15 Minutes a Day

I've decided that maybe if I sew 15 minutes a day it will come faster to me. Tonight, I spent some time testing that theory.

I made a bunch of little square mini pillows. Hey, maybe that's how Betsy Ross got her start.

I was fortunate enough to spend some time weaving at TYF yesterday. I finally got my loom dressed and was good to go. I used some handspun for the weft. My handspun consisted of a bunch of left over fiber that I carded and hand blended together. Total randomness. It also produced a thick & thin yarn. Since this was a yarn that I had created sometime ago, it was much different than what I've been spinning as of late. Perfect for weaving. I wove a twill and some tabby. I had a ton of fun!

Adventures in Fiber

I have an adventurous spirit; some would have used the term "reckless" in my younger days. I am the girl who decided to immigrate to Israel after meeting a guy on the plane home. At 19, it sounded like a good idea to pick up and move in with said man, who happened to be on the other side of the earth. Adventurous, right?

These days, though, I have been trying to be more adventurous with fiber. My first adventure started last week, when I thought card (also known as tablet) weaving looked neat and I should try it. There are several references online and I thought I'd be able to figure it out. I spent some time cutting out the cards, which have to be just right and then started to thread them. I didn't get much further than that.


I would like to pick it back up, but haven't found the time yet.

So where have I been "traveling" off to? I learned to sew! The basics, anyway. A while back, I bought a cheap sewing machine for the purposes of finishing my woven edges. DH was appalled by my purchase and said that we would ask his sister (who studied fashion design) if we could use her machine. I felt uncomfortable asking; fortunately, he was the one that did the asking. She has been immersed in her photography, which is amazing, and had no problem lending me her machine. She was even kind enough to have it serviced. She lent me her Bernina Quilter's Edition and I didn't feel comfortable just "playing" on it. I knew I needed a class or two. So, I looked around the Valley. I found Sew From the Heart. These folks are almost as great as the folks at my LYS. I had my first class yesterday (it was 6 hours!) and I learned so much!!! I plan to take another class on April 8th.



I also finished plying some incredible rainbow yarn! I spoke about the process a little in my last blog. I got it finished and I love it, but I'm not sure what it's meant to be. It's quite coarse, so it might end up in some weaving as a small rug.




It was quite an adventure, since it was the first time I had ever spun locks. Locks are typically long and curly and can sometimes be quite silky. You use a different technique to spin locks.

I wanted to mention something about twist and over-twist. What is twist? It is what happens when you spin yarn. What is over-twist? Over-twist is when you have too much energy in your yarn. Most spinners are looking to achieve what's referred to as a "balanced yarn", that is a yarn that has the right amount of twist. In my blogs, I typically post pictures of yarn that hasn't been washed. Washing the yarn, helps to distribute the twist more evenly. The twist is especially evident in the 3rd and 4th picture above. It's amazing what washing a finished yarn can do. It's like blocking a knit item. It's magic.

I also finished spinning up some singles of the silk that I mentioned in this blog. It was the first time that I had ever spun 100% silk and I don't think I got enough twist in the singles. I'm probably going to run it through my wheel again to get some more twist in it. Apparently, you need more twist in silk than in wool I'm also reconsidering my initial plan of knitting it with a larger yarn and then felting it down - it's just too gorgeous. It is still completely representative of a Phoenix, but what shall it become?

It was a little like spinning fiber into gold and almost as expensive...

TYF (see link for LYS above) hosted their annual destash sale. I think everybody was pretty impressed that a LYS (local yarn store) would do this for their customers. I got a ton of fiber and even Sam (the non-spinner) bought some fiber... for me to spin. *BIG GRIN* Of course, since it's her fiber, she needed to provide me guidance with how she wanted it spun. She wants long color repeats. Here's one of the singles I'm working on.


