Grand Hexie Plans

Oh dear it's been a while since my last post, I don't really know whats happened the last week. No major disasters have occured in my life to explain my lack of presence. Maybe it's because things have been ticking over nicely that I got carried away with the peace and stress free life for a few days.

I even picked up my shuttles and did some weaving on my Lime Log cabin last night. I'm hoping to get it finished and off the loom by Saturday so I can take it to the SpinDyeWeavers meeting to show everyone. Must remember to take the throw I made for Tiggi too.



In my last post I talked about a hexagon blanket I want to make in the future. I've been giving it some thought and started to look on Ravelry for inspiration. So far, these patterns are jumping out at me...

Puffed Daisy Hexagon

I love the bobble of this design. It's simple and effective however it is small so I would have to think how what extra rounds I would want to add.


African Flower

My eye gets drawn to the motif in the centre of this block and I think it would be possible to adapt it so that the outer petals are a bobble style stitch. Also I like how you can use the same colours in each block but in a different place to bring it all together.


The Crocodile Flower

This block is quite striking and very unique. It uses the crocodile stitch which I love using and it has lots of texture. The only problem is that it's currently a square finish and I really want a hexagon, I'd have to adapt this to suit if I choose it.


Granny Stitch Hexagon Crochet Motif II

Where we would be without the basic granny block? I just have to include this one as a strong contender. The simple design will make any feature block pop.



These have definately given me something to think about, I still need to think about the yarn I'll use. I'm leaning towards handspun yarn to make it really special. This leads to another question, what colours and fibre do I need to spin up? What weight yarn do I need to aim for?

Do you have any future projects in mind??

xoxo
Sophie

Oh dear, future WIPs

Oh dear, thanks to everyone’s lovely blogs I have seen and been inspired by many many projects and I want to start doing them all...now!

I've decided to sit down and think, what do I really need (who am I kidding, I need it all!) and most importantly I need to narrow down the project list. I need to find the right pattern for each item so what do I want from each item? First off I want to make a new cowl/scarf/shawl/neck warmer for the winter. My requirements:

• I wear my hair both up and down so I need something that I can put on easily without messing the style up - Nothing that goes over my head
• My hair is easily influenced by static - Nothing too snug to my neck so my hair doesn't get pulled against the yarn
• I don't really want another scarf, I still love wearing my South Bay Shawlette - Narrow the search to cowls, collars and neck warmers
• I want something a bit different - Need to look for something with unique features, button up or unusual method to hold in place

What I have seen lots of lately are Granny Square inspired blankets but with a twist. Instead of the traditional squares, hexagons seem to be the thing to do at the moment. Jumping on the band wagon, I want one! Again, I need to think carefully about what I want and what I like...

• Flower style centre - African flower is nice
• Texture - puff stitch maybe? scallops anywhere?
• Easy to join together - use the same yarn for the border of each hexie
• Warm, cosy & unique - use handspun

Just a couple of things to start off with, don't want to overwhelm myself, I still have all my other WIPs to do. Now time to start hunting around to find the perfect patterns for these 2 projects.

What future WIPs do you have in mind?

xoxo
Sophie

New spinning project

First Monday of the month means one thing, spinning evening at the Spinning Weal in Clevedon.
Over recent months I've been spinning a super soft merino batt for a future weaving project and I finally finished it on the weekend so I had to go stash diving for tonight's project. Ages ago I won a hand dyed BFL roving by The Sassy Spinner as part of our spinning groups raffle and decided to make a start on it tonight.




The colour way is Moorland and the base fibre is oatmeal BFL. The oatmeal base really makes the colours deep and heather like and it's a nice fibre to spin.




I want to keep the colours together as much as possible so I'm trying to spin it thinly and then I'll n-ply it to hopefully end up with a 4 ply or DL yarn. At the moment I have no final plans for the yarn, but who normally does at this stage?!?

xoxo

Sophie

Blending samples

A few months ago my local spinning group held a blending day where members brought along their drum carders, hackles, hand carders, combs and lots of fibre to play with. The purpose of the day was to give us the chance to learn and inspire each other.
I thought it was an ideal opportunity to create samples for each method of blending so I can refer back to them in the future when deciding on my projects.

Straight up Rovings

I spun my 2 singles alternating the blue and white roving them plied them together. The end result was a nice smooth yarn which was barber pole in some places and solid colours in others. Due to the fibres being all aligned I did find that the fibre can run away from you if you're not paying attention.

Hackle

I enjoyed using the hackle and it produced a nice blended roving which when spun and plied created a smooth yarn similar to the rovings without the colours being too seperate.

Hand Carders

The beauty of using hand carders is that you can easily see whether or not you need more of a particualar colour to get the result you are looking for. As the fibres are aligned differently, it's easier to spin from these little rolags without the fibre running away from you. The finished yarn is fluffy and full of air.

Drum Carded & spun in lengths

Similar to blending on the hand carders, you can easily see if you want to add more of a particular fibre and if you want a more blended finished you can card the batt more than once. It is possible to diz the batt into strips or you can split it by hand, both gives a nice airy yarn and I have since used this technique to create thick singles.

Drum Carded and spun from the fold

I personally wasn't a fan of spinning from the fold as I found I ended up with a clump of fibre in my hand each time. This may be more related to my technique and inexperience with spinning in this manner so will have to try it again in the future. The end result was very similar to spinning in strips.

I enjoyed each method of blending fibres however my favourite at the moment is spinning batts that have been stripped/dizzed into lengths. I like the finished airy yarn is produces and allows me to have better control at the wheel. The only draw back is that you can get nepps in the batt, but they are easily removed during spinning if you don't like them.

Hope you have enjoyed reading my Woolly Wednesday post!
xoxo
Sophie