Colombia 2012

ETA: Grumble! blogger is up to something now. I can't get hard returns to show up. Excuse the mess!

I had to add all the paragraph tags by hand!.......so much for a content editor

The first month of the year is almost gone...well gone really! Fiberwise I have not done much this month, . I have not knit except for a couple of inches on my camo socks, the back of a cardigan on the machine that promptly became balls of yarn, and a cowl I knit yesterday, and is now drying. I have not sat idle either, I went to Colombia for a quick trip, a very short week. Getting ready for the trip took most of my time and energy the first two weeks in January, gone one week, and now the month is almost over.

The trip was wonderful, but bittersweet, my grandma passed away on January the 2nd, life played its tricks and I did not make it in time to see her one last time...I spent precious time with my dad, his wife, my siblings and nephews. A couple of visits with my cousins, and a dear family of very close friends. I did not visit with anyone else, not that I did not want to, time was too precious so I had to cut it short and be very selective of who I was going to spend time with. I had it all planned out, in a calendar, day by day, hour by hour. It all happened like clockwork, amazing since Bogota is a crazy city of 10 million people in which traffic is a daily nightmare. Somehow it all happened.

Three days into the trip my Lolita dog became ill, I found out via a bizarre email in which the pet sitter in answer to my question said she did not know if Lola had eaten..... With this I contacted a dear friend,asked her to go over to the house and check on her. Sure enough, she was very ill, was rushed to the vet and for a couple of days we did not know if she was going to make it. Miracles do happen, and now my beloved 14 yo yorkie is back home and doing quite well.

This is me being really picky, the other person in the knitting teacher wondering what else I could possibly find :)

Part of the reason of my trip to Colombia was to visit the Friends of Colombian Orphans Machine Knitting Workshop at Hogares Club Michin. I was the only board member of the organization that had not visited the site yet! About time since we have been at it for almost 4 years now. Two other board members and I had made arrangements with Michin to visit. We wanted to have time to talk with the kids in training, the teacher, and the admin staff. I wanted to see first hand the finished goods, the machines and get a feel for the teacher and the kids. They are my people and I can read them well, there is a cultural take in how people communicate. Communication is not just about spoken language, it is also about body language and the person listening on the other end.

I am very happy to report that things are going smoothly. The kids that have trained or are in training are happy, they have learned quite a bit, they are capable of making useful things on the machine. A little guy wants to become a fashion designer, and he is dead serious about it. Some of the others see it as a potential source of income in their future, there is even one that wants to become a doctor and sees machine knitting as a pass time and distraction for stressful times in her life. Hurray! in their eyes, it has a purpose, they are learning a skill, their lives are enriched with it.

The teacher is a wonderful woman who enjoys machine knitting and has now discovered that she loves teaching, and the kids, she is fully identified with the purpose of Michin, and is having a great time at it, aside from the fact that now she has become a full time employee. This means that we are touching yet more lives, expanding the purpose, we are giving this woman a steady source of income, health insurance and benefits for her and her kids.

The staff at Michin is the best! The organization was started 50 years ago by a woman who invited kids to her home after school in hopes of keeping them occupied and out of trouble until their parents got home from work. She fed them and came up with stuff for them to do. Much to her dismay she soon found out that some of the kids had no homes to go to, and no parents to wait for. Very soon she had more kids than space at her house, as time passed she learned of the troubling lives some of these kids had. Through donations and hard work she bought a house where kids could go after school and some even live at. Today they have seven houses, one for each age group, boys and girls are separated after a certain age, a new program created by the Colombian government is sponsoring one of the houses exclusively for battered women and their kids. The Colombian child protective services helps support the organization, but with so many kids there is never enough money. The big concern for everyone, and FOCO’s target population, kids over 14 who will soon age out of the orphanage and will have to leave if not adopted by 18. Bound to the streets or who knows where if they don’t have a skill that can help them earn a living. There are 170 kids at Michin, 100 of them have no legal ties with their families, either because they have been taken away or because they were abandoned so long ago that there is no telling where the families are. Eighty percent of those kids are 12 years old or older....those are the kids we have to focus on, and pray that the rest get adopted before they get there.

That is the short version of the story, lots more to it of course.......

