Taueret

FO! EZ jumper and Betty Davenport's new book is ready!

First, the important news:  Betty Linn Davenport's new edition of "Textures and Patterns for the Rigid Heddle Loom" is almost ready and orders are being taken.

"Soon to be released and taking orders now -                                        

Textures and Patterns for the Rigid Heddle Loom by Betty Linn Davenport
74 pages, 6 color pages, beautiful color cover - $29 plus $3.67 shipping                                      

Originally published in 1980, this book has been out of print for 20 years. Now revised the version has all new photos and new material including Double Weave with 2 rigid heddles. Copies of the original book are still available for $15.                                     

To order individual autographed copies paid by check, contact textures@owt.com
To order by credit card and for wholesale, contact Fine Fiber Press www.finefiberpress.com or 1-541-917-3251"

Obviously an essential item!

Now on to *my* less exciting FO.  I finished the EZ pullover tonight.  Just as I was leaving for work, my boss called to say that there was no electricity so everyone was going home and I had the night off!  Woot.  Luckily this was one of my contract positions, not casual so I get paid anyway.  hoo ha.  So, I knitted and knitted and lo, it is finished.  It fits fine (I am not modelling it- but trust me, as much as any thick knit could look ok on me, it does) and it is as warm. as. toast.  I actually quite like it- I know my friend
E. would say it looks "handcrafted" in that snarky way of hers ;-) but whateverrrr- it is my first adult sized jumper completely from handspun.  Oh, and my own batts too.  I still seem to have about half the brown fleece left too... very odd!

I have done a little spinning since we last spoke (including about another 100g to finish the above project!)- I blended up these batts from an assortment of pale pastelly fibre that doesn't really float my boat:

Why would I do that?  Well... I'm trying to screw up the nerve to use some of the fabulous handdyed fibre I have bought in batts, andI wanted to start with one that I didn't LOVE in case I ruined it :-).  Anyway, the resulting yarn is not my utter fave of all time but it's pretty and I will use it!  This is a 2 ply,

I have been spinning a lot of singles lately and felt like a change.  I just would it into a centre pull ball and plied one end against the other.

Finally- I got around to adding the second heddle to my rigid heddle loom.  Following the clear instruction sheet (I have David Xenakis' book and so on but thought I'd be best off to start simple) that Ashford supplies with the kit- I managed to totally balls it up!  Ha!  Remember the World's Greatest Knitter?  Well apparently she has a weaving counterpart.  Sleying the rear heddle was ok, I could follow that.  But the front one?  hahahah.  Reading the "draft" if you can call it that- for a simple PLAIN weave?  Beyond me.  I ended up re-doing it THREE times.  FINALLY the penny dropped- you have three ends in one of the front slots.  If the threads aren't staying pependicular to BOTH reeds, you've cocked up.  CAN SOMEONE PLEASE REMEMBER THAT FOR ME?  anyway.  3 tries later, each taking forever- I managed to weave this:
Pretty polly wolly crappy eh?  Still not right-  I must have doubled up  somewhere.  Not to worry.  Live and learn!  Tomorrow is my kid-free Friday and I have to plan how I am going to use it, so I don't waste a second.

touching base

Public service announcement:  there's a new Weavecast up.  I haven't listened yet but I will take it to work tonight.  Apparently it's all about sewing with your handwoven fabrics.

Haven't much else to say, I have written but not uploaded several posts because after writing them I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to read them!  Had the kind of week that is just humbling.  Striding through life, somewhat confidently?  feeling like a competent adult?  whoops!  bad idea.  Summarised by a tale of two shopping trolleys- went on a road trip with the three kids to visit my dad who is having a rough time ecovering from double knee replacement in a country hopsital. 

Took the littlest kid (20 months) to the supermarket at one point, just to get out of the hote room/hospital.  Trolley contents: 2 barbies, 4 litres of diet coke, some markers, a colouring book, some Cheezels, 3 Lindt chocolate bunnies, a bar of chocolate (15 year old was looking at the mini-bar wistfully when I left- it was way cheaper to do it this way).  Toddler was behaving worse than I think she *ever* has- biting the ears off the bunnies, standing on the milk (I did buy milk!  surely I get some points for that), throwing things out of the trolley (naturally I managed to choose one with no seatbelt so she was standing in the main trolley part).  It was a nightmare, and I know how we looked, the assumptions people would make about a tired, overweight mother of a toddler with nothing but crap in her trolley. 

