I’ve been enjoying the cold days of winter.
Well, since my last post I had been healing from an oral surgery in which until this day, there still a little bump in my jaw. Fortunately for me I was able to rely on my spinning and some felting while I was healing.
I’ve been having so much of a good time dyeing yarn. I got about 100 skeins of fingering weight yarn last month. I have been using different methods and they all achieve different results.
Candy Rush
Huntsmen
Forbidden Fruit
Chrisalis
Stubborn
Pathway
And the last but not the least, this is my Equatorial yarn. I got inspired by the Selvedge magazine cover from the Summer of 2013 issue.
Equatorial
They are all listed now in my Etsy shop. I think I still have about 80 blank skeins that I need to go through. Fun!
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I’ve been busy spinning some art yarn. I’ve been also felting quite a bit, but I will reserve felting pictures for another post.
I’ve been trying to get caught up with my spinning. This is my “Tuscany” SW Merino:
SW Merino
This is from my last SAL “Alice in Wonderland”. I want to knit a pair of socks with this yarn, and my goal has been to spin fingering weight yarn. This is the first skein of two and right now I’m working on the second skein.
SW Merino
YARN SPECS: Sw Merino
2 ply
2 oz
190 yards
Fingering weight
13 wpi
I can’t believe it! Where the time has gone? I just realized it after I got a friendly reminder from a client about our next SAL (Spin Along). So I started right away coming up with colors and working on my graphics. And here it is!
The SAL will be run at our Ravelry group. There is a designated thread, where we will post our pictures, chat a little bit, post questions, but more important, we will have fun and inspire each other. We will also combine it with the annual Tour de Fleece. This year, the Tour de Fleece starts Saturday June 29th and runs until Sunday July 21st, 2013. Yes, of course, we also have our own official group going (thanks Rachael) and so far we have a few participants already joining in our team! I still have a few spaces for our SAL listed in my Etsy shop, if you are interested in join us.
Summer also comes along some with fun fiber related fairs. I will be going to Healdsburg for a small, but nicely put ANNUAL SPINNER’S DAY ON THE FARM event, organized by JoAnn Slissman and sponsored by SONOMA COUNTY FIBERTRAILS.
The setting is beautiful and last year the weather was perfect. The fair will be held on Saturday June 8th, 2013 from 10 am to 4 pm. Spinners gather under the canopies of Redwood trees and of course, being in Sonoma County, among beautiful vineyards.
The venue might be changed for future events, since the farm has been sold to a new owner, so if you have the time to visit, don’t miss this opportunity and bring your spindle or spinning wheel with you. The address is: WESTSIDE FARMS, 7097 WESTSIDE ROAD, HEALDSBURG, CA. You can google the address for directions. A pot-luck lunch will be shared. If you feel like, please bring a dish, your own cutlery, plate, and beverages.
But it doesn’t end here when it comes to fairs. I will be also going to Yarnival from July 19th to the 21st, organized by Lexy Boeger and held at the Boeger Winery. I’m doble excited, because I also signed up for a workshop with Michelle Snowdon AKA The Wool Dancer. I will post more details about Yarnival as the time gets closer.
I’ve been spinning for a few years now, and my stash of hand-spun yarn keeps growing and growing. I know this is not news for any of us that spin our yarn, but I’m selling and using less of my stash and producing more. When I want to knit something in particular, it gives me a special joy going through my stash and finding something suitable for that particular project. A few days ago, I came upon a “forgotten” skein hidden in a bag inside another bag. It is single strand dyed in a variety of pastel colors spun from Merino wool. At that moment I didn’t know what I wanted to knit with it, but I left the skein sitting in a place where I could see it form time to time. I wanted to knit something in the round, but not another hat. Since Merino is perfect for next to skin garments I thought that a scarf would be suitable for my skein of yarn. So, I started my project with a crocheted circle made with 16 sc, and then I casted on 16 st around a to start knitting my circle.
I’m using 9 inch circular knitting needles, which is a little pain in the… It took a while for my clumsy hands to get used to handling such a small length but after the second circle, I got a bit faster. I can’t imagine people with big hands being able to use these needles without any problem. The next day, my hands were a bit sore and I’m suspecting that it is from using the needles. I might switch to double pointed from now on.
