Spin City

It didn't take long to hook me into spinning. I can take or leave the spindle, but I am loving the wheel!

Last week in class we learned how to ply our spindle-spun singles back onto the spindle. Here's a photo of that "yarn". (I am using the term loosely here)


Then we were shown some things about the wheel, and off I went. I guess the problems I had when I tried before were all due to faulty adjustment of the Scotch tension. Now I get it!

First thing I spun on the wheel was the rest of the natural roving that we were given in class. This top layer is actually not the best...there is some better, more uniform spinning under this layer. But I had been sitting for a while, and starting to get tired, and careless. Still, all in all, not a bad try.


Then I decided to dig into a huge bag of roving I had gotten about 18 months ago (before I even had thoughts of being a spinner....I thought this was going to be used for wet felting, needle felting, etc) A lady had come into the shop saying she had "a barn full" of roving, and was there anyone that would want to spin some of it for her in exchange for some free roving. No one was interested, but I said I would like to come out and see what she had, and maybe I'd buy some. She wanted me to try out some techniques and maybe see if I could come up with a wet felted purse or something.

Well.....she lived a LONG way from the shop....out in the boonies in an area I had never been before. I took a nice long Sunday summer drive and finally got to her house. She took me out to the pole barn, and yes, she had a LOT of roving. The barn was not "full" but there was a huge pile in the corner that was probably 8 feet high at least and it spilled out from the corner maybe another 20 or 30 feet. There were bags upon bags upon bags of roving. My eyes were probably bugging out of my head when I saw it.

I started going through the bags and pulling out things that looked interesting. Her husband handed me a huge plastic bag (way bigger than a trash bag) and I filled it to the brim. Then I asked how much they wanted for it, and they kind of looked at each other and shrugged, and then finally, tentatively said...."$20.00????" I grabbed a twenty from my pocket so fast, hoping they wouldn't change their mind! I got sooooo much roving. Some of it is just wool, some of it is a wool/silk/mohair blend, there is other unidentified fiber too. Some of it had tags on it, giving the fiber content, weight, and a price. It was all straight from the mill.

I guess the husband's ex-wife had a yarn store or some reason to have all this processed fiber, and he got it in the divorce, or she died...I don't remember the story. But there was a sh*tload of it and I wish I had gotten MORE MORE MORE! I recently (before I got my wheel/decided to become a spinner) came across her phone number and address when going through my desk, but I don't remember if I tossed it or kept it. I should try to find that piece of paper again....

But, I digress....

I decided since this fiber was practically free, I wouldn't feel bad using it for practice. It's not like I'm going to run out any time soon.

So I spun 2 bobbins. I was just playing around....Sometimes using one of the three colors, sometimes two, sometimes all three. I like how it looks as singles. But I have a feeling there is too much twist in it. I know plying will help that, but I'm afraid that if I ply it I will loose some of the distinction between the colors...that it will look muddied. I am thinking of spinning the black pencil roving Diane sent me for Christmas and plying it with that, so the colors will be a contrast against the black, instead of fighting against each other.

Thoughts?

Here's a small length that I just let twist back on itself. All of this section was pretty much blended colors so I might end up with something different all together if I were to ply the whole lengths. Who knows....I'm still learnin' !

We don't have class tonight because the teacher is in FL. Good thing, because we got a good amount of snow today and the 112 mile drive (each way) may have been a little bit dicey. Plus it gives me more time to get my homework done.

We were given a hunk of alpaca to spin (yummmmmmmmmy) and also a couple layers of silk caps. That should be interesting. I found a video on youtube that shows how to draft the silk so that was helpful. I haven't done either of those but I have another week to get it done.

Meanwhile, 3 of my 4 bobbins are full, so I ordered these and now I have plenty of storage bobbins. You can't beat the price at .50 each (if you buy 12 or more). So I got 20, and shipping was only $5 so I can fill up a LOT of bobbins for $15. I got them at Halcyon Yarns and they came really fast. I got them today.


I am going to use Mike's drill with something shoved in the chuck to wind my singles onto the storage bobbins so I can do some more spinning!

Of course when I got my Threadbear newsletter yesterday, there was mention of an intermediate spinning class. Aw geez, you know I'm probably going to have to sign up for that one too.........