Couple days later, we're home again.  Toddler and I go shopping.  Trolley has organic meat, organic pasta, blah blah, lots of veggies and fruit etc.  A much more respectable trolley.  I'm thinking that I wish the people in the small town could see me now.  Could I pay for it?  NO.  My *&^*&^* credit card wasn't in my wallet.  I got to hand things back to the checker til it was down to the amount of cash I had in my wallet.

this is the kind of week I have had.

Last week, I put my "nightie" (a disreputable, paint-smeared, stained horrible probably smelly t-shirt that I sleep in) in THE WRONG KID's school bag (the baby likes to take it to preschool and snuggle with it at nap time.  she only goes one day a week and it makes her day nicer.) .  I sent it to school with my 5 year old.  "Mummy, you're so funny, you put your nightie in my bag!".

So last week was kind of humiliating too.   These are just examples- it seems like recently I am having more bad days than good- bad in the sense that I often feel I should be wearing big shoes and a red nose.  Not bad in a serious way.  I do realise that.

I really can laugh at myself.  I do laugh at myself.  I just haven't felt much like blogging is all :-).  But you may as well laugh too.  honk honk.

Book review: Creative Weaving: beautiful fabrics with a simple loom

Book review: Creative Weaving- beautiful fabrics on a simple loom
Sarah Howard and Elizabeth Kendrick
Lark Books 112 pp


Aspiring weavers on the rigid heddle loom have a depressingly limited choice of resources.  There are Betty Linn Davenport’s books and DVD, there’s ‘The Ashford book of Rigid Heddle Weaving’, and I have an out of print book from the early ’80s by Karen Swanson that I like very much.  All of these are full of information about how to use a rigid heddle loom to produce fabrics of varying degrees of complexity.  They include detailed instruction and sampler-style projects to practice on.  What they are light on is eye candy and inspiration!  ‘Creative Weaving’ is, essentially an inspiring eye candy book for the rigid heddle weaver.

To be fair, there is  more here- in fact this book could almost serve as a beginner’s manual.  In fact,  if you can think of any reason at all for a new rigid heddle weaver to struggle with a traditionally wound warp- then it would make a fine ‘first book’ for a new weaver.  However- to present only one way of winding a warp, and to not even mention that the much more simple warping peg method exists seems almost cruel to me (plain English: if you are new to weaving, please know that there is a simpler way to warp a rigid heddle loom than the method with a warping board that is shown in Creative Weaving (and in other books too).  If you buy an Ashford loom, there should be a leaflet explaining this method included with your loom.  Maybe other manufacturers do this too?).  The warping instructions do have the first explanation of sett calculation that I have ever really understood.

Assuming you make it past the unnecessarily arcane warping instructions, this book is an adequate primer.  ‘Creative Weaving’ covers, briefly: using a stick shuttle, how to start a piece of weaving (the method the book gives is to weave a few dummy rows- I usually put a folded piece of paper in and start weaving above that- I think, again, an Ashford method?), how to do plain weave, to change colours,  mending broken warp threads, how to finish a fringe, and wet finishing your fabric.  A few variations are offered- weaving with unspun fibre (I love to do this), ghiordes or Turkish knots (my other books call these Rya), and a mention of creating weft floats by using pickups.  Enough to be going on with, I reckon.  Finally card loom weaving and peg loom weaving are mentioned, as alternatives to buying a commercial loom.

Then, the fun part of the book starts.  Arranged by colour, each chapter suggests three projects (just fabric swatches, really).  Each project explores the colour, as well as a special feature of the weaving.  For example the first project uses a mixture of different yarns, with different fibre compositions and thicknesses.  The next has a similar eclectic mix of yarns, and introduces use of multiple shuttles for a randomly striped effect.  Use of a variegated yarn in warp and weft to achieve what the book calls a ‘cheat check’ comes next.  Next we learn how to weave a simple border around a piece of fabric, and to do a twisted fringe.  Other projects experiment with different setts for fabrics with different finished drapes, grouped weft,  weft floats,  warp-faced floats, toning shades by using different threads in the weft.

There are several projects that encourage the use of recycled or found objects,and everything from synthetic feathery novelty yarn to perfectly austere, beautiful linens and silks in natural colours.  The yarns are described by wpi (wraps per inch)  and fibre content- not brand name- a feature which I LOVE as the yarns used in most books are unavailable to me- and this method is much more empowering in terms of learning to choose yarns for projects, especially if you are a handspinner.

