Chronicles of The Lazy Knitter

National Sweater Day

2012-02-09T17:54:00.000-06:00

I pilfered the picture but I hope I will be forgiven in the spirit of encouraging everyone to consider turning down the heat for a day and donning their favorite handmade (and hopefully handspun) sweater. I admit I was a bit disappointed that this wasn't being promoted by the "Use Natural Fiber" movement, which is a very commendable "green" thing to encourage. Too bad. Natural fiber deserves more respect since it's environmental footprint can be very small indeed next to it's synthetic/chemical-nightmare produced cousins. Oh well, encouraging everyone to wear sweaters is still a cool thing to do! Cheers all! Stay wooly warm!

Deep Rich Fog

2012-02-07T20:02:00.001-06:00

There was only one spinning project besides my white Llama blend yarn that I completed with the Lendrum. There was a lovely bundle of grey blended batts that I got in the end-of-run lot from Dyeing For Color. I was especially fond of them, being a big fan of greys and I wanted to make something a bit fun.

You can see in the blend there are several shades of grey, a light blue and a dark grey-almost-black striped in them. Next to the blue and white batts on the far left they really almost look green, but trust me, they're greys! And very smooshy soft to boot!
I spun them thick and thin with lots of slubs because I wanted the striping to stand out and the yarn to have lots of texture. I enjoyed working with the fiber but not the wheel.... but I won't go into that, I think I've said enough about that already! I had some very pale blue fine singles to ply it with to add some stability to the slubs and maximize the yardage of the batts.

It may not look it but this skein is 9.7 ounces! But because it's a chunky weight there's only 315 yards. Superwash wool and a bit of Bamboo silk, it will make a moody accessory, like a scarf or cowl and hat or mitts set for someone who buys it from my Etsy Shop...

Friday Freebies Cardigans

2012-02-05T18:30:00.002-06:00

A cardigan is a year-round knit, no doubt about it. There's always a time, regardless of the month (unless you live in the Bahamas) when you can use a little cover-up. Here is a pair that are worthy of consideration...

Meet the Sassafras Cardi from Berroco! A beautifully fitted, wonderfully textured knit! You'll want to use a solid or semi-solid 3-ply (or more) for the textured stitches to make them really stand out. Personally I don't care for bracelet length sleeves so I'd make them longer but that's just my bias. I can see this in a pristine natural white for real elegance, maybe a silk blend?

You can't beat this Fitted Jacket from Lion Brand for simplicity and every day comfort! Simple styling and knit-in pockets (which I just LOVE!) make this the kind of sweater you can use every day with everything you wear! I recommend a hearty handspun wool for this cardi! Forget the buttery commercial Merino and use something from your handspun stash that is durable, like Jacob, Finn or Cottswold and enjoy this cardi for years to come!

Drop Spindle Sale for February 30% Off!

2012-02-02T15:15:00.002-06:00

I love all spinning related things! I love the tools and wheels and spindles. I've really enjoyed making spindles too, however, I've had some sitting around in my Etsy Shop pretty much since shortly after I opened it. I have decided to have a big spindle sale in February and hopefully I'll clear out some of them! I will be using the Etsy On Sale app and discounting them all 30%. That means you don't need a code to get the discount, they will be clearly marked and I can easily fit 4 in a box for the same shipping cost as 2... just sayin'.....

With the sale in mind I got busy with my drum carder making some fiber batts to use as packing material. I hate using plastic bubble wrap for spindles. I find nice springy crimpy wool is great as it molds better and provides better cushioning. It's also a nice bonus for the buyer because it gives them a little something to play with once they open the parcel! I dug out some bright purple Romney wool and blended it with some white Jacob wool into these funky stripey batts. I figured I'd card 1 ounce batts until I ran out. I quit counting at 20 but since there was just under 2lbs of fiber I figure there's about 30 batts. It sure would be nice to have to use them all up and need to make more.... Ha! It's a good thing artists are dreamers too! LOL! Cheers!

PhatFiber Sampler Box February Samples

2012-02-01T14:49:00.001-06:00

The January sampler box was a big hit and I was pleasantly surprised by a number of sales after the box drop (small orders, but a sale is a sale!), but I think what really inspired buyers in the post-Christmas buying slump is that PhatFiber was giving away a brand new Babe spinning wheel as part of the SuperBox January draw! People who purchase from PhatFiber contributors enter their purchase ID's on the PhatFiber group's monthly give-away thread on Ravelry and they get one entry into the draw for each item they purchase. What a sweet little bonus to give buyers some incentive, eh? I don't know what the big item will be for February but Jessie says that every month this year there will be one big item plus the Superbox (a box with full-size samples and other goodies - I always send a full set of stitch markers for it). If January is any barometer, I think it's a genius idea!

The PhatFiber Box theme for February is Lady's Boudoir. While it may give you images of feather boas and pink-until-your-eyes-hurt I thought of something a touch more universal - the hand mirror. Now I must say that I personally don't have or use one, but I can't think of any proper lady's boudoir without one. I suppose I could have chosen hairbrush charms but I think a hand mirror is so much more elegant, not to mention vain!
I used milli fiori beads with sweet little yellow and white flowers with golden topaz accent beads. I also made these as a box exclusive, that means I didn't make any for my Etsy Shop. Having said that though, I have made a bunch of new stitch markers for the shop, mostly Valentine and flower themed markers.

Work Socks Progress Report

2012-01-30T14:20:00.003-06:00

I have continued to plug away at my son's work socks. Although he wears the pair of Elizabeth Zimmerman moccasin socks I made him, he still prefers the original toe-up design I usually make. On one hand I'm a little disappointed that after working so much to improve the fit they still weren't quite good enough. The main problem is the seam that runs up the sole. I did a perfect kitchener seam that laid flat (and I'm very proud of that!) but the toe was really too wide since it's round not pointy like his feet and there is always a bit of bunching on each side. In addition, even though the seam was flat he could still feel it under the ball of his foot. Normally this would be a small issue but we're talking about someone who works 12 hour days, mostly on his feet , outdoors. In that situation you notice everything eventually - and not right before quitting time, usually at about 4 in the afternoon when you have another 3 or 4 hours left to go.
At any rate, I had said from the beginning that it was an experiment and since it didn't really foot the bill I got down to business making him his 5 pairs of work socks. They are forest green superwash wool DK weight (3 balls per sock) plus 2 strands of Alpaca/Merino sock yarn in a sandy color (Schaefer Abigail Sock). I find this really adds softness and warmth and it blooms so nicely after the first wash. Since it only takes two half-balls of the Abigail that makes 4 balls of yarn per sock. Yes! They are thick but soft and they really keep his feet warm!

It is with great pleasure I am completing the last pair, now blue superwash because, at 3 balls per sock, I ran out of green. Good thing my stash is bottomless, eh? If you'd like a copy of my Plain Vanilla Work Socks pattern, you can find it on my blog HERE.

Friday Freebies With Flair!

2012-01-28T14:10:00.000-06:00

I felt like posting something a little less run-of-the-mill today. Something that could be bright and colorful. Something to chase away the winter blahs.

Meet the Coretto Cardi from Berroco! I really love this design! The plain color bands are knit with a lovely boucle-style yarn, alternated with beautiful fairisle designs in complimentary colors in a smoother yarn. I think the Berroco yarn is very nice but I can't help but think this would be the perfect project for using up your first few attempts at spinning boucle or textured yarn. After all, it's an outer garment so any unusual lumps, bumps and thin spots can be an artistic part of the overall design and not look like a spinning "oops", even if it was! Something to think about....

I love the strong geometric lines of this Felted Tribal Bag from Lion Brand! If you love spinning natural colored fibers as much as I do, I'm sure you have some beautiful but not-so-soft handspun that would felt beautifully for this tote! That's not to say it wouldn't come up absolutely smashing in brightly colored yarns too! This is the kind of project you can show to beginning spinners and say, "See! There is no such thing as bad yarn or bad fiber - you just have to find the right project for it!"

And speaking of the right project for left over skeins of yarn, how can you not love this Slip Stitch Sampler Afghan from Lion Brand? It's so vibrant and whimsical! If I was to make it I think I would choose one main color that had to be in every section to tie it all together and then go wild with all the others! Can't you just see this made from all your mini-skeins, you know, the ones you make from your odds and ends singles when you're done plying? Ooooh the possibilities! Enjoy!

Greens in Winter

2012-01-26T11:35:00.002-06:00

I really enjoyed working with these lovely green batts! They are also superwash with bamboo silk and angelina. Plus it's a blend of lovely dark greens, not just one color.

There was quite a bit more than this and it made 2 skeins of DK weight 2-ply, one 330 yds approx 5.3 oz, and one 180 yds approx 2.9 oz.

I even had singles left over so I spun up some other light green batts to ply with them.

The third skein also came out a DK weight, 2-ply 260 yds approx 3.8 oz. All are available in my Etsy shop.

Pink Twinkle Handspun

2012-01-25T10:59:00.003-06:00

Just so you know, I don't have anything off the Majacrafts yet to post! I am working on some things but I'm not up to plying just yet.

This lovely pile of fluff is superwash and bamboo silk, part of the end-of-run bundle I bought this summer from Dyeing for Color. The little bag of pink pencil roving was a lucky match I had in my stash! I spun the batts on the plump side but spun the pencil roving extra fine, then plied them.

I was especially pleased that this made more of a semi-solid pink. It's wonderfully soft and fluffy! 2-ply, Aran weight, 165yds, approx 2.9 oz (83 gms).

A Little Fun For Tuesday!

2012-01-24T10:58:00.002-06:00

I thought I'd share an interesting LINK with you to a story about spinning and weaving - of all things - Spanish Moss! I have read stories about spinning Milkweed fluff and other natural softies but Spanish Moss? That's got to be a fiber right up there with hemp or nettles! Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!

And for the fun, here's a photo of knitter's wine glasses! Personally I'd have stockingette on the bottom! It may be a bit boring to some people but lace knitting definitely needs more than that skimpy amount of vino! LOL! I have to be very relaxed and undistracted for that! And the ripping out? Chuck the wine glass and get a tankard! Cheers all!

Free Spinning Book Draw

2012-01-19T11:02:00.000-06:00

Thought I would share this LINK with you to have a chance to win a copy of Lexi Boeger's newest spinning book, Handspun: New Spins on Traditional Techniques. There is also a video tutorial on how to create tail spun yarn plus close-ups of the pages from the book that tell you how. It's a legit book promotion to encourage sales so why not pop on over and leave a comment?

Introducing...

2012-01-18T18:36:00.000-06:00

At long last, I am no longer wheel-less! I had narrowed my choices to a Schacht Matchless, a Majacraft Rose or a Kromski Minstrel. I didn't really feel I could take on the price of a new wheel so I searched for something used. And although I found a Matchless it was in the USA and the shipping was right out of this world since it couldn't be disassembled so I kept on looking. I was determined not to fixate on one model over another but to let fate make the choice for me! Yes, a bit of a risky gamble... sort of... and then I found a used Rose Majacraft on Ravelry! Although it came from Ontario the shipping was still fairly high but I got the wheel itself for a good price so that helped. She arrived on Friday and it didn't take me long to get her out of the box!

In this photo I have the flyer assembly on the right but after spinning for a bit I realized I am much happier with it on the left since my left hand is my drafting hand. I have nothing but good things to say - I am really, really satisfied with how this wheel performs! It suits my spinning style and I revel in having excellent wheel control again with just my feet! She is sturdy, well built and quiet too! I have learned to sit well away from her so treadling is smooth and easy. It took me a bit to get used to the delta (instead of an orifice tube) but once I got the hang of it I've had no trouble with broken singles.
Not bad for a choice made by fate, eh? But wait! There's a little more to this story! While I was cruising the Ravelry selling groups wheel hunting I came across an ad for another Majacraft wheel - a Millie! She is new but has a crack in one leg. She came from a dealer so was not selling for new price because of the damage. In addition, the Millie is a discontinued wheel, Majacraft doesn't make them any more. She takes all the Majacraft parts like bobbins and flyers so she and Rose could share things. I just "knew" I wasn't likely to come across a new one again any time soon, so thanks to a very successful Year End Clearance sale in my Etsy Shop I purchased Millie too! Not exactly part of my original plan but I'm SO not sorry I did!

Being a new wheel, Millie didn't come assembled but I enjoyed getting to know her by putting her together. She doesn't fold but she's a nice wheel for taking somewhere because she's so compact.

I loosened off the screws in the cracked leg and used some good quality carpenter's glue. I had planned to clamp the repair until the glue set but no matter how I tried I couldn't get a clamp to hold the way I needed it to so I used the handyman's secret weapon. No, not duct tape - in a house full of linemen I used electrical tape because it stretches but pulls back towards it's original length so I got a good tight seal. The other bonus is it doesn't leave glue residue like duct tape does.

So here are my two girls, Millie and her big sister Rose. I love Millie's little "chair". It's so convenient to put my fiber or lazy kate on it! Millie's speed is more like my Baynes but Rose - oh she's a fast wheel! I can see myself spending many happy hours introducing her to members of my stash! LOL!

Friday Freebie Scarves

2012-01-14T11:49:00.000-06:00

Not that I'm a big scarf knitter - only 2 in my knitting career - but I know they are popular, especially this time of year! They have a reputation for being tedious knits about mid-way through so I tried to select patterns that hopefully will keep your attention and enthusiasm for the entire knit!

This Cable Twist Scarf and Hat set from Lion Brand is a great way to finally master cable knits. What a great showcase for your handspun (3-ply for good stitch definition) or a soft semi-solid indie dyed yarn!

This Firefly Scarf from Classic Elite is a lovely showcase for silk yarn or maybe a fine linen blend so you can wear it year-round as an accessory. Of course you could always knit it in a lovely wool or wool blend and enjoy it all winter too!

This gorgeous Alpaca Lace Scarf also from Classic Elite is also a great showcase for your handspun lace weight or maybe even something a little heavier like sport weight. Add a few repeats width-wise and length-wise and you'd have a lovely wrap instead!

This simple and sweet Awareness Scarf, also from Classic Elite would be a fairly fast project. I can't help but think that a cashmere or angora in a blend would make this a real treasure!
Hopefully one of these will entice you to do a little stash-dipping. There's always a special skein tucked away waiting for a "certain yardage" project. Enjoy!

Instead of Spinning...

2012-01-12T16:47:00.000-06:00

In my spinning world there is good news and there is not so good news. The good news is I have actually purchased a new wheel! Yippee! The not so good news is I have to wait for it to arrive because it is in transit. *sigh!*
Not that I am short of things to do (she says, counting the UFO baskets) but simply that I really miss spinning every night. So I am really putting my effort into getting those 5 pairs of work socks knit so that when my new friend arrives I can devote all my attention to it, rather than feel guilty every time I sit to spin because the socks aren't finished.
Now I tend to be a rather restless knitter, meaning I don't often just sit and knit. I can carry on a conversation or watch something, like movies. Only right now I decided to enjoy something I've had sitting around since last Spring!

It's a wonderful trio of spinning DVDs with Judith MacKenzie! All three are from Interweave and although I had expected some overlap in content, I was pleasantly surprised at how little there was! Judith is by far my favorite video teacher. I like her gentle voice and her off-hand style of teaching. She's not a drill sergeant and she's not a member of the spinning police. She just wants to impart information that will help you to spin better and I find it a pleasure to listen to her. The camera work in these DVDs is much better than in previous videos so you see more close-ups of her hands and yarns. It's very much like being there.
The Gentle Art of Plying was a great inspiration and she demonstrated several techniques I am looking forward to trying. It also helped me see plying as not "the last job" to finishing, but an important component to creating yarn and what a big difference it can make!
Spinning Luxury Fibers was also wonderful! The first thing I learned is that I do spin silk correctly even though I thought (previously) that not drawing backwards was because I was a poor spinner. From this DVD I learned that my instinct was correct and that in future I shouldn't be so ready to condemn myself for inchworming things, that in fact, some fibers require that. Not all fibers can be spun with a modified long draw! What a liberating thought! I was so happy! (especially considering how some teachers go on and on about it!). I especially liked the section on Bison fiber as I have about 8 ounces of a blend in my stash I've been reluctant to spin because it looks so odd. Now that I know something about how best to handle it I'm looking forward to having a go at it!
Of the three DVDs, A Spinner's Toolbox is the one I know I'm going to watch a few more times. There's so much in it that I need to hear over and over. It is, by far, the most information dense. I found I couldn't watch it casually like I did the other two. Well, I suppose I could, but I wouldn't get as much out of it! If you want a really comprehensive tool to help you learn basic drafting techniques, this is the one! The others were very good at covering their topics and certainly worth the investment but this one is by far the one I will benefit most from. Good thing I only have 2 pairs of socks left to go! I'm counting down the days... hopefully Monday or Tuesday.....

