Swatching

Colorways. Sometimes I create colorways by putting the colors together that seem to have something to say to earn other. Like triads on the color wheel that make other secondary colors when gestating in the dyepot. Sometimes they contain opposites on the color wheel and I like how they speak to each other. But roving is one thing and spun yarn can be very different - so now I am swatching my color ways after fractal spinning. I'm finding that I know these colors in a whole new way. 

The swatching makes me think of colorways as potential garments, something real and in my closet!

If you read this blog and wonder where the activity is you can find more current postings over on Instagram under my name dedriquillin.

Social media

I have a confession to make- I'm old and don't understand the world of social media. I want to be one of the in crowd and skate through sites like Pintrest and Instagram with hardly a second thought. But the truth is that I understand slow yarn much better.  

This summer has been a good one for solar dyeing. Each pot takes a whole day and then sits through the night to cool down. The real advantage of summer is that the roving dries much faster. 

If there's one thing we do well here in New Mexico it is hot weather. I will be solar dying into November. 

I've also been spinning when I can get away from the shop for a while.

I'm still here in the digital world although my posts here have been sporadic. You can find me on Pintrest and Instagram and ravelry.

Slow knit / slow yarn

Yarn is such a personal thing. We like this color or fiber maybe not so much another. We hold that yarn in our hands for many hours as we make something for ourselves or a loved one. It is not too far a stretch to imagine that the yarn picks up some of our personal vibration. How much more of ourselves then would be embodied in something made from yarn we have handspun?

 Not too far in the past, a 150 years or so, all our garments would have been made through one slow method or another. Handspun, handwoven would have been the norm, and garments lasted for years. They were passed down through the family finally becoming quilts and rags. 

Making things by hand helps ground us. It gives us a tangible place in the world where our minds can slow down and be still for a time. I am beginning a new slow project. I've solar dyed some (28 ounces) of Blue Faced Leicester. The first 4 ounces have been spun on my Matchless into a two ply that is worsted weight - the  first skein was not quite 220 yards. I'm making a guage swatch in linen stitch with a vest in mind. The colorway is Autumn Shadows. 

Summer is a good time to slow down the mind. Join me.

September

I have a great love of September. It means summer is finally almost over - and here in the desert it is a lovely thought that the heat will end. September contains the Autumnal Equinox that abundant time of equal day and night that marks the turning of the year. What better way to celebrate than a small circle weaving in handspun with a few beads added? 

These gloves are one of my first pair this year. They are all in handspun solar dyed Blue Faced Leicester, navajo plied and knit from the Wabi Sabi pattern by Kirsten Tendyke  Here

I like this pattern because the mitts are knit two at a time on the same pair of knitting needles. Handspun is perfect for these. I like to divide a ball in half and knit from two instead of the ends of one - it seems like there is less twisting of yarn that has to be undone. 

Circle weaving classes start at the store in October.

May your autumn be long and colorful!

Bees

This video is about bees, not yarn. Some things are so important that we need to talk about them across all possible venues.

Thanks to Jude at Spirit Cloth for sharing it with us.

Online store

For several years I maintained an online store at etsy. Last year when we opened the physical store here in Las Cruces we put the online store on vacation. I'm pleased to announce that the etsy store is reopening. I've started with some new hand spun art yarn and will soon be posting hand dyed yarns as well.

Silk and merino with mohair locks batt.

Spun as a single. This is a good sized skein at over 200 yards. A sample of what I will be stocking online. These yarns are not available in the physical store and are a result of the many requests from those of you who have bought from me on etsy. 

Thank you for your continued support!

Boa follow up

Several posts back I posted a picture of the boa scarf I was weaving on a rigid heddle loom. This is the finished scarf. All the loops are on the edges and one side so the other side is flat. It is about 7 inches wide and 6 feet long.