Spinnifer

2011-08-19T07:27:00.006-04:00

Finally decided to get this project bag off the sideboard. From a Deb Menz Blending class at SOAR in Bend. Yess the batts look very flat as would you rolled in paper towels for 2 years. Picked a base color, in this case a muted pumpkin, and added others. I feel sure there was a story about hues, tones, complements, etc. But 3 hours and 20 people you are basically just grabbing. I only blended once thinking it would do more in the spinning. Correct.

There are 3 oz, 180 yards total, 3ply. Probably Corriedale. This was my first carding experience. The yellow and green are ok, the others EWWW. The base color was probably a mistake. Possibly this would be ok used as stripes with a blue for a baby sweater. I know there is 8 oz of an Ashland medium blue here. Somewhere.

2011-08-17T20:10:00.005-04:00

Warhill: 140 yds, 2 oz/ 60g. 3 ply. Just a little off-white. Managed to get rid of 95% of the grass bits, learned about dirty fleece. On a scale of 1 - 10 of elasticity this is about a 5. Feels and spins like merino, could be worn next to the skin. Could be sock yarn but wouldn't last well.

E.F.: 110 yds, 80g, 3 ply, Aran weight. The second cuts I got tired of pulling out felted into little balls that contributed to the lofty bounce of this yarn. The only yarn I've spun that was more elastic was a CVM that was really beset with noils. This is my best effort in making a Sarah Swett yarn. A real pain in the neck to clean and spin, partially due to it's being black. The bronze tips merged right in. Gorgeous yarn, very wearable, probably won't pill. Trying not to go back and buy the rest.

East Friesian and Warhill

2011-08-17T16:48:00.006-04:00

The 1st picture shows the lovely fine crimp of the Warhill, somehow visible in the unbelievable filth of this sample. Washed 1 handful at a time, the water resembled mud after 2 batches. Sometimes had to change after 1. And it had a ton of grass. 120 g ended up 60g. Felt real sorry for the sheep carrying around 100% of fleece weight in dirt. And yes, I bought these baggies sight unseen.

The East Friesian was just a black blob, unsuited to photography. Less dirty but full of 2nd cuts. 120 g down to 80g. Picture shows unwashed and washed , there were bronze tips. Staple about 2 inches on each.

2011-07-25T10:11:00.002-04:00

We're embarking on week 2 of major heat. However, 100 degrees means little to a young dog. Today we walked 3 miles including 2 big hills. And we've been out twice to play "Throw the Kohlrabi". Pre-shredded some recycle boxes. Last week he found some over grown cucumbers and carried them up and down the hill. I've turned into a dog mommy, pockets full of treats and bags.

On the fiber front: this month's KAL sock is almost done, amazing since it's the L on 0's, 100 stitches. Possible but unlikely there will be some spinning. Certainly haven't stopped the influx of fiber.

2011-07-02T15:29:00.002-04:00

Less mutt-like picture. He's gained about 2 lbs per week. Finding himself at home. Moose took him to Delaware today to visit his favorite bakery. Things are a little better with 2 of the cats. There has been no spinning or fleece washing. New dog settling in is pretty time consuming.

2011-06-17T04:38:00.002-04:00

Almost 2 pounds of washed, dyed, or carded Corriedale. And 3 ropes of Polwarth. Laboriously removed from net and plastic upstairs, brought all over downstairs. He also unpacked the Hansen from it's tote and 2 layers of plastic. Thank goodness nothing of interest so he didn't chew it up. All in 1 hour.

2011-06-01T20:19:00.002-04:00

Made about 5 oz worth of these batts. KA: Blue Raspberry Lemonade, Lemonade and Lime with a dash of no name teal fiber. Enough for socks if it ever gets cool enough to spin.

2011-05-18T16:48:00.004-04:00

All the little batts. Peach yarn and components. 42 yards 3 ply, 17 gm. Absolutely the color I was going for, sportweight, a tad fuzzy and lofty/soft/squishy. This is so fun. And the KA is so easy, non-threatening. Even though I have a skein about 6 years old, dyed with no technique, that is still nuclear in its' coloring, I'm worried about fading and will probably invest in the Jacquard dyes

Dye Day #1

2011-05-18T16:37:00.007-04:00

Koolaid being available: Grape, orange, black cherry. Also did lemon and green. Blended the lemon, cherry and orange to make a lovely peach batt, not well visible in bottom picture. Made everything into batts separately and then tore and layered to blend. Also did cherry + grape.

2011-05-10T15:17:00.003-04:00

Not easy taking pictures of white batts. Could be Maltese sleeping for all you know. Results of last post washing. 4 intensely fluffy poufs, left my foot in for scale. Amazing for 2oz.

Maryland Sheep and Wool

2011-05-08T11:46:00.004-04:00

The weather this year was perfect although the people wearing sweaters looked hot.

We got there at 0830 and the field was half full of cars. The actual venues didn't seem as crowded as in the past. Shorter lines at the potties, handwashing stations by the Port-a-Pots. They added a new section of vendors and there was a LOT of stuff to see.

However, since last year I'd been thinking about the Ruppert Corriedale fleeces so that was 1st stop. Even though the thought of processing 6+ lbs and then all that white yarn... The washing is going to be a snap. Soak a few minutes in hot water and Dawn, quick rinse soak. Blinding white, all grease gone.

Other stuff bought: 8oz from Bullen's Wullens, soap and 2 skeins lace yarn from Creatively Dyed.

2011-04-25T19:16:00.002-04:00

3 ply. One is all Polwarth, one 2 plies of that and 1 of corrie. Not only sampled but swatched. 8st/inch on 2.25.

This is my most successful 3ply Polwarth sock yarn, the right thickness. The Polwarth is softer. The blend is crisper, probably would wear better. It is also yellow tinged and shows a subtle striping, not enough to interfere with patterning.

2011-04-25T19:03:00.002-04:00

Left is Polwarth from BME, color Mint Center. Right is a very old corriedale from Crown Mountain Farm.

Spun up the Polwarth on the Lendrum and started the same old second guessing: what might go with it and expand the yardage.

We Took A Worried Dog

2010-12-08T11:59:00.003-05:00

On the way home, slightly past Pittsburgh. After the beer bottles fell on him. He really had a nice space in the back, room to lie down, stand up, turn around. But at this point he didn't think he was ever going to see home again. Me neither. 17 hours. Cause we were so tired we stopped at almost every rest area to walk around.

What did I buy? Bunch of alpaca, gray doesn't show up well in pictures. 2 Polwarth bags from Rovings, 12 oz merino/silk from Abstract Fibers and a small drum carder. And an 8oz bag of light brown Shetland as a door prize.

2010-12-08T11:51:00.003-05:00

Not much to show for 3 days of Lace Class. The fat skein was the last thing we did, after 2 1/2 days of tiny. Margaret said make it as fat as you can. Mine was by far the fattest, 3 ply aran. She picked it out as her favorite skein of the class! She said it was very difficult to make merino do that.

All our fiber was unwashed (not dirty) fleece from New Zealand. 3 Different grades of Merino. We washed it by locks, fluffed and spun.

2010-12-08T11:43:00.003-05:00

Lakelawn Resort in Delavan, Wisconsin. Lovely place, nice rooms, nice public areas and the food was better than last year. Many people complained but at least we had fresh fruit and nice salad. Strange thing about the lake: many tiny boats with 1 or 2 fishermen. And they were standing up. Windy, choppy. Safe? Didn't see anyone fall in.

SOAR 2010

2010-12-08T11:36:00.004-05:00

Coming into Chicago about 12 hours after leaving Baltimore. The most traffic seen all trip, the only civilization except for rest areas. Going through Pennsylvania was long but there was the excitement of starting the trip. Ohio was dark, flat, deserted and endless. All the rest areas were clean and safe though. No trucks on the road at all. Felt like we were in a sci-fi movie. Very different from driving up the east coast.

Sheep & Wool

2010-05-02T17:39:00.006-04:00

Doesn't look like a lot but pretty pricey. Mixed Jacob ball from Firefly Farm, 3 separate color balls of Jacob from Wind & Willow, amazingly soft. Orange Polwarth from Misty Mountain. Size 5 circ from Signature. Wasn't going to get a spindle but here is my big black cat and the little one. Oh well.

