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Text of the page (random words):
ant s daughter all things knitting handspinning and fiber arts the wool merchant s daughter all things knitting handspinning and fiber arts home about drinks mittens leather goods random photos a different kind of fiber march 22 2024 leather yes leather back in high school a thousand years ago or so i had a brief opportunity in an art class to make a leather key holder i don t remember exactly the technique if it was tooling or what but i did turn out a key case with an oak leaf and acorn design and a laced edging i still had it around up until a few years ago when it sadly went missing i always remembered what fun i had making it and always planned to revisit the art form as usual life got in the way it was yet another rabbit hole i didn t need to go down requiring an entire new set of tools and equipment but it was in the back of my mind at one point in the early aughts i bought a tandy beginner leatherwork kit and won a set of tools on ebay still they sat and sat and sat while i involved myself in other equally fascinating arts and then covid happened in march everyone was sent home to wait in may most of us were laid off i had time on my hands what better way to spend it than to break out the tandy beginner s kit and that box of tools that was 2020 fast forward four years in typical adhd fashion i started off running before i could walk made some passable objects then settled down to seriously study on what i was doing and how to make it all better i made modern objects wine totes beer growler slings i made fantasy larping items belt bags mainly and i combined my interest in 18th century living history and began making reproduction items this last recently culminated with the creation of a very passable 18th century esq portmanteau for those who will ask a portmanteau is sort of a cross between a trunk and a suitcase not having a pattern available posed a tiny problem but i solved it with a way i had learned from other leatherworkers make your prototype from paper voila a paper and cardboard portmanteau i started with the end first they were approximately 10 inches x 10 inches with slightly padded handles you ll see where the buckles come in further down the leather i chose for this was a 5 6 ounce veg tan but these ends have an inner piece that is a 7 to 8 ounce to help shore it up one thing i learned working with leather there is an architectural element to each piece and sometimes you need to study on how best to support your structure once i had the ends under control it was time to move on to the body the body is actually sort of a big roll but grooves are cut along the bottom where it matches up to the side corners this gives the piece a flat bottom although there are somewhat smaller portmanteaus that were made round and these were used to tie up behind a saddle this was a bit bigger partially sewn i put a kip skin binding around the cut edge of the opening then began by sewing first across the bottom of the side then up the front edge this view is looking inside from the back at this point the flap closure is two thirds sewn in that is the bit hanging down once i sewed in the closure straps i started sewing the back at the back corner and up voila again the sewing was not so difficult as just making sure everything lined up truly measure twice and cut once in leatherwork as in carpentry the portmanteau holds a lot of clothing the finished piece is about 9 inches wide by 8 and 1 2 inches tall and 22 inches long so it s pretty roomy overall i was pretty happy with the way this turned out considering i just made it up as i went along although i did research every example of portmanteau historical or reproduction that is out there and now that i feel like i know what i m doing and have the benefit of a pattern because of course i traced all the parts out on paper and took copious notes i definitely foresee where there is another portmanteau in my future leave a comment general tagged diy leather leatherworking sewing tutorial permalink posted by thewoolmerchantsdaughter do your bit for the ukraine march 3 2022 there are many artisans based in the ukraine selling their work on both ravelry and etsy as their work is digital it can easily be downloaded this way there is no need to bother attempting to mail something out of a country at war here is a simple tutorial for how to use both ravelry s and etsy s search features to pinpoint the seller s location for ravelry and if it looks different yes i use the filter for classic ravelry because the new look gives me a headache on the search patterns page select advanced search then scroll all the way to the bottom of the left hand navigation that displays select designer country and then from the modal that displays select ukraine from the list of countries like magic the search page displays a listing of all designers based in the ukraine pretty cool huh for etsy you will enter digital file for your search term this finds all sellers offering digital files you could expand the search by adding knitting pattern etc if you really want to target the search then selected all filters and scroll down to find the shop location radio buttons select custom and type ukraine in the form field select apply and you are good to go remember these artisans are facing a particularly difficult time right now one that we cannot fathom they have no other way to sell their wares this is possibly their only way to bring in some much needed cash please do your bit and support our ukrainian artisans leave a comment general permalink posted by thewoolmerchantsdaughter spinning up some kindness november 25 2020 i began spinning before there was an internet well not much of one anyway if you knew what to do you could get the weather and baseball scores and that was about it youtube didn t exist yet no facebook certainly no ravelry nada so if you wanted to learn to spin you were pretty much on your own to find a wheel and find a teacher i found a wheel without too much trouble it was one of those seventies artisan made wheels with lovely inlay and irish tension although i didn t know at the time that was what it was called it wasn t a toy or a decoration but it wasn t a heavy duty workhorse either it was intended to spin but probably made by someone who didn t themselves know much about spinning i thought she was beautiful now that i had a wheel i set about finding a teacher in that time frame to find anything meant a trip to the library or reading special publications somehow i discovered a local fiber arts guild and happily went off to their monthly meeting my beautiful wheel in tow it was a complete disaster i was easily the youngest person in the room a few people had very high end wheels with them many were knitting one or two had little sample looms and were doing intricate weaving all were older the ones that lowered themselves to speak to me generally derided my wheel as a toy and no one correctly identified the tension although they all told me it couldn t possibly be a real wheel because none of them the experts could identify the tension when i asked about learning to spin they sneered that it isn t our job to teach you and went off in little groups that shot nasty glances my way clearly i was in the wrong place to want to learn to spin one kindly woman did come over to speak to me she admired the wheel without passing any judgment on it and suggested that when spinning it was easiest