Misc The September 2019 Orchard Side Chat!

[packyderms_wife]

The video gets me to thinking about the difference between art and craft. There are so many levels in quilting: thread painting; landscape quilts, watercolor quilts; collage; portrait; paint; embellishment/embroidery; reverse quilting where you cut out pieces/holes and quilt an underlying fabric into it; stained glass; dyeing fabric - so many different ideas. Lots of room to grow.

I make art quilts. I made my last 'bed quilt' when I was in my twenties I made a beautiful quilt for my parents in navy blues and creams, and when I gave it to them my dad gave it back to me and said "it's not brown". I swore then I'd never make another quilt for a bed ever again, and I haven't! It was king sized and it took me two years to hand stitch and quilt that sucker while going to college and working two jobs.

I love the open hexie spaces she created in that one piece, a friend of mine mailed me some hexies she cut for me from some heavy stock paper so I am hoping to create something this week with them for the crazy quilt I'm working on, and those blocks are hexagon-shaped as well.

I'm also working on a necklace for myself, I found a really cute necklace at a thrift shop that OC bought for me for all of $3, however, it's too short, so I've been going through my beads both vintage and new, and bought some new wire and findings (silver the original was gold to which I'm allergic), and plan to make the necklace longer this afternoon. It's four strands and I've never worked on a multi-strand necklace before so this could get interesting. I bought plenty of crimp beads (50% off) at Hobby Lobby last night and a pair of crimping pliers (the only jewelry making tool I did not own) to practice with first. I also bought wire guards and crimp covers I'd never heard of them until last week when I was watching a video on how to make a bracelet.

 

[Seeker22]

I am having fun with the spindle this week. I have a bunch of Angora Mohair (goat; not rabbit) to play with. I bought five large 1 pound cakes of pencil roving which is actually two pieces run side by side and then wound into the cake shape at the local Thrift for total of $10.00. Nobody else wanted it and they had it marked down. I wanted fingering yarn one ply and not the heavy stuff this would have made, so am taking apart the balls and winding the two sections separately and then spinning on my 3 oz. Spindle. It wouldn't eat the heavy stuff. I finally had time to make the spindle do what it needs to, so I am happy with my new skillset.

I have 15 pounds of unwashed Mohair in my Craft Cottage that will get scrubbed and dried with the last of the Summer sun. I can add that to the growing pile of spun one ply. This stuff is not pleasant against the skin, but will be warm as boot liners, or dog beds. What else do you do with scratchy wool without adding soft wool to it?

I was thinking this morning about all the things that get made with oil. Like yarn. Acrylic and Superwash are in that category, I believe. Wool is preferred, but next time I get to the big box store, I will grab some more cheap acrylic. It would not surprise me at all to see a Yarn shortage here soon. Oil will be kept for "more critical" things. What other things do we crafters work with that are petroleum based and could soon be in short supply? I bet it is a long list. Prep accordingly.

Melodi is right about babies needing warmth of knitted things. I have more old people in my circle than babies, but they need it, too. I keep extra sets of crochet hooks and knitting needles in my car and if someone wants to learn, I just whip my project out and give the prospective student their own ball of yarn, and we are off to the races. Watch and learn. They look surprised when I let them keep it.

 

[packyderms_wife]

I am having fun with the spindle this week. I have a bunch of Angora Mohair (goat; not rabbit) to play with. I bought five large 1 pound cakes of pencil roving which is actually two pieces run side by side and then wound into the cake shape at the local Thrift for total of $10.00. Nobody else wanted it and they had it marked down. I wanted fingering yarn one ply and not the heavy stuff this would have made, so am taking apart the balls and winding the two sections separately and then spinning on my 3 oz. Spindle. It wouldn't eat the heavy stuff. I finally had time to make the spindle do what it needs to, so I am happy with my new skillset.

I have 15 pounds of unwashed Mohair in my Craft Cottage that will get scrubbed and dried with the last of the Summer sun. I can add that to the growing pile of spun one ply. This stuff is not pleasant against the skin, but will be warm as boot liners, or dog beds. What else do you do with scratchy wool without adding soft wool to it?

