s w e e t p u r l s: spinning

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Post vacation

Finished Object

My Turkish spindle provided great entertainment for the long drive to and from Washington DC.

This is a Blue Face Swirl in a Limited Edition colorway by Gale’s Art. I spun two ounces in my Turkish spindle and the remaining two in my Kromski wheel. The final yarn is super spongy. Yardage is to be determined -- skein looks substantial (how about that?).

New to me magazine

I picked up the third issue of the Making Magazine at Fibre Space. This is a gem and I want to make everything in it. I will not pass on next time Madder open up subscriptions. The magazine is worth every penny, in my opinion!

Vacation highlights

Family time. Priceless. As crazy and imperfect we all are, magic happens when we get together.

Visits to Fibre Space and Looped Yarn Works. No yarn came home. Books, tools, bags and fiber made the cut!

Impromptu escape to the REI Flagship store in DC!

Yummiest empanadas at Panas in Dupont Circle.

Spinning and stashing

Another week and my master closet is not done. We are still waiting for the hardwood floor. Jumping of joy for more days of having to tour the house to complete an outfit. Shoes in one corner. Tops in the spare room and bottoms in the crafty room. Confession time: I've been wearing the same shoes out of laziness.

Also in progress is some spindle spinning. Of course, I discovered another bag of blue fiber after I was done with three skeins (blogged here). My goal is to be done tomorrow. We are going on vacation and I want an empty spindle to start a new project.

Spinning here and stashing there. Multi tasking in other words. Who could resist these two skeins of Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock? Left: Inner Child and right: Sunstone

Talk to you after vacation. Knit, eat and smile at every opportunity!

Forget FOs, think WIPs

Today is my first of a few days off work. I want nothing but to have a joyful time with my family, spinning wheel and knitting.

First project in the needles is this scarf inspired by a free pattern from Jane Richmond, Mustard Scarf. I plan on using up all the yarn, making it longer than instructed. I am almost decided on seaming the ends and converting into an infinity scarf. I will make the decision after blocking.

Also in progress are the Maine mittens from Carrie Bostick Hoge's Swoon Maine book. They are very easy and quick to knit. One done, one to go.

Finally, I have been spending quality time with my spinning wheel and some Pigeonroof Superwash BFL. The colors are spectacular!

What are you working on? If you are in the United States, I hope you have a nice and safe holiday.

Handspun warmth

"Life must be lived and curiosity kept alive.

One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life."

--Eleanor Roosevelt

And with that...let's turn our attention to wool.

The iconic Age of Brass and Steam came back home. This time with a few modifications such as: handspun Alpaca yarn (dark brown), stripes and picot edging. This is my third Age of Brass and definitely not the last.

I am amazed of how well the stitches look considering most of the shawl is my handspun. The light brown is commercial Brown Sheep in Sports weight.

Keeping the handspun theme, this is my latest skein. It is Corriedale handprinted by the wonderful and local Gale's Art. And art it is.

Have a mindful, peaceful weekend. Keep creating....

Lost and found

Little blog, so sorry that I haven't visit with you the past months. I was so busy and overwhelmed with work and changes that I could not bring myself here. Let's call it a "pity phase". I am now ready to get my act together.

Bought this Malabrigo Nube fiber during a visit to Nashville. The color is awesome but the fiber was a bit felted which made spinning consistently a joke. Plan to knit the Shoreline vest because nothing makes less sense than using 570 yards of colorful handspun for my first vest.

This mystery fiber was spun in a spindle and plied on a wheel. Not ready to let go, I broke into my starter kit and dyed the yarn into a semi-solid.

Socks need heels. I am thirty something years past my tube sock days. Over-dyed the leftover yarn into a saturated purple to be used for the heels. Think big, use stash.

I will be back soon. I missed you my little space in the "webs".

My long weekend plans

Many living in the United States are in the midst of traveling and/or getting ready for family gatherings to celebrate Independence Day. We do not have plans other than laugh and eat. I will selfishly add knitting and spinning to the schedule.

What have kept me busy lately? I am fighting second sock syndrome with plain vanilla, non matching socks. The yarn is Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball in color way Filederduft.

I spun my first "fuzzlings" from Fondant Fibre. The fiber is a delicious blend of BFL, Teeswater and Mulberry Silk. Final yardage is around 380 yards. It is so hard to resist getting more "fuzzlings" for my unofficial participation in the Tour de Fleece! Maybe if I join a team and make it official...you know, there is a coupon code and everything...15% off!

Wishing everyone a peaceful and joyful weekend...until next time!

Spinning Detour

My first try at spinning was with a drop spindle. I quickly moved on to spinning on a wheel. And, I never looked back...until now!

Two spinning wheels and three spindles later, I am logging some (too many) hours on spindle spinning. It doesn't mean that I am an expert but that I no longer have to be in-house to spin!

Some of the first small batch of yarn was put to good use with this Rebecca Danger mini monster. Despite it's small size, it was not fiddly to knit.

Yarn:
Body, eyes and wonky smile: Handspun yarn
Feet: O-Wool Legacy DK

Spindle:
Turtle Made Turkish Spindle

For less than $20 USD you can get a customized spindle. Check out the Etsy store, if any, for the happy colors of the spindles.

