Finch Ruffle Shawl

I've been busy knitting up a new pattern. This is the Finch Ruffle Shawl. I love it! It turned out exactly the way I hoped.  

It's a totally feminine, silky shawl with beautifully transitioning colors, knit with two strands of Finch rayon boucle yarn together, in a gentle curve by increasing at the edges of the body. The ruffle is knit last with a single strand of the same yarn on smaller needles in short row sections along the bottom edge of the shawl so that the colors transition sideways along the bottom.

The shawl was knit with 6 skeins of Finch, rayon yarn [1350 yds total] from www.robinjedmundson.etsy.com  in these colors: Vineyard, Deep Woods, Summer, Sandstone, Orchard,  and Elderberry.  This yarn is available in many colors.  If you need help choosing colors, feel free to email me for help and suggestions: robin at morenna dot com or convo me via my Etsy shop: www.robinjedmundson.etsy.com.

This pattern is totally flexible. Change colors as often as you wish. Mix and match whatever colors make you happy.   You can even knit it all in one yarn [try Stella, silk noil yarn at www.robinjedmundson.etsy.com - 1350 yds for $35.]  Or you can mix and match the yarns - for example try mixing the Finch,  Zig zag, Rayon spiral and sparrow.  Just remember that you need 4-6 colors and about 1300 yds total.   Use similar colors or bold contrasts.  Any way you do it, it'll be gorgeous.

Skill level:  Intermediate

Finished size:  60 inches wide at top.  24 inches long from top to bottom.

Needles:  Size 8 [for ruffle], size 10.5 circular needles 24” or longer [for body], size 15 [for cast on]

Here are some ways you can wear the shawl:

Photo above:   Pinned at shoulder with inside ends overlapping in front. 




Photo left:  Flipped over one shoulder - no pin needed. 

Turn the whole thing upside down with the ruffles on top and wear it like a scarf.

It's plenty big enough to wrap once around your neck so that all the colors in the ruffles shine. 

The pattern is for sale on Etsy for a whopping $1.50.   A real bargain for a gorgeous pattern. 

If you buy the yarn from me, I'll send you the pattern for free.   Just let me know when you purchase the yarn that you'd like me to send you the pattern.  [The pdf will attach easily to an Etsy convo].

Happy knitting!

Natural Dye Sample Project: Part 1

Several years ago, a few friends and I set out on a quest to dye ten different fibers with ten different natural dyes.

We also wanted to see what differences we could get on the fibers with different pre-mordants.

And post-mordants.

And afterbaths.  

It turned into kind of a big deal.    A big, glorious, messy, complicated, time-consuming, natural dye deal that took us about 2 1/2 years to complete.

Well.

It's done.    Ta-DA!

And we have these wonderful books full of natural dye samples to use as reference now.

This is how we organized things:  

The fibers:   linen, cotton, rayon, tencel, bamboo, silk, wool, superwash wool, alpaca and mohair.

The dyes:  logwood, cochineal, brazilwood, madder, walnuts, apple twigs, osage orange, goldenrod, comfrey and indigo.



The pre-mordants:  alum/tartaric acid, tin, nothing.
The post-mordants:  tin, copper, iron, nothing.
The afterbaths:  ammonia, nothing. 

For each fiber, for each dye we have a page that lists every combination of pre-mordant, post-mordant and afterbath,  Blow this pic up to see the details of the sample sheet.

We  also had a section for notes that tells us exactly how we did the dye, etc.  Notes are important.    Because I don't remember a blasted thing anymore.

Here's a pic of the notes we took on using walnuts.   Walnuts give gorgeous brown dyes, but it takes a couple of days to pull the color out of them.     That's the kind of thing you want to remember.

It took forever to punch all the holes in the cardstock, and then attach all the samples, but it was worth it.   [We tried drilling them, but...uh...no.].   There are 90 sample cards and 24 different combinations of mordants on each page. [A couple of cards have more than one set of samples.]   That is 2400 different dye samples all organized in binders for each of us. 

No wonder it took 2 1/2 years.

Tomorrow, I'll show you the fibers that dyed the best and talk a bit about the process. 

Beeswax Candle

Bayberry candles are one of my all time favorite things in the whole wide world.    I love them.   I also love beeswax candles.   I love how they smell when they're burning.  

I saved all our extra wax from last year and melted it down into a block so I could make candles with our own wax from our own bees.   Since I wanted really special candles, I got a pound of bayberry wax from betterbee.com to add to them.

