for ease of use. Since singles yarn cannot ever be totally balanced (yarn is only going in one direction) and as a spinner who knits, I usually choose to put the minimal twist into the singles yarn to make it stable (that is, minimal twist for my chosen size of singles yarn). Therefore, I am not dealing with alot of excess twist to begin with, and skewing problems in anything knitted tend to be non-existant. This is a good example of getting away with a little unbalance.
One great reason I may choose to steam yarn is when I want to Navajo 3-ply immediately after spinning the singles. Basically, we're looking to temporarily deaden the twist, to make it easier to perform the hand motions necessary for Navajo 3-plying. I learned this technique from my #1 spinning mentor, Rita Buchanan. Wind the singles onto a "cat ball" - you know, a felted ball. You can either skewer the yarn-wound-ball with a knitting needle and hold it over the steam of a kettle (a la roasting marshmallows!) or use an electric veggie steamer, like I do. Please don't use the steamer for any food product after that (particles of loose dye or yarn gunge don't mix with edibles)!! It only takes a short time for the yarn's twist to tame down nicely. Again, you don't need to oversteam...just until the singles stops tangling and doesn't ply back back on itself alot.
Personally, I have tried simmering once. I've not found a reason to use it in any of my own work after that time. I'd rather not explain (sob!) the wonderful qualities that simmering deleted from my yarn! I'd love to hear why others choose this technique. Again, if you travel this road, beware of the pitfalls. I'd rather avoid the pitfalls altogether.
I have not done alot of cotton spinning, as other spinners may have. From what I have done, I've only once or twice boiled the cotton yarn. I did this because I had spun a naturally colored cotton and was told it would deepen the color. It did! I have also been told waxes and other stuff can be removed when boiling cotton. For me, a red flag goes up about this, knowing that too much boiling might take out qualities inherent in the fiber and the spinning process I chose. Therefore, consider proceeding with caution should you aim to boil. As for boiling, or even simply washing cotton yarn that has been plied: If there's adequate twist to make the yarn stable for the size of yarn you've spun, I don't see a reason for winding such yarn on a bobbin or PVC niddy noddy, prior to finishing (washing or whatever you choose to do). Perhaps if I chose to boil really fine cotton singles yarn, I might want it wound on a boilable bobbin or other holding device to avoid tangling. That said, I've heard PVC emits unkind things into the air when boiled...don't know how factual this is and haven't looked much further into it as boiling PVC is not my practice...but if it's your practice, consider looking into the safety issues further.
As to the question of whether cotton needs to be shrunk prior to use, I will answer by saying what I'd do with any fiber. I would spin it and swatch it, measuring the unwashed swatch. I would wash the swatch in the same way I would be washing my finished piece. I would dry the swatch and measure it again. Did it shrink? How much? Lengthwise and/or widthwise? If I was concerned over alot of shrinkage that happened with my usual & gentle washing method (and another red flag might go up at that point!), I would call Jofran, my chemical engineering friend, and have her work out a math % so I could allow for such shrinkage in my finished item. After I spin alot more cotton I may have more thoughts on the topic. Ted, as to what cotton needs to "remember" (if anything at all!), your guess is as good as mine!! Any prolific cotton spinning readers out there willing to share their tips with us, on shrinkage, boiling and otherwise finishing their cotton yarn? Much appreciated and thank you, in advance!!
Some spinners choose to subject yarn made from fine, shortish, down-like, exotic fibers (ie. yak down, quiviut, camel down, etc.) to an alternate hot/cold bath and agitation. This "fulling" is done to keep the short and slippery fibers stable in the yarn, with hopes of eliminating shedding fibers and preventing the yarn from drifting apart. I can totally understand this since the process makes the yarn more stable and wearable. Some spinners feel the yarn is fully bloomed once subjected to these methods, and even more beautiful than if you didn't put it through the above paces. As for whacking, thwacking, whapping or whatever, do see my post from last week for why I tend to be in this camp.
Lastly there's the ironing silk and/or wool question....I think whoever wrote about this is probably referring to ironing woolen or silk cloth for sewing, removing wrinkles and the like. I know some knitting books, especially from the mid-1960's and back, talk about ironing their handknits. I must admit never finding the need to iron my handknits. I may hold my iron above a handknitted piece and blow some steam on it to remove any wrinkles or make it more compliant, but I don't think one can call that ironing. I may even put a damp cloth on such handknitting, gently touching the cloth with the hot iron, to achieve the same effect. However, I think it's safe to say I'd never let the full weight of an iron touch my knitted pieces, nor my yarn.
I think all the above questions asked for this post have been more or less addressed. I'm positive we'd all enjoy hearing about YOUR tips and techniques for finishing handspun yarns.
