on and off

One of the best things about coming home from a trip* is the mail that's been piling up while you've been away. Who wouldn't love to find this beauty waiting with open arms? :)


Bosworth Midi spindle, .98oz in Bird's Eye Maple

Amelia at The Bellwether was kind enough to give us who haunt her Ravelry forum a heads up-- there were not going to be any more Bossies available for purchase from retailers (direct buy only from Journey Wheel), so if we wanted one we should speak up NOW before she sells out her remaining inventory to classes she teaches :) I love the tiny red cedar one so much that I know I'll love this too.

I'm sure spinning this month's Verb ultra fiber club shipment on it won't hurt with that, either...


Roman Numeral

So pretty. The spaced out dyeing has me thinking I'll try for some striped yarn when I get to spinning it-- I love when colors work together like this.

Also love this...


Handdyed Banana fiber from Blonde Chicken Boutique, 4 oz in "Leaf"

I had *so* much fun handcarding the polwarth/silk that when I saw Tara's banana fiber for sale in her shop I immediately thought of the possibility of blending it with a little naturally grey wool for an artier, bulkier, Spring-has-Sprung type yarn. Her post on the "eco-worthiness" of bamboo and soy in spinning fiber/yarn is an interesting, related read too.

I did manage a little fiber time when I was away, thanks to Tactile's Superwash BFL and my 2 newest spindles...





I slid both cops off onto drinking straws like before and plied them on the wheel when I got back...



...ending up with 3.5oz and 400 yd of sock yarn. It looks bigger than it is against my new HP Mini--


(Bosworth Midi spindle, not coke zero for scale!)

The HP Mini is a really adorable machine, perfect for browsing the web around the way since *my other portable networking device has gone on the haywire.* I opted for the solid state drive, not the hdd since I plan to carry it around a lot and don't want any parts knocking about inside. I also found out that Jetflash's T3K media is the same as HP's "mini mobile drive"-- half off HP's pricing and I can increase the drivespace by 50% (more when I add in a SDHC card... both are flush with the machine when inserted in their respective slots-- nice and no breaking off.) I'm going to take it with on my next roadtrip-- that I'm leaving for in about 24 hours!! A lot of movement lately for a sedentary creature like me. When I get back in two weeks I expect to have some socks to share (with all the driving ahead)... and probably a fleece or two will be waiting as well :) Unboxing at its best.

Back soon!


*another plus of family trips-- old pics to share :)

last call

If you follow me on twitter, you've already heard that I'm heading out to my sister's for her baby shower tomorrow... part of the reason I've been cranking out so many projects and blogging every day for this past week (!!) Today was the day for my last hurrah with the wheel-- I finished plying the pygora from last month's ultra fiber club shipment from Verb.


pygora from "penzance" and "paper moon"
(twist not yet set)

This was the fiber I was spinning on my wee Jenkins Turkish Delight-- the Turkish spindles are SO fun since you end up with a center pull ball when you're done.



I admit I haven't even started packing for the trip yet-- day spent in front of the wheel and in trying to decide what spindles and fiber to bring with me. I narrowed it down...


Asciano cocobolo rosewood spindle with Tactile Fiber Arts superwash BFL in "lichen"

I promised some socks from this fiber, and am really anxious to start and finish :) Probably will use Marlowe's new arch sock pattern if I hit gauge. I'm also packing my new, ridiculously stunning Golding...


Seth Golding ebony twist with Blue Moon Fiber Arts merino/silk in "jubilation"

I was excited when I read that the Goldings' son, Seth, would be turning spindles and offering them on the site (just makes me happy, the passing on of the torch among artisans) but I had no idea I'd fall for one and so hard. It is an ebony whorl, 2.75" with a sterling silver ring that was tooled by Seth. It is also heavy-- 1.53 oz (Seth made a batch and some are over/under the 1.8 oz weight listed on the site), perfect for a worsted/aran weight 2-ply from the merino silk.



Also perfect for trying to learn how to ply on a spindle... eek! I don't know why it scares me so.

Alright! Tonite's agenda is sewing wee buttons on all of the nephew-to-be's sweaters, wrapping them in the Spongebob wrapping paper my son picked out... and actually packing the important stuff like clothes and kid :) I'll be away for a few weeks (don't know if I'll be blogging), miss you! :)

thirty words or less

handcarded polwarth/silk




excellent idea from diane








(need to fire my selfportraiteer)

pattern: cosymakes' pixie hood

love. way big.

see?


tactile merino/yak, "pomegranate"





more alike. same love.

