In no particular order

Whoa.  Time flies when you're busy knitting and plying on a drop spindle ...

... stash diving and finding some yarn you forgot you had ...

... then starting to knit it into a lovely lacy shawl ...

... moving to a new spot and getting organized ...

... frogging a sweater ...

... and knitting it into another sweater in hopes of wearing it THIS WEEKEND.

Whew.

Merry Christmas to me

Surely I am not the only one who buys Christmas gifts for herself. This has been a "tradition" of mine since I was 23 or so, and living on my own for the first time (not counting college).

This year I remembered that my friend Vickie at The Spinner's Cottage has beautiful spindles in her shop (brick & mortar AND online).  These lovelies are made by Vickie's mother, Carol, and are so much fun to spin with.  Here's the one I got:

Once I bought it, I needed some fiber to spin so Vickie gave me a bit of Polish merino to try.  Of course she gave me some of this beautiful red:

I thought about wrapping up the spindle and putting it under the Christmas tree, but decided that something this pretty needed to stay out where I could look at it.  So it is hanging out in the studio with the other spindles and fibers.  

Remember last year when I said that this year was the year to #finishorfrog the 19 or so projects in my project bin?  I did pretty well, although not everything got finished or frogged.  Most things did (although not all of them got blogged about here), and I'm really proud of having made progress.  However, the #finishorfrog party will continue in 2015, so that I can put those few leftover projects in the "done" pile.  #finishorfrog2015

In the meantime, I am on a quest to finish my husband's Christmas stocking. Yup, you read that right.  2014. But in our house, it's Christmas until the tree comes down and it's still up so ....

Happy 2015, y'all.  May your dye lots always match, may your yarn never tangle, and may your gauge always be spot-on!

~mz

New-to-me technique

I recently got hip to a spinning technique called "Ply on the Fly." Essentially, you spin up a few feet of singles with your spindle then immediately Navajo ply. That way, you don’t have to spin up ALL of your fiber into singles before plying -- you ply as you go, hence, “ply on the fly.” It's very efficient, and a lot of fun.  Here's the yarn that I've spun using this technique:

This pretty stuff is from The Spinner's Cottage, and is 60% wool, 30% alpaca, and 10% silk noil. 

This is a bit of Gotland fiber that I got from a friend.  It's a wool I hadn't spun before.

I haven't done much sewing or knitting or anything else lately.  Life has been happening, but there's always one project (or a ton) in progress.  I started a new sweater this weekend -- nevermind that I already have 2 of them on needles.  What's one more? :-)

Hmm.  Perhaps I will knit a few rows on one of the projects and move it that much closer to done!

~mz

What I learned today

#1:  My friend Jan showed me how to ply yarn on a drop spindle.  Looks pretty cool, huh?

This is the Bluefaced Leicester wool that I got from the Wooster fiber show a few weeks ago.  I think this yarn will become a hat for MrJ.  

#2: I found out that thrift stores are good places to search for sewing supplies.

On a whim, I went to the local Goodwill and found a pair of pasta-themed cafe curtains that would make an awesome reversible apron, or maybe 2 if I make them non-reversible.  I also found a couple unopened packages of bias tape and a package of twill tape.  Both of these would make nice finishing touches or apron ties, don't you think?

A huge self-healing cutting mat and rotary cutter on the way to me.  Yay internet!  Got them on sale from joann.com. (Psssssst! Rotary cutting tools and mats are currently 50% off.  AND there is a coupon code that you can use to get $1.99 flat-rate shipping.)  I'm already daydreaming about spending some of the weekend getting my brand new sewing loft organized. Squeeeee!

~mz

2014 Great Lakes Fiber Show, part 2

Here's the rest of the story:

I picked up some fantastic buttons from Small and Beautiful Beads, who is a distributor of Kazuri beads.  These buttons are just screaming to be added to a sweater, don'tcha think?

If you don't know about Kazuri, read all about it here.  I will forever be a fan and a supporter.

My husband loves wearing hand-knit socks, so I almost always have a pair on my needles for him. Seriously ... I think he has more hand-knit socks than I do. At this year's show, though, I bought him 2 pairs of socks with alpaca (which is warmer than wool), acrylic and nylon.  He was teasing me about how much he deserves socks made of 100% alpaca. But 100% alpaca socks would not hold up  to being worn in shoes and boots.  However, one of the pairs I bought him has 80% alpaca, which is the highest alpaca content I could find.  The other pair, shown above, is (only!) 50% alpaca.  I hope he likes them, once it is cool enough to actually wear them. Maybe one day I will knit him a pair of 100% alpaca socks, just because I can.  He's worth it, even if it won't be the most practical pair of socks in the world. 

The kitties also got a pile of felted catnip balls.  Some of which are already shredded to bits.  No point in photographing those :-)

All in all, a successful trip this year.  Now, let's see how much of this fiber I can spin up before next May.  Some of what I spin up will be entered into the skein competition.

