Showing posts with label AVFKW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AVFKW. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

11.12.13

Feeling compelled to provide an entry to mark this date. How do I choose among events attended, events performed, people who have come forward and the notable absence of those who have not, tasks done, and things that are constantly being made? Maybe a few pictures will help narrate a subset.

An unexpected encounter with a small blended sample of cotton, silk tussah fiber and threads. A spinning challenge rewarded with hands learning how to handle short staple length, and eyes catching fibers glinting in the sun, which resulted in a few yards of very fine gauge 2-ply.


Pioneer Spring met Sally Fox, local grower of wool and cotton, at AVFKW's 3rd anniversary celebration.

"I haven't seen you for awhile, since your last news. So how are you, really?" was asked with the glance that cut through layers. "What happened makes no sense. But the word on the street is that you took the bullet. No adverse reflection on you, more on them. You can always have the informal discussions with _x_ so that we can try to help you."


Rocking to power guitar and great music from the Roger Steen Band and Miles Schon Band.

Picked the last harvest of the summer garden.

Will let dogs continue to lie. Let their caretakers handle them.
Successfully made dried persimmons / 곶감 / hoshigaki.

Bricks and mortar beat online hands-down for exploration. 매달 도서관에서 책들을 찾아요.

And I took a little time on the loom. I learn something new with each project: warping back to front, observing weave structure, tying on, adjusting to differences in tension and beating for wool and cotton.


Spent some time on the road as well. Travels will continue - by thousands of miles and by a few feet.

Monday, February 25, 2013

SW 2013

I'll start with a summary of the damage report:

fiber ... yarn and hardware.


There was reconciliation with Molly.

There were daily visits to A Verb for Keeping Warm's booth and Lisa Souza's booth. Because it's good to visit kind souls and beauty.



I took Andrea Wong's class on "Knitting in the Portuguese style", where the yarn is tensioned around the back of one's neck. I've seen pictures of South Americans knitting in this manner, and apparently this method is also used in areas of Asia and the Middle East, too. The tension created by looping the yarn around the neck actually assists in maneuvering the yarn at the needles. The left hand thumb flicks the working yarn over the right needle tip. When I use this technique I'll need to swatch to get gage. It's quite different from "English" and "Continental" methods that I currently use interchangebly.

I also took Galina Khmeleva's class on "Spinning for Lace Knitting." Great introduction to precious fine fibers and spinning with a traditional Russian supported spindle.



The left photo shows samples of singles on spindles as well as plied yarn in balls. The right photo shows my sequential single of cashmere, buffalo, pygora, and quiviut winding onto the plying spindle with white silk. Oo-la-la.

The yarn on the round card is from class; the yarn on the square card is my practice yarn after class. Plies need more twist, I see.


Here's a fitting toast to the entire experience. It was wonderful.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

SW 2012 album

Stitches West 2012, February, Santa Clara, CA.
I took two classes: "Slick set-in-sleeves" with JCBriar, and a "Fitting Knits" class with Lily Chin. Both were worthwhile.
I got a beautiful lightweight spindle by KCL Woods. It weighs less than an ounce and spins true. I got what I call a "more fun than a barrel full of monkeys" pack of colorful fiber. And some MadTosh yarn and sumptuous Souza fiber.

I met up with some friends at A Verb for Keeping Warm's booth, which was selected by the Stitches West instructors as "most beautiful"! Congrats!
In the right-hand photo I'm flanked by Kristine and Romi, sources of the dress pattern and fabric, as well as the scarf I'm wearing. The turtle fabric is whimsical and from AVFKW, and the scarf is "Caliz" and designed by Romi.
Here are a few other purchases. And in the lower left corner you can see a little souvenir from my visit with Ysolda.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Angostura

Angostura - modelled by AVFKW
Started in early January, completed February 19.
Made a few swatches before achieving proper gauge. Smaller needles were needed to get the proper vertical gauge - funny thing was that the horizontal gauge was not greatly affected.

Oh this is what Ysolda said in her book, Little Red in the City.

I learned a new thing.
Angostura - modelled by AVFKW
Took a few tries - first ripping occured with the back armholes because the edges (selvedges) didn't look right.

Second ripping occured at the neck because...the edges didn't look right.

Call me a slow learner.
Angostura - modelled by AVFKW
I became adept at 2-stitch cables without an extra needle. Yesss!

The yarn is "Slick", a tightly spun blend of wool and silk, in an energizing color called "Transnational Fury", by AVFKW.
The third re-do occured as I was learning how to sew up the side seams as instructed in Ysolda's book.   I'm re-framing this experience as "first attempts are good practice".
Angostura - modelled by AVFKW
Angostura - detail
The finished work fits like a glove. It was worth every minute I put into it. I love it.