The Romney from Fulk's Farms. They said it was Romney even when I asked again. Doesn't feel like any I've had but that isn't a lot. Silky soft, no vm, you can occasionally see light brown tips in the batt but they aren't stuck together. Just a wavy tan presence. Long staple. Best prepared carded fiber I've ever seen. Spun up a little and waiting for it to dry. Acted a lot like Wensleydale. Have a pretty big bag of it and if I can't figure out a way to spin it by itself, could probably mix it with other stuff. Was $19/ pound. Couldn't pass that up.

Other than my "Romney", the nicest fiber I saw was several Corriedale fleeces from Ruppert. Amazing crimp, 4" staple, clean. saw other Corrie fleeces and thought "Why did you even bring these?" But I am not in the fiber prep mode.

It was so stinking hot. Just miserable, sweat in the eyes constant burning. But they did have a good handle on the potty situation. Really not enthused enough to stand in line for the popular stuff. Really irritated at the jerks who brought small children, pale exhausted laying in their hot strollers.

2010-05-02T10:14:00.003-04:00

A slightly better picture of the suffolk roving. 2 oz, 142 yards, 3 ply. This yarn is a little rougher than the 2 rainbow skeins dyed in the already spun yarn. The roving became quite fuzzy after dyeing. This blend was sold as sock material but it is too rough and very hard to spin fine. It would make a good sweater or mittens.

2010-04-30T20:43:00.004-04:00

Reskeined yarn. The little dark one started out gray. The light blue is also shown pre- steaming. The roving is 2 oz of suffolk I forgot to take a pre- picture of. It got very fuzzy but didn't felt. Suffolk is reputed to have some superwash characteristics. This one was drip painted and went from dark to llight. However, as it sat all night, the dye spread and it became mostly blue. The teacher said you can leave the saran packs several days before steaming but obviously not if you want it to look as crisp as what you painted.

It has all of a sudden gotten very hot. The S&W tomorrow may be miserable. Hard to buy wool when it's 90.

2010-04-30T20:31:00.006-04:00

2 skeins of 3plied Suffolk with 20%nylon. 6 oz sport weight. The first was random painted, the 2nd and 3rd pictures are the front and back of the same skein. Painted stripes lengthwise. These 2 sat all night before being steamed and the dyes blended more. There were no white spots left. This is a medium feeling fiber but it roughened a little with dyeing.

2010-04-30T11:49:00.002-04:00

Not pictured cause it's pretty boring is a small skein that started out as gray 3 ply: a small sample baggie of maybe CVM. It was soft and elastic, smooth. Took the dye quite darkly. Turquoise, lime and purple = mostly navy. . The weird thing about this was: it got fuzzy, almost like fleece jacket fabric. Still a light fingering weight but looks spongy and feels rougher than it did.

2010-04-30T11:29:00.012-04:00

Back in March, I sent in applications for Sheep & Wool classes. Never heard back. The arrangement was that you would be notified if you got in and get your checks back eventually if not. So I figured no admit. But someone on Ravelry had inquired and found out she got in so I emailed and found that I had 2 classes. 3 days before. Poor system.

Anyhow Longdraw with Maggie Casey was very helpful and I did indeed achieve a better technique. Then Dyeing with Carol Bodin. I stuck to using only 5 colors: yellow, turquoise, magenta, purple and a mix of the yellow and turquoise making lime.

First up a skein of old cheap wool yarn that was given to me years ago. But it was cream colored. And a little BFL top. I tried to make the patterns similar to see how the eventual yarn will match up. These were steamed at my house about 6 hours after being wrapped. And a trip to Wallyworld for a pot. There was no fading, little melding and they both exhausted well. The top blended more and had glowing, peacock colors. The top was somewhat felted but can be pulled out. The yarn was a little reptilian but reskeined looks like Koigu.

February Yarn

2010-04-21T08:41:00.004-04:00

310 yards, about 4 oz, 3 ply. ASU SAL for Jan/Feb. This is fingering weight despite the low yardage. VERY DENSE. I could tolerate socks with it but many wouldn't. Most of the SAL'ers made singles for shawls. I had previously made scarf weight Wensleydale and it was way too hairy for around the neck. A sweater from this would be heavy but almost waterproof. The skein has nap, stroke it one way :soft, the other way : prickles.

2010-04-21T08:31:00.003-04:00

320 yards merino/silk , 3 1/4 oz, from Sarastexturecrafts. The roving was all sorts of marbled but the yarn is pretty much orange. Guess all the bits of color added to the final result. Very easy fiber to spin, still have some green. The description said she blends them herself, not Ashland. Anyhow, the yarn is lovely.

Spun in February.

2010-04-21T08:18:00.003-04:00

This was a 3 month fiber club from Katrinasworld of wool. Received all at once. Have only spun this Jacob which was a mystery roll. 250 yards of 3 ply, 3 3/8 oz. It is soft enough for men's boot socks or would be good for an outside sweater. This skein is destined for mittens. Spun in February.

2010-04-21T08:07:00.011-04:00

"Haunting" the October Fiber Club for Beemiceelf. 450 yards n-ply superwash BFL. There is an almost finished pair of socks.

Enchanted Knoll "Neptune's Lair" and "Vila". 1300 yards , 10 oz, 2 ply. The picture with the bobbins is close in color, the yarn is mostly blue.

Ulmus

2010-01-11T07:14:00.004-05:00

Actually finished this before SOAR. The dark is 3 ply from 3 different BFL pieces from FatCatKnits fiber club. The blue is 2 ply shetland from Chromafiber. I added several rows and it is still a medium size.

2010-01-11T07:06:00.002-05:00

8 oz SWM from Crown Mountain bought at SOAR. Yellow Submarine. Spun 4 oz, 425 yards, 3 ply. Given to Alison who likes yellow. It is not often that I achieve commercial sock weight. Took these pictures before the cold wind took hold of our area. This has been the longest coldest spell I remember here.

2009-11-14T14:49:00.003-05:00

Survived another Friday the 13th at work, better than the usual, actually. It has been dark and rainy here since last Tuesday but the light was ok for a few pictures today.

My most impressive class at SOAR was 3 hours with Sarah Swett. She didn't spin but brought 3 types of washed fleece we were supposed to card/comb/otherwise prep and spin for soft yarn. She had a display set up of many of her sweaters and they were amazing. All wool prepped and spun by her. The fabric was so elastic. They were wearing very well. This labor intensive method helped along by only needing enough yarn for a Size 2. My friend says the main idea was to spin loose singles and overply. My sample from the class was pretty sad, mainly due to trying to ply in inadequate light in my room.

So ordered some Romney/Coopworth batt off etsy, katrinaswoolworld, very nice seller. It was well prepared cause frankly I don't have enough life left to spend on selecting, washing and carding. 3 ply woolen singles and slightly overplied. 6 3/8 oz, 500 yards. Sent the swatch through the washer. 7.5 st/in on 1's. A little fuzzy, somewhat elastic, but not there yet. The color is true. Oatmeal gray.

2009-11-05T10:27:00.006-05:00

Next was a large plateau area of chunks of volcanic rock and scrub grasses. Couple of gorges where a river had cut through, a few cows and a tiny town where we stopped for gas and apples. Which were $1 a pound cheaper than here. On a clear day they could turn any direction and see mountains but it's a pretty isolated place to live.

We made it into Bend , collected a friend from the airport and went downtown. Had a nice fishy lunch in a mall area constructed around an old mill. Downtown had a nice tea shop and many other retail establishments aimed at tourists. Extremely cute little Craftsman style houses near town, McMansions further out. Their economy is very precarious right now, 19% unemployment. We returned at times during the week for real food. Moose was there almost every day checking out the bakeries. Picture is from the top of Pilot Butte at sunset. All clear except the wisps of clouds on the peaks. This is in the middle of Bend and very scary drive up, no guardrails.

Sign in was very efficient at the resort. The rooms were nice but poorly lit. The public spaces were positively murky and with sparse seating so there wasn't much opportunity to gather and spin in the evening. The food was on the cheap ticket and nourishing but unexciting. Breakfast every day was scrambled eggs and oatmeal. & different preps of oatmeal, who knew? No toast, fruit every other day. Yogurt once. No soup. Soup is cheap, why not? The last night they had a well cooked steak dinner with vegetables. Another problem was that everything was in a different building. Winding, poorly lit, sometimes slippery paths. Not so good for the older attendees schlepping wheels and equipment. Shuttle busses were available.

