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!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
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
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
Thursday, July 2, 2009
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!
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!
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