Old School

 I spent the afternoon catching up with plying yarn.  This is some art yarn plyed on my Louet Victoria.  100% wool plyed with Little Flowers by Crystal Palace Yarns.  It will go into a hand woven scarf.  No tears or deleted words involved.  Just relaxing joy.  

A Life of itOwn

 The weaving project is starting to take on a life of its own.  The yarn is saying what it wants to be. This is always a good thing. Yesterday I warped the loom and put in the header. That alone took 2 hours. 

Today I started on the design. This skein of very over plyed art yarn just popped up in my search through the spindle spun yarn and art yarn basket.  The basket is about the size of a large laundry basket.  I made a lot of little skeins. The section of orange yarn wanted to be twisted, turned and wrapped around individual threads of the progress was very slow. The small section of orange and the few green leafs took 2 hours of work.  Although I do love the very dramatic effect it has on the project so far.  The up side is that I am so in love with it so far. The art work and the loom. The down side, sorry that there is none.  I am having so much fun.  Tomorrow I might add a river bank and stream  I have the yarn picked out   

I did not sketch out the design ahead of time.  I want this to be a very organic piece.  I want a piece that brings me joy to create. Joy to look at. And joy for other people.  I also did not want this to be a flat tapestry, lots of people do those.  I also know that the weaving and spinning purest are going to hate it. That’s fine with me. This is my art on my terms. 

Buttercup Yarn

 I have finally finished spinning the buttercup roving and plyed it with Ito raw silk yarn. Here is a picture of the last 2 skeins in the middle.  I have not counted the yardage but I am sure that I will have enough to knit a shawl.  The single skein I finished yesterday is on top. The one I finished today are in the middle. The top one was photographed on a light grey table with an Ott light.  The middle 2 skeins were photographed on a brown couch with an Ott light. This is a perfect example of how background color can modify the look of any yarn. The gray brings out the yellow tones while the brown brings out the white tones and mutes the yellow. 

I skeined the yarn tonight during the Lord of the Rings Trilogy fight scenes. I know fight scenes are part of the book. They are also part of the TV show. That does not mean I have to watch them. Skinning each bobbin took up one fight scene. 

The bottom photo is the start of 4 ounces of super wash BFL. It is obviously still on the spinning wheel.  It is not going to be an art yarn. Since it is a super wash wool, I will be using it in charity hats.  My rationale behind this is that a few hundred years ago this was the normal thing.  It will also give me another one of a kind hat.  Just because the kids may get them from the clothing bank does not mean all the hats have to look the same.  The teachers usually get to pick the hats out for the students, so I try to give each on a unique personality. 

Flagstaff Wool and Fiber Festival

 I packed up the last bag of hand spun yarn, even some of my art yarn today. It is heading to the Flagstaff Wool and Fiber Festival, which is the first weekend in June. Merino y Vino will have it in her booth. This is a rare opportunity to get some of my hand spun yarn. Most are one of a kind. Combined with Merino y Vino’s yarn you can knit, spin, crochet or weave a one of a kind creation.  

There are going to be a lot of classes and demonstrations.  A lot of local crafts people and fiber artist. For more information go to the website for Flagstaff Wool and Fiber Festival.  This will have something for everyone. 

Of course if you can’t wait Merino y Vino has a shop on Etsy where you can find her small batch dyed yarn. She can work with you on special orders and customize yarn. Merino y Vino is the dyer of my Square Dance scarf pattern on Raverly. If there are no kits in the shop she can make one for you in the color of your choice, please allow extra time for dyeing the special order yarn. 

Thank you for supporting local hand made items. 

A Perfect Solution

 When a bad body day collides with a highly emotional day there is only one thing to do.  Spin art yarn.  Why art yarn? Art yarn does not have any parameters. If the yarn is not perfectly balanced who cares.  The idea is to have fun.  I make bumps. I spin thick and thin. I spun for 2 hours.  Yes my new medicine is helping.  I make my art yarn batts from bits and pieces.  I play with color.  I never know how it will turn out once it is plyed and washed.  Hopefully it will go with some other art yarn to make a fabulous new shawl for me in a smaller size.  I thought that my shawls would still fit after losing a lot of sizes, not so much. So I need new shawls.   

