LoopTangle

I’m performing for the first time as my troupe‘s student apprentice at the end of June, so I’ve started working on my costume.  Since I’m the baby of the group (story of my life) I have a lot of catching up to do!  The troupe does a mixture of different folkloric styles and straight-up East coast American Tribal Style, which is an improv-based style.

Stuff I already have:

• jingly coin belt.
• Yeah, that’s pretty much it.

Stuff to make:

• Tunic dress
• Lightweight harem pants / pantaloons (I have a pair made with a crepey cotton, but they are quite warm…)
• Tassel belt to layer under the coin belt
• Coin bra top
• Flowered headband

Stuff to buy:

• Chinese flats for dancing on not-smooth surfaces

Here’s my color palette:

Materials I’m using:

• Dark purple swirly batik cotton for belt, bra top and headband
• Dark purple cotton shirting for pantaloons
• Bright teal rayon jersey for tunic dress
• Bright magenta, dark purple yarn plus spicy-gold accents for tassels
• Spicy-gold flowers with a touch of deep magenta
• Random beads and bits of trim to add that tribal look

Should be fun!  I’m going to work on stuff over the long weekend, so I’ll have some pictures to share next week, hopefully!

They didn’t allow cameras inside, but there was much rejoicing and picture-taking outside:

1. Goooood Yarn…, 2. Footless Sock, 3. Doing the Happy Tilli Thomas Yarn Dance, 4. Stitches Loot

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

Mom and I got a little high on yarn fumes.

The Stitches Yarn Market took up most of the top floor of the Cobb Galleria Convention Center in Atlanta.   This was probably the same size as all the Dragon*con vendor rooms put together.  Gi-gantic.

Unable to pass up a costuming opportunity, I dressed as Second Sock Syndrome.  (Viva la Single Sock Liberation Movement!)  Still haven’t finished casting on the second footless sock, but I wore my single sock proudly.  Only one person, the genius behind Creatively Dyed, commented.  She was awesome.  The lack of comments I chalk up to 1. visual overstimulus, and 2. polite knitters.

I particularly love that Mom and I apparently wore our favorite colors and then proceeded to buy things that matched what we were wearing, inadvertently.  Creatively Dyed’s SeaWool roving is spectacular.  Zoom in on my photo to really get into the goodness.  The photos on her website are very good, too.  I started spinning it up last night and it’s sooooo soft.  A little slipperyer (yes, that’s a word now) than the coarse Swalesdale I practiced on, so I’m having to get used to it, but the yarn has a gorgeous sheen.

The Loot:

• 8oz Creatively Dyed Seawool roving in the SR3 colorway
• 2 hanks Tilli Thomas Pure and Simple in Jade
• 1 ball Yarn Place Graceful in Violetta
• Pattern for a twisty artsy beret from MissBabs
• Ebony spiral shawl pin
• Magenta felted flower zipper pouch, made by artisans in Nepal

So now I’m obsessing over what to make with my goodies.  I have a few shawl ideas for the Graceful.  There’s 900+ yards in one ball, so there’s lots of it to play with.  I’m thinking Spring Things or Aeolian.

The Tilli Thomas came with a pattern for a fishnetty stole made on big needles.  I started casting on and got annoyed, but it was very hot, and I may give it another try.  The drape on that yarn!  It’s so smooth and soft.  And I LOOOOVE the color.

Earlier in the day I had seen a few booths with a sister yarn to the Pure and Simple, except with beads and sequins, in the same colorway, but I decided I’d rather put the beads into the knitting myself.  So when I found the little kit of Pure and Simple tucked behind a display in another booth, I pounced on it!  And then I wondered if someone else had hidden it there and wanted to come back for it.  The shop ladies teased me that indeed someone had, and that I’d probably have to fight her if she came back and found me buying her yarn.  I’ll have to try to remember where I bought that from, all the ladies there were very funny!

I had no idea how much fun it would be to spend the entire day in the market.  So many ideas, so many sample knits to feel and analyze, so many pretty colors!  I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day.

I did manage to finish my handspun beret around dinnertime though.  I think the Guinness 250 helped.  Yum.

So, conclusion?  It’s definitely worth $6 to get into the Yarn Market at Stitches South.  This was my first fiber convention, and I think one of the bigger ones would be a really fun weekend trip.  Might be even more fun if there are people to chat with at lunchtime, but who wouldn’t mind if we broke off into smaller groups to browse.  It would be way too difficult to wrangle more than 2 or 3 in a group with all the shiny around.

Still no spinning wheel. I’m hoping today is the day.

On Saturday, to keep myself busy and my mind off of “Whyfore NO WHEEL?” I dyed up some of the gray Swalesdale fiber I ordered at the same time as the wheel. *ahem* Focusing on not being bitter.

It’s a simple but time consuming process.

Here we have the dry roving on the left, and the 20 minute room-temperature soak on the right.