When learning a craft, I often find it takes time to break away from the style of example on which I learned, and start daring to try new things.  It took me probably a year of weaving plain wrap after plain wrap before I felt like I could start trying “unauthorised” things.  Learning to weave with a book like ‘Creative Weaving’ would probably have shortened that cycle for me- but the warping method would have done me in on the first project- so I don’t know if I would have ever gotten past that hurdle, with my loom thrown off the balcony and all. 

The absence of a ‘further reading’ list is frustrating- in a vacuum, a new weaver could get the idea that the entire potential of rigid heddle weaving is encapsulated in this book- which it is not.  However ‘Creative Weaving’ provides a fun, colourful, accessible source of  simple techniques, ideas and inspiration to the rigid heddle weaver. 

  For many handspinners these days, especially those who are creating unusual novelty or ‘art’ yarns, tabby weave can be the ideal showcase for their yarn.  Likewise, handpainted yarn looks especially beautiful in a woven fabric.  Other instructional books move from plain weave directly  to much more complex methods such as finger manipulated lace  without encouraging much exploration of the noble plain tabby weave.  This book fills that niche.

Book Review: Intertwined

Book Review: Intertwined 
Lexi Boeger
Quarry Press 2008 304pp

I need to begin this review with a confession- I didn’t expect to “get” this book.  I really thought it would be something that would probably have limited appeal, to those who were already devotees of the Art Yarn Movement (as I am wont to capitilise gratuitously), and those in the author's circle of friends.  I have nothing against art yarn- in fact I love the stuff, but before reading ‘Intertwined” I wasn’t really in a position to spin any.  I have the Mabel Ross books, the Patsy Z DVDs, the Diane Varney book, Deb Menz’s book and dvd and so on, yet have never managed to really get the hang of anything really more exotic than a three ply.  Somehow having an arsenal of technical spinning knowledge on hand still left me paralysed when it came to using it.

A hidden camera spying on me when I received this book in the post would have recorded a revealing range of reactions- pleasure (a parcel!  Yay!), surprise (it’s a thick book!  ‘Handspun Revolution’, which I do not, unfortunately, own) was so small, I did not expect almost 300 pages of clothbound gorgeousness), pessimism (I’ll look at it later, there’s probably not that much to it), curiosity (oh just a peek before I leave for work),  then suddenly interest!  And when I say interest, I mean nostril flaring, heart pounding, yep, the whole excitement shebang (actual instruction!  Diagrams! Step by step project notes from inspiration to final execution!).

‘Intertwined’, at its heart offers  technique after technique for producing the yarns that I see all the time, that make me sigh with envy at their creators’, well, creativity. 

 

As I said to a friend, the book blows my mind on so many levels- not least of which is the generosity of a craftsperson who is willing to lay what makes her crafting special (at least the teachable aspects of it) out, for anyone to learn and emulate.  I’m always impressed and humbled by the generosity of the crafting community- but somehow this book just stunned me.  Lexi is not only super talented, but  has the kind of generosity that only someone truly secure in their own creativity can have.  And this from me- not a Pluckyfluff fangirl, in fact so deeply cynical and suspicious of the whole ‘I’m popular on the internet’publishing phenomenon that I really, really didn’t even want to love this book.  But I do.

 

The introduction to the book discusses inspiration and by giving several examples of interesting yarns, and explaining the conception and development of each, gets your creative juices primed.   Colour and the way it works (but not your standard colour-wheel theory) texture,  spinning techniques and how to harness them to realise your vision (assuming you have a vision- and after reading this book, I bet you will!).  A nice thing about 'Intertwined' that I’d like to mention as an aside is that Lexi assumes that you can already spin- she doesn’t fall into the trap that nearly every fibrecraft book does these days, of devoting precious page space to technical instruction for absolute novices- you know, the ‘how to knit’ section in the back of your advanced aran pattern book?    The assumption is that you can spin a single, and that you know how to make adjustments to your wheel.  I like that a lot.  If you are an absolute novice, still buy this book-  it is not jargon heavy at all, and to be honest most of the techniques here are so unusual to conventionally taught spinners that it is as new to them as it will seem to you.  So buy this book and when you have spun your first stable single, dive right in.

