My overarching goal has always been making useful things useful again. That’s whether I’m fixing sewing machines, doing woodwork/woodturning, refurbishing spinning equipment or creating something in CAD from scratch.
I talked about 3d printers in a previous post and how they’re maybe not what people think they are, yet. That’s not to say they’re not ready to bring new life to things.
Every once in a while when I’m knitting on my antique sock knitting machine, I pull the bum off a cylinder needle. They’re basically latch hooks but with a foot or protrusion that the cams in the machine push up or down. Continue reading Future Starts Slow→
Suddenly around the middle of December this year, I decided I needed to make presents because sometimes I’m a little crazy/stupid.
No, I couldn’t buy them, I had to make them this year. Pens and socks. That’s what I would do. It mattered not that I am a very new CSM sock knitter and I’d never turned a pen. This is what I was going to do. For Christmas. Less than 2 weeks away.
See, the last few years, we haven’t really been in the holiday mood. Last year was particularly tough when we almost lost Bandit to pancreatitis/severe infection/necrotic tissue at the beginning of December. All of my energy last Christmas was dedicated to getting him eating on his own and recover. A large part of this year was getting him back to normal and Grey to recognize him.
As the year comes to a close, I had one last project to finish. Back in September, I prepared some rolags out of waste fibre when I was carding the Finn/Gotland locks. These were not the full of chaff and yuck parts. Just stuff that stuck in the cards but wasn’t short or full of neps.
The first sample of Finn/Gotland. This batch ended up being darker than the second. It should make for an interesting yarn because one portion will have darker shades than the rest.These rolags are from the second batch of dyeing – they’re noticeably lighter than the first batch.
I started spinning them on a cross-arm spindle shortly afterwards. It drafts beautifully and smooth despite being waste wool.
