Fiber in the Hands of an Angry Spinner

This little puppy is a commissioned piece for a baby shower. He’s headed off to the east coast (with a stop over in CA) next month.

I thought, for the Scottish Highland Games, that I ought to have some Scottish themed project . . . but having the last names Garrison and Stuber (one very English, one very German) didn’t lend itself to weaving a tartan from my clan. So while I was dinking around online, I ran across the Washington State tartan — who knew we had one of our own?

I warped the borrowed rigid heddle loom from Paradise for the WA state tartan, and started weaving. It didn’t take long for me to realize just how bad an idea this was as a “try it” demo . . . too many colour changes and weaving-in for an ongoing demo for the general public. At that point, I still really wanted to have a weaving demo for the public to be able to try, so I finished off the tartan scarf, and rewarped the loom for a simpler project.

The Washington State Tartan is an all wool scarf, and the Highlands Demo Scarf is a poly fiber blend warp and a wild boucle weft from reclaimed yarn.

Come see me this Saturday, 7 August 2010, at the Scottish Highland Games at the Spokane Fair and Expo Center, where I’ll be demonstrating spinning and weaving.

Paradise Fibers has offered generous yarn support and the loan of an Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom, so you can try your hand at weaving. I’ll also be weaving the Washington State Tartan (who knew WA has its own tartan?)

Thank you for making my very first show a resounding success.

I love Spokane — it rains practically every year for Art Fest, and Spokanites grab their umbrellas and head out in the rain like our neighbors on the we(s)tside.

If you’re a spinner, weaver, or knitter, you’ve probably stumbled across Paradise Fibers. As a spinner and knitter, I have the great fortune of being able to call Paradise Fibers my LYS. If you call Paradise Fibers to place an order, chances are, Travis will answer the phone and take your order. The semi-permanent attachment of his headset and his formidable height give, at first glance, the impression that he’s a fiber-loving Borg. We are Paradise Fibers. Resistance is futile. You will find roving you love.

When I stopped in the other day, Travis asked me would I like to sample some of their new yarn. (Would I like to? What knitter would say no?) He led me to the shelf of glorious, lovely Lambs Pride Superwash Bulky Yarn that comes in at least 25 different colours. I picked out a skein each of [crap–I don’t remember–I’ll write them when I’m reunited with the three skeins of yarn], and knew just what I would do with it:
A knitted robot.

If there are directions out there to knit these robots, they have alluded me, so I drew up a sketch, in lieu of a pattern, and began work on my robot.

Sizing up the amount of yarn I have left [oz. of each skein here], I have decided to knit either a robot hat, or a sweater for the robot, or both, depending on the size of head for which I make it. I had conceived of sending the robot to my soon-to-be-born niece, Brück, but Farmergirl thinks Travis the Robot is fabulous, so I may find myself down at Paradise Fibers looking at another set of Lambs Pride Superwash Bulky Yarn.

I’m not sure why it’s “bulky.” I haven’t yet measured the grist, but I don’t think it’s any heavier than standard worsted weight yarn. I’ve been knitting it on [Size 5?] Needles, and getting [stitches per inch]–which isn’t far off the [stiches per inch] I got in garter stitch or stockinette in Peaches and Cream worsted cotton. Of course, no one is going to wear the robot, and I’m not following a pattern beyond my little scribble sketch, so his dimensions are all relative to his head (which I knitted first), at 30 sts. stockinette, in the round.