I was thinking this morning about all the things that get made with oil. Like yarn. Acrylic and Superwash are in that category, I believe. Wool is preferred, but next time I get to the big box store, I will grab some more cheap acrylic. It would not surprise me at all to see a Yarn shortage here soon. Oil will be kept for "more critical" things. What other things do we crafters work with that are petroleum based and could soon be in short supply? I bet it is a long list. Prep accordingly.

Melodi is right about babies needing warmth of knitted things. I have more old people in my circle than babies, but they need it, too. I keep extra sets of crochet hooks and knitting needles in my car and if someone wants to learn, I just whip my project out and give the prospective student their own ball of yarn, and we are off to the races. Watch and learn. They look surprised when I let them keep it.

We'll see an increase in fiber animals like sheep, goats, alpacas, llamas, and the like in addition to fiber bearing dogs... yep they exist... their undercoats are some of the warmest fibers on the planet.

I don't find mohair to be scratchy, I have a lovely triangular shall I knitted with mohair yarn I got at Goodwill for something like three dollars. No one else wanted it, to me it was perfection. Now wonders where that shawl made off to?

 

[Seeker22]

We'll see an increase in fiber animals like sheep, goats, alpacas, llamas, and the like in addition to fiber bearing dogs... yep they exist... their undercoats are some of the warmest fibers on the planet.

I don't find mohair to be scratchy, I have a lovely triangular shall I knitted with mohair yarn I got at Goodwill for something like three dollars. No one else wanted it, to me it was perfection. Now wonders where that shawl made off to?

I had intended to do a shawl out of this batch of Mohair from the Hap Shawls book. You are making me want to keep to that plan. Funny you mention dog hair. I have baggies of sheds from my pups over the years. Now that the long haired ones are gone, It will be a comfort to me to spin that with some other fiber and make something pretty. That is the sole reason I wanted to learn to spin, to tell you the truth.

I want to raise Angora Rabbits, but as long as the temps in my area are above 75, I would need to keep them in an air conditioned barn. Just not worth it for the three or four pair I would keep. After all, how much can you knit in a year? Necessity will make the changes, but I agree that the hair critters will make a comeback.

 

[packyderms_wife]

I had intended to do a shawl out of this batch of Mohair from the Hap Shawls book. You are making me want to keep to that plan. Funny you mention dog hair. I have baggies of sheds from my pups over the years. Now that the long haired ones are gone, It will be a comfort to me to spin that with some other fiber and make something pretty. That is the sole reason I wanted to learn to spin, to tell you the truth.

I want to raise Angora Rabbits, but as long as the temps in my area are above 75, I would need to keep them in an air conditioned barn. Just not worth it for the three or four pair I would keep. After all, how much can you knit in a year? Necessity will make the changes, but I agree that the hair critters will make a comeback.

Do research on the angoras, iirc the French angoras tolerates heat better than the Germans.

 

[marsh]

The problem with "hair critter" fibers is washability. With modern time pressures, the habit is one wear, throw in washer and dryer. Critter fiber cleaning is too fiddly or dry cleaning expensive, even if you wear it several times. The Mom's in my family don't want it. I gave a jagger spun woven scarf to my daughter and one toss in the laundry by mistake and it became all felted.

I have a ton of Romney wool, which, although my breeder has worked hard to keep the micron count down, is still scratchy. (I have picked and sorted all the staples and stored them in sealed buckets. They just need to be washed, maybe dyed, and combed.) As you said, it is good for outer wear and linings. Could work for blankets and would always work for rugs. (You can get big bags of selvages from the Pendleton mill, which are good for rug weaving.) I save the Merino for carding into batts and spinning woolen for next to skin use.

I used to knit a lot, but I have a bone spur in my thumb and arthritis and my hands are too stiff and painful for it any more. Same with embroidery.

Sorry, I am not a linear thinker and tend to wander all over in tangents. It gets worse as I get older ....SQUIRREL!

 

[Melodi]

A few points:

1. A few years ago when there was an "oil spike" during I think the Second Gulf War, the Chinese mills that had all switched to mostly acrylic yarns did a quick re-do of their machines in order to spin cotton which had suddenly become cheaper. So the price of oil does affect these yarns at least on an industrial level.