PhatFiber Samples

2012-01-11T15:48:00.000-06:00

Since December went by in a whirl of poor internet I thought I'd show you my samples for both December and January.

December's theme was Childhood favorites. I made these adorable roving snowmen with samples of some new spinning fiber in my Etsy Shop. It's such a soft, lovely pindrafted roving! This fiber is the lambswool (1st shearing) from some Corriedale-cross lambs. I made them pipecleaner arms that wrap around a candy cane (what child didn't love that?). Then I packaged them in cute little Christmas tree bags.

I also made stitch markers - Christmas trees! You can't get much more popular with children than that! I made these as a box exclusive, I didn't make them for my shop.

January's theme is Luxe, as in really deluxe or expensive. I thought about the princess who wanted the moon to wear on a chain around her neck. Being winter, I thought about the impermanent nature of snowflakes and decided they were the perfect thing. An unmeltable snowflake! Of course, unlike real snowflakes, these are identical.

These are the ones I made for my Etsy Shop, a little different style, with frosted accent beads.

Continuing the Luxe theme, I also made mini-skein samples of the Corriedale-cross yarn. It's such nice yarn I can't help but think that if people get a chance to handle it, they'll appreciate how nice it is (an maybe buy some!). It was the first time I got to use my mini niddy noddy. One complete wrap is a yard so it really made it easy to make sample skeins that were all the same length! I made about 25 mini-skeins and I don't mind saying it gave me new respect for box contributors who do this every month! The part I disliked was fiddling around trying to tie the skeins before taking them off the Niddy Noddy. What I really needed was a third hand. So hats off to all those mini-skeiners! I salute you!

First Friday Freebies of The New Year

2012-01-07T18:00:00.000-06:00

For the first Friday Freebies of the New Year I wanted to have a couple of really great patterns. I hope you think they are!

The Posh Neck Scarf from Classic Elite is a sweet, quick knit that just oozes possibilities! Knit it in cashmere or angora! Break out a superb skein of indie dyed handspun and turn this classic little ditty into something spectacular! Or go with a classic naturally creamy white wool so it will cuddle your neck and go with everything you wear!

If you're looking for more of a challenge, how about this Crowded Cable Shrug from Lion Brand? Totally textured, knit it up in a beautiful solid and let your stitches sing!

If you're a crocheter, how about this Subtle Sparkle Shawl from Caron Naturally? Three tiered in a bold color palette or more subtle in a silk blend yarn, it's a versatile first-of-the-year project you can use all year round!
Happy New Year all! Enjoy!

Merino Silk Handspun

2012-01-04T11:37:00.000-06:00

I only have a few pre-Lendrum skeins left to show you, then I'm out of handspun pictures until I get a new spinning wheel! Frankly I'm already suffering from fiber withdrawal! Although knitting work socks qualifies as "relaxing" the thick yarn is quite a work out for my hands. I never realized how much I looked forward to spinning every night to relax and unwind! Although my plying wheels are fine for plying or art yarn (and aside from the fact they're single treadle) the drive ratios are very low so you have to treadle like mad to put enough twist in fine singles. My fiber shredded so many times I eventually gave up because I was just getting tired of re-starting any time I slacked off on my treadling.
This lovely bundle is a Merino silk blend with short color changes - not my favorite thing to spin, for sure, but the colors are lovely! I chain plied it to preserve the colors which means a heftier weight yarn.

A buttery-soft skein, 313 yards of 3-ply, approx 4 ounces, so it's a comfortable DK weight. 75% Merino, 25% silk. I called it Summer Shadows and gave it a spot in my Etsy Shop. Cheers!

The Elizabeth Zimmerman Mocassin Sock

2012-01-02T20:08:00.000-06:00

I started the first "test" sock without making a gauge swatch (brilliant, no?). I reasoned that my regular toe-up pattern used 40 stitches and hers called for 44 so I figured they were close enough I'd end up with a more or less useable sock. I mean, how much difference could 4 stitches make?? Yes, I can hear you chuckling! At this gauge, (4 stitches to the inch) it makes a difference! But I digress!
The first modification I made is that her pattern calls for the cuff to be knit flat then seamed. D'oh! Out came the DPNs and I finished it in the round. Then you knit down the instep and around the end of the toe. Then stitches are picked up all around the edge of the sole and the bottom finished on a small circ going round and round. Totally bizarre when you're knitting with only her pithy written instructions and NO pictures! The heel is an odd little triangle you make using short rows. I discovered that if I wrapped the turns they were more firm and less hole-y as her instructions didn't mention wrapping the turns. I felt this was an important improvement. At any rate it took me almost a week to complete the test sock and nearly 2 weeks to complete the first pair after making all the adjustments my son needed after he tried on the test sock.
And of course, being a total stranger to Kitchener stitch, since I make all my regular socks toe-up and seamless, I did a nasty poor job sewing up the seam on the sole of the test sock. So now I'm done the first pair, with marginally better seams, and waiting for him to come home on New Year's to try them out. Wish me luck - I'm not sure he's going to like them as well as my regulars but I figured it was worth a try because next year I'd rather be re-soling than knitting from scratch again!

Happy Happy New Year!!

2012-01-01T14:35:00.000-06:00

No talk of "resolutions" I'm just grateful to be on the right side of the turf and that all of you are too! Happy, prosperous and contented New Year to you all!

PhatFiber Holiday Gift Swap

2011-12-31T12:15:00.000-06:00

SQUEEEE! It’s Here!! I’m doing cartwheels! I sent my Secret Santa box off at the end of November and I thought my box would never get here! I wish this was smell-o-vision because Rue Kama Suutra Fiber Arts, my Secret Santa, included a plump sachet of Lavender in the box and my whole office is filled with the aroma! It was so weird - every time I went to open the box the phone rang! 6 calls in a row! My kids thought it was a pretty funny joke! But OH!! What a delicious box when I finally got it open!!!
Dark chocolate cherries AND Almonds AND coconut M&Ms! How did she know I’m kookoo for coconut? YUM!! 4 packets of enticing handblended herbal tea, a butterscotch hot chocolate pouch, a funktastic Knitting Emergency sticker, awesome drawstring project bag and TWO smooshilicious skeins of her hand painted yarns; Magic Carpet Supermerino sock and Pot O’ Gold Lakshmi 30% Cashmere, 30% silk, 40% baby-bottom-soft Merino! Also a bar of Milk & Honey lotion bar that really smells good enough to eat! A MILLION thanks Rue! I’m over the moon! Yaaaay!

My Own White Llama Fiber Yarn!

2011-12-30T15:43:00.000-06:00

I got lucky today using the internet! Our bandwidth was good enough that not only could I load my blog interface I also got into my widgets and adjusted a few things on my sidebar! Pathetic to get so excited over things so many millions take for granted! *sigh!*
Anyways, I'm so pleased to be able to show you my finished naturally white Llama/wool blend yarn! It was the only major project I spun with the Lendrum. I figured if I spun something that would normally be a pleasure to spin, I couldn't blame the fiber on why I didn't like the wheel.

And who wouldn't enjoy spinning up this?? According to the paperwork it's about 70% Llama fiber from my own Llama and about 30% Merino top. About a pound in total. Of course it took longer than I expected to spin it and ply it because I've been so crazy-busy over the last 2 months! I also didn't chain ply it. It's a down-to-earth 3 singles 3-ply! OK, actually the last part bobbin got chain plied but the overwhelming majority is just a plain 3 strand ply.

2 skeins, 7.2 ounces 624 yds and 8.3 ounces 671 yds, which makes it borderline between Sport and DK weight - a very good weight to knit myself some nice winter socks! Maybe after I'm finished my son's work socks... more on that later!

Year End Clearance Sale

2011-12-28T13:29:00.001-06:00

YUP! It's ALL on sale in my Etsy Shop - but only until Jan 2.

Use Coupon Code: YearEnd30 in the Coupon Box at Check Out!

Merry Christmas To ME!

2011-12-26T12:32:00.000-06:00

Time for my annual "Merry Christmas to Me" post! I suppose you could say I was not very extravagant this year. No biggie! I've been running steady this month with new shipments of items for work, all of which had to be catalogued into inventory then photographed and all added to update the website. And let's not talk about data entry into books, shall we? It's year end time etc etc... it makes me tired just to think about it! *sigh!* Which (in addition to crappy internet) is why I've had so few blog posts this month!
So let's talk about gifts to myself, OK? The first gift I gave myself was I sold the Lendrum! (insert crazed cheer!) The second gift I'd like to give myself would be to sell the Bea spinning wheel... that will likely take some time though... I still plan to purchase a replacement wheel but I am going to take my time on this one and maybe purchase with my heart instead of everyone else's opinion of what I'll love. I have my heart set on about 4 different models: the Schacht Matchless, Majacraft Rose, Majacraft Suzie and the Kromski Minstrel (no groans over that one, please! Remember, I had a similar Baynes and loved it!).
I found a used Suzie on Kijiji but no reply from the seller so maybe it's sold and they're just too lazy to delete the ad. I found a Rose on Ravelry, but same thing - no reply. I could also purchase a used Matchless from a seller in the USA but for the same price I could buy a new Kromski from a Canadian retailer with all the bobbins and extras I want.... decisions, decisions!! Arrrgghh!!! I'm taking my time this time!!

I told myself 'no new yarn, because I make itand no new books because I have so many' but I absolutely couldn't resist this one last book of Elizabeth Zimmerman's work. Not that I'm a huge fan of garter stitch but I'm not a fan of purl stitch either! But I love her writing style and her out-of-the-box knitting style. I'm so happy her grandson went through her papers and journals and gave us this one last gift of her talent!

This enticing concoction is from Wild Wind Naturals, a Canadian seller I found on Etsy. She didn't have a lot in her shop but maybe she's new there or maybe sells elsewhere. All I know is I couldn't resist this marvelous blend of Alpaca, Merino, Silk, Bamboo and copper firestar!

I fell in love with these babybottom soft batts from Natchwoolie! 8 ounces of Alpaca, Baby Camel & Tussah silk from her Sinfully Delicious batt series! I have wanted to buy something from her shop for a long time now and had the perfect opportunity when she had a pre-Christmas sale!

I bought these 2 from Desired Haven Farm. The blue is wool, banana silk, soya silk, angelina and firestar. The multi is a puffy-soft blend of 3 colored wools and Angelina. It's so much nicer in person than this photo!
I can hardly wait to get into these batts... once I get a spinning wheel...

Last but not least, in the I-can't-believe-I-did-this department, I bought myself a LeClerc Nilus 2 four harness loom! This is the original sale photo, as I still haven't completed it's re-assembly. No apologies for that, I simply haven't had time to commit to it. However, I own it now and I can get familiar with it as I have time. I got it for an absolutely smokin' price and I knew I likely wouldn't come across a deal like that again any time soon! I have been thinking about getting a loom for some time now and the small ones start at over $300 and that's just a 24" weaving width. I realized that I wouldn't stick with a small one for long and with the 42" weaving width on this one I can weave as wide or as narrow as I'd like. Now all I have to do is watch my DVDs and learn how to use the silly thing!
So that's my Christmas ho ho ho! Hope you found some nice fibery treats under your tree this year too! Cheers!

Merry Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T17:08:00.000-06:00

A happy and peaceful Christmas to you all!

Advice Please!

2011-12-02T19:24:00.000-06:00

I expect you are wondering what happened to me - SO AM I! On top of craptastic internet that is so poor it won't let me open my blog interfaces so I am email blogging right now, our wireless router died so now my computer is hardwired into the satellite modem until we get a new one and I have to share my computer with everyone here. Oh - did I also mention that since my computer was working at a crawl it eventually needed a clean install of Windows and - yup, you guessed it - my home grown tech support didn't "quite" get all my files backed up so I lost ALL the pattern links for Friday Freebies that I had lined up for last month and the next 2 coming months. (actually the entire file of links from the past 2 years...) *sigh* And I won't regale you with tales of how things have been going at work lately - after all, I AM trying to run "just" a fiber blog here!

SO - on to the main event! I am looking for advice - hopefully a lot of opinions! You probably noticed I've had some wheels listed for sale. I was hoping to purchase my "dream" wheel, a Lendrum, which I did. Sad to say the dream was a nightmare and I really hate it! In fact I would like to sell it but I need to find something to replace it with, which is why I want advice. The hard part is I live in the sticks and am in no position to go somewhere to try out wheels, it's just not going to happen. So I am hoping to get some benefit from your collective experience and help me decide where to start looking.
The reason I switched to the Lendrum from my Baynes (which I loved) is because while the Baynes is fine for finer yarns I couldn't ply with it or spin art yarns. The Jumbo flyer for the Baynes was an afterthought and didn't work well with the small wheel frame. This is the one feature I actually love about the Lendrum, that I can switch the flyer and ply with it.
What I wasn't expecting about the Ledrum is that the double treadle system was designed by a moron. I can't control the wheel when stopping or starting. This may not sound like a big deal but but it's a huge deal to me, coming from a Baynes where I had almost perfect control of the wheel with my feet and I almost never had to touch it with my hands. What I hate most is that the wheel has it's own "sweet spot" where it wants to sit at rest and it always unwinds about a foot of singles before it stops moving when I stop spinning and because of how the double treadle is set up I can't even stop it with my feet. I have been spinning with it every day for over a month and my frustration hasn't changed - this wheel HAS to go but I don't know what to replace it with.
Please feel free to ask questions but Please! Please! tell me about *YOUR* double treadle wheel that has a big bobbin option for plying/art yarn! I am SO open to suggestions! Oh, I posted this wheel rant on the Canadian Spinners Group on Ravelry under the For Sale Or Trade thread so if you'd rather reply there where it's rather "chatty" head on over!

The offensive beast....

Crazy For ORange!

2011-11-24T23:40:00.000-06:00

OK I admit that orange is not a color I generally have much to do with in anything; clothing, decor, jewelry etc but those delicious orange batts in the mixed bags I bought from DyeingForColor really inspired me! There were a number of wild orange batts:

And there were two brownish-golden orange batts:

And I'm very proud to say I didn't spin them all the same! Some of the wild was spun as art yarn which I plied with some plain orange singles. The skein was a whopping 6 ounces and about 210 yds!

The golden-orange batt spun up even bulkier at only 135 yds for 6 ounces! But it's SO plush and smooshy! Mmmm!

When the two large skeins were done I simply plied together the remaining fine singles of the different colors of orange superwash I had left. This made 2 more smaller skeins:

Meet Tangerine, a pleasant fingering weight, 1.4 ounces and 150 yds, and her half sister Goldenrod, also 1.4 ounces and 147 yds. I was really bowled over by how consistent these 2 skeins were with each other - gee - almost like I had some pretty good control spinning or something.... well, or maybe it was just voodoo after all... LOL! They are all in my Etsy shop waiting to find new homes, except for Goldenrod, she found a new mama right away... hopefully her half sisters will be so lucky too! Cheers all!

More Handspun

2011-11-23T23:30:00.000-06:00

How do you not love a fiber batt like this? It's a gorgeous blend of superwash and bamboo from the end-of-run bags I bought from DyeingForColor. I went through it like butter! And since there was only one batt I spun it fairly fine and then hunted my stash for something to ply it with. As luck would have it I found a small amount of purple superwash pencil roving!

Yes, quite purple! I was sure there wouldn't be enough so I spun it even finer than the blend. Wouldn't you know it, I ran out of the blend first? It turned into a lovely not-so-screaming-purple yarn. A really beautiful heathered look!

320yds, 3.3 ounces - a pleasant Sport weight! Happily awaiting a new home in my Etsy Shop!

