Trampled by Geese

New Williams Sewing Machine - a bit about the history

2011-12-31T07:42:00.000-08:00

My New Williams Sewing Machine has kindled my excitement.

I've been able to find very little information about this machine on-line and even less about the company that made it. But there are a few snip-its here and there. I've gathered together what I've found, although, I'm sorry to say that many of them contridict eachother. Hopefully this might provide a starting place for the next person to research this topic. If you have anything to add, please leave a comment. I would love to learn more.

I know, I know, this is all going to be very boring, and rather unorganized. I'm sorry. The goal is to get the history bit out of the way before focusing on the fun part: the restoration.

The New Williams Sewing Machine was made by the Williams Manufacturing Company (W.M.F.C.Co. - as it says on my treadle base). The W.M.F.C.Co. began in 1863, but sources cite different dates when this company ended. Here we are told that the company lasted until 1899, however, I suspect that they have confused the dates. At the McCord Museum we are told that the fine fellow that did this beautiful engraving died in 1899. And here we are told that the W.M.F.C.Co. liquidated in 1929.

I'm inclined to find in favour of the later date because in earlier research I saw references to the W.M.F.C.Co. in the records of the Canadian Houses of Parliament post 1900 - mostly talking about how companies reacted to some new import/export taxation that the government imposed.

So, I'm going to (tentatively) say that The Williams Manufacturing Company lasted from 1863 - 1929.

A list of models (and dates) made by The Williams Manufacturing Company 'borrowed' from here:

C. W. Williams Manufacturing Co. Est 1863
Became:
Williams Manufacturing Co. by 1877 1885 +
Became:
Williams Manufacturing Co. Ltd by 1893 - liquidated 1929
Factory: Plattsburgh, New York. 1878 also at 347 Notre Dame Street, Montreal, Canada. (destroyed by fire 1882)
Machine Made:
Williams' Singer
Williams' Improved Singer Family 1871 - 1877
Williams' Improved Medium
Williams' Hand machine
Williams' No. 2
Helpmate No's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 1884 - 1893
New Williams 1884 - 1902

Where we also learn that the W.M.F.C.Co existed under two previous incarnations giving us a more detailed history. However, it's good to note that I haven't found any data on-line that confirms these dates.

This list here also says that the Montreal Factory burnt down in 1882 - two years before the earliest date that my machine could have been made. But my machine claims to be manufactured in Montreal. I need to do more research on the Montreal connection.

According to the above list, in 1885 the Williams Manufacturing Co became the the Williams Manufacturing Co Ltd. There is no sign of a Ltd. on any of my parts, machine, cabinet, or the tin case that came with the machine.

As I said before, the patent date on my machine is 1884 which gives us the earliest date it could have been manufactured. That there is no sign of the Ltd anywhere, gives us a good (not a perfect one mind you) change that the latest my machine could have been manufactured is 1885.

The Williams Manufacturing Company were in direct competition with Singer, and as far as I could tell, took quite a gouge out of the market in certain parts of Canada and the US.
Here is a nifty story about Mr Simkins who use to sell New Williams sewing machines in Canada.
I saw at least one example on the internet of a New Williams electric machine (a clone of the Singer 15 series) from post 1940 - this conflicts with everything we've seen so far. Could this be a different incarnation of the W.M.F.C.Co? Or, could this be another company using the title New Williams for a specific line of machines?
The Smithsonian Institute has an interesting collection relating to the Williams machines. Some of these are for the Williams Singer machines - not sure yet what that is. But it is advertised as being 100% Canadian with all the parts and materials coming from Canada or the UK - very slightly anti-US advertisement.

One of the biggest problems I had researching this is that there have been several different Williams Manufacturing Companies over the years, including one in the 1940's that made fortune telling and gaming machines. It's also possible other companies just used that title for their own machines. This just goes to show you how limited googling around the internet in search of historical data really is. A lot of forums that talk about New Williams machines appear to confuse data from other companies. I need to find a better source of information.

Hope you guys are not as confused as I am at this juncture. I'm off to get a library card and hopefully find some more solid leads.

New Williams Antique Sewing Machine

2011-12-30T20:45:00.000-08:00

These are the photos that were on the add.

The cabinet is very unusual - especially for a treadle sewing machine.

I've had a lot of fun the last year or so repairing and using old sewing machines, but never have I had a chance to play (um, I mean work) with one this old before. This machine dates from the 1880'ish. The patent is 1884, so we know it was made on or after that date.

Considering these guys were some strong competition for Singer Sewing Machines back in the day, there is surprisingly little information about them on-line. So I plan to post my adventures here. Maybe it will be helpful for the next lucky person who comes across one of these machines.

If anyone else has a machine like this, please leave a note. I would love to hear about your experiences.

Here is a link to the manual for this New Williams Machine (kindly posted by this person), and here is a picture from a museum.

My garden needs your help

2011-09-29T08:11:00.001-07:00

Even though I'm not around my blog much these days, I still cannot quash the desire to journal.

So I've decided to give a go at journalling my farm's activities on this bata site called Your Garden Show. It's quite a nice site; I can add pictures, journals, plant information. They promise that eventually there will be a form where we can share information about growing and plants, and all the good things that gardens have to offer.

There is even a contest. Now this is where I need your help.

First, walk on over and visit my garden: Nacton Farm

(Nacton is named after the house where my G'pa was born)

On my farm's page there is a banner that says something like 'fabulous food garden, vote here' with a green check mark. You click on the check mark to vote.

It's as simple as that. You can vote every day if you like.

I don't imagine for a moment that I have a shot at winning. There are far too many fabulous gardens in the contest, for starters. Also, it's more a popularity contest rather than a contest of skill, and I've never been very popular.

But I would be very happy if I could be in the top 20 by the end of the contest. So what do you say? Help me out?

Thanks.

ps. you might need to log in to vote. I'm not sure how this whole thing works - it is a bata site after all, so they might be changing things from day to day.

Japanese-ish Radish Pickles

2011-08-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. I don't actually like radishes. It's not as though there is anything wrong with them, exactly, it's just they have never ingratiated themselves to me. The roots are too crunchy, the leaves too prickly. They grow too quickly in the garden, often going to seed before you get a chance to pick them.

But they are very pretty, and I would love to love them.

I decided to try a Japanese pickle recipe from Just Bento. It took very little time to prepare a weeks worth of pickled radish. Plucking a few pieces out of a jar is far more convenient than going down to the garden, picking, washing, cutting...&c. radishes each day.

It tastes good, but I bet it would have tasted even better if I had some Ume Vinegar and daikon. Here's what I did:

About 20 small radishes, fresh from the garden

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/2 cup raspberry vinegar

2 Tbs Honey

Prepare the radishes, cut the leaves and tips from the root. I'm keeping the leaves to make one of these two rice spice recipes: Spicy radish leaves Furikake or Radish leaves, bonito and shrimp furikake. Put in a ceramic or glass jar with a lid.
Mix the vinegars and honey together, poor over the radishes. You want the radishes to be covered by the pickle juice so if you don't have enough, see the original recipe for adjusting the amounts.
They are ready to eat the next day, and will keep well for a little over a week.

This recipe makes radishes quite acceptable to me. But I be some of you are wondering why bother? If I don't much like radishes, why eat them?

I want to eat vegetables that I usually shun because I feel it's important to get more variety in my diet. If I can eat more of what I grow and increase the number of different kinds of plants in my diet, then maybe I can acquire a greater range of nutrients from my food and spend less money on vitamins and supplements.

It's actually great fun trying different recipes. The best part is working with fresh from the garden produce. It's so colourful.

Now, if only I could find a way to like Kale.

Farm life - Lunch

2011-08-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

I went to the garden today for lunch.

Baby beet greens, scarlet runner beans, fresh carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, and the first lemon cucumber of the year. It's going to be a great lunch.

In other news, I'm sorry I'm so slow getting back to everyone. July fizzled out and I did my usual thing for dealing with stress: withdrew from the world. I'm still working on getting back to things, so please be patient.

Tour de Fleece 2011 - Chakra and alpaca question

2011-07-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

Taking a break today from spinning purple fibre to work on my Charkra.

Maybe it's just sitting on the floor, or the stretch of the shoulders when you do the long draw. Whichever it is, I find this wheel really enjoyable to work on.

On a slightly related topic: do you think it is possible to wash Alpaca fibre in Cold water? There is very little grease in it, so I imagine that water temp is less important. And before you tell me what soap or detergent to use, I will use Orvus paste (due to allergies).

Tour de Fleece 2011 - ply

2011-07-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like I'm cycling on one of those exercise bikes: stationary.

Right now there is so much else going on that it took three days just to spin one bobbin worth of singles. There is no noticeable decrease in the amount of fibre left to spin for this project... I just have to have faith that I am actually going to finish this one day.

But in the mean time, I thought I would ply today.

I like Navajo plying for sock yarn. If done properly it is easier than regular plying and makes a really smooth yarn. It also helps show off the colours of the wool to their full advantage.

As for mummy hen, she's still hanging on. She can drink on her own now, but still has internal bleeding. We will just have to wait and see.

Tour de Fleece 2011 - the crash

2011-07-03T05:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday on the Tour de France there was a moment when a spectator stepped out into the road into the mas of cyclists. A great tangle of bicycles and riders literally, piled up, delaying many of the top riders by over a minute.

My first day on the Tour de Fleece didn't go much better.

Thanks to the time difference, I settle down to watch the Tour de France in the pre-dawn light. The rhythm of my wheel counters the banter of the sports castors. I love this event because I get so much spinning accomplished in three short weeks. I suppose I get into a 'zone'.

Yesterday morning a hen came cooing at my window - far too early in the day for a chicken to be out of bed, especially if you consider that I hadn't unlocked the hen house yet. It turns out that someone else had unlocked it for me and helped themselves to a hen, several baby chicks and just about ripped off the head from my mummy chicken!

This hungry bandit was a raccoon.

I spent a great deal of time yesterday nursing mummy hen back to life. She has one chick still alive, so I hope she will pluck up the strength to pull through.

Since yesterday's spinning is so pathetically small, I decided to share a picture of mummy hen instead. I know she looks just awful, but truly, she is doing worlds better than yesterday.

She can open her other eye now and can stand up on her own for almost 20 seconds. She's far more alert but I'm still not certain if she is eating or drinking on her own yet. It's still touch and go, but hens are remarkable creatures, so I have hope.

Tour de Fleece 2011 - the start

2011-07-02T06:49:00.000-07:00

I don't remember how many years I have participated in the Tour de Fleece now. But I tell you, I look forward to it all year.

The Tour de Fleece is an event that hundreds (maybe thousands) of spinners take part in. We spin yarn while the brave cyclists race the Tour de France. Every race day during those three weeks that the cyclists ride, we spin.

For me, this year has been a bit different. Life has been overwhelming! I feel buried beneath a mountain of fleece and other projects that need tackling yesterday.

My goal for the Tour de Fleece this year is to slowly plug away at some of these projects and hopefully by the end of the next three weeks, be less swamped by fibre.

If I am very lucky, I will be able to start spinning the fibre from my recently shorn alpacas!

Today I start spinning this Lovely fibre for a friend. She will me knit me socks, I will spin her sock yarn.

Farm life - living shade

2011-06-11T16:36:00.001-07:00

I got the idea reading this article in the Asahi Shimbun (a Tokyo newspaper). It talks about charity organizations giving out seeds so that people can plant shade curtains near their house.

These living curtains, usually made of fast growing vines like squash or morning glory, shade the wall from the sun and the heat of the day - reducing the need for air-conditioning and lowering the internal temperature between 2 to 5 degrees.

For me, the great thing about them is how beautiful they are. The air can flow right through them, creating a gentle rustling sound and a cooling breeze. I think it's a great idea.

Sadly, I can't grow a curtain of shade outside my bedroom window. It gets the full brunt of the sun in the evenings making it the hottest room in the house (by at least 4 degrees) in the summer. So my solution...

...Hanging baskets. This city is famous for them after all. Though, to be completely honest, I don't much like them. Too many flowers! They tend to be just too showy and think they are better than they are.

So, instead, I bought leafy plants that will hang down and provide a different sort of living shade. They are all sun to part sun plants that can withstand some mild drought. Not as fragile as most of the plants they were selling for hanging baskets.

Oh, and by the way - no, I don't speak Japanese. I get the English version of that newspaper on my Kindle.

Back to Basics

2011-06-09T07:27:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to mention, the electronic version of Basic to Basics is on sale at Amazon.com for a limited amount of time.

I absolutely love this book. It's been around for ages, so if e-books are not your thing, I bet you could find it at a flee market or your local second hand book shop.

Farm life - Mr Quail

2011-06-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

While Mr Quail waits for his lady friend to hatch out her eggs, he has been hanging in our yard. Actually, he's become quite tame and even let me take his photo.

Farm life - compost

2011-06-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

Look at that beautiful soil:

All, alright, it's ugly now, but in a few weeks, it will be dark, rich earth; just itching to make plants grow.

There are lots of way to transform food waste into soil. My favourite way, developed when I got my first allotment garden. The topsoil there was less than an inch before it hit hardpan, so there was virtually no way to make things grow.

Being the cheapskate that I am, I wasn't interested in buying soil, so I decided to make my own using a method common about a hundred and fifty years ago: trenching.

First, you dig a trench, then you put a medium amount of compost material in it. If you have a lot of things to compost, don't fill up the trench too far, just save some for the next trench. Believe me, less haste makes more speed. This goes for everything in gardening.

I usually put a small scoop of lime in with the compost. This helps reduce any possible smell that would attract critters to dig it up. Also, it helps balance the PH of the soil.

Next I chop up the compost with the edge of the shovel. This makes it degrade faster and reduces the bulk for the next step.

Next, dig another trench beside this one. Use the soil from the new trench to cover the one you just made.

If you dig too close, then you end up digging up what you just buried.

When all is said and done, it should look something like this:

A mound of dirt with compost under it, and a trench next to it waiting for more compost.

When the time comes for more compost to be trenched, re-dig the trench. It tends to fill in over time. The deeper the trench, the better things are.