2.A trick for scratchy wool/hairy fibers - Use them on projects you can LINE like hats, mittens, and even vests; that's how I make homespun hats people will actually wear out of local wool. It is possible to get some fibers that are not scratchy but when you have to make do with the wool of meat sheep and the like, a hidden lining of commercial yarn is your friend.

3. Something to remember about dog hair and even wolf fur, in my experience, no matter what you do during personal processing, it will smell of dog and if you wash it or sweat it will smell of WET dog.

Commercial cleaners can get this smell out and there may be products in the US aimed at the spinning market that can do this now, but as it stands I've stopped making items out of dog's fur (or only mixing in tiny bits) because people say they "won't mind" and then stop wearing the items both because of the smell and the scratchy guard hairs.

I've seen a lot more long-term use with cat fur/wool homespun, especially from long-haired breeds with wooly undercoats like Norwegian Forest Cats.

Now in an SHTF situation, of course, dog fur can be used, with the undercoats of double-coated canines like Norwegian Elk Hounds or Samoyand sled dogs will be prized for their warmth, but probably used more for blankets and other rough fabrics.

I knew someone who did a line of clothing with handspun Samie fur and she said even in Alaska her customers found they could wear vests but not sweaters with sleeves because they were simply TOO WARM.

 

[Melodi]

I almost forgot if you have a top-loading washing machine; you can wash pure wool and even many handspun items by filling it up with cold or barely warm water/mild detergent and then TURN IT OFF.

Put items of clothing to be washed in it.

Leave for a few hours or overnight - DO NOT AGITATE

Now use the SPIN CYCLE ONLY and spin out the water.

If soap was used, REMOVE THE ITEMS and refill with clean water

Put items back into soak as before for at least 1 hour and then use the spin cycle.

Remove items and line dry (or put over the stove in Winter).

This will work for most animal fiber garments, I've done variations with my European Front loader with special bags for nylons and the "wool cycle" on the machine and usually, it is OK but not always.

This method can also be used to wash fleece - but you must never agitate or you get a whole wash drum full of felted and tangled wool - ask me how I know...lol

Wool can be washed in a front loader in the bags if there is a wool cycle, but I keep the temperature really low, lower than the preset figure on the machine.

I would not wash delicate lace this way becomes sometimes you get a small amount of felting which is usually OK on a hat or a sweater but not a delicate lace shawl or scarf.

 

[Faroe]

For all the wool yarn out there, most people don't "get" the specific care. Most commercial wool sweaters are basically treated Super Wash, and that is what everyone is used to. BF pulled out a hat I knitted him several months ago. I've TOLD him to keep it tied in a pillow case to protect from moths.

"It's ok, its in a drawer."
"No, it's NOT ok - the moths will get into a drawer."

Hat is back in a drawer. Grrr... Last piece I ever knit for anyone else, ever again. Everybody can just freeze. No sympathy here.

 

[Seeker22]

The dog fur items are going to be keepsakes, and rarely get worn. I read about the wet dog smell years ago and forgot about it. Thanks for bringing that to my attention again. These little bits keep falling out of my memory as the years proceed. I love the Forum, as I learn something necessary every day. Or re-learn it. Sigh.

I will look into French Angora Rabbits. I was looking at German last week, but they are not tolerant of heat. I am looking for something even an older person can manage. Rabbits seem to fit the bill. I just can't do Llamas, or other large critters anymore. For those who can, they would be wise investment.

Faroe, men are stupid stubborn critters for the most part. When you find one that isn't, that is a true Gift and you should keep him. When a man finally figures out how much time and work are involved making a simple hat, they usually come around. British soldiers used to knit their own socks with a set of DPNs. Those blokes wouldn't leave their socks to the moths.

 

[Faroe]

Ha, Where else am I going to find a guy who is fine with three dogs, seven big vivs (containing snakes), and a room of birds, and rat cages on the front porch? And all that is aside from the livestock in the back yard.

I can live with a moth eaten hat, even if it ticks me off.