Catching up misc.

The holidays are over, the decorations packed away, and we are back to the ol' routine.

I received some wonderful knitting/spinning goodies for Christmas. My friend Jane sent me a beautiful spindle and several colors of roving. The colors coordinate nicely so I think I will ply them together (someday when I know how to spin better)



My sister sent me some pencil roving, and 2 skeins of luscious alpaca yarn from Dakota Alpaca Farm in SD, which is where she lives. The fleece came from an alpaca named Ellenique, so that's what the yarn is called. So yummmmmy......


In our Secret Santa name draw for the BeeGees knitting group, Sharon gave me the book No Pattern Knits which I had been wanting.

I have been itching to take a spinning class. The one I thought I would take at Heritage in February unfortunately is going to be held on 2 days that I already have plans for. The next classes there aren't until April.

I didn't want to wait that long, and Threadbear was having a beginning spinning class, so I signed up. It's 4 Friday evenings, and it started last Friday. Threadbear is one of my favorite places in the world to hang out, but because it's 2 hours from my house (112 miles) I don't get there as often as I'd like.

Now some of you might think it's a little crazy to drive 2 hours, take a 2 hour class, and drive 2 more hours home. At night. In January/February. In Michigan. 4 times. Yes...kind of kooky. But I love hanging out with Rob and Matt, seeing all the new goodies they have acquired since the last time I was there, etc.

Luckily I was able to convince my friend Tamara to take the class with me. So I have someone to talk to on the way there and back, and if anything wonky were to happen on the road, I wouldn't be alone. It's fun having a friend in class too. The drive out there and back last week was in pouring rain most of the 4 hours, but it could have been worse. Could have been snow, or the ice we got overnight last night. They are saying snow for Friday this week, but it's only Monday, so we'll see if the forecast changes by then.....

Our spinning teacher, Jackie, is a gem. We learned a lot about the fleece and what's involved in preparing it for spinning. Our homework was to wash one hunk of fleece that is right off the sheep. Then we had to "flick" another handful of wool that had already been washed. Then we are to use the spindle and spin some carded roving which we will ply this week.

Look...I'm spinning!




Not too bad, I guess. I'm getting the hang of it. I'm finding that pre-drafting is the way to go. We will start learning about the wheel this week, and I am really looking forward to being able to use my wheel that I got several months ago. Yeah!



What's on the needles? Well, several things. I am in the middle of doing a new shop sample of my Bloom Shawl pattern for Threadbear in Diakeito Rococo. The color repeats in this yarn are longer than the other yarns I've knit the other Bloom Shawls in, but I like how it's turning out.

I'm also working on the felted Mancala game from Knitty that I promised Jake I would make him.

And a couple of overdue Christmas gifts for my eternally patient, dear friend Maria.

When I get her gifts in the mail I will get back to my new pattern...which will hopefully, FINALLY, be announced soon!

In the midst of the holiday mayhem....

...A birthday!

Kim turned 24 yesterday. She was coming over for dinner after work, so I got up and put some beef stroganoff in the crockpot (her request)...baked her cake (cherry chip, her request)...made a loaf of bread...washed the dishes, cleaned up the house....headed out to do some last minute Christmas shopping....came home and helped Jake make a card for Kim....at which time I thought to myself how wonderful it would be to just. close. my. eyes.

Looked at the clock and saw that it was 4:40! Nope, no time for a cat nap. Went back to the kitchen and started making a huge batch of noodles for the stroganoff. (I love me some homemade noodles...mmmm.....) Before I knew it Kim was there and we were ready for a wonderful birthday dinner. Unfortunately her husband Drew didn't show up for quite a while but we warmed up dinner for him when he got here. Meanwhile my parents came for cake (no ice cream....silly me forgot it during my trip out in the afternoon) and coffee and a nice visit.

Kim got a bread maker and electric knife from us. Kaitlyn gave her a sweater, and Jake gave her a bag of bread flour, some yeast, and powdered milk. So she's all set to make bread! I hope she enjoys her bread maker as much as I love mine.

My bread machine is getting a workout right now. We are in the process of making 6 dozen dinner rolls for the first of our Christmas celebrations on Saturday (the BIG one with Mike's side of the family...probably about 50 of us in all).

