My newest project is a baby blue and yellow pairing. I used the navajo ply to practice my skillz and this is what came off my bobbin:


Unfortunately I didn't get much because I used my new wheel to create this and we fought the entire time. I like the colors and I think I may try this again... I just hope I can get more that 18 yards off at a time!

Next quarter is shaping up to be exciting. I will be not only learning new techniques for spinning, but I'll also be learning how to weave! How sweet is that? Anywho, I gotta start getting my cash together so that I can buy accessories and all the other supplies I'll need. If you want lessons or want to buy any hand spun yarn, let me know. Soon enough I'll set up an etsy account for everyone to enjoy!

Time to drag myself to class... ugh

Well then!

It has been a while, but for a bit I kinda stalled out on creating stuff... The lack of fiber didn't help though. Anywho, I finally finished my eggplant/moss green ric-rac ...



...and have moved over to knitting for the time being. Next quarter I may have plenty of time to create yarn and whatnot. So, below I have posted pictures of both a belt I've been knitting and the beginning of a patchwork afghan. It should turn out cute with a mix of yellow and purple patches.

The belt kinda makes me think Christmas, but the colors work so well together and I needed to use both yarns up so... Also, the belt has been knit on some wonderful bone knitting needles that I received as a gift and love to use :)


I'm going to stitch the yellow and purple patches together to make a cute afghan or something like that. I've been addicted to the color yellow lately. I even plan to paint my room yellow... but I'll leave one wall blue so I won't be overwhelmed with its brilliance :)

Garden Edition

I'm just biding my time, waiting for things to warm up a little more and hoping that this year I'll actually get a real garden! Right now my plans are either to work on the college's organic farm or focus on spinning for a quarter. Either option is more appealing than just sitting around my house with nothing to do or continuing to take the program I'm stuck in this quarter (no offense to my prof).

Anywho! I'm reading a book by Carol Deppe titled Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties and I must say I'm excited. I'll give you a more thorough review when I get through the book. It seems at first glance to really help you understand selection and the genetics behind it. Spring brings me back to pursuing my passions - gardening, fiber arts, apiculture, and interest in some day owning fiber producing animals. I'd most likely want to start with satin angoras as their fur has a more satiny sheen than traditional angoras and they are small and easy to manage. I mean, I'd love to have alpacas and sheep, but that takes land and money that I don't have at the moment. One day.....

More exciting news is that the Obama's are bringing back the tradition of the Victory Garden. I can't imagine something more "real" to bring people back to their roots. As some of you may know, my interest in food has become something of an obsession. I attempt to buy local as often as possible and grow some of my own food. In reality, we cannot support everyone becoming "locavores", but with just a percentage of everyone's diet made up of homegrown or locally grown produce, we can help support local businesses and more importantly the people working hard to make it happen. I mean, before the 50's, most people still had chickens in their back yards and now it's almost unheard of.... but slowly such things are growing in popularity. I'm glad this movement has grown and that I see people of all ages participating in the movement toward better, fresher, and more local foods.

Whew! Now that I'm done with that rant, I'll go start on my homework...

Update on Project

Bam!!

I thought I would play with coils (0r worms...) with this yarn and I love the look of them. I can't wait to try my hand at a fully coiled yarn (check it out on etsy.com if you're unfamiliar with the term/look).

Also for your entertainment I present Yarn Ball! Yarn Ball just happens to be a cousin to Beard Ball. If you haven't met Beard Ball, be thankful.... :)


I'm excited to say that I will be receiving two fleeces on which to hone my skills from John's mom. It will be a fun challenge to work from fleece to yarn. Next up will be an eggplant and moss green ric-rac yarn....

Stay tuned!

In addition....

I decided to catch up on some of the yard work that has been taunting me since fall and although I thought I was going to do all the work alone, I found myself assisted by two feathered friends...


I can't say I minded because Buffy (pictured above) is great at both tilling and fertilizing my garden beds. On the other hand, Buffy's offspring (cleverly named Baby) hasn't quite gotten down all the skills her mother possesses. She's not that great at finding bugs in the dirt and gets confused when I offer worms to her. I just tell myself she still has time...


Sufficed to say, they proved to be both entertaining and invaluable while I was cleaning up the back yard.

Now! I finished one yarn and am excited to say I'm going to practice my skillz with two new colorways.

Finished:

This Image doesn't do the yarn justice. The colors I plied the blue with are much more noticeable in person...

New colorways:

Eggplant and moss green


Orange and gold

The orange and gold brings to mind shag carpets.... No matter! The final product will be beautiful!

New Spinning Wheel!

After only a few months of spinning, my teacher has recommended that I start to teach in my own right. Of course I was flattered, but also a little nervous. To encourage this, she gave me information on a used spinning wheel and accessories for about $200. How could I pass this opportunity up? What I got was this:




A loverly Ashford Traditional spinning wheel in near mint condition. No large marks, no malfunctioning parts. Just pure, simple spinning bliss.... In any case, I now own two pretty wheels and am ready to go crazy with spinning. The colorways are swirling in my head and I can't wait to get them out of my head and onto the bobbin!