I want to thank all of you who so kindly commented and gave oodles of uplifting encouragement about The Inevitable: Change, via e-mail or below the post itself. That you took the time to comment was so very appreciated by me. I found myself in a weird state-of-mind during the first days after my decision to cut back on the weekly quantity of blog posts...I missed my daily tappings! But as I began to actually get some of THE BOOK project work done, the reality that a good compromise was indeed made became crystal clear. And so, here's my weekly post...This past Sunday was spent with 10 truly lovely folks. They were the participants in my one-day workshop, "Thick, Medium and Thin - Spinning for a Specific Yarn". The workshop was held at WEBS, in Northampton, MA. I think it would be safe to say that nary a knitter in this country would not at least know of WEBS. Plus, there's a high likelihood that a huge majority of these knitters have some yarn bought from WEBS in their stash, perhaps from WEBS' always excellent sale events. The spider, herself, bought her Louet S10 wheel (which she would never part with) from WEBS in 1985 when they were still on Kellogg Street, located in a quaint, Victorian house in Amherst, MA. I remember being given a length of combed, wool top, which I had never spun before, to test the wheel out. Thankfully the clerk went on her way to help some other customer and my husband mosied off with our then little David, giving me some much needed space and time. I treadled and proceeded to try to push a glob of overspun rope through the S10's ample orifice. When Chris came back and asked if I liked the wheel, I put my hands over the bobbin's content (or should I say the conglomeration that was stuck in the hooks of the flyer), and sweetly answered, "Oh yes! Absolutely!". At least I had the presence of mind to know the problem was with me, the driver, and not the wheel. Presently you'll find WEBS to be a warehouse of yarn/books/equipment/tools/fiber and more - absolutely willing to mail order any of their wares, should you not have the good fortune to be able to visit in person.At least four of the participants in the above class are bloggers themselves. Isn't that neat?!! Here's all four of their blog sites: There's Laurie, blog writer of Etherknitter. And Kathy, of the Knitigator. Plus Cindy, of Cindyknits, where you'll also find photos taken during the spinning workshop. And Judy, of Smatterings, where you'll see photos of the yarn samples she created in class. I, myself, camed loaded with camera and the question, "May I take some photos for my blog?". Did I take those photos? Well, let's just say I'm a teacher first, and a blog writer somewhere after that....Ted, of Knitterguy, and I have been exchanging e-mails of late. One topic that came up had to do with the finishing of handspun yarn. OK Ted, I'll admit to you and all bloggerland that I accidently deleted your message that contained the full breadth of your questions. I was trying to clean up my inbox and all sorts of awful things occur when I do so. That said, I'll do my best to address the yarn finishing topic with some of my opinions. Note the word opinions. As I do with any of my suggestions, I'll preface to say take it all with a grain of salt, knowing that there are many ways to achieve beloved yarn. Most importantly, use your own intuition and common sense to guide you. If you love the final yarn and it behaves nicely in the project it was destined for, then you did the "right" thing.As a knitter, my yarn isn't finished until I've washed and dried it after skeining. But let's back up...One thing to remember is that if you're spinning fiber that's been commercially prepared (ie. top, roving, sliver, etc.), chances are good that a spinning oil has been added in order for the fibers to go through the mill's equipment. After packaging, the spinning fiber is then sitting in the mill's or distributor's warehouse for heaven who knows how long, until it reaches a retail company, only to sit some more. Sometimes it even remains in it's original packaging until it reaches you, the spinner. Sometimes the fiber is so compacted in this packaging, one can hear a sigh of relief from the fiber as it's let out to play, so to speak. Participants in my recent workshop at WEBS couldn't believe how little the plastic bag that held 8 oz of wool top actually was. So, picture this fiber, containing oil of some unknown origin, sitting in a decidedly cramped state of affairs.
At this point in the explanation, I get asked whether the commercially processed fiber itself, prior to spinning, should be scoured first. I always scour first if I'm going to dye the unspun, commercial fiber before spinning. In that case, the added oil would impede any of the premordanting or dyeing processes. Personally and thankfully, I've rarely found it to be necessary to first scour commercial, unspun fiber otherwise (with only about two, dreadful exceptions that come to mind where the oil used in processing was in excess and gross). However, I do prefer to scour raw fleece, removing excess dirt and grease, and for that see the past post, Scour That Fleece, for one, simple version of how I do so.
As we move on, let's picture spinning our singles and plying them, if we should so desire. As a knitter, I often prefer a balanced, plied yarn...one that doesn't have excess twist going one way or the other (clockwise or counter-clockwise, S or Z). How to achieve a balanced yarn is a topic for another post(s) down the line. If this is something that interests you, do let me know in the comment section. Knitters often like balanced yarns because the fabric they make from them doesn't skew and bias off in strange ways. 'course there are knitters and knit designers who make use of excess twist (energized yarns) in their designs, but again, that's another topic altogether, as well. Another example would be weavers who use yarns of excess twist in their "collapse" fabrics, with interesting accordian-like qualities.