~mz

2014 Great Lakes Fiber Show, part 1

This year's show was extra fun, and boy did I come home with a great haul!  I missed last year because I was on vacation in the Cayman Islands, but this year I totally made up for it.

The plan for the first day was to browse through all four barns and see what all the vendors had to offer, then make purchases after lunch. After all, no one should shop on an empty stomach, right?  All was going according to plan until we entered the last barn.  All day, we saw people carrying these awesome market baskets, and the first vendor we saw in that last barn we went into was the one who had them.  

African Market Baskets from River's Edge Fiber Arts

By the time we got there, the baskets were mostly sold out, but I loved the pink one and bought it right away.  Her booth was the first one I went to on Sunday and there were only 2 baskets left and the purple one called my name.  This vendor will be one of the first ones I visit next year.  These fair trade African Market Baskets are hand woven in village co-ops in Ghana, West Africa and, according to the attached tag, the purchase of these bags helps provide healthcare and school supplies in support of the weavers, their families, and their villages."  Happy to help the cause, plus these baskets gave me a place to carry all of my stuff.  Keep reading.

We also meet a group of ladies from the Trading Post for Fibers.  They were a hoot and I bought a bunch of great fiber from them on Saturday and again on Sunday:  

• 100% Polwarth wool top roving from Frabjous Fibers in a colorway called Dunedin (shown here with an AWESOME drop spindle I picked up from 7 Yaks Design):

This is one bad-ass spindle!

• 2-Tone Bluefaced Leicester (BFL) from Abstract Fiber in the Fade to Black colorway, shown with another fantastic drop spindle that I got from 7 Yaks Design). This fiber will be spun into yarn that will become something warm for the Mr.  Maybe a winter hat.  Or something. 

The spider's web design looks pretty mesmerizing when it's spinning. Fun to watch. And SHHHH! I might have just bought /another/ spindle from her on Etsy ... 

• 2 pounds of Falkland fiber which is (I think) destined to become a 3-ply sock yarn and also a 2- or 3-ply sweater yarn:

• Look at this ridiculously beautiful fiber, also from Abstract Fiber.  It's 50% yak and 50% merino and is soooooo soft!

• This pile of pretty stuff is on my wheel right now, and is on its way to becoming my very first sock yarn.  It is 6 ounces of superwash merino from Gypsy Girl Creations in a colorway called Orchid Petals. I am planning for it to be a 3-ply but I'm not sure yet whether it will be a true 3-ply or whether it will be Navajo plied.  Either way, it will be pretty awesome. Might take forever to spin, though...

I just LOVE this color combination.

I am not sure what to blame for my rekindled love affair with drop spindles.  When I was visiting the Trading Post booth on Saturday, the owner was spinning on a spindle so I asked if I could use one to test out some fiber.  I kept saying how much I hated drop spindling but I just couldn't stop.  I pretty much abandoned drop spindles when I got my spinning wheel a few years ago, but this weekend totally got me hooked again.

I also got 4 ounces of Rambouillet but I don't remember the vendor's name.  Almost bought a few ounces of angora but decided against it.  Maybe next year. 

This year, I decided to focus on buying fibers that I have never spun before ... and more or less stuck to it.  but there are a few more things that I didn't mention in this post.  Those will have to wait until tomorrow, or later this week.  Bye for now!

~mz

Distracted

This past weekend I got to spend some quality knitting time with 2 of my friends in Columbus (OH). On Saturday we went to a little shop near Dayton called Fiberworks. I gotta say that I was not prepared for all the lovely stuff that was there.  The store has yarn -- lots of lovely yarn -- but also fiber. Lots of lovely, squishy, beautiful, soft fiber.  I was lucky to get my hands on 8 or so ounces of this:

50% red alpaca and 50% white Romney wool

... and about 4 ounces of this:

50% black alpaca and 50%white Romney wool

This stuff is SO lovely and soft.  I can't wait to get it on the wheel but it'll have to wait until I'm finished with this:

Lovely Malabrigo roving. Colorway: Baya Electrica

My friend Connee bought about a pound of lovely Corriedale roving on Saturday.  I told her that she should get all they had (about 2 pounds total) but she said 1 pound would be enough. But once she started spinning it later that night, she knew I was right! Luckily, the shop is open on Sundays, so we went back to get the rest of that Corriedale. And while that was happening I found this:

100% natural wool sliver*

There is only about 6 ounces of this stuff but I LOVE the way it looks and can't wait to spin that up too.  I think it'll make for a rustic-looking but not itchy yarn. I'm thinking it'd make a nice hat and for my husband. Although honestly, I'm not sure how he'd feel about fingerless mitts.  Hmm maybe I'll make those for me :-)

Well, kids, it's way past my bedtime.  If I don't go to sleep like NOW, tomorrow will be real ugly. Thank goodness for coffee, yo!

~mz


*Sliver is one of many different ways that fiber can be prepared for spinning.  Read more here -- Abby is a very knowledgeable and skilled spinner!