16 Months In The Making...

2011-11-22T11:17:00.000-06:00

To my great joy, a box arrived from Twisted Sisters custom mill in Alberta! My Llama fiber!! The white was blended with 50% merino fiber and the black was blended with the black Clun Forest X wool from Val at Wooly Wool of the West.
I had sent it to Twisted Sisters instead of A & B because Twisted Sisters has de-hairing equipment and let's face it - Llama is hairy fiber - at least the fiber from my Llama is!
Now I realized that the equipment will not remove all the hair - and it didn't - but there's enough gone to make it very pleasing to spin! In fact I hustled off the bobbin of wool on my wheel I was spinning to spin the white immediately! There isn't a lot of the white, maybe a pound or so. I'll know approximately once it's on bobbins and once I've made it into yarn and weighed it I'll know exactly (d'uh!). There's at least 3 times as much black so I'll spin that later... maybe next spring?
I also congratulated myself that the time I spent cleaning up the fiber before I sent it, pulling out dirty hair and shaking out the second cuts and vegetable matter was totally time well spent! It is SO clean! There is so little veg in it I would say it is comparable to commercial top! Hooray!
I just couldn't suppress that little thrill of excitement from handling fiber I had sheared myself! It is quite soft and I promised myself I would not try to pick out every-single-piece of hair! I am pulling out any noticeably coarse ones but the reason I'm leaving the rest is because I intend to knit myself some socks from this and I expect the hair will make it somewhat tougher than wool-only yarn. And of course the Llama fiber will make them extra toasty! That's why I'm actually spinning it fairly fine - I'm going to make it a 3-ply and I don't want chunky weight yarn when I'm done! I want nice warm socks, not arctic explorer grade footwear!

In other news our internet seems to be total garbage after 6 p.m. and I've had a lot of trouble getting either of my blog interfaces to load in the evenings (assuming you've noticed the scanty posts the last month or so) so I'm going to try blogging during the day (squeezing it in somewhere between making lunch and business stuff). Things load quickly and easily so I'm thinking this may be the way to go for now. Cheers all!

Since Winter Is Upon Us

2011-11-16T22:59:00.000-06:00

I suspect many of you are discovering, as I have, that Fall is definitely over. And although I did many things this summer I never managed to finish a single WIP sweater! *sigh* Of course that is most annoying since it's pretty cold now and I certainly started each of them with the intention of actually wearing them... eventually...
So I perused the baskets, trying to decide which I was wanting most to wear before winter is over - and no, I am not likely to show you a shot of just how many baskets there are, mostly because it would be waaaay too embarrassing!
My first thought, actually, was to ask myself if I really planned to finish them. I looked at each one and after some consideration I could honestly say I intended to finish and wear each one. So where to start? I decided to pick up my handspun Cotswold sweater and figure out why I didn't finish it.
The simple explanation was a design idea that I couldn't execute. Since this was a "basic" pattern that I was embellishing it's not like this hasn't happened before! My original idea was to make the yoke with alternating solid color wedges that swirled to the left. I've seen it done before and thought it quite attractive, and it is, provided you're A) - good with stranded colorwork and B) - knitting with worsted or chunky weight yarn. Since I was doing neither, this was not going well. Because the yarn on my sweater is very fine the carry-behinds were too long because of the width I made the stripes and often not made loosely enough. Also, there are so many rows per inch so I seemed to be spending more time twisting and untwisting yarn instead of doing the knitting. In short, a fast kill to my enthusiasm. There was only ONE solution:

Riiiiiiiiiiiiip! Looking at this picture I realize how crazy it is to have a sweater this close to completion just sitting around, especially when I love the yarn so much! So it's now back to just the white section and I'm contemplating doing a simpler design with cables based on a sweater by Vogue. I'll make small bobbins of one color instead of juggling strands behind all the time (since I'll only be using it for 4 stitches each pattern repeat). I'll show more photos once I get it going, OK?

So my miniscule attempt to whittle down the UFOs is in motion! Yay me!
I want to apologize for the infrequent posts but our internet has been SO bad over the last few weeks I've had a terrible time trying to get the interfaces to load. I may have to resort to email posting... another "step down" *sigh!*
Cheers all!

A Little Catching Up

2011-11-09T19:28:00.000-06:00

Let me begin by saying our internet has been so poor for the last 3 days I couldn't get either my GoDaddy or Google blog interfaces to load. Pffft! So no new posts until today!

Yes sir! Yes sir! 3 bags full arrived from A & B Custom Mill! The two white ones are Corriedale cross yearling fleeces made into pin drafting for me to spin by hand! It's really nice! Quite soft, after all, it's first shearing!
The grey is nice but not quite as fine as it's from a 2 year old and quite frankly I had forgotten it was even there! So let's just say it was a bonus surprise when I opened the box! (granted a "bonus" I'd paid for! D'oh!)
These fleeces came from Wooly Wool of the West and Val was wonderful enough to deliver them to A & B for me since she was traveling to an Alberta town nearby! She also delivered several more fleeces I purchased from her but they are being custom spun by A & B and aren't ready yet. I will be very excited to see the skeins in a few weeks!
I'm actually insufferably pleased with myself about purchasing these nice (read: non-Merino) fleeces and having them processed so close to home! It's not "quite" within the touted 50 mile range which is all the green rage but hey, this is the prairies where distance is measured in time, not kilometers! More than close enough to be utterly in vogue! Oooh! My arm is sore from patting myself on the back! LOL!

Earlier this summer I succumbed to morbid curiosity and purchased a bundle of recycled sari silk fiber. This photo is a bit brighter than the actual fiber which is really mostly dark purple-ish.
It is the strangest stuff to work with! Very self-clingy and heavy which made it possible to spin it finer than I expected. It still made singles that were pretty lumpy and bumpy but at least there were lots of jewel-tone flecks in it to lift the darkish color.

Of course I wasn't going to make a stand-alone silk fiber yarn. That would pretty much guarantee a saggy knit or crochet project so I dug out this lot of superwash wool that can't make up it's mind what color it wants to be. I figured it would be a pretty good match to the jumbled color sari silk.
I made a simple 2-ply yarn which is quite soft but also dense. It's not your typical fluffy bouncy yarn! All together these 2 lots produced 3 skeins of sari silk blend yarn and 2 skeins of superwash-only yarn!

2 Skeins are a solid Worsted weight, 1) 335 yds, 4.9 oz and 2) 222 yds, 3.6 oz and the third was flirting with being an Aran weight, 308 yds, 5.9 oz. All 2-ply: 1 ply sari silk, 1 ply superwash wool.

The remainders of the superwash I chain plied. It produced 2 very different skeins! ! skein is a comfortable Sport weight 3-ply, 265 yds and 2.9 oz. The second is an Aran weight 3-ply, 192 yds and 3.6 oz. Amazing what your singles can turn into when everything is spun over a period of time as opposed to all at once!
And yes, I put it all in my Etsy Shop...

Daylight Savings Time

2011-11-07T23:07:00.000-06:00

From: Rhymes With Orange.... I suspect Gerald is from Saskatchewan....

Enjoying Leftovers

2011-11-03T23:12:00.000-06:00

I didn't waste any time diving into the bags of batts I bought last month! If you recall they were "last of the run" oddballs - or leftovers, as I affectionately dubbed them. I started with this dreamy batt of white superwash with streams of blue Bamboo silk laced throughout. There was only a bobbin full so I spun up some plain white superwash singles to ply it with. I'm really glad I did it because diminishing the blue really made it stand out.

It came up a DK weight, 6.1 ounces, 427 yds of plush, soft wooly goodness! (and right into the Etsy Shop).

I Had An Itch To Knit

2011-11-02T23:09:00.000-06:00

The last time I was in the city I happened to come across 1 lb bags of mill ends in the department store. True, I had promised myself no new yarn purchases this year but this one particular bag just wouldn't leave my hand, even though I knew it was probably acrylic...

It's a downy soft singles yarn in a dove grey - my totally greatest weakness color! Now before I knit with any unmarked yarn I always do a bit of fiber testing. First I burnt a bit and although it did the synthetic-melt thing I also smelled a strong aroma of burning hair. Hey! That means some "wool content"! I just knew that yarn this color couldn't be all bad! So I immersed a strand in chlorine bleach and about 20 - 30% of it disappeared! Yup! Wool content! I was delighted! Although I confess to always wondering "what" commercial yarn it actually is.
Since I haven't cast on a new knitting project in 6 months (mostly because I have about 10 UFO's sitting around) I had been toying with the idea of making myself a capelet or oversize cowl for those chilly mornings in my office. All I wanted was a warm neck and shoulders, something I could wear and work in without it falling off the way my shawls always do. I started out with several patterns and ended up following none of them! Typical me!
I did follow the idea of this being a quick knit (read: instant gratification) project and used 15mm needles with the yarn double stranded. It made a smooshy, plush fabric, let me tell you! It only took a matter of a few hours not days to make the project, complete with decadently huge cables and a loose oversize ribbed collar. Mostly I was just winging it, once I made a tension swatch and figured out how many stitches to cast on so I could get it over my head. Here is the end result, which I am very pleased with!

Trunk Refinished!

2011-11-01T23:06:00.000-06:00

It's getting to be "that time of year" again, when the odd jobs need to be addressed because once it snows it will be impossible to do them outside! Anything to do with paint or sanding is really an outside job not only because of the mess but also the smell!
I finished all the sanding on the wood ribs. I started with 200 grit to really reduce the rough spots and then finished with 400 grit to make them all satiny smooth so there won't be any more "catching" of fingers, fabric or fiber! Then I used a good quality Danish Oil to re-hydrate it since it was powder dry. I think what I like best is that because the wood is old it already has a dark patina with lots of character and the wood didn't sand down to a new-looking blonde color. It has that been-there-done-that look to it that really holds it's own next to the tin. Speaking of which, it was quite rusty in places but fortunately it was only surface rust that marred the surface but didn't really go any deeper than that. I washed it, then sanded it before using a rag to apply a matte black Tremclad. What a difference! The tremclad even covered the grey paint that had been spilled on it, much to my relief! (I mean really - who could own a gorgeous trunk like this and keep it in a place where that could happen - and not even wipe it off? Someone who would sell it, I guess! Lucky me!)

My favorite part next to the humped lid is the embossed metal. I ragged it with Tremclad, then used a clean rag to buff the raised parts. I meant they still got the benefit from the oily elements of the tremclad but not the pigment so they stand out as a shiny silver against a bumpy black background. It really was my "feel good" for the weekend! Then I did a really non-traditional thing - I attached sturdy rubber castors to the bottom so now no matter what goes into it I can always move it around without it scratching any of the wood floors! Then I cut aromatic cedar boards to line the bottom and filled it with fiber stash! So although weight is not likely to be an issue, mobility has been well taken care of! Cheers all!

Friday Freebie Hats

2011-10-28T19:24:00.000-06:00

It's been a hairy week. I blinked. It was gone. What more can I say?

The Shelter Island Hat from Tahki Stacey Charles is a gorgeous combination of textures and non-conformity! Just enough of a challenge to keep you enthralled and not a stitch of ribbing in sight! And on top of all that, I think it just begs for handspun yarn! Something special you've been saving that doesn't have a lot of yardage but you'd really like to showcase - I mean, it's going on your head, after all!

I just love this Scarf Hat from Caron Naturally, even if it IS knit in Barbie-girl pink! It's knit in the round with simple garter stitch detailing which you can easily omit if you're using your favorite thick 'n thin or some indie dyed handspun. Self striping if you're feeling loud? It would make an awesome Christmas gift and it's a small enough project you can finish more than one with plenty of time left over - at least if you start now! So line up those movies you've been dying to watch and cast on! It's an easy knit and you can justify putting your feet up because you're getting a jump on the holidays! Cheers all! Enjoy!

Cat Humour

2011-10-25T22:49:00.000-06:00

PhatFiber Samples Witching Hour

2011-10-20T17:46:00.000-06:00

This month's PhatFiber Sampler Box theme is the Witching Hour. I get such a charge out of the PhatFiber Group Ravelry thread for the month's box. So many of the contributors post pictures of things that inspire the colors or designs they create. Most of the time I really get a feel for the theme - most of the time. This month all the pictures everyone posted were witches, witches and more witches... yawn! Somehow I just couldn't get into it. I've always thought of witches as a more juvenile obsession so I decided to go into a more sideline theme. Mythical and still more or less "on topic".

DRAGONS!! Yippee! I used these dragons in the next larger size for my Box samples. All the markers I made for my Etsy Shop are on 8mm rings so they're the perfect size for 6mm and under needles. I made a total of 7 different styles of dragon stitch markers and posted them the first week of October. There are different styles and sizes and colors of dragons, some with beads, some without. I had waaaay too much fun doing this. What I wish is I made some money from it and maybe had a little less fun! LOL!! Ya, not likely! Oh well! I suppose I'm no different than anyone else with Christmas around the corner, hoping to glean a few extra sheckles from applying a little more elbow grease.... Anyways, here's another set to hopefully tickle your fancy!

The Last Knit

2011-10-14T18:25:00.000-06:00

Dot. The world's smallest stop-motion animation character shot on a Noki...

2011-10-14T18:08:00.000-06:00

Knittings you've never seen before!

2011-10-14T18:05:00.000-06:00

The Little Red Plane

2011-10-14T17:59:00.000-06:00

Natural Gas Commercial

2011-10-14T17:54:00.000-06:00

Spinning Wheel For Sale

2011-10-13T23:26:00.001-06:00

I believe the time has come for my darling Bea to find a new home. She is sturdy and powerful, makes fantastic art yarns and (almost) never runs out of room when you're plying yarn! That's because she comes with 3 - 8 ounce bobbins (original) and 3 - 6.5 ounce bobbins (custom made). The onboard Lazy Kate can be attached to either side. $300 plus shipping (which I'm guessing is going to be $30 - $40 within Canada). She made the journey all the way from the Netherlands with nary a scratch so I know she'll make it to wherever you live just fine! If you've ever thought about getting a Moswolt Hammer Wheel for plying and art yarns, I've owned one and I liked the Bea better! If you're interested just make a Comment. They're sent to me privately and I approve what gets published so no worries there! PLEASE include your email address in the comment body because Google hides your email address from me! Take care all! Cheers!

Kamsack Brute Project - Part 3 - The Reveal

2011-10-12T23:07:00.000-06:00

I always promised myself if I ever got another spinning wheel I would get one that was already finished - I SO hate sanding! Sooooo here I am with the Brute, sanding, staining, sanding, verathaning and sanding some more.... *sigh!*

I chose a simple mid-range brown wood stain, (you have my permission to ooh and ahh over the transformation), a semi-gloss verathane and 400 grit sandpaper if you're ever loony enough to do this yourself. Let me tell you that every curve and indent needed a visit from the sandpaper fairy and my hands are still dried out from all that dust! This shot only shows it after the first sanding and stain. It took 2 coats of finish and 2 more sanding sessions before I brought it in the house for it's final fitting.

With no bearings and a metal-on-wood shaft housing, making the wheel cradle a bit wider wasn't enough. It seems inevitable that the sides would occasionally come in contact with each other and the best help I could give to lessen the drag is a good coating of beeswax, hence the "good" (read: expensive) candle. I made sure to leave the very side of the wheel itself (you can only see it as a half circle) bare, as in, without any verathane which would have made it sticky. The pourous wood grabbed the beeswax nicely! And since beeswax has a fairly high melting point it will tolerate the friction quite well and reduce drag. There is also a hole in the wood plate over the shaft. I sprayed some Jig-a-loo in there and was shocked by how big a difference it made in how easily the wheel turns!

Setting up the scotch tension was pretty simple! On the underside I screwed in an eye with a soft spring. On the top I drilled a hole for the wooden peg and used a piece of fishing line. I will say that on a bobbin this size though, the tensioner is a bit of a moot point. They're so big they tend to create sufficient drag themselves and it increases as they fill with yarn. Still, it was a necessary device to construct for the wheel to be complete.

This shot shows how the flyer assembly and bobbin fit into the bracket we made. The orifice shaft simply sits in a half cup and the shaft goes into a hole in the wood in the far side. Simple!

After that, I that was left to do was fit it with a drive band and take it for a spin! (pun intended!LOL!)
I used it to ply some singles I had sitting around. Needless to say it performed a lot better than it did when it first arrived here! It certainly took me some time to figure out the best way to sit so I could treadle comfortably on it for any length of time. I am no fan of single treadles to start with and I had additional problems with the silly thing scooting across the hardwood floor when I tried to build up some treadling speed! Eventually though we reached an understanding and I filled the bobbin without any problems at all! Now that felt pretty good! There's nothing I love better than a happy ending! Cheers all!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

2011-10-10T12:00:00.000-06:00

Cyclocarder: Katharine Jolda - Amazing!

2011-10-09T22:30:00.000-06:00

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Back Online With Friday Freebies!

2011-10-07T19:04:00.000-06:00

Aside from my week starting swamped with work, then being away Tuesday night and having no internet until today due to our ISP crash... well, let's just say it's been an eventful week! LOL! So I figured I'd finish on a high note with some nice Friday Freebies!

