Anyone into knitting out there?

[Tom]

You know you can only play your accordion or chop wood so many hours of the day, especially when you are old. Looking for another low cost hobby to pass the long cold Wisconsin winters. Maybe I can make covers for my accordions, or maybe a hat with some beautiful Highlands wool. Takes some getting used to. Anyone into it?

 

[Rosie C]

I made a Tom Baker "Dr.Who" scarf a few years ago. It took me hours and hours, and I didn't get beyond the "knit" stitch - adding in the "perl" meant excess complexity! It was good enough that I was asked to make a smaller version for my godson though

 

[RYLUNDO]

A couple of years back I was visiting family in Virginia and my great aunt taught me how to knit. On that week-long vacation, my aunt and I would sit on the couch catching up on conversation while knitting. I was and still am extremely slow at it but it proved to be relaxing. I never ended up finishing the scarf because I haven’t picked up the knitting tools since the trip. Is there a way to make a knitted accordion cover? If there is I might try to make one, I have been using a blanket to cover my accordion.

 

[JKJ]

Interesting! I’ve done a lot with yarn and fiber over the years but on learned to knit a few years ago. My middle son, an architect, took up knitting and made hats and things for his little kids. On one vacation he taught me the basics and I learned how to make relatively uniform stitches. I had experience in crocheting from when I was very young but I think knitting is a little harder to master. My mother taught me to crochet when very young - she made may amazing things! My wife has also done a lot of crocheting and weaving.

You asked about knitting, but basic to that is the journey from animal to yarn, which may be interesting. My primary experience with fiber is with creating the yarn - card the fiber, separate into roving, and spin into yarn. (I have several spinning wheels, one large, foot-operated, and a couple of small electric)

At our farm we have llamas and alpacas which we shear every year. Alpaca fiber is amazing, plenty of kink which spins wonderfully. Llama fiber is straighter without kink so it is usually mixed with alpaca (or sheep) fiber when carded. (Alpaca does not have a lot of lanolin so it is easier to clean and can actually be used right off the fleece.) Hand carding is a a lot of work (and SLOW) but I have a drum carder which is far faster.

I have a friend with a lot of camelids and she also gets fleece when she shears animals for others - she takes the fiber in bulk to a processor near Asheville NC and for a fee they do all the work and return it as roving, ready to spin or sell. She sells a LOT of roving - it’s surprising how many hand spinners there are around the country! That processing plant will also spin it into yarn if you like for an additional fee. The fiber can also be made into felt - a lot of fiber artists use felt for their creations.

The camelids, of course, come in a variety of colors, mostly white, beige, various shades of brown, and black. The white is the most valuable since it can be easily dyed. I weighed one female rescue alpaca I used to have, before and after shearing, and she was 8 lbs lighter! Of course, a lot of that is unusable, especially fiber from the legs and such, since the fibers are too short, but still, that’s a LOT of fiber!

One year a guy who used to work here at the farm told his mother he wanted a drop spindle for Christmas. Some may think that unusual for a teen boy but not for the creative sort! I’ve made a lot of drop spindles on the lathe. (A drop spindle is made from wood, set spinning by hand, and fiber fed into the top to create the yarn - difficult to learn at first, but for centuries the wool in much of the world was spun like this by hand.) I gave him a drop spindle and an alpaca fleece and he sure was excited. As a kindergartner he told me he wanted to be a sheep farmer - now he has a sheep farm, shears sheep for himself and for others (local TV stations sometimes feature this). (He’s now in veterinarian school)

If you find yourself in my area some time, stop by and I’ll give you an alpaca fleece!

 

[JKJ]

Some fiber arts-related photos in case anyone is interesting. Unfortunately (or fortunately!) I have none of me knitting!

Me shearing my llama Ixchel


A before and after shot of the alpaca Dria


A friend demonstrating drop spinning at one of my kindergarten "farm days",
using one of the drop spindles I made on the lathe


JKJ

 

[Tom]

I made a Tom Baker "Dr.Who" scarf a few years ago. It took me hours and hours, and I didn't get beyond the "knit" stitch - adding in the "perl" meant excess complexity! It was good enough that I was asked to make a smaller version for my godson though

Cool. Yeah, it’s not that easy.

 

[Tom]

A couple of years back I was visiting family in Virginia and my great aunt taught me how to knit. On that week-long vacation, my aunt and I would sit on the couch catching up on conversation while knitting. I was and still am extremely slow at it but it proved to be relaxing. I never ended up finishing the scarf because I haven’t picked up the knitting tools since the trip. Is there a way to make a knitted accordion cover? If there is I might try to make one, I have been using a blanket to cover my accordion.