Great Lakes Fiber Show haul #1

So I thought I would start off NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) with a series of posts about the wooly goodness that came home with me from the Great Lakes Fiber Show on Saturday.  Nevermind that June's theme is NOW -- I'm a procrastinator anyway so maybe I'll get around to NOW sometime later :-)

Anyhoo, this lovely sock yarn is from Creatively Dyed Yarn.

The yarn is called Sami, but unfortunately I don't know the colorway because it's not labeled.  But lemme tell ya, it's beautiful.  Kind of beet red/purple, which I don't have any of in my wardrobe anywhere but it doesn't really matter (sorry I can't get a better picture ... the sun's gone down so there's no natural light).  It will make some lovely socks.  Not NOW because I have a bunch of other WIPs that I need to finish up. Including ...

• Eric's socks.  Currently knitting down the foot of sock #2.
• May baby sweater.  All that's left is to finish up the body and knit the sleeves.
• XOXO scarf for Nyketa.  Maybe if I get my act together I can finish by the end of June.  Especially since she asked for it for Christmas 2009!
• Clapotis.  Beautiful, pink Clapotis knitted in lace-weight Malabrigo.  On size 0 or 1.  Something *really* small.  So yeah, it is pretty much taking forever.  Well, that and the fact that I haven't knitted on it since like, November maybe?  Yeah.
• Top-down pullover for me.  Body's all finished, gotta knit sleeves.  Easy mindless knit, but it's 100% worsted weight wool and it's been in the 80s here lately.  This might go into hibernation until after summer.  But then again, if I just finish it, it will be ready to wear come Autumn/Winter when I'll really need it.
• Thrummed mittens.  I started these just as spring was approaching then it got too warm for thrummed mittens so I put them aside.  Will pick them up in Autumn for sure, and then knit a pair for my Momma.  She lives in the desert southwest so why she wants some wool thrummed mittens is beyond me but I will knit them because she asked!  Better yet, maybe I'll knit some for her next month while I'm visiting.  It'll be a good reason to go to a yarn shop for some Noro Kureyon and roving!

Okay NOW, I'm gonna wrap up this post and get ready for bed.  Unfortunately, my bike isn't ready for me to start biking to work.  I was really looking forward to being able to do that, but I will also enjoy a little extra sleep in the morning.  And the quicker I get to bed, the more sleep I'll get.  Boy do I like that arrangement.  

Ciao for now, talk to you again tomorrow.

~mz

my first handspun

I DID IT!!! i can spin! to make a long story short ... i already told y'all about my intense desire to spin lately, which kinda came outta the blue. yesterday i went to a LYS -- the one closest to work -- and started to practice some more. amy, who was working there at the time, got me going and gave me some tips. she even pulled out one of her spindles and spun for a while too! i only had about an hour but before i left she helped me wind my yarn into a skein and told me what i needed to do in order to "set the twist." i went home after work and did what she said and today i have a wee little skein of my own handspun yarn. YAY!!!!

interestingly, she noted that i spin my spindle counterclockwise. that's good to know so that when i get up to plying i'll be sure to spin clockwise so that my plies twist together properly. i'm so stoked about this new "obsession!"

that's all for now, just wanted to share :-) happy friday, everyone...

~mz

back from the abyss

i have so many things that i want to talk about right now, i hardly know where to begin. so i will start with the fact that one morning earlier this week, i woke up with a crazy urge to pick up spinning again. nevermind that it's been AGES since i even -thought- about my spindles, or that the last time i looked at roving was to make thrums for mittens. the urge to spin was kinda strong so i decided that i'm gonna just go with it. last night my plan for today was to come home from work, give myself a much-needed and long-overdue pedicure then practice spinning for 15-20 mins. THAT didn't work out, only because I ended up hanging out with a friend of mine, who, after i told her my plan to learn to spin, said that she had some fiber that i could have. so i high-tailed it over to her place! i didn't intend to stay long, but i ended up staying for 3 hours. we had some good, quality chit-chat and knitting and i'm very happy for an impromptu mid-week gathering with a friend.

so, i came home and went pawing through my stash to find my spindle and some roving. lo and behold! i found that there was still some yarn -- if you can call it that -- on my spindle from the last time i tried spinning [i'd post a photo here but the camera batteries are dead]. i also have about 1oz of undyed merino that i can use for practice. SCORE!! i read somewhere that it takes about 1lb of fiber to really get the hang of spinning, so i will have to add to my fiber stash for sure.

i've been listening to podcasts lately, especially while doing housework -- dishes, ironing, cooking etc. nevermind that i have over 800 un-listened-to podcast episodes in my ipod!! my current favorite knitting-related podcasts are:

CraftLit
Knitmore Girls
Lime & Violet

feel free to share some of your favorite podcasts -- i'm always looking for something new to listen to!

ZOINKS!!! it's past midnight and i best get to bed. i will update soon with my spinning progress ... can't wait!

ciao for now...
~mz