If you want to try this method, take the time and do it right.

One advantage to this method I've found (aside from not attracting rats) is that the soil gets dug an extra time or two during the year which reduce weeds and somehow increases worms.

You can also use this to compost most garden waste like bean stocks (chop them up small). Not tomatoes or potatoes though - it encouraged disease in the soil.

Farm Life - grey water

2011-06-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

Two days ago was the last of the rain. Traditionally we won't see water falling from the sky again until the last two weeks of Augusts.

It's time to start watering the plants.

So that we don't run out of water during the summer, we have a grey water system just for watering the plants. Grey Water is water that has been used for things like washing clothes or dishes, but is still safe to use for watering plants and such.

It's not toilet water - that's called brown water and goes directly into the septic system.

The water from our kitchen, bath and laundry go into a separate tank near the house. From that tank we can pump the water into buckets or, if we are watering the garden at the bottom of the hill, we use a hose that is gravity fed.

The overflow from the grey water is purified before it returns to the brook and pond. Flowing through a series of 8 small ponds with different plants in each, that purify the water, and the small waterfalls between each pond that aerate it.

We can quickly tell how clean the water is by measuring how many mosquito larvae are in each pond and by how healthy the plants are doing. The ducks take care of the mosquitoes before the little bugs get their wings, so no worries there.

The best plants we've used so far have been the Marsh Marigold and the Water Iris. We also have a couple of types of reeds that flourish under these conditions. You want plants that like a high nitrogen content.

The most important thing about having a Grey Water system is that you don't use any chemicals that might alter the delicate balance in the water tank or that might harm the filter plants. For example, chlorine bleach is out of the question, but Hydrogen peroxide is quite alright because it degrades into non-toxic substances. Same goes for shampoo, dish soap, laundry soap. Note the lack of 'detergetns' which often have fillers in them that are either harmful in themselves or degrade into harmful substances over time.

Joy and something

2011-05-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

I don't know what happened.

Sometimes I blame myself, and sometimes I'm just mystified by the loss of it. It just sort of happened, and I don't think that there is anyone to blame. But if something happens, then someone has to be to blame, and there isn't anyone but myself in this... so by that logic, maybe I should blame myself. But I don't, except sometimes, when I do.

I still don't understand why it happened.

It happened one day: I realized that I hadn't played with yarn for weeks. I haven't spun, knit, woven, tatted, or anything yarn related for months now. What's that about?

It's like somehow I've misplaced my joy for yarn. It's probably with my glasses, wherever they've got to.

I wonder if it will come back, my joy for yarn. I watched this film the other day, about Kiki the witch, who lost her witch powers but found them again when she least expected. I wonder if it's like that.

But that's why I haven't been around the blog lately. There is just nothing yarn related going on, and I don't know if there will be much in the future. I've just lost my enthusiasm for it. I don't know why.

The only thing I have enthusiasm for these days (aside from farming) is writing. But that's something that I don't think will go anywhere. I have ideas of what I want to write about, a few stories I want to tell, and I would love to write a book about Household Management, but... I don't have the skills to get beyond the second draft. I wonder if I could find a mentor. I find it hard to motivate myself to write if there is no one to edit what I create.... but that's worry for another day.

Now, it's time to focus on the farm.

Worried

2011-03-11T09:09:00.000-08:00

I'm very, very worried about the recent earthquake in Japan.

I have lots of friends there but don't know how to get in touch with them.

It's made me realize that I've lost touch with so many people over the last few years. If we haven't talked in the last few months or years, and you read my blog, please leave a comment or get in touch.

Happy Pancake Tuesday everyone

2011-03-08T08:28:00.000-08:00

Today is the day we call Pancake Tuesday in our house.

It's one of the few remnants of religious holidays that we celibate in our house. This is a modern day version of food traditions that go back several thousand years in Europe.

This time of year (going by the lunar calendar) is the end of winter. In much of Europe, new shoots are starting to show themselves and there is enough fresh food available to get by on. The larders are almost bare, but there should be some apples, but more likely quince or meddlers, some dried fruit, some flour and lots of eggs. The chickens have just started laying like crazy a few days ago, as opposed to the sporadic efforts to give us eggs during the darkest months.

In much of Europe, there is a tradition of making a heavy, egg based bread, often with dried fruit and lots of fat. Hot cross buns are a rather yummy, modern equivalent.

Also in parts of Europe, during different times in history, the use of ovens was strictly regulated (land owner also owned the oven and the farmers had to pay to use it). Most of the cooking was done in a pot or a pan. So if you say, wanted to make a cake in a pan, you could make it a bit runny and then, presto, you have a pancake.

An over simplified, over romanticized explanation of why we tend to eat pancakes this time of year.

How Pancakes have become associated with Shrove Tuesday? I just figured that the Church new a good thing when it saw it, and adopted many of the yummy food traditions.

We eat English pancakes in our household. Although, I've discovered that what the term English Pancake means, depends on where in the UK your family is from. This is what we enjoy:

English pancakes

2 cups of flour

2 eggs

2 and 1/2 cup of milk.

makes enough for 4 to 6 very hungry people.

Beat together with a fork until there are only small lumps of flour left in the batter. It should be quite runny.
Heat up a fry (or crape) pan, cast iron is best. You need to grease or oil the pan. It's a bit hot for olive oil, so grapeseed oil is a good choice if you are going for healthy. Lard works best, but many people don't like to use it.
Poor enough of the batter onto the pan to just about cover it in a thinnish layer. Note, this is going to look like a crape, but be several times thicker.
When the air bubbles in the batter pop and don't close up again, it's time to flip the pancake. Sorry, I cannot help you there, it's the tricky part.
Cook the other side briefly and plate.

Now for the important part: sprinkle a good tablespoon of sugar on top of the pancake. Poor lemon juice on top, enough to soak into the sugar. The heat of the pancake somehow makes the sugar and lemon syrupy. It's very yummy! Roll up the pancake into a tube, and eat with a spoon (or knife and fork).

Oh, and if you have a diabetic in the house, may I recommend some extra protein to balance the carbs and sugars. Bacon or sausages go very nicely with pancakes. And for a more complete meal, some OJ or fruit help. But a pineapple for desert would be the best. All those lovely enzymes helping digest the fried foods. Perfect!

Happy Pancake Tuesday Everyone. What a wonderful excuse to eat pancakes for dinner.

sad news about a beloved yarn shop

2011-03-05T19:35:00.001-08:00

This makes me sad.

Shelley is such a wonderful person and I hope she succeeds in whatever comes next for her.

The Victorian Corset Kit - almost halfway done

2011-03-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

I talked earlier about my goal to learn how to make corsets. I got this idea in my head not because I want to make myself look thinner or more shapely. On the contrary, I tend to wear clothes that do the opposite. Rather it's a mater of weight distribution. I have a rather large endowment that creates an even larger back ache. Modern bras in my size are expensive and difficult to find. So why not learn more about corsets?

Farthingales offers a Victorian Corset kit. It's just right for beginners like me. It has everything needed to make your first corset. I would say the sewing skills needed are very basic: Sew straight stitch, use a zipper foot, and apply bias tape. The ability to measure is important. But the most important skill needed to create this corset is the ability to follow directions!

My antique treadle machine (a Singer 127) is the perfect machine for this. It is fast, effortless to use, and every stitch is under my direct control. I'm very happy with how it sews and it doesn't even seem to notice that this fabric is as thick (and as stiff) as poster board.

One thing I have been learning about is how to make things fit.

Please forgive my horrid photos - I'm not use to photographing myself in the mirror.

This is at the stage before I sew the bone channels.

Lacing it this tight makes it feel like a strong hug. There is no pain or restriction of breath. The stomach ache that I was worried about before I tried the corset, magically disappeared while I was wearing it but returned afterwards.

I'm wondering if I might have chosen a size too big. The hips feel comfortable, the waist could probably be tighter, but maybe not.

The bust, however, feels all wrong.

I've already taken the bust in 2 inches on each side, but it's still quite loose. I was hoping that it would make my bust feel all squishy and supported, but mostly it's, well, not.

I think it's also too high. I'm going to take 1/2 to 5/8th of an inch off the top.

This is a size 14 Dore version of the Laughing Moon Victorian Corset, with a D cup.

So, any corset experts out there? Thoughts? How can I improve this? What should I do differently for my next corset? Will adding the bones improve how it fits the bust?

Titan Special sewing machine from India - Not an antique sewing machine

2011-03-03T07:59:00.000-08:00

People don't take things apart enough any more - Though it is for good reasons, I suppose. I think society trains us to be afraid of the innards of things. Taking apart a something to see how it works might void the warranty, or worse, expose us to some of those highly dangerous chemicals that they use to make electronics these days.

It seems to be a generational thing as I hear stories of how so and so took apart their dad's radio or bicycle and put it back together again, and even though it worked, they had all these spare parts left over. At which point in the telling of the story, everyone chuckles.

This sort of activity use to be a right of passage - but now a days you would be foolish to take a part a radio without specialized equipment and a hazmat suit. We have gone a bit beyond the word of vacuum tubes.

And I think that's a real shame. We are one step further away from being self reliant. Instead of having the time and skills, not to mention the hazmat suit, needed to make simple repairs, we spend more time working so we can spend more money buying new things to replace the slightly broken things in our life.

The chickens bought me a sewing machine for my birthday. Very nice of them too.

It's from India, and despite appearances, is very new to this world. Only about 5 to 10 years old, maybe less. Although, it does look like an antique sewing machine and it even has a hand crank to make it operate. So it has the same technology as the vintage sewing machines. It also has only one plastic part: the crank handle. Unlike modern machines it has no electrics, no electronics, and no plastic bits inside to wear out.

I wonder if it will still sew 94 years from now (the current age of my treadle powered Singer 127, Beautiful Sphinx). It's not as well made as the antique sewing machines, but it is perhaps, better made than many modern machines. It is also much easier to repair.

The machine is made in the style of a Class 15 clone. Which is good news for me because this manual (pdf) covers most of what I need to know to make it work such as threading diagrams.

When I brought her home, she didn't work. This is where the taking things apart comes in. At first, I was very nervous. I obsessively took photos of every stage so that I would know how to put it all back together again.

I could manage a slight wiggle from the machine, but that was it. Even with the clutch engaged, the main wheel kept going without moving anything. I couldn’t see any lint (anywhere - which made me wonder if it had actually been used) or any obvious jams. It did have a heavy grease or motor oil on all the parts that should move. It had hardened to a horrible wax like substance which I suspect did more harm than good.

So I took it apart the wheel to see if the clutch was working. Aside from more wax/grease, it seemed to be fine. I couldn’t turn the shaft, so I decided to put it back together and try something else.

Next, I spray WD40 on all the gucked up parts. Don’t worry, I rinsed it out with sewing machine oil afterwards. Still no luck getting it to move, but now there is the sound of metal on metal. Hmm…

I followed my ears, and found that it was coming from the bobbin area.

Realizing I should have started here, I took it all apart…

… and found the problem.

Such a small bit of thread and yet it prevented the machine from working. I suppose this means that the machine must have been used at some point in the past.

I reassembled everything, oiled with sewing machine oil, and ran the machine. Listening for anywhere it is running rough, applied more oil, ran the machine some more.

Now it runs very smoothly. I just have to make some thread guides (the only parts missing) before I can try sewing on it. I won't know 100% if it works until then, but fingers crossed.

My favourite things about this machine are the decorations (is that Hindi?), the fact that it has metal parts instead of plastic ones, that some parts like the face plates are hand fashioned, possibly out of reclaimed materials and that the brand Titan is also stamped on the parts inside which means that it is not just something they painted on the outside. I also like that it's a hand crank machine that was built not for decoration, but for use; for modern day use to boot.

Less happy with the fact that I don't think it's as well built as my antique and vintage machines. But it is built to last longer and be easier to repair than fancy modern day machines made for the American market. I also don't like that the paint is chipping in a few places. I'm also not fond of how heavy this beast is. It's portable in so far as you don't have to have a treadle base and table with it. It is not something I want to carry around with me on a long walk.

I think this will be a good machine for sewing in unusual places. If it works, I plan to use it at an upcoming workshop where I need to bring my own sewing machine.

Singer 127 - Thread

2011-02-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

I don't know if this might help or interest anyone out there, but I'm putting together a series of Getting to Know my Antique/Vintage Singer Sewing Machine (Singer 127). Today I learnt about Thread.

I would like to ask any sewing machine experts to please point out anything I'm doing wrong. I'm a self taught sewer and am learning about the machine by working my way through the manual.

I'm sewing away at my treadle antique Singer sewing machine (model 127), which I have named beautiful sphinx because of the pretty decals it has on it, and I'm amazed at how fast it can sew. It takes no perceptible effort from me to treadle this machine and sew just as quickly as on any electric machine I ever met. It's so interactive. I can slow down or speed up without thinking. Maybe it's a symptom of spending so many hours at a spinning wheel but I tell you, sewing on a treadle machine is the cat's meow!

Sewing is no longer an endurance challenge I undertake to acquire clothing, it is now a joyful process in and of itself.

Which is good news because I've been sewing a lot lately. A wonderful shop commissioned me to sew cloth bags for their store. The bags will then go to another local person who will silk screen the shop's logo on it. It feels really neat to be part of a local economy like that.

As for the sewing machine. I had the most frustrating morning yesterday. Every time I would get into the rhythm of sewing, something would go wonky. The biggest problem I had was this.

Can you see how the top thread seems to be fraying? It's like 1 ply of the thread has broken and just refuses to continue sewing. Of course it only does this when I am top stitching so that I have to undo a bunch of sewing every time it happens.

Whenever something goes wrong with the sewing machine, my first remedy is to re-thread everything. This fixes about 75% of problems. The second remedy is to clean the machine of any lint and give it a bit of oil. This solves just about all the troubles that sewing can produce. But sometimes that isn't enough. This seems to be one of those times.

I thought that since the thread was fraying above the needle, that maybe the needle was bent. I changed the needle and it didn't happen again. But it has happened before, with different needles. So I'm wondering if the size of the needle is too small for the thread. I am using regular thread but size 10 needle. Thoughts?