I also figured out why my Lendrum Spinning Wheel was acting up, it literally had a screw lose.  So rather than  get my tool kit for my spinning wheels, I borrowed a pliers and flat head screw driver from John.  It took more time to locate the tools than to fix the issue.   I guess this means that every so often I should check all the screws out.  

I then changed spinning wheels to my Louet Victoria. After cleaning and oiling the flyer I was ready to spin the core for plying the art yarn just because I can get about 10 ounces on the bigger bobbin.  Once the white is spun, I will ply all the art yarn that I spun today.  From right to left. Pale pink, purple, red and a green yellow blend.  

Hats and More

 I am busy knitting scrappy hats for the kids. I decided not to pull a big tub out for the small leftover bits of yarn this year.  When I reached 2 project bags full of small balls of yarn it was scrappy hat time. I am almost 3/4 way through the first bag.  I finished my 75th hat for the year tonight and have 3 more in progress on the knitting needles.

I am also on a spinning binge. I am currently using the last of my Louet Victoria bobbins. I suggested to John that he make me a few more. He gently suggested that I ply and skein up the yarn to get more bobbin space. So after I finish filling my last bobbin, I will set up my Louet Victoria for plying.  

You all know that this will lead to more weaving of shawls and scarf's. I am not sure what I will do with most of them, as I do not see any art shows or gallery showings in my future.  Oh well, it's not like we have any travel plans in the near future.  I have got to keep myself busy.  Besides shawls, hats and scarfs take up less space than fiber or yarn.

Projects 134 to 145

The next 11 projects are 11 skeins of hand spun art yarn for my older sister. Hopefully these will leave the house tomorrow.  Unfortunately I did not count the yardage.  Each round on my Knitty noddy is 2 yards long. Since she is an engineer I think that she can handle the math.

The Next Challenge

My next Spinning and knitting challenge is to take these 2 tubs of lace and fingering weight yarns and reaping them to make a worsted weight yarn for charity hat and scarf knitting, and scarf weaving. There was a phase in my knitting where I actually thought I could find the perfect time to knit lace work.  After adding bits of lace to some projects I found that lace knitting was not fun and not for me.   To compound the problem well meaning friends gave me a lot of wool to knit with.  I just don’t knit with those weights of yarn.  

So the first part of the challenge will be to sort the yarn between super wash and non super wash wool.  The super wash wool will be plyed to make charity hats and scarfs.  The non super wash will be plyed to make woven scarfs.  The reason for this is that when a scarf is woven and washed there is a certain amount of shrinkage that goes along with the finishing process.  So I don’t have to worry that it will shrink. The shrinkage would be a major problem with hand knit hats and scarfs.  

The first photo is how the yarn will look like after it is replyed the second picture is the first stage of the challenge. Once this is finished I will move to odd balls of dk weight yarns. If you are a spinner and want to learn how to do this and just happen to live or visit the Tucson area just call Grandmas Spinning Wheel to schedule a class. I can schedule a class with anywhere from 1 to 5 students.  If your spinning group or guild would like to learn just contact me.   It is a great stash buster.  I even make art yarns with plying.

I have been busy trying to put store throat and it’s aftermath behind me.  I have not caught up yet.  I still have a few patterns to type up and take pictures of. I also have a few designs in the process, yes I am taking good notes.

I am also getting a lot of Spinning and art yarn spinning done.  I am trying for a couple of skeins a week until my fiber stash is smaller.  So if you need art yarn for a project be sure to check out Grandmas Spinning Wheel in Tucson for some very 1 of a kind skeins.

I have a slew of knitting that needs the rows counted and added to Raverly too.

Well it’s time to call it a day.

Projects 68 to 74

Here are the next 7 finished projects.  All are hand spun yarn. 4 are art yarn. All are going to Grandmas Spinning Wheel in Tucson on Friday. They are all one of a kind skeins of yarn. They will be in the hand spun yarn by local Tucson Fiber Artists section of the shop. All will be priced $34.00 or less.