Marin 2

Marin (front) - modelled by AVFKW
After a few weeks, this was completed on Feb 5.
Marin (front)- modelled by AVFKW
Ysolda was at AVFKW so I was able to show the FO to her. We talked about the features, and she noted that it was worked over at least a handful of times during the design process.

Wow! all that worked enabled me to reap the reward of a beautiful scarf.
Marin (back) - modelled by AVFKW
The yarn is indigo-dyed by AVFKW and is luscious and rich in color. Photos do not capture the depth of color.
Marin (back) - modelled by AVFKW
The pattern uses #5 needles. Because I tend to knit tightly I used #6's.
I would advise knitters to use #5's.
Completed Feb 5
I got nervous at the end.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Marin

Good for walks.
Great when Old Growth emerges from indigo overdye.
Brilliant when designed.


Crocking on hands is an indication of handling and work. Love it.
This photographic exercise makes me appreciate that our eyes readily discern that which takes effort with a camera.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Warmth

Something about the color, I think.
Whether it's from mutant-kumquat-sour-orange citrus that gets made into marmalade.
(8C peels+juice+water + 2C water. Add equal volume of sugar, of which 20-25% is turbinado/demerara sugar. Total yield is 10C.)

...or it's AVFKW's Slick in Transnational Fury that flows through my hands...
...and gradually turns into Ysolda's Angostura.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Blue Indigo Cosmos

AVFKW held a celebratory indigo dip in early November to commemorate their first anniversary in their new shop.

Prepped yarn or fiber or fabric is slowly immersed into the hot indigo pot.

Work is done while the dipped items "cook."

Blue Indigo Cosmos.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Plaid Friday: t minus 7

In addition to supporting local, you can support indie. Plaid Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when you (and yours who are lounging around) can go browse and support an independent retail merchant.

Can you walk, bike, or take public transportation there? drive less than 10 miles there?

Do you know who the retail proprietor is? or do you know that if you needed to speak with them, they would be responsive to your request?

Is the merchant somewhat knowledgeable about what they offer you? either about the source of the item, how to best use it, or other resources? are they helpful?

I'm going to support places where there are faces, names, and intelligence behind the counter.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

NW India in NW Oakland

"Threads of Transition, Patterns of Change: Rabari Textiles of India", September 9 - December 7, 2011, is in the gallery of A Verb for Keeping Warm, curated by Kristine Vejar from her Fulbright research in 2001.

It is particularly interesting to track the development of these textiles within the context of events of the time: the January 26, 2001, M7.7 earthquake in Gujarat, India, the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US, and the flow of funding through non-profits instead of directly to communities. The acceptability or rejection of some techniques were decreed by elders as a response to behaviors associated with the sociological structure of arranged marriages. This paragraph is too dense with information. Rather than parse it out, I refer you to this article that covers the subject well.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Grand Lake Proverbial

Grand Lake - modelled by AVFKW in the garden
About one month after casting on, I am wearing this, AVFKW's Proverbial number 4, the last of the 2010 season, "Grand Lake" designed by Kristen Hanley Cardozo. AVFKW's Floating yarn in "2 Gems and a Pearl", 70/20/10 Alpaca/cashmere/silk, is pink, tender, and yields to the touch. I've never felt anything like this yarn before, which has resulted in prolonging this knitting experience - there's been no reason to rush this project. The finished shawl/scarf feels incredible when worn on the skin.
Grand Lake - modelled by AVFKW in the garden
Grand Lake - modelled by AVFKW

I learned to rely on my ability to read charts, make nupps and cast them off ("P5 tog" is not easy for me), and use a stretchy* bind off with the same size needle (and looser than normal tension - "loose" is typically not in my personality so this is a relative term) used to knit the body. Very clever design feature to use nupps to provide some weight at the edge of this piece.

Okay Kristine, I'm ready now, bring on the first delivery of Proverbial Club 2011 in October!

*in this case, on a predominantly purl row: P1,** P1, transfer both stitches from R needle to L needle, then P2tog**, repeat from **.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Caliz in Magic Bean

Caliz in Magic Bean, modelled by AVFKW
Last night, after 1-1/2 weeks on the needles, I completed another "Caliz", this time with AVFKW's Metamorphosis "Magic Bean" (I love this name!) color, 4oz.  The 70/30 SW merino/silk is wonderful to work with, and the sumptuous** color sends me to the depths of lakes and rich and aquatic plants.

I inadvertently added another row at the end, hence there were almost 2 inches of leftover yarn after fudging the last 4 BOs. Whew, that was a close one!

**Postscript June 25: I learned today that the color is created using a multiple-process dye technique that includes indigo dying. Ah...this is another feature that makes AVFKW unique in the community. Go check them out.





Caliz in Magic Bean, modelled by AVFKW
Caliz in Magic Bean, modelled by AVFKW