Category: Spinning

Spinning, dyeing and reading – 4/6/16

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Brr… is it chilly! I’m wondering where spring might be hiding? Last evening, the temperature dropped to 29F, and today it’s in the 40s. I’m not complaining, I’m still outside gardening and enjoying life and of course I have been spinning, knitting and dyeing.

Handspun dyed yarn_2 4.5.16
Handspun yarn that I dyed with Wlton’s icing dye

Yesterday, I dyed the above handspun yarn. There should have been a third; however that skein came undone in the washer, while using the washing machines spin cycle. I’m undecided if I want to spend the time unraveling to turn into a lovely yarn cake. Part of me thinks that I should, the Wilson dye did a lovely job coloring that yarn hank… I just need to find the time to do so.

Handspun dyed yarn_3 4.5.16

I’d dyed the above last week.

Handspun dyed yarn_1 4.5.16

Since I was on a roll with my Boye electric yarn ball winder, I decided to turn a few more of my handspun skeins into yarn cakes. I did not dye this yarn.

Merino wool and silk
Merino wool and silk

The fiber was already dyed when I made the purchase. See, this is what some of my yarn looked like before it was spun. This colors for this roving is gorgeous!

Handspun dyed yarn_4 4.5.16

Here they are all together, looking quite colorful. I still have several more skeins of yarn to dye from my desiignated handspun yarn box.

Later today, I’m hoping to be able to do some spinning. Monday, I received about two pounds of raw llama that I need to clean. It has very little VM (vegetable matter) and it feels incredibly soft.

Books 4.6.16

Also, here’s a peek at what I’m reading.

  1. The MacArthur Study Bible – I’m rereading the Bible and have just finished reading II Chronicles 3
  2. Breadcrumbs – This is a preteen book. I’d purchased it for my daughter; however, while she’s finishing another book, I decided to read through this one. I’m almost finished and while I do like the book, I feel that it borrows from other books a bit too much. I can definitely see Chronicles of Narnia and the Ice Queen in this book a lot. There were a few more, but they escape my mind right now.
  3. Spinners – I read this book a few weeks ago. This is a retelling of Rumplestiltskin, but from his perspective. I loved the spinning references made throughout the book and enjoyed it so much, that I’m going to read it again.

I’m linking too, Ginny’s yarnalong and Stitch Along Wednesday.

Resources:

  1. Cobberson & Co. – Free handspun yarn labels

 

 

Labels for my handspun yarn

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Today, I added labels to the handspun yarn that I dyed yesterday.

Handspun yarn with labels_1 4.1.16

But first, I wound them with my Boye electric yarn ball winder. I love center pull yarn balls. Afterwards, I covered the yarn with colorful labels. Aren’t they pretty? The labels were printed on card stock. I then used my paper trimmer to separate the labels; there are three labels per page.

Handspun yarn with labels_2 4.1.16

If you check the back of the label, you’ll see that there’s even a spot to put additional information; such as, care instructions, fiber type and yardage. As I already mentioned, these are some of the first handspun skeins I made with my Kromski Sonata. Even with all their flaws. I love them.

This evening, I managed to spin a bit more, while my daughter serenaded me with her guitar. The guitar is the newest instrument that she’s learning. This Wednesday, she received the guitar as an early birthday present. Once her homework has been completed, she’s been strumming her guitar. She started playing the piano at the age of six.

Resources:

  1. Cobberson & Co. – Free handspun yarn labels

A good day to dye

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Early this afternoon, I actually dyed some of my handspun yarn. It’s the first time I’ve dyed yarn and it’s been a LONG time since I’ve dyed anything.

Wilton's Dye gel

I used Wilton’s Icing colors. Yep, it’s food dye!

Wilton Dye handspun yarn_1 3.31.16

Since I was unsure how things would go, I used some of my early handspun yarn. If you look closely, you’ll see overspun and underspun areas on the four skeins that I dyed.

Wilton Dye handspun yarn_2 3.31.16

This one is my favorite. It’s not a lot of handspun yarn so this might be added to the blanket that I’m planning to weave this fall.

Wilton Dye handspun yarn_4 3.31.16

I thought this one could have had a bit more yellow. However, it was bright and colorful, which is just the look that I was trying to achieve. This might get added to that woven blanket also.

