Live and Let Dye

I finally saved up enough to set up my dye "studio" and I'm loving it. I've been sampling Greener Shades dyes and keeping copious notes as I try different ways to prep, heat and add acid to the fiber. My love of lists and spreadsheets is definitely coming in to play here. I have a special dyeing notebook for each batch and then I'm keeping fiber samples from each one in a photo album. I figure if I am going to ever be able to sell repeatable colorways, I need to know what I am doing. I keep telling myself it's a business decision and not my nerdiness shining through.

This is my third batch of dyed fiber, when I mixed three colors in the pot to see what would happen. I love how it turned out. I've now dyed samples of all the basic colors except black for reference purposes. There is a rainbow in my studio! (Click any photos to see them larger)








I also rearranged my kitchen to move some of my fiber blending supplies into my work area. I had a small bookcase doing nothing but collecting clutter in my bedroom, so I moved it and filled the shelves with blending fibers. I always do my carding on my kitchen table, and now everything will be close by. I can also keep my scale there, since I use it for both carding and dyeing. All of my dyeing is done right next to my kitchen sink so there is no risk of spillage. Fortunately, I have the type of faucet that pulls out into a sprayer and it reaches the dye pot. I couldn't have planned it better.

Now my combs are clamped to one chair, I have the carder and scale on the table, mixing fiber on the shelves, dye supplies in the bin, and more mixing fiber in the white box. Since this was taken, I bought a box picker for opening up locks of fiber. I used it to pick some of the red dyed fleece and it's a huge time saver. Wool locks, still in tight formation, are almost impossible to run through the drum carder. The picker loosens everything up and helps the bits of hay and debris fall out before they get mixed in to my batts. I got a great deal on a used one and it's the perfect size for my work area. I like that I can latch the cover so my cat can't get into trouble. The inside of it is full of spiky heavy nails. Honestly, most spinning equipment is bloodthirsty! My combs are a serious harzard and I have a bandaid on my finger after carding part of my knuckle last night on the drum carder.



I think this will all pay off eventually. I just sent out several more batt orders and I have an ever growing list of reserve orders for the Sarah and Jareth batts. I also carded some "Hoggle" batts, mostly out of alpaca, and I love them so much. I hope others will like them too.

October Phat Fiber and an Abundance of Sparkles

So I previously mentioned I am now the happy owner of a drum carder. I bought a used Fancy Kitty "Kitten" in July. It hasn't made much of an appearance here because carding alpaca in summer heat and humidity is a misery, and I've been gradually building up enough of a fiber stash to really be able to make batts. Perhaps it seems odd that a closet full of fiber isn't enough to get started, but I have a lot of washed natural fleeces and hand-dyed roving and batts, and nothing in between. I want to spin the pretty roving I buy off Etsy and at festivals, not mash it through the carder.

The October Phat Fiber theme is "Masquerade". I was stumped for a minute and then thought of one of my favorite movies - "Labyrinth". Near the end, there's a scene where Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie are at a Masqerade ball. She's wearing a shimmering white gown that flashes green and blue when the light hits it and she's draped with silver and gold jewelry. He moves through the crowd in a stunning deep blue jacket crusted with gold and silver jewels. They were my inspiration for two different sets of batts.



The "Sarah" batts are white wool and grey Wensleydale X locks carded together with about six different dyed silk, bamboo and milk fibers and three colors of angelina. The result is a delicate, pale, ethereal batt that shimmers no matter how you look at it. I love these but I only had enough fiber to make 14oz. I ripped up some to make the samples and the rest already sold in a single order. I'm hoping to get more fiber and angelina to be able to make similar batts again soon because I would like to spin these myself! (click any photos to see them larger)



The "Jareth" batts are made with hand-dyed organic merino from ExtremeSpinning. I asked her for a custom order and she knew exactly what I was talking about since she loves the movie too. Before long, a box of goodies arrived on my doorstep and I was able to get to work. I blended the merino with a little bit of hand-dyed tussah silk, black carbonized bamboo and five colors of angelina. These shimmer so much, but it's more subtle. It's tough to call something that glitters really masculine, but I do feel these have a manly sparkle.

I ran them through the carder once. It's hard to believe such well-behaved rovings turned into this huge pile of batts.




(Note the soda can for scale. These were almost touching the cupboards above my kitchen counter - two whole pounds of bliss!)

I carded them one more time and the colors blended a little more and turned into these soft, squishable, gorgeous puffs of fiber. I have more of these since I ordered plenty of fiber, but it's still so difficult to put them up for sale. I keep reminding myself that my fiber addiction has to learn to pay for itself or else!



