Wisconsin Spindle and Dyepot Guild

We have been separated for so long because of the Covid virus. It is time we found a place to meet. Here is a page that we can share what we have been doing since our meetings have been shut down. Email me your pictures and an explanation of what you are doing. We all enjoy seeing what others have been doing and it also helps inspire us.

Stay safe and healthy.

Donna T. 2/10/2021

Well it is February 10, 2021 and we are still in separation. I am jumping for joy to get my first shot today.

Here are some of the things I have been doing to pass the time.

This is a purse I hand knitted. I was inspired by Betty H. This was fun to do cause you knit it super sized and throw it in the washer and it then felts into this really nice shape

This is a scarf I wove out of some of my crazy art yarns. I take the bin of skeins and balls and throw them on the floor. From there I pick out colors that might go well together along with different textures. This was woven on my Ridged heddle loom

This is another scarf I wove on my ridged heddle loom. Same process as the scarf above. These are art yarns arranging from ribbons to ladder yarns to lumpy acrylics.

My husband had a friend that just had a baby so I got busy making a baby gift. This is a blanket knitted on my knitting machine with a hand crocheted edging. I made a new born hat and then I made one as a toddler size. Along with the gift I included a llama activity toy. Of course It had to be a llama.

This is a hat and scarf set made on my knitting machine. Had to add some sparkle to help jazz this one up. I laughed when I tried it on because the pattern and colors I chose makes it look like I have a snake wrapped around my neck .

Donna T. 11/19/2020

Back to hat therapy. All three were knitted on the knitting machine. There are two baby hats and one adult hat. The adult is knit from Merino /silk ( blue) and the wine color is a mystery wool hand spun. The baby hats are make of an acrylic yarn for easy washing.

Donna T . 10/22/20

I sent in a file of some of the hats I made early into the lockdown. Click on the " Greetings Ladies.docx" below and see what I have been up to. I can't wait to see yours. Miss you all

Greetings Ladies.docx
Size : 2353.519 Kb
Type : docx

10/25/20

Here is an afghan I just finished. It is made of all wool yarn. Some commercial spun and some hand spun. The dark brown and tan are hand spun. I knit it on my Lk150 Mid gauge knitting machine. I still need to line it cause there are lots of seams on the back side that I do not like.

Joan G. 2/11/2021

It’s great to see all the things so many have been making these past months. I finally finished a prayer shawl, but forgot to take a picture of it before I turned it in and also made a pop top purse and gave it away before Christmas though and also didn’t take a picture of it. I’ve been very busy with the business of moving my daughter, Katie and her daughter, Lauren in with me into my house. We also tore apart my basement and have been trying to downsize my stuff and make room for their stuff and to start a re-model of the basement. We also have a dog joining my 2 cats. This has been a very interesting procedure! I haven’t had much time to make much of anything. Hope everyone stays safe and healthy and hope to see you all when we finally can get back together.

Joan

Darlene H. 11/19/2020

I finished crocheting two more hats

Darlene H. 11/3/20

I just finished crocheting my star stitch hat. It’s Lion Mandala Ombre yarn (acrylic) which is self striping. The pattern was a bit tedious and took longer then it usually takes me to make a hat but it’s warm and comfortable and was a good learning experience.

Darlene H 10/22/20

. When covid first hit I went to Joann’s just before the shelter in place order and bought $100 worth of yarn. Kathi had inspired me with the Afghan she made from my brown bag Homespun yarn so I decided to learn the granny square to make an Afghan. She sent me the YouTube which was a quick and easy pattern and I could see how it was made rather then try to read a pattern. First I made this hat out of granny squares because the variegated yarn I had just bought was so pretty. This was in March.

Crocheted hats that I made in August, that was the last fiber work I made. . I also crochet a Juliet cap for Kathi at the beginning of August to cheer her up but forgot to take a photo before I mailed it.

I collected some milk weed floss that I want to spin and want to crochet a black Juliet cap to wear in the house to keep my hair out of my face. I am also going to start Christmas ornaments.

I did a lot of crocheting when covid first hit but nothing these past few months

Jolie Z.

Shawl: I dyed the yarn at our dyeing day in 2017 ? We were using natural dyes. This shawl has six colors I tried out that day. They were marigold, cochineal, osage, madder, and two more that I can’t remember. Because the colors are paler than expected, I think my yarn was not 100% wool. I’m happy I finally made something to remember that fun day. (The pattern is Splendid Triangle Shawl, free from Lion Brand yarn.)

Ink and Water Color Sketches: I bought some watercolors many years ago but was always afraid to try them out. I have been reading about all sorts of 100 Day Challenges and decided in April to copy something in pencil, then in ink, and use watercolor to finish it. The colors brightened my day and I did reach my goal. Here are some of them.

Nancy R. 10/26/20

Ok, so I made one of these little baby hats for a baby born recently and got hooked on making more. They’re all different and work up easily in a day or two. Then I used the same pattern to make the larger version putting a Pom Pom on top. I have more baby hat kits to make too.

Laurie K, 10/27/2020:

This is a representation of the spinning I’ve done during the pandemic. Some of the cakes are one of multiples, as I try to increase quantities for larger knitting projects. The biggest task I accomplished was to take new and old spins and weigh them, run them through my yardage counter (photo 2) and ball winder, and then catalogue them with descriptions, quantities, where the fiber came from, including a small sample of the fluff and a piece of ply back yarn if available. The process reinforced my need for making notes and labeling to be done at the time of the spin and that stick with the spin through all stages of the process.

I also accomplished a few other items on my to-do list, including spinning a silk hankie (from Jolie) for the first (and probably the last) time, sampling different proportions of mixes of wool with angora fiber (from Donna T) in prep for a larger carding project, and exploring vegan fibers like faux cashmere (100% nylon), flax, bamboo, soy silk, tencel and rayon. I found an Etsy shop for Wildhare. She has a great assortment of both vegan and assorted wool fiber and yarn, with wonderful turn-around time and customer service.

Betty H. 2/10/2021

Here is the Third purse that I was knitting . Did not like how it was turning out as a purse so I changed it into a bowl

This is one of the weavings I have been working on. It is a rug

This is a hat I hand knitted out of sheep and angora rabbit. The white stripe is angora rabbit

One of my favorite things to do is to spin. This is one of the skeins I have spun since the lock down. I try and spin every day.

Just finished this weaving. I like how this one turned out. Made out of Hand spun Sheep wool

Betty H. 11/19/2020

These are the finished felted purses I knitted. They were knitted with 100% wool and then washed in the washer to felt them . I found these purses to be very addicting. I started a third one but did not like it as a purse so I am finishing it as a bowl.

These are the before pictures. I found it interesting to see how much the colors get muted after felting

I also wove a lap blanket out of hand spun 100% wool. I purchased the fiber from Kathi P . It was woven in plain weave and then I washed and fulled it so that it would all blend together. This is one of my favorite pieces. I am very pleased with how this one turned out.

Here is an earlier project I finished during the covid lock down. I had on my loom some dish towels. This was an interesting weave because the green strip is a twill weave and the white is woven in plain weave / tabby. I love giving them as gifts. It is made of 100% cotton.