Author Topic: Nothing to do... (Read 3743 times)

Lesley Silvester · « **on:** December 11, 2017, 12:22:24 am »

... but craft in this weather. What's everyone making? I'm crocheting Christmas presents. Nearly finished a shark blanket complete with teeth for grandson and a triangular scarf for friend.

Backinwellies · « **Reply #1 on:** December 11, 2017, 07:37:57 am »

Trying to finish a quilt that my granddaughter sewed the top for on her first go on a sewing machine. Wish I had all that time though ... with Ian unable to do anything (hernia op) I am big chief, bottle washer and bale humper!

Buttermilk · « **Reply #2 on:** December 11, 2017, 07:56:51 am »

Franticly finishing christmas presents. Only a Robin Hood doll to dress now. Then back to spinning. I am hoping to spin a single for making a shetland hap, I have the pattern. Unfortunately the first bobbin I spun has too much twist to work as a single and so it is waiting for me to get round to plying it. You live and learn in this game.

Blackbird · « **Reply #3 on:** December 11, 2017, 11:11:54 am »

Also frantically finishing Christmas presents - of the hat/earwarmer variety mostly. Hoping they fit! it's often difficult to make commercial patterns work with my handspun yarn. I am getting a bit more consistency now, with my 2-ply yarn coming up as DK and Navajo-plied (3-ply) yarn coming up as Aran(ish). I'm looking at yarn I spun a couple of years ago, and while pleased at how my spinning has improved, I'm wondering what I could knit with the older, lumpy-bumpy stuff!
Cue someone to suggest weaving!

Fleecewife · « **Reply #4 on:** December 11, 2017, 12:26:20 pm »

Hats are perfect for lumpy bumpy yarn. Way back before I'd even dreamt of keeping sheep or learning to spin, my aunt presented my family with handspun and hand knitted woolly hats she had made herself from her Soays. The yarn was barely spun, which made it wonderfully soft and squashy, and the lumpy bumpy effect was wonderful - we all loved those hats and wore them for years.
Something else I use lumpy bumpy for is as a highlight within another article - say subtle stripes across a jumper, or to give some texture to a shawl. Mind you, I'm quite the opposite of a perfectionist, so I have never tried to spin to a set gauge - what suits the fibre I'm spinning is how the yarn comes out and I then invent a pattern to fit.

This explains why I'm still struggling away with my Heb+silk shawl. It's not a simple triangle or oblong, but has to be shaped rather precisely. Whenever I try to work out exactly where to do my increases, my brain suddenly turns to mush. However, I think I sorted it when I was sleeping last night

Lesley Silvester · « **Reply #5 on:** December 11, 2017, 11:27:36 pm »

Quote from: Blackbird on December 11, 2017, 11:11:54 am

Also frantically finishing Christmas presents - of the hat/earwarmer variety mostly. Hoping they fit! it's often difficult to make commercial patterns work with my handspun yarn. I am getting a bit more consistency now, with my 2-ply yarn coming up as DK and Navajo-plied (3-ply) yarn coming up as Aran(ish). I'm looking at yarn I spun a couple of years ago, and while pleased at how my spinning has improved, I'm wondering what I could knit with the older, lumpy-bumpy stuff!
Cue someone to suggest weaving!

I would suggest weaving with it (it that ok?) as it will even out. Which reminds me, must get round to selling my four shaft table loom and warping board.

Blackbird · « **Reply #6 on:** December 12, 2017, 10:52:18 am »

I think weaving is definitely going to happen next year MGM. Have been badgering BH about some sort of shed or workshop as I'm really out of hobby space in our tiny cottage. (He has a double garage full of old motorbikes, so it's really not fair

)We've just put up a new (secondhand) shed in the field, which I'm loving - but of course we've promptly filled it with hay.

I like the idea of using the lumpy bumpy as an accent FW - you can add texture and pretend that it's supposed to be like that cos it's Artistic. Would your shawl be a hap by the way?

Fleecewife · « **Reply #7 on:** December 12, 2017, 12:17:03 pm »

Quote from: Blackbird on December 12, 2017, 10:52:18 am

I think weaving is definitely going to happen next year MGM. Have been badgering BH about some sort of shed or workshop as I'm really out of hobby space in our tiny cottage. (He has a double garage full of old motorbikes, so it's really not fair )We've just put up a new (secondhand) shed in the field, which I'm loving - but of course we've promptly filled it with hay.

I like the idea of using the lumpy bumpy as an accent FW - you can add texture and pretend that it's supposed to be like that cos it's Artistic. Would your shawl be a hap by the way?

Ages ago now I started dropping hints about a wool shed for all my crafty stuff. After a couple of years of procrastination, Mr F started planning. Never one for an easy life, he decided to build it himself, with no electricity. PP was not required but we mentioned it to the planners as we have a nasty neighbour who tries everything to drop us in the

The planning man was really nice and encouraging

First the area was marked out, then it was levelled, then some telegraph poles went in for uprights. Telegraph poles

- mmm. A couple of years passed, then some other stuff arrived, loads of giant chunks of wood, and the building began. Well, to cut a saga short, after a couple more years the 'woolshed' was complete. But it's HUGE

. Everyone who visits says "but it's a house " It even has a loft.

So now I have 2/5ths of a giant shed for my crafty stuff and he has 3/5ths for his bikes, agric implements, workshop etc. And the loft? That's for his train set

I thought there was an awful lot of work for just a woolshed for me. Truly I would have been happy with a little shed, like the Harris weaver used to have, but I'm not complaining.