Actually, I wanted to render my own bayberry wax -[You get the bayberry wax by boiling  bayberries.  The wax coating melts off and floats.  When it cools, it becomes hard like any other wax].  - so I spent days and days searching for a source for bulk bayberries by the pound.    No go.   If you ever find a source, let me know.     In the meantime, I may have to plant some bushes here.  We'll see.

I save my old candle jars for just this purpose, so I taped a wick to the bottom of the jar so it wouldn't wiggle and then wrapped it around a pencil that I laid across the top.  [I used the zinc core wicking for this candle - still experimenting with different wicks]  When the candle was cool, I cut it at the length I wanted. 

Traditionally, bayberry candles were made from half bayberry wax and half beeswax.  So that's what I did.    In a double boiler unit, I melted a hunk of beeswax and a hunk of bayberry together.   When they were all hot and melted, I poured it into the candle jar. 

To prevent the wax from heaving as it cooled, I turned off the burner under the hot water in the pan and set the candle jar right in the water and let it all cool overnight.   Worked like a charm.

Our wax is screaming yellow and bayberry wax is a gray green/olive color.   The two together make this nice yellow green.

It smells divine. 

Gingko Shawl

Pattern & photo by Jodie Gordon Lucas

This is what I've been working on lately.    I found the pattern through Ravelry.  If you already have a Ravelry account then this link will take you right to the page. If you don't have an account, then you might get stopped at the front door of the site.   It's a fabulous site and if you're a knitter or crocheter, I encourage you to join.  The pattern library alone is invaluable.

The shawl is worked in short rows from the neck to the hem, with an easy pattern repeat - lots of rows, but in three major parts, repeated over and over.  

I'm making the version in the pic out of a raw silk yarn of mine - Stella, 1300 yds - that I've dyed myself in similar colors.   

It's a restful knit and a beautiful project perfect for winter. 

What winter projects do you have lined up?

Ruffle Scarves

I've been playing around with ruffles in my weaving.   

You weave them flat.

Then wet finish them.

Then you have ruffles!

I heart ruffles!

If you didn't see these in person at the BSWG Show and Sale last weekend, then you can come and get  one at my next show! 

Unitarian Church Art Fair and Bazaar

Fri, November 30, 2011, 10am-7pm

Sat, December  1, 2011, 9am-5pm

Corner of Fee Lane and the bypass, Bloomington, Indiana

Guy Towels

Guy towels. 

These towels turned out way brilliant.   Ideal for dudes who aren't afraid of kitchens.  Ideal for kitchens in cabins in the deep dark woods.   Or on mountains!   Or by lakes!  Or hunting cabins!

I'm definitely making more of these.

The details:
Handwoven by me of 100% cotton. $20 each.   I do them in sets of four if you want a set.  Machine washed and dried.   16"x24" right out of the dryer.   Email me if you want them before they go up on etsy.   robin at morenna dot com

Berry Prism Towels

More prism [not prison] towels in berry brights.  Purple, blue, gold and green.    These are Lily's favorite, so far.  

Details:  Handwoven in 100% cotton.  $20 each.   I do them in sets of four if you want a set.  Machine washed and dried.   16"x24" right out of the dryer.   Email me if you want them before they go up on etsy.   robin at morenna dot com

Prison Towels

Just kidding about the prison thing. 

When I posted the first set of Prism towels,  one of my friends mis-read it as Prison Towels.  We made a bunch of jokes about towels in orange stripes.

Then I made these towels and Eric said, "Hey!  You made Prison Towels!'

Because we're old enough to remember when prisoners [on TV] were dressed in loud black and white stripes.

Not orange.

It was funny!

Really.

*crickets*

Anyway....

I like them.   And I'm thinking you will, too.  And if you want them, you can buy them!

The nitty gritty details:
They're handwoven by me, myself and I out of cotton. Shades of grey and black.  $20 each.   I do them in sets of four if you want a set.  Machine washed and dried.   16"x24" right out of the dryer.   Email me if you want them before they go up on etsy.   robin at morenna dot com

Spring Towels

I've been weaving.   And weaving.   And I'm having loads of fun putting colors together. 

Here are some perfectly pastel towels in time for the Spring holidays.   Calming shades of soft blue, green, yellow and tan.  

