Tuesday 16 November 2010

A lot of knitting.

Lately, I have been quite busy. Whether this is due to general inspiration, or purely down to procrastination regarding my dissertation, we may never know (or until my hand in date). One of the things I am finding with spinning is the vast amount of time needed for fibre preparation, and its importance in the whole spinning process. Among the collection of fibre I keep stashed in my cupboard I have some soya bean fibres - a beautiful pale gold colour with the lustre of silk.

The long process of carding has guided me towards spinning directly from the roving, and whether the rules of spinning allow me to do so or not, I have attempted. So far so good.

I was considering keeping this yarn as a single instead of plying it, although I am unsure about the qualities of the soya bean fibres, so we may have a bit of a surprise after I set the twist in this one. Hopefully not.

Yet again, I think this will end up knitted into some kind of neck piece. These pieces are multifunctional for my personal wear and current studio work at the moment (on right: Little Boat at Sea cowl as soft platform). There is something wrong when you are knitting purely for aesthetic qualities, particularly with a handspun yarn. Too much time has been laboured into it to keep it simply as an object or decoration. The fabric needs to be touched and appreciated. However, it is enjoyable to see your finished piece in a different light, with a different use and with completely different ideas.