Ep 140: Scary Germs, Summer Spinning, and More About Cotton

The Summer Spin-In is in full swing. Add in exposure to a scary virus, a little knitting, and some deck building, and it becomes a really full episode! Full show notes with photos and links can be found in the podcast section of our shop website: TwoEwesFiberAdventures.com.  Join the community on Ravelry or become a patron and support the show on our Patreon Page.

Kelly’s husband has been exposed to Covid-19 through someone at his workplace so we talk about that and how strange and scary it feels. Marsha is working on replacing the deck in her backyard and we talk about the project and what it has entailed so far.. She will put up a Ravelry entry for this DIY deck project. She recommends the Fine Home Building youtube channel for DIY videos. 

Marsha’s Projects:

I have finished the body and started the ribbing of my T-shirt,  Summer Fjord by Trin-Annelie using Quince & Co Sparrow in three colors. 

I spun the first skein of Huckleberry Knits (40/40/20 Targhee, bamboo and silk) and Sauked in Farm (50/50 alpaca/Babydoll Southdown Wool). It is a three ply with two singles of the multi colored Huckleberry Knits and one of the solid Sauked in Farm. It will probably knit up with long color repeats. Kelly has inspired me to spin the cotton roving that I bought the first time I attended Black Sheep Gathering. Thank you so much to our listener you suggested the Summer Spin In. I find the spinning meditative and soothing.

Kelly’s Projects 

I’m back to work on the Mariannes Cardigan by Trine Bertelsen. The faux seam is working to hide the alternation of skeins better than when I didn’t have the faux seam. 

I finished a pair of socks in handspun (Falkland in a colorway called Tomato and Mink.) I spun the yarn in a long color repeat fashion. Just end to end from one end of the roving to the other. It was chain-plied to preserve the colors and there is a nice color division between the rust and the gray.  The stripes are very large.

I finished a skein of the green cotton that I was spinning. Once I boiled it with baking soda, the color shifted from a goldish green khaki to an army green color. I didn’t have any washing soda, so I used baking soda and a little dish detergent. Marsha asked, “baking soda vs washing soda? What is washing soda, anyway?” Here are some links with information.

Borax vs Washing Soda

Baking Soda vs Washing Soda

What is Washing Soda

I also ordered more cotton! Check out Sally Fox Vreseis cotton lint. That led to more discussion about natural colored cotton and a promise to put some information in the show notes. This Color is Alive, on the Vreseis website is a great explanation. Also the Wikipedia entry on naturally colored cotton says, “Natural color in cotton comes from pigments found in cotton pigments and produce shades ranging from tan to green and brown.[3] Naturally pigmented green cotton derives its color from caffeic acid, a derivative of cinnamic acid, found in the suberin (wax) layer which is deposited in alternating layers with cellulose around the outside of the cotton fiber.[4] While green colored cotton comes from wax layers, brown and tan cottons derive their color from tannin vacuoles in the lumen of the fiber cells.[3]

I started two new projects since the last episode, Robert’s Pandemic Socks and a rug yarn Combo spin using Lincoln roving. 

Patron Appreciation! 

All patrons active as of the beginning of June get a Ravelry download pattern of their choice up to a $7 value. Contact Kelly (1hundredprojects) through Ravelry, Patreon or email ([email protected])

Summer Spin-In

The Summer Spin-In started on US Memorial Day (May 25) and will continue until US Labor Day (September 7). Join in the chat thread and show off your finished projects in the FO
threads. We will have a thread for finished spinning projects and we’ll also include a thread for finished projects made with handspun. So non-spinners can be included, too!