Feeling Better

After sleeping most of the day, I am happy to report that I am feeling better.  I will still try to keep things on the light side though. So this afternoon I designed 4 pairs of earrings, 1 of which I am keeping.  I plied 3 skeins of art yarn.  To top the night off I started knitting a new hat.  I expected that my creative energy will be all over the place for at least a few days.  I really can’t wait to see what happens.

Feeling Under Siege

After being awake since Sunday morning, Eric is finally asleep. This has been a rough cold on all of us. My first hope now is that he does not get a secondary infection from this cold. I also hope that John and I did not catch this cold. As usual it takes Eric about 1 day to recover for every day that he has been sick. So I think that I will keep him home for the rest of the week. I have help for the next two days so that I can play catch up.

Believe it or not laundry is one of those things. Eric managed to hit all of my PJ's So my clothes are on the list to wash. Yes I managed to wash Eric's clothes, towels and sheets so far this week, these clothes are less fussy then my clothes as they can be left in the dryer once they are finished. Almost all of John's and mine need to be hung wet to dry.

On the knitting front I went a little wacky and started knitting a scarf for the fundraiser with a combination of art yarn and sock yarn. Since both yarns have been discontinued it will be a one of a kind scarf. I will show pictures when it is finished. Now I just have to motivate myself that it is really time to weave in the ends of the hat and scarf that I managed to finish even with Eric sick.

My First Spin

Today I did my first spin post hand surgery. I will generously call it an art yarn. This is a blend of wool, silk, add ins and buffalo. This is also a thick and thin yarn. I  think this will remain a single ply. I think it will be most suitable for weaving.  It might be a few months before my spinning will get beyond the art yarn stage.   So it is now time to start stash diving to find the arty type of fluff.  

A Productive Day

Today I had a very productive day.  I got through all my high priority items. I am also finding it harder to save more than 25% off my grocery bill. Everything seems stacked against the consumer. I find it amazing at how much work I can get done without a headache.  I ran until I fell asleep.  After a 3 hour nap I played last nights last skein of yarn. 

John and I cooked dinner together. Although I was disappointed that my favorite brand of goat cheese mozerella  is now lighter by about 2 ounces per package. I figured it out when I was shearding the cheese.  So we had less cheese on our pizza. I don't know why they did not leave the package the same size and just raise the price like they have done for the past few years.  

After dinner I spun 2 more skeins of art yarn.  Tomorrow I think that I will have a major change of plans.  Eric has an eyrpy tummy and is clammy. I was suppose to teach someone to knit and do a yarn pick up,for the guild. I will see what tonight holds for Eric and then make what changes that I need too tomorrow.  

Sorry about the scattered blog post, I have been scattered all day. 

A Day Off

I like Thursday's , because it is my day off.  I took a slow approach to today.  After John and Eric left, I took a nap. John and I then looked at cabinet inserts and granite.  Then there was lunch at at Loving Spoonfuls on Campbell avenue, a Tucson favorite of mine.  They have some of the best vegan food in town. The owner Peggy also has her first cookbook that just got published, I am quite sure if you went in to buy a copy, she would sign it for you.  It is a nice book with wonderful pictures /recipes and would make a great gift.  John and my sister Karen joined me for lunch.  

Then it was off to spin at Grandmas Spinning Wheel. I managed to spin 3 skeins of art yarn today.  They have been washed and are drying in the garage. Karen had never been to the Thursday spinning group and had a good time, although she did unravel the blanket she was working on.  On the bright side she get to use the yarn again. 

Yesterday the air conditioning compressor and motor blew out on the van. John did manage to get the parts ordered and they will fix it tomorrow.  It's a four hour job, grumble, grumble.  I think this is good since John said Eric was not a fan of 440 air conditioning.  440 is when you roll down all 4 windows and go 40 mph to cool the car. I am glad that I was not driving to see the pouty face that Eric was making.  Then when he got home he had to sit under the fan to cool off.  