I am also going to make the dough for Christmas morning cinnamon rolls in the machine. And will probably make a loaf of bread sometime tomorrow since we are out.

Sunday is our second celebration with my parents, and my brother and his family. I have made a cheesecake for that, and also 2 more cheesecakes that will be cut into quarters, wrapped in foil, and frozen, and this will be my brother's Christmas gift. He LOVES cheesecake, and I did this for him about 5 years ago and he says it was one of his favorite gifts, so I figured it was time for a repeat.

I still have 2 Christmas gifts to finish knitting. One is going to be late, but thankfully the recipient is very understanding of my procrastination. (Hi Maria!) I'm pretty sure I can finish up the other one tomorrow. I have another gift that will be late, but once again....good friends understand (Hi Jane!)

So tomorrow is my last day to get it all done. Then it's 3 days of Christmas. After celebrating in a big way with both of our families Saturday and Sunday, it will be so nice to stay home on Christmas day, just the 6 of us. (Kim and Drew will spend the night Christmas Eve to be there for the fun in the morning, as has become their tradition). We will get up "whenever", open our gifts in a leisurely fashion, stop for breakfast when the mood strikes, and then just hang out. Maybe watch a movie, maybe take a nap.....eat whatever and whenever we feel like it...stay in our jammies if that feels right. We don't go anywhere on Christmas, nor do we have people over. Too many years we were running around on Christmas day and I finally put an end to it. I'm so glad we have turned our Christmas day into a "just us" day. It feels right.

Happy Holidays to you all!

Knit Knit Knit....

....and I can't show you a bit!

That's one thing I dislike about holiday knitting...not being able to show it off here! I am working feverishly, and trying to get as much done as possible without totally burning out. I think everyone I have knit for so far reads my blog, so no progress can be shown. Drats.

I'm fitting in some holiday shopping too, but doing as much as possible online. So many places offer free shipping so why go out in the madness, spend time and gas to get to the mall, when you can sit in your jammies in the middle of the night, clicking buttons, and a few days later the man in brown brings it right to your door? Why indeed. I know some people enjoy the shopping frenzy...it gets them in the holiday spirit. Me? Nah.....I avoid it at all costs.

Not much else to report ... just thought I'd pop in and say HI!

Now, back to the previously scheduled program knitting.

Still working....

Well, the pattern didn't get done in a week as I hoped. I started stressing out about UFCOs (unfinished Christmas objects) so after finishing the BIG Christmas gift, I finished a couple more things I had on the needles and started another. I've GOT to get some of this stuff done, even if it's at the expense of my new pattern. I'm still working on it, but I've had to make a few more changes which means it's a 1 step forward 2 steps back type of thing. I thought by making the announcement on my blog I'd be lighting a fire under my own butt, but it only proved to burn me. Now I'm just looking foolish. Oh well....stuff happens. Like Christmas, and other "life" things that get in the way of just sittin' and knittin'.

I'll get it done..... soon....but I'm not making any more deadlines for myself!

First Holiday FO!

I'm so relieved to have my first holiday knitting gift finished! I just completed it about 30 minutes ago. It has been about 6 months in the making and was approximately 31,000 stitches! I don't know if the recipient will be reading this so I will say no more.

I have a few more Christmas gifts on the needles and several more waiting in line. I hope I can get to them all AND get my new pattern ready. I see lots of late nights ahead!

After a 2 week stay in the body shop, my beloved Yarnbox will be coming home tomorrow. Hopefully good as new. I have really missed driving around in my green machine, especially since I have been driving a gas-guzzling van. Give me those 33 mpg any day!

Watch this spot!

I will soon be unveiling my newest design. Hopefully I can get the sample finished, photos taken, the pattern tweaked and printed within the next week. Yeah!

Almost there

While I'm feeling much better than I was a week ago, I'm still not 100%. But I'm getting there...
I learned along the way that doing too much too soon is never a good idea. I also was surprised to find that sitting and knitting was not really on my mind much early on in the recouperation. I think my mind was a little too fuzzy from the drugs, and I was better just being a blob on the couch or in my bed...watching TV, reading, or browsing around online.