 

 

The first three chapters develop the inspiration-to-completed project idea with several, very different yarns.  Even if you really think the whole zombie thing has thoroughly jumped the shark, the ideas here are so cool and the process so amazing yet attainable, that you will be inspired, and eager to hurry on to chapter 4- where the ‘how to’ section begins.  I just counted and there are 30 techniques here, not including advice on how to make batts that lend themselves to arty spinning.  30.  Everything from thick and thin singles to recycled fabric and tailspun yarns- and beautiful, stunning photos throughout, as well as clear line art depicting the key elements of the technique.  Did I mention that there are 30 techniques here? 

The second half-ish of the book turns you loose with your art yarn.  Freeform crochet ideas are provided and cute cute cute suggestions laid out, again in gorgeous colour.  Then patterns and projects- some weird and edgy, some just pretty and wearable- all deconstructed and just inviting that you hack them and make them your own.  Not only knitting is treated to an outing with the fabulous  new yarn you have spun- crochet, felt and weaving (yay) are all treated lovingly- which is really  exciting since so often the more interesting a yarn is, the less it seems to suit most knitting patterns.  It is  also nice to see a selection of design ideas that aren’t garter stitch scarves, potholders and plain beanies. The designs suit the yarns- these yarns are beautiful- that’s their purpose.  They make fabulous, stunning accessories.  In fact I feel that the ideas for using art yarn in this book may legitimise it to some who seem to turn their nose up at it as the product of spinners who can’t be bothered to learn to spin evenly. 

Given that Lexi Boeger’s previous book ‘Handspun Revolution”  has gone out of print and is impossible to get secondhand for under a hundred US dollars a copy,  is somewhat hard to find, but still available from the author's site,  I strongly suggest that you hurry and grab this one while you can. ‘ Intertwined’  is worth every penny of whatever you pay for it- in fact there is enough material here to fill several books.  Get it and get spinning!

Book review: The Twisted Sisters Knit Sweaters a knit-to-fit workshop

Book review: The Twisted Sisters Knit Sweaters a knit-to-fit workshop
Lynne Vogel, Interweave Press 2007 143 pp


The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook was a super-popular source of inspiration and instruction, in the art of getting socks you love from the yarn you spin (and dye). Although the Sisters' follow up book has been out for a while, I hadn't seen much buzz (possibly I am hanging around in the wrong places!) so I was extra keen to add a copy to my library and see what the girls had come up with this time.

Two basic ways to construct a sweater are offered: up and down or side to side. After an explanation of ease, and how to convert your personal body measurements into measurements for a garment that will fit the way you want it to, a worksheet is presented into which yarn, stitch and outcome variables are plugged. Then, the book launches into an explanation of the construction of a simple drop shouldered sweater- in which the bodice back is made first, then the exact stitch count for the front is worked out, based on the back! This, as far as I know, is original- at least I don't think it happens like this in any of my other books.

A step by step and graphic explanation is given of how to choose the neckline you want, and how to graph it and do the math that will leave you casting off in the right places for the neck-edge shape that you desire. The bodice front is then knit- and a similar procedure follows for the sleeves- from the pieces that have been already knitted, taking into account the actual drape and gauge of the fabric, the armhole depth and sleeve length are worked out, including the rate of sleeve taper and cuff circumference. Finally, the option is ours whether to go cuff-up or cast on and work up from the wrist. Flat or in the round! How empowering is this? As a devotee of EZ, I already prefer the idea of being the boss of my knitting, rather than the other way around. This book's approach fits more closely with the way I seem to knit anyway (often starting out following a pattern, but usually fudging at some point, either because my actual measurements diverge from the pattern or because I make a mistake that has to be accommodated because damn if I am ripping out perfectly good knitting)- but goes into the technical detail of how to design a garment that works with the yarn, needles and gauge that I actually have. I have other books that offer a set of tables for a variety of garments at a variety of sizes- but I have to admit I really like the idea of letting the reality of one piece help dictate the plan for the next. The basic worked example is for a pullover, but directions are given to adapt for a cardigan, different shoulder types (well - drop shoulder or modified drop shoulder), sleeve types and edgings.