Did you know that not all sewing machines take the same size needle? Some of the older ones require special size needles.

Singer 127 - Cloth Guide and Thumb Screw attachment

2011-02-13T10:36:00.000-08:00

I would like to ask any sewing machine experts to please point out anything I'm doing wrong. I'm a self taught sewer and am learning about the machine by working my way through the manual.

Among the many attachments that came with my antique sewing machine, I discovered The Cloth Guide and Thumb Screw.

What a fun name for something that is so extremely useful.

From a little booklet I found with the attachments:

THE CLOTH GUIDE AND THUMB SCREW
This is an attachment designed as a guide for straight stitching when making wide hems, deep tucks or seam widths which are greater than Presser Foot allows. It is attached to the machine as illustrated [a photo not unlike mine here is included in the booklet].....a very simple operation.

I wish I knew who wrote this booklet and supplied the attachments, but that remains a mystery for the time being. For those who are interested, the booklet is called Direction For Using This Set of Attachments, and has a picture of a Ruffler on the front cover.

I've been sewing these bags that I mentioned before for a local shop. My sewing machine is directly in front of the largest window in the house with a wonderful view of chickens, ducks, alpacas, wild quail, and all sorts of amusing things. Sometimes I get detracted and as bags require a lot of long straight seams (especially for the handles), I often have to take out my stitching and re-sew. As my attention wonders so does my stitch line. So frustrating, but this cloth guide has really saved the day.

As you can see, the cloth guide screws into your choice of two holes to the right of the needle. Well, my machine has two holes, I don't know how common this is. You keep the edge of the fabric against the guide as you sew and as if by magic, you are suddenly sewing in very straight lines.

I was sceptical at first, but I thought it must be worth a try. In my opinion, it is totally awesome and is now part of my every day sewing accessories.

Singer 127 - thoughts on oil and oil wicks

2011-02-12T08:32:00.000-08:00

I would like to ask any sewing machine experts to please point out anything I'm doing wrong. I'm a self taught sewer and am learning about the machine by working my way through the manual.

I was reading the manual I downloaded for my treadle powered Singer 127 (Beautiful Sphinx), trying to figure out what to oil. The diagram is, um, well, blurry would be an understatement. If I could figure out where to oil, I would take a photo of the machine and photoshop some brightly coloured arrows to each oiling point. Of course, I also have to relearn how to photoedit, but that comes with the territory.

Reason tells me that I'm not the first person online to wonder about how to oil my antique sewing machine. One would assume that a google search would produce the photos I was planing to make. Surely someone else out there had trouble interpreting the manual and thought why not make life easier for others.

But no. Either my google powers are too weak or the photos I seek are not out there. Maybe everyone else can understand what is meant when the manual says to apply a drop of sewing machine oil to each of the places indicated in the blurry picture.

If anyone knows of such a resource, please point me in the right direction. I'm really not in the mood to download a photo editing program and learn how to use it.

There is however, one resource I've come across recently that is promising. Treadle On is a site focused on Human Powered sewing machines. I love that, human powered bit. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Treadle On has resources like how to get that gucked up old machine you found at a garage sale working again: cleaning and lubricating a machine head.

There are also some nice resources about the vibrating shuttle machines. My Singer 127 is a vibrating shuttle sewing machine. Happy days!

On the page about winding and threading the shuttle, I found this photo.

Now the manual for this machine tells me that I should fill the wick with oil, but I couldn't find it anywhere on my machine. But here it is. Just a bit of red felt. See the internet can be a great resource after all.

I'm off to go cut myself a wee bit of felt to stick in my wick hole. (wait. did that sound rude?). I hope that will do the trick. The more I use the machine the louder the shuttle seems to get. Fingers crossed that this is all that I'm missing.

It arrived!

2011-02-11T15:08:00.001-08:00

The most exciting thing happened to me yesterday: My Victorian Corset making kit arrived from Farthingales. It has the Laughing Moon Victorian corset pattern and everything I need to make it including fabric and bones and other stuff. I am super-excited about making this.

Farthingales added a little note with the kit with some suggestions. The kit itself is for the Dore version of the corset (the pattern has two different styles of corset in it and a whole range of sizes) and it is suggested that I use this kit as a starting point to learn how to make a corset and how to alter the pattern if necessary.

Apparently the Dore is easiest to make, but I think that the other corset, the Silverado is more what I need for my body type. Given that I want this to be for support rather than shrinkage, I am tempted to make the Silverado, but then again, this is a project for learning and I think both patterns will do the job.

The fabric included in the kit is true corset fabric. A tight herringbone cotton called Coutil. This is very strong and has virtually no give to it which will be perfect.

The fabric is also very white. There is a definitely need for decoration.

I was thinking that I might add some flossing to the corset. Flossing is not only very pretty embroidery, it also helps to strengthen the fabric at the tips of the bones so that the bones don't wear holes and start poking. Here are some exciting examples of flossing.

I wonder at what stage of corset making do I floss my fabric?

Sigh... As much as I want to get started, that's all plans for the future. Right now I'm working away at my very first sewing job. A local shop has very kindly given me the contract to sew the cloth bags for their store. They will then either paint, stamp, silk screen, or all of the above, their logo on the bags.

Isn't it wonderful when a local business gives the work to local craftspeople instead of ordering from some multinational corporation? Well I think they are just the cat's meow. Now back to my sewing machine. When I get these bags done than I can take some time and sew for myself.

Singer 127 - the narrow hemmer foot!

2011-02-09T08:09:00.000-08:00

I would like to ask any sewing machine experts to please point out anything I'm doing wrong. I'm a self taught sewer and am learning about the machine by working my way through the manual.

I would have to say that the narrow hemmer foot is one of my most favourite sewing tools. It ranks right up there with a sharp pair of sewing scissors. A hemming foot is amazing! It can be used to make a very narrow hem (less than 1/4 inch of fabric used), for making a very narrow enclosed seam called a felled seam, and for a few other things.

To make a hem using this foot, place the fabric wrong side up. Press the edge that you are about to sew over about 1/4 an inch (a little less is good) for most of an inch along the edge. You can use your fingers for this like I do, or you can get out your trusty ironing board.

Place this folded over section under the pressure foot.

Sew two stitches and on the third stitch, stop with the needle in the fabric. Work the edge of the fabric gently up into the swirly part of the hemmer foot. You need to make certain you don't have too much fabric or too little, but knowing how much that is only comes with practice.

Continue to sew along the edge adjusting the direction of the fabric with your left hand and using your right hand to guide the hemming edge into the hemmer foot.

Trust me, it sounds simpler than it is.

I recommend that you practice and practice and practice before attempting this on your finished project. Good news! There's an easy and frequent way to practice this technique.

And there you have it. A tidy narrow hem accomplished in one swift pass of the sewing machine.

Have you ever brought fabric home from the shop, sewn something without washing the fabric first then have your effort shrink drastically in the first wash? Maybe you are smarter than me and have never had this happen; but, my very first sewing project when that way and now I wash every yard of fabric that I bring home. First. Before sewing.

Besides, there are a lot of chemicals and sizing that goes into cloth these days and I don't like being exposed to nasty toxins while I sew so I wash out as many of them as I can.

If you just bring the fabric home and stick it in the washing machine, the cut edge frays and you end up with (sometimes quite a bit) less fabric than you started with. If you sew a quick zig zag stitch along the cut edges, then it really cuts down on the fraying.

Or, you could practice your awesome hemming foot skills along the cut edges of the fabric before washing it.

It's a great opportunity to practice. You have a nice long streight edge and it's not going to show in your finished project.

A few other things you can use this foot for:

You can make a narrow felled seam (more on that later I hope)
You can add lace while hemming (I don't have any lace on hand at the moment, so I cannot show you that just yet)
You can use it to finish the edges on seams
you can hem with it.

I like to use it for the inside edge of the facing on blouses.

A few pointers for using this hemmer foot:

First and foremost do a nice large sample on the same fabric that the finished hem will be on. The thread tension is all different for this than for regular sewing and takes a while to adjust.
Remember to check the underside (right side) of the fabric as you sew as that's the side that will show.
Use a sharp needle. Some reason dull needles make the whole thing messy.
Works best on thinner fabric like quilting cotton or thinner.
I've never tried it on knit fabrics, but I know it works well on woven
It makes a great edge for handkerchiefs
Just have fun with it. It's a great little helper and you never know when an occasion to use it might present itself.

Oh and one more thing: Don't do the back stitch thing to secure the stitching. Tie the individual threads in a knot at each end when you have finished sewing. If you are just putting it directly in the washing machine, you don't really need to do that, just leave about an inch when you clip the threads. I've never had it unravel.

Restoring an electric Singer 99

2011-02-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

I'm still working on the Singer 99 electric sewing machine. I wonder if it had ever been cleaned before. There are areas underneath the bobbin area that I thought were solid metal. But on further investigation, turned out to be just lint. Solid lint!

I've managed to get everything moving by putting a bit of oil at all the oil points, working it in, clean out any lint that becomes obvious, put another drop of oil in each oil point, work it in, clean out any lint that becomes obvious, put another drop of oil.... for three days now. I keep leaving it for a while so that the oil can soak in then spend another hour or two working on things.

There is lots of corrosion where the lint was thickest which helps to bring home how important it is to clean your machine before storing it for any period of time. The lint gathers moisture and moisture plus metal tends to be bad.

While cleaning the machine, I noticed something that I don't know if it is right or not. Behind the nob for the upper thread tension, inside the machine, is a spring and a lever that interacts with the spring when the pressure foot is down.

Here is what it looks like on my Beautiful Sphinx, a treadle powered Singer 127.

It's what I think it should look like. But on the Singer 99 machine it appears to have fallen down so that it doesn't have such a positive interaction with the pressure foot lever thingy. See?

I know, you have to squint to see it down there. This machine is no where near as photogenic as my treadle one.

So I was wondering, is the spring in the right place or should it be higher up directly behind the tension nob on the front?

Handspun Yarn to Dye

2011-02-06T08:38:00.000-08:00

I've been spinning more of this Wavy 2ply slub yarn from Corriedale roving. I have 3 skeins going down to the shop tomorrow to put up for sale.

This stuff is so soft and consistently slubby. It has such a soft hand but is very strong. I think it's the best novelty yarn I've made in a long time. It's easily reproduceable, which means that if someone wanted some made out of coloured roving, that could be arranged.

What I would love to see is for someone to take it home and dye it. I imagine it would take up the dyes really well, the areas with tighter twist would take the dyes differently than the areas with less twist.

Speaking about yarns good for dyeing: I saw that there was still a skein of the white Cotswold Boucle still for sale at the shop. Yet another yarn prefect for dyeing.

Perhaps if one of you readers of this blog out there happen to buy and make something with my yarn, you could let me know.

Hand sewn corset eyelets

2011-02-04T10:13:00.000-08:00

Of course one could use grommets, but why spend the money when you can subject your hands to all sorts of pain by sewing the eyelets by hand?

I used an awl to make each of the 16 holes required for lacing this corset.

The great thing about an awl is that it does not sever the individual threads of the fabric, rather it pushes them out of the way in order to make the hole, thus keeping the integrity of the fabric in tact which makes the eyelets stronger.

And here is my sample piece where I played around with different size holes and button hole stitches.

Sure, I didn't use the button hole stitch so often found in the sewing books, but I liked the look of this better. I don't know if it will be as strong, but it does have a cleaner finish.

Singer 127 - Getting to know feet

2011-02-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

I don't know if this might help or interest anyone out there, but I'm putting together a series of Getting to Know my Antique/Vintage Singer Sewing Machine (Singer 127). Today I learnt about feet.

I would like to ask any sewing machine experts to please point out anything I'm doing wrong. I'm a self taught sewer and am learning about the machine by working my way through the manual.

My Vintage Singer Sewing Machine came with feet like you wouldn't believe.

I can only recognize a few of these and most of those I don't know what they do. It is going to be fun to learn.

The sewing machine may be limited as to what it can perform, but there was a gadget for everything.

I love gadgets.

I'm really eager to learn how these will work.

I think they might just be for making hems of different sizes. At least that's what I hope they are for.

I'm also really want to find out how this things works.

I think it is used for applying bias tape and other edgings in one smooth step. Sounds like the perfect thing for binding those armhole seams. I will have to go ask the people at ravelry if these are indeed the parts that go together.

And in other news. I wanted to do a demonstration for you all (and for myself) to show all the cool things you can accomplish with the hemmer foot. Unfortunately it didn't fit properly into my machine. Even with the pressure foot raised to it's highest position, there was not sufficient clearance for the fabric to slip between the foot and the feed dogs. Hmmm... is this what they could mean by high shaft and low shaft pressure foot? This requires more study, but I did take some photos of the offending attachment and the pressure foot that was in the machine and is known to work well.

Perhaps someone might be able to tell me more.

In the mean time, I have heddles to thread.

Singer 99 - knee powered!

2011-02-02T21:40:00.000-08:00

It's a good thing I went to feed the chickens before attempting to remove the red felt from near the bobbin. Thank you everyone for your help.

Things I learnt today: This is a Singer 99K-13, made in 1924 in Scotland. They made 50 thousand of these exact machines in one run. I'm just baffled by how many machines they made in that factory that year.

Considering how long these machines last (a hundred years is just a teenager for these old work horses) and how many they made, no wonder they are a dime a dozen. But if I can get this thing working, then I'll have a totally awesome portable sewing machine to show off to my friends. I'll just have to invent some sort of drool guard for it.

What else did I learn?

Oh yes, I discovered why sewing machine manuals always go on and on about not storing the machine without cleaning out the lint. Apparently lint left in the machine gathers moisture (especially when machine is stored in out building) which can cause rust and in my case, mould! I hate mould. Mould makes breathing difficult.

So, a person with mould allergies would be well advised not to try to clean an old anything in their house! Ug Spores!

But I did get the gears moving in the sewing machine. It's just stiff as anything. So I think, more cleaning followed by lots of oil.