My birthday was good. I got some great gifts. Jake gave me a Detroit Tigers T-shirt (and bought a hat for himself at the same time) We're down 2-1 in the World Series right now, but still hoping we can pull it off. It's been a long time comin'......

Mike, Kaitlyn, Kim and Drew pitched in a bought me a new bread machine. My old one gave out a few years ago and I have really missed having freshly baked bread in the house. This is the one I got. It arrived on Friday, and I have already made 4 loaves of bread and Mike made pizza dough on Saturday. Since it makes a 2 lb. loaf, I could see we were going to go through a lot of bread flour, so we went to Costco last night and bought a 50 lb. bag! Gotta find a good way to store it now. Anyway, so far I've made a basic white bread, cinnamon/raisin, Italian Herb, and Apple Oat.

Mike also got me a pair of tickets to see STOMP on Thursday. It was our third time going, and it was just as enjoyable as the other times. I wish we could have taken the kids, but tix were a bit expensive. Maybe next time.

Diane sent me an awesome felted angora nuno scarf. It's truly a work of art. The base fabic is kind of a sparkly irridescent mesh. Hard to describe, and the photo doesn't really do it justice, but here it is! (the fabric shows through more on one side than the other, so I made sure to show both sides in the photo.)



My friend Jane sent me the Spin to Knit book, which is perfect...given I am just learning to spin. She also sent me some beautiful roving that I can't wait to spin, once I get a little bit better at it. It would be a shame to ruin it (which is what I would do if I tried to spin it now!)

My dear friend, Maria, sent me gift cards to Borders, which I can't wait to go browse the knitting books and see what I can find.

My mom and dad gave me a subscription to Spin Off...yeah!

So, it was a good birthday, holes in my belly and all...

The claims adjuster came to check out my car this morning. He said the check will be in the mail in a few days and then I can take her to the dealership to get fixed. I sure hope they do a good job. I want her back, good as new!!! Poor Yarnbox.....



That's $3000.00 worth of damage! They are going to replace the hatch, bumper and quarter panel. I'm glad, because I was worried about how it would look if they tried to bump it out. I hope the paint matches perfectly. I'll be glad when the boo-boos are fixed.

Good Riddance to Bad Company

So my gall bladder is gone. Hopefully it was indeed what was causing all the problems over the past 10 months and as soon as my (4) incisions heal, I will be feeling much better.

I got to the surgery center at 8:30 as requested for my 10:00 surgery. I didn't actually get to the OR until 11:45. Hurry up and wait, ya know? The procedure took just an hour, and after a short time in recovery, I was on my way just after 2 pm.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in bed, got up for some soup around 6 pm, and then went back to bed. I didn't feel like knitting, so just caught up on some email, watched tv, and read.

This morning I am feeling a bit more pain than yesterday. It's a gloomy, rainy morning, so I think I will be going back to sleep for a bit, and then see how I feel. I did bring my knitting back up to the bedroom, so maybe I'll be inspired later.

My mom made me a big batch of cinnamon rolls to bring home with me yesterday (YUMMY!! Thanks Mom!) She and my dad came and sat with me (and Kim) yesterday before surgery, brought Kim some lunch while she waited, and then stayed until I was ready to go home. My sister (and her friend Becky) sent me a chocolate-themed box of goodies...Look!



The candle is "white chocolate mint" and smells really good. There are some of those new Hershey sticks in dark chocolate, some cocoa mixes, chocolate lotion, and then a Soduko book and some thank you notes. Thanks Diane and Becky!

Sunday it was sunny so I was able to get a picture of the yarn I bought from Lynn. Isn't it lovely?



Ok, back to bed for me....I want to feel better for "my day" tomorrow! (though I think any celebration will wait until the weekend....)

Happenings

Some good, some not so good.

I'll start with Thursday night. My beloved Yarnbox (my special edition Scion xB for those of you who are not aware of my obsession with my car) suffered a rear end boo-boo. I won't go into details. Hopefully she'll be good as new soon. I couldn't even bear to look at her yesterday let alone drive her. Poor Yarnie. I did drive her today though....LOTS.... because....

