Tuesday, January 27, 2009

off to a good start

January is turning out to be much more fun that December. Something about the dark winter months and the drama with the holidays just kind of gets me down. Even though it's even colder, the days are getting slightly longer and it's enough to get me revved up again. On top of that, I've got new fiber blends to dye and new colorways dancing in my head. I'm going to try to give myself a schedule to stick to on the weekends so I have room for dyeing and drum carding. Here's a peek at a mystery batt I was working on the other day:
carding mystery batts

And for those who are curious, here is my super high-tech roving painting set-up. Even though he insists on overseeing operations despite my best shoo-ing efforts, Bela Lugosi has not yet managed to dye his feet hot pink. Sometimes I let Mr. Bun out for a romp and he ends up chillin' underneath the table- one of his favorite spots!dye setup

Saturday, January 17, 2009

New year, new toys...

First off, I want to give a big THANK YOU to everyone who has supported my fiber adventure in one way or another- my customers, my spinning buddies, and my boyfriend. I can't believe how far I've come over the past year!

Also, I promise to get better about blog posts. I'm going to aim for at least once a week. Hold me to it!

My new big thing outside of spinning and dyeing has been baking. I treated myself to a KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer a couple of weeks ago, and the oven has been on ever since. I LOVE making bread, but I hate having to clean off a big section of counter space to knead it on, which then ends up making a big flour mess... Now everything is done in a bowl that cleans up lickety split. Hello fresh loaf of bread twice a week! If that wasn't enough, I bought a cheese making kit from Ricki the "Cheese Queen". I made my first batch of mozzarella last night and marinated it in olive oil, herbs and red pepper flakes. My lunch today: harvest grain bread with mozzarella:
brot und kase!

In other news, it has snowed more in Chicago this year than I think it has in the years since I moved here combined! Thankfully the cold snap is over (almost 2 days straight with subzero temps).
Blizzard 2009

Ok, I've got to get back to the dye pots. If you're a spinner or fiber enthusiast, please check out the poll on the top right of the page! I've got access to tons of new fiber blends, so I'd like to order the ones you all want to spin the most!