This Knit Backpack from Lion Brand is a fun little quick knit! I like it because there are so many things it can become depending on what weight and fiber of yarn you use! You don't even need to make the backpack straps, how about attaching them to the top and making it a market bag? The mesh makes it stretchy but the garter stitch sides make it tough!

Did I say tough? How about this Entrelac Beret and Entrelac Scarf from Lion Brand? Actually entrelac isn't that tough and it produces such a beautiful illusion of woven knitting! Lion Brand does not list them as a set but knit in the same yarn, or complimentary shades they'd make a smashing winter ensemble!

And last but not least I thought I'd include an in-between pattern as far as difficulty goes. Something you could finish in a weekend for a quick gift or a feel-good-finish-quick project -

Musk Fairisle Armwarmers from Tahki-Stacey Charles! I can't help but think they're a great way to use up a skein of leftover handspun once the sweater is finished! I really love the tweedy grey they chose! If you're like me it won't be difficult to find some naturally colored fiber yarny odds and ends to make these with! Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by! Cheers all!

Kamsack Brute Project Started - Part 2

2011-09-29T23:03:00.000-06:00

Like a dog with a bone I spent some quality time with the Kamsack Brute last weekend! I started with a wood rasp and rasped the sides of the wheel well so there was about 1/8" of clearance on either side of the wheel. Amazing how much easier it was to treadle after that! Then I greased the crank shaft grooves and screwed it all back together. It didn't even take very long to do but what a difference it made! Wow!
Then it was time to do some real engineering! The first order of business was to secure the mounting piece for the mother-of-all. The original design had it drilled out so it sat about 7 inches below the top of the uprights. This was definitely not going to work for the jumbo flyer! I'm not ashamed to admit to asking DH for advice and we discussed the merits of dowel and glue over brad nails. My only real concern was vibration from the rotating. We finally settled on two carriage bolts and hubby had a bit of a surprise trying to drill the holes for them! He said the uprights were some of the hardest wood he had ever drilled and I shouldn't be the least bit worried about them not being strong enough to support everything! That was a good feeling!

When you're not working from a pattern or plan it always takes longer to sort out exactly how to put things together and deciding what to use and how to position it. I can't tell you how many times it took both sets of hands to hold things in place checking and re-checking exactly where the orifice cup should sit and where the shaft hole needed to go so the flyer sat level! Not to mention all the adjusting to set up the table saw for cutting boards and the router for shaping the edges.

All that fiddling just to set up the orifice cup board and the shaft hole board! All the screw holes had to be pre-drilled too so the hard wood didn't split. Then I got out my handy dandy wood rasp and smoothed off the tops of the shafts and rounded the corners on everything.

It actually started to look like it all belonged together! One thing I made sure of - everything we did to it was as sturdy as the original wheel!

Funny, when you look at it like this, that was a lot of effort just to set up these paltry structures! LOL! But it was worth it! Next week I'll post the final installment - finishing and spinning! Cheers all!

Other Auction Booty

2011-09-28T22:58:00.000-06:00

At first glance were you as excited as I was to see this trunk? I am a terrible trunk junkie and everything about this beauty had me in a lather at the auction! I was shocked that I got it for only $45 but since it was the only one there and it has a humped top there really wasn't much interest in it - lucky me!
It's biggest flaw is the 2 missing latches from the front. Otherwise, all the wood is intact as well as all the original metal,all the metal badges are there and can you believe it - the original leather handles are on it and in excellent shape! Although the original interior paper is pretty much crumbled the wood, especially the bottom, is all sound!

I don't suppose I need to tell you that it is going to become a stash holder once I've lined the interior with aromatic cedar! I know any antique-o-philes are going to cringe when I say I plan to spruce this thing up a bit but I didn't buy it for the antique value, I bought it because it's beautiful and I plan to use it. The metal is in need of a bit of tremclad to stop the rust and the wood is terribly dry and will benefit from being oiled. These 2 simple things will ensure it has a long useful life in my studio. I'll post pictures once I'm done. Before I close though I'll show you a close-up shot of the beautiful metal exterior. It's a gorgeous embossed pattern, something I've never seen before on a trunk like this so I feel especially delighted to have obtained it! Cheers all!

Fun At The Auction

2011-09-27T22:58:00.000-06:00

I recently had the opportunity to spend most of a day at an auction sale. True, they are common enough on the prairies but this was a consignment auction rather than a single farm auction. There was so much stuff they had 2 selling rings running at once! This, of course, presents problems if there are items at both rings you are interested in but in a small town where everyone knows pretty much everyone else, the auctioneer's assistant will certainly take your bidder number and bid on items for you, up to your pre-set maximum. This worked out really well, as I met up with an old friend and we sat together at one ring and the items I wanted at the other ring were taken care of by the auctioneer's assistant. As you might expect, the only downside to being at an auction with a friend is when something comes up that you both want. This is where friendship and the fine art of compromise are tested - and in my case, fortunately, not severely! Imagine, if you will, 2 middle aged women eyeing each other over heavy flannel sheets - you know - the kind they "don't make any more" that are thick and wear like a pig's nose? There were 2 lots and we each bid on one lot after agreeing not to bid against each other. I got mine but sorry to say she didn't get hers, but that's the way auctions go sometimes. So what does all this have to do with yarn and fiber? May I present: The Chair:

I think it's absolutely charming! It's handmade of incredibly thick solid wood and I got it for only $15 because the back leg was wobbly. (2 wood screws fixed that in a hurry!) My gal pal and I spent a good deal of time discussing what it was probably made for and she was convinced you sit on it facing the upright. Whether the broad plank was for resting your elbows or your plate is up for debate but I can certainly see it being handy for playing video games! However, I bought it to use as a spinning chair. First, it's a tad shorter than the average chair which suits my shorter-than-average legs quite nicely! Also, the seat is not very wide which makes it convenient for moving both legs while treadling. The upright catches me about an inch below my shoulder blades so the support is pretty much perfect if I want to sit for a long time spinning - plus - when I sit back my elbows rest easily on the ends of the plank! All around I thought it was a pretty sweet scoop for only $15! I'd love to hear your input on what the original design of the chair is for, I'm sure someone out there knows for sure! Cheers all!

Fall Friday Freebie Afghans

2011-09-23T20:16:00.000-06:00

OK - I thought I'd start off by helping anyone who couldn't find the cat. It's a grey striped tabby sitting slightly right of center almost perfectly in line with the edge of the opening in the stone wall. Hope you can see it now!

I just love this gorgeous Cedar Falls Throw from Caron Naturally! Cables, textures and an ornate edging! It's the perfect project for cool fall evenings! Or start it for a gift for someone special!

If complicated isn't to your taste, how about this Basketweave Princess Throw from Lion Brand? Simple knit and purl with a seed stitch border, you could easily watch a movie (or 4) which knitting this! And simple stitches open the door wide for textured yarns or handspun! Surf your stash for inspiration!!

If you're looking for an adventure in crochet (and you think your eyes can take it) how about this Vortex Throw and Pillow from Caron Naturally? It's a very clever design and lends itself well to many color combinations to suit any decor!

And last but certainly not least is the Soft and Easy Baby Throw from Lion Brand. Knit on the diagonal in simple garter stitch it can be increased easily into a full size throw. Perfect for multi-colored and tonal yarns - and don't rule out thick 'n thin or boucle! Enjoy!

Just For Fun - Find The Cat!

2011-09-21T22:56:00.000-06:00

Just A Little Off The Wagon...

2011-09-20T23:14:00.000-06:00

I mentioned in my last post something about trying to stay on the wagon, so to speak, about spinning from my stash this year and not buying any new fiber. I have actually really made an effort and I think I haven't been doing too badly. No, purchasing whole fleeces and having them processed doesn't count because the per-ounce cost is very low compared to the price of indie-dyed spinning top and besides, I may sell some of it in my Etsy Shop so it's more of an investment than an expense! LOL! (At least that's the story I'm sticking to!)
My one weakness is strolling over to Dyeing-For-Colour's Etsy shop occasionally. I like picking up the odd bag of multi-colored pencil roving because it sure seems to come in handy when I'm looking for a solid color to ply with. Well, the last time I went by she had a couple of 1 3/4 lb bags of miscellaneous batts listed. They were just odds and ends, the kind where she didn't have quite enough of the run to make another 4 oz bag with so she stuffed a couple bags with the remnants, weighed them and listed them at a real bargain basement price. My lucky day!

The color in her listing photos is never the best. I mean, they're not bad but I always know when I open my parcel I'm in for a pleasant surprise and this time was no exception! What a happy variety of colors! And these two delicious bundles are why my rolags-on-steroids are on the back burner for a bit longer! These are just the tonic I need to do some small batch colored spinning before settling down to another long haul of natural fiber. I don't know if I'll get it all spun up right away but I'm sure finding quite a bit of it irresistible! I'm also thinking it will be good to put some new and different skeins in the shop heading into the holiday season to freshen things up a bit. It's going to be fun finding out what each batch of fiber wants to be. Of course I'll share lots of pics with you about the adventure! Cheers all!

Time For A Bit Of Raspberry Wine!

2011-09-19T18:42:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately it's not smooth enough to drink! I promised myself that before I purchased any new spinning fiber I'd finish off the will-it-bleed-or-won't-it? fiber. Not counting this lot I have 3 left - and I didn't quite make it on the No-Buy, but that's a story for another day! LOL!

I also thick 'n thinned this lot too. It's hard to tell if I'm getting better at this or not as the size is supposed to be inconsistent! I am absolutely getting better at not over twisting the thinner parts. I did a hunt through my pencil roving to try to find something in this color range to ply with. Since I couldn't find enough of any one color I decided to make a multi-color solid single to ply with.

I always get such a kick out of pencil roving. All I can think of when I look at it, is it's lightning fast spinning fodder! I just picked up random lengths of these colors and spun them without any particular sequence. My only real aim was to get the singles really fine because I want them to be more of a binder and not to take away from the main feature of the yarn, which is it's texture, but rather add to it.

Raspberry Wine, 5.4 oz, 195 yds of soft pouffy fun!

Kamsack Brute Project Started - Part 1

2011-09-15T23:14:00.000-06:00

In the "Jobs I've Been Meaning To Get To" department is the upgrading of the Kamsack Brute wheel my sister sent me earlier this year. It is neither a delicate nor a finely tuned machine and because of it's sturdy nature I thought it would be well suited for the jumbo flyer from my Baynes wheel. Much as I love my Baynes there is no doubt the jumbo flyer was an afterthought add-on. As a small castle-style wheel it was, in my opinion, not really engineered for such large bobbins. Whenever I tried to use it for plying I found that once the bobbins were over half full the wheel wobbled and the bobbin bounced around. Since I love using it so much for regular spinning I was very reluctant to continue to do something I believed could eventually damage the joints on the wheel so I packed away the jumbo flyer and eventually purchased the Bea wheel for plying. Although several times I toyed with the idea of selling the jumbo flyer & bobbins I balked at the idea of handing off the problem tools to some other unsuspecting Baynes user. Plus, it could be an added selling feature if I ever decided to part with the Baynes. Anyways when I got the Brute, it seemed to be a very natural fit to give it a more substantial flyer than the one it came with!

The first order of business was to get out the cordless drill and start taking out the screws in the original Mother-of-all. Right from the start it was obvious the fellow who built this wheel intended for it to survive a prairie tornado!

Then I removed the 2 wooden plates that held the wheel shaft. This wheel is very sluggish to treadle and this little exercise showed why. There are no bearings to speak of - anywhere - no grease or oil either. (see the dark "burn marks" where the shaft sits?). Worse, the wheel fits snugly between the 2 sides and rubs continuously. It's like trying to treadle against 2 wooden brakes!

You can see that quite a bit better from this shot! It's a real pity actually, to have gone to so much work and then stumble on the things that really matter!
My biggest challenge is to do that sadly lacking fine tuning and turn a handyman project into a good serviceable wheel! Wish me luck!

More Adventures With Thick 'N Thin

2011-09-14T19:52:00.000-06:00

I pulled out some more of the over-priced dye-bleeding fiber because I still have the itch to spin really thick 'n thin yarn. It's a challenge and it's fun (now) and I'm never quite sure how the finished yarn will look until it's actually, well, finished!

I felt like I needed a bit of a boost so I used the pastel rainbow superwash BFL. The colors were so cheery! One thing I am finding is that spinning bigger singles means less fiber on the bobbin. It takes me nearly 2 bobbins to hold 4 ounces of this yarn whereas if I spun it fine I would easily get it all on one bobbin.
I know many spinners leave their singles as singles but as a neophyte I feel much more comfortable making it a 2-ply. It helps remove any overtwist and to me it anchors those plump slubs a little bit. The really hard part is coming up with the right color for that second ply. Going darker worked well for the Reptile skein but in this case it would have really washed out the pastel colors. I settled on a super pale blue because white would have been too much. I liked the result and called the skein Rainbow Railroad.
And yes, as expected, when I soaked the skein there was some dye bleed. Not as much as the other rainbow skein - however - this time I was PREPARED! I ran 2 sinks of hot vinegary water and put the skein in the first sink. When the dye was more or less out I simply lifted the skein, let it drain a bit and put it in the second sink then drained away the dye water in the first sink! Yay me! So the water in the second sink was pretty much clear so I know that whatever it gets knit into won't be in danger of being ruined by unspent dye.
This is a good thing because I put it in my Etsy Shop and a day later it sold. One of those truly depressing moments during a sales drought when you wish you had half a dozen of them to list! *sigh!*
The skein was 5 ounces (145 gm) and only 118 yds of chunky fun!

August Project Completed - Finally!

2011-09-08T22:39:00.000-06:00

Working through my stash I pulled out a couple more natural colored lots of fiber. The first is a bag of grey Finn wool I bought from Barb back when she still had her online yarn and fiber shop. It's funny how it was sold as grey and I always thought of it as grey yet when I finally got down to spinning it I realized it's actually an interesting brown color.

It was really nice top to spin - very clean of veg, no hair to speak of and the texture is downy fine. When I bought it there was supposed to be just over a pound. Six 4 ounce bobbins later I knew Barb had been her usual generous self! Originally I had toyed with the idea of chain plying it to make a worsted weight type yarn as it would have made a beautifully soft folksy brown yarn. However, I dug out this bag of Alpaca fiber top that had been sitting around forever and decided to spin it the same way and ply them together as I'm not keen on 100% Alpaca yarn.

The Alpaca is also an interesting natural color blend of white and brown which I suspect came from a bi-color animal and was simply homogenized when it was processed. It is very nice fiber but certainly not premium baby-bottom soft blanket fiber. I wasn't sure how much was left because I had blended quite a bit of it with white wool to make the Cookies 'N Cream spinning fiber in my Etsy Shop. I spun it about the same size as the Finn and filled 3 bobbins.

So it looked like a fairly obvious outcome; 3 skeins of blended and probably 2 small ones of straight Finn. Wrong! Once I started plying there seemed to be some sort of yardage voodoo going on! The Alpaca bobbins hardly went down but the Finn were emptying fast! I was absolutely baffled! The diameter of the singles seemed comparable. All I can think is that there was more loft in the Finn - otherwise, completely inexplicable to me!

All I know is I went from 9 four ounce bobbins to 4 eight ounce bobbins and 2 six ounce bobbins!
I was so right about the color too! The Alpaca really brings out the brown color of the Finn in the blended yarn and I'm so pleased it's not a loud tweed but a more subtle shaded yarn. The 2 bobbins of straight Finn look so much darker by comparison. It never ceases to amaze me how tweeding totally alters the appearance of yarn colors!

Here are the finished skeins. I didn't count the yardage since I'm keeping them for myself and not selling it. I'll sort that out when I get around to using it! The 4 blended skeins weigh 1 lb 10 ounces (approx 745 gms) so they're about 6 1/2 oz each and the 2 smaller Finn skeins weight 8 ounces (approx 250 gms) so they're about 4 oz each. So the grand total is just over 2 lbs of fiber. It's all about a fingering weight and I'm thinking it's a prime candidate for a sweater (eventually) or maybe a woven poncho or jacket (I can daydream can't I?).
Since this project took pretty much all my August spinning time I'm hesitating to dive into the Alpaca/Rambo x Merino rolls I have sitting here. I'm sort of itching to do a bit of color spinning before I settle into another long haul of natural fiber - more on that later!
And about the weaving - it's still on the back burner. I don't think I'm ready just yet and I certainly don't have room for a full blown floor loom! LOL! Maybe a 24" Knitter's Loom in the Spring, who knows? There's lots of time over the winter to mull over that subject! Cheers all!

