It feels like a mishmash day today! :)
I finally got around to taking pics of my Rhyme Times fiber samplers-- I know I've said I don't do clubs (except Black Bunny Fibers' fiber club since I'm picky and weird and hers fits my quirks) but I realized this is a club, too :) The Bellwether offers a 4-installment subscription sampler pack of Crosspatch Creations and Three Bags Full fibers, each with four, 1/2 oz samples of new colorways that haven't been offered on site yet. Amelia also offers a double sampler (so, 4 - 1 oz samples of fiber), mine is the 1/2 oz size.
This is 3 installments worth-- every time they arrive I find a new favorite :) Like these...
I had been saving all of these samples to spin into one big artyarn... but now that WonderMike and his spindlepr0n-heavy flickr photostream has got me thinking I want to learn to spin on a spindle (a Golding is calling my name! oy...), I've been saving them up with an eye to spindle spin :)
One reason I don't like clubs is the premium you pay for them; it's a personal thing, but I don't like paying extra for exclusivity. The Rhyme Times is a good deal-- not only is the shipping cost included in the price and the fiber price on par with retail per ounce, every sampler letter comes with a fiber special for subscribers only. You can also order "back issues" of the Rhyme Times samplers if you want, an interesting idea if you want to just try one and see if you like it before committing to an entire cycle. I know once mine runs thru though, I'll resubscribe-- it's like little colorful surprises in the mailbox every two month or so :)
Another surprise...
Handspun 3-ply polwarth, naturally dyed fiber by A Verb for Keeping Warm "blackberry"
Approx 6 oz, 830 yd
It looks just like the roving!
This was my practice run for the aVfKW baby camel-silk I love with in a seaside annabel way... I knew that the camel/silk fiber would spin thinly, but didn't want a lace. So I wanted to try and spin a 3ply, spinning the entire 2 ounce package of roving onto one bobbin x 3 (I love the 2 oz putups Kristine uses). I knew that the matchless bobbins would hold a sloppily packed 4 oz of sock yarn, but 6?
Yup.
I actually like this yarn a lot more than I thought I would-- I'm not a pink girl, but the plying made all the difference.
Secret for the week: I don't ply well. Like, I don't think I do it right at all, and when I'm not absolutely diligent in plying the wrong way I do, singles wrap around one another and just look bumpy and wrong. So much more so when I'm plying 3 singles-- I don't have the control I need over three plies. Now, I'm not condoning bad form (I'll learn proper plying one day!), but using my new diz as a plying guide made the yarn look even better than it would have, given my poor technique. It's over/under-plied (and spun!) in areas, but that's more of a takeup thing. I went ahead and asked GVPencheff to make me another "diz" that I can use for plying (and color blending with larger holes)... more 3-ply in my future :)
Except, spinning and fiber has been put on hold... I got this idea to knit Henry in the new 3-ply, and I am *obsessed.*
Henry from Knitty Fall 2007, short freshwater pearl stitch markers from zero.etsy.com
Good thing too, it takes forf*ing ever and I had this nutty idea I want to enter it in Lambtown's Skeins and Textiles Competition. I don't think I'll make it, but things like reality and time haven't stopped me before :)
One more thing!! I usually don't do memes but since I'll be away for at least a week (my baby sister is back from Europe and coming for a visit!!!)... via Under Dutch Skies, whose blog I dig right back :)
PS! Cos this isn't long enough already :) the Knitters for BarackObama group on Ravelry is holding a general election fundraiser and is looking for prize donations. I'm donating some superbulky handspun in the Audacity colorway (Black Bunny Fibers' Obama fundraising colorway) as well as a dk-ish weight in the same fiber.
They're only taking prize donation pledges til July 3 (tomorrow!)-- but you don't have to have the prize in hand til August 7... I still need to spin up the lighter weight yarn for my prize pack :)
Between July 4 and August 7, you can buy tickets for specific prizes in the drawing-- better chance of winning what you really want that way. More details (including prizes, though the list isn't up to date yet) can be found here or in the KFO forum.
Early and often!