to learn on a drop spindle once i had drafting fiber under control it was then an easy easier step to move to a wheel and add in treadling while drafting i did have a drop spindle but wasn t sure how to get it started she tied on a leader and showed me how to make a half hitch and start off that one small act of kindness started me spinning i later learned this kindly woman died of a brain tumor not many years later and i mourned her passing she was the one person who took a few minutes to a speak to me kindly and b share her knowledge those two small simple acts made her immortal in my mind they did something else once i was up and spinning on a wheel i vowed that if i came across anyone who wanted to learn i would teach them for free and do whatever i could to get them going and keep them going a number of new spinners exist because i taught them and a number have gone on to teach new spinners themselves i feel my immortality is achieved as my teaching is handed down i bring this up because in a spinning forum i belong to someone new to the group but a long time collector began sharing their wheels not being an american he used a term he was unfamiliar with and the abuse began not only should he know better why didn t he sell his collection so other spinners could use it and on and on until he decamped to start his own forum and so our collective knowledge of spinning wheels splinters a little all because someone used a term they were unfamiliar with our collective knowledge splinters because someone owns more wheels than someone else so they must be castigated for it our collective knowledge splinters because we chose to not share our knowledge and take someone into our circle actions have consequences it costs nothing to be kind the few minutes of time you do spend explaning something may be all the other person needs in these unprecedented times don t be a jerk be kind 2 comments general permalink posted by thewoolmerchantsdaughter and a double treadle to boot october 5 2020 did i need another wheel ummmmm not really i m pretty well stocked with wheels and am downsizing some papers and household stuff so another wheel wasn t really a necessity but i hadn t bought a new wheel yet in 2020 so if i was going to buy one this was certainly a catch this turned up on facebook marketplace usually a wheel like this turns up many many miles away but this was local the photo was a little dark but i could see it was in good shape and a double treadle the unicorn of canadian production wheels and best of all the seller wasn t asking for much money so off we went to gather it up i couldn t believe what good shape this was in the seller had had it for 50 years her father had bought it for her she loved early american furniture and had kept this wheel all these years i hated to tell her it was 19th century and canadian and said she never was tempted to spin but just kept the wheel for its architectural integrity her flyer is in mint condition the cast iron moa mount has the little pleats in it and is held on by the coveted chicken nut the beaded edge suggests the makers laurence or cadorette a scrap of oval ink mark matches the oval shape of the cadorette mark but so little remains it is difficult to say the double treadle axle is forged as are the footmen although one is a bit battered and installed upside down the wood of the upright has a lovely burl in it the treadles are pristine along the front the only damage is a small piece sheared off one side of one treadle the eye bolt in the other treadle was loose and needs some tlc the one treadle has a couple of intriguing drops of finish was the original finish stripped off at one time and some drips not wiped up or are these original to the wheel over all i feel like this was quite a catch she is clean her flyer is in mint condition and her wheel tight and true i will need to get a driveband on her and see what she spins like but that is for another day 1 comment general permalink posted by thewoolmerchantsdaughter soctober october 2 2020 it s soctober are you knitting socks in a happy accident i found a perfect autumn colorway and a pattern to go with it the yarn is hagrid s pumpkin patch from bumblebee acres farm the little pumpkins sock pattern is available free on that recently redesigned knitting website which name we do not mention can you tell i disagree with the way the redesign was handled and a tiny soctober monkey this stitch marker is one of set available from wee ones on etsy she has a marvelous selection of tiny figures and i do highly recommend her leave a comment general permalink posted by thewoolmerchantsdaughter a bit more spinning august 7 2020 this is another set of coordinated mini batts from inglenook fibers the colorways are based on different types of owls i forgot to take a photo before i started so here are 6 unspun owls and one completed and all spun up here they are they averaged out to about 150 yards per mini skein and i am already working them up into something hopefully wonderful leave a comment general permalink posted by thewoolmerchantsdaughter natural dye spins august 6 2020 these are spun from inglenook fibers natural dye series the braid on the left was dyed with osage orange and saxon blue the other four are in a colorway called elm leaves next up the honeysuckle colorway leave a comment general permalink posted by thewoolmerchantsdaughter i m still here august 5 2020 gentle readers although i am not posting on a regular basis these days i am still watching over my blog i am working in a somewhat different direction these days and have just not had the time to work with spinning wheels or with fiber i do hope to get back to that sometime soon and just because i am not posting does not mean i don t keep an eye on things please note comments are moderated and will not appear unless approved even then i haven t approved comments as i don t have time to keep an eye on them if you have posted a comment about a spinning wheel you have you can always email me at thewoolmerchantsdaughter at yahoo dot com i may not respond quickly there either but you have a better chance of getting me there another word on comments remember when your mother told you if you have nothing good to say then don t say anything well that applies here too keep it positive and please keep it clean it doesn t go any further than me anyway so why even bother i hope you are all keeping safe in these times of covid please remember to wear a mask practice social distancing and wash your hands often i m hoping all you fiber enthusiasts are staying home and spinning knitting crocheting weaving or pursuing whatever other fiber interest you have i know i left off a few hopefully we will be back in gear in better times yours truly the wool merchant s daughter leave a comment general permalink posted by thewoolmerchantsdaughter colorwork may 7 2019 learn colorwork they said it will be fun they said well it is fun to some extent but mind boggling on size 3 needles in knitpicks palette yarn onwards and upwards leave a comment general permalink posted by thewoolmerchantsdaughter inspiration april 17 2019 have you knitted an inspira cowl yet this pattern available free on ravelry is positively addictive it is an easy knit and a good way to ease yourself into colorwork and it provides endless variety given the endless variety of yarn out there malabrigo worsted plymouth tangiers cotton and lion brand amazing three yarns two of them self striping on circular needles t...