Sunday we drove back through Portland to Olympia. The day was much clearer and better views on the plateau. Mt Hood again. Olympia is laid out with many walking opportunities. Huge lake in the middle with a nice path. Lots of ducks. The flight home was unremarkable. I was happy to see my kitties again. The loads of laundry not so much.

SOAR Trip

2009-11-05T09:53:00.005-05:00

It was a long trip out. First leg ok, 2nd leg a woman who OBVIOUSLY had the flu hacking and streaming across the aisle. And a screaming baby. Landed in Portland with rain. Found the car and went to Powell's, bought some books. Then we visited a food cart, The Frying Scotsman. He was parked in a garage space in a warehouse. Hard to find but the fish/chips were good. Dinner at a very nice Thai place. It was weird to see all the people walking around after dark. Not usual for Baltimore.

Next day went to the waterfront park where they have a craft market every Saturday. No fiber stuff except crocheted hats and a few other bulky accessories. Visited a nice yarn store: Twist. They had a large selection of sock and worsted and were mobbed with customers. Very friendly staff. All the shop and restaurant people we encountered in Oregon were pleasant , friendly and helpful. Stark contrast again to Baltimore. Picked up Farilyn at the airport and went to a German place for dinner. Packed. Good food. Sunday we had a terrible breakfast at the hotel. Fuzzy picture through a window of sunrise. First time the mountain was visible.

As we rode Mt Hood got bigger. Pretty exciting close up. Cold and breezy. Pretty vicious slopes on the way down, hairpin turns, luckily very little traffic.

2009-10-15T11:53:00.008-04:00

Not going to be able to do a catch-up on the months of hiatus. Tour De Fleece was interesting. I also spun way too much causing sore elbow and no spinning for a while. I came in first twice and second once in the daily tab. Feeling that there was plenty of stuff here, I told them not to give me a prize the 2nd time. They expunged me from the winner list. So the 3rd time I took the prize. Got Tuulia's sweater pattern and Gold Dust Woman. I didn't post my 4th yarn. It was nice seeing all the spinning pictures. This one is AllSpun Up swm. 6 oz, about 500 yards nply. Made a pair of baby socks cause I couldn't wait to see how it looked.

First Wool Sock Day

2009-10-15T11:38:00.009-04:00

Holding out against the other inhabitants re: turning on the heat. Rainy, chilly, 40's at night. Our kind of weather.

Here is the first installment of yet another fiber club. Can't of course get into the really popular ones like Hello Yarn and Julie but I've tried most of the others. Bee Mice Elf, 4 oz, 50% Tussah/30%Merino/20% Seacell. Salmon 170 yards, blue 250 yards, 3 ply fingering. No elasticity, typical of silk. This would have to be an accent or scarf. Shiny and very easy to spin. I separated the colors cause I didn't want it to look like 4 July.

Faux-noro Socks

2009-09-28T15:34:00.011-04:00

It's been so long since I blogged, difficult to sign in. For many moons I have wanted to make Noro-striped socks. Accumulated a huge bag of the sock yarns, even swatched but it JUST WASN"T RIGHT. Purely by accident unwound this roving from Woolamina and found it suitable to spin a color-block with. N-plied, 4 oz. The socks didn't last long enough for the gold to be used. Colors are every shade of brick red and nile green. Corriedale, soft enough. Haven't washed them yet.

Finished a week ago but had trouble scheduling my model Alison for the photoshoot. Assisted by Mikey whose favorite wool is Corriedale.

2009-06-11T16:46:00.005-04:00

Love those sampler packs. I was always buying them during the quilting era. The beading era. This one was Falkland, 6.8 oz, from FeltStudioUK. Really nice fiber. 3 of the skeins are 2 bits combined, the others on their own. 740 yards of 2 ply. As usual, no plans.

2009-06-08T18:51:00.002-04:00

May/June AllSpunUp Fiber Club. 4 oz superwash merino, 360 yards of n-ply. In an effort to lessen the pain and tedium of n-plying, I split this into 2 parts. It helped. Another factoid: pre-wash: 410 yards. This lost 50 yards. I knew skeins shrank but the amount was shocking. Part of it may be due to my loose plying, giving the singles room to pouf. But the yarn is perfectly balanced. The colors were some of the most beautiful I've had, Like malachite. Sadly the orange bits didn't translate.

2009-06-08T18:43:00.002-04:00

Although we live in a very populous area, we have a big back yard. This year we've seen a pair of Hairy Woodpeckers and a pair of nuthatches bring their children to the feeder. They've been here in the past but this is the first time to see babies.

There was a bumper crop of poppies. They must like all the rain. Also have robust sunflower growth. Fewer larkspur due to the landscaping done last fall. These 3 plants all reseed wherever and lead the ignorant to believe we put effort into the garden.

2009-06-08T18:31:00.003-04:00

We've had several weeks of rain, illness, hospital visiting, surgery... Just didn't have the energy to post. But spinning did happen. I don't know how people get through bad periods without fiber activities.

These are from batts bought last fall from Redstone Yarn. Merino, silk and a little sparkle. The red one I did on the Golding spindle. 155 yards, 2 ply, 1 oz. The purple was done on a Kundert, 140 yards 2 ply, 1.5 oz. There is another red batt and 2 turquoise to go. The Golding was amazing.

2009-05-08T18:15:00.003-04:00

First sun in 2 weeks. This stuff wasn't coming out well inside. 4 oz, 430 yards, 3 ply superwash merino. Bought from Cloverhill at the Sheep & Wool. The roving was not as yellow as it looks. The 2 yarn pics are pretty close. Singles on the JW, plied on Lendrum. Nicely squishy.

Got into SOAR, taking Judith's class, Spinning for Socks.

Sheep & Wool 2009

2009-05-02T15:07:00.007-04:00

Pretty much today's haul. Had most of what I wanted by 10:00, had to make a trip to the car and thought about leaving. However, had arranged to meet people so... Started out cool and rainy, lovely. I was glad not to have succumbed to panic and worn long sleeves. The crowd didn't bulk up until about noon and everything was still jammed at 1:30 when I left. Saw several people from SOAR and some from the local group.

One pound merino in tropical colors from Frabjous Fibers purchased at Susan's

4 oz merino from Cloverhill

2 pounds mixed wool batts in purples and burgundy from Spinner's Hill

Turkish spindle and mini agate from Spanish Peacock

Golding spindle so I won't be the only person WITHOUT one

Ribbon Fries with cheese - forgot to take a picture

2009-04-28T12:18:00.006-04:00

Forgot to post about this, done in Feb/ March. Nicest fiber I've ever spun, 50/50 Bfl/Alpaca from CrosswindFarm on etsy. Very reasonable price for liquid silver. 2 1/2 lbs, 1600 yards, 3 ply. Dead ringer for Ultra Alpaca but a little smoother and of course denser. DK swatched on 5's. I was nervous buying it cause I just bought one to try and then was worried someone would have snapped up the rest. Really boring spinning all this plain color but it's very wonderful yarn in a sweater quantity. Yay. Highly unlikely to be knitted anytime soon. Someday there will be a box for spinners where you can put in the yarn and a description and the knitted article will come out the other side in a couple of days.

Officially Obsessed

2009-04-28T12:05:00.005-04:00

Another Grafton n-ply. 1 batt, 300 yards. This time using the little white bathroom as a light box produced almost perfect colors. It's a very rich colorway. April. I'm still 3 batts behind. No idea what to do with these except hoard. They're difficult but very compelling to me.

So hot here that even with A/C wool is distasteful. Should be making an effort to plant stuff but afraid the little plants are withering in pots. Hoping it cools off before the weekend as Sheep & Wool is miserable when hot. Poor animals.

2009-04-16T07:15:00.005-04:00

Why would Costco sell packages of men's black socks with each pair a different pattern? Very small differences in pattern. Certain men can't match up these socks but know to complain if they suspect the laundry person might not have.

