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).

Spinning before and after - "Sprinkles"

Back in January, I got a sample of rainbow dyed wool top from the Painted Tiger. Not long ago, was reading through "Intertwined" by Lexi Boeger. I had a brainstorm and decided to try nubs with the top. I pulled some white corriedale roving out of my fiber stash and got down to it.



This was really time consuming and messy while it was in progress. I ripped the top into tiny little shreds based on color and lined them up next to me. Then I had to spin, stopping every so often to wind another nub into the single. I kept going until I ran out of rainbow top. The singles were thick and thin and really fun. If I had been planning to knit this right up into something to felt, I might have spun a little thicker and kept it as singles.



Next I spun about the same amount of white corriedale, but without the nubs. The singles were a little thinner and consistent. When that was done, I plied both together on the drop spindle. Plying on the spindle worked really well since I had more control over the twist with these two dissimilar singles. Parts of it came out looking like regular two-ply fingering to sport-weight yarn. Other parts are bulky and look thread-plied because of the big difference in diameter between the two singles. It makes a sort of bubbly effect.

End result is 67 yards, 1.9oz, thick and thin, 2-ply that I've named "Sprinkles".

Spinning before and after - ArtemisArtemis

I hauled out my wheel today and spun up the 2.5oz batt from ArtemisArtemis. It's called "Pastel Garden" and it's a mix of angora, silk, merino and a sprinkling of angelina. Does it sound decadent? It totally was. Spinning this was so much fun, I finished the entire batt this afternoon. I didn't use the mohair locks for this project. (Click photos to enlarge)



As the colors mixed, the singles were much more muted than the batt, but there were big chunks of robin's egg blue, yellow and a shot of orange. I pulled the batt into lengthwise strips and spun them like roving. The strips drafted very easily and I was able to control the colors to a certain degree.



I was so smitten with the singles that I had to ply right away. I found another empty bobbin and Navajo plied on the wheel. I don't know how many yards I got, but it's the thinnest yarn I've spun yet. It's maybe sport weight and pretty darn consistent. I soaked it and it's hanging to dry now, but I was too excited to wait for finished yarn photos. I'll add the last picture tomorrow when the yarn is dry.

I love the way the colors blended in this. The yellow and orange pop here and there, and there's a hint of twinkle, but the colors generally complement each other. It's one of those that gets prettier and prettier as you look closer.



I swatched this up on US7's and it is gorgeous! As I knit, the angora bloomed across the surface and created a cohesive looking fabric. This is before blocking. I love the way the colors blend together.

Please Mister Postman, look and see if there's some fiber in your bag for me

This was a really good day for mail. First, I ordered some fiber from Extreme Spinning. (Click pictures to see them bigger)

On the left are two "Fairy Dust" batts totaling 5 oz. They're merino, alpaca and angelina in pale pink and lavender. The angelina is the same color as the fiber, so the whole thing twinkles like a princess dress. Each one is about as big as my head and I can't wait to spin them. They're begging to be made into something for a lucky little girl.

On the right are two custom batts also totaling 5 oz. I sent a convo explaining that I wanted fiber that looked like the bishop's robes in the Princess Bride. I've bought some of her other fibers in the Princess Bride theme already and they gave me the idea. The "wuv.. twooo wuv" (love, true love) line is my favorite in the whole movie. His robes are pale brocade with deeper burgundy scrollwork patterns sewn in. She came up with this amazing blend of plum custom-dyed organic wool, creme brulee BFL, yellow top, ivory merino/seacell and pink alpaca. There's also pale angelina and big streaks of gold angelina to accent the purple and bring to mind metallic threadwork. It's exactly what I asked for and she gave it to me on the first attempt. I'm so impressed and it was a lot of fun working together to find the colors I was envisioning. I want to use these somehow in the Phat Fiber Spring Competition, but right now I keep petting them and admiring the sparkles.

As a fun bonus, there's a generous sample of icelandic/angora roving in a green that makes me think of spring grass. I love getting surprise fibers when I place orders. This one is so soft and green is my favorite color.





My March Phat Fiber box also came today! This month's theme was "Celtic", so there's a lot of green.