Before washing my skeins, I make sure the skein is secured in at least four places, using loosely tied (no tight noosing) figure-8 ties. I like unbleached crochet cotton for this job, but of course, use what you like. If the yarn is very fine, more than four ties are used to keep the skein from tangling mercilessly. My balanced, plied, knitting yarns are not finished until they've gone through a warm to very warm water bath, with a washing product I like (ie. Eucalan, Soak Wash, Meadow's Wool Wash (distributed by Louet), etc.). This bath will put the yarn in a state that will allow it to be all it's going to be, removing the spinning processing oils and returning (waking up the memory of) any qualities, such as elasticity in the fiber, that were present in the fibers to begin with.
I do not apply a weight to these plied, knitting yarns after washing. It's my personal opinion that if the plied skeins are balanced and of appropriate twist for the size of yarn and use in my project, I do not need to apply a weight to the skeins. Weighting is a technique that some choose; hanging a weight of some kind off the end of a hung skein as it dries. I'm guessing that this technique was generally proposed by "Them" to straighten out kinks and curls from overtwist, or to attempt to correct excess twist going one way or the other. The main problem with weighting has to do with accidently using too much weight and stretching the yarn, leaving it in a state that might act weird in a project. This may show its ugly head especially after the project is washed as a whole, and some of the elasticity of the fiber returns or not. I wrote "some of the elasticity" because too much weight can even permanently damage the memory of such elasticity, making, for instance, wool lose some or all of its bounce and a final, "limpish" fabric is the result. One more problem that can occur with the whole "weighting a skein scenario" happens when the person does not move the weight to another part of the skein occasionally and does not rotate the skein as it dries. When this happens, the weight is only pulling in one area and can lead to yarn that hasn't been evenly weighted. Yuck!
The only instances where I need to do something even close to weighting a skein occur when I want to spin, wash and use a singles yarn. In that case, one can't "balance" the yarn because twist is going only in one way to begin with. As a spinner who knits, however, I can choose to use the least amount of twist necessary to make my singles yarn stable, thus avoiding excess twist that will skew a knitted fabric. A rule of thumb I tend to follow and teach: The thicker the yarn the less twist needed to make it stable and conversely, the thinner the yarn the more twist to make it stable. Instead of hanging a weight off of just-washed singles yarn, I prefer to carefully wind the yarn, without stretching but keeping the yarn smooth and non-kinked, around my yarn blocker to dry it. This is an item that is shown, with woodworking directions, in Paula Simmons', "Spinning and Weaving with Wool," Pacific Search Press, Seattle, WA, 1978. I was lucky enough to have it made many years ago by my sister-in-law's then boyfriend at the time. See the second from the top photo for a shot of my wool blocker.
Back to my plied, just-washed, knitting yarn....After gently squeezing out excess rinse (or in the case of Eucalan or Soak, no need for rinsing) water, I roll the yarn up in a towel and squeeze out even more water.
No undo agitating, twisting or wringing of the skeins, please. I admit to being a whacker. What's a whacker? I like to take hold of my skein on one end and whack it firmly on a table. This sends the black-cats-both scurrying for cover. Then I take hold of another end of the skein and repeat the whacking.
Not too hard, but definitely firmly. For me, this has a way of evening out any twist that acted up when the yarn was put in the wash water. After all, we're not machines as spinners, and there's bound to be some irregularity somewhere in our drafting, and thus in the resulting twist along the length of our yarn. And let's face it, whacking is fun... Next, I put both hands in the hole of the donut that is my skein. Gently, I open up the skein all around, moving around and within it with both hands, until the skein looks like...well, a proper skein that's acting nicely. Finally, I lay the skein in one of my trays in my drying rack in the studio. Please view the bottom photo for some skeins and swatches drying happily in this set-up. These skeins/swatches are just a few of my blending experiments and exercises lately being done as I continue to develop my fiber/color blending workshop. See the past post, Drying Rack Lowdown, for more on my drying rack set-up.
If I correctly remember some of Ted's initial questions, I believe they address some of the following: What techniques are used to achieve a permanent setting of the twist in yarn? Is a permanent setting of the twist even needed? What about steaming a yarn (for instance, a skein that is held on a niddy noddy over the spout of a steaming tea-pot) and why would you consider doing it? What about "stewing" or simmering a skein in water - does this correct twist imbalance, overtwist, etc.? Does a skein ever need to be simmered or boiled? Are there some fibers that you would consider subjecting boiling to and why? I have a feeling there are more questions out there, from readers or ones I missed in Ted's vanished e-mail. If so, please leave your thoughts and/or questions in the comment section and I'll attempt to address them in a future post.
The top photo shows a dramatic, Vermont sunset viewed about two weeks ago, standing on my deck in the backyard of my home. As I type this, snow is gently falling and there are about a gazillion birds at the feeders. Soon the winter solstice will be here and our days will go from dark to ever increasing light once again...such a joy to witness the circle of the seasons.
Twitter 
Here's a question for you -- what are your techniques for spinning sock yarn? What type of wool do you use? How many plies? How tightly do you spin? And ply? I have had a hard time finding specific directions.