Angela Tong Designs 2020 Class Schedule

This is my current class schedule and where I will be teaching this year. I will update as needed.

• Vogue Knitting Live NYC, January 16-19, 2020
• A Good Yarn Sarasota, Sarasota Florida,  March, 14-15, 2020
• Knitter's Weekend with The Green Mountain Spinnery in Brattleboro Vermont, April 3-5, 2020
• Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, April 29-May 2, 2020
• Squam Art Workshops, Squam Lake New Hampshire, June  3-7

Ellison Lane Bags and The Periwinkle Sheep Yarn

Happy mail day! These colors just scream Spring to me. Ellison Lane's Ellie bags are the perfect size project bag for your knitting or crochet. The Periwinkle Sheep has updated her shop with luscious mohair lace weight and vibrant speckled aran weight yarn.

Weaving with Bijou Spun - Lhasa Wilderness

Bijou Basin Ranch sent me a gorgeous skein of Lhasa Wilderness to play with. The colorway is called Stargazer from the Reflections Collection and dyed exclusively by Colorful Eclectic. It is a blend of 75% Tibetan Yak and 25% Bamboo.

The yarn is smooth and cool to the touch. I felt that it would weave up beautifully and decided to give it a try on my Leclerc Dorothy Loom. It's a table loom that has 4 shafts. I warped the loom with a purple mercerized cotton yarn with a 10 dent reed. The Lhasa Wilderness is a light sport weight yarn.

The color variegation is looking great in the woven cloth. I began with plain weave and then wove some rib weave and then more plain weave.

Isn't is pretty? You can see that the rib weave shows more pops of color while the plain weave blends the variegation. I am going to continue to weave and sample different patterns. I am pleased with how it is looking and the yarn is a dream to weave with.

Tapestry Weaving on the Easel Weaver by Schacht Spindle Co.

I have a big love for little looms. There is just something about them that I can not resist. I think that I like working in smaller formats so that lends to the appeal for me. When Schacht Spindle Co. introduced their newest small loom, Easel Weaver, I knew I had to try that loom!

I warped up the loom with carpet warp from Webs at 6 epi. The weft is a knitting and needlepoint yarn called Paragon. It's made in England and the label says it's a multi purpose 3-ply Persian yarn. I got a few bags of it in assorted colors from a church tag sale and had always intended to weave with it. This was the perfect opportunity to use what I had on hand.

My tapestry weaving was inspired by the tiny tapestry houses woven by Sarah C Swett. I have been following her 4 selvedge weaving and the tiny houses are just perfect. The loom is easy to use and the 3-In-1 Magic Stick is really useful. I am using the 10" size. You can prop up the loom using the built in stand or lay it flat on the table or your lap. The portable size of the Easel Weaver is a real plus for me.

Finished tapestry weaving! The 3-ply yarn worked out really well. I was able to blend colors by taking apart the plies and mixing the colors. I wanted to create more depth by blending the yarns.

So many ends to weave in and snip! Once I clean up the back, I can mount it and hang it. Thank you Schacht Spindle Co for sending me the Easel Weaver to weave on.

Lazadas Flexible Blocking Wires

Blocking knit wear is essential. After spending all that time hand knitting or crocheting something, you don’t want to skip this finishing step. It changes the drape, opens up stitches, evens out your stitches, relaxes the fibers and helps the yarn bloom. I like using blocking wires because it makes it faster to achieve straight lines and to pull things into shape. When Lazadus Knitting Accessories offered to send me their flexible blocking wires, I was really excited to try them. The Deluxe Super Flexible Set comes with 10 super flexible blocking wires 35” (90 cm) long each, 5 super flexible blocking wires 70” (180 cm) long each and 60 Nickel plated T-Pins.

The wires that I have been using for years are thicker and pretty rigid. I can get them to bend a bit, but it requires a lot of pins to hold the shape. Lazadas wires are thin and flexible. One big difference I noticed was how much easier it was for me to thread the wires through my piece. 

I used 3 wires to shape this triangular swatch for a shawl. The bottom curve was effortless to shape! Even the straight sides were easy to pin out. The one thing that you do need to be careful of is when you are uncoiling the wires. They are under tension and can hit you in the face if you do not pay attention.

For this swatch, I used 2 wires. One wire for the top and one on the bottom for the points. Then I used the pins to straighten out the sides. The thin flexible works really well for thinner gauge yarns. It didn't cause gaping holes in the fabric.

Thank you Lazadas Knitting Accessories! I really enjoyed trying out your blocking wires. These wires will now be a part of my knitting tool kit.

Weekend Crafting with Berroco Yarns

Do you have any weekend crafting plans? I am going to play and swatch with the yarns I got from Berroco at the TNNA Summer 2018 Show. Their sampler bag has all the newest yarn offerings. I can knit, crochet or weave. The sky's the limit! Have a great weekend. 

Yarn Review: Vinni's Colours Bambi Yarn, Crochet and Weaving

I am picky when it comes to cotton yarns. Cotton can be hard to work with because it lacks elasticity. I was pleasantly surprised when I started crocheting with Bambi by Vinni's Colours. It was cool to the touch and smooth. The yarn is a blend of 70% cotton and 30% bamboo viscose. It crocheted so easily and it was enjoyable to work with.

The yarn is textured with parts of it being thick and thin. As you can see, it crochets up pretty evenly.

Cotton yarns can be very difficult to weave on a pin loom. The 3 layer warp plus the 4th weaving layer can be tricky to execute if the yarn does not have much elasticity. I warped the Schacht Spindle Co Zoom Loom with a little slack. It got a little tight at the very last row when I wove it, but it wasn't hard at all. I know for next time, I will give the yarn more slack when I warp it.

I think it wove up nicely on the Zoom Loom. The thick and thin of the yarn gave the finished square some texture. I would definitely use this yarn for weaving, crocheting and knitting. The yarn is all hand dyed and comes in many delightful colors.