Yarn from batt on the right in the previous post. 250 yards sportweight, 3 ply, 4 oz. Afraid my yarn suffers from density. I will never get the big yardages but it's not going to wear out any time soon. An interesting thing about the Grafton batts so far is that they are all guy-friendly colors. This one reminds me of the old Pendleton blankets. Picture on the right is closest in color. The yarn has a great deal of depth due to the amount of black fiber. All the colors are heathered, deep not bright.

2009-04-12T18:41:00.003-04:00

The more I looked at the last yarn, the nicer it seemed. So I joined the year club, a great deal. Expecting that it would start in a month. But Feb and March came Friday. And a very cute multi-colored spindle. One thing you can say about Grafton batts: they are the most photogenic fiber prep in existence. Now I have the tension of deciding what to do with them. 2 or 3 ply, preserve the stripe????

2009-03-27T10:45:00.004-04:00

This Grafton batt was so gorgeous and warm. Now that it's spun the yarn is reminiscent of 60/70's appliances. Remember Harvest Gold and that icky brown? All it needs is some avocado. Going to have to wait a while to do the other half. It drafted very easily, colorfast. 1 3/4 oz, 150 yards, n-plied. I really hate n-ply but wanted to keep the colors. Some of the joins are loose but pretty good on the whole for the first time on the wheel. Soft enough for socks. Would recommend this fiber but not the color.

We're having a slightly warm day. Did a little weeding and mulching. Daffodils, hyacinth and primrose blooming. Pansies bulking up. Leaf buds out.

2009-03-17T12:48:00.004-04:00

230 yards, 4 oz 2ply BFL from AllSpunUp March fiber club. Minor miracle that I have kept up with these clubs so far. spun singles on the Journey Wheel. Larisa came over and helped set it up, would have taken me days. The draw-in was stronger than I'm used to so the singles were a little tightly spun. So I plied (on the Lendrum) a little tighter and got a more Koigu-like yarn. Took about 50 pictures over a week of gray weather and this is the best. The roving is accurate but the yarn has a greenish cast to it.

The JW is quite cute and a marvel of organization. I got to go to the local spinning group last week and it was good to have a portable.

Seeing buds on some bushes, the crocus are almost done, midget iris are out. The weeds are also out.

2009-03-06T08:14:00.007-05:00

355 yards, 3 ply, 6 oz. A 4oz sw merino "Sweet Pea" and a 2oz swm/bamboo from the fiber club. Both from FatCatKnits. They went together beautifully with the bamboo lending a touch of shiny and the turquoise giving a pop of color. Needed springy color.

Moose is still ill but getting stronger and no longer needing much attention from me. So back to spinning. We still have a little snow on the ground from our "Mega Storm" on Monday. All 4" of it. Terrible how the media get people so agitated. I know other areas had bad problems but not here. Slated to start warming up now.

2009-02-21T17:29:00.003-05:00

Moose has been in the hospital over a week. Home now and doing better slowly but facing surgery down the road. So with being there for hours a day, I didn't get much done on the fiber front. Missed group, missed yoga. Too bad I don't have the Pocket Wheel yet. So here's a skein from the past few days.

SW Merino from Fatcatknits. 410 yds, 4 oz 2ply. There was a lovely pastel green in the singles that didn't survive the plying, orange rules.

2009-02-09T12:16:00.009-05:00

8 oz Falkland by FCK purchased at Cloverhill. Mixed in 2 oz similar color merino and 2 oz purply BFL. 4 oz leftovers gone. 800 yards 2 ply light, 450 yards dark. Looks like enough for Icarus although I am NOT announcing a WIP.

Assembled the skeiner myself, leaving out something called a bushing. Wobbles but works, Moose will fix it "someday". Makes a shorter skein than the niddy but much less rough on the shoulders.

Gave the ugly hat to Bob, a co-worker who needs a thick hat due to lack of hair. He's always willing to look at the latest yarn.

2009-01-29T16:24:00.006-05:00

Merino/Silk, 70/30 from Allspunup. 4 oz, 570 yards, 2 ply. A little darker than the pictures. This took me 11 hours and there were times when I zoned out and started spinning thicker. Oh well. Do not see how these other people keep turning out 450 yards of 3 ply from 4 oz. The BOREDOM. Have done 3 ply with silk blends and prefer 2 ply. It was very easy to draft. When not catching on my rough hands. Lotion every 30 min. It's very beautiful, lustrous, the exact colors of traditional peacock feathers.

We had some snow and ice this week. Our neighbor, who has been nothing but rude and nasty since he moved in, was shovelling his walk. Imagine my surprise when I was going out, to see him chopping the ice with the shovel that had been on our porch an hour earlier. Stood and stared a minute, he ignored me. I wasn't going to confront him cause he is an arrogant bully. Went in and called Moose. This isn't an expensive tool, just a crummy garden spade but still. He has gotten up in my face (not the larger husband's) on 3 occasions cause the kid walked across the corner of his yard or stepped on the mulch he has all along our driveway. "Stay off my property" is his mantra. Still hasn't returned it. I hope he gets infected splinters and his hand falls off.

Plying at Night

2009-01-24T17:32:00.009-05:00

Always telling myself wait for daylight to ply. Inadequate light here. I have bought 2 floor lamps and both broke. But there are times I HAVE to see the yarn.

Skein 1 (daylight ply): 112 yards, 2 5/8 oz, Lendrum Wooleewinder

Skein 2 (night ply): 270 yds, 6 1/2 oz, Moswolt Hammer ply.

All singles on Lendrum, both bobbins packed to the hilt when plied. Falkland from Portfiber on etsy. Also tried something new for me, a thick/thin bulky. The Hammer only has 1 ratio: very low, so the plying took hours and I was surprised not to have a sore foot the next day. The yarn looked bubbly, like a thread ply. After washing it is the same as the Lendrum yarn. The last picture is the most color accurate.

Reluctant Model

2009-01-20T14:13:00.003-05:00

This is the yarn from the Jan 7 post. You know I can't link. It had told me it wanted to be garter stitch. Shocked to see all the striping as the yarn was so dark. A slightly crisp fabric that will hold it's shape. I could have gotten 1 more repeat but reached the quit or leave it in the bag point. 8" X 72", size 5 needles, about 420 yards.

Taking pictures, posting them to Flickr, the Rav project page and the blog - the day is gone.

2009-01-19T10:45:00.006-05:00

SW Merino from FatCatKnits. 300 yards of 3 ply, 4 oz. Addi 1's, my usual plain pattern. The color in the yarn picture is accurate.

Very Weird Yarn Also Ugly

2009-01-16T08:19:00.005-05:00

First skein made on the Moswolt. 3 ply, 100 yards, 2.75 oz. hat on size 8, 4 st = 1".

This is the weirdest yarn I've ever made or touched. Not saying there isn't a similar commercial one, just never seen it. Thought I was severely overspinning the singles but went ahead cause otherwise they drifted apart. Plied as usual. Washed as usual. Running it through my fingers, it's totally smooth, like extruded foam, but extremely soft. Can't feel any of the 3 plies if that makes sense. Even where it is thick and thin. It's not felted cause I can untwist it and the plies look like they were VERY low twist. My gut is that there will never be a pill on it. The only explanation I can think of is that the merino must have had enormous crimp. Previously sampled this fiber in 2 ply and made a small ugly swatch. That wasn't foamlike.

This also ranks in my 4 ugliest yarns. That's why I used this fiber to experiment with the new wheel. Then came up with a plan. Use them all for hats because when the skateboarder loses them I won't be so sad. Actually, the other 3 are so bad he probably won't wear them. I'm going to try to keep this one for myself this week cause we are chilly. But better than many further north. And the furnace is still working, the pipes haven't burst.

Moswolt Hammer

2009-01-08T07:18:00.008-05:00

Here he is, direct from Holland. no known history but I'm going to guess 1960-1970's. Moose unpacked it and put it together while I was at yoga. He only had one piece on backwards and forgot the drive band.

Unless a miracle happens and I learn to draft way better, this will be used for plying. It has an uptake like a locomotive. Look at the size of the bobbin and flyer. You'd think it would tip but seems sturdy. But there isn't any fiber on it. I wanted one of these since seeing a picture a few years ago. Acquired for its' looks.