Vintage Singer Sewing machine fetish

2011-02-02T08:39:00.001-08:00

(I put fetish in the title of the blog, because recently I've had lots of people link here from rather naughty sites. I just wanted to mess around with them because this post has nothing to do with underwear, boobs, or sex.)

Last summer I was given a Vintage Singer sewing machine. It's portable and very pretty. The thing is, I don't know a thing about her. Since I have a sewing class I want to take in March, I need to fix her up.

The reason why I didn't take much notice before is that she's electric and I wanted either hand crank or better still treadle. I already have a fantastic electric machine that was my grandmother's and has a Zig Zag function. But, it's not portable.

It's time to turn my attention to Bentwood Box Electric Singer.

Right away I cut off the electric cord. I just wasn't safe and I didn't want to be tempted to plug it in.

I thought that a new cord was all that was needed, but apparently I should have taken a closer look. Is it suppose to have felt in the bobbin area?

The parts that should move are very reluctant. Hopefully a good cleaning will do it.

Making an Elizabethan Corset Muslin

2011-02-01T11:46:00.000-08:00

As much as I admire corsets, I just don't know if I'm going to enjoy making them. I mean, it's a lot of hard work. A simple corset takes around 40 hours for a professional. And the materials! Boy they are expensive. The proper material (a tightly woven herringbone twill) averages around $30 per meter plus shipping. Then the pattern, bones, the busks, the laces, the eyelets....

Given my limited financial resources, I figured it would be a good idea to make a muslin or sample garment first before I invest in the real thing.

There is a free pattern for an Elizabethan Corset here. Because it's more affordable, and to quite frank, it looks far more comfortable, I decided to use Hemp Cord for my corset bones. I bought some muslin fabric from my local fabric shop. It's cotton and a very similar weight to quilting cotton. As for the eyelets, I think I'll try sewing them by hand. I still have to make a wooden busk for the front but I can make that out of a spare bit of oak flooring. It ends up being less than $10 to make a sample corset to see if I enjoy the process.

And I do enjoy the process!

It only took me 2 hours for drafting the pattern, 10 hours for machine sewing and threading the bones including my sample piece.

See? Awesome sample piece for practising techniques.

I bent a bit of Bonsai wire to thread the cord through the channels. This wire is very soft so I could quickly and easily smooth the cut edge with a bit of sandpaper.

So there you have it. I've done all the machine sewing. My antique Singer sewing machine had no trouble sewing through the hemp cord. It didn't even notice it was there.

Now I have about 20 hours of hand sewing left to do. Ug!

Thing is, I'm not entirely confident that this is the right shape. I didn't make it as long in the front as the Elizabethan Corset. Quite honestly, I think this looks more like a squashed bat than something I could wear. But even if it doesn't fit, I have had the opportunity to learn the skills I need to make a better one next time.

And believe me, there will be a next time.

A couple of notes and observations:

The fabric I used is quite stretchy. Not as much stretch as quilting cotton, but still, I don't think it will be up for the task of being a corset. Who knows, I might be wrong. But the goal was just to learn the techniques and find out if this pattern works.

Also, even though the antique Singer sewing machine had no trouble sewing through hemp cord (it didn't even notice) the needle quickly became blunt. Also, I used my second best fabric scissors on the hem cord. They really need sharpening now. The moral of the story: coarse hemp cord (this had lots of tow in it) makes things dull.

And I didn't hand sew the bias tape down like is recommended. I think it would make a much nicer effect and more comfortable corset if I had. But I'm eager to get this muslin finished so I stitched in the ditch instead.

And, sorry about the picture quality on some of these. The lighting is just not good at 11 at night.

Thoughts on corsets

2011-02-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

I have been wondering about the dangers of wearing a corset.

From what I've read, if fitted properly a corset can really improve your posture. People have been wearing something like corsets for hundreds of years, yet bras have only been in popular use for a blink of an eye in comparison. Yet, popular opinion says that corsets are dangerous, confining and a symbol of male dominated society. But why is that?

I've seen all sorts of pictures of how wearing a tight corset can harm your bones and internal organs. But this is extreme and not always verifiable.

Besides, there are several modern day garments that can cause serious damage. Skinny jeans can cause digestive problems. The wrong size bra combined with running for the bus has broken more than one collar bone.

Like anything else, it's a matter of taking the time to educate yourself. It is also important to think about why you choose this garment.

For me, it's not a mater of reducing my waist. I know this is important for some people, and for those who feel it necessary there are steps to take so that wearing a tight corset does not adversely affect your health. It can take years to train your waist using a corset.

What I want is to provide support for my generous endowment and stop this pesty back ache.

I'm actually very worried that wearing a corset will put a lot of pressure on my digestion, especially my stomach. But then again, even a well fitted bra can do that sometimes.

I know. It seems like an overly elaborate justification for playing with corsets. But you know what? I'm fully willing to admit that I think they are cool! I've always been fascinated with the care and time that goes into making one. I think that constructing corsets will be an excellent way to improve my sewing skills (and play with my antique sewing machine).

Singer 127 - winding the bobbin and trouble therein.

2011-01-31T17:54:00.000-08:00

I would like to ask any sewing machine experts to please point out anything I'm doing wrong. I'm a self taught sewer and am learning about the machine by working my way through the manual.

Hidden underneath a shiny silver face plate is a shuttle and bobbin. These magical treasures are what makes the sewing machine stitch lock in place. Two threads, one on top, one beneath, working together to make sewing happen. What could be more wonderful than that?

My Beautiful Sphinx, a Singer 127, came with a selection of bobbins and I figure it's time I learnt how to wind them.

The manual tells me to begin by disengaging the balance wheel. There is a smaller wheel inside the bigger wheel at the right of the machine. You turn the smaller wheel towards you and it stops the needle from going up and down while we wind the bobbins.

But I figured a better place to start would be to give the winding device some oil. It's been almost 50 years since last used.

I put a scarce drop of oil in the hole. I couldn't think of anywhere else where oil might go on the bobbin winder.

Put the bobbin in place, buy pulling on the left knob. Thread the bobbin winder and tuck the thread under the right end of the bobbin. Make certain the thread guide is all the way to the right side, press bobbin winder so that the wheel rests against the balance wheel. "Operate the machine the same as for sewing".

The instructions say it so much better.

But at the end, I had a happy little bobbin all ready for sewing.

And the sewing went lovely for a while. That is until the bobbin began acting up.

Somehow it didn't wind evenly so now the thread keeps getting tangled up at the same point.

ps. I have no idea what's going on here with the fonts the last couple of posts. Things I try to format remain unchanged, and for no apparent reason random parts of the text acquire random formatting. Look. Now it's underlined!

Singer 127 - tension

2011-01-30T16:15:00.000-08:00

I don't know if this might help or interest anyone out there, but I'm putting together a series of Getting to Know my Antique/Vintage Singer Sewing Machine (Singer 127). Today I learnt about Tension.

I would like to ask any sewing machine experts to please point out anything I'm doing wrong. I'm a self taught sewer and am learning about the machine by working my way through the manual.

Because the first thing to do when you bring a new toy into the house is play with it, I decided to dive right in and see how this baby works.

Please note: all my sewing machine parts moved freely, there are no nasty grinding sounds, and everything seems to be in working order. It things wern't in such a happy state, I wouldn't have dived right in and started sewing. Sometimes these machines get all rusty or the oil used by previous owners has gucked up the works and needs cleaning out. More on oil and antique sewing machines another day.

Also, before I go any further, I would like to ask any sewing machine experts to please point out anything I'm doing wrong. I'm a self taught sewer and am learning about the machine by working my way through the manual.

Now, back to the good stuff.

How exciting. Beautiful Sphinx has pride of place in my front room right next to the big window. I can look up from my sewing and admire the chickens scratching for worms outside.

Careful to obey the list of don'ts on pg 5, I am ready to take her for a test drive.

Something's obviously gone wrong. It must be tension.

According to the manual I can adjust the tension of the top thread by using this little nob here.

Apparently it's extremely naughty to adjust the top tension when the pressure foot is in the upright position. I have no idea why that is.

And I can adjust the tension of the bottom thread by turning this little screw in the hidden shuttle.

It is recommended that once you have the shuttle tension adjusted just so, that you don't touch it again. I think that if you were changing your thread size like from jeans thread to regular sewing thread, maybe you might need to adjust this.

In the end, it wasn't the tension that was the problem. Not really. Well, sort of. The tensions were both set so tightly that the thread couldn't get inside. I backed the tension right off at the top and a bit on the shuttle, rethread the machine, and things magically started working perfectly. I'll be sewing on this in no time.

Antique Treadle Singer Sewing Machine - 127

2011-01-30T08:13:00.000-08:00

This is a Singer model 127-3 build in 1918 in St. Jean, Quebec. How do I know this? Most of the old Singers have serial numbers on them which you can look up on their website or you can do what I did which was to ask some fellow enthusiasts at any of the online group of vintage sewing machine collectors.

I downloaded a free manual from the Singer website. There are lots of sewing machine manuals out there on the internet, some free, some not. The one on the Singer site had much clearer pictures than the others. It's still not very easy to make out what the pictures are about, but if you squint hard enough some sort of magic eye effect happens.

So why did I get this sewing machine anyway. The house is lousy with antiques already (in a good way) what do I need this treadled powered monster for?

Although it is very pretty, I didn't get this sewing machine for it's looks. I want to sew on it. I have a perfectly good electric machine that even has a zig zag stitch. The treadle gives a greater feeling of interaction with the sewing machine. It works during power outages (although I jokingly thinking of adding a bicycle headlight to the drive wheel - you know the ones that only work when you are moving). There is a sense of being connected with the past by using such an old machine.

There is also the fact that it is SO old and it still works as well as it did the day it was made. I know it cannot make stitches in the shapes of smiley faces. But can you imagine 93 years later these plastic, electronic, computer driven machines still working?

My vintage Singer was manufactured before planned obsolescence. With the right attention, I suspect that it will keep on working for a hundred or more years to come.

That's why, I hate to say, my special find is not so special. There are literally hundreds for sale locally every year. Some of which are free some are priced at over a thousand dollars. The price is no indication of the condition. Although the free ones usually go before I have a chance to grab them up. If you are in the market for buying an antique or vintage sewing machine. Do you homework, keep an eye on the local Buy and Sell websites, and be patient.

As for the clothes in the photo: That's just me showing off my recent sewing adventures. No, not sewn using treadle power.

I still have to get to know the old gal, so I thought why not make a series of blog posts about getting acquainted with Singer 127.

2 at once!

2011-01-29T13:55:00.000-08:00

I need to learn how to do this!

Wavy Slub yarn

2011-01-28T08:27:00.000-08:00

Lovely, soft, and consistently slubby.

I'm really pleased with this yarn and am about to rush out to get more Corriedale from Knotty by Nature so I can spin some more.

I was asked to spin a novelty yarn, plied, that displayed the qualities of this fibre. So I tried a trick out of the Intentional Spinner where I spin one ply slubby and one ply smooth with high twist, then ply them together. The slubs are more or less evenly spaced and more or less evenly sized. I think this would look splendid dyed as the different areas of twist would capture the dye differently.

weaving fabric, card weaving, and a corset

2011-01-27T08:31:00.000-08:00

I've had lots of little projects on the go lately. I've been sewing (more on that another day), taking care of ducks, chickens and alpacas, spinning, and getting ready for weaving

These are the little scraps left over from cutting the pattern out of the fabric. They are too small to do anything with, so I decided to cut them into strips of various sizes and use them for a weaving project.

I figured since I made a skirt and some blouses, why not make a matching vest? The SAORI weaving book has a very simple pattern for one that takes only 1 meter by 0.5m of handwoven fabric. So, if I like how this weaving turns out, I'll transform it into a vest.

I was about to warp the loom the other day, when my friend and mentor arrived with some cards for tablet weaving.

Now I'm totally hooked on this technique. I have all sorts of projects in mind for it! Only problem is that I don't quite have the ergonomics of back strap weaving down yet and am getting quite the back ache.

The back ache could easily be due to the fact that I need more support for my 'endowment'. I'm a rather unusual shape: small ribcage, large endowment. So, a new bra usually sets me back 100$, if I can find one that fits! It's no use getting any old bra as a badly fitting one just makes the back ache worse! Even with all that, it has been years since I've found one with less than 10% synthetic fabric. Anything more than that creates blisters on my skin. (do I hear the world's smallest violin playing?)

Don't worry, I wouldn't be complaining to you about my undergarments unless I had a possible solution in mind.

Aside from being an excellent excuse to use my fountain pen, it's also my first attempt at drafting a corset paten. Instructions for drafting your own Elizabethan Corset available online at the amazing Elizabethan Costuming page.

I'll sew a mock up corset to see if I have the size right - I think that I'll use hemp cord for the bones instead of spending a lot of money on the plastic ones they sell locally. Besides, I'm trying to get away from the whole plastic thing. If it works, then I'll invest in some nice fabric and make another one.

It's nice because this pattern gives an Elizabethan shape to the figure which is a smooth line from the bust to the waist. Most patterns I've come across for corsets are Victorian in style with a clenched waist. Some of them have quite the wasp waist.

There is a kit that I'm very keen on. It is not much more than I would usually pay for a bra, so I think I'll get it, if I have good luck with the Elizabethan pattern. It is Victorian, but the shape is very moderate and well within the range I want. But that's for later.

I know that corsets are considered constrictive, but people have been wearing something like them for hundreds of years. I think it's when you go to the extreme and try to condense yourself into a 10 inch waist, that's where things go wrong. I tried one on once, and it was very comfortable. It instantly got rid of that pesky back ache. I think that this project is worth a try at the very least.

Wonky Spring Chicken

2011-01-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

An extremely good friend of mine has recently given birth to a beautiful baby boy. This handsome young fellow is so tiny, but I don't think that's going to last long. Before you know it, he will be as tall as his dad and into all sorts of good-natured-trouble.

I found this rather wonderful tutorial on the Sew Mama Sew! site. It's teaches you how to sew a Spring Chicken. Since I'm in the middle of a sewing bender, I thought why not.

And here you have it: a Spring Chicken.