The Phat Fiber box videos are up and Ambrosia and Bliss is at 7:45 in the first one. Jessie made me blush with her description of my batts. I always thought I was alone in liking Labyrinth, but apparently there are a lot of us out there! I was giddy with delight and anticipation watching these videos. There is so much angelina in this month's box so my sparkle-loving heart is going to be happy with whatever surprises she sends. I think this is my favorite month yet based on the videos!

Long Overdue Update

This has been a busy month, and not all of it fiber related.

The biggest news is my handspun Mango Pomegranate Smoothie yarn took first place in the beginner class (spinning less than a year) at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool a couple weeks ago! I entered it on a whim so I could get feedback on my spinning. I knew I was going to lose points for some variation between thick and thin, but I felt like it was a pretty good skein otherwise. The judge agreed! When they put the ribbon on my skein, I was shaking so much I almost fell over. My friend asked me if I had to sit down. I've never entered anything in a fair and definitely never won first place before. If I enter next year, I think I have to enter the Advanced category because of the blue ribbon. It really made me feel better about my spinning and my decision to try to sell handspun. It was judged on presentation, skill, technique, use of wool and suitability for intended use. Because of the long color runs and short yardage, I said I wanted to use it for a self-striping scarf. It would have scored differently if I said I wanted to use it for something like socks because it wasn't spun tightly enough to stand up to that kind of abuse. (Click any photos to see them larger)






I also came home with a really good haul of fiber and yarn. I tried to behave and follow a budget, but the wool fumes got to me. I studiously avoided the fleece barn and kept to the regular vendors since I am still washing alpaca fleeces and I'm getting a few more breed samples for my fleece study soon. I can argue I need more wool to use with my drum carder, but I do need to behave. (Also, I had already planned to get at least one more Wensleydale cross fleece this fall!)



The judging for the Unity Bead Challenge in my last entry was on the 17th. I asked my mom to go check it out since I live a couple hours away. She's the one who picked out the beads for me and I mailed her my finished necklace to turn in. They scheduled a night of trolley tours to different galleries around town with refreshments and a silent auction. It sounds like she had a lot of fun with her friend. She called me, all excited, because my knitted handspun silk necklace took first place in the Necklace category. Again, I couldn't believe it! This was less than a week after WI Sheep and Wool and I had been looking at pictures of the other entries online. My mom said one of the judges was really enthusiastic about it because she knew about the extra work it took to spin and knit the silk. I admit, it was a lot more work than stringing beads on a cord, but some of the other entries were extensively wire wrapped and really gorgeous.

The September Phat Fiber box just came out. I made it in to this one, since I was so excited about the "Legends and Myths" theme. My two yarns look very similar, although one is mostly alpaca and the other is wool and mohair. They are both very sparkly, but subtle. I spun them from Dragonhair batts, which seems oddly appropriate. I called these two "Knight in Shining Armor" and "the Goblin King". It's really hard to show the sparkle in these photos, but the yard is loaded with angelina.






My box arrived in the mail yesterday and I love everything in it! I haven't had time to go through and make a list, but it's a gorgeous mix. It makes my little grey yarn seem so plain in comparison! I'm already beginning to think of options for the "Masquerade" theme for October.

Summer Slump

July was a terribly busy month and August has been hot. It's been in the 80's and muggy here, which means I have no interest in wool or alpaca. I'm being green (and cheap) and living without air conditioning. The cooler nights are making me think a little about knitting, so I ordered some Hempathy and Soft Linen yarn for some quick baby items. It's been a while since I spoiled my niece.

I sat out the August Phat Fiber box. It feels weird to miss one, but I couldn't find the time or enthusiasm to put together samples. I didn't have anything here that spoke to me and I didn't have the time to spin a good yarn. I'll try again for September and hope the fall weather brings back my spinning mojo.

I participated in the Better Footprint Unity Bead Challenge earlier this month. I bought a kit containing four packets of fair trade beads from Africa. The challenge is to design a jewelry item (necklace, earrings, bracelet, etc) using primarily the beads in the kit and your own wire, string and findings. I spun some hand-dyed tussah silk into a thin single, threaded on the beads and then knitted a free-form lariat-style necklace. I called it "Mermaid of the Nile". It's a pretty color and comfortable to wear, but definitely not your typical jewelry item. I liked the idea that it could be recreated using natural fibers and a spindle since it doesn't require any metal findings like clasps. The judging is September 17, so we'll see if anything comes of this. If nothing else, it was a fun challenge.

July Phat Fiber Box Videos!

Ambrosia and Bliss is at the 7:25 mark in the first video. I can't wait to see my box. There are so many gorgeous fibers, yarns and extras this month!