I have kept English Angora bunnies in IA. Very sweet. HIGH maintenance. That fur mats on them if you look at it wrong. The French breed has more guard hairs, so the coats are easier to keep in a usable condition. If I didn't already have Flemish Giants, I would be keeping the French.

 

[Seeker22]

Ha, Where else am I going to find a guy who is fine with three dogs, seven big vivs (containing snakes), and a room of birds, and rat cages on the front porch? And all that is aside from the livestock in the back yard.

I can live with a moth eaten hat, even if it ticks me off.

I have kept English Angora bunnies in IA. Very sweet. HIGH maintenance. That fur mats on them if you look at it wrong. The French breed has more guard hairs, so the coats are easier to keep in a usable condition. If I didn't already have Flemish Giants, I would be keeping the French.

My SIL had a motto I adopted years ago: Love me; love my dogs. My big girl actually chose Ghost before I saw the light. I was NOT looking for a man. She greeted him, the rest sat down in a neat little row, and none made any noise except for that whine that means scratch me here, pet this here. I knew right then that I was screwed. He is a terrific guy- I could have done a lot worse. The pups adore him. And he puts up with my yarn projects in places where they propbably shouldn't be.

 

[Melodi]

Keepsake items with pet hair are fine, I made the lovely young women we got Princess from a lined hat made from her fur - she had raised that wolf-dog from a puppy (and correctly once she realized what the puppy in the box on the freeway really was) but Princess nearly died on the trip over from North America and the vet didn't think she could make a trip back.

So we had her in her last years, and the hats are wonderful memories of her!

 

[Deena in GA]

Along with the yarn that I buy, I never turn down free yarn. Because of that, I could give Joanne's or any yarn store a run for their money, lol. This means I have plenty of acrylic on hand, along with other yarns. Just the other day a friend who lives in FL called. Another friend of theirs down there had a relative die who had a ton of yarn. If we can figure out a way either for us to go down there, or them to come up here, it's mine.

Speaking of shortages...I sell a lot of hemp products. This summer I discovered that there is apparently only one producer of natural hemp "yarn" here in the US. I only discovered that because my regular supplier ran out and said he'd had it on order since February. I searched and searched for more. Turns out he runs two of the three websites that I found and the third one gets his hemp from the first guy. Sigh... I had to quit taking orders for a short while because there was literally no hemp to be found. The third guy did sell me some, but refused to sell me more because he said he would need it himself. Needless to say, once the first guy finally received and spun more hemp, I ordered a bunch. I'm down to 15 spools of it now and will order more when it looks like I'm down to 10. Don't plan to ever run very low on it again.

 

[Faroe]

If I had ten grand to spare, it would go into cloth, thread, and yarn. I live with a dreaded feeling that at some point in the not too distant future, there will be none to be had. Granted, in that scenario we all will have more pressing things to worry about, but it worries me now.

The irksome hexie problem has been solved. I was watching Linda Franz videos, and she just traces the paper template with a straight edge, cuts the seam allowance, and is off with a running (not whip) stitch. I like these results better, and it means I'll only ever need one pack of any size. (Easier on the glue stick refills, too.) MY 6" "Add-a-Quarter" ruler is perfect for this, and I have Pigma Micron permanent ink pens which which give a very fine line (0.2mm), and work for the back of the lightest fabrics and most dark ones.

Spent the last two days happily sewing hexie flowers per Linda Franz. I have NO color sense, and my fabric collection does't really go together, or lend itself well to the delicate Grandmother's Flower Garden theme, but I'm calling it "scrappy," and just enjoying the process. A MSQC order of fabric was scheduled to arrive today, but FedEx decided to reschedule it for tomorrow - no biggie, except I'm like an impatient kid when it comes to new fabric.

 

[packyderms_wife]

Along with the yarn that I buy, I never turn down free yarn. Because of that, I could give Joanne's or any yarn store a run for their money, lol. This means I have plenty of acrylic on hand, along with other yarns. Just the other day a friend who lives in FL called. Another friend of theirs down there had a relative die who had a ton of yarn. If we can figure out a way either for us to go down there, or them to come up here, it's mine.