I've almost got my loom dressed, which means that I have almost got the warp on my loom and the yarn through the heddles and reed. I'm hoping to start weaving tomorrow. Without Terry (at TYF) I don't know how I could have done it. I tried myself (with a video and a book), but classes are the only way to go.

Finally, speaking of classes and adventure, I'm going to be going on a "physical" adventure with a few fiber friends. We are going to the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, OR in June. I signed up for my classes yesterday and I was fortunate enough to get into all of my first choices. I will be taking: spinning cotton, dyeing with mushrooms, spinning cashmere, spinning primitive breeds and spinning angora. Two of my classes are with Judith MacKenzie McCuin who is quite famous in the spinning world. Check out her books. I am surprised by just how many spinning classes I'm taking, but I think it will give me a chance to try new things. Afterall, that's what adventure is about - trying new things.

Knitting Bag Gluttony

I had a post up for a day or so about a knitting bag that I had recently purchased. I have been drooling over the OHD (Offhand Designs) bags for some time. When I posted, I showcased this Zhivago bag in Madeline.

The Zhivago bags are great because you can store so much knitting in them and they have a lot of wonderful pockets. Then, I found a woman on Ravelry who was willing to sell her Zhivago bag in this stunning Rumpelstiltskin fabric. I was so torn. It's impossible to find anything made in this fabric since all of the OHD bags are special edition and limited. I felt a little trivial feeling so conflicted over fabric, but I'm probably not getting another OHD bag anytime soon. I decided to go with the Zhivago in Rumpelstiltskin and canceled my Madeline order. Here are some photos by Jola, the woman I bought the bag from.





She (Jola) really loves the rumpelstiltskin fabric and went through a lot to find this bag. She has a couple of different styles in the fabric. She did such an incredible job communicating with me. It's hard to describe something to someone that can only experience it via photography on a computer screen. I am really looking forward to receiving it from her. Here's a picture of Jola with her dog, Lefty, in a gorgeous sweater that she knit.


I believe that material objects contain energy. Energy of people that have made and designed them, energy of people that have loved them, energy from the materials (think of people that grew the plants to weave the fabric), etc. I think this bag has incredible energy and I haven't even gotten it yet. I feel really lucky. Some would say I'm silly (like my husband), after all, in his mind it is just a bag.

Spinnin' & SAL/KAL Shawl

I feel like I haven't completed many projects in the last few weeks. I attribute this to the fact that I have begun taking on projects that are larger than a simple hat. One such project is the TYF SAL/KAL (Spin-along/Knit-along) shawl. I mentioned this shawl in my last blog and I'm happy to say that I got done in time for its intended purpose - Sam's Birthday!!!



It's the very first time I've ever spun specifically for a project AND crocheted!!! I finished the shawl with a crochet edge. A BIG thank you to Barbara who provided a lot of guidance and help with this project! I am really happy with the way it turned out and I think Sam really loved it. It looked beautiful on her! It also looked really nice on Dennis, of course, I can't think of much that wouldn't look good on him.


I'm spinning up some wensleydale dyed locks. I took a class with Michelle at TYF to understand how to spin certain fibers and I love spinning locks right now! I separated the rainbow goodness into it's rainbow order. Then, I'm going to n-ply the yarn so the colors stay in long blocks. Here's a picture of the first couple of bobbins.


I'm also working on plying some handspun with a novelty eyelash yarn. Barbara hand-dyed the BFL fiber. I should be done plying today. Eyelash yarn is something I never thought I'd be drawn to, but it sure is more flexible than I had originally thought.



I think the MOST exciting fiber thing that I have happening, though, is that I am finally working on getting my loom warped. TYF has started offering more weaving classes. I took a design class with Michelle yesterday and we got my warp wrapped!


My Dad made my warping board and I brought it into the shop. I decided to use some handspun for the weft. It's fitting that my weft is handspun from leftovers of previous classes with Michelle.


TYF was kind enough to let me leave my loom at the shop in preparation for the beginning weaving class! I am so excited! Mac Sally finally made her debut!