Mid-week Humor

2011-09-07T22:26:00.000-06:00

PhatFiber Sampler Box September Enchanted Forest

2011-09-06T23:14:00.000-06:00

September's PhatFiber box theme is Enchanted Forest. I love following the theme discussions on Ravelry! The photos the dyers post are always so inspiring! I don't know where they find them but the images are fresh and beautiful - both paintings and photos of real places. For my samples all I could think of was fairies and wood sprites and I didn't have a thing in my stash that was suitable!. Typical! LOL! What I did find were some lovely milli fiori glass flowers and some angel charms. I figured - m'eh! close enough!

All my box samples were made with these sweet bronze angels, some with yellow flowers, some with orange.

I made enough to have a few sets of the bronze ones to put in my Etsy Shop later this month when the box drops. In the mean time I made some with silver angels and posted them in the shop now. I keep hoping my fiber will be coming back from A&B soon so I can use some of it for samples instead of always sending stitch markers. I have something really awesome up my sleeve for October's theme "The Witching Hour" so with or without fiber I'll be making them but still, it would be nice to do something to promote some of the other things I have in the shop and I'm done doing spindles for the box, at least for this year! So I'll keep my fingers crossed and keep hoping! LOL!

Fall Friday Freebies

2011-09-02T19:29:00.000-06:00

Around here it's cooling off at nights so it's starting to feel like time to knit things to ward off the chill.

Lovely and feminine is the New Orleans Cardi by Caron Naturally. Although they selected a cotton blend I can certainly see it fitting the bill in a downy soft Merino or a slinky silk blend! The open lace is simply a dropped stitch pattern making it a quick knit too!

If you're looking for a little more coverage, how about this Lush Collar Cardi from Lion Brand? Knit in a chunky weight yarn it knits up plush and fast! I'd say it's a prime candidate for handspun! All that stockingette would be the perfect showcase for a slubby or multi-tonal yarn!

This Farmington Jacket from Caron Naturally is a more challenging knit but it's so worth it though when you look at the beautiful lace detailing on the cuffs and hem and the textured cable yoke! It has a graceful profile and a picot edge around the neckline. Everything about it says "I can't believe this pattern is free!" Wow!

Thoughts On Online E-mags

2011-09-01T20:10:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I gave you the link to the latest issue of Twist Collective, Ennea Collective and KnitCircus and I hope you are able to find/make time to read them over the next little while. I think what I appreciate most about all 3 online magazines is that they offer genuinely interesting reading FREE, it isn't all hot air twaddle just to get you to look at their patterns. It's the one thing that keeps me holding my breath about Knitty. Their articles are really great and their patterns are free! Now I'm the first person to get in line for a free pattern, especially the caliber of patterns that Knitty offers, but I can't help wondering what's in it for the designers. Twist, Ennea and KnitCircus all pay their designers (I believe) on a per-purchase basis. The "collective" simply gives shoppers a large selection to choose from which encourages browsing and buying. It's wonderful exposure for new designers working at making a name for themselves. For example, the first Twist Collective pattern I ever purchased was from an up-and-comer named Ysolda Teague!
Ennea Collective is a much smaller enterprise and their patterns aren't so flashy or complex but I really enjoy reading their e-mag. I keep hoping they'll grow (and offer patterns I'd be happy to pay for) and not go the way of Spindlicity, Janelle Laidman's labour of loved that simply faded away. I was so disappointed! True, she channeled her tremendous talent into several very beautiful and successful (self-published no less!) sock books but Spindlicity was really special, catering to the hand spinning crowd, and even more niche than that, the spindling crowd! It was visually stunning to boot! Knitty has a lot to offer too and they rely on advertising revenues to keep their site on the net but I can't help but wonder how their pattern contributors are managing to keep their inspiration funded. I mean pattern designers need to eat too. Is designing "just a hobby"? And if it develops into "more" than just a hobby, how do they make the transition from giving away their time like it was nothing into charging for it? Fortunately for me I'm not a designer so I'll never have to struggle with a hard question like that but I'm sure some of them do and are. To me that's what's at the root of my "free is fine BUT..." question. How long will they be around and will they be able to keep up the quality and variety of patterns? And at whose expense? Hopefully not the designers! (If anyone knows more about this I'd love to hear it!)
So if you're wondering what I've done to stand behind my "designers deserve compensation" stance I actually purchased 2 patterns from Twist Collective! (good cover, eh?)

This is Hosta, a reversible 2 color knit scarf. I love the design even if I'm not fond of the teal/tan color combo. I think it would be an awesome set with the Meridian hat pattern I bought. There are more pictures of it on their site in an amazing alternate color scheme. The color work is pure genius! So mosey on over and let yourself be tempted! These e-mags are worthy of our support and it's how we'll keep them around for a long time to come! Cheers all!

Wensleydale and Online Magazines

2011-08-31T18:16:00.000-06:00

We have had a spate of evening thunder showers here which means every time I've sat down to blog for the last few nights our internet has been too poor to use the interface. The (daily, apparently) storm started even earlier today but our satellite internet seems to be holding it's own for now so I'm on the keyboard! The forecast is for 3" of rain tonight! Eeeep!
Since I seemed to have missed Friday Freebies yet again I thought I'd start off today with the links to the 3 best online knitting magazines I know of. Each has their latest issue up from August. If you're not subscribed to their email notification, here's the links for you!

Twist Collective KnitCircus Ennea Collective

In the "thinning out the stash" department I had an interesting little hank of Wensleydale fiber. The strange thing about it is that it is very heavy for it's small size. The hank of fiber was easily half the volume of a 4 oz twist of pretty much any other wool you could name. I know Wensleydale is a long wool breed so you definitely don't want to wear it next to your face but it reminds me of Cotswold for it's luster and smoothness. The only thing I didn't like about this fiber is the way it was dyed. The color changes were painfully short for my taste and with my ever present obsession to preserve colors in my handspun it made for, well, NOT very relaxing spinning and plying!

The upside is that I really liked the subdued color palette and when I finally had it all plied I was quite pleased with the finished yarn - what little of it there was!

A 4.2 oz skein yet only 230 yds of 3-ply! It will make dandy mittens or an awesome felted tote, or something! It has found a spot in my Etsy Shop like most of the yarns I've spun this summer. I seem to be more partial to keeping my naturals and parting with my fancies! Fickle but consistent! LOL! Cheers all!

PhatFiber Sampler Box July Art Nouveau

2011-08-26T00:42:00.000-06:00

Honestly I can't seem to keep up with my photo file! As usual, I'm badly behind but here is the July PhatFiber Sampler Box Art Nouveau!

First stop is always the mini-deck of business cards! Mine is 4th from the bottom and it doesn't look too shabby next to the commercially printed ones. Top right is a handmade acrylic button with silver glitter and swirl peacock feather plumes in it from Spinatude! Absolutely gorgeous! Although I am asking myself what, besides decorate, can I do with one button... something will inspire me, I suppose!
Something I need to keep in mind is that many of these cards include a discount code with a deadline - worth trying!

The fiber samples were really really nice! Although there was no spectacular packaging all but one was a generous size! These contributors really want you to play with their fiber!
Top left is a delicious mauve/fuschia art batt from Desired Haven Farm that made me want to rush over and buy one - or two - or.... Beneath it is a tri-color sample of Alpaca and wool from Dawning Dreams that is baby soft. Top right is a BFL sample from Boho Knitter Chic in a colorway I just love - dark blue, rust and cream! Mmmm! Top right with the hot pink tag is a cloud soft sample of 100% Alpaca fiber from ComfedOutKaiser. The sample is lovely but for her sake, I hope next box she does a little more for her tagging, just saying... in this situation, presentation is everything!

The yarn samples were much more colorful than the fiber, this box! In particular I liked Colorbug's Klimt, far right top. It was a rainbow bright alternating with very dark navy. Effective for really making those bright colors pop! The huge sample card of yarns at the bottom left is from Light Brown Hare. Wow! What a huge contribution! 8 sampler skeins and the yarns are SO wonderful! If it had been my only yarn sample I would have felt like I got a lot! I hope it really drives traffic to her store!

It should be no surprise that the white Alpaca sample from ComfedOutKaiser made it into my Box Favorites! My other two fiber faves were, (top) A gorgeous dark shades batt of Merino, BFL, Jacob, Alpaca, silk & Angelina from Lampyridae (could I go through a pound of that! LOL!) and (bottom) a more natural color blend of 100% superwash Merino from Bookwyrm42 - SO soft!
My yarn favorites were a marvelous purple sample of recycled purple 100% cashmere from Phoenix Yarn (finer than I like to knit with but hey, it's 100% cashmere! Yowza!) and a wonderful light green skein of 100% BFL from Handsome Fibers that you just have to handle to fall in love with!

I hope this encourages you to consider buying a box next month when they come on sale! But be advised - they sell out very quickly - like within hours of going on sale, so if you want one, don't daudle! Cheers all!

Hand Prepared White Shetland

2011-08-24T22:27:00.000-06:00

In addition to being a big fan of minimally processed fiber I am also very partial to fiber that has been prepared by hand rather than commercial machinery. I had the opportunity to purchase some 100% natural white Shetland that had been scoured and carded by hand. You can't get much more minimal than that!
This fiber was like angels had dragged fluffy clouds right out of the blue sky! Pillowy, without the smallest spec of veg and such a uniform shade of creamy white! I was sorry there wasn't more of it! It spun like a dream in no time flat!
I put a very light twist in it so as not to deflate it's natural buoyancy, then 2-plied it.

One skein, approx 7.3 oz (208 gms) about 288 yds of 2-ply. Deliciously fluffy, poufy soft!

Harris Tweed - How It's Made - By Hand!

2011-08-23T10:12:00.000-06:00

Did you know the "real" Harris tweed - all of it - is hand made? I was astonished and amazed! No wonder it's considered a luxury wool fabric!

Enjoy this video!

Of course now I want one of those bicycle powered looms!

Soft Colors Soft Yarn

2011-08-18T23:32:00.000-06:00

I couldn't resist this delicious fiber from Dyeing For Colour! It was part of my last year's Christmas present to myself and I finally rescued it from stash doldrums and gave it some happy play time! Her photo is a little over-exposed but it's a combination of grey and muted lilac with lots of turquoise and light purple Firestar tossed in. It spun like a dream, like all her fiber does - no pre-drafting, just undo the braid and away you go!

I made it a 2-ply to get as much yardage as possible because I went back to her shop some time later and found I couldn't get any more! This skein is 3.9 ounces, 330 yds so it's a DK weight - baby soft with just enough sparkle to keep it from being boring! I know it will knit up into something grand but hopefully not by me! I posted it in my Etsy Shop and it has been Favorited quite a few times - now if someone would just buy it! LOL! (August has been a VERY slow month and I'd love to buy some more fiber!)

Alpaca Blend Oddments

2011-08-17T23:19:00.000-06:00

When I sit down to blog I always know what I want to say but sometimes it's hard to get started. That blank white box can be a little intimidating sometimes. It's funny how I never feel that way when I open the lid of my fiber trunk! LOL! The problem is usually quite the opposite! So much lovely fiber that I want to pick up and spin, sometimes it's hard to select just a couple bundles to work on! And since I've been on a bit of an odds 'n ends binge trying to downsize my stash a bit, pretty much anything under 6 ounces is fair game! It's a good feeling to breathe some yarn-life into fiber you've had sitting around for a while!

Like this Alpaca/wool blend for instance! I sorted it out of several Grab Bags I purchased last winter. It was nice going through the bags and deciding what colors went well together. The only thing I didn't like about this fiber was all the long coarse guard hair in it - and I mean Llama-grade long hair! It was almost like someone dropped it on the floor in a Barber Shop or something! This was one time when it was either pull it all out or have very poor yarn. The hair was so stiff and coarse it would have stuck out all over - just nasty, in my opinion!

It looks like I just cleaned out a hairbrush! On the upside the fiber was really soft and in spite of picking hair it was pleasant to spin!

I did my usual - spun it fine and chain plied it to preserve the colors. It's a small skein, coming in at only 3.4 oz, a DK weight, 217 yds of 3-ply. I called it Midnight Meadow and posted it in my Etsy Shop.

Friday Freebie Shrugs

2011-08-12T23:59:00.000-06:00

I couldn't resist starting with this sweet crochet shrug, Betty from Berroco. I love the texturing and it's simple structure! And even though it's crochet it can be soft and drapey with the right yarn....

Amy, also from Berroco is similar with plain narrow sleeves and lacy front detailing except that it is knit. It's casual and feminine and cuddly!

Although Tolland, the third pattern from Berroco is not exactly a shrug I thought I would include it because it too features simple lines and a lace embellished front. The lace is really just an accent but takes it from utilitarian to dressy without a whole lot of fuss and bother.
So I hope you see something here to inspire you. I know I've missed quite a few Friday Freebie posts (hope you missed them too!). Cheers all!

Evergreen Twinkle

2011-08-11T22:50:00.000-06:00

I have a very eclectic mix of tastes when it comes to spinning fiber! On one hand I have a passionate love affair with raw natural fiber. On the other I love dalliances with dyed commercial top and recently have developed an appetite for fiber generously paired with Angelina or Firestar. To me, it's a bit like living on organic food and then occasionally binging on Oscar Meyer, Sarah Lee and Breyers! Not that there's anything wrong with it, I suppose and the variety certainly keeps me from getting in a spinning rut!
This lovely batch of tonal green superwash and Angelina came from Dyeing For Colour and as always, was pure pleasure to spin! No pre-drafting required and no veg to speak of! It never takes long to go through 4 ounces as it's so well prepared!
I seriously thought of keeping this lot but the color gap is too big between it and the other green yarns I've made from her fiber. What's more, the others didn't have the Angelina so I thought, m'eh, I'll list it in my Etsy shop - there's always more fiber fish in that barrel!

I call it Evergreen Twinkle. At 4.3 oz, 2-ply and 425 yds it's a comfortable Sport Weight. Very soft and a lovely mix of greens - perfect for a cowl, small shawl or maybe a mitts & hat set?

So I Rolled Up My Sleeves...

2011-08-09T22:39:00.000-06:00

Last summer (was it that long ago already???) I posted about cleaning and washing a pound of really nice natural black (although it borders on being Midnight Brown) Merino/Rambouilette cross fleece. At any rate, it's very soft and very dark and been very neglected! I made up my mind this summer I was going to finally get around to some of the stuff in my fiber stash that has been sitting around whining at me and this was definitely one of those lots of fiber! I think I left it so long partly because I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with it. Eventually spin it, of course, but if I was going to take the time to set up my drum carder why not blend it with something equally nice? Well it wasn't until earlier this spring that I finally had something that fit that description!

I purchased 20 ounces of beautiful silver-grey Alpaca fiber from Distant Star Alpacas as a special order. It was prepared as silky batts and I was told the fiber was seconds from the fleece. Well let me tell you, if this is "seconds" I'm dying to know how the "firsts" could have been softer or finer! It is gorgeous! So why didn't I spin it up? Because Alpaca, like cotton, has very little "memory" and tends to sag when knitted into anything larger than wrist warmers. As a general rule, if I'm spinning for myself, I prefer Alpaca as a blend with wool. Also, Alpaca is a mondo insulator meaning a little goes a long way if you want to make warm winter wear!

But before I could blend anything the Merino/Rambo needed to be carded. It had such an intense crimp I wondered if it would even card or if it would be one of those beautiful unruly fibers you love and hate at the same time. And yes, there's nothing wrong with the photo, the tips of the fiber are red! They used to be a sunburnt yellow but when I was dyeing last summer I had some red left over and thought it would be a nice way to hide the very pale tips as I didn't want them lightening the color of the fiber. I was so pleased with the end result as it didn't change the dark fiber but it sure smartened up those yellow tips! What's more, as I carded, they virtually disappeared into the batt so I felt I had succeeded rather well in my objective!

Left is the fiber after it's first pass through the carder. Still on the lumpy side and that crimp still holds sway. On the right is a batt after it's second pass through the carder. The fiber has relaxed a bit more, the fibers are more separate and it's light and fluffy. I couldn't get over how much longer it is than the first pass batt.
When I was done I had a stack of 16 batts. That amazing crimp sure held everything together! LOL!