Yeah, I think it would be relaxing once you get it down. I would imagine making an accordion cover would be like making a short sweater without the arms and neck. Way ahead of me at this point though!

 

[Tom]

Some fiber arts-related photos in case anyone is interesting. Unfortunately (or fortunately!) I have none of me knitting!

Me shearing my llama Ixchel


A before and after shot of the alpaca Dria


A friend demonstrating drop spinning at one of my kindergarten "farm days",
using one of the drop spindles I made on the lathe


JKJ

Super cool, JK, thanks for the story. Alpaca wool is awesome, my friend knits from her’s. There are some wool vendors at the farmers market here. Years ago, I actually tried a drop spindle that my wife had made, as well as hand carters. She taught macrame and wool crafts as a 3D art teacher. I’d love to stop in and see your whole operation some time. I don’t get to Tennessee that often though…

 

[JKJ]

I meant to mention that if you don't have one, check into a yarn bowl. (Can ask Sir Google for yarn bowl wood and see lots of examples.) These hold the ball of yarn and unwind it as you use it, keeping making it a lot easier to manage the yarn! (frustrates the cat, though)

For a woodturner who knows how to turn a bowl, they are easy to make - a coping saw or tiny blade on mini reciprocal is good for making the spiral yarn keeper in the side.

I made some drop spindles for my friend and she carries it everywhere. She said there's a good reason it's called a "drop" spindle - it's easy to drop! She said the worst is dropping it while on the upper bleachers at a basketball game! She said when she was in remote areas in South America she saw people spinning yarn on these spindles while walking to the village or on trails through the mountains. They made a lot of their own clothing.

JKJ

 

[Tom]

I meant to mention that if you don't have one, check into a yarn bowl. (Can ask Sir Google for yarn bowl wood and see lots of examples.) These hold the ball of yarn and unwind it as you use it, keeping making it a lot easier to manage the yarn! (frustrates the cat, though)

For a woodturner who knows how to turn a bowl, they are easy to make - a coping saw or tiny blade on mini reciprocal is good for making the spiral yarn keeper in the side.

I made some drop spindles for my friend and she carries it everywhere. She said there's a good reason it's called a "drop" spindle - it's easy to drop! She said the worst is dropping it while on the upper bleachers at a basketball game! She said when she was in remote areas in South America she saw people spinning yarn on these spindles while walking to the village or on trails through the mountains. They made a lot of their own clothing.

JKJ

Ah, thanks, I can see how the bowl would be useful. I currently use a wood bowl, but without the spiral. I see how I could modify it…. Drop spindles are pretty much magic.

 

[Ffingers]

Well, Tom, in view of the low temperatures that you are currently experiencing, something along the lines of these projects might be appropriate

https://www.pinterest.ca/sandybuchart/peter-heaters/

 

[Tom]

Well, Tom, in view of the low temperatures that you are currently experiencing, something along the lines of these projects might be appropriate

https://www.pinterest.ca/sandybuchart/peter-heaters/

 

[David A]

Hi Tom,

Welcome to the knitting club. It's a great way to spend an evening - and you get lots of nice sweaters to wear as well. I've been knitting on and off for years, but more recently got into spinning (and weaving) as well. This jumper is made from a Shetland sheep fleece my wife and I carded and spun between us. The hat and gloves I made for a friend's kids last Christmas (Shetland and Poll Dorset)

Super pics. @JKJ , I've knitted alpaca wool but not got hold of a fleece yet. My local smallholder ("hobby farmer") friends give me sheep fleeces for nothing because the price they get for them at the market is not worth the effort of taking them.I agree the drum carder is a pretty essential piece of kit, it would take months to card a whole fleece by hand.

 

[Tom]

Hi Tom,

Welcome to the knitting club. It's a great way to spend an evening - and you get lots of nice sweaters to wear as well. I've been knitting on and off for years, but more recently got into spinning (and weaving) as well. This jumper is made from a Shetland sheep fleece my wife and I carded and spun between us. The hat and gloves I made for a friend's kids last Christmas (Shetland and Poll Dorset)

Super pics. @JKJ , I've knitted alpaca wool but not got hold of a fleece yet. My local smallholder ("hobby farmer") friends give me sheep fleeces for nothing because the price they get for them at the market is not worth the effort of taking them.I agree the drum carder is a pretty essential piece of kit, it would take months to card a whole fleece by hand.

Great work David, thanks!

 

[JKJ]

Super pics. @JKJ , I've knitted alpaca wool but not got hold of a fleece yet.

Excellent results, clever designs!

If you ever find yourself in TN (a fantastic place to live, BTW!) come visit and I’ll give you an alpaca fleece to stuff into your suitcase. Alpaca fiber is so wonderful you can easily spin it directly from the fleece without carding. (maybe not as uniform yarn as from roving but sure can be “arty!”