I drove to Lansing and back. Lots of fun in between. My day started VERY early since I needed to be at Threadbear by 9:30 am. It's just about a 2 hour drive. I had to get up around 5:30. Sorry, but 5:30 and I do not get along well at all. But it was worth it. They were having their "Fall Fling", with several vendors set up around the shop. I was asked to be one of them. Thanks Rob and Matt! I had a great time!

Lynn H. set up right next to me. What fun we had chatting all day long. I just love Lynn. I just love looking at Lynn's handdyed yarns. Today I finally bought a skein. The last of this colorway, ever. I said if it was still on her display at the end of the day, then it was meant to be mine. It was, and it is! Yeah! Well I just tried to get a good picture of it, but flash is not doing it justice. If it's sunny tomorrow I'll get one and show you. It's soooo purdy.

I had a great time, and got home just a few minutes ago. Just in time to see the home run that clinched the Detroit Tigers' place in the World Series. YEAH TIGERS!

Next week should be interesting. I am having surgery on Monday to remove my gallbladder. I have been having symptoms for just about 10 months now. After MANY tests (and MANY dollars that the less-than-wonderful insurance didn't cover) finally they are going to do something about it (costing many MORE dollars that the aforementioned insurance won't cover...ugh) Anyway, even though it's not about the money, it's just a lot of expense at a time when we are still trying to catch up after Mike's layoff this summer.

Be that as it may, please think good thoughts for me Monday around 10 am to noon (EST). Hopefully all will go well and this procedure will indeed cure what ails me. I'm pretty tired of dealing with it by this time.

Wednesday is my birthday. Here's hoping that I am feeling better by then. If not, I'm not going to push it. I'll recover as long as I have to. God knows I have enough yarn to keep me busy for as long as I'm on the couch, ya know? And yes, I will remember the fact that pain meds and fancy-schmancy knitting do NOT mix, unless you love the frog pond.

Contest Winners Announced

I've been waiting to hear back from my third place winner but so far...nothing. So I am going to announce my 2 other winners. If I don't hear from the other winner soon, I will be randomly sending the last prize to one of my contributors, without any further announcement here. It'll be a complete surprise if something shows up in your mailbox from me!

I've decided not to post a picture of the loot at this time...I want it to be a surprise when the winners get their package. Perhaps they will post photos on their blogs when the prizes arrive. If not, I will post a picture after I know they have received their goodies.

The first winner is Jenn. Her blog is That Girl Who Knits.

The second winner is Christine. You can read her blog here---->> Shteeni's Knits.

Thanks to both of you, and once again, to everyone who helped me reach my goal for the 3-Day Walk!

I couldn't hold out any longer....

Well, I've tried for years to resist. I did pretty well, I think....putting the thoughts of spinning out of my mind for this long...insisting that I didn't need another obsession in my life. Recently someone asked me if I was a spinner. I said no. She corrected me and said "No, not yet". She was right.

My resolve has been weakening. The thought has been tickling the outer edges of my brain. I stopped trying so hard to push it aside. Then, a couple weeks ago, I mentioned in passing that I might want to get a wheel. Delphine, who I worked with at the shop, said she had a wheel that she didn't use any more. She thought she might be interested in selling it to me.

No more was said, and I let it go to the outer edges of my brain again.

Saturday night I played some poker and won some money. When we got home that night, I took the money out of my pocket and put it on the dresser and said "maybe this will be a downpayment on my new spinning wheel" and I went to bed.

Things started to come together in my brain. The HUGE bag of roving I have started telling me "I want to be yarn already, darnit!" So I got in touch with Delphine, asked her if she was serious, and how much she wanted for her wheel. She gave me a price, and it was one I could live with, so today I became the proud owner of this:

An Ashford Traveller...I am clueless as to how to use it. I know it needs to be dusted off, oiled, and needs a drive band. My friends Chris and Rebecca both got wheels when the shop went out of business. Neither of them has learned to spin yet. Jenny (who also worked at the shop) is going to teach the 3 of us....hopefully SOON!

I brought home a book and a video from the library. Maybe I'll see if I can play around with it a little bit. I know I have a LOT to learn. But I guess I'm going to become a spinner!

(it looks so "at home" next to the fireplace, huh? Coco thoroughly checked it out when I brought it in....)