I managed to finish a couple of circles for my scarf. The idea is to connect them later on using a crochet hook.
There is a nice pleasure that comes from knitting with a hand spun yarn. I really enjoy when small bumps, color changes and twists pass through my fingers. It’s something that I don’t get when I knit with mill spun yarn. It has a different character that shows well in your project. The yarn blooms with every stitch and I love that unique quality and funky look that it gives to my projects which I don’t usually get with commercial yarns.
I still have a few more circles to do at this point, but I won’t be knitting today. I will be busy working on some felting pieces for an exhibition at the Bolinas Museum this coming March. There is so much preparation to do that I better get back to work…
I finally put the piece together. Well, actually I just had to seam the two sides where the armholes are. I’m very happy with the colors, however, I could add a few more stitches at the bottom of the piece for a more comfortable fit.
But I like how the fabric drapes without the feeling of a heavy garment. The yarn worked perfect for this project.
I’m working on a hat now and maybe a scarf later on using the leftover yarn, but so far I’m not very happy with how the hat is looking. I’m working on the round using the same stitch, but I’m noticing signs of a biased fabric. Hmm… I’m wondering why. Any take on this?
My yarn got highlighted in the One Brown Crafter’s Blog to encourage readers to buy and support handmade. Yay! Tracy has been a good supporter of my work through her website. Thank you Tracy!
I’ve been itching to knit something using this new yarn that I bought a couple months ago. I felt that a shrug would be very appropriate since the weight of the yarn (fingering) seemed light enough for a pattern with an easy lace stitch. Easy peasy… Twirl yarn is made with local wool (Napa Valley) from the sheep of Mary Pettis-Sarley and dyed using local plants. How cool is that! Check out my palette: Twirling Moona (CVM-Merino), Rudus (sp) Calcyanoides (CVM), and French Toast.
I was able to knit this in week in a half, which for me, it is really fast, considering that I’m a slooooow knitter.
I will put it all together sometime tonight. It was definitely a fun knit.
Take care,
I’ve been very inspired with Navajo plying lately and I’m finding that the possibilities are endless. The whole process is really fun. It can be a little bit daunting, and this is because you have to build your dexterity before you are happy with the results, but once you get the hang out of it, it can be easy and fun to use this plying technique, and it gives you a lot of room for creativity. The first time I tried it I got all tangled up with the loops, and my chains were showing too much. I wasn’t fast enough at grabbing the next section of yarn to be plied, and at the same time, I wasn’t holding the plied section properly to control the twist. After all, I only have two hands! Well, a few attempts later, I started to see the results. Here is some yarn that I spun with a some CVM roving that Yolo Mill processed it for me.
Specs:
CVM
Navajo Ply
Aran Weight
10 wpi
Of course, once you learn the rules, you are allowed to break them. Here is Navajo ply gone wild:
The wpi is 1 to 1.5.
Here is another yarn that I made with some Merino I got from Yarnival:
I can’t wait to try these yarns on some weaving or crocheting. This stuff is addictive! I just want to try more with different fibers and textures. The ideas are pouring!
And this will be my last show for the year, at the Bazaar Bizarre on December 3 and 4th at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco. Booth 177. I love that the event is for FREE. I don’t understand why people should pay to go shopping when they are trying to support crafters.
I’m cranking on the dyeing, although since this is a craft fair, I’m kind of guessing what to bring with me. It will be definitely a learning experience. I need to dye some wool locks, card batts and try to have a little bit of everything and see what will sell. In the meanwhile, I managed to spin a couple of skeins for a client in Canada.
It came out well balanced which can be a challenge when spinning single ply yarns.
Well, this is the time of the year when we get to stop and be thankful for what we have and who we are. I want to thank my family, my wonderful and loving husband, my dear friends (Yes you! I know you are snooping), my great costumers that supported my shop for another year, my aches pains and, because of your gentle way of reminding me to slow down, and for being able to breath every day which I consider to be these days a privilege.
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