Tour de Fleece Update

July 10 - I spun some Wensleydale roving from Natural Obsessions on July 9, finished the rest of the 8 oz on the 10th and also plied it. It's gorgeous. I haven't set the twist yet, but I love it. It's so shiny! I think I might knit Bloom with this yarn instead of selling it. (Click the photo to see it up close in all its glory)



July 11 - I started spinning some lovely superwash roving hand-dyed by Zero. It's really pretty and I love her fiber. Her dyeing technique is sort of irregular and really saturated. I wanted to spin low-twist singles, but the fiber is happy being thin and I think I'll end up plying it back on itself to make a sport-weight or so 2-ply. I can already tell this might be one I want to keep for myself.

July 12 - I washed some Rambouillet fleece from Lowder Colours. She raises coated sheep and her fleeces come highly recommended on Ravelry. I bought part of Alfred, a badger (grey and white spotted) and Lilo, a white. Alfred's whole fleece was nine whopping pounds, so I limited myself to three pounds. There were only 2.5 pounds of Lilo left so I took her fleece too. Rambouillets are related to Merinos, so the fleece is fine, crimpy and high in lanolin. It's been washing out into very soft fluffy fiber with little to no felting, but it takes three soap washes and two rinses to come clean. It's slow going.

July 13 - Washed some more of Alfred.

July 14 - Washed some more of Alfred.

July 15 - Finished washing Alfred and started on Lilo. I've finally learned to put these fleeces in a single layer in the lingerie bag as they came off the sheep. I'm not separating locks, so it's staying in a sheet formation. I also found if I soak it with the tips down, the sand and debris falls out. These are really sandy fleeces, but I don't mind because sand washes out easily. I think two of my alpaca fleeces were raised on clay because I got deep brown silt when I washed those. It's part of the fun of washing fleeces. I love seeing all the dirt and grease coming out and feeling the fluffy clean fiber when it's all finished.

It will probably be a while before I get to it, but I'm thinking of combing Alfred's fleece into a naturally variegated top and then spinning it into a two or three-ply yarn. I'd like to kettle dye the yarn after it's spun so I can get subtle variegation due to the whites and greys taking the dye differently. I have a sample of fiber dyed on a grey wool base from my June box and it's really pretty and muted.

My sister is visiting from out of town so my spinning time has been very limited. It's okay. She's worth it.

Art Fair on the Square

I went to our annual Art Fair today and it was absolutely wonderful. The weather was perfect and it wasn't too terribly crowded. I could have spent two days wandering around since there was so much I didn't really get to see. I focused on jewelry and ceramics, but also stopped in one of the weaving booths to talk about local weaving classes. I may end up joining the guild, but that's a hobby for the future.

I was very well behaved and only bought four things. They all jumped out and had to come home with me.

Silver textured earrings by Paula Sparks. She's a local artist and her enamel work drew me in. I love texture and this botanical print is really me.



Silver rain cloud pendant with dark blue leather background by Molly Bitters. This just jumped out and I didn't even have to think about it. I LOVE it so much and the leather makes it comfortable to wear. It's whimsical, but not really obviously so. My mom didn't even realize it was a cloud at first. Molly also has an Etsy shop.



Little Bee Vase by Karen Kraemer of Duluth Pottery. I saw a large mug with this pattern behind another potter's tent and knew it wasn't that artist's work. I was happily browsing along when I saw bees peeking out from a shelf in another tent. I rushed in to find a mug of my own. They were out of big mugs, but this pot was so perfect and happy, I had to have it. I may order a mug at some point too. The bees are big and bright and the pot is only about four inches tall.



Last, but definitely not least is this "Waterfall" necklace from Rebecca Bashara -Metalsmith. This booth was crowded with people looking at the earrings. I liked the earrings but they weren't really talking to me. Then I saw this necklace resting on the counter and I reached over someone to grab it. I tried it on and it's so comfortable and beautiful. The stones give it a nice weight and the chain is short enough that the stones drop just below collarbone level. It's so simple, earthy and rough around the edges, yet it's still feminine. Visually, I love groups of three more than any other. Of all the pieces today, I think this one is the most ME.



This has been such an inspiring day. I really enjoyed myself and I'm already looking forward to next year.

Tour de Fleece

So there's this chaotic event on Ravelry that coincides with the Tour de France. All of the spinners get together, join teams, set personal goals and start spinning every day the race is going (July 4-26). I had big plans to spin every day. Then I changed my goal to work on one fleece study breed each day (at least until I ran out). Then I had plans to spin something every day. Now my plan is basically down to handling something fibery a little each day and hoping for the best. Honestly, it's sometimes tough to think of spinning when it's July and I don't have air conditioning. Since I have nothing but wool and alpaca, it's prickly, sweaty torture to lay a batt across my lap. Why can't they race in January when I have nothing going on and spinning keeps me warm?

Here's my daily progress so far:

July 4 - Finished spinning the last of the 7.5oz of Dragonhair "Obsidian" roving I got as part of a Ravelry destash. It's very pretty and sparkly, but I think it has a lot of mohair in it and it was really scratchy to spin. I had to keep taking breaks to spin other soft and colorful things.

