Cotton Love Affair

There's a quote from the Sufi poet Rumi that deeply resonates with me: "Follow the strange pull of what you really love". This sentiment has served as a kind and gentle friend throughout my life, supporting me through major life changes as well as minor day-to-day struggles. I like to imagine my creative muse (utterly unpredictable entity that she is) tugging me along to new and unexpected adventures, often right when I've done my best to make plans about how to spend my precious free time. I've tried resisting, but alas, my muse is persistent and quite relentless.

As you may have already guessed, during my absence over the past month, I've felt that strange pull again - and this time, it's been to the magic of working with soft, fluffy, humble cotton. Though I'm just at the start of this exciting new journey, I already have so much to share!

But first, a disclaimer: I've spun cotton before, so I wasn't a complete beginner at the start of this recent escapade. A year or so ago, I worked on spinning cotton on my beloved Kromski Sonata as an experiment in busting out of a spinning rut, and managed to spin some very pretty (if a bit lumpy) skeins of organic color-grown cotton yarn. But as a "process" creator, I was troubled by how unpleasant I found the act of spinning cotton. I didn't feel in sync with my wheel, despite multiple adjustments, and the thread broke frequently because the take-up was just a little too strong, no matter what I tried. Spinning is usually a time when I can breathe deeply and slowly, letting my body relax as my hands draft out the fibers with little effort. Spinning cotton on a wheel didn't feel that way to me, and as a result, I packed up what was left of my cotton fiber and moved on projects that filled me with joy instead of anxiety.

Then, I discovered a YouTube video featuring cotton spinner extraordinaire, Joan Ruane. I sat transfixed as she created a strong, even cotton thread with a tiny supported spindle called a takli. The process looked elegant, graceful, and nearly effortless - and I wanted to learn how to do it with my whole heart.

The day after watching the video, I placed an order from The Woolery for a Learn to Spin Cotton kit, Joan Ruane's Cotton Spinning on the Takli DVD, a ceramic spinning bowl, and a bag of organic cotton sliver. When the package arrived, I brewed a pot of herbal tea, arranged all my new tools around me, and gave myself the evening to watch the DVD and practice along until my hands got used to this new way of spinning. Friends, I won't lie to you: at first, the movements were incredibly awkward and my thread kept breaking over and over again, but after an hour or so of slow, careful practice, it started to feel more natural. Following Joan's advice in the DVD, I committed to practicing spinning on my takli for 10 minutes a day, though I often lost track of the time and went a bit longer. My movements became more sure and less hesitant. My thread evened out and looked beautiful. And, most wonderfully to me, I started to relax my body and truly enjoy the process. In short, I was hooked! Here's a picture of some of the cotton I've been spinning lately.

Since learning, I've been spinning cotton almost daily, with a full heart and no real plans for the finished yarn. My little cotton fiber stash is slowly, yet steadily, shrinking. I've acquired a bag of ginned cotton and a pair of cotton hand cards for making my own punis in the near future. And perhaps most incredibly, I stumbled on a once-in-a-lifetime deal, for this...

... a vintage Bosworth book charkha. It spins just as beautifully as it looks, and I can't wait to tell you all about it in a future post, which will be devoted to this wonderful tool. Like the takli, learning to spin on the charka has been a bit of challenge, but I'm thrilled with the thread I've been spinning and I can't wait to share more with you!

Have you experienced being pulled by your muse? Do you love working with cotton? I'd love to read all about your own creative adventures in the comments. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Finished Yarn: Peach and Gold Soysilk

In my last post, I talked about the yarn I've been spinning for the past few months: glossy, shiny Soysilk, hand-dyed in shades of peach and gold. After many, many meditative hours spent spinning and plying, the yarn is finished - and I couldn't be delighted. I knew this yarn would be lovely, but it's turned out to be one of my favorite skeins ever. 

From 4 1/2 ounces of dyed Soysilk top, I spun a fine laceweight 2-ply that measures in at just under 1000 yards. It shines, it drapes like a dream, and it's so incredibly smooth and silky. I guess it's no coincidence this fiber is called Soysilk. :) Spinning this fiber over the fold was the secret to getting such a fine singles: if I'd tried a short forward draw the whole time, I would have been endlessly frustrated within minutes. If you've tried to spin Soysilk, bamboo, or Tencel and wound up frustrated, I can't recommend spinning over the fold highly enough. It's a total game-changer!

