UFO to WIP to FP

Let's ignore the fact that I've neglected this blog for about as long as I've neglected knitting and focus on two major accomplishments- the first being that I'm blogging, and the second being that I KNIT SOMETHING!

And it is NOT a scarf. Or a cowl. Or a hat. Or fingerless mitts. It actually has SLEEVES!





It's the Anthropologie-inspired capelet by Julia Allen, and it was so flipping easy even I could do it (even though it took two tries and over half a year.) When I first cast on, I did everything right- measurements, gauge swatch, etc- but the neckline was gimongous, so I frogged it and started over with a much smaller neckline and more yarn so I could make it long enough. I used handspun from Hobbledehoy and then carded and spun some of my own batts to make extra yarn, which is mostly down on the ribbing. It's chunky, soft, purple and pink, and I MADE IT. I love it.

For the love of Rambouillet

Yes, I'm still alive and well, despite what this blog might lead you to believe. In fact, it must take something special to make me come back after all this time, no?

A few weeks ago, I bought 30 pounds of Rambouillet top. Even though I have miscellaneous Rambouillet fibers lying around (some handpainted top, some fleece) I haven't actually worked with any of it until now. I am sorry I waited so long! This stuff is magical. It's got the softness of merino (I think it's even softer, actually) but it is much, much fluffier. I'm not sure what exactly it is that makes it so easy to spin, but this stuff just leaves my hand and turns into yarn as if it was enchanted. I can spin this fiber long-draw style straight from the un-predrafted top. Seriously. I think that says something. The result is the squishiest, softest, springiest yarn I've ever spun. I can only imagine what divine handspun socks it would make...

Anyway, I sold the first yarn I spun out of the first batch of fiber I dyed, but I'm working on another. This is my new favorite colorway too, I might add- Hanging Gardens:


I've got some for sale in my shop, and I plan to make this a regularly stocked fiber. But you'll have to convince me to list it for you and not hoard it all for myself first!

Look, I'm spinning!

It's been really hard to maintain a balanced schedule between work and the fiber biz. I loathe getting home at 6 and having only 4 hours in which to make dinner, take care of the animals, catch up on Etsy stuff, list items, and then hopefully card batts or spin before it's time for bed. Sticking to a shipping schedule frees up time, but not enough! I blame the day job ;)

Anyway, I managed to finish a few yarns this week. Here are two of my favorites:

"Märchengarten", my new favorite colorway, spun into a Falkland single!


"Cupid & Psyche", spun from batts carded by Hobbledehoy! I spun this one thick and thin and added little squishy coils here and there.

And as long as I've got spring on my mind, despite the fresh blanket of snow outside, here's a pic of Mr. Bun!

I can't wait until it's nice enough to let him romp around in the yard!

new fun things

This past weekend was super productive. On Friday night, I spun a gimongous skein of yarn. This was the first time I had maxed out my jumbo bobbin- 170 yards, 5.75 ounces! Yowza! I call it "Corsair", because it reminds me of an elegant pirate:



I really love this. It's a mash-up of several different batts, but mostly some superwash merino from Enchanted Knoll. I think this yarn would make the most gorgeous cape or shawl EVER, so I'll be sad to see it go... and not so sad if it doesn't sell ;)

Also, on Saturday, my awesome BF finished up the banner he designed for my shop & blog (see above!) and then formatted parts of it to make into stickers! Yes, STICKERS! I've had a sticker fetish since I was a kid, so this is a huge deal for me!



So the kite-sheep is my logo, and the other sticker, the one with the clouds and the sheep, is something he did just for fun. You can't read it, but it says "Domesticated Sheeps- Making your day more happy." Ain't that the truth!

I also finished up the book Craft, Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco last night. It was a great step-by-step on how to turn a craft hobby into a full-time job. Granted I won't apply half of it to myself because I am in no way ready to do this full time, it was good to know the first steps- like applying for business licenses, etc, which are mostly necessary to do shows and stuff. Hey, who knows, this could go somewhere!

To reward myself for feeling all ambitious and productive, I bought a ton more fiber. Well, at least a couple of pounds anyway. I realized a 3 day weekend was coming up and I wanted to get psyched for busting through most of my stash. I also packaged up and sent off handpainted rovings for my first two swaps- one through Etsy and the other through Craftster. AND I just wound off a skein and am setting the twist now, so hopefully it'll be dry in time for Fiber Friday!

Hmm, yeah... I HAVE been busy ;)

sheesh!

First off, I just want to say that getting my paws on some Pigeonroof Studios roving must be even harder than getting Hannah Montana tickets. Not that I have tried getting Hannah Montana tickets, but that is the best analogy I can come up with. At least people aren't buying the roving only to sell it on Craigslist for 10x what they paid!

