What’s for Supper?

If you look in my fridge freezer, you might wonder.

After I posted shawl pictures last week, I had a few people ask what I do with these lacey things I make, and the answer is that, mostly, they go into plastic bags and into my fridge freezer. There, I don’t have to worry about moths and other critters that might want to chow down on animal proteins. I also keep some of my fiber stash in there for the same reason. Just recently I was eyeing up the fridge freezer at work as another possible storage area, since the only things in it are 2 empty ice cube trays and a half-empty container of frozen blueberries. A shame that all that storage space is going to waste, you know?

It’s never occurred to me that this might be an unusual practice – and even possibly dangerous for the fiber-- until last weekend, when Alex was visiting. She opened the fridge freezer get ice -- and there was a very audible pause before she asked: “Um…Ted…what’s in your freezer?”

Me (knitting in living room knitting, not really paying attention): “Um…I dunno. What does it look like?”

Alex: “Ah…yarn stuff.* Why is it here? Don’t you have tubs and mothballs for this stuff? Doesn’t it get freezer burn?”

That last comment snapped me to attention, mid-stitch.

Today I decided to take a look at what is in the fridge freezer. Maybe some could be moved to tubs.

So firstly, the "Spider Queen" shawl, designed by Hazel Carter. It's usually folded up in a plastic bag.

This is the lovely “Violets by the River” shawl, also by Hazel. It’s a small shawl, but quite lovely and very nice to knit. (I will admit that I did a fast blocking job on it before taking this picture, because Jason is going to be knitting it, and I thought  -- enabler that I am –- that some detailed photos would be useful for him. Please go to his blog and cheer him on.)

Then there’s 2 scarves, both from patterns by Jackie-Erickson-Schweitzer.

The purpley one is spindle-spun and plied from merino top, likely from Ashland Bay. Can’t remember if the colour had an official name, and I’m not sure if it’s available anyway. The brownish one was also spindle-spun and plied, from a merino / mohair top from Gaywool (Louet), called “Kangaroo Paw”. (Notice the crease in the Brown Scarf: what you get when you fold knitting.)

In this picture, you can see that the purple one –which I did first-- has more striping in the colour, because I hadn’t gotten my fibre-preparation and drafting skills down; in the brown one, the colour is much more even because I had a better sense of what I was doing. There’s nothing really special about either of these scarves, but I like them because they serve as excellent demonstrations that you can spindle-spin and ply enough perfectly decent yarn to make something nice. They’re good to show novice spinners, who, by reason of lack of experience or a poorly designed tool, are making “beginner’s yarn”, and thinking that if they got a spinning wheel they would magically be producing yarn equivalent to something they can buy at the store. The little copper dot in each picture is a penny, for scale.

Okay…what else? Oh, this yarn. Spindle-spun singles and wheel-plied. This started life as a multi-coloured merino / silk top from Gaywool (Louet), called “Mallee Blue”. There’s about 250 grams here (roughly 8 ounces) and it will be a shawl. It took a small part of my life to spin that yarn. I was originally unhappy with it: I didn’t think the plying was very good, and the white silk wasn’t completely evenly distributed. Looking at it now, I consider it better plied than I thought –‘though clearly not as even as machine spun, or as good as some of the yarns spun by really skilled spinners like June -- and I kinda like how the white silk sparkles.

This is combed Polwarth and silk, from Rovings; one of my treasures. The process of combing wool results in much waste, so this fibre, the vendor told me, is probably the most expensive wool preparation available in North America. (She showed me the invoice and asked if I wanted to change my mind.)  It looks like nothing in the picture, but it feels fabulous. Not cashmere, but still beautiful. Definitely destined for a laceweight yarn when I’m a better spinner.

Now, let’s see; what else. Well, hem…yes. I think every spinner and knitter succumbs to the call of their Inner Magpie at some point: “Look: it’s pretty! Look: it sparkles!” So, we have 2 items that fall into that category.

This lovely stuff, also from Rovings, is a charcoal grey Polwarth carded with multicoloured silk. (Don’t see the colour listed on the website; perhaps it was a one-off batch.) Not sure what will happen with it: perhaps a gift for somebody.