2009-01-07T11:38:00.006-05:00

Alpaca/Merino, 30/70, the AllspunUp Jan Spinalong fiber. 450 yards 2 ply. The real thing is even darker. Today is rainy and dark but even outside the yarn lightened up. There were tiny prickles during spinning and a few shed fibers made it up to eye level - watery. The yarn is very soft and shouldn't be a problem after washing.

Something Totally Unnecessary This Way Comes

2009-01-05T14:45:00.011-05:00

Look, he's trying to claw his way out of the box. Awaiting assistance to unpack. Not to mention lack of floor space for new arrivals. Why can the camera take perfectly good pictures of boxes in the front hall when it does so poorly with yarn?

This being the mittens on the recipient. Unprompted . Her mother said she immediately posed. This is also a big step for me as this picture was in my email and is now here. Not lined up, but here.

Bella's Mittens

2009-01-01T16:46:00.008-05:00

Didn't make these just because of being a lemming for the popular projects. They're for the girl who lent me the books. Tried to match the color to the movie still but I haven't seen the actual movie so this may be way off. This was a perfectly written pattern. I got perfect gauge with Encore Chunky and size 7 dpn's. Not totally thrilled with the feel of the yarn but it's probably more practical for kid mittens than pure wool. Also the LYS didn't have much in the way of chunky weight yarn. The only chunky handspun I had was tan or multicolor. It's too bad someone was too cheap to buy a whole pound of candy cause these won't fit in the FudgieWudgie box.

There are now 4 pair of socks here each missing 1 heel. Some spinning will be shown later. We've had a weird couple weeks going from 14 degrees to 60 and then doing it again. I've had bad sinus and a cold. Happy New Year to us all.

2008-12-17T15:22:00.006-05:00

13 oz, 925yards, Corriedale. Autumn from Crown Mountain from my Teyani stash and Ripe Fruit from Pigeonroof. 3ply. 2 days after finishing another (old) CMF orangey bump surfaced. Maybe it is time to start organizing the fiber by color at least. Could have combined all these and the Oct 30 stuff and gotten significant yardage. But it's probably for the best as I would have lost interest long before finishing 2 pounds.

Cannot really think of this as stash reduction since it's only switching categories. The yarn nags at me more than the fiber. "Knit me."

2008-12-17T15:01:00.002-05:00

A terrifically bland brown hat. Started a couple years ago and finally finished to liberate the needle. Spindled 2ply bulky from many moons ago probably Ashland Bay. Ran it through the washer and dryer, quite soft, didn't felt and should fit the resident skateboarder perfectly.

Speaking of which: I'm reading the Twilight books. Halfway through the 3rd one. Find Bella extremely annoying. I know it is the motivator of the story that she acts carelessly. But she is portrayed as being smart and she certainly thinks well of herself. Having an 18 yr old in the house who thinks long after acting, if at all, I can relate to this. Maybe it's so annoying because it's so close. Edward is very one dimensional. Jacob is my favorite - also a dumb teenager but at least he's honest about it.

2008-12-17T14:50:00.002-05:00

13 oz, 650 yards, 3 ply. 2 braids of BFL from Yummy Yarns and 1 braid of Merino from FlawfulFibers. The roving picture is a little better than the yarn. More grapey. From about 3 weeks ago.

Continuing a trend of combining the 4oz etsy pieces. Unfortunately there are now 3 big bags of grapey yarn that aren't big enough to make a sweater but are just different enough... that if you tried to combine them to make a sweater it would give people headaches.

Annemor #5

2008-12-04T07:35:00.003-05:00

This pair came out of the same 4 oz of 3 ply as the mittens in the previous post. About 25 yards left over. From the Selbuvotter book. As usual, I added a few rows to the length, got rid of the pointy tip and added 4 st to the 2nd mitten. Contrast yarn was old baby yarn doubled, I think Scholler. It was 75% wool, 25% nylon with little color slubs. Addi 1's, fits a woman's small hand. Washed these became very soft and squishy. The story in the book says these ravens are named Memory and Thought.

2008-11-24T10:03:00.002-05:00

Lest you think there has been no work since last post. Finally finished big socks, for Moose. Regia, Addi 1's.

Smaller socks for Dad. Webs Valley sock yarn, Addi 0's.

2008-11-24T09:52:00.005-05:00

Outside picture of roving, yarn and mittens. Picture under pseudo-Ott light. None of these truly captures the virulent yellow-green. 3ply, Addi 1's. Merino from Allspunup. This made a perfect mitten fabric, sturdy but not stiff. 13 st = 2". A 4oz bump, about 250 yards.

2008-11-13T08:29:00.005-05:00

This is the roving on the right in the previous post. Milk protein/silk/wool 20/40/40. 4 oz, 314 yards, 2ply. I separated the top into 3 chunks to keep the colors. The 3 skeins are different. The yarn is similar to the bamboo blend by this dyer but was easier to spin. The bamboo shed white fibers all over the area, this one didn't. It's a little sturdier too because of the silk. Please enlarge the pictures.

The colors on my monitor are pretty good despite being indoors. We're having a very dark day today, cold and damp.

Stitches 2008

2008-11-07T13:45:00.007-05:00

Door to door, 10 minutes, courtesy of the Moose. Had to go. Next year they are moving away. Great day, overcast, 72. It wasn't even too hot in the Market. Big line to get in but it moved fast. First stop CreativelyDyed. Finally met Dianne, such a sweet person. And her husband who seems very supportive. Mine gave me a ride but he wouldn't have hung around. Anyhow: Wool/seacell and Milk Protein/silk/wool. 2 new fibers for me.

After that came the aimless wandering. Jojoland SW Melody that I could've gotten cheaper later on. The orange is sw wool/bamboo sock yarn from the Sanguine Gryphon. Unpictured is a skein of the beige color Noro Sock, my ostensible goal for the trip. That was the only large line, at WEBS, but they had 2 checkers and it moved. They also had Kauni which I resisted since it felt like string, even the samples which one would hope had been washed. Also resisted sweater quantities at Ellen's Half-Pint and Brooks. Cause I'm never going to use it but they were gorgeous.

Green is SW merino, yellow Bombyx/merino. From Lisa Souza. her husband was also there being charming to old ladies.

More harvest colors, BFL, from River's Edge Weaving Studio in Grand Ledge, Michigan. Going to try for a 3 ply. Did a sample skein once and didn't like it but things may have changed. The most awesome part of this is posting before losing the ID tags. Despite the pain in my knee. Which cannot be allowed to interfere with shopping.

2008-11-05T12:43:00.008-05:00

On Sunday, went to knitting group at LYS, Cloverhill. They had a wonderful display of rovings from FatCatKnits. Someone might have bought 4. Wasn't going to spin till Monday (weekend rest for the hands) but somehow had done 3 oz by bedtime. Finished up on Monday and it took 3 days to dry. When it was plied I thought it looked just like turquoise with matrix. Then found the tag and it's name was "Taos". Although the roving was dissimilar, this yarn is very similar to that of my Swallowtail.

Falkland, 4 oz, 2ply, 280 yards. Shown hanging on our only leaf changer, a deciduous azalea. There was more of this color but since I already have a shawl, will probably not get it. This might be socks. Very lofty so it would knit down to gauge ok. The colors are good for a change.

Fall Colors

2008-10-30T07:44:00.011-04:00

SOAR purchase of Lambspun 80/20 Merino/Silk. 8oz. Impulse buy. Beautiful presentation, very worried about the silk part. The bad part was the TINSEL STUFF. Don't know if they expected you to use it in the yarn. Tried to get it all off the 1st roll and almost quit. The 2nd roll I cut it every few inches. Those little flags gathered huge silk bumps. Just awful.

The other roving is "Marigold" sw merino from Blackethelcash on etsy. 4 oz. Usual 3 ply yielding 560 yards. It's a heavy worsted weight, sturdy, 3 ply tweed. I had tried a 2 and a 3 ply of just the original and it was a little dull. The 2 ply was insubstantial. There are a few little silk slubs but they aren't noticeable. Did this in 3 days which was really bad for the thumb and wrist.