I haven't decided if I want to put eyes on it yet. I cannot use buttons for an infant, so it would have to be embroidered on, and I don't know where my floss is... so I think maybe the chicken doesn't need eyes. It's all about colour and texture at this age anyway.

At one part of the tutorial, the author suggests that I "Embrace the wonkiness. This gives you

chicken more character."

This is definitely a Wonky chicken.

Saori skirt made by pulling yarns

2011-01-17T13:49:00.000-08:00

There is an big old apple tree right next to the hen house. In the yard, Lucky, the big white rooster, stands guard over his hens, protecting them form monsters of every variety.

Be it an eagle or a bunny rabbit, a mink or a raccoon, Lucky is ready to round up his hens and herd them away from any perceived danger. Certain other things fall under the category of monster: Plywood for example, cardboard, and skirts blowing in the breeze. That last 'monster' - a skirt blowing in the wind - makes it much harder to take a photograph of my new Saori Skirt than I had hoped.

The goal was to make a photo with the chickens gather round the dressmaker's dummy, pecking at the ground, looking all pastoral. Instead most of the photos are of the chickens running away from the dressmakers dummy.

Silly Chickens!

The skirt is woven on a Saori Loom. It is constructed by pulling warp yarns, then sewing the bits together. In the Saori book (the one with English) it is called: Skirt Made by Pulling Yarns. I used a linen warp with mostly wool and alpaca handspun for weft.

I like how the weft strips help to give the skirt a very slimming look and the overall shape of the skirt is very classic.

Time

2011-01-16T06:21:00.000-08:00

Here is something I found on the local CraigsList. It made me smile so I thought I would share it with you all.

I have a functioning time machine (i know it sounds unbelievable, but I assure you it works) that I need a 2nd person to operate with me.

I'm looking for someone who is adventurous and reliable. Preferable a male; or a female that can do heavy lifting.

I am leaving on Jan 30th, 2011, in the morning and plan to return October 2nd, 2010. I am going to June 1983 to handle some business.

If you are serious about time travel and are reliable, then please contact me. You do not have to pay anything, but you would have to provide someone to watch my cat for the time we are gone. The only qualifications needed are that you are reliable and that the circumferance of your head is no more than 64cm.
...

Three homespun yarns

2011-01-13T11:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a very strange day. 10 inches of snow may not seem like much, but it's enough to knock out the power and worse, even when the electricity comes back on, the cable, phone and internet remain offline most of the day. Yesterday I was snowed in with almost no contact with the outside world. It is a weird feeling.

But, not all was lost. I got to shovel the driveway, see to the animals here on the farm, and play with yarn.

I've been spinning yarn to sell at Knotty by Nature. It is very nice of them to sell my yarn. I cannot make huge amounts like a commercial mill, but I do think I make quality. I aim to make something that a large company could not make, and maybe that's why it takes so much more time to create that special yarn.

I've been playing with different ways of pricing the handspun yarn. I think I've found a way of pricing that I'm happy with. It's determined per yard and per times it goes through the wheel. So a plied yarn will be more than a single, and the like. It's works out to be less expensive than people sell on Etsy.com, but more than commercial yarn. Still, I'm only getting about $2 per hour of work I put into the yarn, but when I priced it so that I get around $5 per hour, it didn't sell.

Even still, I hear complaints that it's too expensive, it's not the exact colour they want, I'm not fast enough at spinning, stuff like that. (so far no complaints about quality which makes me happy - mostly just complaints about there not being enough which I suppose should make me happy)

I am not a huge spinning mill. I can only make it the colour of the fibre I have available to me- I use dyes very seldom and when I do, it basically doubles the price because of the kinds of dyestuff I use and my lack of facilities. Quality handmade goods, yarn included, take time and skill. Because of that handspun yarn comes in smaller batches and cannot always be made to order and ready the next day.

But, no matter... I complain too much.

There is compensation for my rantings. Yarn photos:

These two photos taken prior to blocking

So pretty! I love how this Single Boucle turned out. I feel that I am really getting the hang of this technique. This last batch turned out much better and stronger than the yarn I spun before Christmas. This is spun from English Leicester. I buy the locks already dyed, and thus the yarn has a random colour sequence and effect.

There is more of this Singles Boucle at the shop already, I just forgot to take photos of it before I sent it off.

Someone had recently given my some samples of Alpaca. So I hand carded them into little rolags and spun a random colour sequence of natural colours.

Aren't alpacas amazing to have such a variety of colour? I love it!

My aim with this yarn was to give it a homespun effect. I left in small slubs and encouraged slight variation of texture throughout the yarn. The different lengths of the fibre that I was given helped to achieve this effect. It also fluffed up quite nicely when it washed, so I imagine it will provide a nice halo to the finished fabric.

Each colour lasts for about 2-4 yards and the total length of this yarn is over 300 yards. As I spun it I imagined it being knit into a lace scarf, but it would look good as anything.

This is not a yarn I can produce any more of as I only had a handful of fibre. It's limited edition. However, my new alpacas are very similar colours, so if someone likes this yarn, I should be able to make something like it when they are shorn in late spring.

And then there is the grey Romney.

I had intended to spin this with a lovely homespun texture like the alpaca, but I stopped paying attention early and it ended up as a rather constant yarn.

There are over 400 yards of this heathered yarn. It has a wonderful hand. It would be lovely as lace, mitts (maybe with some brightly coloured yarn?), or maybe someone could dye it for that lovely depth of colour that grey fibre adds to any dyeing.

To be honest, I'm not altogether certain I want to sell this yarn. It would be strong enough for warp or weft and given the amount of weaving I've been doing lately, I could see using it for my own project.

I'm actually rather attached to all three of these yarns. But, I could do with the money. I hear a rumour that there might be a half day Saori workshop twice a month. Now, it's just a rumour, but it sure would be nice to have some money just in case it turns out to be true.

Saori Weaving - another workshop

2011-01-11T09:08:00.000-08:00

One of the things I like most about Saori, is that each time I take a workshop it's different. I'm not only inspired by the instructor, but also by my fellow classmates.

Have a look at this wonderful fabric. I wish I could say it is mine, but it's not.

I love the contrast of texture.

For my part, I made yet another grey and pink warp. I have a grey and pink warp at home, I did a grey and pink warp last class... I just seem to be going through a grey and pink warp phase in my life.

I wasn't in the mood for a very strong contrast of colour or texture yesterday. I was actually feeling quite ill, but I didn't want to miss the workshop. Attending a Saori workshop seems to be one of those few times when I can interact with people and feel healthier at the end of it. But all the same, I was in a pretty bland, grey and pink mood.

Here's the fabric I wove yesterday. I think it's GORGEOUS! I have all sorts of ideas for what I can make with this technique. I'm especially excited about a vest that I can make with fabric scraps from my recent sewing and yarn... I just have to finish the sewing projects first.

And this is my favourite photo from yesterday:

It is a photo of calm concentration and love. The extra fabric spilling over at her feet.

Treadle powered sewing machine

2011-01-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to use a treadle sewing machine since the first time I sat down at an electric one. I always imagined that it would provide a feeling of control and responsiveness that is missing from the electric ones. Sure, it's not as fast, but what about me makes you think I like doing things quickly?

I believe it's a Singer model 127 or 128. The cabinet is in need of serious repair, but from what I can tell, everything is there and the timing is good.

This machine came up at a good price, and surprise, it had a whole world of accessories!

There is also about 3 dozen different feet and gadgets galore. What I really like about it is that the bobbin that goes underneath is a long spool shaped thing instead of a squat fat thing.

I also like how decorative these old machines are. It oozes a sense of pride in the workmanship. Sure, these old Singers are a dime a dozen, but that's because they last so long. Can you imagine a current day sewing machine working 100 years from now? I can't.

For those of you who complain that it doesn't surge the edges or offer a zig zag stitch. Well, it has the zig zag attachment. But I very seldom use that stitch anyway. It means changing the foot.

I think it's going to be a perfect machine for me. I can't wait to get sewing on it.

Waiting for Distaff Day

2011-01-03T08:29:00.000-08:00

You know about Distaff day, right? It's the day after the 12 days of Christmas.

The tradition is spinners and weavers did no work during the 12 days of Christmas. On the 13th day, the spinners returned to their spindles and wheels. As the weavers, usually men at this point in history, had an extra day off, there was much fun and games between them and the spinners.

Locally, they take this tradition very seriously. There are several Distaff day celebrations every year, usually on the Saturday after the holidays. Hopefully I can attend one of them.

But in the mean time, I have been preparing fibre for when I can return to spinning.

Blue Face Leicester. Isn't it pretty?

Button, button, who's got the button?

2011-01-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was New Years day. With the new year arrived an opportunity to learn a new skill.

After three days of working on this sewing project, all that remained was the buttonholes and a couple of buttons.

In a brief moment of detraction, instead of cutting between the buttonhole stitches, I also cut through the stitches that the machine so carefully placed to prevent the fabric from unravelling.

I was devastated. I had never done this before and had absolutely no idea how to fix it.

After I walked away, drake some coffee, and consulted the interweb (who wasn't as helpful as I had hoped, but my sewing book is currently in storage, so oh well), I sat down and taught myself to hand sew a button hole.

Hand sewing a button hole involves picking out the machine stitches, something I've never been very good at...

And then waxing some thread, and using it to sew around the slit in the fabric.

So I'm chuffed at learning a new skill, but it just reflects how little I know about this sewing thing.

Basically I'm a self taught sewer. I have one of those Reader's Digest sewing books (somewhere) but it never really spoke my language. What I tend to do, is buy a pattern, some fabric, thread, &c., and then do my best to follow the pictures. More an IKEA style of assembly rather than actual sewing.

While it is satisfying to make the clothing, it would be even more satisfying to understand what I'm doing.

What I would really like is for someone to sit down with me over the course of a few weeks, and working with my own measurements, help create some basic patterns (skirt, shirt, &c) and teach me how I can modify these patterns to accommodate things like fashion, different fabrics and size change.

Just being able to understand how and why we do these different things in sewing - how this two dimensional fabric suddenly becomes three dimensional clothing - that would be a start.

the cold shoulder of the information highway: or my quest for a tatted frog

2010-12-31T08:18:00.000-08:00

I'm beginning to suspect that the internet is not as smart as it pretends to be.

I've spent a good deal of time this week - time that could have been used to more productive ends - seeking help from the internet. Specifically I was looking for frogs.

Not frogs that go ribbit, hop, hop, but rather frogs that help keep things closed.

Weaving Saori fabric is fun, but sewing with it poses more of a challenge. Sewing button holes on my new Saori skirt was a daunting and almost impossible task. I thought maybe a tatted frog would do the trick.

With help from the good tatters over at In Tatters, I found three examples of tatted frogs (one with a pattern, but was too frilly for the project at hand). I even got some tips on how to design my own tatted frog. I didn't have much luck with that.

I almost made one I liked. See the bottom right frog? I like the idea of this, and the overall balance of the motif. I just couldn't figure out how to tat the middle chain for the way back. We argued, the thread broke, and I had to walk away from my tatting for a while.

The amount of time in fruitless search for a tatted frog (not to mention the pointless hours searching for a bloomer pattern - wearing skirts is cold business in the middle of winter - a corset sewing pattern that costs less than $20 after shipping, and the meaning of life, the universe and everything. Spending hours sifting through junk online looking for that tiny bit of information that use to be readily available in the days before computers, makes me wonder if the internet has been getting dumber lately.

It is certainly not talking to me as much as it use to.

SAORI fabric

2010-12-27T15:11:00.001-08:00

This Christmas holiday, I treated myself to some Saori style weaving.

I have high hopes that this will become a skirt.

The weft is linen, the warp is a mixture of handspun lace weight and sock weight yarn, with some bits of fibre and thrums.

Thank you

2010-12-24T21:16:00.000-08:00

A big thank you to everyone who bought my yarn this month, you really helped make my Christmas special.

Have a Sheepy Christmas

2010-12-23T15:55:00.001-08:00

Super-Chicken to the Rescue!

2010-12-21T13:20:00.000-08:00

Doesn't she look look like some sort of superhero?

Something for the Farm

2010-12-19T17:04:00.000-08:00

Anyone want to guess what this is for? It's about 8" square.

I'll let you know in a couple of days.

Another Saori Hat

2010-12-05T09:01:00.000-08:00

The fabric is a combination of handspun weft and bits of alpaca and wool fibre.

And the end result is another one of those gorgeous Saori Hats.

This hat is a thank you gift for a woman who comes today. I hope she likes it.

My very first Saori Hat

2010-12-04T08:15:00.000-08:00

I'm told that it is far too formal to wear around the farm.

My reply is that it is far too comfortable not to.

To me the shape of this hat is a bit like a bonnet. There is something really familiar about the shape; like a medieval peasant's hat. I cannot quite place my finger on what it reminds me of.

I'm really surprised that everything goes well together. The warp was randomly striped, and the weft was mostly Thrums with handwoven yarn here and there. It looks so busy that it's hard to distinguish the individual elements, but as a whole, it really works. It is my Gestalt hat.

Warping the Saori way.

2010-12-02T08:24:00.000-08:00

I was worried about loosing what I learnt at the Saori workshop. So I got out my little table loom and did my best to warp the Saori way.

I hope that if I keep doing it then it will become permanent knowledge. All those dreams I had about warping really helped.

It took me an entire day (well, with feeding the animals and catching up on all the farm chores, it was more like 4 hours) to warp my little table loom. I didn't realize just how well designed the Saori loom was until I tried to do the same thing on a little wooden loom that fought me every step of the way. But I managed it in the end.

I just made a short warp because I need more practice. I hope it rains today so I can wind another warp and try it again. But, if the weather is good, I have to go and get ready for the llama and alpacas that will arrive early next week. That and go to the doctor, and do running around, and care for the chickens and the ducks, and...well it's a long list.

I sure would like to weave a hat or scarf for the woman who is bringing the llama and alpacas.

Saori warping workshop

2010-11-30T21:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I learnt about Warping the Saori way at a workshop at Knotty by Nature.

It wasn't until I went to sleep last night that I began to really understand what I learnt.

I had dreams about warping different yarns. It's as if I dressed a hundred looms in my sleep. Each one with different yarn and colours.