Wilton Dye handspun yarn_5 3.31.16

This dyed skein was a bit more muted. My daughter said this reminded her of the Jade forest in World of Warcraft, the Pandaria area. She hasn’t played that game in months. Video games, are usually something saved for colder weather and even then play time is limited since there is so many fun things to do.

Wilton Dye handspun yarn_3 3.31.16

I like how the ripple effect of colors on part of this skein.

I used a variety of dyeing techniques. I used the crockpot, stovetop and the woodstove. I didn’t take pictures of them on the woodstove or the stovetop; however, I will do that the next time I dye, which might be tomorrow.

Merino Wool_1 3.31.16

Here’s some of my merino combed top roving. It’s 17.5 microns. It’s incredibly soft.

Wilton Dye Merino Wool_2 3.31.16

I used the crockpot method to dye this, isn’t it pretty? The only thing left to do, is toss it into a lingerie bag and use the spin cycle ONLY on my washer. Ok… there is another step. I will be spinning this yarn, so after it’s dry, I’m turning this into a skein of supersoft handspun yarn.

 

 

 

Spinning, Knitting, Weaving and Sewing, 3/30/16

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imageBrrr…. it’s a chilly day here in Maryland and after a few weeks of not participating in link-up parties, I’m finally posting some of my fiber related crafts. Of course, I’ve been able to squeeze some handcrafting here and there, but it has been a challenge.

About 1.5 weeks ago, I accidentally deleted a few posts (and comments) on this website. Whoops! Of course… it happened when I DID not backup my site. I normally backup the site after each post, so I’m kicking myself over that. Lesson learned, that won’t happen again. Sighs…

The past several weeks, the main thing I’ve been doing is spinning. It is my newest craft; however, last evening I actually started knitting again, and… I used some of my handspun yarn which I am featuring below.

Kromski Sonata
Kromski Sonata

It’s been about six weeks since I’ve been spinning my own handspun yarn. See that wheel? It’s my Kromski Sonata that I’ve named Ruth, after the lady in the Bible.

Handspun yarn Box.3.16.16
My big box of handspun yarn

As you can see above, I’ve accumulated a sizeable handspun yarn stash. The above picture is a large cardboard box that is full of my handspun yarn. This fall, the majority of this yarn, featured above, will be woven into a blanket.

Niddy Noddy Handspunyarn FinnAlpaca_2 3.18.16

Here’s a picture of some of my handspun yarn that I wound around my Niddy Noddy.

Handspun yarn FinnAlpaca_1 3.18.16
My handspun yarn: Finn and alpaca, this yarn is incredibly soft!

and here it is in a lovely handspun skein.

Hanspun yarn knitted cowl.3.30.16

Last night, I started knitting with my handspun yarn. My goodness is this handspun yarn soft. I chose this yarn for knitting the cowl, since it’s one of the better handspun yarns that I’ve made.

Cowl.3.30.16
This is not my cowl. The above picture is featured on the Ravelry project page.

I’m making this Cowl by Mary Ann Scadding. Isn’t it lovely?

Woven scarf with 32 Krmoski Harp_1
My handwoven fabric

The next project is also two crafts combined. About two years ago, I wove the above fabric. I will be using some of it to make a project bag for my assigned partner in a spinning fiber swap.

What am I reading?

Books 3.30.16

  1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (illustrated copy)
  2. The MacArthur Study Bible
  3. No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting by Anne Macdonald
  4. Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu
  5. Stina: The Story of Cooking by Herman Smith
  6. In The Beauty of Lilies by John Updike

I’m linking too, Ginny’s yarnalong, Wake up Wednesday and Stitch Along Wednesday.

 

Sewing: Everything old is new again

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My goodness has it been busy. This evening while watching, The Bible series, I finally started knitting with my handspun yarn.
Handspun yarn FinnAlpaca_1 3.18.16
The yarn post that referenced the yarn was accidentally deleted by myself and I have not gotten around to recreating that yet, so here’s a picture of the yarn. I’m knitting a cowl!

Easter Trio.3.26.16

The above picture was taken this past Sunday. It’s a picture of my daughter, boyfriend and myself. The dress I was wearing, was something that I designed and sewed in my early twenties. 20+ years later and I still wear that dress.

Midnight Blue Wedge Heel

Last year, I found shoes that matched the polka dot dress perfectly! The dress is simple, comfortable and I really like the dress. The only drawback is it isn’t colorful. I love color.