I finally got around to taking pics of my Rhyme Times fiber samplers-- I know I've said I don't do clubs (except Black Bunny Fibers' fiber club since I'm picky and weird and hers fits my quirks) but I realized this is a club, too :) The Bellwether offers a 4-installment subscription sampler pack of Crosspatch Creations and Three Bags Full fibers, each with four, 1/2 oz samples of new colorways that haven't been offered on site yet. Amelia also offers a double sampler (so, 4 - 1 oz samples of fiber), mine is the 1/2 oz size.
This is 3 installments worth-- every time they arrive I find a new favorite :) Like these...
I had been saving all of these samples to spin into one big artyarn... but now that WonderMike and his spindlepr0n-heavy flickr photostream has got me thinking I want to learn to spin on a spindle (a Golding is calling my name! oy...), I've been saving them up with an eye to spindle spin :)
One reason I don't like clubs is the premium you pay for them; it's a personal thing, but I don't like paying extra for exclusivity. The Rhyme Times is a good deal-- not only is the shipping cost included in the price and the fiber price on par with retail per ounce, every sampler letter comes with a fiber special for subscribers only. You can also order "back issues" of the Rhyme Times samplers if you want, an interesting idea if you want to just try one and see if you like it before committing to an entire cycle. I know once mine runs thru though, I'll resubscribe-- it's like little colorful surprises in the mailbox every two month or so :)
Another surprise...
Handspun 3-ply polwarth, naturally dyed fiber by A Verb for Keeping Warm "blackberry"
Approx 6 oz, 830 yd
It looks just like the roving!
This was my practice run for the aVfKW baby camel-silk I love with in a seaside annabel way... I knew that the camel/silk fiber would spin thinly, but didn't want a lace. So I wanted to try and spin a 3ply, spinning the entire 2 ounce package of roving onto one bobbin x 3 (I love the 2 oz putups Kristine uses). I knew that the matchless bobbins would hold a sloppily packed 4 oz of sock yarn, but 6?
Yup.
I actually like this yarn a lot more than I thought I would-- I'm not a pink girl, but the plying made all the difference.
Secret for the week: I don't ply well. Like, I don't think I do it right at all, and when I'm not absolutely diligent in plying the wrong way I do, singles wrap around one another and just look bumpy and wrong. So much more so when I'm plying 3 singles-- I don't have the control I need over three plies. Now, I'm not condoning bad form (I'll learn proper plying one day!), but using my new diz as a plying guide made the yarn look even better than it would have, given my poor technique. It's over/under-plied (and spun!) in areas, but that's more of a takeup thing. I went ahead and asked GVPencheff to make me another "diz" that I can use for plying (and color blending with larger holes)... more 3-ply in my future :)
Except, spinning and fiber has been put on hold... I got this idea to knit Henry in the new 3-ply, and I am *obsessed.*
Henry from Knitty Fall 2007, short freshwater pearl stitch markers from zero.etsy.com
Good thing too, it takes forf*ing ever and I had this nutty idea I want to enter it in Lambtown's Skeins and Textiles Competition. I don't think I'll make it, but things like reality and time haven't stopped me before :)
One more thing!! I usually don't do memes but since I'll be away for at least a week (my baby sister is back from Europe and coming for a visit!!!)... via Under Dutch Skies, whose blog I dig right back :)
- What was I doing 10 years ago? 1998? I was 20-- I had just moved from socal to Berkeley to enroll as a junior (tranferred from my local community college, go public school!) eta: Actually it would have been summertime and I'd be starting my senior year-- so I was living in my Very.First.Apartment™ and watching lots of Red Dwarf during my days off from working on campus (public tv was the only thing i'd get on the rabbiteared set.)
- What are 5 things on my to-do list for today? Get all the little things ready for my sister's visit-- clean the shower, finish putting away all the undyed fiber I have amassed but haven't dyed (and left in huge bags all over the bed she'll be sleeping in), scour the cooktop, mop the floor (I have an unnatural love for PineSol), dust.