(til then!)

:)

spinning to stitches

The Stash and Burn ladies have inspired me to take a look at my past Stitches West purchases (and maybe get some worked up and out of the stash!) before heading back again for 2009. So, I'm spinning some Pigeonroof Studios Superwash BFL purchased @ Article Pract's booth last year (for a 4 ply, cabled sock yarn. goodness i love this spindle-- bosworth red cedar featherweight, 12g) and realizing I've done pretty good as far as using past purchases, not much leftover from past SW's. It's not a free pass to go nuts, but I can finally put together my 'must-see' booth list before I cross the stitches market threshold since I usually peter or paul out before seeing it all and I don't want to miss a select few.

My list starts with bay area handdyers at the top... There are a lot of excellent handdyers attending this year, but I have a real softspot for locals :)

A Verb for Keeping Warm-- free totebag + 10% next purchase coupon with $80 purchase (did you listen to the latest yknit, where kristine talks about how labor/time intensive natural dyeing is?) You'll also be able to find zero stitch markers here too, freshwater pearl/semiprecious stone lovelies made by my own hands :)

Tactile Fiber Arts-- free totebag + 10% online order with $75 purchase... and I heard Maia say she has naturally dyed superwash BFL and loose washed locks for spinning!! Excited about their "Amber" colorway too.

Pigeonroof Studios-- do I need to say more? (see above!) I wonder if there will be anything left, but a girl's got to try ;)

Fiber Fiend-- I am so there for the intense superwash merino and maybe superwash corriedale, if Margit has some left...

Urban Fauna-- I just received the nicest superwash BFL from Karrie's Girl on the Rocks online shop and can't wait to check out more here (and other local dyers!) at this new store.

Lisa Souza-- yall will probably decimate her handdyed spinning batts before I get there! Can't wait to see if they actually last past the market preview tonite :)

I also want to buy a few patterns this year-- CoCoKnits' new fleece thrummed hat (and I *will* use washed fleece!), Knit Whits' Elfin booties (Stanley is still very loved and I'm thinking the kid will dig a pair of felted boots), and I can't wait to thumb thru the sweater pattern books at Black Water Abbey. I'm sitting here with their worsted weight colorcard on my desk thinking I should buy a sweater's worth of yarn from them, the colors are just amazing and cables would sing in their yarn! Ergh... maybe enough for a hat til I get my other messes under control. And Cookie A's new book will be available for preview at Shelridge Farms-- along with their lovely Canadia goodness.

I'm also kindasorta looking for an 8 dent reed for my 25" Schacht Flip, but I know I can order one thru Verb (and have a good excuse to visit the brick and mortar store!) so it's not that big a deal if I don't find one. I'd love a new spindle too, but I've been a little nuts buying them from the Bellwether and others lately that I don't know if I'll find something I'll love as much :) We'll see!

If you're still figuring your must-see booths and haven't seen it yet, EGarcia has once again put together a map of the market that includes the names of the vendors (ravlink), and highlights those that have spinning supplies for sale. You'll also see that XRX has invited a Girl Scouts troop to man a donation-run bag and coatcheck-- no need to drag armloads around, or even wet umbrellas/coats if it's raining outside.

I would *love* to hear your booth suggestions-- I'm excited about this year and am sure I've missed some!

Til then and no fisticuffs over fiber on the market floor!

carding on handcards and grafton fiber batts

[if you are a member of the Verb for Keeping Warm and/or the Grafton Fibers fiber club/s and don't want to see a February shipment spoiler, please skip this post!]

Yall who are obsessed with fiber prep like I am probably had the same reaction to the Yarn Harlot's post on loading fleece/fiber sideways onto a drumcarder-- namely, "dude, I need to try that!" Since I had sold my drumcarder I opted to try the method on my almost longlost pair of handcards instead... tools I don't usually use or reach for or admittedly even think about.

I started with the light brown cormo from Cormo Sheep and Wool Farm ("Henna")...



...trying to load the staples on the handcards in a sideways motion. Really though, I tried for a few passes and just gave up-- it is just not intuitive enough for me to drag a staple sideways across a handcard like it is to drag it longways. That's not the really interesting part-- instead of giving up the ghost and setting the carders aside, I continued handcarding a small mountain of flat cormo batts...