The nitty gritty details:  
These are handwoven of all cotton.  Machine hemmed.   They've been machine washed and dried.  They measure 15" x 24" [or a little wider] right out of the dryer, so they won't shrink any more.    [These are the same types of towels that I use in my own kitchen.   They last!]

$20 each.   I weave four at a time if you want a set.    Email me if you want to get some before I put them on etsy.    email:  robin  at morenna  dot com

Towels!

Before:

 After:

Pretty, huh!    I needed some Bright in my life.   I think these fit the bill quite nicely.

They're handwoven of all cotton.  Machine hemmed.   They've been machine washed and dried.  They measure 15" x 24" [or a little wider] right out of the dryer, so they won't shrink any more.    [These are the same types of towels that I use in my own kitchen.   They last!]

$15 each.   I weave four at a time if you want a set.    Email me if you want to get some before I put them on etsy.    email:  robin  at morenna  dot com

I've got another set on the loom and will be doing them in many colors this year.   I'll keep you posted.

On the Loom

I heart washcloths.

Collapse Weave Experiments

I've been fascinated with collapse weave for a long time.   You weave it flat, then wash it and Shazam!  it's crinkly.

Crinkly is cool.

Crinkly did not come easy.



I tried all sorts of things and it all pretty much came out looking like this.

Not crinkly.

Sort of crinkly, but not really crinkly.   It was thinking about being crinkly, but not actually doing the crinkly thing. 

I got a great book on collapse weave and it helped me think about it quite a bit.  Check out Collapse Weave, by Anne Field. 

For me, though, 'thinking' wasn't nearly as a good a teacher as 'doing'.   I had to warp the loom and try some stuff out before I could figure out how the whole thing worked.   I had to make some mistakes. 

This is what I learned. 

1.  Use a fine warp.   I've been playing with lace weight alpaca and gotten some nice stuff.  I've also seen nice stuff worked up on tencel and silk warps [shoot for 20/2 or smaller].

2.  Use a wide sett.   I liked 15-18 epi.

3.  Differential setts didn't crinkle.   I tried  mixing a 24 epi with a 15 epi in the warp and it didn't do anything.

4.  Wooly nylon thread is not a good weft thread.  It doesn't collapse nearly enough.   Don't bother.

5.  Overtwisted wool crepe was the best weft I tried.    It comes in great colors from Habu and it's worth the money.   If you're local, then you'll be glad to know that Yarns Unlimited has both this yarn and the Collapse Weave book.

6.  I tried both 1/3 twill and 2/2 twill and discovered that it really doesn't make a difference.   I got good collapse with both.

7.  Don't pack the weft.   Keep it a balanced weave even though the weft is considerably smaller than the warp.    Sample until you get what you like.

In the end, I got what I was shooting for.  It collapsed a full 50%.    By changing wefts, I could get a fabric that collapsed in some places but not others. 

I need to play with this some more.    What would happen if I mixed collapse weave with shibori?   Hmm....

Lavender Sachets

Remember when we made lavender wands?  

The thing about lavender wands is that you have to make them pretty soon after you pick the lavender and it's still soft and pliable.

Pliable is good. 

We like pliable.

After pliable comes dry.   Dry is not pliable.   Dry is stiff and brittle. 

Dry is what happens when you pick the lavender to make the lavender wands and then get distracted by real life stuff like changing diapers, going to work, cleaning the house, taking care of Grandma, writing letters to your representatives,  making pickles, going to the vet, sleeping for a few hours every night, etc.

Yeah, that sleeping business really gets in the way, I tell ya.    While you're sleeping, the lavender is leaving the land of pliable and heading at warp speed into the land of dry.  

It's pretty near impossible to make lavender wands with dry lavender. 

Never fear!  All is not lost!    You can use that lavender to make lavender sachets!

This is what you need:

• Paper.  Pretty paper!
• Double-sided tape
• Lavender
• Paper cutter or scissors

We used old scrapbooking papers that I knew I wouldn't use for scrapping, but would look fabu full of lavender in my drawer.

Cut the 12x12 ones in half.   Leave the 8.5 x 11 as is.   Fold them all lengthwise.

See where the fold is?   On one side of the fold, put tape across the top, one edge and bottom.   You don't have to use much.  

See?

Now, put a small bunch of lavender in the sachet - a dozen stems or so.

See how mine in the photo are too long?   I just cut the ends off.   They were dry and brittle and I could just bend and twist to get them off.  