Honest, they are much darker in person, this photo is a bit overexposed. It actually took me an entire weekend to card out the pound of Merino/Rambo and blend it with the Alpaca. True, it was a more-or-less relaxing job but after a while it got a bit tedious. What it amounted to was that I wasn't going to quit until the job was finished because I simply couldn't leave the partly finished job strewn across my office for the entire week! Some things are just better not left to tempt fate! LOL!
The only other (perhaps) odd thing I did was wind the batts as tightly as possible as I took the finished blend off the carder. First, if I let that crimpy Merino/Rambo have it's way the batts, even though they were only 1 ounce each, would have taken up an inordinate amount of space. Second, I wanted to be able to spin them a bit like rolags, just drafting fiber out the end of the roll. It meant I fit the entire 2+ pounds into one of my regular tubs (ya, it was a bit of a squeeze) and the entire who's in control battle with the crimp is no longer an issue!

It's always interesting to see how things look when you're finished. Although the ends of these rolls look very silver I think the finished yarn is going to look darker, very marbled or heathered but certainly darker. I mean I could be wrong but I can't see how that much dark fiber could simply disappear. And yes, this is "one of the jobs I have on the go" that will have to get finished before I can dig into all that lovely Jacob fiber! Not that I'll mind as I'm looking forward to getting going on this soft silky stuff! Given the choice I'll take spinning over carding any day but with this fiber I couldn't do one without the other! I'm just glad the latter is over and the former is on the horizon! I imagine spinning this lot will take me well into September and maybe October but I don't think I'll mind. I'm confident the preparation is adequate, and if not, I know exactly who to complain to! LOL! Cheers all!

p.s. Thanks a million again sis for the drum carder! I think of you with mucho amore every time I use it! The best gift I've received in a very long time!

Spinning Mystery Fiber

2011-08-08T16:48:00.000-06:00

This lovely pile of shiny goodness has been in my stash for about a year. I bought it from a fairly new Etsy seller who swore it is superwash Merino. If I was a wet-behind-the-ears newbie spinner I would probably have believed her but I've spun a bit too much fiber to accept that label for this stuff now! LOL! It is shiny and smooth with a luster that denies the possibility of it being wool - or at least 100% wool of any kind. It is much smoother than silk without any neps or matted bits of any kind. There is no kemp, no guard hair or anything that might help me in identifying it. I am leaning towards Bamboo fiber or something of the like and if it IS blended with wool then wool is the minority spaceholder! It does not readily cling to itself but at the same time was not difficult to spin so long as I kept a relaxed tension and a fairly high twist.
Of course after I had it spun up it occurred to me I could have put a bit of it in pure chlorine bleach to see what might be left, since chlorine eats wool quickly but I suppose it wouldn't help me to identify any remains except to say yea or nay to the possibility of it being synthetic fiber.
It's such an odd combination of emerald green and what I suspect was supposed to be black but as I spun it, drafting out the black yielded rather a purple-hued broad spectrum grey instead. What's more, when I washed the finished skein the green held fast and a great deal of unspent black dye washed out. Strange indeed! Now I wasn't expecting miracles since it came from a new dyer and when I contacted the seller she was completely baffled as to what the fiber was. I sent her photos, showing her item with some "real" superwash Merino fiber and the difference was clear. She said I should let her know if I ever figure out what it is(!). Pardon my amusement but I laughed about it all day! And no, I can't see myself going back to that shop any time soon....
I spun it very fine and chain plied (Navajo plied) in order to preserve the color changes, as per my usual. I call it Gothic Spring, a DK weight, 316 yds of 3-ply, approx 4.6 oz.

Good Things That Come To Those Who Wait

2011-08-04T18:13:00.000-06:00

In late Spring a cyber-friend was de-stashing, as she has developed vision problems. I have purchased (too many) lots of de-stash spinning items and yarn from her over the last year and everything has been excellent quality and mint condition. So when she listed that she had 13+ lbs of spotted Jacob blanket fleece (just the best part) at a bargain basement price I didn't hesitate to contact her. It turns out each fleece was accompanied by a photo of it's producer and she had planned to hand prepare them for a comparison project of some sort. Essentially they were still in their raw state as she had never managed to get around to the project. So because everything else from her had been so good I purchased them, sight unseen(!).
Make no mistake, I had NO intention of hand processing 13 lbs of fleece myself! I had her sent it to Anne at A & B in Alberta instead of to me. When Anne received them and had had a chance to look them over we discussed what I wanted her to do with them. She explained that although the fleeces were "spotted" they were really more like very large splotches so she didn't necessarily have to turn the whole lot into grey spinning fiber. To my delight, she offered to separate it into white, black and "non-separatable" which would become grey. I told her I didn't want her going to extreme lengths to do this but she assured me the fleeces would allow this without much difficulty. Remember, I hadn't seen any of these! Anne also said there were 2 fleeces of better grade that she would process separately into grey because they would be wasted to be mixed into the others. Wow! Talk about taking care of things like they are your own!
Enter the postal strike in June which bought Anne all the time in the world to fit my fiber into her schedule! LOL! Imagine my excitement when the bulky box finally arrived! The bags of fiber that burst from it exceeded my expectations! The white fiber is pure white without any stray whisps of grey in it and the black is jet without any streaky bits of white! There are two bags of grey fiber, one noticeably softer than the other. The small white bag in the middle is a creamier slightly coarser white Jacob I had sent as an addition, not realizing the superior quality of the original Jacob fleece. And I do mean superior quality! I have spun grey Jacob fiber before and knit with grey Jacob yarn from a custom mill. It is usually a grizzly old character with lots of white kemp and a mind of it's own. Not so with this batch! It is amazingly fine without kemp or excessive crimp. My eyes drank it in as the bags bulged from the freshly opened box and my hands dove into the bags as I opened them to verify what I thought I saw. Spectacular fiber indeed! I was absolutely over the moon! I had gambled and hit the proverbial jackpot!
Anne really outdid herself on the processing, which CAN make or break even the best of fleece! Kudos a million times over Anne! I couldn't be happier! So if you're looking for a top notch processor for your fiber with a fast turn-around time just email her: soaplady2 at Yahoo.ca and tell her I recommended her!
Although I will be blogging about some other completed spinning projects over the next few weeks, once I have cleared off the spinning projects I have on the go right now I will be pretty much spinning this Jacob and I intend to keep every bit of it for myself! I don't care if it takes me all winter but I really want to spin this all myself as I doubt I will ever come across Jacob this nice again any time soon. And don't expect to see the finished yarn in my Etsy Shop either. When I say this stuff's a keeper, I really mean it! Cheers all!

Taking My Lumps

2011-08-03T19:55:00.000-06:00

Even though it's been unbearably hot - alternating with deluge rains - I have been happily spinning my way through some really lovely fiber! I have a few in my stash that I really loved when I purchased them but after they sat here for a bit the shine really fell off them. Previously I would have probably sold them through one of my Yahoo groups but I have had a bit of a yen to try my hand at some funky yarn. I figured if I used stuff I wasn't too fond of and wrecked it I wouldn't have any regrets. Trust me for that!

My first victim was this 4 ounce bundle of a blend of 3 blues and some purple thrown in. Bear in mind I have read some books on this and watched a couple of videos but for the most part, as you've seen, I have diligently worked at my spinning to produce even, fine yarns. It took longer than I expected to spin up this lot, having the odd notion that chunkier spinning should go faster. I suppose in some ways it did go faster than spinning fine singles but the end result was not quite as lumpy and chunky as I had hoped.

I call it Blue Riot and it marks a real departure for me as it is the first fractal spun I have ever made - really! Fractal means it is a multi-colored single that was plied with itself irregardless of the colors that paired up. It came out a chunky weight superwash, approx 3.8 oz and 225 yds and I put it in my Etsy Shop as soon as it was dry!

The next lot I almost finished spinning up before I remembered to take a picture of it but you get the idea. It's sort of a bog green combo that doesn't quite make it to neon. I think I learned the most on this one because the slubs were quite big and very irregularly spaced. I also found it was too easy to over spin the fine parts between them mostly because I was still trying to spin this too quickly.
This time I spun some dark green into very fine singles to ply with it. The result was much more satisfying!

I called it Reptile Green. It's also superwash, approx 4.9 oz and 206 yds. i posted it in my Etsy Shop and it sold in about 6 days. Amazing!

The last batch in my experiment was also superwash in a pure neon lime green. It wasn't so much that I disliked it but that even spun up I would never likely use it myself. It was part of some 4 oz bundles of mixed color superwash. I fished out all the pieces of this color from the bags and found I had a nice batch to play with. I found this batch to be much smoother than the last two so I had to be much more careful trying to draft the fat slubby lumps as they liked to shred. I had to keep reminding myself I was (again) a rank beginner with this technique. It "sort of" helped as I fished the end off the bobbin and back through the orifice for the 10th time!
For this yarn I spun some light green singles very fine and plied it with that. Lots of the finer parts of the neon were over spun so I drafted out fiber from the slubs in places to help ease the excess twist. I was still very pleased with the resulting yarn. I think it looks like the entrails out of an intergalactic caterpillar!

This skein came out at 3.8 oz and approx 95 yards. It's incredibly soft and such a rich vibrant color! I also posted it in my shop but it hasn't sold yet.
So this was my Fiber Adventure for July! I learned that I was able to apply some of the fiber control I have learned previously to this technique but it is certainly is an entirely different method to what I have previously done. To produce the yarn I want to I have to slow down a LOT! It's the only way to keep from over twisting the thin parts and really control the size and placement of the slubs. I will definitely be doing this again! I have a whole box of fiber braids from a certain Etsy Shop with dye that bleeds and I think this will be the perfect application! I won't have to worry about the excess dye ruining my carefully 3-plied yarn and the lovely colors will lend themselves well to slubby lumpy art yarn! Cheers all!

Playing Catch Up

2011-08-02T23:44:00.000-06:00

I hardly know where to begin - so much has been going on! We have come down with the flu - on rotation - with never more than one or two people being ill at the same time. You know the routine, high fever, nausea etc. that lasts for a day or so and the exhaustion that lasts for a week. It has put a fairly substantial dint in pretty much everything here, to say the least!
The Summer Sale in my Etsy Shop has only been so-so and I don't know if I should be disappointed or if this is simply due to it being summer and fibery things wane in popularity as the mercury rises. One of the oddest pieces of advice I received recently is that if I want to sell more, especially handspun yarns, I should raise my prices (!) like by about 25 or 30% or more. I admit it stopped me dead in my tracks. On one hand, the theory is that high priced things are/imply better quality and are therefore more worth purchasing. On the other hand, if I raise my prices I am thinking I will likely sell nothing at all! It was certainly one of those concepts right out of left field that had not crossed my mind - nor would ever likely, on my own! Granted, the person who suggested it doesn't flinch at charging $50 for a 100 yd skein of handspun and I have no idea how many she actually sells at that price... but... I guess it's still a nice fantasy to entertain that if I got really greedy maybe my store would be more successful! Any thoughts on this?
I actually got my August samples done and shipped off. The theme for August is Bollywood, the Hollywood of India and there were so many (too many) possibilities. I eventually powered out and settled on something more mundane. I wanted to reflect the wild exotic nature of the country but also take into consideration the more traditional restrained culture. I ended up choosing turquoise milli fiori chips for the vibrant colors and glass pearls for the traditional elegance. And of course anything coming from that neck of the woods has to be gold!

I don't presume to have "captured the spirit of India" with these but I do think they turned out rather pretty! I made up some sets for my Etsy Shop too and posted them today.

I used slightly different hearts for these sets and I like them best.
I promise to post more news on spinning and fiber this week - I have too many photos piling up so I'll make more time to blog, OK? Cheers all!

PhatFiber Sampler Box Spice Market

2011-07-22T00:54:00.000-06:00

I have to admit I am somewhat embarrassed to be so late in posting about the May box! In my defense I must say that I didn't get it until after the Canada Post strike at the end of June. Even so, it's now nearly the end of July... what can I say? So without further ado, here is the PhatFiber Sampler Box for May: Spice Market.

You know, even if the parcel with the business cards wasn't on the top I think I'd still open it first. It's sort of an introduction to the whole box. Into the Whirled had the clever idea of making their business card into a handspun yarn tag with a list of details to fill in on the back - nice! There's always something to learn! Because the theme is Spice Market there was an adjustable measuring spoon too - just the right size for spices!

Almost my whole box was fiber! I was delighted! Three contributors sent natural fiber samples from their own livestock: Southern Mystic sent raw Jacob wool in dark chocolate and caramel, Fiber Fancy sent salt & pepper Alpaca blended with Corriedale X wool, Wool Gypsy Fiber Arts sent some dark brown and tan colored Suri Alpaca locks. These are all beautiful fibers! Very high quality with a pleasant hand! Stash Enhancement sent (I could hardly believe it) a sample of 100% pure Vicuna! The first I've ever touched! Believe me, it lives up to it's reputation!

All of the fibers were lovely (and only two were noticeably scratchy, although it could be the dye and washing might help that), my two absolute favorites were the art batt fiber samples sent by Knotty Ewe and Dyet Yarns - yummy!

There were not many yarn samples in my box but the one that astonished me was the one from Lanitium ex Machina which included not one but four mini yarn skeins! 2 superwash blends and two silk blends! The original colorways are very earhty and there are 4 different weights represented. It was a pretty huge promotional package for her shop and her blog with draws and other promotional schemes. I don't know how many samples like this she sent for boxes but I can't help thinking this was an expensive endeavor in both time and materials! I wish her success!
The pattern is for a crocheted beanie from Wooly Bits Studio and included a stitch marker designed for crochet - very unique!

And the award for innovation in packaging goes to these beautiful presentations:
Bottom right, Into the Whirled, Curry in a Hurry, beautifully layered Merino combed top,
Center Bottom, A Dyeing Wish layered fiber modeled after the colors of the Penta Pepper,
Far left, Fleecemaker's Fibers, Li'l Hot Batts rolled up and in the colors of hot peppers.
And photo top, my favorite, a sheer drawstring bag of purple chiffon with two bundles of plump singles yarn in gorgeous colors, one red, one rainbow, from Wildethyme Art - simply elegant! Good enough to eat even!
So the May box was spectacular! Judging by the sample previews I've seen on the PhatFiber Ravelry group, the July box is shaping up to be just as great!

Summer Sale In My Etsy Shop is Live!

2011-07-21T00:04:00.000-06:00

I seem to be having "one of those weeks" again - the kind where I lose track of what day it is and then when I find out I can't imagine where the week is disappearing to. I mean, it's July, right? The so called "lazy days of summer"..... I think they forgot to put the lazy in mine! Maybe the excessive heat we've had lately is an attempt at that - NOT a very much appreciated attempt to be sure! The combination of high humidity and heat has had us all dragging our tails - I couldn't imagine living in any place further south and having to live with something like this ALL summer (beautiful scenery is nothing when you're dying!)! Ugh! I simply wouldn't survive it!
I'm too sticky and hot to even try to knit, the yarn just drags in my hands! Spinning is not quite so bad so I've really been finishing up some plying jobs and getting yarns listed in my Etsy Shop. My Summer Sale went live today. I did it using the Etsy on Sale app which I adore! It's SO much easier for customers than using special coupon codes. Everything on sale is clearly marked and there's no frustrations for customers forgetting their coupon code etc. They know exactly what items cost and quite frankly I like the way the listings look with the "Sale" stuff clearly marked. It lets new visitors to the shop know what's going on at a glance and everyone loves to stumble across a great sale when they're browsing around! Another really nice thing is that Etsy-on-Sale has a website where newly listed sale items get posted so there's a bit of extra exposure pretty much for free.
I also did a couple of posts on Ravelry and my Yahoo Groups so I'm hoping to generate at least a bit of traffic. I find that selling on Etsy is quite a challenge, compared to selling online with my own website, which I can pay to advertise in trade publications or selling on eBay where there is already huge traffic flow and most of the interest is generated by searches. My Etsy shop is just too small to pay for advertising and it's not so easy to find avenues for exposure for free. I still don't think that Etsy's search function is very well thought out since even though you add tags as part of the listing process, Etsy searches by photo name first, title second and then tags third. Pretty retarded when you think about it. There is room for 5 photos per listing - aren't you going to name them (more or less) all the same so that when you list a number of different items you'll be able to find all the photos for each one? Not only that but there is a limit to the number of characters on your photo name so you'll not likely be able to name it "natural_creamy_white_pure_shetland_handspun_yarn" so it will get found first sweep in the initial Etsy search. Before I knew about this I only used item numbers for my Etsy photos because it was the easiest way to be sure I'd find all the photos I had of each item in my computer file. VERY annoying to find out I had hobbled all my initial listings! I'm sure I'm not the only person who didn't know this so there are probably lots of nice items that don't show up until page 17 or 30 of an item search because their photo names are inadequate! Anyways, enough griping! I invite to to hop on over and have a peek at my shop. Even if nothing there tempts you, constructive criticism is always welcome - I'm always open to new ideas on how to improve it! Cheers!