July 5 - No spinning, but I washed some of Catalina's alpaca fleece and packaged my July Phat Fiber samples. In the evening, I went to a friend's house because she was having two of her female alpacas bred. Two handsome males showed up in a van, the magic happened and they went home. Alpaca romance is nothing short of hilarious and extremely noisy.

July 6 - Spun a 2oz "Perfect Storm" batt from Extreme Spinning and plied the Dragonhair into two appx 4oz skeins of 2-ply. It's MUCH nicer when plied and I think I like it now. I also mailed my July Phat Fiber samples.

July 7 - I washed some of Catalina's alpaca fleece, no spinning

July 8 - I washed the last of Catalina's alpaca fleece, went to a farm, petted a camel, a goat and two lambs, bought a Shetland x Merino fleece and then washed a couple bags of that before bed. No spinning

July 9 (today) - I washed a bunch of the Shetland x Merino fleece. It's quite delicious since it has a lot of merino characteristics like very fine fiber and crimp, but has a 4" staple and less lanolin! It's very sheepy, so it moved to the beginning of the washing queue. No spinning yet, but this could change if the evening cools off.

Photos:

The Dragonhair in the midst of plying, just to prove I've been making yarn:



Catalina's Rose Grey fleece. It has a bit of vm, but it's a cria fleece and is washing up so soft. It's such a delightful color that I think I'll keep it for my own use.




July's samples (yes they're fiber!):




At this point, I may modify my goal yet again to try to have all of my existing fleeces washed before the end of the race. New blanket bags arrived in the mail today, so I have storage to spare. I forgot to mention, but I also have a new (to me) drum carder and it's demanding some attention too. That's a topic for another blog post

Primoriginals!

My favorite artist Liz is having a giveaway on her blog for $20 to spend in her shop. She actually has two shops now and the second is just for her paintings and sculpture.

I literally have some of her art in every room in my home, plus a print hanging on my front door to green visitors, but my two favorite pieces are this little polymer clay sculpture of two birds:



And this gorgeous mixed media painting called "Redhead with Birdcage" (click either picture to view larger):



I really admire her work and I'm happy I've been lucky enough to meet her in person. She's inspired my own forays into painting and she shared her knowledge whenever I had questions. Check out her blog, especially the videos showing how she makes some of her paintings. Amazing!

June Phat Fiber Videos!

The June Phat Fiber box goes on sale tomorrow and the preview videos are up! The theme for June is Oceanic and I swear I want one of everything. I can't wait to see what goodies end up in my box. The box is getting bigger and better every month and it's really becoming well known. The latest issue of Spin Off has a blurb on the box on the "Get This!" page. Between that and the write-up on Knitty.com, interest in the box has skyrocketed. I am so happy to be a part of this group.

Ambrosia and Bliss is at about the 6:25 mark on the second video. Jessie said such nice things about my yarn.

Am I getting enough fiber?

You tell me.



This is the last of the Romney fleece spread out on my office floor for skirting. All of the bags contain four different alpaca fleeces. Each fleece came sorted into either two or three bags depending on the farm they came from. Since I took that photo, the Romney is totally scoured and I've finished washing the seconds from two of the alpacas. With the alpaca, I'm starting with the "worst" fiber first so I can fine tune my washing regime. All four fleeces are cria fleeces, so even the neck fiber is baby soft in many places. I'm discarding more for short staple length than because of coarseness. There are two schools of thought regarding washing alpaca, but all I know is I hate getting dirty black fingertips when I spin it raw. That dusty feeling gives me goosebumps and takes away from the sheer bliss that is spinning alpaca. Thus, I wash.

My June samples for Phat Fiber were sent out yesterday. The theme is "Oceanic". I spun up a merino/tencel roving from Frabjous Fibers into a yarn I called "Clearwater" after the beach in Florida. Then I spun a 4oz wool/mohair roving and plied it with a 4oz hand-dyed Finn roving, both from the Door County Shepherd's Market (see bottom of the previous post for a photo). I ended up with a huge skein I named "Mavericks" after a really wild surfing spot off the California coast. It's surrounded by cliffs and an underwater shelf creates huge waves. It's rocky and dangerous and somehow the dark ripples in that yarn made me think of it. (Click any of the pictures to see them larger)



Unfortunately, I had to cut them up into mini-skeins so they could go into the box. I love getting samples of my work out into the world, but it's always a little wrenching to cut up something I worked so hard on. That Mavericks skein was almost eight ounces of bliss and the Clearwater singles were so silky soft, I wanted to knit something with them right away. I plan to track down some more of that fiber since it was so wonderful to spin.