Speaking of shortages...I sell a lot of hemp products. This summer I discovered that there is apparently only one producer of natural hemp "yarn" here in the US. I only discovered that because my regular supplier ran out and said he'd had it on order since February. I searched and searched for more. Turns out he runs two of the three websites that I found and the third one gets his hemp from the first guy. Sigh... I had to quit taking orders for a short while because there was literally no hemp to be found. The third guy did sell me some, but refused to sell me more because he said he would need it himself. Needless to say, once the first guy finally received and spun more hemp, I ordered a bunch. I'm down to 15 spools of it now and will order more when it looks like I'm down to 10. Don't plan to ever run very low on it again.

You need to set up a wholesale account with Henry’s Attic and cut out the middle man.

 

[packyderms_wife]

If I had ten grand to spare, it would go into cloth, thread, and yarn. I live with a dreaded feeling that at some point in the not too distant future, there will be none to be had. Granted, in that scenario we all will have more pressing things to worry about, but it worries me now.

The irksome hexie problem has been solved. I was watching Linda Franz videos, and she just traces the paper template with a straight edge, cuts the seam allowance, and is off with a running (not whip) stitch. I like these results better, and it means I'll only ever need one pack of any size. (Easier on the glue stick refills, too.) MY 6" "Add-a-Quarter" ruler is perfect for this, and I have Pigma Micron permanent ink pens which which give a very fine line (0.2mm), and work for the back of the lightest fabrics and most dark ones.

Spent the last two days happily sewing hexie flowers per Linda Franz. I have NO color sense, and my fabric collection does't really go together, or lend itself well to the delicate Grandmother's Flower Garden theme, but I'm calling it "scrappy," and just enjoying the process. A MSQC order of fabric was scheduled to arrive today, but FedEx decided to reschedule it for tomorrow - no biggie, except I'm like an impatient kid when it comes to new fabric.

Link to the hexie video please!

 

[kyrsyan]

So... curiosity sent me hunting the video. Found it easily. Then rediscovered printing on fabric. And down the rabbit hole I went. I like the idea of it for ptting on designs that I will then decorative stitch or use fabric paint on. I think for that though I'll have to experiment with printing on something I can remove afterwards.

 

[Faroe]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIWWD-nOapg about 3min.

https://lindafranz.com/blog/encore-presentation-of-the-eighth-live-inklingo-video/

Here are two to get started. The second link is cuts from a live presentation. Her best material is in the live re-plays that mostly run about an hour. She markets her Inklingo software, but was a quilter before she started printing shapes onto fabric with an inkjet printer, and hand traced lines onto fabric with freezer paper templates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cehoJwrGc70 about 3min.

The above is another with EPP. I can't find the video clip where she is tracing and cutting without the aid of a printer, but these should get you started. she has many hours of live video. I just listen while sewing. I don't have the software, and don't plan to get it. (can barely operate our land-line house phone, never mind a printer.) Overall, I still find useful info.

She is constantly adding shapes that can be printed with the software, but not not every conceivable shape/size is in there, so (somewhere in the live videos) she demonstrates what to do if you have to trace, or if you have lots of packets of EPP papers that you don't want to waste.

 

[packyderms_wife]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIWWD-nOapg about 3min.

https://lindafranz.com/blog/encore-presentation-of-the-eighth-live-inklingo-video/

Here are two to get started. The second link is cuts from a live presentation. Her best material is in the live re-plays that mostly run about an hour. She markets her Inklingo software, but was a quilter before she started printing shapes onto fabric with an inkjet printer, and hand traced lines onto fabric with freezer paper templates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cehoJwrGc70 about 3min.

The above is another with EPP. I can't find the video clip where she is tracing and cutting without the aid of a printer, but these should get you started. she has many hours of live video. I just listen while sewing. I don't have the software, and don't plan to get it. (can barely operate our land-line house phone, never mind a printer.) Overall, I still find useful info.

She is constantly adding shapes that can be printed with the software, but not not every conceivable shape/size is in there, so (somewhere in the live videos) she demonstrates what to do if you have to trace, or if you have lots of packets of EPP papers that you don't want to waste.

Thank you!