And a moment of lovely silliness, from Bountiful; I think it’s called “Amethyst”.  This is a blend of wool, mohair, silk noil and 3 colours of Angelina. See how it sparkles in the sunlight? That’s the Angelina. It will spin to a somewhat textured yarn. Not sure what I’ll do with it; perhaps a gift. Wouldn’t it make a great winter hat? Imagine, on a kinda cloudy winter day when you’re out walking, wearing your lovely Amethyst hat. Suddenly, the sun breaks through the clouds and the Angelina lights up. Would that be cool or what? (Reminds me of a sweater that a spinner I knew had made, using some of the early holographic fibers, jet-black (dyed) merino and some multi-coloured trilobal nylon. The sweater looked like your plain ordinary black sweater, until the light was right. In sunlight, the holographic fibres and the nylon would “light up”: people would stop her to ask how often she had to change the batteries.)

What’s this?

Vegetables for soup. Which has me thinking I’d better get a move-on and go shopping so I can start dinner.

But I’m still wondering about freezer burn on the fiber. Anyone? Maybe I should just buy another tub and some mothballs? (Given that they’re toxic, I’d prefer not to have them in my home.)

Have a great week, everyone!

* Alex has absolutely no interest in knitting or spinning, and to her, anything resembling knitting or spinning is “yarn stuff”.

Comments

[JoVE]

My partner thinks it's weird that you keep shawls in your freezer, too. But that might be partly because he can't understand why you would put all that work into them and then no-one can see them or wear them.

As for freezerburn, I think this is a dehydration thing that happens with meat and whatnot. Yarn doesn't have that much moisture in it to begin with so I don't think it is likely to be a problem. And I'm with you. Freezing is way better than toxic, smelly mothballs.

[Enjay]

You might consider sealing the shawls in a jar like the orenburg shawl knitters do. that has the added bonus of allowing them to be out and on display on a shelf. I don't think storing them in the freezer would damage fibers per se, but it might dry them out a bit eventually. Either way, your knitting is beautiful!

[Mel]

Why not cedar, or a lavender sachet, instead of mothballs? They have the distinct advantages of being both natural and much nicer smelling.

[Lee Ann]

Those shawls should be gracing someone's shoulders, dude. They're too damned beautiful to be hiding in amongst the frozen peas and whatever that thing is in the back in three layers of aluminum foil that you can't remember why you wrapped that way and are not so sure you want to unwrap to find out...

Ahem. Just my humble opinion, of course.

Spindle-spinning rocks. Yours, especially.

[Kim]

No mothballs!! They are toxic, nasty, smelly and they don't work. Packaging your finished objects or fiber in cellulose based bags (paper or fabric - old pillowcases work great) and then store the packages in a sealed rubbermaid type container. Moths don't eat cellulose and the container keeps out other nasties. Also paper or fabric breathes, preventing mildewing of individual pieces/stash from moisture held in the fiber; wool holds an amazing quantity of moisture and still feels dry.

[Jason]

No suggestion on storage. But I am starting to have fears of moths! LOL

Your "Violets by the River" is just gorgeous. I'm excited to get started and little worried that it won't turn out at all. I'd better get cracking now that I am metioned. Oh wait, the yarn hasn't arrived yet. Grrrrrrr!

[Kate]

I don't think you need to worry about "freezer burn".

My shawls live folded on a shelf in my closet. I wear
them, and they are otherwise taken out, aired, and
refolded from time to time. That said, none of them
is of the fineness of yours. If they were, I'd probably
keep them in the freezer, too.

[Claire]

Thank-you for posting instructions to attach the edging to the Rosebud shawl. I am printing them out and putting them with my pattern. I'm half-way through the border and approaching the edging with some trepidation. Your instructions will save me a lot of time and tears. Your shawl is beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing.

[Kenny]

Wow, you sure do have some frozen beauties!!

[Rabbitch]

Aaahhhh! You said the "M" word! No, not meat. I don't eat much of it but don't object to those who choose to. But moths! Moths!

I fear them more than the rats I had in the walls (and in my studio, briefly, before their abrupt demise) a few weeks ago.

**running about madly, waving my arms**