I did also manage to spin a couple things for the shop. It keeps getting harder to let these go, since I am learning to spin what I love. This is "Mango Pomegranate Smoothie" - merino 2-ply with long color runs. The colors are shockingly bright in person, but somehow, it's wonderful. If it doesn't sell, I'm going to knit a lace scarf with it.

Crabapples

May has been a busy month, between gardening, spinning for PhatFiber/my shop and the aftermath of several fiber festivals.

The May boxes have been sold and gone out and so far, I'm hearing good reviews of my handspun. I was really worried I would see a bunch of people on Ravelry trying to dump off my yarn for other samples they liked, but the only time mine has popped up in a trade situation was as "I want more of this". It really made my day to see that. Jessie was also kind enough to do a write-up of my shop on the Phat Fiber blog. It was enlightening to see what people really liked since it didn't match my favorites. The good news is, the top picks were all the colorways I sent in for the May box.

In my haste to send my samples in on time, I forgot to take photos of the finished mini-skeins. I had a mix of my "Sprinkles" yarn, some of the "Pastel Garden" from ArtemisArtemis, and then two of the three versions of "Crabapple" that Extreme Spinning hand-dyed and blended for me.

Before:







After:







My May box has arrived, but I've barely had time to go through it yet. Instead, I've been cleaning fleeces. The Door County Shepherd's Market was a big success this year. My mom and I got there before it opened on Saturday and split up to hunt for fleeces. She found them first and sent me upstairs to stake my claim. I found three amazing gems. They are all from Homestead Sheep and Fiber Products (no website). I bought the yarn for the Purple Bliss Baby Surprise Jacket from them last year. This year, I went wild for the fleeces.

Two are from Romney/Wensleydale/Cotswold crosses and the third is Romney. All are shades of grey, although two of them are closer to white than the third. The smallest is a darker grey that looks like blued steel. I've scoured the two cross fleeces already and will be working on the Romney for a while tonight. They require no skirting since they all have almost no VM or second cuts. Honestly, on the larger of the two cross fleeces, I found enough VM to fit in a teaspoon. I think these sheep live inside the house.







From the same booth, I also picked up about six ounces of Wensleydale locks. I've been looking for Wensleydale fiber since I'd like to work with the lustrous longwools and those locks are what drew me in. The fact that I now have three longwool fleeces makes me really happy. I also bought some gorgeous batts, some "Ocean" Finn roving, a wool/mohair mix roving and a beautiful lilac wood nostepinne. It was a great day, full of fiber-related goodies. We followed up with beer and brats at Shipwrecked in Egg Harbor, dishes of ice cream and browsing through gift shops and a few antique stores. I don't think a spring road-trip can get any better than that.

April Phat Fiber!

I'm a little late posting this, but I've been busy spinning up my May samples. My April Phat Fiber box arrived about two weeks ago and it was a little different than the previous ones. A few of the contributors got boxes with all fiber and no yarn, probably because of the ratio of samples that were sent in. I don't mind, since I've been on a fiber bender and haven't bought yarn in ages. Those yarn samples belong in homes that will love and cherish them.

Here's the entire box (click to see larger):



From left to right, top to bottom:

* "Spinning Fixins" from Farmgirl Chic - This is a little handful of various fiber and fabric scraps in blue and white to add to make an art yarn. I was really excited to get this sample!
* Gift tags with wildflower seeds embedded in the paper from Winemaker's Sister - These came in a cute little box too. She's a special contributor after nominating me for a Sneak Attack.
* Very deep teal yearling mohair roving from WC Mercantile - this is silky soft and such a pretty color!
* Hand-sewn notions bag from Phat Fiber - Jessie commissioned a local artist who is legally blind to sew these for the box. Everyone got different colors and styles and they are all lovely!
* Stamped knitting stationary from Becky's Paper Creations
* Very richly colored hand-dyed merino roving in color "Autumn" from Abstract Fiber.
* A luscious silky purple and green batt in a muslin bag from Zebisis Designs - this is bamboo, merino, silk, cashmere and glitz and it was packaged like a little gift inside the bag. I wasn't the lucky recipient of one of her spindles, but I'm sure they went to great homes.
* Cream de Mint Biscotti from Matilda's Italian Cookies - Her online cookie menu is to die for!
* Hand-dyed green and yellow Border Leicester locks from Altered Visions - There's a great thread on Ravelry showing spinning ideas for locks that has really inspired me.
* A "Greener Pastures" bumpy spinning batt from Moonwood Farm - This has a really nice rustic texture and should be fun to spin.
* Handpainted merino roving "Calypso" from Greenwood Fiber Works - The color progression in this is really pretty from browns, to blues, to purples.
* Gorgeous amber bamboo roving from Polyartgirl - I thought this was silk when I first pulled it out. It's heavy, dense and has a beautiful shimmer to it.
* "Earth Day" dark blue, green and natural Jacob wool and firestar batt from Desert Garden Farms - This also came with a very yummy smelling sample of "Oh My Aching Salve".
* "Daffodils" wool, mohair, alpaca, and bamboo batt from Silver Sun Alpacas - I seriously coveted this batt when I saw it on the April YouTube video and I was so happy to see one in my box.
* Bright yellow hand-dyed silk hankies from Serendipity Fiber Arts - silk hankies are one of those fibers I've been wanting to try but haven't bought yet. I'm looking forward to giving these a try, but my hands are a bit rough from gardening.
* "Ofelia" merino from Maude & Me - This wins the prize for the biggest sample at over an ounce! I absolutely love this colorway too (and all the other ones in the shop!). I keep petting this one and I'm trying to decide how I'd like to spin it.
* Natural Icelandic wool from Cedarland Farm - I haven't spun Icelandic yet and the natural colors in this sample are lovely.



