Tour De Fleece

This year I decided that I should participate in the Tour de Fleece on Ravelry. It's this fun challenge that takes place each year during the Tour De France. I figured that if I can do the Everyday Yarn Challenge back in April then this should be a breeze. There are even built in break days. Originally I was going to join the rookies team but a fellow fiberista named Rawfish has a Ravelry group that got together and became team "Tour de Fish." Its a nautical theme galore. See I even have a temporary avatar made courtesy of Laila of Rawfish. =D


So far my progress is well... pitiful. I have barely spun anything at all. I did finish a navajo plied yarn from some hand painted roving that I just had to spin.


So that is what I have to show for my July 5th spinning. July 4th saw BBQ, Beer and Friends and I just didnt sit still long enough to do any spinning. I did start some beautiful purple merino/silk blend on July 6th and worked some more on it today but my progress is still so terribly slow. I am so embarrased. To top all this off, I will be participating at the local college's Market selling my goods this Saturday and have a job interview on Friday. So much to do, so much to think about, so much worry about.... ahhhh! *Whew* just needed to scream a little. Hopefully I can get back on track with Tour de Fleece, ace my interview, and score big at the Market. With everything going on my First July update was delayed but I hope to have a small update by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. Until then... lots of fiber-y love to all!

Customer Creations - Easy123

The other day I received the best type of message on Etsy that a seller could hope for. Michele from Easy123 had purchased some yarn called "Parakeet" from which she made a beautiful scarf.
Just look at it!










Michele has lots of great items in her store so be sure to check them out!

Keep it or let it go...

So I totally bailed on posting everyday this month. It really is hard enough to get in a habit of spinning everyday without having to write about the yarn (or portion thereof) that I spun. So, lets just keep the posting true to being about the interesting things.

One new thing is the shop has been updated recently. Recently being within the last 3-4 days. I also plan to finish listing items that have been photographed today. I got a little off track around my birthday and didn't log time spent working. I decided to pick up again today. It's not easy though... I have a 9 yr old distraction.

The spinning everyday thing is going pretty well. I went pro on my Flickr account so that I can add multiple photos. I can now also add more sets (which I have) to organize things a little. I even uploaded photos specifically to put in groups. I always limited myself a little when I knew there was only 200 photos available to view. One of the new fiber photos I put up is on the right.

I originally dyed this with the knowledge that I would spin it up. I wanted it to be something of a semi-striping roving. However, because of the limited amount of counter space, when the roving was dried and braided the colors were virtually solid blocks. It photos so well, looks so good that I am sorely tempted to list it for sell. That's doesnt mean that it would sell but at least it does look good.

Outside of adventures in fiber dying... I have completed two more yarns due to the spinning challenge. I haven't set the twist on either yet. One is part of a de-stash one of the ladies in the spinning group did. She gave a way a ton of pretty fibers including this variagated blues. I'm not sure what brand it is, reminds me of Lornas Lace fiber and it spun extremely soft. The other yarn is merino/silk that I carded when I had the Strauch Petite. It was pulled (by hand) into roving and I could never get it to spin quite right. I picked up a portion of it that was pulled into pencil thin roving and when that was successful I found the remaining roving and spun it up. I guess some things just take time. Speaking of which, I have been working on my "long term project" and I honestly think I lost my determination for it yesterday. I actually lost my yarn multiple times in a five minute setting and finally just had to stop. I'll probably try to find something nice and easy to spin tonight. Maybe coils, a few people have been doing coils and its been a while. Guess we will just have to see.

A lot of love and a little mingling

I have always thought that my family was perfectly suited to me. Sure I gripe and grumble and yes I nag at TheBoy and TheMister to do this and do that. Really that's just part of what being a mom/wife calls for sometimes. Fortunate for me its days like today that remind me that they really know me, love me, and want the best for me.
Growing up, Valentines Day wasn't all about celebrating the "love" of your life (i.e. significant other, sex partner etc..) but just showing that you cared. When we hit high school my mom bought us little Valentine's Day to showed she cared. Also, high school is when kids are at their worst and I wasnt getting any cards or candy because I just wasn't popular enough. Sometimes being an adult is not much different unless you have a great family and a great bond. Sure some adults don't feel the need to spend money to show they love someone, and thats perfectly alright. My family just gifted me with the sweetest surprise gift yesterday.