When I woke up, I set right to work on warping my table loom.

I'm so inspired by what I learnt and I can hardly wait to show you.

Madder

2010-11-27T09:22:00.001-08:00

When I think of madder, I think of rich, earthy reds and deep, mysterious browns. I think of walking into a deep woods and smelling the soft smell of leaf mulch and Grand Fir.

I don't tend to think of madder as being orange.

I read that if you mix madder with ox blood, the lining of a cows second stomach, and a whole host of minerals, than you might be lucky enough to get Turkey red or a red-orange. I never imagined that I would manage it by accident.

The yarn is handspun Cotswold, true-worsted singles. I used 20%weight of fibre (WoF) for the alum mordant and 100% WoF for the madder dye stuff. I didn't heat it much about 50C, and cooked the yarn in the dye for 1 hour. I should have heated it up more to get a browner colour.

I dyed some other stuff after to exhaust the dye vat.

Now it is very pretty; but, sadly, this colour is totally inappropriate for the project I have planed. I think I'm just going to give up on the whole thing and stash this orange yarn.

I have just enough fibre left to try spinning another warp. But to be honest, I've lost my enthusiasm for this project. Natural or synthetic - dye stuff never seems to do what it promises.

Knotty by Nature - 2 years and counting

2010-11-25T08:38:00.000-08:00

The snow is suppose to let up this afternoon and transform into a cleansing rain. It is entirely possible that I won't have to shovel my driveway tomorrow morning. Still have to get the snow shovels out today, though, with an extra couple of inches of snow overnight.

If the driveway is clear, I plan to spend most of tomorrow down town at Knotty by Nature. It's their second anniversary celebration.

Here's what Stephanie has to say about it:

Buy Nothing Day-ngerous, Friday November 26th! And….2nd anniversary celebration for Knotty by Nature!
Shop smart: challenge yourself to buy nothing that is harmful for the planet. Car pool, take the bus or ride your bike. Bring your coffee cup to you local coffee shop. Or bring your own bag to your favorite local yarn store. Bring your own yarn or maybe buy a that skein you’ve been wanting and knit for the day atKnotty by Nature.
The natural, sustainable and environmental qualities of wool were recognized last month by even His Royal Highness. The English have been quite innovative lately developing techniques to expand the uses of wool in order to try and save their local wool industry, which at risk of encroachment from petroleum based fibres like “polar fleece.”
If your interest is piqued, the latest Selvedge , Issue 36, has an in-depth and thought provoking article on HRH Campaign for wool an all the things Brits are doing with wool. We have a copy at the shop and you can read it anytime, or come and read it at the “Buy Nothing day(ngerous) Knit-In”, Friday November 26th!
Come join us for a day of woolen activities!

And

More details for our 2nd anniversary day! Friday November 26th! Fund raising in the community of fibre artists.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Who should come: everyone, even if you have never tried spinning, carding, weaving….
People who are curious but are shy to participate
(bring your knitting/spinning and hang out, etc...)
Knitters, weavers, spinners, felters....
Free projects to participate in:
1. Sheep to shawl - Carding, spinning and weaving a shawl.
The resulting shawl will be raffled off on
Distaff day, January 7th. Proceeds will go to the Madrona Farm.
2. Wet felt a bike - we are growing our bike family!
Cost: Free
Please bring your own mug, if possible, and if you feel like bringing a tasty treat to share, I am sure it would be appreciated by everyone!

Stolen from this Ravelry discussion.

Stir crazy?

2010-11-24T08:03:00.000-08:00

It's snowing again today and I tell you, my toes are mighty cold.

I really need slippers. But, in spite of my mighty knitting skills, I suck at making slippers!

Even so, I decided I'd give it a try. I have a small collection of sweaters that I've shrunk over the years. Lovely nice warm wool sweaters that lost the never ending argument with modern technology. I thought they would make some great slippers. So I cut them up.

While I was cutting, I noticed something that caught my attention.

That looks something like a vest. I like wearing vests in this weather. Hmm... I wonder... what if I cut a little bit more here and make it a V neck and I wonder....what if I crochet the edges with a light blue yarn.... and then full it a bit more to make it just the right size?

Stunning! I love this! Once it was fulled, I brushed the fabric to make it look and feel like it was always meant to be this vest. The fabric is so strong, and soft, and warm. I love it!

Only... I decided to cut corners and instead of fulling it by hand like I would usually do, I gave my washing machine a chance to redeem itself....What is it said about solving problems with the same level of thinking that created them?

This lovely vest is far too small for me. Sigh. Now what am I going to do with it?

I have the joy of making a beautiful vest - a real work of art - but my feet are still cold.

Maybe I should change my approach? Something like offering 100yds of handspun yarn to someone willing to knit me a pair of warm, strong, wool slippers?

Maybe I'm just stir crazy from all this snow.

Mulled apple juice

2010-11-20T10:54:00.000-08:00

A whole 6 inches of snow this morning when I woke up, with another inch fallen before I had a chance to finish my coffee. So much for going down town today - even if they only got a light dusting of snow.

Even the chickens won't venture out of their home.

I had to shovel them out as the snow had all blown against the side of the house and blocked their door. I needn't have bothered.

I might as well dress my loom. It looks cold.

Mulled Apple Juice

2L apple juice (the real, cloudy stuff works the best)
1tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

Heat in a sauce pan on medium until boiling (this cooks the spices and makes it so much better than serving just spiced juice). Reduce heat and serve. Careful, HOT!

If you like, once the juice boiled, then put it in a slow cooker on medium/high, and drink throughout the day. Yum!

caff -een - a - nate!

2010-11-19T22:01:00.001-08:00

I wonder...

... am I the only person who automatically thinks Dalek when they see this?

Anyway, I found this darling little coffee cozy at WeaveZine. I think that I might just have to make myself one.

Let it snow...tomorrow night.

2010-11-19T19:34:00.000-08:00

The world is beautiful outside and for once in my life, I'm disappointed that it's snowing.

The moon may be almost full, but the night is deep and dark. A slight pink, almost purple glow illuminates the clouds to the south, where the city lives. Already the world is unfamiliar. A dust, ages the grass, like the floor of an abandoned house. The wind has just begun to howl and I plug the cracks in the front door with the welcome mat.

It's all perfect weather to be huddled next to the fire, playing with wool. Hot, mulled apple juice, warms the cockles of the heart while it burns your tong. My favourite kind of weather.

This is the weather I pray for almost year round. And yet, I don't want it today.

Because tomorrow I go on another workshop. Another SAORI weaving workshop to be exact.

I feel like a little kid getting ready for tomorrow. I've packed and unpacked what yarns I want to take so many times this week. Sometimes several times a day. I think I've finally decided on these ones.

A collection of handspun yarns leftover from previous projects.

That's why I don't want it to snow too much tonight.

You see, going to this workshop means more to me than just learning exciting new yarn related techniques. It another step towards participating in the world again. It's a step towards good health.

And the lights go on again...

2010-11-16T17:25:00.000-08:00

It's the longest power outage we've had since we moved here. Almost a whole 24 hours.

Yah, I know, 20 odd hours is not that long a time to go without power. But then again, it's not just the internet and the lighting that that vanish. Being without electricity means that we go without water. We're on a well, which requires a pump, which requires power.

I missed the internet too.

It was an adventure, but I managed to keep myself occupied.

As an early Christmas present, Dad put a table top on my Singer Sewing Base (found free by the side of the road). I thought I would test drive it and do some combing.

Beautiful soft Cotswold.

Some of it I spun up as novelty yarn (singles Boucle - already for sale at Knotty by Nature) and some of it I spun up as a high twist, true worsted single to use as warp.

I really like this about Cotswold wool; it is so versatile.

A Hand Combed Cotswold top sitting atop of a gtst sample of the English Leicester Boucle I spun up earlier.

Inkle strap for Saori bags

2010-11-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I enjoyed learning how to use my inkle loom.

Well, maybe enjoyed is too strong a word. Learning how to use the loom was frustration incarnate. but, then, suddenly, I realized I wasn't having trouble with it any more. I was zooming along at an outstanding pace. That's the part of using the Inkle loom I enjoyed.

Suddenly, I had enough handwoven strap to make my two Saori bags.

The strap is deliberately full of imperfections to keep with the general theme. But it is still strong. It always amazes me just how strong warp faced fabric really is.

A symptom of Insomnia

2010-11-10T07:45:00.000-08:00

It's November so of course, my insomnia is back.

It's not that my mind is racing with all the worries of the world that keeps me up at night. Instead, it's like I have a broken awake/sleep switch. It's a lot like JetLag, and it doesn't help that pesty daylight savings now lasts until November.

In some ways insomnia is soothing. Instead of lying in bed not sleeping, I get up and do something that is just for me. It's really nice having the entire house to myself. During the summer I did a lot of wool combing.

Winter is for weaving.

I had a bunch of warp left over from the other day, so I tried my hand at some Saori weaving techniques.

If I were the kind of person who named my projects, this one would be called Symptom of Insomnia.

I don't have very good light, so I ended up choosing colours that I probably wouldn't have choosing in the daytime. But I love it! I was going to put it into storage, but now, I am thinking about sewing up a couple of hand bags from it. If only I could find my blasted inkle loom to make a strap for them.... maybe I could learn that Japanese braid thing that everyone in the Guild was doing last year...

What a totally awesome kid!

2010-11-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

I mentioned before that taking a Saori workshop taught me that weaving doesn't have to be all about planning and rules and ridged edges. Saori inspired me and got me thinking that maybe I could set up a little loom for my 3 year old friend to play on.

I don't know if this qualifies as any specific style of weaving. What I wanted to accomplish was to show the little girl (and her mummy) that weaving and other fibre arts can be easy and carefree.

I think they liked it.

I just love that photo.

And here, some of the fabric that they wove together.

And take a look at this white yarn. When the attention span of a 3 year old has enough weaving, she wanted to help spin yarn on my wheel. She usually just sticks to drafting, but today she focused on treadling with a bit of drafting.

What a totally awesome kid!

an idea for Lyme

2010-11-07T10:49:00.000-08:00

This is cross posted from my Lyme blog. Since it's fibre related and has a positive tone to it, I thought that maybe you guys would like to read it as well.

Knitting, spinning, weaving and crafting in general has done so much good for me over the years. Especially since I became really ill, it has provided me with nourishment that no medicine or food ever could.

Being a member of the yarn related community, both local and online, provided me a link to steadfast friends and wonderful support.

Yarn encourages me to accomplish something in my day. I'm not just wasting time waiting to get better, I am making socks, or a skirt, or something else. I create something tangible - and I know that's nothing to most of you who can do that any day, but to me, that's a huge accomplishment! It means the world to me to be able to pull on a warm sweater that I knit myself, or to adorn myself with vibrant socks that I not only knit myself, but I spun the yarn. It fills me with a sense of love and self worth that otherwise leeches out of someone with a long lasting illness.

But it's more than that.

When I am so ill, I'm nothing but a useless waste of space, I can still create something. I can knit a few stitches, or pull myself out of bed to lay on the couch and spin yarn. Even if my arthritis is so bad that I can only manage sparse five knitted stitches, it is still a contribution. It's marks the difference between being a worthless waste of skin to being human.

I wish I could explain it better.

Lately I've been spinning some yarns for sale. I want to make a bit of money so I can afford Christmas. One particular yarn, is rather challenging. It is involves making two yarns at once and plying them together simultaneously. I feel like an overtaxed octopus trying to do all this at once, but the results are gorgeous. And, it gave me an idea.

Now, this is just an idea at the moment. As I said yesterday, I'm not an organizer of big things. I realize that of myself. Give me grunt work, and a task I can do in the background, and I'm happy!

The idea:

It began by thinking that making yarn and other crafts to sell is one of the few things I can do to make my own income. I don't make very much - just enough to buy more supplies for my hobbies - but even that little bit says to me that I can one day become a functioning member of society again.

This got me thinking about how much better things will be when Lyme is understood. When the political controversy no longer governs treatment and an accurate diagnosis method is available. Organizations like CanLyme are working towards this, and wouldn't it be great if I could donate money to help them help people like me?

So I imagined myself spinning a special series of yarns, all different kinds and colours, all with at least a fleck of Lime Green in them to symbolize Lyme. And I take this yarn and put a little write up about Lyme in Canada and how lack of research is causing harm...stuff like that. I sell the yarn, and take a good percent of the profits and give to CanLyme (or the like) and a percent to pay for my health care. (note: most Lyme patients in Canada have to pay for their own medical expenses!)

That could be a nifty idea and a great project for 2011. It would help raise Lyme awareness, help support my health care costs, help raise money for charity, and most importantly, make me feel like I'm doing something to both help my state in the world and help the greater cause.

I think I might do this. I know I can usually get fleeces for free, and I don't mind washing and preparing the fibre for spinning. Dyeing the fibre might be an expense and it's beyond my skill set, but perhaps someone might volunteer their time and facilities? If I want a long wool like Cotswold, Romney or a Leicester, I might have to pay for that. But all in all, it's a low cost investment as all it would take is my time (something I have plenty of) and my energy (a resource that waxes and wanes) .

The more I think about it, the more I feel it's a good idea.

But, what if...

What if it went a step further?

What if several people with Lyme did something similar, all organized under one umbrella? Not just spinning, but knitting and weaving as well? Then we did as above? Sell the yarn, give a percent to a Lyme related charity and a percent towards our own treatment. Could this work? Could, given our illness, we do this? Would a project like this not only raise awareness of Lyme in Canada but also give those victims this this vicious pathogen a sense of purpose and a way to feel empowered?

It's not just the people with the illness who feel hopeless, their family, firends and support network also need a way to help. This might be the kind of thing.

I see problems with this greater idea: One thing that comes to mind is that I'm not a leader of men, woman or children. If we did this, I would need someone to take the lead, but I would still want to be consulted in it's organization and implementation. Not to mention, the leader of this movement would have to have a non-Lyme brain. There are other problems I see already, mostly where money is concerned. And who would do the write up about Lyme awareness and the project? How would it be presented to the public? Free knitting, weaving and spinning lessons would be needed for those who do not yet know how to do these things. Plus equipment: spinning and knitting are affordable, but weaving certainly isn't.