The side-to-side design is likewise gone through in step by step detail, starting with a basic crew neck pullover. The worksheet is completed, a generous swatch completed (drat- but the different behaviour of side-to-side knitted fabric needs a realistic swatch, apparently). Again, back bodice is worked first, and the various other pieces drafted and then knit in order. Instructions on modifying pullover into a cardi, v-neck or turtleneck are included. I really love the look of side to side knits, I love the vertical striping!
The next section of the book gives patterns, with explanations of how each  uses the basic construction template, and how it has been modified. Insets explain the dyeing or spinning of the yarns used in the pictured examples. Coats, cardigans, tutrlenecks, even an aran pullover is there to take us through the technique of fitting cabling and texture into our designing of the different pieces.

Finally there is a full-colour gallery with pictures of sweaters spun, dyed designed and knit by the Twisted Sisters. Text explains how each is based on and varies from one of the basic designs given in the book.
The snippets about the yarns used in the examples fascinated me- I always love to see how people use handspun, and these ladies seem to have a particular gift for putting a lot of different bits together and having it come out beautifully. In one example, the knitter dyed her own fibre in a colourway that complemented some commercially dyed roving she had purchased, enabling her to spun enough yarn for her project without the line between the different fibre sources being at all apparent. I thought that was pretty cool, actually, as I have a stupidly large collection of spectacular rovings, in 100 or at most 200g dyelots- dyeing my own coordinating fibre actually had not occurred to me!

If you are solely a fan of fitted, closely contoured knits, this book won't have much to offer you- I don't think there is any discussion of waist or bust shaping in any of the patterns. Short rows are mentioned only in the 'techniques' appendix, but not in terms of bodice shaping. However- if you don't mind a bit of boxy in your knits (and I don't, personally), this book is a great design primer, with an approach that appeals to the seat-of-my-pants knitter and the handspinner in me. I find the worksheets and formulae less intimidating than the tables in, say, the 'Knitter's Book of Handy Sweater Patterns', and there are no size constraints on either end of the scale- whatever size the person you are knitting for is, this method will accommodate them. I feel that this book is an excellent addition to my library- filling in a gap between my EZ books “knit so and so til you're sick of it” and other very prescriptive design recipe books.

Book review: "SAORI self discovery through free weaving"

Saori: self discovery through free weaving
by Misao Jo and Kenzo Jo 95p

Recently I stumbled upon the idea of freeform weaving, and have been able to force myself to think about or work on little else since. Several of the inspiring freeform weavers whose work I have come across online refer to themselves as “Saori” weavers, or have referred to Saori weaving. Looking further into this unfamiliar-to-me term has led me to some interesting places!

The Saori movement (for want of a better word) was started by Misao Jo, a Japanese woman who took up weaving at the age of 57 after a 20 year creative hiatus (when her passion for teaching freeform Ikebana wore her out physically and she became ill). Her desire to create cloth that looked as if it had been made by a human being led to spectacular success in the pricey boutiques- and another kind of burnout, when her retail clients began asking her to fill specific orders, for types of garment that sold well. She swore off selling her cloth, and began to teach.

Saori weaving is, basically, freeform weaving on a simple two-shaft loom. There are special Saori looms available- apparently easy to warp and accessible to people with all kinds of physical limitations. My own experience with freeform weaving so far has been on a simple rigid heddle loom, and that has worked fine. I can see how the foot-pedal action of the Saori loom would help one get into the meditative state that could help your creativity flow, unfettered by that naughty old left brain. Simply put, you work towards creating a piece of cloth that gives voice to your own personal creative spirit. Changing colours, using the many variations of plain weave as it pleases you, not worrying about neat selvedges, and only being aware of the small section of cloth that is being created in the moment (as Terri has rightly pointed out) are all part of the Saori experience.

What differentiates Saori weaving from generic freeform weaving? Philosophy. The entire first third of Misao Jo's book deals with her ideas about creativity and how everyone has the potential to create beautiful art. She talks about her own teaching method, and the idea that the role of a Saori weaving teacher is to offer suggestions, not instruction.  Her belief is that the less you know about weaving, the more “innocent” and beautiful your weaving will be, and presumably the more transformative the act of creating it.

The centre of the book has a section detailing, with clear photography, how to warp and use a Saori loom. I do not have a similar loom so I can't really comment on this chapter, except to say that it looks clearly presented!

Misao Jo quotes a proverb: “fishing for (carp) appeals to beginners due to its simplicity and to experienced fishers due to its sophistication”- she likens this to working with plain weave. After warping the loom comes a brief section on weaving techniques. If you have ever dabbled in the many variations on plain weave that are set out in the various books available for two-shaft looms, then you have probably already tried everything here. If not, there is a nice selection of techniques, very briefly set out with clear line drawings to illustrate. Clear but terse instructions on finishing a woven fabric are included.

