Blue Faced Leicester - A Favourite

This vacation my last spinning project was Blue Faced Leicester Tops.

It is hard to explain how nice this was to spin. A real joy. I will definitely spin more of this. This time I chose to spin in Z (on the Majacraft Little Gem) and ply in S (on Louet S10). 300 grams. Actually, this is the first S-plied yarn that i have spun. So I will not use it for Twined Knitting. It will most likely end up as a scarf or a shawl.

All in all I have spun 1050 grams of yarn this vacation. It could be said to be crazy - but I needed to practice spinning! It is relaxing ... and it is a nice feeling to knit something out of your own handspun yarn.

And we have been very lucky with the weather,  with warm days and lots of sun. So I have been sitting outside spinning - no way I was going to spend my vacation indoors.

Z-plied Handspun

Here are two more examples of yarn spun this vacation:

A total of 360 grams.
After sorting and washing the wool, I mixed grey Spelsau from Norway with white Leicester (50/50) by hand carding.
After that I spun (grey) singles in S and plied in Z. Washed the yarn. Dyed it red. Washed again.

This yarn  is for twined knitting and I´ll probably make some more. I think it will be a good yarn for socks.

120 grams of green yarn out of very mixed fiber spun on my Majacraft Little Gem.
Not a pleasant experience to spin (some of it was very low quality with lots and lots and lots and lots of cuts) - but I had decided to see this through. It is spun in S and plied in Z, so it will join my handspun stash for twined knitting. It will be useful …

Making yarn

This vacation I have spent a lot of time making yarn - spinning. Here are some photos showing the process of sorting, mixing, carding, spinning, plying and then the finished yarn.

Two designs by Stephen West

Stephen makes very nice designs for scarves and shawls. This spring I have knitted two of them:
Boneyard:
This is a free pattern and it is available for download on Ravelry.com.
I used 150 grams of Kauni 8/2. Knitted on Addi cicular needles 4.0 mm.
Size after washing and blocking:
172 cm (69 inches) and 67 cm (27 inches)

 

Clockwork:

Nice knit and smart construction - I really like this pattern. 

I used 280 grams of yarn from my stash.

Nalbinding 2011 (in Swedish: Nålbindning)

This was the year I learned how to nalbind ("nålbinda" in Swedish). Here are some of the projects:

1. Mittens in Nalbinding (Norrtälje technique)
These are my first mittens in nalbinding. I am taking classes for Eva Anderson, fantastic teacher with ages of experience and knowledge. She is also the author of Nålbindning - Historiskt och modernt i Stockholms Län.

I used a 3-ply yarn, 100 % wool which responded well to the fulling process, and a copper needle. The stitch is one of the most common ones in Sweden and is called Norrtäljetekniken and comes from Roslagen/Uppland in Sweden. Since this is where I live I really appreciated learning it.

It was amazing to experience the changes of the material during the fulling process - turning from a rather loose material to a thick and more sturdy product. It is easy to see why mittens like these always have been valued for their comfort and warmth.

2. Socks in Nalbinding (Norrtälje technique)
Next step in learning nalbinding was making socks. Interesting experience since the “layout” of the construction differs a lot from knitting.

I knew that I was going to full the socks so I made them much larger than when knitting.

Fulling took about 25-30 minutes per sock (quite a workout …)
As with the mittens, the finished result is a fantastic fabric - they will without doubt be very warm and comfortable. I used a total of 250 grams of yarn for these socks.

3. Hat in Nalbinding (Norrtälje technique)

This is my item finishing the classes in Nalbinding. I am now coming to terms with the “intuitive” way of working when nalbinding. I made this hat just by going along, adjusting as it progressed. I had decided to make a hat close to the form of the Toarp hat. I chose to make it larger every time I doubted the size, knowing that I could adjust the size during the fulling process.

I have been asked why I have fulled my gloves and socks so that the beautiful pattern that the nalbinding stitches make have become lost. The tradition in many parts of Sweden has been that items that are made to be warm and durable have been fulled, since that greatly enhances these characteristics. Mittens that were more of “show off” and made to be worn at mass and at weddings were not fulled, and often decorated in many ways.
At a later stage I will perhaps make such items also, but at the moment I am concentrating on warm and durable.

4.  Hat in Nalbinding - Rådmansö

Very thick and warm!
I had to bind this hat with the yarn doubled, to get a thick enough result. I was surprised at how well the yarn responded to the fulling process.