To start is this:



On the left is a brand new enamel dyepot so that I can work on dying more than one batch of fiber at a time. More effective for the store and less time consuming. Jay said he really wanted to encourage me to keep up with the progress and level of productivity I've gotten since losing my job. YAY hubby! Oh, and there is more....


Inside the pot was a special selection of goods just for me. The "U-R GR8" heart, frog stickers and a teddy bear card from my baby boy, Dyl. I also got another (personal =P) card from hubby, a tub of jelly hearts and everything else you see in the picture above. The small scissors are to complete my scissor trifecta so now I have 8-inch Ginghers, Fiskars pinking shears and small embroidery/detail scissors. I also got a mini (1.5 inch) sticker maker with a refill adhesive cartridge.
I'm so happy with my little gifts I could squeal! I won't but I could. As I've gotten older I realize that family is very special to me and I couldn't have married a better fellow or had a better son!


On another quick note, here is what I was working on yesterday that I hope to add to the Mix and Mingle section of the store soon.

It's handspun mill ends in the same color set as Faded Forestry. I noticed in Etsy chat people would like the colors but they were not spinners. Hopefully this will add some options for those who really like the combination and are able to knit or crochet. Unfortunately since these are spun from millends, I can't guarantee that the yarn will felt or not felt. There is also some variation in color in certain areas because of the varying wool composition .

semi-productive weekends

Mix and Mingle

I always want to do more than I could possible manage in a weekend. I want to spin and dye and felt and sew and and and..... well I'm sure you get the picture. I still haven't gotten a new camera but I figure thats going to be a little while coming. I did manage to find some half used mini-CD's that I can take pictures with in the meantime.
So two weekends ago (maybe three) I spun up some natural colored roving in a thick and thin single. Then... I waited. No particular reason other than I had to pull it off the spinning wheel in sets of 100. I spun 12 ounces and I got 250 yards. However, this past weekend was nice and lazy. So I took my yarns (starting on Thursday, so not quite the weekend) and began to dye them. I'm still experimenting with color combinations. I find that what I think will be a terrible combination, or what I just don't plain like, turns out really nice.

Antique

Like this one that I call "Antique." This is a combination of brown gold and blue. It worked out very nicely and really makes me think of the old flea markets where you can get nostalgic memorabilia. Another surprise yarn was a bit of a family decision. I was pulling out colors and started with violet. When I asked for opinions, I thought turquoise would be nice. My husband agreed. My son interjects (in the way only an eight year old can) "Black!" "Mommy, did you hear me, I think black is a good color!." After assuring him that he had been heard, I decided to mix all the colors. And thats how I got "Mix and Mingle." (pictured top)

I also dyed the remaining mohair locks that I have. I chose yellow and turquoise because when they meet its a lovely shade of green. These are colors I like very much. When I get more locks, it will have to be skirted and washed. Since these weren't I have spent a lot of time and energy picking, washing and picking more little hay seeds and grass and bits from them. Much less noticeable when washed but still annoying to deal with.

playground

All things given, it was a pretty good weekend. I'm hoping to get more done this upcoming weekend as well. I 'll have to see though as I will also be celebrating a 4 year wedding anniversary sans child. (Woohooo!.... oh, was I too excited there?)

some recent yarns...

I've been amazing myself a bit recently. I currently have 5 empty bobbins. While lots of the spinning community would think "OMG! How could you not have projects on every single one of those?" Well, I've basically spent the last week or two cleaning off old projects on my wheel. I have felt very productive lately. Here are a few of the things I have to show.

First I have a bit of a sample of yarn. These were all spun from some mohair locks I was given. When I first started spinning the mohair I tried to make the yarn even and consistent. That was several months ago. Since this fiber was just sitting on the bobbin I decided to finish it. The next part was thick and thin slubby with curls.

After the spinning I decided to do a two ply with some nylon thread. That worked out well for the slubby part (top left) but not so well on the more consistent strand (top right.) Since I was not happy with the 2 ply I cut the yarn and plied the remainder back on itself (bottom..) Its all a very interesting effect. Should make a nice accent yarn. I will probably look into buying some mohair locks for any future textured yarns.