It’s a shame that some people think of fiber arts as less than “manly”. I know plenty of "100%" guys that are very artistic and include working with yarn and fabric right up there with drawing, sculpting, and, of course, creating music!

I confess to having a bunch of traditionally "manly" things to sculpt with, such as dirt-moving equipment, machine and welding shop, chainsaws and sawmill, and a bunch of woodworking and woodturning equipment. However I used to tell people I may be the only guy over 70 on my street with an embroidery sewing machine! I originally got the machine to create some functional things from cloth and nylon webbing but it's been so useful to make gifts and when kids visit and want to learn to make things. This young friend made a present for her best friend at school! (I don't discriminate: I also introduce anyone interested, male or female, to the excavator, skid steer, etc.)



And expertise ignores gender boundaries - the best professional weldor I know is a 20-something female friend. She's the only woman weldor in the fab shop where she works and the best there. Aspires to someday have a truck rigged for mobile welding on farms and construction sites.

Here she was practicing overhead stick in my weld shop after welding school hours.
We rigged up a post so she could tack sample pieces at various heights.


JKJ

 

[Tom]

As Ventura would say, “We don’t need no steenkin’ gender roles!” Heck, we are accordionists, we’re used to prejudice and derision! Tennessee seems really beautiful, I would love to get there some day.

 

[JKJ]

Tennessee seems really beautiful, I would love to get there some day.

It's somewhat different in different areas, same as many states, but eastern TN where we live has some gentle mountains (Great Smokies), lots of ridges and rolling hills, and an abundance of water - creeks, rivers, lakes - a water sports, hiking, mountain biking paradise. We are sheltered from most hurricane effects by the mountains and a tornado or extreme weather is extremely rare.

And along with good soil, an abundance of trees! Great for a woodworker, woodturner, animal lover, artist. No state sales tax. Low gas prices compared to much of the country. Huge opportunity for live music, jazz, orchestra, theater, museums, arts&crafts, science and high tech. I retired from the Oak Ridge National Lab near here, an incredible concentration of the sciences, materials, physics, electronics, buildings, biology, super-computing, and far more.

There is still a lot of land available, especially away from the cities, attracting people from all over, especially from dry, fire-prone, and severe storm areas. Population is increasing around the several major cities but most of the state is rural, farming. I know several people who moved here from the western part of the US after looking all over for years.

This gives a hint of the kind of general countryside around here. I took this drone picture of a lot we had for sale, near Norris Dam and lake. Most of the leaves are off the trees - the grass in this area often stays green all year.



Drone shot of part of our farm, looking eastward in late afternoon: a horse pasture and the house.


And a view from the deck after a passing rain.


A horse pasture from the deck. Any snow is usually gone in one or two days.


(Sorry, I'm addicted to photos...)

Come visit sometime, take an alpaca for a walk!

JKJ

 

[Tom]

Beautiful!!!! About a 12 hour drive from here, not bad!

 

[David A]

From those pictures I could feel at home in eastern Tennessee! Not unlike some of the best parts of Britain, but on a much larger scale I think.

Thirty years ago I could maybe have landed a job at the Oak Ridge Lab - I had a background in science/engineering research. But those days are long gone - I don't think I'll be dropping in on you any time soon to collect that alpaca fleece, JKJ. But you never know!

 

[JKJ]

I don't think I'll be dropping in on you any time soon to collect that alpaca fleece, JKJ. But you never know!

We LOVE visitors (and visiting)! I always learn so much. We’ve visited to UK many times … mostly England, but I really loved the 10 days we took the boys and drove around exploring Scotland, making a big loop, stopping to visit with an internet friend on the west coast, seeing the shaggy cows and a zillion sheep, stopping in little towns to chat with the people. (I like to avoid the cities) Every place we went was beautiful. My Lovely Bride is planning another trip - Ireland, I think, and don’t know where else.

A trip to TN could be fun! (When people in Italy, Greece and some other places find out we came from TN, they almost always say "aah, Jack Daniels!") A couple of daughters of Italian friends came and stayed with us for a month each - we took them to Washington DC, the Smokys, Nashville, Chattanooga, museums - it was a fantastic cultural exchange. I could bore you with a thousand photos.

I have one long-distance friend, a fellow woodturner, in eastern Australia, who would send me packages of tropical wood he harvested in the north. One day he surprised me with “I’m headed your way - you gonna be home?” It was a real treat to meet someone in person who I’d known for years over the internet. And he brought me a suitcase full of woodturning blanks!!

I’ll save a fleece in case you get the urge to come this way sometime!

JKJ