My fiber samples were a fun mix this month. Clockwise from left:

* Romney locks from Marajane Creations - a very nice pastel mix of loose locks. I pulled one out to feel it and it just kept coming. I looked it up in In Sheep's Clothing and the staple length is 5-7 inches! These should be fun to add some texture while spinning another yarn. I haven't tried spinning with locks yet, but it's on my list
* Merino roving from Nerdclub 2000 - "Elinor Dashwood" colorway is a really pretty mix of pinks and purples with a little olive green at one end. It makes me think of tulips.
* Border Leicester locks from Altered Visions - a nice half ounce sample about the size of a double-handful and the locks are space dyed within each individual lock. For example, one is bright pink with pale blue tips. These are really cool.
* 25% merino and 75% alpaca from NorthStarAlpacas - This is a really big 0.4oz sample and it's a gorgeous chocolate color. It's called "Sonata", because the alpaca portion came from a beautiful brown female alpaca named Sonata. The fiber listings from this shop show the animal the fiber came from and there's even a picture on the tag. It feels like adopting an alpaca. The fiber is so soft and the color is really rich. I got a blended alpaca batt I had last month, so it'll be interesting to spin this one and see how the two preps differ.
* (center) 100% silk with noil "Peacock" roving from Mad Angel Creations - This is really scrumptious teal kettle-dyed silk with a dry, papery feel and an amazing shine. The photo is taken without a flash and it's reflecting ambient light. The color is very saturated.



The yarn samples from left to right:

* (top row) 100% undyed black Shetland handspun from Haley Studio - This is a really nice sample and gives me an idea of how the Shetland fiber I recently ordered might spin up. It's not a super soft wool, but it reminds me of the sock roving in that it feels durable and elastic. We live in the same city and I never would have known without the box.
* "Eire" Fireweed Worsted Merino wool from Aurora Fiber Arts - I got a January sample from Aurora and loved it. This is a great colorway with the little pops of orange among the green.
* "Horned God" merino yarn from the Yarn Side - This is a 75% SW merino, 25% nylon fine sock yarn in a nice mix of greens and browns.
* "Cordelia" merino yarn from Knit It Up - This is hand-dyed yarn in their "curvy" collection and it's a nice bulky, bumpy fun yarn in my favorite colors. It's really pretty and one of the ones I keep coming back to squish.
* (bottom row) three yarn samples from Sheeps of Egyptian Cotton - There's "Isis" (lighter green) cotton 2 ply fingering weight, "Nile" (wrapped around the card) 3 ply mercerized cotton and "Ankh" (brighter green) 4 ply merino. She also included an Irish Breakfast Tea packet and a lesson on celtic knitting terminology.
* Hand-dyed merino laceweight from Jen Hintz - This is a lovely mix of various shades of pale green that has a lot of depth and interest. It's subtle, but on closer look, this is one of my favorites because of the blend of colors.
* "Ireland" Hand-spun yarn from Cool Climates - This is a bulky singles yarn of mixed wool, mohair, angora and merino. It's a very pretty deep rich color.
* (not pictured) "Fjord" worsted singles yarn from Katsara Luxury Yarns - This is a really pretty pale pink, purple and green singles yarn that missed the photo op because I carried it around with me before I started taking pictures and accidentally left it in another room. I have a weakness for singles yarns.



The various other loot in my box includes:

* "Stargyle" by Michelle Miller the Fickleknitter - This is a pattern for a stockinette scarf with argyle details. This could actually be really fun with handspun.
* Purple beaded stitch marker from Vickie's Knitted Things
* Silver shamrock stitch markers from Princess Emma's
* Green bubble magnet and a cute pompom from Bananamigraine Designs - I love this shop name! Since my kitchen is painted green, this magnet is going right on my fridge.
* Two green and gold stitch markers from Winemakers Sister - This shop also makes rubber stamps!
* A KIP bag from Ruddawg - I got one of these in February too and they're such a nice size for trucking smaller projects around. I don't know how she does it, but both have colors that are perfect for me.
* A needlefelted Alpaca from My Fair Bag Lady! She made Knickolas the Knitting Gnome for Phat Fiber. He rides around and ends up in a lucky box every month. Whoever finds him gets a free box the next month, as long as they have an adventure with him and send him back. Now I have some of her handiwork of my own. It's tiny (like the size of my thumb) and I can't even imagine having the patience to do this.



I realized I never posted this, but my samples for the March box were hand-painted and stamped lavender sachets. I'll have these up in my shop eventually but I ran out of bags and had to order more. I really love the smell of lavender and I have similar sachets hidden all over my house. I've been seeing photos of them today as people blog about their boxes and it's really surreal seeing them out in the wild.



Now, I have some spinning to do. I'm going to my first ever Spinning Guild meeting tomorrow morning and I have some singles to get off of my spindle. Don't ask me how spinning more will help. This isn't a rational hobby.