Friday Freebie Scarves For July!

2011-07-15T23:25:00.001-06:00

With a zillion and one cotton lace patterns for everything-light-and-airy making the rounds for mid-summer knitting I couldn't resist the urge to sneer at the lazy days of summer and make the observation that in the time it takes (people like me) to knit a shawl or fancy scarf it will be cold enough to start wearing it daily! With that in mind I present the Katydid Drop Everything Scarf from Classic Elite Yarns. This one you could even wait until mid-August to start! It's so simple with the delightful dropped stitch lace effect ("lace knitting" doesn't get any easier than that!) that I'm sure you'll have time to finish several before it starts freezing at nights!

Today's other offering will definitely take time to complete - the Entrelac Scarf from Lion Brand! If you've never tried entrelac before, a scarf is a great first project! There's no gauge or shaping to worry about. It's not as large a time commitment as a shawl or wrap and it lends itself SO well to using up oddballs from your stash - so long as they're the same yarn weight. Entrelac is also great for indy-dyed and self-striping yarns with long color changes too! All you have to focus on is your knitting pattern! Voila! A scarf to impress even yourself!

To My Surprise and Delight...

2011-07-14T23:49:00.000-06:00

I appreciate that a vast number of spinners are currently caught up in the Tour de Fleece and I salute your efforts! At this time though I think I prefer to just be a spectator, an appreciative and enthusiastic spectator, but a confirmed spectator nonetheless! There's just waaaay too much going on in my life right now to add any new pressures or deadlines!
You know, every time I tell myself I couldn't possibly ever need another book about knitting - since I own practically every book on the subject worth having - I end up running across something that makes me stop, look... and spend! My most recent purchase showed up in the mail yesterday! It is quite a big book compared to her first two (Whimsical Little Knits 1 & 2) so it was a surprise to me when this bulky parcel arrived instead of the smaller volume I was expecting!
Of course I'm talking about Little Red in the City by Ysolda Teague (yes, the book everyone is talking about) and I can honestly say it really IS as good as everyone is saying! If I had to sum up this book in just one word (difficult as that may be) I think "lavish" would be pretty accurate. An abundance of color photos, instructions and explanations that are never truncated to restrain the number of pages in the book, and a "we've got all the time in the world to talk" feel to it that makes it seem like a luxury to spend time reading it.
I would go so far as to say I wish I had had this book 20 years ago when I branched into sweaters from afghans and throws. There's just so darn much simple common sense to everything she talks about and shows you. Take a deep breath, relax, and think...... everything is so clear as she uncomplicates what is usually presented as so complicated about modifying a pattern to fit and to fit well using darts and ease. She also gives helpful advice for considering which yarns to choose or substitute.
I especially love that there are no body-type restrictions in these pattern adjustments. It's SO refreshing to see patterns that don't assume everyone is the size and shape of a pencil, like too many yarn companies continue to do. There is an unabashed matter-of-factness about having a plus-size model wearing sweaters that actually fit and flatter her figure. No embarrassment or apology here to adjust for odd bumps and swells and it really made me feel good to see that! Embrace yourself and knit to fit for today, not a year or five down the road after the fairytale (illusory) dropping of 10 or 20 pounds.
I give it my hearty recommendation as absolutely worth the purchase price if you are considering buying it - and an even heartier recommendation if you're thinking about buying it as a gift to give to a new or nearly-new knitter! I guarantee you'll make a friend for life!

Alpaca Cria and Border Leichester Lambswool

2011-07-12T20:12:00.000-06:00

It's too bad this isn't feel-o-vision because your fingers would be in for a real tactile treat! It's only taken me a year to get to it but this is the Rose Alpaca Cria/Border Leichester Lambswool blend I got Anne at A &B Fiberworks to clean and blend for me. It's SO pillowy downy soft! She pin drafted it into such thin top that it practically spins itself!
My only complaint (do I ever NOT have one?) is that the lambswool wasn't exactly veg free. Although a fair bit came out during processing there is still some in it. Most of it I could just flick out without interrupting my spinning rhythm but there was always that odd bit that I'd have to stop to pick out. It really wasn't too bad, I think I'm just overly spoiled from spinning squeaky clean commercial top that has been soaked in acid to remove it.
The excellent qualities of this minimally processed fiber FAR outweighed any drawbacks from veg though! There really is no comparison between commercially scoured and chemically stripped top and this luscious, natural spinning fiber! It's soft and supple and the fibers don't have that fragile, dusty feel to them. They cling to themselves politely but slide nicely on command so I spun it quite fine without any worries. It was such a pleasure to spin I was sorry when the tub was empty! It has certainly tempted me to pull the lots I have listed in my Etsy Shop and keep them but I think I'll wait until after my Summer Sale later this month and see what's left. Everyone who's bought some so far just loves it - no surprise! LOL!

I was a little frustrated trying to get good photos of the finished yarn. It's a bit darker than the fiber photo but not quite as dark as these shots. Originally I planned to Navajo/chain ply it into a 3-ply but when the time came to do it I decided to just 2-ply it for a finer finished yarn. It turned out beautifully - how could it not? I'd just love to roll in it and snooze it's so delightfully soft! Needless to say I will NOT be knitting it into s-o-c-k-s!

I ended up with 2 skeins; 130 gms/4.5 oz 345 yds and 170 gms/6 oz 462 yds, so it's a comfortable DK weight. If I had 3-plied it would have been a chunky for sure and I wanted something finer but not too fine. Fingering weight is just not my style and even Sport is borderline! For now it's resting comfortably in my stash until just the right project comes along - not just "any" project will do for this baby!

July PhatFiber Samples

2011-07-06T23:19:00.000-06:00

Although Canada Post prevented me from contributing to the June box I got my samples off for the PhatFiber July sampler Box! The theme is Art Nouveau - and what would be more perfect than another batch of filigree spindles?

I decorated them with pearls again. There's just something so elegant abut the combination! I did them in all three finishes; silvertone, goldtone and antiqued bronze.

Yes, as you can see by the card I've decided to have a mid-summer sale starting July 20th. All the tags and business cards I sent have a blurb about it so hopefully this box will generate some traffic to my Esty Shop.

I always get such satisfaction from making a good looking presentation! However, these will be the last filigree spindles I send because I'm out of them now. I only had 30 spindles to send in so I made some sweet bluebell stitch markers (Czech glass with a silver half coat). I think they look very 1920's chic!

Blue Merino Silk

2011-07-05T23:10:00.000-06:00

Another beautiful bundle of Merino blended with silk from The Dyepot! The color sates my passion for all things blue in fiber and yarn - I can't seem to manage without a dose of it at regularly timed intervals! LOL!! Must be some sort of imbalance in my right frontal lobe....
I have another conflict here - that I love silks and silk blends on principle, whether it's yarn, knitted items or spinning fiber. Unfortunately I dislike knitting with 100% silk because it has no "give", I am not overly fond of spinning silk blends or silk hankies because they don't cling to themselves very well and I am madly in love with wearing silk but dislike having to hand wash it! Honestly! Talk about your love/hate relationship!
And I didn't do anything exciting with this lot either! I did my ho-hum usual of spinning it fairly fine and then Navajo plied it to preserve the color changes. Granted, it turned out beautifully but it was only a fleeting affection! it will be going into my Etsy Shop in the next week or so along with a lot of others!

It turned into a Sport weight, 3-ply, 502 yds from 5 oz (145 gms) and I cant help liking it for how pretty it is... what IS it about blues that mesmerize me so??

Hot, you say?

2011-07-04T23:29:00.000-06:00

(originally published June 29/11 but for some reason Blogger was messing up and it never showed)
Today was a breathtaking +32 Celsius, we were one of the hotter areas! Since our previous daytime highs have only been in the high teens/low 20's this was quite a wallop! Yesterday I played hookie from everything and worked in the yard, pruning back the encroaching wild brush, cleaning up and getting some bedding plants in the ground. It got to be about +22 C. I was too pooped out by the end of the day to do any blogging but I did get some pictures ready so at least I accomplished something! Hopefully I'll be showing them to you soon!
Today I was outside again all morning and it was cool and refreshing (yes, business is pretty much at a standstill ;o[ ) but for the afternoon I had to go with DH to the city to pick up the car and do some shopping. Not exactly an ideal day for that! I was melting by coffee time and sweating gallons! Although I did manage to get all my running around done it was torture going from frigid air conditioned stores back out into the "real" world! It was as though the cold air inside made the heat even worse! Needless to say I was way too sticky to spin, knit or do pretty much anything fiber related! I'm sure you folks from waaay south (like Texas) are used to this type of heat and humidity - or even higher - but for a poor stubble jumper like me who's more used to the dry cold, today was a bit much!

Happy Canada Day!

2011-07-01T17:29:00.000-06:00

Crimpy And Fun!

2011-06-30T23:13:00.000-06:00

Last summer I purchased a grizzled black fleece from Val of Wooly Wool of the West. I sent about half of it off with my black Llama fiber for processing but the other half I sent to Anne at A&B Fiberworks. It came back as the most wonderful pin drafted top. Some of it I posted in my Etsy shop as spinning fiber but I kept a really nice wad of it for myself. Recently I finally spun it up! I haven't had that much fun spinning since the Cotswold fiber last winter!
This fleece is a crossbreed of Clun Forest and Rambouilette. It is dark and intensely crimpy from the Clun but fine and surprisingly soft from the Rambo. The last time I spun anything this crimpy it was Jacob fiber and it's a lot coarser wool than this!
The delightful thing about all the crimp is that it makes the fiber want to cling to itself so you can really go crazy spinning it fine! I don't think I've ever spun anything so fine before and yet the finished yarn was no where near lace weight! Why? Because this crimp can't be drafted away. I drafted very very fine and the finished yarn sprang back into it's obdurate crimpy self! I think I'll rename it "Trampoline"! And the most amazing part? This is not scratchy yarn. Really! I rubbed it across my cheeks and up the inside of my arm and it just slides along! It is a most unique fiber! Crimpy, fine, soft and springy! What will I knit with it? I'm thinking a scarf or a cowl - something that will benefit from it wanting to keep it's shape!

This skein is 6.7 oz (approx 190 gm) 635 yards of 2-ply which means it's only a Sport weight! Springy and oh so soft though!

Non-Typical Friday Freebies

2011-06-24T23:27:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd give you something other than sweaters, shawls and wraps!

This busy little sock is Primrose from Knitty AND their new First Fall issue is up too! ("Primrose" will give you the sock pattern, "Knitty" will give you the First Fall issue). The intricate textured pattern must be quite absorbing to knit and it's certainly more concentration than I'm interested in giving a sock these days, but it's so pretty I thought, Hey, someone's sure to like it and cast it on!

In the "I must be crazy" department I have been thinking about the possibility (read: maybe a year from now) of getting a Knitter's Loom, or a table loom with a minimum 24" wide weave to make "real" dishtowels because I'm SO sick of the 12" wide trash in stores. While this is still in the back of my mind, I ran across this crochet pattern for dish towels (not the common-as-grass dish cloths) from Lion Brand. I like the idea of plush cotton but I can't help wondering that maybe they could be made in a wider, longer size with a finer gauge yarn and become something quite serviceable.... Hmmmmm.....

And last but certainly not least in tonight's off-the-wall selection is the Soft Linen Cafe Curtain from Classic Elite Yarns. One thing I like is the simplicity of this design. It would certainly be possible for the crazed lace knitter to make the entire thing in a complicated fancy stitch that they could then hang and admire every day over a favorite window. Made in 100% linen it would hold it's blocking and last virtually forever! But for more modest knitters, especially those with time constraints, the entire solid panel could be done on a light gauge knitting machine and then the lace edging added by hand knitting. (What a cheat, eh?) Lots of potential for bast-fiber based yarns and unique indie dye jobs!
I hope there is something here to tickle your fancy or inspire you! Cheers all! I'm off to enjoy the new issue of Knitty!

No Mail? No Problem! Bus!

2011-06-23T01:15:00.000-06:00

Although the Federal government has stepped in and legislated the postal workers back to work, things will not get moving again until Monday the 27th and I would imagine with the backlog, it will be some time before things get back to normal for delivery times. In spite of that, there are still ways to transport things, at least within our own province, that aren't brutally expensive, like the bus, and so far the high point of this week has been the parcel I got from the bus from Wooly Wool of the West.

Since they are all done shearing and lambing, Val posted a note on her Etsy shop that she was ready to sort fleeces that were available to purchase. Like everywhere else, it's first come first served so I got my oar in pretty quick to make sure I got some nice fleeces. And now that I have access to A&B Fiberworks in Alberta, I can have them washed, carded and pin drafted into marvelous spinning fiber in a very reasonable amount of time and at a reasonable cost too! I could never clean and card an entire fleece (never mind several) as well or as fast as A&B can, plus they can make pin drafted roving (not batts) which is still my favorite fiber preparation. They are very careful and gentle in their methods plus there are no harsh chemicals used so I know the fiber is going to come back having retained all it's best qualities.
Although a lot of my fiber purchases last year were dyed commercially prepared top I'm losing my appetite for it in the same way that too much candy makes your teeth ring. Make no mistake, I'm enjoying spinning what I have on hand, but it is alternating frequently with larger bunches of natural fiber which I am developing a preference for spinning. You will see, over the next few weeks, the lovely yarns that have been coming from these lots of fiber. I feel that I have finally acquired sufficient skill as a spinner to produce quality yarns from these fibers which, as a beginner, I don't think I would have been able to do. Commercial top is a great thing to start with - almost "fool proof" spinning fiber for a beginner. Natural fibers, especially those that are not the standard mainstream fare of Merino or BFL, present a bit more of a challenge to spin as everything about them from crimp to staple length must be taken into consideration in relation to how they will be spun and each factor will change how your hands respond to the fiber as you spin it. What I am realizing more and more is that it is my hands that make the final decision on what will be produced, not my head and eyes. How the fiber drafts and responds to tension all play a big part in the diameter of the singles and how many plies will make up the resulting yarn. Ultimately the fiber chooses more than "I" do what it will become. It's a strange reality! Anyways, I'm looking forward to working with the fiber from the fleeces I chose and I have lots to keep me busy in the meantime while they're being prepared! Cheers all!

Crazy Week, Bad Week, Worse Week Coming?