Look for new listings this weekend in my Etsy shop. I have to make room for all the kitchen stuff and could use the space.  If you have a special order in mind please let me know.  

Formula Everywhere

Today was a good day for spinning.  I have a lot of yarn drying on the line. I got 3 skeins spun, 2 of art yarn and 1 skein of Shetland.  I have almost finished another hat too.  

My sister Karen and I went to the Tucson Museum of Art today.  They had some pretty neat Pre-Cloumbian spindles.  They were so thin and and light.  No wonder yarn and thread were so precious back then.  It must have taken months to spin enough yarn or thread to make anything.  The lace was pretty neat too.  

Tonight we had a formula leak. Everything had to be changed.  So at 8 pm I started another load of laundry.  So Snoopy and a whole load of laundry are running.  Eric is much happier now that he is dry and I am doing more laundry.  For some reason Eric likes it when I do laundry.  

A Day Off

I had a very good day off filled with a few chores and lots of naps.  In between naps I did the finishing work on 2 rag rugs and spun 3 skeins of art yarn. I did not find time to rewrap the loom for the next rag rug. 

Tomorrow I plan on hanging around with my sister KK who is visiting from Los Angeles. So far it has been a good visit. Today she enjoyed relaxing at Starpass.  

Cleaning at a New Level

This morning I have taken my cleaning to a new level. Over the years I have ended up with bits and pieces of fiber left over from other spinning projects and samples that I just did not know what to do with.  So this morning I got out my Ashford Art Carder, so appetly named I think. I am taking many little bits and pieces and mixing them up together to make one of a kind mini batts to be spun up into you guessed it more art yarn.   Here is the batch of 7 batts that I made this morning.

I also managed to spin 1 art skein too.  It was a very crafty day around here.    I had friends over working on projects too.  Amber managed to make 2 bibs from scratch and appliqué Elmo's on 4 bibs.  Amber also finished a twin sized blanket for a gift. I taught Lisa how to use her new to her spinning wheel and she made some great art yarn. We will have to do this again.  

New Shoes and More

Eric slept for 12 full hours last night. I can not remember the last time that had happened. Me on the other hand was up at around 4am from arthritis pain. Eric was in a really good mood today too. Although I can not figure out how he managed to get more sleep today as he dozed on and off. I really hope that he sleeps tonight. So far its almost 11pm and he is still up.

As for the arthritis pain in my knee, I recently did some research on causes of foot/knee pain. Report after report said that the slip on shoes that I like can be a cause of improper alignment of the foot, that leads to bad body alignment. They all recommended sandals with sturdy soles and the straps that go across the front of the foot, mid foot and a strap that goes behind the heal. Yesterday I went shoe shopping and today I wore the first pair. Gravity Defyer - Amelia in black. The stiffness has not gone totally away, but I have not had any Tylenol since 4am and I don't think that I needed any until bed time. I have not had any sharp or shooting pain. No muscle cramps in my calf's. So day 1 is a success. I did take one Tylenol right before I was going to sleep an hour ago. Also I would like everyone to know up front that I had never heard of this brand before shopping yesterday. I paid the going rate for the sandals at the time of purchase and was not asked by the company to review these shoes. I am also not giving any professional medical advice. Please go to your personal physician for any medical questions.

On the spinning front I am trying another artsy spin on a drop spindle in shades of purple with diffrent fibers. I will post a picture once it is plied. I also started the second half of a poncho. I am really tired and hope that Eric goes to sleep soon.

A Lesson Learned

I learned a lesson today. It does not matter the price of the roving so much as the quality of the roving or the dyer. Yes the last 4 skeins of yarn were turned into art yarn not out of choice but out of necessity.

The last batch of roving looked very pretty but was felted in spots. This lead to thick and thin yarn, like a brand new spinner. The experts said my spinning would never look like my first wheel spins. Wrong. Kathy said that I would run across roving like this. She was so right. Another thing I found out was spinning semi felted roving hurts my hands with all the tugging necessary to come up with some semblance of yarn. Thus I have spun my first art yarn. All 4 skeins look different. A a valuable lesson learned.

Now it is time to get to bed. Night all.