...that I rolled up and pulled into short roving lengths.



All said and done I had about 3.5 ounces of pulled rovings from rolags, which looked like a huge mountain even next to my relatively huge spindle I intended on spinning them on.


(the forrester dervish has an 11-12" shaft)

I had hoped to load more than the weight of the spindle onto it and managed just that (50+gm on a 45 gm spindle)...



I keep wanting to add more but get more nervous about dropping it as time wears on so I've stopped for now.

Yet again it's not the spindle spinning that's the more interesting thing to me (I'm on a bit of a spindle buying and spinning tear lately)-- but that I *really* enjoyed carding with the handcards! I had a few neps in the rovings, from a heavy hand before I found my rhythm, but all in all they stood up very well-- especially in comparison to how brutally I nepped another cormo fleece on my drumcarder. I think I enjoyed carding more on handcards than my drumcarder :)

As one good one always deserves another, I took this...


4 oz of naturally colored polwarth from aVfKW

...and this...


3 oz of tussah silk from February aVfKW Ultra club shipment

...carded them together on handcards for this...



...(closer)...



...and have used the handcarded polwarth/silk to spin a bulky single on the wheel and a very fine single on a spindle...


(terrible horrible no good very bad rainy weather lighting)
eta: much better lighting today :)

...that'll be eventually plied together into a bumpy textured but soft bulky yarn. I still have another bobbin at least to fill, but it'll take no time at all.

I really, REALLY enjoyed blending the fibers on my handcards-- using commercially prepared fibers (as opposed to raw fleece) seemed to help me in not nepping them, and it was just effortless! I love combing, don't get me wrong-- but I can't put my feet up and watch episodes of Firefly on hulu (new to me!) while wielding them like I did with the 'cards. Blending on combs isn't really a great proposition anyways (fibers generally need to be the same length on the combs or will pull off sooner/later than the others you're trying to blend with, making homogenity difficult)-- but I can't wait to try this again with more luxury fibers and utilitarian wools.

Speaking of utilitarian and carding-- my son and I went to the Oakland Museum of California a few weekends ago (second Sundays free admission!) and found this super great reproduction display in their "Art and History of Early California" collection...



Handcards made from thistle heads, and a big old (supported?) spindle.

I think its so cool, coming so far but still being very close to the techniques of a hundred years ago.

On the other, far end of the cool carding spectrum, I was gifted a membership to the Grafton Fibers "Colorways" club from my secret santa this year (!!!) and have been hoarding the stunningly beautiful color batts and petting them when I need a shot of color and love in my life.


January


February

I have no idea what I'll be making with these... part of me wants to spin each batt to the same weight and end up with 12 skeins to knit into an afghan, an amazingly colorful block afghan. The other part just wants to hoard them; I can't believe how soft and perfect the batts are and it makes me happy that colors like this exist in the world.

I read that Linda is still accepting memberships into the yearly club (she has a monthly one you can sign up for as well, both include a pattern and spinning tips with the fiber)-- the yearly enrollment includes bonuses like Grafton spindles and Darn Pretty Needles (my new favorite dpns!)



Made in the USA by hand, they are sharp and solid-- these are the 2.25mm (US 1) size and I am not afraid in the slightest for snapping or bending them. See?



Surviving being my walkaround knitting, stuffed in the bottom of a bag while I wait in line at the post office and chase after my little one, jumping in rainpuddles :)

Til then and thanks again Santa :)

year of the class

I really like the end and beginning of the year on blogs, not just for holiday and new year cheer but to read about past year roundups and new year goals (resolution seems to be a bad word this year!) For me, mine's not so much a goal or resolution but something to work thru... I've decided to not shy away from taking classes when I want to learn something new.

I have nothing against learning from a book or teh internets (I learned almost everything fiber-wise that way!) but there are several things I'd like to learn and learn among the company of others. I've already started-- I enrolled in a digital photography course at the local city college, and just completed a sewing 101 course offered at Knit One One by KiraKDesigns.