Future goals, to create a cooperative so the machine knitting program becomes self sustainable, and a source of work for kids that age out, and expand to the battered women group. For that, we need money to buy more machines, and hire at least one more teacher. Michin is in the process of buying another house to move the woodwork shop, the bakery and the knitting shop. Once there we can expand the program. They are close to getting the house, most of the cash is ready, one more little push and it will happen....in the mean time, FOCO has to come up with the resources to full fill the goals.

Can you help? Five bucks will buy a pound of yarn for the kids to learn with...

And now we have Ewe

This pattern came out at the end of the year, Fair Isle and stranded knitters quickly fell for it. Of course me too!

I used my own handspun yarn...not surprised to find out I had more than the 9 natural shades of wool called for, and the 9 I used are Shetland wool.

Ram heads:

Then the ewes:

It gets worse:

Ram and Ewe blanket

and even worse with a cowl

I think the cowl is a bit too much, but the blanket is a cutie for sure!

I might knit it but on the machine, as I said before I am focused on lace knitting and time is precious, since I want the blanket, have the yarn and it will go quicker on the machine....why not? Specially if it is my handspun yarn, and remember we said it is not like I am going to put the yarn on the machine push a button and come back to a finished blanket...nope..I have to start by drafting the pattern, punching the cards or drawing it in the software, it all depends on which machine is best for the yarn I have.

That will happen when I come back from far away lands in about a week or so.

Stay tuned!

Necessity Is The Mother Of Productivity

The green one is a different pattern, here is a close up:

I needed a number of presents, and I had to come up with something quickly. I went shopping, but not store shopping, I went stash shopping instead. One pound 8 ounces each color of lovely mohair yarn, good for anything and nothing really. I had not been able to come up with a purpose for it in a couple of years. That would be nice, to make ‘something’ with all that, but what? what could it be that would go quickly, cover the required number of presents and be good enough to be proud of and worthy of giving away to loved ones?

I had thought about woven scarves, at 8 epi x 10 inches wide considering 10% takeup x 70 inches... 155 yards per scarf plus fringes plus loom waste, plus the amount required for weft, roughly another 100 yards. The plan sounded like a good one except I had controversial sources for the number of yards per pound, I did not want to wind and measure mohair yarn of all things, did I really have enough? Sampling in this case is tricky you need to weave at least one complete scarf to know if the end product is worth it, then set up the loom for bulk production. It sounded doable IF I had enough yarn, but something in the back of my mind did not really trust how the mohair would behave on the loom. What if I ended up with a big mess of yarn, sticky warp and a nightmare to weave? I did not have enough time to deal with a mess.....think think think.

Handknitting was out of the question, no time for that, the project had to involve some kind of machine either loom or knitting machine. Off to Ravelry I went, on the machine knitting list there is an ongoing thread where people post completed projects for the month. (it is a spin-off from ‘a garment a month’ something we did a couple of years back inspired by the Cabled Sheep, yes blame me, I was a copycat) There is where you are likely to find things that people are liking and making. Sure enough, Tuck Lace scarves by the bundle. Someone got a pattern from a guild meeting, shared it with everyone, and as quickly as ‘I like it, its easy’ tons of scarves made their appearance.

My next question: Would the mohair knit up easy on the machine? would I get all kinds of hanging fuzz on the gatepegs? Quick answer from another machine knitter who had done a complete tutorial on working with this yarn! Yarn and pattern in hand I went to the machine, 40 minutes later I had a lovely scarf, and then another, and another and another. In about three weeks I had 12 scarves! all the yarn used up, all the needed presents (and then some) ready to go.

Fiber friends are wonderful, all the community is great! The machine knitting community is smaller and we are all learning and unearthing old techniques together, also coming up with new stuff more suitable for current times and available yarns. There is hardly a question that goes unanswered, most of the 60’s hard core machine knitters are still around, and active, lots of new comers available to learn. I am sort of in the middle, I don’t know a lot, I learned bits and pieces from my mom, have read my way through books, handouts, magazines and tutorials, I know more about it than most of the newer generation of machine knitters, but have lots yet to learn.

We are seeing more and more people interested in machines, mostly its people that started out as handknitters and are overwhelmed with huge stashes. There are only a couple of companies making new machines, most of the people have found theirs in a basement, under a bed, in an attic, on Craigslist or Ebay. What is amazing most of these machines get be brought back to life with a new sponge bar ($30) and a bit of oil and TLC. Newer generations, the really geeky ones, are finding ways to connect electronic machines to computers bypassing the expensive connecting systems available. It will only get better. Hopefully the existing companies will keep production going, and maybe the ones that left will come back on board.

