I have seven new yarns up in the shop! Here’s a preview:
Site Makeover
As you can tell, I’ve been updated and upgrading SwitchKnits.com. No more Etsy! At least, that’s the plan. Let me know what you think of the new site and system.
I have some gorgeous yarns waiting for me to take good pictures of them. Here’s a sneak peek:
Finished: BFL/Bombyx commission
I had to stop spinning for two weeks, due to emergency surgery. It was… not fun. But this morning I was able to get back to my wheel to finish turning this:
into this:
Twenty ounces of fiber worked out to around 1,000 yards of sport/DK weight 3-ply yarn. I’m quite please with the results. Each skein is in the gradient order of the unspun fiber, so the yarn goes from ivory to light yellow to gold to brown. Altogether they’ll make a beautiful shawl or other large project.
As always, contact me if you’re interested in having me spin for you. I love doing commissions!
Weaving: shoelaces
Making shoelaces on the inkle loom is fun, I’m finding.
I’m using size 10 crochet thread for them, and using an inkle pattern generator to make designs.
I’m planning to make some for the shop, but first I have to send my loom off for an upgrade. When it’s done I’ll be able to weave bands up to eighteen feet long. I’m thinking about putting some other band-woven things in the shop after that. Dog leashes? Lanyards? Give me your suggestions!
Progress: BFL/Bombyx
Isn’t it gorgeous? The colors are in the order of the gradient.
The yarn is all destined for one project, so for the second skein (currently on the wheel) I’ve mixed a bit of the dark end of the first skein with the light end of the second so that it will provide a continuous, gentle color transition as the knitter makes their project.
Currently Spinning: BFL/Bombyx gradient
A client of mine sent me four 5-ounce braids of this beautiful wool from Corgi Hill Farm, in the colorway “Byzantine Coin.”
It’s 60% BFL wool and 40% Bombyx silk. It’s the most delicious fiber I’ve ever had the pleasure of spinning, and I have twenty ounces of it to spin. I’ll post pictures once it’s done!
Finished: Falkland Gradients
The gradients shown in this post have been finished. They may not look like much in the skeins, but the colors are exactly as shown in that post, in that order.
“Arcadia”, sport weight, 228 yards, 4 ounces:
“Ocean”, sport weight, 226 yards, 4 ounces: SOLD
If you want them before they go in the shop, message me and we can work something out. Etsy listings take a lot of time to set up properly, so I’m willing to give a discount for yarns that haven’t been posted there yet.
Tools of the Trade
Updated July 31th, 2023
I thought I’d do a post about the tools I use to make things for both myself and the shop. (Product photos are from the manufacturers, as I can’t take a good picture of some of these.)
My spinning wheel is an original Ashford Joy single treadle, made sometime before 2002. It’s a travel wheel that folds up and weighs about 11 pounds, if I remember correctly.
Instead of the original flyer, I use a Woolee Winder. Its bobbins are much larger than the Joy’s, and it takes up the yarn without me having to stop to change hooks. It looks similar to this:
I recently got a book charkha, a type of Indian spinning wheel meant for cotton. It was a gift, and I’ve loved using it. I’m making my own embroidery thread at the moment.
If you want to know more about charkhas, here’s a good article from Spin-Off.
For weaving, I have several looms. Some see more use than others.
For cloth, a 40″ Macomber. It originally came with 4 shafts; I’ve since upgraded it to 10, and to 14 treadles.
For sampling and for weaving on the go, a Leclerc Voyageur table loom (8 shafts, 9.5″ weaving width). I wouldn’t recommend this loom to anyone. It took me almost a year to figure out a comfortable weaving position for it.
And a Schacht Cricket 10″ rigid heddle:
For inkle and card-woven bands, a loom from Windhaven Fiber and Tools. It’s called the Harpsichord, and is enormous and can do an 18 foot band.
The difference between the Windhaven pic and my loom is that I had them made left-handed. So much easier to use for me!
My poor, neglected XL tapestry loom from Funum Studio.
I do, however, use my smaller tapestry looms quite a bit. I have the Tiny and Intermediate looms by Hokett, which both look like this (but in different sizes and woods):
Most of my knitting is done with Chiaogoo Twist (bamboo) interchangeable sets. I own both the 4″ and 5″ tips.
That covers all the big stuff. I have a swift and ball winder, a skeinwinder, and a billion knitting notions…
Currently in progress: Falkland gradients
Here’s what I’m currently spinning: Falkland wool gradients from wooliebullie on Etsy.
They’re both fairly soft, and could be worn next to the skin. If you’re interested in either finished skein, contact me. They should be up on Etsy within two weeks, unless somebody snaps them up first!