Now, fold the other side of the paper over the lavender and stick it together. 

Voila!    A lavender sachet.   With rescued lavender!  Aren't you clever!

I made mine with bits of tape so there are open spaces along the edges.  That means that bits of lavender might fall out.    Mine are in the bottom of my drawers so I don't have a problem with that.    If you want secure edges, make sure you tape all along the top, edge and bottom so there won't be any openings for lavender bits to fall out of. 

They smell good immediately.  My scarf collection loves these.

So do my sheets.  

So do my holiday towels.  

And my t-shirts.    

And my kids' drawers.

You can also punch a hole in the top, thread a ribbon through it and hang it on a hangar in your nice clothes.   It would make you happy every time you opened your closet. 

Mohair and Ribbon Triangle Shawl

I've been playing a lot with simple pattern ideas for ribbon yarns.   I especially like ribbons combined with yarns of other textures - like mohair - so I knitted up a very quick triangle shawl to show both yarns off.

This is all you need:

Needles:  11 or larger [The bigger the needles, the bigger the shawl]

Yarn: 

• 1 skein Mohair/Rayon Duo, 150 yds.  $25. Color: orange/tex-mex.   www.robinjedmundson.com 
• 1 skein Frost, nylon ribbon, 200 yds. $12.  www.robinjedmundson.com 

The pattern is simple:

Cast on 3 with both yarns held together. 
Row 1:  Knit across with both yarns, increasing 1 stitch at the beginning and the end of the row. 
Row 2: Knit.
Row 3-4: With ribbon yarn only, repeat rows 1-2. 
Rows 5-6:  With mohair/ rayon yarn only, repeat rows 1-2. 

Continue on until you are almost out of yarn.  Bind off very loosely.  Cut and weave in ends.

Tunisian Crochet Trap Wrap

A new pattern!   Just for you!

This is a simple wrap worked up in the shape of a trapezoid, with the long side of the trapezoid on the top so you that you have a lot of wonderful collar and clasp possibilities.




The armholes are worked in asymmetrically, so that one of the front sides is wider than the other.  

The wrap is worked from side to side and it's a great way to use the Tunisian Simple Stitch on something that is not an afghan. 

In this view the narrow side is on top with a wrap on her left shoulder.

And in this view the wide side is up and the clasp is on her right shoulder.

You can decide before you start which side you want to be narrow and which side you want to be wide.    Just pay attention to the directions.

Size:  Small
Yarn: 1800 yds [8 oz] Luna Silk, $35,  Robin J. Edmundson
Hook: Tunisian hook [afghan hook] H/8
Stitches:  Tunisian Simple Stitch, Foundation Chain [a la Doris Chan], Chain

24 inches long from top to bottom.   41 inches wide at the top, 31 inches wide at the bottom. 

The tunisian crochet gives the wrap a nice drape.  Even the back looks great.

The pattern is for a size small.  I used a whole skein for this size so if you want to do a bigger on, plan on two skeins. 

The pattern is free!   Just email me [robin at morenna dot com] if you want one.

UPDATE: 7/1/2013   This pattern is for sale on Etsy,  $1.00.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/155538140/pattern-tunisian-crochet-trapezoid-wrap

Happy crocheting, Everyone!

The Aurora Scarf Project

I belong to the Weaving Indiana guild.   Every other year, we do something related to the theme  for the Midwest Weavers Conference.  This year, the conference theme is 'Northern Wefts'.    Our challenge was to choose a photo of the aurora borealis and weave a scarf to go with it.    The night sky meets weaving.

I have never done a weaving challenge before.   So, my challenge was to actually do the challenge. 

I did it.  Before the deadline, too.   Yes, I'm patting myself on the back.

Photo: geology.com © iStockphoto / Shawn Waite

Here's my first inspiration photo.

Photo: absenceofblackandwhite.blogspot.com

And here's my second one.   I wanted one with blue, too.   

Warp:  8/2 tencel, dyed.
Weft: 8/2 tencel, black.

Threading:  8 harness, straight draw
Weave structure:  Undulating twill

This weave structure was a challenge for me because I wanted to learn 'how it worked', not just repeat the same treadling over and over [and over and over and over....] 


The aurora in the sky isn't perfectly regular, it varies. 

I did a small sample to get the rhythm of the treadling, then I took off and syncopated it.    As Randy Darwall told me once, "The pattern repeats, except when it doesn't repeat."

