Studio Update
Fleece processing, spinning, and knitting.
I love to refer to my work/fiber/creative area at home as my “studio,” but in reality it is one-third of our bedroom that I’ve commandeered and divided off with a tall shelf of yarn. I’m not sure what the exact square footage is of the studio space—it’s minimal (I share a one-bedroom NYC apartment with my boyfriend and our two cats) yet just big enough to fit my desk, my spinning wheel, and my 34” wide floor loom. Of course, a kitchen table, the tub in the bathroom, or even our hallway floor might become a temporary addition to my “studio” as needed.
For example, a fleece processing project usually starts on the hardwood floor in the hallway, to the tub, then to dry by a big window in the living room, and finally onto the drum carder and spinning wheel wherever they may be at that time.
Last week I did just that. This one pound Shetland lamb fleece has been in my stash for just over a year, and you know when it’s just time to tackle something? That’s how I felt. Since it was only one pound of fiber, I felt pretty confident that I could process it quick (“quick” for a slow, manual process). I washed it in an evening, which took a few hours, and then spent a few days carding it into batts after it had dried.
It’s some of the softest fleece I’ve handled and I’m hoping to start spinning it this weekend. The total weight of my batts came out to just over 14 ounces after carding. I’m dreaming of spinning a lofty fingering weight 2-ply yarn (a la Spindrift). More to come!
Someday I’ll share how I wash wool in my apartment bathroom, but for now I’ll share this fabulous resource from Clemes and Clemes: How to Wash Raw Wool. I essentially follow this process, just without the overnight cold soak.
Before I can get to spinning my Shetland batts, I need to finish what I currently have on my wheel—an Inglenook Fibers gradient braid set (pictured above left). I’m only spinning half of the set right now, and I’ll save the rest for later. I decided to divide the set in half: the more cool blues and greens, and the warmer reds and purples. The fiber is a mixed BFL and silk blend, and I hate to say it but I’m starting to feel tired of the silk. Something about the shine it creates in the yarn is feeling too harsh to me right now.
My Turkish spindle spinning is still going strong, and I’ve cleared my tiny spindle in preparation for these two blue batts from Keira Wiggins (pictured above right). This tiny spindle allows me to spin the finest of singles, so I’m planning on spinning three sets of singles on it (I have a third blue batt from Keira!) and then I’ll ply them together for a tonal blue 3-ply yarn. This spin is for our Harlow Hat spin-to-knit make-a-long that I shared in my last post—it started on November 15th and is running until the end of January! I hope you’ll join in on the fun! <3
In my knitting, I’ve been wanting to cast-on what feels like a hundred-and-one projects at once, but I’ve restrained myself to two new cast ons (so far). I’ve been tinkering on my other WIPs too, mostly my Ingrid sweater which I only have one sleeve left on, but my Pressed Flowers Kerchief has been such a satisfying project. It’s a fun and random combination of yarns—handspun and leftover Suri held together (purple) and a skein I bought in Italy a few years ago held with leftover Sandnes Garn mohair (green). I can already see myself making more of these in the future. It’s a free pattern, if you’d like to check it out here.
The Boreas sweater by Aegyoknit was somewhat of a spontaneous cast on for me. Although I did manage to swatch THREE times (pictured above right), and I’m so glad I did. I settled on the Lettlopi in Light Beige Heather (the far right swatch in the photo), which I had purchased a few years ago with the intent to knit a Icelandic Lopi sweater but I think this pattern will be more my everyday style. There’s a few other Aegyoknit patterns that I’ve been eyeing and hope to cast on sometime soon.
I’m still craving a Fair Isle sweater project… ah!
I’ll leave you with a little peak at maybe my favorite little space in my “studio.” I found this linen pin board a few weeks ago on Facebook Marketplace and it’s been a wonderful addition. I imagine I’ll switch out the swatches and samples as new ones start to collect, and the same goes for the stack of books. Recently I’ve been feeling inspired by these three: Slow Stitch, Weaving at Black Mountain College, and Quilt Alchemy.
I’d love to hear what’s inspiring your making these days—books, videos, art?
Thank you so much for being here!!!! <3 Madison
Thought you might like…
I stumbled upon documentary filmmaker and photographer Joshua Charow’s Youtube channel this past week, where he has a handful of short videos documenting artists who are still living under the “loft law” in New York City. I especially loved this one: