2 FY's and Spinning Wheel Savings

Peacock Blue
This light worsted (12 wpi) 3-ply is made of the singles I spun from the peacock blue wool top I purchased from Pollywogs. The total yardage between these two is 208 and I have perhaps another 250 or 300 yards worth to ply.
Rosemallow
This skein is a 2 ply of the rose and magenta Merino/wool blend that I carded and a thin and thick merino single. The average wpi is 16 and the yardage is 126. I still have one bobbin of the blended single and a bit of the Merino single so I may ply some more of this or I may try andean plying the blend and using the rose Merino for something else.

I also test spun and 2-plied some of my coffee Alpaca and started swatching for a lace shawl I want to make for myself but I haven't found the right lace yet. Also on my hook, I'm swatching for my "Ravenclaw" scarf. I'll try to remember to get pictures up this week.

In other news, I have officially started saving for a spinning wheel. I have narrowed down the choices to an Ashford Traveller Single Drive.

While I still want to try one out in person I have tentatively selected this wheel based on affordability, versatility, expandability, portability, durability and availability of accessories/parts. It will be awhile before I save enough for it, but as of now all my weekly tips are being set aside in a spinning wheel savings jar.

My local fiber shop has hourly spinning lessons that I'm going to be attending soon, and they sell Ashfords, but I don't think they have the Traveller. I'm planning on attending the Knox Farm Fiber Festival in September, and I'm hoping a vendor or someone in one of the spinning bees will have one I can check out in person.

If anyone owns or has used the Traveller and has any advice or insight I'd be happy to hear it!

Finished Yarn (FY) and New Singles

Here's what I've been up to:
This is an 18 wpi 162 yrd. 2 ply spun from my rose colored Merino and coffee Alpaca. I'm really pleased with how this came out (I think it might have to be something special for me) and it's super soft! It's my first time working with either of these fibers and this is made from the thinest singles I've been able to spin so far. I'm also working on developing my long draw when working with the Merino.

A closeup:

This is the first fiber I have blended myself (I'm using dog brushes right now but hope to upgrade to real carders eventually). This is a blend of the rose Merino and magenta wool blend. I have two bobbins of singles in this now and I'll be plying it (maybe with itself, maybe with a thicker rose Merino single) as soon as I finish my current plying project. Speaking of current plying projects, I'll try to upload pictures of my first 3-ply tomorrow if the 2 skeins that are hanging right now are dry by then. I'm finally plying up all the bobbins of peacock blue singles I've had lying around. So far I have 208 yrds. and I'm expecting at least double that when I'm done. I haven't measured the WPI yet but it looks like worsted weight to me. I'm very pleased with them and I hope the person I'm gifting them to will be just as thrilled!

Flickr Mosiac Meme

The Concept:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

At Long Last!! ***Image Heavy*** Part 2 of 2

Before I move on to the new fiber I'm working with here's one more finished yarn. This yarn is a natural Swaledale 2-ply. Yardage for each skein from left to right is 108 , 62, and 34. The weight is 8oz and the WPI is approximately 7. I got this fiber from Strings and Things.


I used this yarn for one of my sculptures this semester. This piece is made from copper sheeting (yay for studio fees and an awesome professor which let me use expensive materials like copper without paying the insane prices!!) which I cut and hammered on the anvil and then brazed with an oxy-acetylene rig. I then applied a Liver of Sulphate patina using cold process and sealed it with wax. The yarn is cut into yard-ish long pieces and tied together in bundles and then placed inside.



I have two other pieces from this semester which relate to crochet but I'll post those another time.

Moving on...I just took another trip to Strings and Things this past week and came back with all kinds of goodies!!

13.8 oz. of Alpaca (SQUEE!!!):

8oz. of Merino in a rose color (ignore the price, I know it's tacky but I wanted to show the label and was too lazy to PhotoShop it out):

And 2 wool blends each weighing 2oz. in a navy which has a lighter streak of blue running through it and a lovely magenta:

I'm planning on mixing a matching a few of these when it comes to plying and I've already got about a half spindle full of an alpaca single:


Now I'm on the lookout for a lightweight spindle, but alas I have not found one to my liking and to the liking of my budget yet.

At Long Last!! ***Image Heavy*** Part 1 of 2

With the semester over I can finally catch up on all the blogging I've slacked on. So what have I been up to? Spinning! Spinning! Spinning!

Waaaaayyy Back in February my spinning bug had just bitten...now the infection is full blown and here to stay!! I got this lovely pound of Peacock Blue wool top from Pollywogs in February.
So this:

...became this:

This is my homemade Lazy Kate (bobbins are PVC pipe with caps which rest on wooden dowels set into a 1"x4" which clamps to my spinning table) filled with the Peacock Blue singles and singles from 2oz. of a green wool blend procured from Strings and Things. This green is a weird shade and it looks DRAMATICALLY different in different light and against other colors...and so when plied...

...all I could think of was the Ravenclaw house colors from the HP books (yes I'm a dork)!!! This green becomes a bronzy green when plied with the blue and my Ravenclaw heart could see nothing else except a lovely house scarf crocheted from this yarn (nevermind that I was thinking of gifting it before...MINE!!!). Now all but the last bobbin of this is plied and so far I have one 66 yrd. skein and the 150 yrd. skein pictured above. I'm expecting another 150ish out of the last bobbin. This 2-ply has an approximate WPI of 12.

Here's a picture of my spinning corner. You can see my PVC Niddy Noddy, my Lazy Kate again, my spindle, what WAS left of the blue roving (it's all singles now) and also in the bowl is my first handspun and my 66yrd. "Ravenclaw" skein.



Here's a closeup of my yarn bowl:


I'll still have 6 full bobbins of the Peacock Blue after I'm done plying the last "Ravenclaw" skein and I'm going to make it into a solid color 2-ply I think. I'm really anxious to get my bobbins cleared because I've got some really exciting new fiber on my spindle and in my stash right now, but that'll have to wait until the next post!

First Yarn Completed!

Here's my very first completed handspun yarn!! I decided to leave it as a single, as opposed to plying it. This is after winding it as a skein, measuring it, soaking it to set the twist and hanging it to dry. It is slightly unbalanced with an ever so gentle twist to the left, but I am ecstatic as it's my first attempt and is nearly balanced!!
Details: 2 oz. of Ashland Bay Trading Co.'s "Multi-Purple" colonial wool roving
60 Yards
WPI:~7 (it is slubby so its hard to accurately measure it)

My New Dropspindle and My First Spun Single!!

This is my new dropspindle!! It just came in the mail yesterday from anniemay123 who is a great seller on ebay and who I'd recommend to anyone looking into drop spinning. She and her husband make and hand paint the spindles. In the kit I purchased, I recieved the bottom whorl drop spindle, 2oz. of "Multi-Purple" wool roving from Ashland Bay Trading Co., 2 pamphlets from Interweave Press on drop spinning, and two fiber samples (a "Lavender" Superwash Merino top and a natural "Coffee" colored combed Alpaca, both of which are amazingly lovely).

On the spindle right now is my very first single! I am very excited and I can't wait to spin the rest of the fiber and ply them!!

FO's and Help From Orpheus

These are pictures of our kitty Orpheus helping me block Rach's Yule/4-year Anniversary scarf. This is the first project I've ever blocked and boy it's times like these that I'm glad I'm also a quilter, because I've got plenty of rust-proof pins! I finished both scarves on time; sorry I haven't updated in awhile, but school has been pretty busy already.

Awwww...look at him, he thinks he's so helpful!!





Here is Orpheus' Yule present, already a bit chewed.


Here is my sister's Birthday scarf being blocked:

Also a closeup:

I'm pretty satisfied with how both scarves turned out, although Rach's scarf resisted my blocking and has started to curl up again grrr!!

Recyled Sweaters, WIP's and a Shoutout to Ashley

I purchased two thrift store sweaters to recycle a couple weeks ago. I've only finished frogging one so far but here are some pics of both:

This is the first one after frogging. I haven't weighed it yet but it's a 4-ply sock weight and there's quite a bit there. I included a dime for scale. I really need to make myself a niddy noddy so I can calculate the yardage. I lost a bit of the yarn because of my inexperience in taking apart the seams, but all in all I was pleased with the results.

Now I have to get my butt moving to frog the other one but I am currently working on my sister's birthday scarf, which I need to finish by Saturday. Here's the WIP:


I am also finishing Rach's Christmas turned 4-year Anniversary present tonight and blocking it tomorrow so it will be ready for our Anniversary on Sunday. I felt so bad that I didn't get it done in time for Christmas, but she's been awesome about it and it is turning out very nice. Here's the most recent WIP of it:

*P.S: Hi Ashley!!! Why yes that is 100% Peruvian Handspun Wool, what a good eye you have lol! I'm listening to Ani's Canon right now, how are you enjoying it? How's your break going? I still have to finish my printmaking quilt for the faculty selection show eep!!*

Dropspindle Printmaking Book-Image Heavy!!

While this doesn't directly relate to crochet, this is my final project for my Contemporary Intaglio Printmaking class this semester. Some of the pics aren't great and one is quite fuzzy, but I'll retake them another time. This is the book that I purchased the handspun wool for (and which I still have most of a skein left of!!!). I am getting interested in drop spinning and I explore feminist themes in my work, so this book was born. It is stuffed with fiberfill so it's kinda poofy now but it is currently being pressed to compact the fibers and achieve a denser look.
Please excuse the mess in the background, these were taken in a hurry during finals week in our office so it's kinda trashed. Writing 4 or 5 final papers in a space will do that. :)

New Year Check-In

Just a quick post to say that I will be posting some new WIP's and FO's soon, I am just recovering from the holiday mayhem. I have also been spending a lot of time exploring Ravelry and I am enjoying it very much.

Photos to come:
Updated WIP on Athenian Scarf
FO's-Cat toys
WIP Fingerless Gloves
WIP Sister's B-Day Athenian Scarf
My Stash
Recycled yarns 1 and 2

Waiting Impatiently to Join the Ravelry Addiction

• You signed up on December 8, 2007
• You are #67886 on the list.
• 1949 people are ahead of you in line.
• 4629 people are behind you in line.
• 89% of the list has been invited so far

It's a bad sign that I am not even on the site yet and I am obsessed. I understand that checking my status on the waiting list is not going to make them invite me any faster but I waaaaaaaaaannnnnnt my membership!! ::whine, pout, gnaw on my crochet hooks:: Did I mention I am bad at waiting for things? ::pets her turquoise wool:: It's true, I'm a little impatient and neurotic at times. ::eye twitch::

Ok, I'm better now, really. Anyways, if anyone hasn't checked out ravelry.com...run, don't walk to get on the waiting list, seriously.

Athenian Scarf WIP

This is one of my current WIP's. The yarn is Caron Simply Soft in Woodland Heather. I am using a size F hook and the pattern can be found here.

Yarngasam

I have had my first yarngasam!


I was searching for handspun wool to bind a book on drop spindles I am making for my Intaglio Printmaking final this semester and I came upon this utopia in fiber form at our local art store.

I am in love with this!! The color is one of my most favorite (this and deep purple... together...yum). It just so happens to perfectly match the fabric I am using and I also rationalized that I can use the extra to crochet something small after I am done.

It is:
Cascade Yarn
Jewel
Hand Dyed
100% Peruvian Highland Wool
Color #:9893
3.5 oz.

(Note my clever crossing out of the price tag in the pic, yeah it was more expensive than I am used to for yarn and I kinda choked, but look at it!!!!)

Recent Completed Projects

These are some scarves I recently finished. The first two are made with novelty yarn using single crochet and a size P hook.

The orange and green scarf is worsted weight yarn made with treble crochet and a size K hook; the green edging is done in treble crochet clusters.