There is a lot to think about.

Thoughts anyone?

Bouclé singles in Cotswold

2010-11-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

In The Intentional Spinner, Judith MacKenzie McCuin states that yarn made with this Bouclé draw is very strong, "structurally sound and fun to work with." She even uses it for warp! Gasp!

Even so, I have to say that spinning this Boucle is very different from my preferred spinning.

I'm the kind of person who takes great joy in spinning hours upon hours, days upon days, and weeks upon weeks of the same, fine, consistent yarn.

This yarn is anything but consistent. But it does have it's own certain joy.

To make a light, fluffy cloud of a yarn, I begin with a light fluffy cloud of fibre:

This is Cotswold that I teased apart with my fingers before spinning.

To spin Boucle singles is... well... challenging. Judith MacKenzie McCuin says it's like spinning two yarns at once. I say, it's like spinning one very fine yarn and at the exact same time, spinning another light, fluffy yarn, and at the exact same time, plying them together in a non-standard way.

The resulting yarn is gorgeous!

This Cotswold is much softer than the colourful English Leicester I was working with earlier. I've worked with Cotswold before and have never managed to make such a soft yarn. It must be the bouclé spinning technique.

Like the other yarn, once it's finished, I'll put it for sale at Knotty by Nature.

Frogging gima

2010-11-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

One of the qualities I like best about this Gima yarn from Habu, is that it's good at frogging.

Just a note to you non-knitting readers, frogging refers to the act of dismantling your knitting and seeing all your hard work unravel in a matter of moments.

Normally yarns complain when you frogg them. They get all fuzzy and after too many froggings, start to look totally different from the pristine yarn yet un-tampered with.

Not this Gima, No. It just shrugs it's shoulders, and with great civility, says, 'these things happen, let's try again.' I love that I have finally found a non-judgemental yarn.

Intentionally Spinning consignments

2010-11-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

As my energy level increases, I find that I want to participate more in the world.

In particular, I want to take workshops as a way of improving my yarn related skills and of testing myself.

In order to do so, I need to raise some funds. So I've been spinning yarns that I can sell at Knotty By Nature.

I know handspun yarns are expensive to buy, especially when you take into account just how much time goes into creating the yarn. It's not just the spinning, it's also the sorting the fleece, washing, drying, preparing the fibre, and then the spinning. If we asked for minimum wage for every hour spent on a yarn, handspun yarn would be almost $2 per yard.

Thank goodness spinners don't charge that much.

Recently I talked with some spinners and they said that given how much time, skill and energy they put into their yarn, they could never sell it. The yarn becomes like their children. I know how they feel.

But, I need the funds.

So I've been focusing on yarns that I can make and sell for a more affordable price.

Here is some English Leicester that I spun as bouclé singles.

This is a technique that I read about in the Intentional Spinner. A book that is going on my wish list, especially now that I hear there is a version with a DVD included.

I'm making a few skeins of this colourful boucle and then some of the same style yarn with undyed Cotswold. I'll take it down to Knotty by Nature to put on consignment, next chance I get. Also, I've decided to sell my magic yarn:

I do totally love this yarn - Corriedale, silk noils and soft, soft, angora - but I can make more later on if it turns out that I want to knit something with it later on. It is perfect knitting yarn after all.

Maybe, with Christmas season coming up, someone would love to journey down to the shop and pick up some extra special yarn for that extra special gift.

electric spinner

2010-11-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

I saw this add in the local online classifieds for an electric spinning wheel and yarn blocker.

Thinking how it would be nice to buy a yarn blocker/skein winder rather than make one as planned, I contacted them and asked to come see it. Besides, I've never seen an electric spinner like this before and I thought it would be fun to check it out.

When I arrived, they offered both to me free of charge. How exciting!

Of course, I don't exactly need another spinning wheel. But how can I resist? I think this makes spinning wheel number seven.

The motor runs well and very quiet. The wood needs quite a bit of cleaning and lots of little, but time consuming tasks. It has also had a lot of use spinning yarn. It's not an Indian Head spinner like I first thought as the orifice is too small for that.

I'm going to fix it up and get it running perfectly then decide if I am going to keep it.

Saori for 3 years old

2010-10-30T10:28:00.001-07:00

I have been teaching this little girl how to spin.

Her parents are members of a regular group who come for dinner every couple of months. Now their little girl is old enough to take an interest in crafts - she's three and a little bit - I've got her spinning.

She loves playing with fleece - making hats, beards, and other decorations for members of the dinner party. Now I have it where she will sit at the wheel and draft while I treadle. She likes to make high twist yarns. I don't know how much she understands of what we are doing (English is her other language), but we both have a huge amount of fun whenever she comes over.

I was inspired by the Saori workshop I took recently and I thought that it would be wonderful to see what a 3 year old can come up with given the total freedom that Saori allows.

The little table loom that I use for making samples now has 3 yards of warp on it (1 yard for each year). It's a 2 shaft loom, like the Saori looms. It's not as pretty as the Saori looms or as easy to use, but I don't think that she could reach the treadles on the Saori loom anyway. This should work well enough for a first weaving experience.

I don't see her for another week but I am super-excited to weave with her. I think that she will find this even more fun than spinning.

Now to find a selection of colourful yarn.

Pocket Monsters are hot

2010-10-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

I don't know why, but I'm totally enamoured with these little pocket monsters.

They are not very big and you sew a little sack of rice to put inside them. First you microwave the rice sack and then you put it in the pocket monster. This warms up the monster then you put the monster in your pocket to help keep your hands warm. Cool eh?

Here's what it looks like before it's assembled.

And here is a gang of the little guys planing their next prank.

My house stinks of duck poo

2010-10-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

My house stinks of duck poo...but it's just temporary.

Late this summer, very late in fact, two of my ducks each hatched out a clutch of cute little ducklings. It was their first time being mummy duck and one of them took to it right away. She has nine little ones that play under her wings.

The other mummy duck just wasn't into it. Sure, she made an effort but her heart just wasn't in it. She would rather be wondering around the yard munching on grass and hunting for slugs. She didn't shelter her little ones from the cold and whereas their cousins ran around playing, these five little ducklings just huddled in the corner frightened of everything, especially their mummy.

So we took her little ones away from her yesterday. She appeared very relieved about the situation.

I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but they are very malnourished. I should have noticed their condition earlier but I just assumed that since they had a mummy that they would be fine. They are small for their age and are nothing more than a light dusting of down covering bones. They startle at every little thing and haven't made a peep since their 'rescue'. They do however, seem to appreciate physical contact and move towards you if you start to pet them.

As they are chilled through and through, I brought them inside our house for the night. Just one night to warm them up enough to get back on track. I didn't want to put them under the heat lamp as that would have been too warm and they are actually a lot older than they look. But boy, just one night inside and the house stinks of duck poo. I'll open some windows and air out the place.

Later today I'll put the little orphans in a nice, secure duck house where they will be safe from raccoons and hopefully feel sheltered enough to start acting like ducklings.

Over a pound of wild yarn

2010-10-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

I have several large spinning projects planed for the winter.

My goal to reduce my fleece collection to yarn has me combing and spinning up a delightful grey Romney into lace weight singles for weaving. I'll spin it up on my Quebec wheel as the double drive gives such a consistent yarn.

I also have miles and miles of hand dyed silk/bamboo blend to spin lace weight, 2ply on my Ashford. The silk/bamboo will be warp with the handspun cotton singles that I'm spinning on my Charkha for weft.

I don't know yet what I'll do with these fabrics, but I just feel like making them.

Then, it's time to borrow someone's carder (mine is too coarse and out on loan) to card up some baby alpaca which I think will make a splendid 2ply lace. I like spinning lace, it's just a pity that I don't like knitting it.

These projects are quite large and should take me well into the Christmas season to accomplish.

Unless I'm spinning for socks, I like spinning large amounts of fibre into yarn. I'm tired of making a small amount of beautiful yarn and never using it because I don't know if I have enough to finish a project.

So perhaps you won't think me weird to say that before I embark on these larger projects, I felt a need to spin up a small amount of fun fibre - small amount being equal to just over a pound.

I carded up the batts on an Ashford Wild Carder (which works like a dream) and used a Corriedale base of blue with a touch of red. I added white angora and purple silk noils. I put it all randomly through the carder just once, spun it into slubby yarn and plied it on itself. It actually didn't turn out as slubby as I had planed.

There you have it. Over 500g of yarn.

I have no idea what to make with this, so for now it's just going in my stash. I had originally planed to sell it, and I still might. The thing is, it is growing on me and I wonder if I could manage a vest from it. There might even be enough there for a sweater...

First time for hand towels

2010-10-23T14:53:00.000-07:00

Is there anything I should know about weaving hand towels?

There is some 4/8 cot for warp and some boucle for weft. I plan to make a 2/2 twill with a 15 epi. What do you think? Does that sound right?

2 socks in 1

2010-10-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

I really am a sucker for new knitting techniques. And to be honest, there is nothing quite so much fun for me than to try them with my very own handspun yarn. I love a challenge.

During the Tour de Fleece 2010, I won a prize of hand dyed Shetland fibre from Waterloo Wools. Right away I spun it up into sock yarn.

I got out my double point needles and cast on a pair of socks. That's two socks at the same time on the same set of double point needles. How you ask? Well, have a read of this article in Knitty.com.

Here they are, finished at long last. They are so comfy that I'm tempted to keep them just for bed socks.

Saori

2010-10-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

I went to a workshop this weekend. It is the first time in about two years that I've been well enough to spend a whole day out and about with people.

I'm so glad I went. I've been wanting to learn more about Saori weaving since I first saw Terri demonstrate it at the Salt Spring Island Fibre Fest. This workshop I took at Knotty By Nature and they host it on a regular basis.

Saori Weaving is from Japan. It is a way of weaving the moment into the cloth.

There are no rules governing what needs to be done. No structure set up ahead of time where you have to treadle 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, - repeat, and if you make a mistake and treadle 1, 2, 4, 3, 2 then you've ruined the whole thing. Saori is not like that.

We begin with a very simple, two frame loom. I say simple because it has only two treadles, two frames, which make two sheds. The device itself is a marvel of engineering. It's relatively light weight, folds up and it has a qualia of stability and warmth.

I immensely enjoyed trying out the different techniques we were shown. I'm full of all sorts of ideas of what I want to add to my future weaving projects (both structured and free form).

I wish I could say that this heart was my idea. It is the work of one of my class mates. What do you think? Can we assess a personality based on their free form weaving? I think this says, creative, free spirit.

And here's mine:

I'm not going to even attempt to read my personality in my weaving.

But I must say I do like this last technique. I can't remember what it is called, but it creates a wonderfully organic structure to the cloth.

I don't know if I could have managed the day out doing any other kind of workshop. The fact is, I found the process of Saori weaving to be ... What's the word I'm looking for? I want to say that not having to worry about structure and design, that by weaving the moment and putting myself into the cloth - this is an activity that gave me energy and calmness. It was this revitalization that sustained me through the day.

For me, the activity of weaving, absorbed my focus (sorry, words are failing me). My concentration drifted to the activity without any effort from me.

I deeply enjoyed myself.

I think that this is the kind of activity that can really help with the mental and emotional aspects of having a chronic illness.

Morning

2010-10-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

Better news this morning.

I have the same number of ducks as I did when I went to bed. Maybe the raccoons have finally found somewhere else to get their dinner.

We've been doing several things to help deter these pests, including cleaning up the brush in the yard. But was really two acts yesterday that I think made the difference.

First we captured the ducks.

Have you ever tried capturing a Muscovy duck? I can't say I recommend it.

If a person does manage to contain one or two of these aloof Quackers, then said person will be covered in mud, duck poo and scratches (right through the gloves and any other protective clothing). These guys don't have claws, they have talons and serrated beaks. They also cannot stand to be closed in. Not to mention the drakes are as big as a goose and bloody strong.

I don't know how a raccoon manages it.

The other thing we did was to visit Evil Box Shop and bought some holiday decorations.

We wanted to get things that simulated predator eyes. We securely hung pairs of small, red Christmas balls near the main raccoon pathways. The balls reflect the light and once the solar powered motion sensor light is installed then it will work even better.

Also, being that time of year again, we were able to get some Halloween decorations. The best thing about this: blinking red LED eyes.

We bought two types. One motion and sound triggered, blinking red eye, moving jaw, talking skull (shown here) that went right next to their favourite kill zone and a couple of skulls with red eyes that flash all night.

I tell you they startled me more than once when I was out on monster patrol last night.

Today is a day for cleaning up the house and catching up on some chores. And also...

I had a craving to spin up some crazy yarn. There are silk noils and angora fibre carded in a base of blue and red Ashford Corriedale. I was going to sell the yarn, but the more I work with it, the more I want to knit with it myself.

On Noses

2010-10-10T05:55:00.000-07:00

Aside from the fact that they are killing my friends, what I hate most about raccoons is just how human they are.

Dexterous hands, intelligent hunting strategics that involve ambushing a smaller duck to kill it so they can kill and eat the larger drake who comes to defend it. Sure, they nibbled on the little ducky, but just enough to kill it.

And it's such a nasty death too.

It usually starts with pulling off a leg, then partially ripping off a wing... it's gets worse... finally, if the poor animal is not dead after being partially dismembered, they rip open the throat and begin eating the innards. And that, my friends is the mild, child friendly, description of what those monsters are doing to my ducks.

There is a pack of 6+ raccoons that live near by.

We've been working tirelessly to remove all hiding places and brush from our property that a masked bandit might hide in. Still, there is just not enough of us to clear it all fast enough. Not that it's working. Maybe I need to have a brush clearing party.

What else can I do?

I've tried live trapping them more than once - nothing. They are just too smart and I suspect they might be transplants from some soft hearted city dweller who thinks it would be 'kinder' for these monsters to come and kill my ducks. (okay, yep, that's not cricket. But why are they suddenly coming to my property when we have been raccoon free for a year and a half?) If they are transplants, then it is impossible to catch them a second time.