….and no its not cheating, you can’t put the yarn on the machine, push a button and walk away...it does not work that way. You have to have a swatch, figure out your gauge, cast on, knit, decrease and increase, cast off, block, steam and seam just like any other piece of knitting. In handknitting it is easy to spot a mistake, you can see both the right and reverse sides of the fabric at any given time, in machine knitting you are seeing only the wrong side all the time. Make a mistake and you might not see it until the piece is completed and off the machine....make a mistake, push the wrong button, forget to thread the carriage and all your work will land on your feet, unceremoniously just with a big ‘broken toe bang’. In machine knitting you really have to understand pattern construction, there are a number of techniques for bands, button bands and shaping that are similar but different than hand knitting. Of course you can buy a pattern and follow the instructions, push the carriage and come out with something wearable, but patterns for modern looks are not all over the place....the whole process makes you a more recursive knitter I think.

…..No doubt things go faster on the machine, disasters are also bigger and not as forgivable as in hand knitting. Do I hand knit? of course all the time! my sticks are my loyal companions every where I go.

What is ahead for 2012?

I am here! knitting and weaving and spinning and having a grand time at it. This past year was not big on knitting projects, I completed a few but not as many as in the past. I wove more than I knit, I think.

I also set up the knitting machines again, knit a couple of sweaters on them, and never took pictures, that must be a first for me.

The last two years have not been very good in my personal life, but we won't go there. I am grateful I am hanging in there and still tangling up yarn.

My stash did grow, a LOT with the recent closing of the LYS, it is hard to stay away from lovely yarns at great closeout prices. I bought several packages for complete cardigans, some for the machine some for handknitting. But I don't have specific patterns in mind for any of them. Time will tell and I will either design something or follow/modify a pattern.

The plan this year is to make a good dent in the stash, both weaving and knitting. Weaving just got easier and I should not procrastinate as much between projects because I bought a tieup assist contraption for the Glimakra loom. Now that I don't have to crawl under the loom to tieup and I can put on one long warp and weave and change tieups easy, I should be able to do a lot more. I wanted to do this for a long time, but I kept putting it off. Finally in early Fall I set up the loom with a 16 yd warp for towels...I could change the treadling sequence but did not want to crawl and change the tieup. I soon grew bored with the possibilities and lack of pattern variation, it took me a long long time to finish the warp. That is when I decided life is too short and if want to get more weaving done the tieup assist was the way to go.

The second and big plan is to knit more on the machines, there are so many things I want to do, and so many lovely things out there, I have to do at least some on the machine if I ever want to get at least half way down the list.

Handknitting of course, my forever love with lace. I have to finish Princess so I can move on to another large project which will likely be the Queen Spider shawl. The piece is lovely, and I love the story behind it, it is a must.

Then there are socks, and more sock yarn that is waiting for me to work on.

In conclusion, I doubt I will sit idle, and I know I will have fun.

Last but not least revive the blog, keep track of what I make and write down the good and the bad so at least I can learn from my own experiences.

With that in mind, I welcome a New Year and wish you all the same!

Weaving Deflected Threads

Last night I was reading emails and wondering how I could use some glitter yarn to weave a scarf (yes I tend to multitask). To my surprise there had been a recent discussion in one of the weaving lists. As always, generous fiber artists had lots of references, among others one to an article in Handwoven, Nov./Dec. 2009, pp. 28-29 by Bobbie Irwin. Magazine, yarn and loom came out, and by 3:00 am this morning I was ready to start weaving. I started measuring the warp at 12:30 am, so it wasn't too bad.

The article says to pickup the individual threads, but I figured there had to be a faster way of doing it. I combined techniques, made string heddles attached to a heddle stick. I am almost done weaving the scarf.

Because I know others are interested in using novelty yarns in the warp, I made this short video illustrating how I did it. Hope it helps someone.

My Dad bought a doll for me for my birthday!

Told you he would, he was as happy as I was. We had a great time, he looked at the dolls. Discarded a couple he did not like and we both decided on this one.



I am blessed, I have the most wonderful Dad in the world.