Getting ready for Etsy

Phat Fiber March Box Videos

Every month, Phat Fiber posts a video of the goodies that were sent in for the boxes. Each box gets 20 or so samples, and there are many more contributors, so it's such a tease. In fact, there are so many contributors now that she had to split it into two videos to show all the loot. I'm craving one of everything and I have my fingers crossed that I get a few extra desirable (to me) samples.

Ambrosia and Bliss is featured partway through the first video. I sent in pendants and lavender sachets, and she shows one of my pendants in a little organza bag. Suddenly it all feels real, or perhaps surreal. I sent in samples over a month ago, but they won't be coming out until April. Now, my little efforts are going to be in those boxes full of gorgeous yarn and fiber that go on sale SUNDAY and I'm feeling a bit nervous. I hope the recipients like what they get. Personally, I'm thrilled to be included in such a wonderful group of artists. I've enjoyed every bit of yarn, fiber and other goodies from my boxes, which is why I include links to all of their shops. They're small, independent artisans doing what they love through the demands of work, school, parenting and/or farming, and the quality and variety of their work is exceptional.

Busy evening

I've been working on a couple projects today. I have some new little items called Serenity Sax to finish beading for my Etsy shop. I'll write about them when they're finished, but I'm pretty happy with how they are turning out. I had an odd whim and decided to give it a try.

I'm also priming two more cigar boxes. One is tall and rectangular with a flip top lid and it's deep enough to store shorter double-pointed needles and crochet hooks. The box came with a cardboard grid divider and I think it's a sign that it's meant to be a knitter's box.

I'm also spinning tonight. All of my fiber has been calling to me. It was hard to choose, but I finally pulled out some Organic Sock Roving from Extreme Spinning. From the sale listing:

Buttercup: You mock my pain.
Westley: Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.

In this scene, Buttercup is wearing this gorgeous reddish dress. I sought to bring some of that color into this roving so you can create a wonderful FO with these tones

It's a very lovely blend of dusty rose tones and it's spinning up very quickly. As I wrote before, Suffolk/Hampshire is not soft and buttery, but it's been surprisingly easy to draft once I got the hang of it. I keep my hands pretty far apart and it twists just the right amount of fiber as I pull back. I got four ounces, which is a huge pile. My spindle is 10.5" long from hook to tip for some indication of scale. I'm having a lot of fun with this and it's an interesting tactile experience.

Memory Box

I've found a new outlet for my mixed media whims. My wonderful brother has hooked me up with a small collection of empty wooden cigar boxes. I just up-cycled the first one and I really like how it turned out. The top has so much texture. I gessoed it and then painted with many layers of acrylics, glitter and silver stars. I finished the top in beeswax and lined the inside with some starry textured paper. It's about 7 inches square, more or less and the bottom is a mere half inch deep. However, it's a nice size for photos or special little mementos. I've always been attracted to the idea of creating usable art.

This one has gone up in my Etsy shop and I plan to work on more later this week or next week. Every one is a different size and shape, so I'm looking forward to making each one unique. (Click photos to enlarge)

New Zealand has beautiful sheep

Have I mentioned I love Etsy? It's such a fantastic place to find handmade items from all over the world. I've found so many indie fiber and yarn dyers in the last couple months. It's been such bliss shopping, since my local yarn stores don't carry much in the way of fiber.

For a while, I had been eyeing these batts from ArtemisArtemis. I'd periodically go back to check on them, swoon, sigh wistfully and carry on with my life. Last month, it became too much for me and I figured if they were making me that crazy, I had to have one. The package arrived today and it seriously rocks my world.

First, I have the Paua batts. There are two, totaling four ounces. They're blended with Merino, Otago Romney, Corriedale and bamboo. There is also some angelina mixed in, as if the colors weren't enough. They are so soft, chewy and scrumptious and I'm scared to spin them because they are so pretty. (Click photos to enlarge)





Another little batt came along for the ride. It's a mystery, but the fiber content feels similar. The streaks of yellow are lively and should be fun in the spun yarn. The bag also contained some dyed mohair locks. I've never spun with locks before, so this will be an adventure. I may try a textured art yarn, but I haven't decided yet. I keep petting it and waiting to find out what it wants to be.



The last little gem in the package was a little 10g or so baggie of hand-dyed silk noils. Again, it's a fiber I've never spun before. The colors are saturated and gorgeous. The silk feels soft, dry and papery and I'm interested to see what sort of texture it gives a finished yarn.