Like Lucy (shown snorgling the new samples), I've discovered there really isn't a fiber I don't like. I'll happily go from a glittery dyed batt to natural, raw, unwashed wool. I am looking forward to spinning all of these samples, just as soon as I finish spinning my May samples. They need to be shipped out this week so I'm on a deadline. Right now I have fuzzies and pink sparkling angelina all over my apartment and my clothes. It looks like spring!

Sneak Attack!

My Monday was actually a little bit more manic than I wrote previously. I was checking my email that evening, as I am wont to do, when I saw a fellow Phat Fiber contributor's name pop up on an Etsy email. I thought it was odd since I haven't ordered anything lately. Suddenly I noticed a whole slew of Etsy emails. They were orders! Payments! Convos! I was quite honestly shocked and couldn't understand why I had so many orders in such a short time. I hadn't recently listed the crown jewels or anything. In fact, my shop had never had a sale.

When I read one of the Etsy conversations, I learned that Winemaker's Sister was in charge of that night's Sneak Attack from the Handmade Movement. I hadn't heard of Sneak Attacks before, so I went to check it out. Basically, it's a group of completely angelic people who decided to get together and surprise Etsy shops who have very few or no sales by pouncing and ordering all at once. Someone is in charge of picking out one or two shops and then they post the link for everyone to see at a designated time. In a way, it reminds me of the Phat Fiber box drops because the anticipation is high. As soon as the link is up, everyone runs over to that shop, looks around and buys if something strikes their fancy. Then they post about it on the Etsy forums. I was able to read what they were saying and it really made me happy to see the kind comments.

In about ten minutes, I sold the skein of Hellebore yarn, a pair of lapis lazuli earrings, a pendant and all of my Serenity Sax. I was actually quite overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone who bought from me and I had to take a moment to hug Lucy and collect my wits. I know they were buying my things, but it felt like a gift. A really big surprise gift for no reason other than someone out there likes me. I've been struggling at work and that really brightened my day when I needed it most.

I'm going to be joining in on future Sneak Attacks because it's such a great idea. Even with my participation in Phat Fiber, I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever sell anything. I'm not doing it for the money, other than to help subsidize my art supply and fiber habits. I know there are so many shops out there that it's easy to get lost without frequent updates and return customers, and I also know that things like handspun yarn and jewelry are the first to go in our bad economy. Even though this isn't my living, there was a special thrill when I made that first sale. It was quickly followed by seven more, but that first one (the Hellebore skein) is always going to be an extra-special memory.

I figured out PayPal shipping labels, tracked down enough envelopes to package everything and then spent the evening gift-wrapping all of the items before mailing them out. For a minute I thought I wasn't going to be able to get everything out without a shopping trip for more supplies, but I was able to find some other envelopes. I like thinking of my little things heading out to new homes.

My little economic boost is already spoken for and will go towards paying it forward in future Sneak Attacks and in part to buy an alpaca fleece. I fell in love with a female alpaca at the Midwest Alpaca Festival this past weekend and asked her owners if they would sell her fleece. I definitely couldn't afford the actual alpaca and I doubt my landlord would believe she's just a big cat. She's a rose grey huacaya and it's her cria (first) fleece so it's exceptionally soft. I found out today that I can buy it and I'll hopefully be able to pick it up in a couple of weeks. The farm is about an hour and a half from here, so I'll swing by on one of my visits to my parents in May. There's something extra special about spinning fiber from a specific animal instead of anonymous roving. This will be the first time I've had fiber from an animal I've actually touched. When I stuck my hand into her fleece and petted her on Saturday, it was heavenly.

Manic Monday

I've been able to do a little spinning tonight. I'm still a ways away from filling a bobbin and I love this "Crabapple" sock fiber more and more every minute I spin. Look at these lovely singles!