2011-06-19T17:54:00.000-06:00

This week in blogging started out so well! I was determined to turn around my recent time management challenged blogging pattern and I got beat out by the weather! 3 continuous days of storms that pretty much obliterated our satellite high speed. It was a challenge to even get my emails and getting my blog interface to load was out of the question! So that's why there weren't any Friday Freebies this week - sorry!
And if this wasn't bad enough Canada Post has gone into Lock Out mode so there is NO mail of any kind moving - period! It has brought my regular business to a stand still and I didn't add any of my new items to my Etsy Shop because I can't ship anything. Now on the one hand it's a bit like an impromptu "holiday" but I haven't exactly had my feet up all week! (Don't I WISH!) I've spent it getting lots of small jobs caught up that I haven't had time to get to previously. The big downside, of course, is NO income! Not sure how I'll deal with this issue if the situation drags on much!
I still have a (thankfully) small stack of magazines I haven't had time to look through that make me feel guilty every time I see them because I'd really like to dive in but I am uncertain I will get to them even if Canada Post is down for another week! LOL! I actually sat down and made a To Do list and so far have only 4 out of 9 things crossed off! Granted these are important things, like getting camera-ready ad pdfs for a couple of magazines done and setting up 2 new computer programs. I also helped my daughters set up their own Paypal account and Etsy Shop for selling their hand made jewelry. Now I just have to help them get all the photos done (and there's a lot to do) BUT they can't actually list anything for sale because - ya - Canada Post is in lock out mode.
So much for my life! In fiber news, I am still knitting away at the stockingette section of my silk Faroese shawl and although it is growing, albeit slowly, there's not much to blog about or photograph there. Oh, did I mention my camera died just as I was setting things up so had to get a new rechargeable for it? I haven't picked up my Pi shawl in a couple weeks but am still spinning every night. As per my habit, I have filled all my bobbins and am in the process of plying, which for some unknown reason, always seems to take longer than spinning the singles. So, if the weather is willing to co-operate I am hoping to at least have photos of some more new yarns to show you even if the knitting is going boringly slowly....Because of the postal situation I wasn't able to contribute to the June PhatFiber Sampler Box. On hindsight maybe this was a good thing because - I can't ship things right now - still I'm disappointed because I was hoping to contribute to every box this year in an effort to really build my Etsy presence. Hopefully this week I'll get pics done and review the May box. Once I have my July samples done I'll post pics of them too (yup, they're on my To Do list!). BTW we lost our internet signal 3 times while I was working on this, just to show you how fragile our connection is, and it isn't even raining here yet! *sigh!*

Too Nice to Part With

2011-06-14T20:31:00.000-06:00

Although I have been trying not to acquire more yarn every once in a while I spin up something I just can't bring myself to post in my Etsy Shop. It's another batch of fiber from Dyeing for Color. A delicious blend of 80% superwash wool and 20% bamboo. I seem to have gone through quite a few moody green batches of fiber over the last year. I loved them as fiber yet after they were spun up the zing was gone from the relationship and it wasn't hard to put them up for sale. Not so with this lot! Granted I understand green may not be to everybody's taste and I generally think of myself as being a pushover for blues but the calm coolness of nature tones seems to appeal to me more of late. It's not just the softness of this fiber but the subtle variegated shading of the different greens, not quite crossing into lime and never straying into emerald, always roaming in the mossy dark shades. Makes me think of cool shady glades and Pirates of the Caribbean mossy caves with a sparkling tropical ocean just outside...
I spun two 4 ounce lots, one darker, one lighter and then plied them together. I got 770 yds of 2 ply, a comfortable sport weight that I'm thinking will make something nice, like a shawl or wrap.... (OK no pokes about how many of those I already have on needles ....)

Fabulous Friday Freebie Shawls

2011-06-11T10:13:00.000-06:00

I'm sure you're wondering if I fell of the face of the planet this week - not exactly but I confess I blinked in incredulity when I discovered the week was gone! My evening blogging time was cleverly commandeered by some enthusiastic Mario Party players too and I couldn't resist playing as Waluigi and look pencil-thin for at least a couple hours! The weather this week has been prodigiously warm and balmy and it has been delightful to tackle the weeds in the flower beds and plan the arrangements of the new perennials.
So, to make up for the lack of posts this week I thought I would share some real knock-out patterns!

This Sweet Peach Shawl from Lion Brand is a dandy little project! Great for the beginning shawl knitter or a quick-knit project fro the experienced knitter who needs a gift in a hurry! I love the loopy edge finish but if I was to cast it on I would use a finer gauge yarn to give it a bit nicer drape. Handspun....

This Combo Shawl from Caron Naturally is another uncomplicated quick shawl to knit! Knit sideways, in garter stitch and medium weight yarn it has potential to be a real "zen" knit project! This would be an ideal showcase for a special skein of handspun luxury yarn! The "combo" in the name comes from the addition of an ornate crochet edging which gives it a real elegance! (combination of knitting and crochet). And the nice part about a crochet edging is how easy it is to add beads for a bit of bling!

Saving the best for last, the Kudzu Shawlette from Classic Elite Yarns! What a gorgeous design! (but don't be fooled by this photo - it's really really really long!) An excellent introduction to lace knitting and a fantastic pattern to add beads to! It's so nice in fact, I think it warrants an extra picture! Enjoy! (and hopefully next week I'll have a little more time to post!) Cheers all!

Friday Freebies - Light Cardis

2011-06-03T17:57:00.000-06:00

Spring may be in full swing and many places have Summer on the horizon it's still darn chilly at night! (heck, even some mornings!) So here are two cardigans that will lend themselves well to cotton or linen or bamboo blends to give you just a little warmth when you need it!

The High Line Cardigan from Tahki Stacey Charles is a nifty little design that should knit up in no time at all! The construction is unique without shaping and the stitch pattern allows for lots of stretch and give so it will happily accommodate your shape! Sweet!

This is the Comfi Cardi from Caron naturally, another pleasing knit! It has a wide garter stitch border and cuffs, 3 button closure plus an easy to remember lace motif. Knit it up in a week or two and enjoy it all summer! (unless you're the Lazy Knitter, in which case you can enjoy it all Fall! LOL!)

Aran Sweater Finished!

2011-06-01T20:17:00.000-06:00

My sister sent me this photo as she neared the neck for a bit of finishing advice. Believe me, she didn't need much! I'm SO delighted to see how she took my humble start and ran with it! What really blows me away is that the sweater is entirely seed stitch between the cables. In all my knitting history I've never knit a sweater, especially one this size, that was all texture with no stockingette! Never! And she did it with her first one! I bow to her superior determination! (big time!)

I did, of course, chide her for sending me "finished" photos before she had washed and blocked the sweater which is why it looks so lumpy! But I couldn't blame her contagious excitement because, really, an entirely textured and cabled seamless yoke sweater knit in the round is so totally NOT a beginner sweater! Well done kiddo! (wonder what she'll tackle next? LOL!!)

Pretty In Pink

2011-05-31T23:57:00.000-06:00

Doesn't a bundle of pink fiber like this just make you want to sink your hand in it up to the wrist? Trust me, it's every bit as nice in person as it is in the photo - actually not quite as dark a shade of pink, but still a delicious blend of shades of pink! Another lot of fiber from Dyeing for Color and, as it turned out, a substitution for something she was out of. Generally I'm not a pink-o-holic but when she offered it I thought, oh what the heck! The fiber photo is from her shop and it's SO much nicer in hand! It was one of the first bundles I spun up from the box. Honestly, I don't know how she does it but the fiber in the braid is fluffy and plump, not compressed and I could spin quite happily from it. (Sorry, I guess eventually you'll get tired of me raving about how spinnable her fiber is without pre-drafting but it's such a pleasant change from 100% of the previous braids I've purchased in the past!)
It's a blend of 80% superwash wool and 20% Bamboo so it has shiny satiny bits all over and since there's no angelina or firestar in it it is soft right through! It was a total pleasure to spin! I ended up with 280 yds of 2-ply from 4ounces of fiber so it's almost a sport weight. Hopefully I'll have time (probably during the Postal strike *grrr!*) to get it listed in my Etsy Shop along with a bunch of other skeins....

George Carlin - "Proud parents" bumper stickers

2011-05-26T11:37:00.000-06:00

More of the same....

George Carlin -Child Worship

2011-05-26T11:20:00.000-06:00

I do apologize for the unfortunately typical profanity but it's So painfully true....

PhatFiber April Box - Butterflies & Flutterbys

2011-05-26T00:15:00.000-06:00

My April PhatFiber Sampler box arrived about 10 days ago so it's time for me to send off my samples for the June box! only 1 stitch marker this box from Lampyridae - a beautiful bead dragonfly! There's a gorgeous green and white butterfly polymer clay button from Crafty Dragon and a funky 1" zipper pull with butterflies from Zippy Pins.

This is the first sampler box I've ever received that has items in it that baffled me! In the bottom left is a sample of silk carrier rods from Plum Crazy Ranch and Fiber. I know what they are but haven't clue how to use them! Then there's the elaborate and beautiful purple fabric drawstring bag, top right from SockDiva. It's beautiful and obviously took someone a looong time to make but it would barely hold a set of stitch markers or a couple of loonies so I haven't a clue what it's for. It contained a miniature origami cricket (I think) or maybe a lotus flower which also took someone a looong time to make! Amazing workmanship - but for???? Right below it is a delightful decorated matchbox with a clear resin button with a real pressed flower in it from Spinatude! Wow! Beautiful presentation and totally awesome button! There's also a felted Easter egg kit from Scioto Valley Alpacas and a sweet crochet butterfly pattern by Jessie Driscoll of Stash Enhancement.

I was really overwhelmed (and overjoyed) by the fiber samples in this month's box! Every one a delicious color and texture! Absolutely NO disappointments or "also rans" in this bunch!! It made it nearly impossible to pick favorites! After some serious struggles I narrowed it down to three! I put them across the top. From Left to right - BFL/Mohair/Angelina from Giffordables Folk Art and Fiber, downy soft and a swirly blue and grey bundle of loveliness! Next the rolled Mystery Batt from Desert Garden Farms - I love the chunky mixture of colors and textures of the different fibers! I'm seriously tempted to..... On the far right is a Merino/Angelina/Alpaca sample from SpinFusion. As you can well imagine it's baby-soft but what made it stand out to me is the soft green contrasted with rusty tan. A gentle but inviting colorway, not very common but beautiful!

I had a similar problem with the yarn samples! I loved every one! Top left to right, the tonal green SW Merino/Bamboo from Shenanigans, the intensely textured purple and green Alpaca/Punta/glow-in-the-dark from Beckylicious, the rainbow pastel 100% Alpaca from RebelYarns and second pastel mini-skein of 100% Merino from Alpaca Legacy. Then there's my other "terrible weakness" of upcycled yarn, 100% Cashmere in a rich red from Phoenix Yarn (her prices are REALLY reasonable!)

And the winners for the Innovation in Presentation Awards go to The Droll Eclectic for the gorgeous fiber butterfly with the bright orange tag (points deducted though for not mentioning fiber content - tsk! tsk!) and this sweet mini-skein of Merino/Cashmere/nylon sock yarn which drew it's colors from the Ulysses Butterfly and was turned into a caterpillar by the addition of the funkiest blue wire antennae from Neurotic Knitterz (bonus points awarded for the gorgeous origami butterfly recyled from printed paper!). Kudos!

Shawl Progress Update

2011-05-24T23:53:00.000-06:00

I figured that since it was a long weekend - one that started with my birthday - I should at least make the effort to take a bit of time off to just loaf around and do something I've been putting off. I mean, usually a long weekend means you have one extra day to get work done around home, right? It also usually involves doing extra cleaning & cooking for company etc. but after the company was gone I opted to ignore the dishes and put my feet up - and knit! And not just any knitting either! I fired up some past episodes of Top Gear to watch while I sorted out the stitches on my badly re-needled Pi Shawl! To my immense relief it wasn't quite as bad as I expected! True there were a couple patches where all the knitted yarn overs had raveled but once I got the hang of what they looked like it wasn't too tough to re-knit them and get my stitch count correct for each lace section. It went so well that it didn't even take 2 full episodes of Top Gear to complete the restoration! Yay!

After all that, I do have to admit to one failing - there are now 2 complete knit rounds instead of one knit round and one pattern round - and I absolutely refuse to tink it back.... at least not today! (there ARE limits to my endurance! LOL!) Maybe the next time I pick it up I'll have a change of heart but I'm not entirely convinced it will show that much... For right now I'm just glad to have all the stitches back, oriented correctly and ready to knit!

My other shawl project, my faroese in 100% silk is coming along just fine when I can remind myself to forget how much I hate purling!

Half purling in fact, because I have opted for stockingette for the entire upper portion of this shawl so it is pretty much a zen-knit project. It's actually a rather decadent zen-knit project, given the yarn - such a glossy slinky silk! Increases are done in a single row and then 10 inches without any increases are added. Then another row of increases and another 10 inches without. It's the kind of knitting project I just HAVE to have around for times I need to unwind without any hassles! Needless to say it will lose it's zen-ness once I start the broad bottom lace panel but until then it's a very calming friend!

More Friday Freebie Crocheted Afghans

2011-05-22T10:57:00.000-06:00

There's just nothing like a colorful crocheted afghan! I often think that the thick sturdy fabric is better than most knit afghans just from the extra bulk because crochet uses more yarn than the same size knit fabric. This is the Country Tweed Afghan from Caron Naturally. I love how the stitch alternates the colors, even though I'm not overly fond of the colors they chose. But I must say that what really "saves" the color palette it that the blue is NOT an avocado green (anyone over 30 should get my drift on that observation! LOL!).

I just love this Perdido Baby Blanket, also from Caron Naturally! I love that they chose something other than blue and pink and that the base color is ecru not "white" which just totally shows ALL the dirt from small hands! I'm pretty sure it's also crochet in a cotton blend rather than wool so it's easy care and great for year-round use! Sure to become "blankie" in the heart of a special little someone!

New York Times Article on Spinning

2011-05-19T19:39:00.002-06:00

I ran across this article from the New York Times on spinning. What surprised me is it's from 2006. What surprised me even more is it portrays the "new" spinners are young, upwardly mobile and hip. It just struck me as very odd. On one hand it's sort of nice to be associated with an "in" thing since there's not much of that happening at my age but on the other I got the impression the writer found it surprising that "modern" women could possibly have an interest in anything so woefully archaic. I mean the article doesn't come right out and say it but you can tell it's written by a total urbanite who was probably shocked to discover milk actually comes from somewhere BEFORE it goes into the carton. It sort of has the "isn't this odd but quaint?" flavor to it. It struck me as being rather funny, given the prestige of the publication and it made me wonder just how far from the origins of things most people really are. I could really expand on that but it would stray pretty far from the subject of fiber so I think maybe I'll stop here, but I encourage you to read the article and ponder this a little, if you have a few thoughts to spare... LOL!!

Superwash Blend Handspun

2011-05-17T23:37:00.001-06:00

Spinning has become such a part of my evening routine I think I would have a hard time unwinding at night without it now. I went through a period of time during the late winter months when all I spun was colorful dyed wool and wool blends. I just needed the pleasant therapy of spending time looking at something other than "white" (ie: snow)!
Occasionally I forget to photograph the fiber before I spin it and that happens to be the case with both these lots of fiber. I purchased them on Etsy from a supplier in Ontario called Dyeing for Color. I can't say enough good things about her fiber, her prices and her promptness in shipping! (SUCH a pleasure to buy from a Canadian Etsy seller!)
Although her fiber comes in braids it is nothing at all like any braided fiber I've ever had before! There is NO pre-drafting required as the fiber is fluffy not compacted and I can spin right from the top without splitting it! I don't know how she does it but every bundle is a pleasure to spin from!
Her eye for blending color is unique and the variances are often subtle but very pleasing! And the fibers I prefer to buy from her are superwash blends with tussah silk, bamboo, firestar and other twinkly, shiny goodies. I have only one criticism, and it has nothing to do with her products - it's the photos in her shop. Now I appreciate that everyone can't be good at everything so it's a minor fault, in my eyes, that often the photos in her shop don't necessarily portray the fibers accurately. That happened to be the case with the ones I'm showing you today.
Because I forgot to take pictures of this fiber before I spun it, I though I'd just grab the photos from her shop to show you... except her photos look pretty orange and copper and the fiber is much redder, rustier, greener and darker.

So I suppose you're wondering if that upset me when I opened my first box and discovered the discrepancy... and honestly, actually, not at all! What I found is that I really loved the colors I got. I appreciate that it may very well be a rare thing but to me the colors are so appealing and the fiber so nice that whatever comes in the box I know I'm going to love it and invariably I do. And this is the first time I've ever said that about any seller, any time, any where!
So here is the handspun. Both skeins came from fiber on a listing with the above photo. (2 separate purchases) Each is different and rich in colors.

Heathered Rust, 350 yds of Sport weight 2-ply from approx. 3.9 oz of lovely blended top: superwash wool, tussah silk, bamboo and firestar.

And this skein I call Ruby Evergreen, which is 365 yds of Sport weight 2-ply from approx. 4.4 oz of lovely blended top: superwash wool, tussah silk, bamboo and firestar. I wish you had feel-o-vision so you could feel how soft and silky these skeins are!

Now I don't want you thinking ALL her photos are as different as this! In fact most of the other lots of fiber I have purchased from her are very, very close to the photos. I think she just has the same sort of problem lots of other sellers on Etsy have with reds and red/brown combos.... speaking of which, I will be listing these in my own Etsy shop as soon as I have time to get some better photos of them.... Cheers all!

Friday Freebie Wraps

2011-05-14T20:34:00.000-06:00

If you're a fan of Van Gogh this beautiful Appalachian Shawl from Classic Elite Yarns is modeled after his famous "Starry Night". I LOVE how the designer worked the stars into the modified feather and fan-style pattern stitch. The multi-tonal sock yarn makes such a complimentary imitation of the inspiring painting! I just love this design!

Another truly beautiful project is this Lace Panel Throw from Caron Naturally. Worked in a heavier gauge yarn this throw knits up fairly fast, as far as throws go. The textures make it a visually appealing accessory to any room!