The part of the book that blew my socks off is the final third: Guide to Saori Clothes making. I have never been a fan of the items of clothing that I have seen in other weaving books. Tabards? yuk. Ponchos? I'm sorry, they're over (and they would make me look like a gunfighter). I have limited my use of my own woven fabric to scarves and wraps, with the eventual intention of maybe making a tailored skirt (which I would never have occasion to wear). I have very little concept of current fashion, but I. Know. What. I . Like. and I have never seen anything in a weaving book that didn't make me point my finger and, Nelson-like, intone “haaa-ha!” Well. After eagerly flipping back and forth through the garment designs, and colour photos of actual garments, I am so excited.

Based on western style clothing* the book has designs for coats (they CALL it a poncho, but it ain't, it just ain't), pants, skirts, flowing weird dress-shirt things (but they are NOT tabards, no sir), skirts... ahhh it's all here. I am making myself a coat (not a poncho) right away. These designs (or suggestions, as Misao Jo calls them) hit just the right spot for me- they're arty and dramatic and unusual, but not even a hint of craft-show fug. (Stop pretending you don't know that fug of which I speak.) Even the ponchos that are undeniably poncho-esque do not reek of fug. The designs rock, and their timeless“outside fashion” status makes them worthy of our precious handwoven fabric.

The final chapter is a brief section on tapestry, with a few ideas for a fast, spontaneous, decorative outcome. Some of the ideas had already occurred to me (weaving in non-fibre objects like sticks and shells) some hadn't. The photos in this section are black and white, but give just enough of a creative nudge without saying “do it like this”, and I like that a lot.

This book is available outside North America directly from Akiko Jo- and for someone who routinely pays over $50 for craft books that the rest of the world gets for under $20, its price at 3400 yen (including instantaneous airmail shipping) seemed just fine. In North America, you can contact Terri for a copy or information on local stockists.

I am glad I bought this book- I don't think you need a copy to do beautiful freeform weaving (and I am sure Misao Jo would say the same thing), but it is nice to have a summary of the plain weave variations at hand- and the garment designs alone, are, in my opinion, worth the rice of admission. For anyone wishing to weave but intimidated- this would be a great book for you. You do not need to own a Saori brand loom, to take on board the idea that you are worthy of whatever loom you have, and that your creations will be beautiful if you just relax, breathe, and let it happen.

* as in, not Japanese, I don't mean they're for cowboys.

Thursday book report: The Wheel magazine

Again, a week has whizzed by so fast I'm finding it a little scary.  When I worked outside the home fulltime, every week dragged for an eternity, mostly because I hated my job and found it unbelievably stressful to try and balance it with having a school aged child at home.  I was doing the wrong thing by *someone* every day of the week, and I hated, hated hated it.  Doing the SAHM thing now, with the two littlest ones is way way harder, in many ways, than working (for example I am at work now, writing this- who gets time at home?!)... yest time just flies by, so I suppose that must mean that I am happier now.  Since I kind of sat down to have a whine about what I call "temporal claustrophobia", I guess I should just shut up and get on with my 'book report'.  The week whizzing by resulted in me again not reading any of teh books I promised to read.  However I realised I really wanted to blog about the Ashford Club and its magazine, 'The Wheel'- which I did not know aboutuntil fairly recently.  Perhaps there are other spinners out there who live in a vacuum and don't know about it yet either.

So, the Ashford Club.  You can join it for a mere $10 NZD a year, and you should because Elizabeth Ashford herself* says so.  No really.  You should.  Well, I did, so shut up.  For your $10 NZD you get your copy of the Annually produced 'The Wheel' Magazine- which I will get to in a minute.  You also can get other stuff, like special offers on fibre; access to a members-only area of the website, there are competitions, a newsletter and so on.  I think I first heard about the Ashford Club ('TAC' from here on in) when someone on one of my lists mentioned that she had been spinning a small sample of Shrek the naughty renegade sheep's 13" staples, that she bought via  TAC.  So that is some of the cool stuff that you get to hear about as a member.  Back issues of 'The WHeel' are available for only $5NZD too once you join, and they are well worth the money.