Here is my most recent attempt at Navajo plying. I wasn't originally planning to do this but the idea was mentioned at the last spinning group.


Here is a close up. I need to practice more but I think that it would make a great knit hat.


This last one is the final product of the previous yarn musings. I am quite impressed with the amount of variation. Its nice and not to overwhelming. I'm not quite sure what to do with this one. I thought about knitting and fulling some footies but I probably don't have that much yardage.

Road Tripping...

This past Saturday the family jumped in the car and took a quick road trip. Now when I say jump, I mean decided at the last minute. When I say quick, I really mean two hours away to Savannah. The only real reason we went was because we had a little extra money and I was wanting to get at some fiber goodies. So off we went, little tourists that we were, on a two hour all highway drive. My husband was so fortunate as to not have to drive seeing as he let his license expire on his birthday this past December.
Putting all these small details aside, the whole family traveled down the road. Our first stop was to a little shop called "Wild Fibre." When I say little it really just means its not as large as I would have wanted it to be. I did get a tidbits pictured here. This is a small picture of the dyed wool bumps and some tencel. I couldn't remember if tencel is dye-able with acids but once I got home I found out it is not. Since I'm still enjoying the mighty fine benefits of apartment living, this end up natural but blended with some colored fibers.
I think that I was a little disappointed. I mean two hours you think would merit a decent adventure but I think I had more fun after we left the shop. I met up with my friend and her son and his two friends. She moved down that way just about a year ago. Honestly, the store looked like it was a fiber shop that moved into a previous tenants domains. There was no real cohesiveness to the shop and the levels (i.e. odd step ups) where more of a detriment then an interior design element. Also, I'm thinking that some of these items are a little overpriced. I was just on Etsy and found this seller who sells tencel at 4 oz for 6.00. I paid over $12! Anyway, that was certainly a lesson learned. My LYS is better stocked for the spinning and weaving artist. Besides, she host our local spinning group and really like to show her that I support her business. The next time I head to Savannah, it will be to visit my friend and that's it!


On a project related note:


This is the beginning of my hand-spun single. I noted in a previous post that I was spinning a handpainted roving from my store. This is my new ball winder (yay tax refund!) and the start of the winding process. It's actually all wound up now but I'm a little nervous about plying it. I hate to start plying a project and have to stop in the middle. If I have to wait till this weekend though I might go nutty! Decisions, Decisions! Stay tuned for continuing coverage of the "Great Yarn Debate of '08."

I promise, more goodies and more bloggy-blog talking soon.

Yarnings....

I finally finished spinning this silk up. I received it from Yarn Mafia in a craftster.org roving swap last year. Its very pretty and the colors range from pink to purple. Unfortunately I seem to have a hard time with taking pictures of silk. The light just bounces off the silk and into the camera.

Also, this is my next work in progress. Now that I have a ballwinder, I'm going to make this a nice two-ply. Originally this was listed in my store as a roving but I got an itch and needed to spin. If it turns out nicely, I might have to pull the other one too.

Playing with Fire... uh, I meant Fiber!

I finished a little project I set for myself to spin a non-wool yarn. I was pretty excited about it too. Its dyed tussah silk, carded with glitz, bamboo coils and sari silk handspun then plied with a matching nylon thread. Would you believe those are the same colors I dyed this yarn with? It's interesting how different fibers take dyes so differently. I would love opinions, tell me what you think!




This here is something I hope to get posted to the store later tonight. I took bits and pieces of fibers and created a eclectic fiber sampler mix. These are a random selection of fibers from my personal stash intended for the adventurous type. Basically, for those who want to feel touch and try a bunch of fibers but have no intentions of buying several ounces at a time.



Lots of fibers, uncarded bamboo, angora, corriedale, and coopworth to name a few. I'm thinking it will be good for a felter who just needs a few accouterments or a spinner who wants to card bits of color into things. Plus, taking the picture with a basket was cool! (ummm, no basket is not included!=P)

Scarf Wannabee

I dyed some yarn over the weekend in some nice shades of green. I was hoping for a nice striping effect but I don't think I am going to get it. On a good not, my basic knit stitches go a lot faster. I also apparently figured out how to hold my needles to get a looser gauge. I'm mostly happy with this but there are a few glaring errors that may or may not be visible in this picture.