At the moment, I don't have specific plans for this skein, aside from knowing its general destiny to end up as a lace shawl. I'm sure that at some point in the future, I'll spend quite a bit of time dreaming my way through pattern ideas on Ravelry, which I especially love to do when I'm feeling stressed or anxious. All that matters to me right now is that the yarn is finally finished, and I had a wonderful time through the entire process, even though it took quite some time. As I've mentioned before, I spin because I love the process, so you may notice that many of the projects I'll be discussing here on the blog are long-term projects.

Speaking of long-term projects, my next few posts will be centered around two specific topics: my forays into dyeing yarn and fiber, and my recent interest in spinning cotton on a tahkli. My heart is full to bursting with excitement regarding these topics, and I can't wait to share what I've been learning with you.

What have you been creating lately? I'd love to read all about it in the comments. Thanks so much for reading, and have a lovely day!

On the Wheel: Peach and Gold Soysilk

This week, I've been spinning my favorite type of yarn: smooth, fine lace-weight. Though it undoubtedly takes longer to spin fine yarn, I love how meditative and calming it feels to see the bobbin fill, every so slowly, with a continuous length of gleaming thread. Kitten-soft Soysilk - a biodegradable fiber made from the byproducts of the tofu industry - lends itself to this type of spinning with minimal effort, especially when spun over the fold, my favorite technique for spinning lace with slippery plant-based yarns. I'm planning on writing (and maybe even filming) a tutorial on this wonderful technique sometime soon, but until then, check out this great YouTube video on how to spin over the fold. 

The particular Soysilk I'm working with came from TwistedByLynne on Etsy. I purchased a listing for 4 1/2 ounces of her hand-dyed fiber in the "Desert Sands" colorway. It's even more beautiful in person! And I'm so appreciative of how the fiber arrived looking so fluffy and airy, and not at all felted or compacted. (As a fledgling dyer, I would love to know her secrets!)

I've been spinning this fiber on my Kromski Sonata, using the fastest ratio on my lace flyer. Over the past few months, nursing a knee injury, I spun mostly in short, 10-minute sessions every few days, and finally finished up the first bobbin of singles. The spun fiber positively glows, radiating a subtle warmth.

Now that my knee is feeling a little better, I started spinning the second half of the fiber, and I've been clipping along rather nicely. I'm thoroughly enjoying the process, and can't wait to see how the finished yarn turns out.

What have you been creating this week? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. Thanks so much for reading, and hope you're having a great day!

In Defense of Simple Knitting

I've been knitting rather steadily for over a decade, and for many years greatly enjoyed learning new techniques. I have fond memories of my first intricate lace shawl, my first sweater, and my first colorwork mittens. Aside from the novelty and slight vulnerability of learning something completely new, I absolutely loved getting lost in the process: checking off boxes for sleeve increases, moving a narrow magnet up a lace chart as I progressed, and carefully adding beads with a tiny crochet hook. Fiddly, detail-oriented work like this has always been a comfort to me.

I still love complex designs - especially when it comes to my favorite thing to knit, lace shawls - but lately I've been gravitating toward super-simple projects that don't even require a pattern. Much like the meditative, repetitive quality of spinning, simple knitting allows the mind to wander and the breath to slow. Because there are no charts to follow or patterns to reference,  I can lose myself in an audiobook, podcast, or TV show without making a mistake, and I also find that I can concentrate better on the story being told when my hands are busy.

This kind of knitting makes my heart sing. And if you haven't done it in awhile, I humbly urge you to cast on something simple and soothing, and allow yourself to enjoy the quiet, understated elegance of stockinette or garter stitch.