I'm planning to spin a two ply yarn. It came in two huge (like basketball-sized) balls of roving, so I'm spinning each roving on a separate bobbin. If there is any difference in the colorway, it'll all blend together. I'm hoping to get areas of all pink, all green, and mixed. The brown is in spots here and there and I think there's just the right amount.

My filigree class is over, but I still have access to the craft shop. I finished two of my orifice hooks - one flower and one martini glass. I really love how the flower turned out. It has a few blobs here and there, but it's so pretty and delicate. I'm on the fence about the martini glass. I like it, but the silver has a melting point close to the solder and one edge of the glass has a little extra character, thanks to the flame beginning to melt the frame. I had hoped to sell this one, but I think I'll keep it since it's not up to snuff. Filigree is a lot of fun and I hope I have the time to keep playing with it. I have another orifice hook in the shape of a wine glass, but I haven't figured out how I'd like to fill it in. I'm going back to the craft shop on Wednesday and hopefully I'll have the perfect idea by then.

What happened to April?

I swear I had no idea I went so long without an update. I did have a vacation somewhere in there, but it's been a busy month.

My April PhatFiber box arrived last week! I still have to do a write-up of all the goodies, but here's a preview. This month I got all fiber and no yarn. A few of the contributors got boxes like this instead of the usual mixed yarn/fiber style. I suppose it all depends on how many of each kind of sample show up. I don't mind since I've been a spinning maniac lately and haven't been knitting at all. I'd rather see the pretty yarn samples end up with people that may actually go on to purchase more from those talented sellers.



I haven't touched my box since opening it because I've been busy working on my May samples. I worked again with CJ at Extreme Spinning to develop a custom colorway for the "Flowers and Showers" theme. It's called "Crabapple" and is a lovely blend of pinks, green and brown inspired by spring-blooming crabapple trees. I'm getting it in several fibers, but the Suffolk/Hampshire sock roving arrived first. I've written before about how much I love this fiber. It's a dream to spin, especially with my new Jumbo Sliding Hook Flyer. I can get a LOT of yarn on a jumbo bobbin. They'll handle 4oz no problem and I'm working on filling one bobbin with as much as it will hold.

This fiber looks very bright in the roving, but it's more subtle when spun. I can't wait to see how it looks once it's plied. Green and pink is one of my favorite combinations.





I also had a wild, fiber-filled weekend. I went to the Great Midwest Alpaca Festival and volunteered to demonstrate drop spindle spinning. My cousin's wife and my new fiber co-addict came along to demonstrate needle felting. I met a bunch of women from the local spinning group and recruited several vendors to hopefully become future Phat Fiber contributors. I also fell in love with an alpaca and am keeping my fingers crossed that I can buy her fleece. After she's shorn in a couple of weeks, I should get notification on the weight and price of her fiber. It's lovely stuff and I hope I'll have some swoon-worthy pictures to share by late May. I LOVED being around alpacas again. I used to work with them as a vet tech and the first time I heard one hum yesterday, it brought it all back. I've also volunteered to help with a shearing day in May. I'm not sure yet if I'll be needed, but if I am, I'll get to see first hand how shearing works and I'll be able to refresh my alpaca handling skills.

Beginning Filigree

I've been having a lot of fun lately exploring my creativity. Last week I began a silver filigree class and last night I soldered my first piece. It was a little terrifying to learn to use the acetylene torch. I heard "soldering" and imagined we'd be using little soldering irons like I did with stained glass. Instead, we use much higher heat and flame little bits of soldering wire onto our pieces. I've become more comfortable using the torch to anneal (soften) my wire and I've learned to twist it. Last night I shaped the frame for a filigree orifice hook (for my spinning wheel) and soldered the joint. It was really exciting to watch the flux melting away and to see the solder liquify and leap into the joint.

The next step is to shape all of my filigree and solder it into the frame. I can do most of the shaping and layout work at home and save my time at the workshop for the parts that need the torch. If I'm not allowed to have a gas grill at my apartment, I think my landlords would really frown upon an acetylene torch in the second bedroom. This is a blessing in disguise, because it will keep my love of filigree work at least slightly under control. I can get a pass to the workshop that lets me use it whenever it's not in use for a class. Even better, the workshop pass gives me access to the pottery studio. I learned how to do wheel pottery once upon a time and I may look into a refresher class in the fall.

For now though, I'm going to see how this orifice hook turns out and then try to make either more hooks or a couple of pendants. The teacher has agreed to expand the class and we'll also learn how to make bezel settings and bails for custom pendants. I've always wanted to know how and I'm excited to get the chance to try.

It doesn't look like much yet, but it's a start! (Click to see bigger)

Spring Fiber Jubilee

This past weekend, I went to my first fiber festival of the year with my cousin's wife aka my new fiber co-addict. She's a felter and learning how to spin, so we were both giddy about the chance to get out and breathe wool fumes. It was fun going shopping for fiber this time. I went to one last year when I was only a knitter but there's so much more to see when fiber is on my radar.