I haven't been spinning the past few days. I've been knitting and painting because I have several mixed media projects in the works. Nothing is ready for photos, but I'm hoping they'll be finished later this week. I might actually spin some yarn especially for one of them, but it hasn't all come together yet. I really fly by the seat of my pants as an artist. Even my best intentions change dramatically by the time I'm finished with a piece. I generally wander along with a vague idea and I'm continually surprised by what I come up with. I keep a notebook with little sketches and ideas since lately I have so many ideas for new pieces, I can't remember them all. I think being artistic is like getting in shape. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Spinning down wool

This is a sample of organic sock roving from Extreme Spinning. I ordered a larger supply of this wool in a different color and this little fluff came along as an extra. The color is "Strawberries and Cream" and it's a really pretty red with shots of pale pink. I spun it up so I could get a feel for the fiber before I tackled the 4 oz roving.

This was really different wool to work with. It's from Suffolk/Hampshire cross sheep, which are actually meat breeds. The wool is a down wool and it's quite different from fine wool breeds like Merino, Rambouillet, or Corriedale or longwool breeds like Blue-faced Leicester. Instead of having fibers that align in a tight wavy crimp or long loose waves, each fiber has a tight spiral crimp that doesn't align with neighboring fibers. The staples are short and the roving looks and feels like a soft, spongy brillo pad, but in a nice way. Even looking at the photo, it's easy to see the fibers are all over the place and not smooth and silky. Spinning was interesting because it didn't draft in a smooth triangle. Even while spinning worsted, the fibers felt crinkly and were aligned in all different directions. It didn't twist tightly because the spiral crimp keeps the singles open. I Navajo plied the singles and made about 10 yards of tight, springy yarn. It feels softer after a soak in Eucalan, but it's still not soft and silky. It's squishy and spongy and should make good, hard-wearing socks because it's not a readily feltable wool. Fine wools felt if you look at them sideways, so this is definitely a plus.

My plan is to spin the big 4oz (in a lovely Princess Bride inspired colorway) with the same Navajo ply method so I can knit socks. My feet get cold and I usually wear a pair of regular socks with heavier wool over the top. Although my Malabrigo socks are heavenly, they are felting, even on my hardwood floors. I walk delicately with them on and would never put them in a shoe. I've been reading In Sheep's Clothing as I shop for fiber online and whenever I plan to spin something new. Although Suffolk/Hampshire wool isn't going to make a nice hat, it's perfect for socks that will be pretty and won't worry me whenever I put them on. There's a reason there is more than one breed of sheep and I think spinning the different wools is part of what makes spinning so exciting. I also have a soft spot in my heart for Suffolks since they are such pretty sheep.

German - English Dictionary of Knitting Terminology

Last year, I was knitting Nieblings and other German patterns and I put together a list of translated terms. I've saved the dictionary as a pdf file on Google Docs. For anyone interested in about 400 German knitting terms and phrases, the pdf can be found here. It was compiled from multiple sources online and in print. I can't vouch for the complete accuracy since I don't speak German, but I welcome any corrections in the comments.

German - English Dictionary of Knitting Terminology

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Crafts & Hobbies How-To Guides & DIY dictionary german

Spinning before and after - II

I've been spinning everything I can get my hands on and now have a bowl full of handspun mini-skeins to play with. (Click any photo to enlarge)

This lovely purple and blue fiber is mixed wool, mohair, firestar and angelina from Sweet Pea Fibers. I spun thin singles and then Navajo plied them into a heavy worsted 3-ply, all on the spindle. The little half ounce puff of fiber yielded 7 yards of lovely sparkling yarn.





Another Sweet Pea Fibers batt was about a half ounce of mixed wool, cultivated silk, sari silk threads, angelina and firestar. This was the first time I'd spun anything with threads mixed in and it wasn't as difficult as I had expected. They give a nice texture to the yarn, and personally I think plying really helped keep them in line. Like the first one, this was spun and then Navajo plied on the spindle to give 9 yards of rustic worsted. I think the mix of colors is actually better in the spun yarn than in the batt.





Another fiber in the Sweet Pea Fibers sampler was a pink, brown and green hand-dyed merino top. I split it into thirds and spun it on the spindle. I loaded each third onto a bobbin and then plied a 3-ply yarn off the bobbins, back onto the spindle. I was aiming for a yarn that gradually changed colors and had sections that were mostly pink, brown or green. It was fairly successful and I got 23 yards of squishy round worsted with regions that are more strongly one color than another. I really like the effect in the skein and it will be interesting to see it knitted up. I ran out on one bobbin first and had enough left on the other two to try another mix. I still had some of the solid green merino/tussah singles on another bobbin, so I substituted it in as the third ply. I ended up with 5 1/2 yards of spring green yarn with pops of pink and brown. Again, it's fascinating to see how changing one ply can have such an impact on the final yarn.