Anyway, I've been busy with keeping my apartment clean. Seriously, that is a full time job. I have actually done a lot of spinning this week though:

MOULIN- spun with some batts from Hobbledehoy, Loop, and Mandalinn, plus some stuff from my stash, plied with woolly nylon:


MIDGEWATER- my first TRUE scrap yarn, spun from a thousand different batts and rovings, worsted to bulky weight:


COSTA RICA- I spun this sitting outside last weekend. Drop-dead gorgeous BFL from Allspunup, spun into a striking worsted weight single:


POODLE SKIRT- spun from a batt by The Ranch, super thick and plied with clear poly thread:


On the bobbin- SUGARCUBES roving by Hobbledehoy, spun into a worsted weight two-ply, ready to be crocheted into a baby hat/booties set for a coworker- stay tuned for FO pics SOON!


Time to go rinse some roving and set it out to dry. I FINALLY got to dye some wool this weekend, it's been ages!

First wheelspuns and some roving...

So I spent ALL of last weekend spinning. I mean ALL of it. I left the house on Saturday only momentarily: to walk to the post office to pick up a box of wool. Here is the result:



From left to right, top to bottom: Cry Baby (from Copperpot Woolies), Blues (very first spin, my own handpainted Corriedale), Secret Garden (Hobbledehoy LOLbatt), Solemn (handpainted BFL), Woodstock (from Lapoli), Live Wire (another LOLbatt), Allsorts (from Copperpot's gimongo batt, my first plied yarn!), Vamped (handpainted Corriedale), and Water Hyacinth, singles in progress (from Mary Jane's Attic.)

Also, I dyed a ton of roving the weekend before- another collage to feast on!



Treebeard closeup, Material Girl, Maison Moderne, Dried Petals, Color Box, Color Box closeup, Meritage, Concord. Treebeard again. I LOVE Treebeard. I'm going to have to try that colorway again. All of those are Falkland wool roving.

Ok, it's time for me to go work on that Water Hyacinth single... it is taking for-ever!

fib3r pr0n

Work has kind of sucked this week- I've worked late at least two nights, and Wednesday I was up in Milwaukee, which meant I had a 12 hour day. ICK. So the fuzzy arts have been on hold for a bit. To make up for it, here are gratuitous pics from other rovings/yarn that I haven't posted yet (quasi-new):

Bela Lugosi roving (corriedale):


Nocturnum roving (corriedale) Not as happy with this one. I was going for some deep tonal blacks but it didn't really happen, what with the big red splash and the white spot. Whatever, it'll spin up just fine methinks:


Pigeons roving (BFL). Now I know pigeons aren't purple and blue and all that, but it reminds me of the way the light hits their feathers and shimmers in all those nice pretty colors:


And here are my second three rovings, ever- left to right: Amazon, Sakura, and Dollhouse:


Amazon handspun:


Sakura handspun:


Snuggling yarns!


I tried spinning Dollhouse with the intent of plying it with thread, and I think I'm going to hold off on any more plying adventures until I get a wheel. It just ends up being a huge mess and a pain in the ass. Never mind that the cats have darn near destroyed everything while I am spinning it anyway!!!

more yarn

I spun up some of my first dyed roving last week, plus some batts I bought on Etsy. Here they are:

This was spun from the green and yellow corriedale roving which you can see in the previous posts:



And here is a sample-size LOOP batt called "ribbon dance". It was FANTASTIC to work with!



There are two more, but I am going to wait until the bit of yarn I'm working on now is finished so I can post a complete "roving to handspun" comparison!

More knitty goodness

My addiction to handspun yarn (especially plied patchworky ones) is consuming me. I have been trying to come up with simple, basic things that I can make out of them with less than ~140 yards. One of my first knitting projects that wasn't a simple garter stitch scarf was this camera cozy. Unfortunately, it is freakishly fine yarn (to me, anyway- I get nervous with anything less than worsted wait, but I am getting over it, slowly...). Well this stuff is probably sock weight, and the smallest needle I had was a 6, so it's loosey-goosey. But it gets the job done. Yarn by Moustache Rides Yarn at Etsy:
Front:

Back:


Another project: A scarflette (idea found on Crafster, somewhere...) with buttons. Yarn is one of my favorite handspuns so far- it's wool and recycled sari silk from Wooly Treasures on Etsy.

Pardon my cat's foot:

Stitch closeup (I will never cease to be amused with the dainty V's)


That's all for now- I must start making some lavender sachets to keep my stash fresh...