My local supermarket didn't offer any pansies this year. Is that because of the economy? Will have to drive around today looking for some. They're probably all bolted by now. Mike only goes out for an hour in the evening. He sticks his nose near the door and hisses at the cold wind. Turning the heat on for an hour in the morning to get the guys up and out. If I get cold later there's always housework. Sadly people will have to wrap up in yarn as little knitting has occurred.

2008-10-22T08:02:00.010-04:00

Polwarth in colorway "English Garden" from Rovings, a Canadian company. There was quite a contingent at the door to the Market whose goal was this booth. I lemminged right along. It was at the very rear of the room and instantly held more than capacity. Pretty much just grabbed. So I got 2 bags of top and passed up a huge bag of carded. Good thing cause it turned out to be over 2 pounds and NEVER. Anyhow, we're in the line a long time looking at these $65 bags of roving and wondering if they're not a bit pricey. 500 grams. No one knew. Then a guy came along. He'll know. So he pulled out his calculator and told us 13+ oz. OK. Still pricey but it's vacation. So I get it home, tear it in half and start for my 3 ply. Taking way longer than usual. So then I remember the 13oz. Still seemed long. Moose came home and was able to figure it at 18. Whoa. So I killed my shoulder doing all the singles last week cause if it had been put away......

During my class Jim, who sat next to me, was able to unstick my flyer. So for this I used the bulky flyer to ply. 800 yards of heavy worsted weight. Spinning larger yarn was addressed in one of my classes so I tried. It was a nice fiber to work with, sort of between Corrie and Falkland, the yarn is soft enough for skin but should wear well. Doesn't look pilly. When washed it gave off an odor of permanent wave solution! cured by lavendar and hanging in the sun for 8 hours. The colors are those of hollyhocks, light pink,pink and that dark maroon. Or every color of the brick walls in English gardens. The roving really glowed and I knew there were a lot of colors in it but I did it anyways. The yarn is pretty busy and is going to be really hard to make anything but kid sweaters out of. Or mittens, hat, etc. The other bag is a blue/green mix which won't look so scattered. Next time I feel like doing 18 oz in a week!

Pseudo-Andean Spinning

2008-10-22T07:48:00.001-04:00

This is from a 3 hour Retreat session at SOAR with Abby Franquemont. In my past, there have been people who never shut up. This girl can talk non-stop for 3 hours and spin at the same time. But she had CONTENT. We didn't get to the actual spinning till the last 30 minutes which wasn't enough obviously. But I tried and also worked through the rest of the wool later. She made bottom whorl wheel and dowel spindles and told us that Peruvians can get as much as a pound of wool on one this size. Mine spins well but there was a lot of issue with the half-hitch attachment. The single was supposed to be VERY twisted. My first little bit, finished up there, wasn't nearly as twisted as it should have been but the yarn 2 plied was similar to a shetland in feel but not fuzzy. The second one was stiffer and could eventually lead to a weaving warp which was the goal. Hope in the future to take her 3 day class. This is 100 yards of fingering weight spun and plied on the spindle.

2008-10-13T13:48:00.004-04:00

The trip to SOAR was uneventful 3 1/2 hours. Very little traffic, few trucks. This is the view from my room; I did replace the screen. The only visible manmade structure was a beige rectangle with a big beige tower off to the left. Very lit up at night. Either a nuclear power plant or a Kmart. The last night there were 3 multicolored lit objects in the sky, not moving. And the moon. Other than that, nadda. People up there must get really sick of looking at endless trees. It was also hot. Didn't need the 4 sweatshirts. Would have been really peeved if I had had to lug the warm clothes on a plane trip.

The hotel was sort of 70's decor. Only 1 elevator so I carried everything up to the room. The wheel almost was too much. So I had to use the elevator off hours for that. Otherwise, all stairs all the time. Probably helped me not gain weight. The best part of the week was the Magic Food. Just appeared without my help three times a day.

My 3 day workshop involved learning the difference between woolen and worsted. And applying it to various fibers. Most of which were pretty sturdy but he gave us a break with BFL. Got enough of that to make mittens with. Valuable information for anyone seeking to improve the quality of their usable yarns. 1st picture true colors.

Ready to Go

2008-10-05T08:35:00.004-04:00

Poor Amy. She loves this suitcase but would be sad when actual travel was underway. This is my new packing find. Kitty Litter buckets. Indestructible, stackable, handles. Poor wheel looks like it had a few drinks already. Because the flyer won't come off it won't sit up straight but it feels secure. It is foggy here for the first time in months. Muggy. Hopefully no wet roads further north. Off to SOAR.

2008-10-01T17:19:00.015-04:00

A friend. The cat. Someone. Joined me up for 2 Fiber Clubs. This is the FatCat Knits. Merino sadly. Hate merino. But I snuck in a strand of Falkland. Just happened to have some in the exact colors although they were longer runs and in some case a little brighter. This is about 500 yards, 8 oz, 3 ply. One more skein to do. The next Club is shipping soon, will arrive while I'm at SOAR. She should have arranged to ship it there as there are a few people on her list I know will be there. But there will probably be enough fiber to keep us busy.

Also finished up a pair of socks from FlawfulFibers sw merino. The flash picture gives the accurate color but the no flash gives better definition. Don't know the answer. Monkees on Addi 1's, 3 ply.

Started packing for SOAR. Can't believe it's almost here. It's been a lot of years since I drove so far alone. Hopefully there will be no problems. Got the brakes done in prep for the trip. Could have bought 2 wheels instead.

2008-09-10T20:37:00.005-04:00

There's been a lot of boring solid spinning here, blue and brown. And the Leaf Lace shawl, from Evelyn Clark's Lace Triangle book, is finally done. I was totally pushed to finishing this by Yvonne. Thanks. This was the green Falkland (June 11 post) from AKnittingDuck, 620 yards, a little leftover from the Swallowtail and a few others. The 1st picture is on my car, the only large non-green background available. Then Alison being a good sport, then an inside blocking picture, then a section of border draped over a bush. It would have been a fast knit but I agonized way too much over the borders. Brown, orange, dark red and a little purple. The colors are better if pictures are made bigger.

2008-08-21T16:25:00.007-04:00

Failing to keep to the plan, I went from the grapey to this, bypassing old stuff. That plan made it 2 weeks. 245 yards 2 ply DK weight BFL from AbstractFiber on etsy. The color is good in these pictures. The yarn has a slightly bumpy feel to it, not overspun. There are 2 more bumps in related colors.

Thought looking at the roving that it would be darker red but came out with more of the chartreuse influence. Blazing maple leaves.

On a personal peeve: About once a year I forget the ordeal involved and get the rotisserie out of the basement. It takes 30 min to truss up the chicken enough so it doesn't fall off. Now it's making a nasty squeaking noise. Wash the gloves, cut more string. Wrestle the slimy thing. It tastes very good but looks like crap with all the ties. Couldn't serve it to company. Ron Popeil has a lot to answer for and if I ever get the energy I'll send him a letter. Just what are those 2 rubber bands supposed to accomplish? Maybe they are for Cornish hens. Will try that next year.

2008-08-21T16:18:00.005-04:00

If someone had checked the pre-existing stash before spinning, someone could have made this a 3ply instead of a 2ply. 335 yards fingering weight, about 4 oz, Falkland from Pigeonroof on etsy. An exact match to 12 oz of 3ply made earlier this summer. That was spun from 2 different vendors. Oh well. Not as if a pound is more likely to be knit up here.

2008-08-18T08:32:00.011-04:00

220 yards 3.75 oz of 3 ply 50/50 merino /bamboo from CreativelyDyed. The singles are closer but the real yarn is less peachy. A little pinker than the yarn image, this is inside, no flash. The yarn is a little shiny and reflects the flash bigtime. This is just as soft as the 2 ply shown previously (7/18), but a little squishier. If money were no object, an adult sweater of this would be your most treasured possession. Even a small baby garment is going to run you $50. Too soft for socks so I guess we're left with hat, mittens etc.

2008-08-14T18:25:00.007-04:00

The pink is 245 yards of Merino from FatCatKnits. 3 ply. 4 oz. The green is from some batts that were destined for non-use. But in the spirit of finishing up they turned into 280 yards 2ply, about 4 oz. They were nasty neppy clumpy but will be ok in mittens or a baby sweater. SW Merino. A light blue brother was finished to similar specs but too boring for a picture.