- Snacks I enjoy? More ingredients than snacks... chocolate. Garlic. Salt. Hot sauce (Crystal from Louisiana.) Frying oil. Mayonnaise.
- Things I would do if I were a billionaire? Take my kid to Puerto Rico. Grow a set. Make my mom happy. Take the bar til I passed it, just to do it. A few things I can't share :)
- Places I have lived? Las Vegas, socal, norcal.
- Jobs I have had? Pharmacy technician, photo printer, hotel clerk, law office intern, pseudonymous information jockey, mom.
- People I want to know more about? If you're reading, you! (Really, I'm filling out my rss reader with knitting (and not!) blogs-- you don't have to do the meme, just leave your blog address or Rav name so I can find some new blogs to read in the lulls of my sister's vacation :))
PS! Cos this isn't long enough already :) the Knitters for BarackObama group on Ravelry is holding a general election fundraiser and is looking for prize donations. I'm donating some superbulky handspun in the Audacity colorway (Black Bunny Fibers' Obama fundraising colorway) as well as a dk-ish weight in the same fiber.
They're only taking prize donation pledges til July 3 (tomorrow!)-- but you don't have to have the prize in hand til August 7... I still need to spin up the lighter weight yarn for my prize pack :)
Between July 4 and August 7, you can buy tickets for specific prizes in the drawing-- better chance of winning what you really want that way. More details (including prizes, though the list isn't up to date yet) can be found here or in the KFO forum.
Early and often!
11 comments:
Mine isn't only a knitting blog, though there's knitting in it. I did this meme last month, on June 1, if you want to see. I enjoy reading your blog, even though I don't spin, personally. It's amazing to see what makes yarn!
My farm blog is more exciting than my knitting one, imo.
http://www.roosterhillfarm.com/journal/
http://knitting.roosterhillfarm.com/
all those batts! there is a great range of colors!!!!
I'm not a pink fan either, but I will admit to liking that Polworth. Now I have to look up Henry to see what you're talking about.
I love your blog!
My ravelry name is alligator.
A! That yarn so so beautiful. I was asked in an interview recently what inspires my work -- and I responded that I absolutely adore seeing what people make. I love that by making raw materials, people can take them to the next level and beyond, which is clearly what you have done in this case! Also, I have been knitting a sweater, using my Zero stitch markers, I love them! Seriously, they make knitting round after round of stockinette worth it.
I enjoyed doing the meme, especially the billionaire question -- I've been having some writer's block lately. My blog's about fiber work, housework, parenting, and occasionally other stuff.
Gorgeous fibers!
I always think we sound a lot alike -- two of your jobs were mine as well. Hotel clerk and photo printer. I still do the photo stuff, but 35mm has pretty much died, as did our film processing machine.
Please let me apologize if this comment is seen as inappropriate.
There is a very inspirational and sad post here:
http://mvfiberfarm.blogspot.com/2008/07/story-with-raffle-at-end.html
The blogger is a great person with an awesome CSA fiber farm on Martha's Vineyard. One of her family members, from her account a selfless person who has done a lot of good in their life, suffered a devastating injury. The blogger is raffling off her stash to help raise money for medical equipment her uncle is going to need once out of the hospital.
Knitters are very generous people and I believe that all the costs of the medical equipment would quickly be covered if this story reaches a wide audience. Would you consider linking to the story?
Thank you, and again I apologize if this is spammy or out of bounds.
I understand what you're saying about plying. I read one little thing in a post on Ravelry that made my plied yarn look like something you'd buy in a shop :) The post said something like 'plied at a 60 degrees angle'. At the time I didn't really pay attention to it, but somehow it stuck in my mind... and after that I tried this plying at an angle out and tada... gorgeously plied yarn. The other thing that makes my plying look good is that I have my lazy kate standing on a bin to my left (90 degree angle to my chair) and so the singles are coming to me & wheel at an angle and at the height I hold the yarn to spin it. Those 2 things make a lot of difference to my plying.
Cheers Eva
That sampler kit looks Divine! Must check into that one.
If you want to test-drive either of my Goldings, say the word. :-)
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