Blackbird - I'm not sure what a hap is, but if it's one of those wedding ring shawls, er no. It's hard enough for me to spin finely enough for socks, so finer just doesn't happen, especially with Heb. No it's a mill girl shawl, which crosses over and buttons at the back, so the ends don't trail in the washing up

Blackbird · « **Reply #8 on:** December 12, 2017, 12:40:22 pm »

Perhaps I should be careful what I wish for shed-wise!

FW - I don't think a hap needs to be spun fine - there's a definition here: "Spun and knitted thicker than fine lace, a hap was a garment with a function: to keep the body warm. Wrapped and tied around the torso, or tucked hood-like around the neck and chin, a good hap would efficiently insulate its Shetland wearer against the exigencies of cold and wind. Knitted over a background of garter stitch, and featuring shaded chevrons of familiar Shetland openwork patterns (first in natural sheep-shades, and later in dyed colours), haps could also be incredibly beautiful and striking in their simplicity." I believe they are typically a square with a patterned border and openwork edging. Heb + silk sounds like a lovely combo btw.

Fleecewife · « **Reply #9 on:** December 12, 2017, 03:05:49 pm »

Thank you for the definition Blackbird. I recognise little bits of my shawl in the definition. Yes it has a purpose - to keep me warm. Yes it wraps around the torso. Yes it will keep me warm, but no it won't keep the wind out (I think it would need to be felted for that). It's mainly stocking stitch and it has a chain up the middle of the back, with a lacy hole each side of the chain (these double as the increases). There is an overall chevron effect but the tip is weirdly at the top - result of the increases being in the middle. There are no other lacy effects - they're beyond me (I did once as a 12 yo knit a lacy jumper for myself, with much blood, sweat and tears, the latter when the dog ate it just as soon as I'd finished it - I see the funny side now, but not back then).
No, mine won't be incredibly beautiful and striking

. I overspun the yarn a bit as I was using my big wheel which I hadn't used for a while, so it's a bit harsh. Also there are random coloured stripes, depending on which silks I added when - some of them don't go very well together. Basically I'm not very good at my chosen crafts - I know how I want it to look, but finished objects are never quite right. Still, it will fulfill its primary function of keeping me warm.

Do you know where I can find any pictures of real haps?

Just answered my own question and searched on the magic google: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=shetland+haps+images&rlz=1C1ASUM_enGB714GB714&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=0Z7ULulVqjBH1M%253A%252CgwGZ1x8QHfQZMM%252C_&usg=__ZETPkXPh5vnU8kXVOwV7ltoTvPw%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjF3byh4ITYAhULaxQKHdeaDqoQ9QEIKTAA#imgrc=uzLAJ1Sor-WBWM:

There are loads of images, most rather more delicate than mine, and some are giant squares. I see I'm going to have to try again when I've finished this one

Oh I love this one: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/utilitarian-faroese-shawl
Just off to ravelry...........

Lesley Silvester · « **Reply #10 on:** December 13, 2017, 12:12:54 am »

Beautiful pictures. I need a hap now. I think I'll have a go at crocheting one.

Buttermilk · « **Reply #11 on:** December 13, 2017, 07:47:08 am »

Quote from: Mad Goatwoman of Madeley on December 13, 2017, 12:12:54 am

Beautiful pictures. I need a hap now. I think I'll have a go at crocheting one.

I have just started to spin a single to knit into a hap. The pattern is from Jamieson's of Shetland but it is not on their website I got it at the Knitting and Stitching show at Harrogate.

Bionic · « **Reply #12 on:** December 13, 2017, 07:53:32 am »

Quote from: Fleecewife on December 12, 2017, 03:05:49 pm

Thank you for the definition Blackbird. I recognise little bits of my shawl in the definition. Yes it has a purpose - to keep me warm. Yes it wraps around the torso. Yes it will keep me warm, but no it won't keep the wind out (I think it would need to be felted for that). It's mainly stocking stitch and it has a chain up the middle of the back, with a lacy hole each side of the chain (these double as the increases). There is an overall chevron effect but the tip is weirdly at the top - result of the increases being in the middle. There are no other lacy effects - they're beyond me (I did once as a 12 yo knit a lacy jumper for myself, with much blood, sweat and tears, the latter when the dog ate it just as soon as I'd finished it - I see the funny side now, but not back then).
No, mine won't be incredibly beautiful and striking . I overspun the yarn a bit as I was using my big wheel which I hadn't used for a while, so it's a bit harsh. Also there are random coloured stripes, depending on which silks I added when - some of them don't go very well together. Basically I'm not very good at my chosen crafts - I know how I want it to look, but finished objects are never quite right. Still, it will fulfill its primary function of keeping me warm.

Do you know where I can find any pictures of real haps?

Just answered my own question and searched on the magic google: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=shetland+haps+images&rlz=1C1ASUM_enGB714GB714&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=0Z7ULulVqjBH1M%253A%252CgwGZ1x8QHfQZMM%252C_&usg=__ZETPkXPh5vnU8kXVOwV7ltoTvPw%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjF3byh4ITYAhULaxQKHdeaDqoQ9QEIKTAA#imgrc=uzLAJ1Sor-WBWM:

There are loads of images, most rather more delicate than mine, and some are giant squares. I see I'm going to have to try again when I've finished this one

Oh I love this one: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/utilitarian-faroese-shawl
Just off to ravelry...........