Drying in the breeze on a non-functional wind speed thingy. 2nd day without the AC. Fall is coming. They have raised the rates again or so it seems. Save money for yarn. 4 more balls of Noro Sock. Unable to resist the colors. Fun to look at all the projects on Ravelry. There are some very nice scarves and shawls with it but probably not soft enough to get much use.

More stash than work

2008-08-06T18:26:00.009-04:00

First, a little more using up stuff I wasn't enthusiastic about. This was 4 oz of a striped roving. It felt overprocessed, dry. The darker blue was full of clumps of short fibers which were icky to encounter. Tried a thick/thin approach, small skein. Didn't like it. Contemplated chucking the ball but then tried a tiny skein of 2 ply fingering. The swatch grew on me. 2" = 13 sts on #2's. So I finished it up. 240 yards that would be ok for gloves.

Yesterday went to Manning's with a friend to check out wheels for her. She's wavering between the Lendrum and a Kromski. I tried out stuff too and really liked the Ladybug and the Kiwi. But resisted since I should be saving for the Journey. Did acquire 3 Koigu's and a skein of Noro sock. Cause my bins are deficient in orange. Is that a good excuse? The picture is a little dark, they are really more canteloupe. We did have a little trouble on the road. Had to stop while a group of chickens crossed from a perfectly good yard with a barn and corn field to a 12" shoulder of grass giving way to a steep ravine slope covered in brush.

Then came lunch. We asked the waiter if there was soup. "No, everyone asks for it but we don't serve it at lunch." Since we were next to the kitchen we heard him say: " There's more people out there wanting soup." Then he came back and said we could have some. 1 minute later he's back with perfectly cooked, serving temperature red based clam chowder with squid and basil. To follow we had Wild Mushroom Pizza with Goat Cheese and Penne with Roasted Vegetable Sauce. All very nice.

2008-07-30T09:42:00.005-04:00

235yards of 50/50 Merino/silk from FiberDenn. 3ply. 3 oz. The 2 ply from same base was too soft for wear so I thought maybe the 3ply would be sturdier. If you are one of those knitters who thinks soft is the most important quality of yarn, this is the one for you. You could make underwear from this and actually for a very cold climate, that wouldn't be a bad idea. The silk would add warmth. 8 ounces of the 2 ply would be enough to make a camisole. Normal sized middle aged women living in Baltimore - no.

Does new stash count as fiber activity? 3 merino/bamboo from Creatively Dyed. 2 SW Merino from FatCatKnits.

2008-07-25T07:22:00.009-04:00

The outdoor model is lovely neighbor Alison. I was unable to get the camera far enough away to take pictures of myself. Don't tell me about the set it and step away or whatever it's called. The outside shots are 0700 and very blue. The inside shots, no flash, are the exact color of the sweater. Fastened on the inside with bag clips cause JoAnn's is quite a trek, maybe next week.

Yoke sweater from Ann Budd sweater pattern book. Yarn is TLC Cotton Plus, 50/50 cotton/acrylic. This started out as the February Lady Sweater but the yarn was too heavy for the garter yoke, stretch occurred ickily. About 5 skeins at 180 yards per. Made the size 44 but it came out a little smaller. Addi 7's and these were very slippery with this yarn. Bands on 6's. Did it top down. Prior experience with this yarn is great washability. The downside is ends that want to be free. I ended up tying square knots and sewing in but they are going to pop out in time. I know it would be against Tradition to put glue on them and it would leave a stiff bump but it's tempting.

Only spun one skein this week: more of the brown batts. The plan is another yoke sweater and I've got about 800 yards now. LOTS more wool. It's too dark to show up as the Tangled Yoke but I may do a little colorwork. The green one was a test run of the pattern which was excellent.

2008-07-18T06:08:00.005-04:00

Very lovely roving. Almost relegated to the bottomless pile due to FEAR. 50/50 Merino/Bamboo from CreativelyDyed. The bamboo was not blended, just added in chunks. The jewel colors did not extend to the plant material. The bamboo caught any bits of itself that it came in contact with and immediately twisted into thread that had to be pulled out. Other than that it was very easy to draft, no resistance at all from the chunks. Split the roving into 1/4ths, otherwise some of the single would have been just bamboo. The yarn has a definite barberpole aspect, didn't see any way to avoid that with all the white. How do they get it so blindingly white?

It's not quite dry but the yardage seems to be 280 for 3 3/4 oz. It's poofy and soft. Pictures taken at almost sunrise before I could lose the urge to post. The pastels are pretty close. This is a much nicer fiber than the silk blend of last week and WAY better than Tencel. None of that dry feeling. This would make great baby items.

Time to Buy a Lotto Ticket

2008-07-11T07:21:00.010-04:00

This is the 3rd batch of yarn in a row that measured 460 yards 3 3/8 oz. All very differently spun. Merino/silk 50/50 again. Just for comparison's sake. This one is from FiberDenn on etsy. I bought 3 because the colors were so luminous. The yarn is 2ply, completely different in feel from that of the previous post. This one is bunnysoft and squishy, very light where the other was dense. The yarn isn't shiny, none of the dry silk feel. The pencil roving drafted itself. If you wanted to knit something with unspun roving this would be your best choice. Worth the money. Wouldn't want to burden a new mother with a handwash sweater but that would be the ideal use. The color in the roving picture is true. Another to add to my collection of grapey yarns.

2008-07-08T15:31:00.007-04:00

460 yards. 4 oz. 50/50 merino/silk from Creativelydyed. Color RSW3. Long ago on spindles I tried this blend and had a tough time drafting, lots of big chunks of silk. Ick. Saw this one favorably reviewed on Ravelry. OK. What's to lose? This was very well blended, no chunks or slubs, very easy to draft. I treadled a little faster than usual, fearing drift, but it was a strong fiber. Thought I was making thread but the merino poofed a little in washing and this is similar to Koigu in size but not as tightly plied.

It has the dry feel of silk, absolutely no elasticity and should drape well. Snaggy. Would not be good for socks or gloves: probably destined for scarf. The color is more light green and less pink than the pictures. Another case where the spinning really changed the colors of this very bright roving. I split the roving into 6th and 8ths.

2008-07-04T11:13:00.004-04:00

Merino 3ply from Creatively dyed. 8 oz, 460 yards. This fiber was a real drift-aparter so I tried to treadle faster on the singles, plied a little tighter than usual. It made a very springy yarn. The roving was very pink but the small amounts of red took over the yarn. More red/orange in real life. This will be usable with some pink and leftover peach from the same dyer. There is enough combined to make a sweater, just be a few years to decide on a pattern.

2008-06-18T17:47:00.005-04:00

In the continued absence of fiber here are some garden pictures. I have planted nothing, it all comes back by itself. Vicious thugs, fighting it out for space. I have been spinning but nothing of interest to show. Just trying to finish up old projects. Hollyhocks have the most saturated colors even though they look like tissue paper. Very reliable returners.

Six people have now posted on Ravelry that will be in my class at SOAR. Where are the rest? Can there be 10 people out there who don't spend hours a day surfing Ravelry?

Friday the Thirteenth

2008-06-15T15:57:00.002-04:00

No fiber cause it's still too hot. Friday was significant in that the person who lives here passed his driver's test. His father made the appointment, not my fault. He was also conceived on Friday the Thirteenth which in retrospect was not an auspicious choice. On the plus side, I survived another weekend of work without injury. And only ate one candy bar. And did no knitting on Saturday.
Pretty funny to scan Ravelry and see all those little green sweaters. I'm an awful lemming and will probably cast on this week. Always fun to see the next great fad start. Wish I had enough handspun to cover myself (haha) but this might be an opportunity to use up some of the commercial stash. Make the small size, gift it to a niece, get it out of my system. Things to change: the neck is pretty wide and looks like it will stretch, the 3/4 sleeves. I had been thinking - not doing- of going backwards on the Ann Budd yoke pattern, but too lazy to do the math.