In Town Bags by Amy Butler
(only one is mine! these were finished by everyone in class)

I've never touched a sewing machine before in my life, which is nuts in a way because my mom gets all breathy talking about sewing the way I get talking about knitting and spinning. My little sister sewed all of the linens for her wedding (omFg srsly if only I had a pic of the tablecloths and chaircovers and and and...), my grandma was an amazing quilter and made zakka toys and housestuffs before I'd ever heard the term, and even though I was never interested in the tomboy phase lately I've felt like there was a hole in my knowledge base that would actually help in the fiber world (machine steeking! lining bags! finishing woven fabrics!)

After my four week class I'm not so afraid of the sewing machine :)



I couldn't help but make another-- I had the fabric left over and since I'm using them to hold spindles + fiber I *needed* them since my spindle stash seems to be growing while I'm not looking.

Okay, I was totally looking.


Jenkins Turkish Delight spindle in spalted tamarind with Pygora from A Verb for Keeping Warm

And it sort of kind of fits into the new year and learning new things! I never thought I'd want a Turkish spindle (or even a bottom whorl) but seeing these wee loves at The Bellwether I couldn't help it...



Turkish spindles are usually larger (9-10" shaft, 2 oz weight) but mine is tiny-- only a 5" shaft and weighs 0.7oz. My son loves taking it apart and putting it together...



..and I have to admit I fell for it not because it was new to me (bottom whorling) but because the wood is amazing.



I like the Turkish Delight so much I'll probably add a big brother in regular size to my spindle stash sooner rather than later-- but for now I am just in love with this lovely creature that I can demonstrate sitting in bed. And pygora...


2 oz of naturally colored pygora, January 2009 aVfKW fiber club
from penzance and paper moon (the names of the goats!)

I've heard Kristine has some pygora for sale at her brick and mortar store in Berkeley-- totally worth the trip, or stopping by her booth at Stitches West* to see if she has any left. The Verb for Keeping Warm's Workshop is also a good place to start class-wise if you're looking to expand your fiber knowledge, along with Article Pract and Knit One One for fiber + knitting/crocheting. Me? My next class will probably be to learn how to crochet! :)

Happy belated new year!


*...ps, say yes!

club roundup

I am a little embarrassed and don't share yarn purchases lately (really, do I need five MORE sweaters worth of yarn?!) but am always compelled to share fiber. Have no idea what that's about... :)


Black Bunny Fibers superwash merino-tencel, 8 oz

Not only do I love Carol's colorways (custom fit for every member) and the honking giant batches her fiber club comes in (8 oz!!), I love that they *don't* come every month. I think I'd just feel just feel drowned :) Not a bad way to go though, eh? Can't get over that color.

Black Bunny Fibers is opening up spots in the club again (actually all clubs-- fiber, sock yarn and yarn), so you can jump on the awesome fiber bandwagon too :)


A Verb for Keeping Warm merino-cashmere-angora-- "Lamb's Ear" (December)

I can't keep up with Kristine's club. I try (I'm actually spinning January's fiber now, wish me luck!) but it doesn't really matter. For as much as I have felt... constrained by having too much fiber stash, I don't worry about stashing aVfKW. I don't know why, doesn't make sense... but there you go :)

For one I *have* been keeping up with (or, actively trying!)... the latest Rhyme Times fiber sampler from The Bellwether.


Rhyme Times sampler #7 (I think?)

I've kept to spindle spinning the 1/2 oz samples up and plying them on my wheel-- good practice. I've amassed a few more since last time.


11 1/2 oz skeins (individual pics and colorway names available here on my flickr)

I really love the blended creations by Three Bags Full and Crosspatch Creations-- every colorway isn't necessarily "me," but 1/2 oz isn't that big of a deal to get thru and I'm often surprised about liking one more spun up than in fiber form (and the other way around). I found my newest favorite colorway thru the club--


"Aurora Borealis" by Three Bags Full

Merino and bamboo dyed deep, DEEP blues and carded with lime colored silk noil. I don't really ever embrace blues but wow-- spun up it is just shockingly beautiful. Aside from the discounts sent in every package (I'll have to show you what I got next time!!) another great thing about the club is knowing about the colors before they go live on the site... I think Aurora may already be sold out.

Off to go play with this month's aVfKW fiber club shipment-- can't keep my hands out of it :) For those of you local (bay area), there's another spinning meetup at Knit One One (BARTable) this Friday between 7-9pm. We split the cost of renting the space (usu. $5-6/pp), and there's plenty of space for wheels or whatever. Fun times! :)