Gloves really are essential, even with food safe dyes.  For roughly 3oz of fiber, I mixed up about 1/2 tsp of Wilton’s icing dye in a cup of hot water.  The amount of water isn’t really important, you need enough to cover the fiber, but not so much that it moves around and starts to felt.  Pour the dye solution into a pot of room-temperature water (the same temperature, roughly, as the soaking fiber.)

This is where it gets interesting.  Get the dyepot up to 160F and keep it there for about 10 minutes.  This should help the dye get into the fiber really thoroughly.

Then!  Add 1/4c vinegar to the dyepot.  I like to pour it into a glass of lukewarm or hot water to dilute it a bit so it spreads out into the dyebath better. The color will change almost immediately as the dye starts to stick to the fiber.

Juice it up to 180F and keep it there for about 30 to really tell that fiber who’s boss.  I was very successful with the amount of water I had keeping the fiber from twisting when the water could have been at a rolling boil.

Let the fiber cool naturally.  You can drain off some of the (now mostly clear) dyebath to speed it up a tad, but anything drastic will make your gorgeous new colored fiber go all felty-felty.  Once it’s close to room temperature (you can handle it comfortably with your bare hands) run a sink full of similarly-temperatured water and dunk it to rinse.  This gets the vinegar out, even if there’s no more dye.

I did this two more times to get 8oz of dyed fiber.  Small batches seem safer to keep the felt demons at bay.

I call the colorway, “Waiting.”

Speaking of which, I need a name for the wheel.  “Godot” springs to mind…  ha ha.  And since she’s a ladybug, I thought about going literal with, “Lady Bug.”  But yeah, literal.  Maybe, “Spinderella…”  Oooo ooo or, “Charlotte!”  Any ideas?

Breaking News! I have completed my taxes.  Boring.  I have received my refund.  Less boring…  I have ordered my Schacht Ladybug spinning wheel and am now anxiously awaiting its arrival!  Exciting!

I think I wish the vendor had given me a tracking number, but then I would have slashdotted the mail carrier’s site with my compulsive page refreshing.  It’s just as well for all concerned.  Friday is when I’ll start to expect it on the doorstep.  Tomorrow!

In the meantime, I’ve been amusing myself with my new Noro Sock yarn, by making some, ahem, “footless socks.”  Yes.  They are indeed legwarmers.  I ride public transportation!  I have to stand outside a lot!  No one will see my cheeto-colored stripey legwarmers!

I really believe that brighter colors make you feel warmer.  Or heathery gray.  I know that makes no sense.

And the narrow striping of a yarn with long color changes really is addictive and interesting.  I’m not 2×2 ribbing’s biggest fan, but I can knit on this for an hour or more and not get bored.  The yarn definitely has a rustic feel to it, which may be why it gets mixed reviews on its Ravelry page.  There’s lots of thick and thin going on, and odd little knots  and twists sometimes, but I think it gives it character.

It bores the crap out of the dog:

But he’s not much of a knitter.  And who asked him, anyway?

Last weekend, while I was casting on the Noro footless sock, again and again and again (I finally looked up the length trick for the long-tail cast on.  1/2″ – 1″ per stitch you’re casting on.) I popped over to TribalCon to sit at the Shimmy-A-Thon booth for a few hours.

That’s my bellydance teacher, Kira, on the right.  She is much more relaxed having her picture taken than I am!  I’ve learned lots and lots from her, and I’m really happy to be involved in Shimmy-A-Thon.  It’s a weekend event in September, with workshops and shows and a shimmy endurance challenge that raises money for Cystic Fibrosis.

Stay tuned for spinning wheel unpacking action!  I’ve always been curious about how they ship them, so I’ll be taking pictures as I unpack it.

I must have this fabric:

Mermaids Aqua ~ Mendocino

That is all.

I’m heading up to visit my family tomorrow, and of course today I am obsessing about what projects to bring.

The top-of-brain projects:

• Brain Slug – a birthday gift
• Toe-up Jaywalker socks – are being difficult.  I can’t find a gauge, they’re taking a long time with the tiny needles I chose, so I’ll probably leave them at home.
• Fibonacci Cowl – (Ravelry link) The one I’m making is loosely based on this.  Mine isn’t Moebius-like.  I’m just not that cool.  One math reference is enough for now!
• Prickly fingerless gloves – I don’t think I have any yarn for these but they’ll come in handy.
• A trio of floopy berets: Rose Red, Star Crossed (Ravelry link), and Bounce – I can’t decide!  I might have to make them all.
• Carillon - A cropped cardigan whose pattern isn’t quite written yet – go look at the picture though!  If you’re on Ravelry, please encourage the designer to finish writing the pattern!  I told her I’d be happy to help her size it up to a large.