My first purchase of the day was 4oz of llama roving. I had a hard time picking a color, but this creamy roving is softer than alpaca. It's softer than almost anything else I've ever touched. Seriously, it's amazing. Silky, fine, shiny.. it's wonderful and I keep petting it instead of spinning. (click pictures to view larger)



We browsed some more booths, one of which had gorgeous baskets. I also squeezed some mohair, but resisted since I already have several bags of 100% kid mohair in the stash. We saw Angora goats being shorn. One of the outbuildings had raw corriedale fleeces and lovely roving. I bought 4 oz each of two colors because I'm on a natural fiber kick lately. It's nice to alternate gorgeous batts and natural roving and locks since it keeps me on my toes. All of these different fibers and preps keep my fingers from getting in the habit of any one technique.

They're seen posing here with the llama roving.



And what was that burst of bright orange in the photo? I found a booth selling lovely dyed and combed wool by the pound plus these gorgeous hand-dyed Cotswold locks. After the orange batts, I am madly in love with this shade of clear yellow-orange. I have no idea what I'll do with these, but the color was practically screaming to come home with me. It's just a little 2 oz baggie, so maybe I'll mix them in with something else as an accent.



In the middle of all of this, I saw a familiar face. It took me a moment and realized it was someone I knew from her blog, Feather and Fan. We've emailed back and forth a few times, but never managed to meet until we just happened to be at the same fiber festival. We'll also be spinning together at the Great Midwest Alpaca Festival in a couple of weeks. It's such a small world!

Speaking of alternating fibers, I finished the rustic, plant-dyed, lanolin-rich Shetland locks and moved on to one of the sparkling merino/alpaca "Fairy Dust" batts. I am spinning thicker singles and loving the soft colors and copious twinkles. There is clear pink and blue angelina all over everything in my apartment. I seem to leave a trail of it wherever I go. It may have something to do with wearing a fleece pullover while I spin, but it's still cold here and I can't help it. I don't mind. It makes my place look extra fancy.

Spinning Before and After - "Hellebore"

I think I've really reached a turning point with my spinning. I am much more comfortable with raw fibers, locks, fiber prep and color blending after this latest project. I went into this with a clear idea of what I wanted, and I was able to spin to get that result.

I started with two colors of plant-dyed Shetland locks from Natchwoolie. I had about twice as much of the darker cranberry purple "Lambrusco" than the lighter pinkish "mauve". I recently bought a scale and I don't know how I lived without it before this. I split the two colors into two equal piles each. Each one was destined to become a skein.

Next, I started on the first skein. I split the piles again into two equal halves so I could spin a two-ply yarn. I have more purple than mauve, so I wanted to be sure I was able to blend it effectively. For the first ply, I flicked open the locks with a cat brush and left the two colors in separate piles. Flicking the locks really opened them up and made them easier to draft.



When I spun the first ply, I alternated grabbing from each pile and spun from the cloud. I ended up with a rustic, textured single with occasional slubs and thick and thin spots. I didn't want to card all of the personality out of this fiber, and I like how the singles turned out.



Then I started on the second pile of fiber. I flicked the locks open again. I added an extra step and roughly carded the two colors together by grabbing random combinations of locks and flicking them together. They all went into one big pile.



I spun this pile from the cloud, pretty much as it looked there and didn't pay attention to what was happening with the colors. The singles still varied a bit, but the changes between purple and pink were much less dramatic.



The final step was plying the two back together. I ended up with 2.5 oz, 110 yards and a bit of variation between sport and worsted weight. There are sections that are all purple or all mauve, but the rest is varying blends of the two colors. It's heathered with a bit of added excitement and I love it.






I swatched it on US5's and I love how this fabric shows the texture and variation in color. It's not stark stripes, but it's more interesting than a well-blended heather.

Spinning Before and After - Orange You Excited

I ordered these gorgeous cheerful batts from Extreme Spinning last month. I originally saw them and commented on them when PhatFiber did a special post about her shop. I coveted them for a while and finally caved in. I'm so glad I did! Each was 2.5 oz of superwash wool and angelina in shockingly happy orange and yellow.

This past week, I pulled them out of the fiber stash and got to spinning on the wheel. I split each one in half, spun two bobbins of singles and then made 2-ply yarn. I made a conscious effort to "overply" this time since my 2-plies tend to be a little loose. It worked! After washing, the yarn was balanced and the twist didn't unwind itself. I've been squooshing the skeins ever since. I got 255 yards total out of both batts.

My favorite part, other than the orange, is the subtle gold twinkle peeking out here and there. It's wonderful! (Click images to see them larger, especially the finished yarn).