The ones that live with me already

As I said, I have dolls, many. Some are stored away, some came right out of the moving boxes last year when I moved. The first thing that was hung to a wall in the new house were the Saint's and the doll shelves. The oldest one is my age,a few I bought in Spain about 14 years ago, the latest ones are from 2002. I have to add that besides the shelf they also have chairs, rocking chairs and beds..
Down from the shelf and to their chairs they all came yesterday for a photo session. I didn't do anything to any of them, just took the pictures as is.

Here we go:



This guy is Tachi, he was my first doll ever. My mom knit his overall years ago, he is difficult to dress because his legs are slightly bent as a baby's would be, he has movement in his arms and legs but it is limited. He is made out of rubber instead of vinyl as we know dolls today. His eyes are fixed, they do not move, I think they are some sort of buttons, no real hair. I love him to pieces.



Next up is Carlitos. He was made by Fabrica Nacional de Muñecos, in Colombia. They had all different sizes of the same doll. I did not like him as much as Tachi because he is a bit on the large side. Still love him, we have been together for a long time. My mom made his overall, he had commercial socks but one went missing when we moved from Colombia to Utah, so I knit him a pair of baby booties. He has real men underwear. A big large on him....I suspect they belonged to my brother at one point!
His eyes move, although the right one has limited movement. No hair, movement on arm and legs. He is also rubber but harder than Tachi.



These three guys are from Spain, they make lovely dolls there. The expressions on the faces are amazing. Check the little girl nose and tears. These came to live with me thanks to my sister's brother in law. He had gone to Africa to do some field work on the Colombian Malaria vaccine, and on his way back he would always spend a couple of days in Madrid. We would give him money and he would buy dolls. When we did not ask him to bring dolls back, he would call us making sure we really did not want dolls.
From left to right:
The newspaper boy, his mouth is open announcing the daily press. I love his pullover, it is machine knit, and lovely. His pants are Corduroy.
The one in the middle is a tiny little guy, I love his teeth, he has the most amazing cow eyelashes I have ever seen in a doll.

I will post closeup pictures of their faces.

The one on the right is the sad little girl. I love her face!










This girl is the one I bought in Madrid. The store is a 5 story building full of all kinds of dolls and accessories. I had the hardest time deciding what to buy. I finally got this girl because she had a Winter outfit on and I could buy the Summer one. The Summer dress is made of cotton fabric with a lovely flower print and a scarf for her hair.



She has the most beautiful face, her body is cloth, the limbs and head vinyl. She does not stand on her own, never has. She is 22 inches long.



My forever heroes! Pinocchio, Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny. I bought all three of them at Disneyland in Orlando, 1997 (I was NOT a little girl!). I was there with my dad, and his wife. I found Bugs Bunny and Donald Duck fairly easy. Pinochio was another story. It was getting dark, close to closing time, and I had not found the guy. One of the managers who knew I was looking for him, finally found him at one of the booths..of course is was the one farthest away from where we where. My dad and I walked hand in hand all the way back there and got Pinocchio so he could come live with me. Neither him nor Bugs Bunny are Disney characters, it was a miracle I even found them. I had seen others, but the faces and detail of these is unique. Click on the picture to see Bugs Bunny, blogger is cutting the picture for some reason.

Of course I have move dolls.....Barbies of course, her little brother and sister, no Ken. A couple of my Barbies are early editions,the bodies are not soft like the vinyl they use for them today, it is some kind of paste, one has a fixed head. Also a baby that I bought at age 10 with savings from my allowance, half went for the doll, half went for books. Also at least 3 or 4 modern Barbies, the bare bone ones, I bought them to make the Paradise Collection dresses. Turns out the patterns are made to scale and the dolls are slightly larger than Barbie. The Lady Di gown I showed yesterday is one of those. The nice thing about those dolls is that the arms move at the elbow and at the waist making it a lot easier to dress. You can style their hair too.....I did that on all three of the ones I made. They said to cut the hair for Lady Di, but I did not, just pulled it up and rolled it (with real rollers, hair dryer and the whole 9 yards). All this Paradise Collection doll dressing happened between 2001-2002....not too long ago, I was already married and over 40. I am doing it again. I will never stop loving my dolls, or put them away. I will always have them on display and play with them every so often.

I am eager for my dad to come so we can go to the new American Girl store in Virginia. I have to confess, I am having a hard time waiting for the day to come. In just a couple of days, I have collected knitting and sewing patterns for clothes for them......I have to have a doll to try them on! I might have to get an AG doll before then, that does not mean I will not ask my dad to buy me one. I can always have two right?