First Yarn

This yarn is the finished product from my previous post.  I call it "carnival" because it reminds me of some of the costumes I have seen at carnival time in places like Rio or New Orleans.

The process of spinning on a drop spindle vs. a spinning wheel is more time consuming and takes a little practice.  I've been spinning regularly for about 6 or 7 months. First I spun a lot of singles and now I am plying two strands together to create what we normally think of as "yarn." It took me a little bit to remember that plying the two strands together requires one to spin in the opposite direction as when spinning the single.  Its all a work in progress as I continue to experiment and learn.

The wool itself is soft and fluffy. The hand carded batt is from Pumpkinhaus fiber arts and weighs 3 ounces. I plyed it with another roving in orange wool with silk and have enough out of the batt to create a nice scarf and perhaps some mitts.  I haven't yet found a pattern to showcase all my hard work but I will make certain to take pictures when I do. 

Spinning yarn with my drop spindle and loving it.

 A couple of weeks ago I traveled to Grayslake, IL and shopped for wool at Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Festival at the Lake County Fairgrounds.  I purchased two bundles of wool that were bright and cheerful and made me smile.  This is the first one. Since I began spinning with a drop spindle about 6 months ago I have been practicing and practicing. At first I made singles and have knitted a couple of things out of the first singles I made. Now I am spinning singles and have learned how to ply them and create yarn that actually looks like the real thing.

The singles to the left here and the close up photo below are made from the roving above. I am plying these with some orange wool with silk roving that I had begun spinning about a month ago.  So far I have plyed 3 skeins and am working my way through 4 more. When they are all done I will post a picture.

This is the wool batt that I purchase and have not yet spun.  Will let you know how it turns out.

 Happy, happy wool!

I've been struggling lately with the sad closing of my local yarn shop due to the struggling economy. Its a beautiful place where I've spent many happy hours getting to know fellow yarn addicts and knitting. I've shared with them some of my world and they have shared with me. Today is the last day and then where will I go when I want to escape the house and work and all the hustle and bustle and just sit and knit to my hearts content? We will see ....

I love KnitSpot patterns and I found this one today. They are challenging and NOT boring patterns. I have a couple of skeins of beautiful lace weight yarn and I think this will be a perfect challenging project. Just perfect for spring.

Cute Stuff for Valentine's Day

I love red -- and February is the month for it. Since I cannot get to my studio I thought I would share some of the red hearts I've discovered.

Cute Hat

A Look Back ...

With my schedule right now I cannot get to the felting table -- even during my "time off". So I am content to looking back at some cuties that I made a while ago. I love working in red wool and made a couple of table runners that had heart themes. Then my little foray into needle felted nisseman are so cute.

More Pics from the Past

More great purses from past projects.

More inspiring publications

This is also a beautiful magazine which is new to me. It is not specifically about felting but contains some interesting info about emerging artists and what they are doing.