Category: Craft

Because… why not?

On By CarynIn Craft

You know that big wad of cotton that is stuffed in the top of vitamin jars? I don’t see it as often anymore, I guess manufacturers are getting better at making tougher capsules that can withstand shipping, but there was a double dose of cotton in one of the last bottles we purchased. It usually heads to the trash with the bottle seals and packaging. But not this time. I picked it up and thought: “Can I spin this?”

So I meandered over to YouTube and flipped through a couple videos. Cotton is a short staple fiber, and I’d read that drop spindles are usually too heavy to spin cotton (I only had a drop spindle, and a fairly big one at that). I saw a video on how to spin cotton balls on a pencil. I tried that, but with a large knitting needle, but didn’t have much luck.

Attempting to spin a large cotton ball into yarn

I saw a few more videos of people using supported spindles. So I made one. Well, really I Frankenstein’d one together. I took a metal afghan hook (because these are fairly easy to come by, and crochet hooks usually have a flat bit in the middle), and cut off the end and sharpened it with a belt sander. Then I took the whorl off the first spindle I made (which was made of the bottoms of two aluminum cans and some playdoh), and drilled the hole large enough to fit my new afghan hook shaft. I used a small ceramic dish as my support bowl.

Switching from a knitting needle to a make shift supported spindle.

This setup worked better, but I did have some fits and starts. Turns out the aluminum can whorl is heavy, putting the total weight for this spindle at over two ounces. Yikes! That is even heavier than my Turkish spindle. But I muddled through and was able to produce a single ply yarn.

Single ply cotton yarn spun on a supported spindle

I used my Turkish spindle to chain ply the single into a three-ply yarn. (It turns out that I can use this as a supported spindle as well because of how I made it. Oh well, sometimes I get caught up in an idea.) Then, because it was such a wee bit of yarn, I crocheted a small motif. Because… why not?

Chain plied yarn
Motif crocheted from cotton balls

Twine treat bag

On By CarynIn Craft

I read that some people feed their chickens radish greens, so this last time I bought radishes, I stripped off the greens, but then was faced with how to feed them to the chickens. When I throw herbs on the ground, the leaves usually just stay there. Sometimes I hold the stems so the chickens can tear off bite-sized pieces, but one bunch of radishes has quite a few leaves. I have seen pictures that people have posted with wire baskets or racks to hold lettuces, but nothing like that in my possession came to mind. I do have twine, though. So I made up a small bag to hold the leaves.

First I cut 8 lengths of twine, about 20“ long.
I tied an overhand knot at one end.
Working in pairs, I tied four square knots, then shifted the pairs and tied four more square knots.
When I had the depth I wanted, I tied four strands with an overhand knot, and did the same for the last four strands.
Separating the two top knots makes an opening in which to stuff leafy greens.
I hung the bag with a carabiner on the poultry wire. It seemed to work OK to hold the leaves so that the chickens could pick off bits.

More nålbinding practice

On By CarynIn Craft, Uncategorized
Mohair circle with nal made from Osage Orange wood

I finished spinning the one ounce of Dottie the goat’s mohair, and made a practice circle with the resulting yarn. I used the Finnish 1+2 or Mammen stitch, and am practicing circles because I like making hats. And circles are useful as dish separators, so all my practice still turns out something useful.

Brushed back

I brushed the back of the circle lightly just to see what happens. The result was soft and fuzzy!

At least it was a learning experience

On By CarynIn Craft, Uncategorized
Rag rug made from a king sized fitted sheet

Good thing it is useful, because it is rather lopsided.

I decided to practice my nålbinding by making a rag rug from a fitted sheet that had worn out. I cut off the elastic, then tore the sheet into 1” strips. I wound each strip into individual loose bundles so they didn’t tangle together. Using the Finish 1+1 aka Oslo stitch, I worked the strips into an oval rug form. I was eyeballing where increases needed to go, so the end result is kinda funky. I had to block it (get it wet and lay it flat to dry) to get it mostly flat. Although it took me a month to make, I admit that I only did about three strips in a sitting. If I make another one with the top sheet, I’ll twist each strip, and evenly space the increases. I did find that I like to chain the increases, rather than stitch into the same stitch. I like the texture better. So lessons learned. And it will still keep feet from getting cold while someone is brushing their teeth.

On the chicken side, the weather is cooling down. It is still hot, with highs still in the 90s, but the chickens spent all day outside today. How do I know? The foot bath inside the coop was clean, and the one outside was filthy.

Magic

On By CarynIn Craft

Seriously, spinning is like magic. You take bits of fluff and with a stick of wood, turn it into infinite varieties of useful stuff. When asked what superpower I would want, my answer is usually to be able to make things from nothing. This is pretty darn close!

Testing the fiber by hand twisting

I found an awesome book on spindle spinning: “Respect the Spindle: Spinning Infinite Yarns with One Amazing Tool” by Abby Frequemont. I love that she provides scientific information on spinning, and enough description that I can use it to improve my spinning. (I should still find a class on spinning, but this at least gets my hands moving!) She also recommends trying many different spindles and has exercises to help improve spinning.

Single ply mohair (from Dottie the goat!)

I’ve been practicing with small colored scraps of wool, and spinning with mohair is different, but I like how fuzzy it comes out. I really like crocheting and nålbinding with single ply yarn, but I’m definitely missing something about the process, because this single ply doesn’t act like store bought single ply. Now here is more magic. You spin two strands of single ply together in the opposite direction and the twists balance each other and hold together better. Ok, so not magic, but super cool science.

Two ply mohair yarn