Tomorrow I’ll be visiting Halcyon Yarn!  So I’ll have some supplies to look for there, as well as try out their spinning wheels.  I don’t know how many are available to store visitors, but they carry wheels from Ashford & Kromski; Louët, Majacraft & Schacht.  Dangerous.  I have only tried Mom’s Hitchiker and a Louet S-15 which was damaged.  I didn’t really care for either, but I think everyone’s preferences can be wildly different.  I’ve been lusting after the Majacraft Suzie and Little Gem for forever.  Thanks to our failing US Dollar, their price has been going up and up.  The Louet company has a couple of base models which are really reasonably priced, so I’ll definitely try one of those out.  They come unfinished, but it might be fun to do a little trompe l’oiel painting.

Wish me luck and keep an eye on my Flickr account for some good ole fashioned cellphone photo blogging!

We make an odd but stylish couple!

Also, I owe you a picture of the bustle itself:

Something about that dark teal is really hard to photograph.  But you get the idea.  It needs real boning, not the plastic bendy stuff.  It’s already getting droopy in this picture at home on the duct tape dummy.  Which doesn’t have legs for the back panel to brace against and be not-droopy, so it’s a combination of factors, but darn it’s cute.

It turned out way too big, and it needs something to make the front cuter.  It’s a work in progress.  Very comfortable to sit in.

On to the dreadhawk:

I made these myself from wool roving, a few strands of yarn, chinese wooden beads, brass coins, etc.  Up top is my tiny top hat mounted on a headband, which is not comfortable, but very secure.  Then come the shorter dread combs that I use for bangs.  Then two bunches, one larger one as a base, one smaller one as an accent on top.

Getting my hair prepped to install the falls was interesting.  I used B’s spiking spray to glue the twists and it did a wonderful job keeping everything in place.  Here’s a little montage:

And a detail of the makeup – copper and deep aqua.

I’d like to get some better photos in a photoshoot sort of situation.  It’s hard to capture the shinyness of the fabric when you can’t control the lighting!

It was a really fun Dragon*Con and I wish I’d been feeling better so I could have worn the costume a second night.  Next year I hope I won’t get sick the day before the con!

This weekend was a busy one, and I just couldn’t get into the groove. I’m not in hysterics over the trim, but I’m also not wearing the corset. I’m taking B’s advice and running headlong at the problem in the spirit of punk rock. I settled on one patterned ribbon, one solid ribbon, and probably some self-fabric pleated lengths.

But I got more work done on my matching hair!

Hoarding shiny things is turning out well for me at this point. I attached all sorts of things to the wool dreads. Brass coins, copper and gold beads, bone beads carved to look like skulls, jinglies. I also braided up some soft chenille yarn. I think I’m going to use the fabric scraps to make a head wrap to hide my roots when I put the hair in.

Last week I did some research on Victorian hairstyles, and there are definitely some things that are dread-able. I’ll probably try to coil some high up at the crown and then have some hanging down below.

Darts! I marked them very carefully (while watching The Corpse Bride, fun movie to sew along with) and then sewed them veeerrrrrrryyyy sllllooooowwwwlllyyyy. Started toward the middle and continued out toward the point, then broke the thread and went back from the middle in the other direction, as I learned from The YouTube Videos. This intarwebs thing is pretty cool!

So then I tried it on, first just over my shirt, then over my corset+shirt:

You can totally see the difference. Kate was absolutely right and I never questioned her, but I was very curious to see the difference for myself. The corset kind of turns that part of you into a dressform and you don’t need ease there. I sat down in it and nothing changed. Verrry interesting.

There’s even a bit of extra room! You can see I’m quite pleased with myself. I’m probably going to turn the neckline just like that for a simple lapel look.

One of the big problems is the extra fabric above the bust. As B put it, I do not have a “shelf” even wearing the corset. Here’s the solution I finally came up with when we got it all pinned for the actual fitting:

I extended the frontmost darts all the way up and over the bust to take in the extra bulk between bust and shoulder. The instructions call for dart adjustments to be made equally from the same point on all 4 darts, but there was nothing to help with the extra bulk up top. It’s still overing above my chest, but I can’t get it to lay flat and it looks kind of dramatic, which is always a plus.

ETA: I just realized that we pinned the front closed improperly – it should be 1″ stitching line against 1″ stitching line, rather than against the edge. Because of the buttons. So back to the fitting process I shall go next time around. This is all good stuff to mess up in the mockup phase, before I go nuts and shred the nice fabric. Speaking of which…

And one more before I go. Just a little teaser pic of the fabric and trim for version 1.0.

I took some pictures! Lucky you! The composition is not my finest, but to be fair, I was taking pictures because I was too sick to read or knit. There were some thoroughly horrifying self-portraits, but I’m not sure I’m ready to unleash them on the world yet.

First, I honor my tools. I hang my resting circular needles from a floor lamp for some reason. I like the soft clicking the honey-colored needles make when I touch them.

Then, I took a partial picture of my giant fiber shelf. I told myself I’d arrange by yarn weight, but I just couldn’t help grouping all the colors together.

Closeups are available on Flickr, if you’re curious. The googly eyeballs are attached to a tiny little bat-shaped bag who likes to perch here and there. Unless you were referring to the Grumpy CareBear someone gave me. You can see that I’m only partly done with the shelf organization. It’s getting there though!