The solid green single also came into play when I spun up my hand-dyed merino wool sample from Hedgehog Fibres. It's a colorway called "Stranger" and I love the chartreuse, moss green and eggplant mix. I didn't want to muddy all of the colors together, and it was fortuitous that the green merino/silk was such a close match to the base green. I spun each one up on the spindle and then plied them together to make 18 yards of worsted 2-ply. The greens gracefully intertwine through most of the yarn, and the eggplant and dark moss green and brown pop out here and there. I really love how this finished and I think it's more interesting than it would have been if I had attempted to spin a singles yarn. It's one of my absolute favorites so far and I keep taking it out to pet it. I may even love it too much to knit with it.







After my two experiments with the Silver Sun Alpacas "Wine and Chocolate" batt, I still had some singles left. I Navajo plied them on the spindle to finish with six yards of very lovely 3 ply. In this case, the white mohair streaked out and took the limelight from the brown and wine. I really like how the Navajo plying maintained the color progressions in the singles.





Sweet Pea Fibers sent a bonus batt with my order made of hand-dyed wool, tussah silk, nylon sparkle and angelina. It was a fun mix of pinks with little shots of teal and gold. I spun and Navajo plied this on the spindle. It's bulkier than the others and gave nine yards of cheerful 3-ply. The sparkle is subtle and the same color as the yarn, but it's enough to make it glitter in the light. I had contemplating plying this with a lot of different singles, but in the end I thought it needed to stand on its own.





It's really hard to believe I got my spindle a week ago today. I've been having so much fun trying different techniques and experimenting with different fibers. I have a whole pile of mini-skeins to admire and each one is so unique.

Spinning before and after

Spinning the Phat Fiber samples and the little half ounce balls of fiber from Sweet Pea Fiber is like digging into a box of Valentine's chocolates. There are so many different flavors and only enough for a bite of each one. I spent the evening spinning and plying a variety of different samples and I'm having so much fun playing with color. I honestly didn't think I'd like spinning this much, but there's something about the feel of all the different fibers - wool, silk, mohair - and the interplay of colors. The batts and rovings change when they are spun, and change again when they are plied and it's always a surprise to see what happens.

(Click any photos to see them larger)

The February Phat Fiber box included a bunch of pink and brown fiber samples based on the "Romance and Chocolate" Theme.

I spun up the 0.2oz Corriedale Pencil Roving Duet in “Raspberry Truffle” from Aurora Fiber Arts. The duet is made of two complementary strands of roving that can be plied together to make a fun yarn. I spun one continuous strand from both halves of the duet.



Then I spun up a special batt that came in my order from Sweet Pea Fibers. It’s hand-dyed wool, tussah silk, sparkle and angelina.



Then I plied the two together on my wheel. The end result is 10 yards of worsted-to-bulky bright pink yarn with bursts of brown.




Silver Sun Alpacas sent a batt of alpaca, merino and mohair in a lovely blend of chocolate brown, wine red and white aptly named "Wine and Chocolate".



I spun it up on the drop spindle.



Then I spun a January box sample of white 70% mohair and 30% wool from Natchwoolie. It spun like butter into fuzzy, white singles.



Then I plied the two together on my spindle (first time) to get 16 yards of worsted-to-bulky two-ply with a nice halo.





I still had some of the Wine and Chocolate singles left, so I spun a little Mini Bon Bon in color "Cherry Chakka Latte" from Natchwoolie. It was chocolate merino lamb wool with pale pink plant-dyed mohair.



I plied it with the Wine and Chocolate on the drop spindle. It made 6 yds of worsted two-ply. The difference in appearance between this and when it was plied with the white is really interesting.




I also spun up two samples from the January box. I put together Moonlight and Laughter’s BFL in “Deep Lake” with Enchanted’s hand-dyed merino. They were in the same blue/teal color family, except Enchanted’s was lighter. I ended with a good 18 yds of worsted-to-bulky two-ply and only had 12 inches of leftover Deep Lake singles. They were a perfect match!













This is a batt from Extreme Spinning. It's 1 oz of purple and pale yellow superwash wool, layered with silver angelina. This was soft and silky and spun easily. The angelina is nearly invisible in the fiber, but the yarn glitters in the light like newly fallen snow. The colorway is "Prince Humperdink", based on the movie The Princess Bride. He's dressed in royal purple, with a yellow belly.



I spun this on my drop spindle and then wound it into a center pull ball. I plied it into a bulky two-ply from the inside and outside of the ball again on my drop spindle. It made 11 yards of very fun, soft yarn.