Now, 'the Wheel' is only produced once a year, which is a damn shame.  It covers all fibrearts, since Ashford produces tools, books and fibres for everything from weaving to felting.  While the projects do include a reference to 'using my Ashford drum carder' or whatever, it's more than an advertorial- I just adore it.  Maybe because I wish I was a Kiwi, maybe because I wish I was an Ashford.  Maybe, because it's a groovy magazine.  Some articles from the current issue include:

•           Shibori on the Rigid Heddle Loom
•           Honey comb on the Eight Shaft Loom
•           Adorable handspun jumper and booties for your toddler
•           Two patterns using handspun alpaca
• Collapse scarf by Anne Field

noice!

Stories about the renegade Merino of the NZ highlands, aka Shrek and Shrek II are a highlight- in fact when my 4 year old saw this photo of Shrek - her question was "how did the poor sheep get stuck inside a TREE?"  I guess if you didn't know better his muddy fleece does look a bit like tree bark.

The quarterly electronic newsletter, now that I look closely at it on the website, it also pretty cool- there are projects contributed by club members, image galleries, a place where you can email in and 'ask Richard' or 'ask Rowena' (for loom and weaving questions').

The articles are mostly contributed by Ashford dealers from around the world- they include knitting patterns, weaving um, thingies (drafts?) and occasionally a picture like this that really makes you want to drink an entire bottle of sherry and have your picture taken:

I'm not saying NOTHIN'.  That's probably an auntie Ashford- and I'm not saying a WORD.

Seriously, it's a great little magazine, chock full of super concentrated fibrey goodness, with a homegrown feel that will make you feel like one of the family ;-).  Like Elizabeth, I say "YOU MUST JOIN US!**"

* Full disclosure here.  I have a totally non-creepy, non-psychotic fascination with the Ashfords.  They are in fact  the Real Family who will come for me when they realise that I was given away accidentally for adoption, back in the erm, Pleistocene.  So, if Elzabeth Ashford says "join my club", well, by crikey, I JOIN it.

** By "us", I mean "them".  I was having a Zoidberg moment of belonging.

Thursday book report: Wild Fibers Magazine

I've been so slack this week- none of the books on my pile have been opened, let alone digested enough to report upon.  I have been a sorry pile of migraine misery- or I would have liked to have been, but since little kids do not allow sick days, and neither do casual jobs, I've been reporting for duty as usual, here and at work.  Or near enough!  Not to worry, life is good headaches notwithstanding.  I have other stuff to write about, maybe tomorrow.  Right now, in honour of my (routinely broken) promise to offer a reading report on Thursdays, I give you gushing over Wild Fibers magazine.

If you're in the northern hemisphere, you already know this- sorry.  Talk amongst yourselves.  If you're not, or you for some reason haven't seen this wonderful magazine yet...wow!!  Volume 4, issue 2 was my first ever, and after hearing about it for the last year around the fibre lists, Wild Fibers more than lives up to my expectations.  Mandie (who also can hook you up with a copy) was right when she described it to me  as 'National Geographic for fibre people'.  Printed on heavy, glossy paper, with colour photography to make your eyes widen, Wild Fibers is a joy to behold!  Actually, on reflection this mag reminds me even more of 'Scientific American' than it does of "national Geographic'- especially in the tone of its journalism.  There's a level of interest and intellegence assumed- then the rest is up to the writer and editor to make it work.  Many of the articles are long- your attention span is taken as a given, which is a really nice change amongst the magazines I have read lately. 

This issue is mostly about the textiles of central Asia- the editor went there for a "cashmere conference" (now those are two words I don't hear together often enough), and travelled about, researching several lengthy, in depth and touching articles about this wonderful and amazing part of the world.  She was admitted into Bhutan- what a privelege- and her writing and many wonderful photographs captvated me (the editor mentions that her photography is substandard, she travelled alone without a 'real' photographer- I can't WAIT to see the normal standard then!).  Other articles are about goats in Tuscany, and Shetland Sheep in Montana.  I'm sure there's more too and I am going to enjoy discovering it.

There are book reviews, one knitting pattern (cute), and lots of wonderful ads (sorry, I loves the adses)... ads are pushed to the edges  of the editorial content in a really nice way...and I didn't see any of the annoying 'continued on page 97' that usually occurs in the magazines I pick up.

Get a copy!  You'll be glad you did.

Spinning in the Old Way

Friday is the new Thursday, okay?

