Category Archives: My Summer Fields Project

The last days of Autumn.

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Almost mid Decembrrr, the days marching through the last stretch of Autumn, and the trees rapidly losing their foliage now, the maples already bare with only a few remaining leaves hanging on. I haven’t been out photographing my favorite season this year, but it is ever as beautiful as I long for it to be, ever as calming, and nurturing, and as these last leaves break free in the breeze, they land as a surprising finale. And then it is time for nature’s sleepy yawn as soon it will bed down for winter, and with knitting to be done!

cast on . . .

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At last, I have cast on! Three hours before an obligatory Christmas party, knowing that without my knitting I will languish surrounded by people I don’t know, so a quick knitting project would give me much company, and save me from being a grumpy wall flower. But what to knit? I don’t want to cast on for yet another pair of socks that would very likely be forgotten as one-sock forever in a drawer, and I have been in the mood to knit with the set of birch straight needles I got over a year ago, so it is now decided, I have begun the actual knitting phase of my Summer Fields project that I’ve already put so much work into. I have not knit for over six months now, so my hands are purring, and ideas are flowing and so . . . maybe a new design? First a kahve, to stir my imagination, and I’ll finish the ribbing. . .

My Summer Fields Spun

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Spinning finally finished, a few weeks ago, and My Summer Fields project has thus far taken me through the summer well into autumn since the resident drum carder arrived. All that work messing with raw fleece, then giving up on it because I couldn’t get the strong smell of sheep out of it (and imbedded into my new drum carder) then changing course and instead using yards of undyed merino-corriedale Wool Of The Andes roving I had in my stash, I finally worked out the batts, and I drafted almost 600g of rolags ready to spin. On and on I spun a little here and there, then as I ended up spinning it a little too fine (my new default it seems), I decided to try a 3ply yarn. But the more one cards, drafts, spins, and plies the careful color variegations in the wool, the more the colors all diffuse! Unfortunately, a lot of work for that sad reality. However, I am pleased enough with it, but it is slow tweed for sure. I wanted to knit a sweater out of this, but am distracted by the looms in my life, and the holidays are now upon us with the new year coming just around the corner. So perhaps this would best be knit up in the calm mid-winter months. Oh, and I’ve had a chance to gauge the weight: 135y = 100g. I am thinking a bulky weight which will probably be 14-16 sts = 4 inches with US9-10 [5.5-6mm] needles.

My summer fields: predrafting from rolags.

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Just look at these delicious whipped up light woolly confections! I am learning that big fat rolags off of the drum carder or blending board spin so much better and smoother when I do this pre-drafting technique, basically stretching the rolag (in little jerking motions) out into a longer, much more airy variation that has released the bound up energy so fibers can slip through so much better, not having to tug at the rolag.

From this rolag, firmly pulled-off-the-carding-drum, a woolly larvae of sorts . . .

Metamorphosized into this long limp airy creature . . .

And finally into this lightly wrapped beautiful whipped confection ready for woollen spinning.

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My summer fields: carding.

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I’ve been busy since the resident carder came earlier this week, down in the tiny (wool) house, raking through the fleece that, after washing it twice, and putting through the box picker twice, I gave up on it as it still had way too many weedy bits, still smelled bad, and was still greasy. The last thing I need is a moth attracting sweater in my wardrobe, so, after cleaning the greasy grime that was fast accumulating on my brand new Ashford carder, I started over blending color with commercial white corriedale/merino top roving I had on hand, and added still more marigold, honey, and dark caramel hues.

However, I made the mistake of pulling off the rolags from the last carding without test-spinning ~~ I am so out of practice ~~ no recipe, just improvising, honing my instincts, and from this point forward it is going to be what it wants to be. I am planning on this first sweater in my wardrobe, to wrap me in the warm memories of golden summer fields all winter long. As I changed course in the middle of carding, I have no idea how much all these rolags weigh, but I’m guessing well over 600g . . . and now for the spinning!

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The resident drum carder . . .

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. . . has arrived!

I am busy down at the tiny (wool) house, figuring out methods, weighing carefully, taking notes and taking a leap of faith in color, learning how to use the hand-cranked carder (feeding with left hand, cranking with right) and calculating percentages of mixes.

Back down in the charcoal forest, away from the internet, I am hunkering down . . . with a return to Tweed Chronicles, engaging my creativity with a bit of hard work, and making the effort for the yarn.

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High summer.

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This morning I went for a walk with Juno, in the hot . . . dry . . . toasted-in-the-sun wild grass of high summer. I so very much want to capture it and knit it into a sweater! These are moments of this afternoon, as my ideas begin stirring, testing all gold tones together, trying to grasp the emotion I feel about the summer landscape that is elemental to my life on the mountain, and translate it into yarn.

See all posts in this series My Summer Fields Project