Spindles are a great, affordable way to get your feet wet on spinning. They come in all styles and prices. There is plenty of You Tube videos and information on Ravelry to learn from.

Spring crafting

And Spring is here!!! The season brings beautiful flowers, nasty allergies and asthma and adorable knitting and spinning.

In my mind, I am a much better knitter than in 2013, the year I first attempted knitting Mainline of the Scarves 2013, etc. collection. Back then, I threw the towel after getting insanely confused with the pattern. Everything went wrong...there was no choice than to hide the project in the closet.

A couple of days ago, I convinced myself that I would win over the scarf. A good reading of the pattern, gazillion stitch markers and a better attitude is making this an enjoyable knitting the second time around. Never give up knitters of the world!

Giving my overflow of positivism, I decided to also spin a batt for the first time. The batt turned out to be rolled combed top (non spinners, take my word: a batt is not the same as combed top). Oh well...so much for paying attention.

The singles are very thin. I see a long plying session in my bright future. Not complaining; the blend of alpaca, merino and nylon is super soft and nice to work with.

Happening

Another busy, long week is gone. The weekend is promising to be overloaded as well. I am trying to squeeze time for my therapy--spinning this gorgeous Corriedale fiber from Unwind Yarn Company.

This will be a traditional three-ply worsted spun yarn. I am spinning it short draw. Hopefully I will be able to finish the third bobbin today.

The colors are as lovely as shown in the pictures. Dana, of Unwind Yarn Co., does a great job dying fiber. I have always have positive experiences with her products. She is taking a break from dyeing fiber. I bought this top a while ago.

What are you crafting today?

Thankful

I am so thankful for the opportunity to spend some time with my family and wool over the past days.

This is my latest handspun. It is an Aran to Chunky weight-- which is not my standard spinning. I am super happy with this skein of 126 yards. I am thinking it could be a hat with a big pom-pom.

I am currently finishing up the L'Arbre hat. The pattern is included in the book "Magpies, Homebodies and Nomads" by Cirilia Rose.

Little did I know the pattern was very popular thanks to a Fringe Association hat along. Turns out you can get the pattern for free as linked in this post. You should check it out!

Hope that you have a great, woolly, weekend.

When your craft matches the season

Can you believe is mid November already? I love Fall and everything the season brings: colors, baking, gatherings and opportunities to wear hand knits.

This handspun is 420 yards of Falkland in sports to fingering weight. It is perfect for a Wild Goose shawlette.

My mittens are finished and fit perfectly. This is a pattern I would knit again and again.

Enjoy the season. Knit happy!

What I've been doing?

My craftiness consisted on spinning and stash enhancing this past month. I did not have a chance to do more given that September was my busiest month so far at work. When spare time is limited, I spin twenty minutes here and there....and buy yarn online.

Remember that Coopworth that I've been spinning? I now have 900 yards of three ply yarn. Pre washed, the yarn is looking like heavy fingering. There are six bobbins of singles waiting be plied. Cannot wait to get all the skeins washed to find out the final yardage and weight.

I would love to have enough yardage to knit a cardigan. My handspun preferences are set on naturals and/or neutrals for garments and crazy/fun colors for accessories.

This project has been very relaxing; I cannot wait to spin large quantities of natural fiber again.

Oh! Tour de Fleece

We are in the heat of Tour de Fleece! Love seeing picture after picture of handspun awesomeness at Flickr and Instagram.

I am not participating in the official Tour. I am just doing my thing...which is keep on spinning for a large project. There is something so beautiful and delicate about fiber in its natural colorway. It is also very relaxing to spin as one does not have to worry about color sequencing, striping or pooling. And then is nice to have a second wheel for when color is needed to spice up things.

Fiber: Coopworth. Intersted in how the sheep looks like? Click here for a picture.

Blending fibers

It's been a minute since I published a post here. The job that pays for wool, spring break, getting a new camera and software kept me away from this space that I enjoy so much.

Last year I got this blending board at the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF). I've been making a few rolags here and there but this is the first real "blend" that I created so far.

The white fiber came in un-labeled with my used Louet wheel. The dark gray is Knit Picks Full Circle Roving, a blend of Merino and Highland wools. It was a nightmare to spin by itself given the short staple length of the fiber. Had I not blended with the white fluff, it would have become a wool dryer ball.

There is not much yardage in the mini skein. And that is fine with me. This was an experiment and I loved the results.

Inspiration...from groups to hashtags

There is not one day that I let go without checking Instagram and/or Flickr. When & how I use Flickr vs Instagram?

Flickr for organization of my own photos (albums, sets, groups)
Instagram for the on the go inspiration (mobile / tablet)
Flickr for history as I find it easier to check prior activity than on Instagram
Instagram to connect with others

Favorite Flickr Groups

Favorite Instagram Hashtags

Spinning: #handspun, #igspinners, #spunday, #handspuntagram, #howispin
Knitting: #knitting, #sockdrawer, #operationsockdrawer, #knittersofinstragram

Can you recommend any other group or hashtag? And, if you are curious, the yarn above is my first Malabrigo ever. It is deep, deep stash. One day it will become an FO. Hopefully.

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