Jazz meets weaving. 

Project: Silk Shawl 'Zen'

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away,  I thought it would be fun to weave fine silk so that it would look like birch bark.    It was a good plan.   Eventually, it all turned out OK and this is what I made:

'Zen' Handwoven, Hand dyed Silk Shawl.    $500.

Inspiration:  Birch bark

Specs:
warp: 60/2 silk yarn;  dividers and selvedges: 12/2 black silk yarn.  Wound in small bundles.
weft: 120/2 silk yarn, 12/2 black silk yarn for hems and dividers.
sett:  45 epi
width:  24 inches
length: 80 inches

weave structure: plainweave
loom: 8H Baby Wolf

Process:
I wound several small warps so that they could be mixed up as I put them on the loom.  The mixing separated the birch bark stripes and made them look more natural - like birch bark.   The warps were dyed with a tiny paint brush a few threads at a time.   I mixed up a half dozen dark colors in browns, bronze and golds to use for the birch bark markings.

The execution was kind of tricky.   Putting it on the loom took forever. Mixing the warps was delicate and then winding the thing on was even more delicate.   I managed not to break any threads.

I didn't have enough heddles on my loom, so I ordered new ones.   They came with no instructions.  I trusted the company - that was my first mistake.   I put them on the loom and they left grease marks all over my white silk shawl.    Now I know.   NEVER put new heddles on a loom without washing them off first with grease cutting soap and drying them thoroughly.  

I was kind of upset.   However, with patience, some grease cutting dish soap and my bare hands, I washed those stains out 2 square inches at a time.

Whew!  I was happy to get these done and off the loom.  I made two.

FYI:   Once this was on the loom, the weaving was easy and fast.    OK, not so fast, because we're talking 45 ppi.   That's 45 shots across per inch.   At 80 inches, that's 3600 shots per shawl.

I still can't believe I did it.

Hairpin Lace Tunic

I've been busy making samples to show off the new yarns.   Here is a lacy tunic in hairpin lace crochet, made in the Bamboo Tape (150 yds, $16); color: berry.   It took 3 skeins.

I got the pattern from Kristin Ohmdahl's book Crochet So Fine.     It was a simple pattern and there are great directions for learning how to do hairpin lace crochet, if you don't already know how.   I highly recommend it. 

Project: Crochet Ripple Shawl

I love shawls.   I love blue.   I love crochet.    This shawl is all three of those and I love it.  

Pretty, huh!    You need one of these.

It's fast and simple.   It took 4 skeins of Fine Cotton Boucle [ 300 yds/skein, $10].  I'll have a lot of it in a lot of colors at the Fiber Event at Greencastle on April 15-16.    Here's the pattern:

  

Simple Chevron Crochet Shawl  

Robin J. Edmundson 

Hook size:  H

Yarn:  Fine Cotton Boucle, 4 skeins [1200 yds] by Robin J Edmundson [www.robinjedmundson.com]

The pattern is done in groups of 15 stitches, so you can easily make this wider or narrower by deciding how many chevrons you want across the piece.  The sample shawl is 6 chevrons wide, and took about 1100 yds of yarn, (3.5 skeins)] 

Each chevron is done in a 6-3-6 pattern with 2 skipped stitches between sections [chevrons].

Row 1: Chain multiple of 15 [+4 at the very end].  94 stitches. Turn.

Row 2:  *DC in 4^th stitch from end.  DC in next 5 stitches [6 total]

          -DC 3 in next stitch [This will make a point at the top]

          -DC in next 6 stitches

          -Skip 2 stitches [This will make a point at the bottom]. 

          -Repeat the [6-3-6] pattern until end of row.  Skip 2 stitches between sections. 
          -Chain 2. Turn. 

Row 3:  Skip 1 stitch.  * DC in next 6 stitches.

          -DC 3 in next stitch [directly over center stitch of the point in the last row]

         -DC in next 6 stitches. [The last stitch of each section will be over the next to the last stitch of the section in the row below]

          -Skip 2 stitches. 

-Repeat from * until end of row. [You’ll begin each set of 15 stitches in the 2^nd stitch of the set in the row below.]

-For the final stitch of each row, you won’t need to skip 2; Make sure you DC the 6^th stitch in the space between the end 2 stitches of the row below.**

-Chain 2 and turn for next row.

Repeat Row 3 until your piece is done.  End at **.  Knot, cut and weave ends in.