Return to hand-spinning

Although I teach in knitted textiles, this is the first year I have taught spinning as part of a module, so in a fit or inspiration I asked my son to climb into the loft and retrieve my Ashford wheel that had been up there for 15-20 years. 

I used to have two wheels, and spin on both at one time. However a succession of small children  couldn't resist fiddling with them, and. I didn't have time to use them. First of all one went in the loft, and then I reluctantly sold the other as there wasn't space for it and I couldn't bear to see it being damaged. Now child-free, but sadder for it, I have resurrected the Ashford.

A year or two ago I had prematurely acquired a fleece thinking my time had come, only to myself busier than ever.  By the time I got there, apart from the smallish amount I had had time to scour I had to throw the rest away as it was infested with moth. So I am starting to spin with the small amount of Kent wool mixed with Merino tops I had bought in for felting. It's not a problem as I need LOTS of practise, so odd colour mixes rule at the moment. 

Of course the wheel seems to have shed bits during its vacation in the loft, and a refurb was necessary. I have purchased a flexible drive belt because the one on the Kiwi wheel we have at University does seem to give a nice drive to the wheel, plus the old one is a little brittle. The tension knob and spring has disappeared, so they needed replacing, and I wanted a drop in to make the bobbin easier to swap. Finally one of the Lazy Kate spikes and a bobbin have gone walkabout, so new ones of those were required. 

This photo is of the first hand-spun yarn I have made for years, so apologies for its unevenness and it's mish mash of colours. I just needed to celebrate my enjoyment.

 

Adapting thin crochet hooks for arthritic hands

Because thin crochet hooks are making my hands ache I decided to experiment making my own version of the soft handled ones. I don't want to have to replace all of the thin metal ones I have collected over the years at considerable cost with commercially available soft or chunky handles ones, nice as they may be. I decided at first that I was going to use Sugru, but very quickly realised that to mould each handle would require lots of Sugru, which would cost the same as replacing the hooks because Sugru is expensive. 

After some experimenting I used a combination of Oogoo (homemade version of silicone rubber from Instructables.com) plus one pack of Sugru for the finger hold as it is easier to smooth off. The resulting crochet hook is far easier on the hands and comfortable to use. I wrote the size in permanent marker on the white Ogoo handle, as I had had to cover over the central area where the size is engraved in order to get the balance right. 

OK, it's still a little lumpy, but the next one will be better!

Up-cycled and recycled

I am quite pleased with this cross-body messenger type bag I have made. It is a fusion of a really knackered and nasty men's leather 'donkey' style jacket and a most unattractive leather bag, both bought in charity shops for £4.99 and £3.99 respectively. I revived the leather parts I wanted to use with a hefty dose of Dubbin and a renovating treatment in black, plus plenty of rubbing-in to soften it all. I sewed the leather and zips using a combination of a walking foot, roller foot and Teflon zipper foot, depending on the seam I was working on.
The flap and strap are from the handbag and the body is made from the jacket back. The off-cuts were useful for straps and edgings on other projects. I carefully prised the magnetic fastening off the old handbag and re-mounted it on the 'new' front, and reused the metal strap fittings. I added some rivets to strengthen the strap mounting (they had been in my work-box since the 1980s judging by the packaging). The double puller top zipper was salvaged from a broken sports bag, and the internal one came from my horde of zips un-picked from clothing that is worn past wearing.
I then added a new lining in a polyester dark navy brocade which I had bought from Fabricland a number of years ago (not originally an expensive fabric). I including a phone pocket and zipped inner pocket to organise the interior. The brocade was from my fabric pile - so yes, not recycled!
I also purchased three new zip-pullers, which cost £8.97 but give the bag a professional finish.
One last treatment to cover the effects of working on the leather, and the darken open edges, and it looks good, even though I say so myself.
So taking the coat, bag, lining and zip pullers, my lovely new recycled/upcycled leather messenger bag cost me around £20.

Brioche stitch

I am playing with this stitch, in particular it's parallel with machine knit Fisherman's Rib (Cardigan Stitch). I have been helped in this by Nancy Marchant's 'Knitting Fresh Brioche'. The title makes me feel hungry, I can smell buttery brioche and croissant just mentioning it!  However, I digress. 'Knitting Fresh Brioche' is a very useful book in which Nancy writes about two colour brioche in depth. 

As a designer I particularly like the fact that technique and stitch variations are explored and explained whilst garment patterns are kept to a minimum.  

TV interview about widening diversity of bodies that are acceptable in fashion

I was pleased to be invited to meet with Elesha and fixers.org for a TV programme where we discussed how important it is to increase diversity of body shape and size on the catwalk and in mainstream fashion. 

http://youtu.be/L97aW1HupGI

http://www.fixers.org.uk/home.php

The one that got away from AllSaints

I was lucky enought to find this charming old Reynolds sewing machine in a boot sale. the wooden base has obviously been sat in water, so has some damage, but only slight. I was thrilled to find a bobbin in the machine and a spare in the accessory box along with a couple of new needles. After a thorough oil it works fine, and looks lovely.

Make do and mend

I went to the Brighton Repair Cafe yesterday as Ross wanted to mend a pair of boots that had split apart at the heel. 

I ended up chatting to Sue Craig (Knitting the Map) and Tom of Holland. He was helping someone darn a sock. 

Ross bought a lovely striped wool jumper in a charity shop on the way home. Sadly 2 moth holes in the front. I was inspired by the ethos of the Repair Cafe, and have just darne the holes. Difficult matching the colours., but after digging in all my yarn stashes the match isn't too bad. Rather pleased with the result 

I can, of course, only hope to improve. 

I also got a real kick out of helping a teenage girl sew a patch on her jeans whilst learning how to use a machine machine.