The first project I've been working on is a simple stockinette hand towel, bordered in seed stitch to keep the edges from curling. I'm knitting it in Louet Euroflax Sport (100% linen) in the Shamrock colorway. This yarn has unfortunately been languishing in my stash for almost three years - admittedly, I was intimidated by its crisp hand and lack of elasticity - but after all I've read about linen's nearly magical ability to soften with each washing, I'm too intrigued to let fear or uncertainty prevent me from working with it. Yes, it's a bit stiff to work with, and my stitches look uneven and wonky, but I'm going to trust the yarn and see what happens. I think it will look lovely (and be eminently practical) next to my bathroom sink.

Also - as I knit along, I'm becoming convinced that my hand towel will be more squarish than the desired rectangle. If that happens, it will make just as lovely a liner for a basket of muffins or scones.

The other project I've been working on is a simple triangle shawl, knit with some of my own hand-dyed yarn. This particular blend is 60% organic cotton and 40% hemp, and I hand-painted it with fiber-reactive dyes. (You can see it in the background in this photo, though the color is brighter here than in person.)  Can you tell I've been enjoying pastels lately? :)

The pattern that inspired this little shawl is Laura Chau's Simple Yet Effective Shawl. It's really more of a method than a pattern, as it only takes a few rows to get the hang of it, and you can use any weight yarn in just about any amount. (Obviously, the more yarn you use, the larger and cozier the finished shawl will be.) I'm not even counting my garter ridges: I'm just eyeballing it. And though I don't usually operate this way, this throw-caution-to-the-wind method of knitting feels wonderfully freeing.

The short color repeats in the yarn are making a pleasant, slightly blotchy fabric that's surprisingly soft. Like other plant-based yarns, I suspect this shawl will get even softer with washing.

What have you been working on lately? I'd love to read all about it in the comments. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you have a lovely week!

Introductions and Intentions

Hello, friend, and welcome: I'm so glad you stumbled upon my little corner of the Web. My name is Sara, and I decided to start this blog to chronicle my journey through the fiber arts from a vegan perspective. Though I'm typically quite a reserved and private person, the dearth of vegan-focused crafting blogs prompted me to channel my inner extrovert and share something I'm deeply passionate about: the joy (yes, joy!) of spinning, knitting, and crocheting with compassionate plant-based fibers.

Handspun soysilk

Estonian lace shawl knit with handspun soysilk

Lacy cowl knit with handspun bamboo

I wasn't always a vegan, and I didn't always prefer to work with non-animal fibers. In fact, there was a time in the not-so-distant past when I firmly believed that wool, alpaca, cashmere, and silk were the only fibers worth my time as a fiber artist, and I just as fervently eschewed cotton, linen, hemp, and others because of this pervasive bias. 

When I became a vegan for ethical reasons in January 2014, I found myself feeling conflicted about my substantial yarn and fiber stash, and started researching how these soft, luxurious animal fibers were produced and procured. I wasn't happy with the truths I discovered, so after a period of reevaluation and reflection, I donated most of my stash to charity and dedicated myself to working with and learning more about plant fibers.

Socks knit with Vegan Yarn Pleiades sock yarn

Shawl knit with organic, marigold-dyed cotton lace yarn

In the time since, I've learned so much about vegan-friendly fibers, and continue to do so every day. In this blog, I'll chronicle my adventures in spinning, knitting, and crocheting with cotton, hemp, ramie, bamboo, linen, and other fibers. There will be tales of my works in progress, celebrations of finished objects, and reviews of gorgeous fiber, yarn, and books. I also plan to post spinning tutorials for folks new to spinning plant fibers: it's really not as hard as you might think. And on top of all this, I've recently dipped my toes into the waters of learning how to hand-dye yarn, so there will likely be dyeing tales, as well.

Handspun organic, color-grown cotton

Handspun organic, color-grown cotton

You certainly don't have to be a vegan to read and enjoy this blog! My intention is to share the joy of working with these beautiful fibers with everyone, not just vegans. I hope that the information I share will demonstrate that plant fibers can be just as lovely and luxurious as the animal-based fibers you might be more familiar with. Variety's the spice of life, as they say, so if you're in a spinning rut and looking for something new and exciting to work with, plant fibers might be just what you're looking for.

I have a bunch of great content planned, and I hope you'll stay tuned for future posts. Thanks so much for reading, and have a great day!