We've tried not sleeping - walking the yard every few hours to scare off any beasts...

...And they still managed to kill Keats (the most affectionate duck ever) tonight.

We don't have a gun (besides it's not legal to shoot one where we live). I'm not a big fan of firearms at the best of times, but 4 nights of no sleep and 9 dead ducks, 2 injured ducks, and an injured chicken later... it's no longer 'the best of times'.

Poison is not an option. I don't want a non-raccoon to get into it.

Even if dogs worked against raccoons (a pack of raccoons can easily take down a large dog), it's not an option for us.

It's a month away before I get my guard llama (yah!), but by then, I won't have any poultry left.

So, what else can I do?

There is nite eyes. (image 'borrowed' from their site)

This looks TOTALLY awesome. It is a solar powered, motion sensing device that scares away monsters! These blinking eyes look like predator eyes reflecting in the darkness and this product gets rave reviews in the farm magazines.

Drawback: they don't ship to Canada. Comparable products either don't ship, are too expensive, or have a warning against the site.

So I was thinking, why not make my own. This owl is cool:

Link here, image 'borrowed' from the Home Depot site.

The head swivels and if I added some LED lights and a solar panel so that I could put some in the fields.... only they they don't carry it any more so that idea is out.

As you can tell, I'm frustrated. I feel so useless. These ducks are such lovely, gentle giants. I've failed them.

Here is Keats as a duckling helping me sort fleece. I really loved that guy.

Sunset

2010-08-21T20:26:00.000-07:00

There was the most brilliant sunset tonight: gone now. For a brief moment, the sky was was burnt orange.

eek!

2010-08-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

I consider myself to be a fairly tough bird.

I'm not afraid of black bear and can handle a cougar well enough. I'm not squeamish with spiders. I can crawl into a rat infested crawlspace even if it does tend to smell terrible.

I can muck out a chicken house and inspect a mutated duck to find out what sort of monster ate it. The realities of farm life can be harsh but so far I have managed them.

However, there is one critter that does bother me. I only just found this out this week. I'm not exactly afraid of it, just slightly freaked out by it. So it's more of a physical reaction, rather than an emotional one. I see the little grey whiskered face peeping around the corner at me and I immediately go 'eek!'

That's the standard reaction for seeing a mouse, right?

Two cute little grey mouses cuddled up in my spice cupboard should invoke a little sequel and heart palpitations. Shouldn't it?

I think it's just the suddenness of the unexpected visitors that gets me. I don't mind them if I expect them.

The mice invaded the house Friday night and they are wrecking havoc all over the house. We haven't been able to find them to kick them out yet.

I don't mind so much that they eat our food. Most of their leftovers can be fed to the chickens.

What really bothers me - and I mean REALLY

bothers me - is the thing that has me in tears right now, literally sobbing as I write this. It is the thing they ate last night. The mice ate my silk!

Not only did the mice find, mess up, poop in, eat a substantial portion of, and violate my silk fibres ready for spinning. The silk they choose to eat was my beautiful hand dyed, bamboo and silk fibre that I saved up for. I've washed it and managed to save most of it. But still... it's just not Cricket.

What vial creatures mice are. I can forgive them everything else - after all, they are just doing what mice do, it's very honest. But eating my silk! That is unforgivable!

This means WAR!

just as soon as I stop crying.

My new friend

2010-08-04T16:45:00.000-07:00

For some reason this is the month for people to sell their antique spinning wheels. I've never seen a wheel this cheep before, so I had to go and have a look. Lovely! Needs a bit of love and it will be fully functional again.

This last photo is of a punch mark that was set into the wood, probably, by the maker of the wheel. I cannot quite make it out, maybe a little horse and a trident, or a THA?

I hate to admit it, but it's not the only wheel I bought this week. It is however, the only complete wheel.

If anyone knows of a source of spinning wheel restoration parts (particularly the miners head for a great wheel) I would love it if you would share it with me.

Also, where has that database of antique wheel maker marks gone?

something new in the house.

2010-08-04T11:29:00.001-07:00

More about this later.

Dew

2010-08-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

I had a dream the other night. I was wondering in an enormous herb garden, full of vibrant, flowering plants, just as the sun was starting to rise. My stocking feet were heavy with dew from the clover and the garden practically sparkled with condensation.

Amongst the plants were beautiful sculptures, like large trumpet flours and funnels, each three or four feet high, but only a few inches thick at their widest part. Some of these sculptures were made of mettle, others, glass. Each of these sculptures had a hollow stem that settled in the dirt next to a plant, looking all the world like its sentinel.

When I looked closely at these sculptures, thinking that they belonged more on a science fiction show then in a herb garden, I noticed that they too glistened with dew and that the dew trickled down the trumpet, inside and outside of the stem, to the soil, watering the plant.

These beautiful sculptures were dew collectors and although they did not collect a huge amount of water, each morning they provided sufficient moisture for their particular plant to thrive in the heat of the day.

That was my dream.

Now I'm fascinated to learn if this is possible. You see, I am actually clearing some land for next year's herb garden. It's going to be quite large, and difficult to water in the summer. However, it does get a heavy dew every morning... if I could harvest that somehow... Has it been done already? I know there are plants that have a specific shape to capture the morning mist. Can we imitate these plants and create a water gathering system of our own?

Thoughts?

Twist collective fall 2010

2010-08-01T08:37:00.001-07:00

It surprised me to discover that the Twist Collective is two years old now.

Between The Twist Collective, Knitty and Ravelry, a knitter could hardly ask for more from the Internet.

One of the things I like about the Twist Collective is that the format feels like you are reading a magazine, only without the ink-stink. I also like that their patterns are pay-as-you-knit (yes, free is better, but if you have to pay, this is the way to go).

I love fall knitting, all those little hats, socks, fingerless mitts, sweaters and even better, cardigans. (the fall issue of the Twist Collective just came out) I'm even taken with a cardigan/coat kind of pattern which goes to show you that I need more time in a day to accomplish all the marvellous things that one can do with yarn.

Tatting Tea Tuesday, um Wednesday, um... I tatted, here's a photo.

2010-07-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

On the advice of some very wise tatters, I tried another sample of the Tatted Mask.

I'm much happier with how it is coming out.

This is still sample yarn/thread to get the hang of the pattern. I'm now focusing more on tension and keeping the knots all the same size. I'm looking forward to trying this pattern in some 'good' thread.

As for tea, I had some ginger and cinnamon tea yesterday.

Tour de Fleece 2010 - The End

2010-07-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I have compleated the Tour de Fleece. To be honest, I didn't think I would do it. But I had loads of support from my team mates on teams: Hopelessly Over committed, Raw Power, Climbers, and Sprinters. Thank you everyone.

I began the tour by spinning some silk tatting thread (not shown in the photo), then washed, combed and worsted spun a Shetland fleece at 36+wpi, wove a sample from the Shetland, I spun some samples, experimenting with different fibre prep methods, washed some Romney and to top it off, spun sock yarn from my prize fibre (also Shetland) donated to the Tour by Waterloo Wools.

For my final day of the Tour, I cast on a pair of socks with my TdF sock yarn. That's right, two socks at once on Double Point needles to boot. Woot! I had forgotten how fun this technique is.

Tour de Fleece 2010 - loose ends

2010-07-24T12:58:00.000-07:00

I've been tidying up loose ends with my spinning

I plied and blocked the rest of my sock yarn and photographed it on a bed of recently washed Romney.

I had actually washed this batch of Romney a few years ago, but when I took it out to spin, it felt tacky. It was in my early days of washing wool, but I remember that the water was plenty hot enough. I think what happened is that I used Laundry detergent instead of a soap to clean the fibre and it left a residue which, as it aged, grew sticky. This time I've washed it in Orvus paste and it came out quite acceptable.

Tour de Fleece 2010 - 2 days left

2010-07-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

I didn't get my sock yarn finished yesterday as planed. But that's okay. Here is a photo of the roving, the singles on the bobbin waiting to be plied, and the finished sock yarn, Navajo plied.

The fibre is Shetland from Waterloo Wools who kindly donated it as a prize for the Tour de Fleece.

I'm actually looking forward to the end of the Tour de Fleece. It has really taken a lot out of me this year. What with getting up early (the tour started at 3:30am local time yesterday) to watch the tour and staying up late with insomnia. I've never gotten this far in the Tour and I have enjoyed it. I've met lots of fibre friends on Ravelry. But I'm ready for it to end now.

To be completely honest dedicating this much time to one craft leaves the other projects feeling left out. My knitting - a sweater, two pairs of socks and another set of socks, these ones knee high - are crying in the corner, my tatting throws a tantrum whenever I so much as look at it, and my weaving sits in the middle of the living room getting in everyone's' way.

There are only two days left until the end. It's been a fantastic adventure and I am very glad to participate.

Tour de Fleece 2010 - sock yarn

2010-07-22T09:33:00.000-07:00

I finished the first half of the Shetland fibre, kindly donated to be my Waterloo Wools as my Tour de Fleece prize.

It's Navajo ply and absolutely perfect. I love spinning Shetland.

Anyone have any extra Shetland fleeces lying around?

Tatting Tea Tuesday - frustration

2010-07-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

Up until now, I think I've been blessed when it comes to tatting. Somehow, what I create with thread and shuttles comes out looking very like what I wanted it to look like.... not today.

The pattern I am trying to create is Tatted Mask, and the part I just tatted is suppose to be the inner round, around the eye. In a word, it is suppose to be somewhat eye shaped. It isn't.

See? I even drew a scribble of the shape I think it is suppose to be. I'm only missing one chain to complete the round (I forgot to join the last ring) and I don't see how it will fit together and still be the right shape.

I've seen this tatted a couple of other places on line and they have turned out fine. So either there is something wrong with my technique or there is something wrong with how I'm reading the pattern.

Thoughts?

ps. Earl Grey today. Nice and strong. I'm going to need it for when I try again.

Tour de Fleece 2010 -peloton

2010-07-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

I'm rewarding myself by spinning my prize.

I think socks. I've divided the roving in half lengthwise and will spin each half, N-ply it and then instead of making just one ball of yarn, I will make two.

As I am spinning this, one sock knitting technique keeps coming to mind. An old method that allows one to knit two socks at one time. I did this some years ago and finally wore out those socks this winter. It's time to try again and I think this yarn will be perfect.

Tour de Fleece 2010 - weaving

2010-07-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

This morning, happy me. I finished spinning my Shetland fleece.

Here, also is my weaving sample. I like how the fabric 'collapse' and even though it's the most simple two shed weave, it makes a lovely texture.

I expected the fabric to bias because it is woven with high-twist singles. But it didn't. I think the twist in the warp balanced out the twist in the weft. The warp didn't fuzz or break. It needs no additive.

In other news, I also tried my hand at weaving a basket. My first basket. Please don't laugh.

Apparently learning how to weave baskets from a short article found in an old magazine is more difficult than expected. But then again, my first yarn looked about the same - art yarn, art basket - I'll try again later.

Tour de Fleece 2010 - let there be prizes

2010-07-17T08:53:00.001-07:00

A few days back, I won a prize for the Tour de Fleece.

This prize was provided by Waterloo Wools. I've seen the name around and am fascinated with their products, but haven't yet had a chance to try any. Now I can. It arrived in the post yesterday.

I tell you, Canada post must be having an excelent week, because I've never had a parcel arrive from Ontario in under two weeks, it's usually more than three. It's a big country.

It arrived before the end of the Tour de Fleece, so I can spin it as a reward for completing my Shetland Fleece. This braid is Shetland as well, colourway, Rooftop View. It has a lovely texture and the colours, well, I just cannot capture them with the camera. There is a lovely depth of colour. I knew as soon as I opened the package that this was going to be a wonderful pair of socks.

Thank you Waterloo Wools.

Handspun singles cannot be used as warp (fact?)

2010-07-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a link I'm enjoying right now. It's about handspun singles being used as warp. Have a read if you like.

Tour de Fleece 2010 - sizing, I hate it.

2010-07-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

Okay everyone, here is my opinion of my first attempt to apply sizing. I hate it.

I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it, and did I mention that I hate it.

It is horrid.

The yarn is all glued together and impossible to separate. I've put the yarn to soak to try to get some of the sizing out, but even if I succeed, it's no use weaving with this as it is no longer an accurate representation of how the yarn will act. Thank goodness this is only sampling. If I had glued the warp for my large project, I would be in tears right now.

I'm certain I did something wrong with the sizing. I haven't found any good instructions except to say 'here is how to make some sizing' and 'it makes yarn stronger'. But, I think it will be quite some time before I try it again.

So today, I plan to wind a new warp from my Tour de Fleece Shetland singles, and without sizing it, dress my loom.

Tour de Fleece 2010 - gone for a dip

2010-07-16T05:15:00.000-07:00

I woke up a good hour before the Tour de France started this morning, and a good 45 minutes before even the roosters began to greet the day. I don't know why so early, it's just one of those things. I should at least get a nice lot of spinning done before I have to begin the day in earnest.

Last night, as the rest of the household was getting ready for bed, I stood at the stove, cooking up a concoction. The recipe is from Alden Amos' book, The Big Book of Handspinning and what I made is sizing.

Sizing is like a glue that you apply to your warp threads to make them stronger. At least, that's what books tell me.

For some reason, my Shetland singles that I'm spinning for the Tour de Fleece, don't feel as strong after they have been washed as they did before. I don't know why this is.

However, yesterday I took a bit of this yarn and wound a sample warp. Then, in what may be an act of folly, I made the sizing and dipped the warp in it.

I'm not entirely certain if I'm happy about this. It came out looking like a drowned cat. Worse. Like a cat drowned in wet plaster. I hung it to dry outside, and it looks just as bad this morning. I hope it will be dry by lunch so I can get going on this sample. But maybe it will be wonderful once it's on the loom... maybe... it's worth a try, I suppose. And that is why I'm sampling the method and the yarn rather than jumping in and winding a warp for the 4 yards of fabric I want.

Next time, if I choose to do this again, I'll add more water to the final stage and turn this concoction from a paste to more of a dipping sauce.