2008-06-11T09:09:00.002-04:00

Yarn Picture Interruptus

2008-06-11T08:59:00.010-04:00

Falkland. 620 yards, 3.6 oz. From alittlequacky. etsy.com. Spindled 1 skein and can't tell the difference from the wheelspun. Purely by accident, the fiber wanted to be thin. Had some help taking the final shots. 2 skeins are fairly olive and the other is more minty. Strange to find a roving with olive, turquoise and mint together but it worked for me.

2008-06-06T10:12:00.003-04:00

Made it home Wednesday night only about 1 1/2 hours later than scheduled. The flight from Seattle to Nashville was roller coaster all the way. Late landing. They were holding the plane for several of us going on to Baltimore. Shouldn't have hurried. We sat for 1 3/4 hours for weather in Maryland. Turned out they had hail and tornadoes. I was just grateful they eventually decided to go. Question? Why was my luggage the last off the plane when it was put on at the last minute?

The yarn is from a stupendous store in Portland called Dublin Bay. I had no room in my bag so didn't buy all I wanted. The blue is Fleece Artist "Suri Blue" 50/50 alpaca/ BFL. 600m, 100g. The other 2 are HandMaiden Angel Hair. 70/30 mohair/nylon. 400m/50g. also obtained a cone of cotton blend at Yarntopia in Portland, some Tiur at Canvasworks in Olympia and 2 Japanese stitch dictionaries at the Japanese bookstore in Seattle. Finished 3 sock cuffs and 1 spindled 220 yard skein of laceweight Falkland. Not used to the spindle anymore, very hard on my hands. The rest will be done on the wheel and hopefully come out similar.

This was the first time I'd been out there when the rhododendrons peaked. Everywhere giant pink puffballs. Not much else in the way of flowers where I was staying but did walk by a few nice gardens in Olympia. A few poppies waited for me at home. They'll be gone with the 100 degree heat we're expecting.

Wool Peddler

2008-05-26T18:03:00.002-04:00

Everyone 's seen one so just a couple blocking pictures since it's still damp. Since I am right down to the wire as usual; needing to pack it in the morning. Berroco Ultra Alpaca, all but a few yards of 4 skeins, size 8 bamboo circs. Started 5/11. Fin today. 72" x 38". Parts of it were hanging over the edge of the bed. It was very boring but quick. The recipient wanted blue. She is not someone who would care for the uneven texture of handspun or color variegation.
I'll be out of town and without Net until next Thursday. Ravelry withdrawal.

2008-05-23T08:26:00.004-04:00

Another try at 3 rovings, 3ply. More successful. 2 Falkland and 1 BFL. The color is slightly more plummy in real life. The yarn is an exact match for Concord grapes, the inside, outside and the light blue bloom on the skin. No real reason, spun the singles on the middle whorl. They aren't overspun but tighter than my usual. This resulted in a sturdier, less pillable yarn but also drastically affected the yardage. This is about 400 yds, 12oz fiber; for the same weight spun to the same DK, my usual yield is 550 - 600yds. This would make good mittens or socks. The picture with the rose is dark but awesome bigger. All the rain we've had, record for the month, has made the plants happy.

Good business practices

2008-05-16T09:52:00.002-04:00

Special no needlework post. As mentioned to my 4 readers, we've been having bad cable. I've called Comcast several times. Had a tech to the house and one who did a drive by. Everyone has been very polite. The problem isn't fixed but I feel like they're trying so I'm ok with that. I get access now and then for the email. And REALLY DO SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON RAVELRY. So I've gotten more spinning and knitting done this week. Yesterday Mark C. from "Comcast Cares" left a comment on the blog. They must have a program that alerts them to mentions of the company in the "media". But to respond to a little blog like mine is different for a big company. I know they've been having legal troubles due to poor responsiveness but most companies don't try to fix it. They have promised me a rebate for the bad days too. I might never complain about them again.

Swallowtail

2008-05-15T09:08:00.007-04:00

Started 4/10, finished KNITTING 4/28. Blocking? yesterday. About 600 yards 2 ply Falkland from FatCatKnits, #5 Bryspun needle. Added 1 set of repeats to the budding lace but it is still only 60" x 32" fully stretched. A perfect size for those of us at the head of the line when short was being passed out. Not fond of the nupps, they barely show up on the variegated yarn and really consimed yardage. The yarn story is a few posts back (sorry no idea how to link it). Pictures taken on the ever helpful overgrown boxwood in the front yard. It used to be a Pomeranian topiary but alas neglect has taken a toll.

We have been without reliable internet since the big rains so hoping to get this in before it vanishes again. Stayed home for Comcast yesterday, no show but a couple very polite calls. Waiting again today.

2008-05-09T08:54:00.003-04:00

Lately not doing well on the spinning. Made a test skein and swatch from the Big Blue Ball and it was fuzzy boring. Might try running it thru the washer to see what happens. That's my fall-back for boring swatches. The likelihood of finishing a pound of this is negative. Then accessed ebay for some lovely alpaca. Very nice stuff from Morro but also a bit boring. Did a little bit of 3 ply and a swatch. Could make a nice warm gray sweater or vest. Could. Haha.

So picked up the SW Merino from PerchancetoKnit on etsy. All neon rainbow with pink instead of red and the yellow so small as to be lost. On my usual setting of the largest whorl, the singles spun but came apart when I tried to get them off the bobbin. So spun on the middle whorl. I was afraid this would cause overspinning of the single but didn't. 1 3/4 oz, 180 yds of 2ply. This could be knit on 0's for socks to match my green clothes with pink whales. May be going to take the foolish path of casting on before spinning the rest.

2008-05-09T08:40:00.002-04:00

There might have been a little package from last weekend that fell out of a fiber bag. As usual when I'm trying to take pictures, it's dark and rainy. But these buttons are on the somber side, glowing, a little irridescent but darker. The round one is a toggle should I ever need one. Every show I hand these people 50$. There are some from the last Stitches in there too. Always need more and no I'm not using them. Then they'd be gone.

2008-05-04T19:09:00.002-04:00

Last week I felt a little guilty about the upcoming shopping and pulled this out to finish it. The real color is less blue-tinged. Spun the first 2oz pre-blog, no picture of the roving. Royale by pigeonroof. 240yds 3ply. SW merino. The brownish is from an orange batt that I overspun a little but it matches the Royale and will combine well in future socks or mittens. I did very little for about 10 days as my family infected me with a nasty respiratory item. Luckily down to an occasional cough for the S&W, supported by Claritin and Contac. We're also having the worst pollen season in 10 years, so the paper says.

Sheep & Wool

2008-05-04T18:49:00.002-04:00

Had a lovely day Saturday, started out cool but the rain the weather pundits promised never showed up. Big crowds as usual, the parking lot was 1/3 full when we got there at 0835. REALLY LONG lines for the tshirts and STR and they stayed long until my last view at 1pm. Many booths were so crowded I didn't even try to get in but I did get most of my list.
1 lb blue/green rambouillet/mohair don't know who from, no name on receipt. I've spun 2 full bobbins and don't seem to have made a dent in the ball.
6oz blue/pink/purple mohair mix fr. Kid Hollow
8oz mostly blue braid of merino from creativelydyed
6oz brown/green wool/alpaca from Spinner's Hill
2 8oz braids of BFL, green/red from Frabjous Fibers
Lace Triangle book by Evelyn Clark
Ordered a Journey Wheel to be available next March.

I was able to refrain from laceweight mohair. Still have skeins from a few years ago. Didn't buy more sock yarn either. The Ravelry meet-up was extremely crowded but I got a button. Saw Jess from a distance.

2008-04-22T10:26:00.003-04:00

Another dark roving picture. This is the second of the trio that didn't want to be together forever. Falkland from FCK, 375 yards of 2ply. Extremely lofty and soft. The colors were very similar to the last one so I thought 2 ply would separate them a little more and so it was.

Sun came out so I rushed out. Then distracted by weeds, put out a little mulch, got my hands all icky. There is a lot to do out there and I am trying to avoid it. Can certainly understand those extreme gardens that have been paved and filled with un-plants. Let Lucy (the more active, slender cat) in the basement and now it sounds like a gang of thieves. She has certainly sighted a mouse and is banging around on top of the ducts. Yelling like she is in pain but it is just "Mommy, I saw him!".

The shawl progresses slowly, each row taking me at least an hour (seems), only about 20 left.