Whenever 'learn to spin' books are mentioned, this title comes up.  Depending on the recommender, other titles may surround it- but 'Spinning in the Old way' (previously published as 'High Whorling') is a constant.  After spending the last week concentrating on reading it and trying spindling as-prescribed by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts, I can see why.  If you have a yen to learn to use a high-whorl drop spindle (or 'suspended spindle' as P G-R prefers to call them), then this one book will take you as far as you could ever need to go. 

Be aware that I have a special power- the power to misinterpret ANY diagram, with the possible exception of rigidly defined schematics.  Anything that "shows you what to do"- well, ha.  If it doesn't explicitly say "head goes in here*" I will probably try to put a hat on my elbow, or something.  Given that I have this special talent, the diagrams here are still quite good!  I would still like to see a video of someone doing the thigh-roll (please??), because, as usual, if I try to do what I THINK the diagram is telling me, I end up with some craaaazy things happening. 

The book has a conversational, relaxed tone, wide margins spread a relatively small amount of text over a comfortable nmber of pages.  The format feels calm, relaxed, "I can do this"- that panicky feeling that I get when I look at a spinning book with lots of charts and tables and angles doesn't happen here.  Lots of nice sketches of rustically-attired peasants happily spinning... ah I CAN do this, surely, if they can (snort).  The spacious feel of this book is deceptive-  the technical info is here:  the differences between woolen and worsted preparation and spinning, the twist angle and tpi relationship in yarns of varying grists.  It is just presented in a way that makes it feel common-sensical, which is very nice.   Equipment necessary for spindling is discussed, as are accessories that are nice to have but not necessary. 

I highly recommend this book, as a desert-island spinning companion.  I will be spindling with it within arm's reach for a long time to come, I think.

And if you do the thigh roll, I have two words for you: youtube? please?

* exactly what it used to say on my hardhat.

Thursday Book report: 'Spinning for Softness and Speed"

Today is Thursday, and I promised a book report.  I'm going to stick to my promise, even though I haven't had much luck getting the method in today's book to work for me.  Writing a book report sounds like more fun than what I'm supposed to be doing.  Maybe kind, wiser, more experienced spinners will rush to YouTube and upload videos of the technique that I just cannot get my head (hand) around (hint hint).  Please, PLEASE feel free to comment if you can help me "get it".

So, today's book is 'Spinning for Softness and speed' by Paula Simmons.  Paula states that the technique of spinning  long-draw with one hand is the one that allows you to spin faster, softer yarn, without fatigue.  In her workshops, she says that the one handed method solved most spinning problems for so many of her students, that she felt it deserved its own book.

As far as I can see, the method of spinning in this book consists of holding the fibre to be spin VERY LIGHTLY in one hand, just enough to keep it from flying out of the hand, by the pinky and ring finger.  The wheel is set up to take up fairly quickly,  and the spinner feels the fibres moving out of her hand, free to turn into yarn, as she just holds them lightly there.   Paula Simmons advocates just going with the flow at first, not worrying about smoothness or evenness on the yarn you create, promising that these things come with practice.

I was frustrated and disappointed by my complete inability to get this to happen... in the absence of a demonstration (and the book says that if you teach this method, be prepared to demonstrate it over and over, which made me feel a little bit better), I just couldn't get it to come together.  Not at all.  If I held the carded fleece in my hand firmly enough to draft it, then it pulled the yarn right back out of the orofice.  If I held it as lightly as described, then the whole chunk of wool got twisted, which I don't think is meant to happen.  I tried with carded fleece that looked just like the pictures in the book, and the wool just stuck together somehow, more strongly than my ability to draft it.  I'm sure that there was (at least) one variable that I was still not getting right, or even recognising as being a problem!  I feel like if I can even get it to happen *once*, just a little bit, then I'll know what I am working towards.  So, if you have this method figured out, and you want to try and bang it into my thick skull, please feel free, I'd be in your debt.  I haven't given up on this method yet, and I'll persevere.  Sometimes things need to simmer on my mental backburner for a while.  Please write if you think you understood what my problem is and can help.

Branching out from her one-handed method, Paula Simmons goes on to explain how you can spin long-draw in several different ways, once you have mastered the discipline of one-handed.  Different methods of fibre preparation are discussed, and a long chapter talks about different kinds of wheels, and wheel set-ups that will work for spinning long draw. 

A lovely little book, which I am sure will become a treasure trove of technical tips, once the method 'clicks' for me!

Next week... 'Spinning in the old way' by Priscilla Gibson Roberts.