Just Signed Up With Ravelry

I've been reading so much about Ravelry that I had to check it out: www.ravelry.com. It's still in beta and they've got a waiting list to join, but it only took about a week. I haven't really gotten into it yet, but I've created my account and I've been poking around and it looks fabulous. One of the features I'll use most is a database that allows users to keep track of their stash and tools. The timing was perfect for me -- I'm in the process of turning the spare bedroom into my craft room, which means a huge reorganization -- okay, it can't be an reorganization if it was never organized to begin with! :) Anyway, I can't wait to really get into using Ravelry!

Vacation -- All I Ever Wanted

Just got back from a most wonderful vacation -- visiting friends in NJ. We did a couple of day trips to NY while we were there -- we went to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty -- all the times I've been to NYC and never once saw those things! The pic to the left is from Ellis Island -- some of the things people brought with them. The spinning wheel is from Norway. I also saw a tabletop loom and three sewing machines from Germany. Didn't get pics of those, tho. This is actually the only fiber-related picture we took. All of the textiles in the pic are handmade, too.


We also went to the Gustav Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms. There were some great textiles there, too, although most of them weren't original to the house, they were from the Arts & Crafts period and were handmade. Not allowed to take pics inside the museum, tho.

Took a harbor cruise around Manhattan. Never did that before, either. Didn't make it to Ground Zero, but saw the void from the boat. Very sad.

On a happier note, my very good and enabling friend Dana took me yarn shopping in NJ! We had 5 shops on our list, but we couldn't find one of them. Here is a list of places we visited:
Knit A Bit in Westfield -- http://www.knit-a-bit.com/
Nonna's Yarn Cafe in Denville -- http://www.nonnasyarncafe.com/
Accents on Knits in Morristown -- http://www.accentsonknits.net/
Down Cellar in Basking Ridge -- http://www.downcellar.net/

I bought something at each place, but not a lot of stuff -- had to pace myself! Knit A Bit and Nonna's Yarn Cafe were like the shops in Debbie McComber's books -- the big table where people come in on their lunch breaks and people know each other. Very homey and comfortable. I actually met a woman from my old stomping ground -- she had lived in Watertown, MA, and I used to live in Lexington. Down Cellar was also a very cool shop -- huge variety of yarns and other things -- it's a two-story house and just packed full of things to see and touch! Really liked that place, too! Accents on Knits was a little different. The people were friendly enough and they have a very friendly bulldog named Daisy who is the official greeter and she is very good at it! Loved her! The yarn is arranged by color rather than fiber, weight or designer or company, and there were no prices anywhere that we could find. Dana and I are seasoned enough to be able to tell a $6 skein from a $30 skein, but a newbie might not be.

It was a WONDERFUL trip! Hey, Tony & Dana -- THANK YOU!!! We had a great time!

Chaos and Alchemy

Chaos and Alchemy -- these are a few of my favorite things! I've been working hard to get ready for Burnham Community Day which takes place tomorrow. Each year Warp 6 does a sheep to shawl demo there and Mary Anna and I have a sales booth next door. Below is my latest batch. The Chaos colorway is on the left and Alchemy is on the right. The Chaos skeins are Merino dyed with KA. The fiber for the Alchemy skein was purchased from eBay as a Mystery Batt. The seller had thrown all kinds of luxury fibers into the picker with a wool base. Beautiful, huh?

Kool Aid Hats from Fiber Space Designs

Hats and bags are two of my favorite things to make with Kool-Aid dyed yarn.

This hat is a really simple, no-pattern thing I made up years ago. It's so easy to make and easily becomes as much a wardrobe staple as your favorite jeans. I've had strangers come up to me and ask where I got mine. It's an opp to hand out a business card!

Anyway, to make the hat, I CO 68 st on 10.5 circs and knit until I find a length I like by trying it on my own head. Then I k2tog once around, switch to dpns, and k2tog 2x until there are about 9 st left. Cut the yarn, leaving about a 6" tail and use a yarn needle to weave the end through the working stitches that are still on the needle. Tie off and weave in ends, and you have a rolled-brim slouchy hat that's nice and warm. There's no shaping on the crown and the fast decrease leaves an interesting star-shape on the top.

As with my yarns, you can find them at The Pen & Thread, local arts and craft shows, or directly from me.

And Still More From The Pen & Thread!

This is Mary Anna's wheel. It's the wheel I learned on!








Mary Anna carries a nice collection of Cornish tin jewelry, too!











She made the sweater, the scarf and all of the jewelry in this pic!






Below is the view into the back hallway. The curtain is made from walnut shells that were sliced down and strung. Cool, huh?

Happiness Is . . .

. . . a rack full of freshly dyed roving!!! I dyed a pound of Merino with Kool-Aid this morning and I just hung the last of it out to dry. Jet the Wonder Schnauzer and I are going to head on over to the Pen & Thread shop a little later to deliver some finished yarn. I'll try to take some pics over there and post them later tonight or tomorrow.

Party in a Bag

That's not my name for it! I bought this stuff from a vendor at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival a few years ago. She basically threw everything she had lying around into the picker and this is what came out the other side. This is all I've spun so far. I have 2 more lbs to do. I'm not going to ply it. I like the singles just fine as they are. What do you think?

Some Close-Ups

Even though you can just click the pics to get a better look, I enjoy posting. Humor me! The first three pics are close-ups of different batches of my Chaos yarn. That's what I call my random Kool-Aid colorway. The other pic is my yarn label. Oops! I see a mistake -- I should have deleted the bottom sentence for a label on a natural skein! Think anyone else will notice?

Ready for Market

Another load of yarn ready to head off to the Pen & Thread for sale. I don't usually have this much at one time, but I destashed some of my commercially dyed stuff. The top row is all Kool-Aid dyed. The middle row was commercially dyed roving and the bottom one is natural .

Only One Bobbin? No Prob!

There are many reasons you might want to ply from a center pull ball rather than from your bobbins. For instance you might only have one bobbin. You might have two bobbins, but only one is full and you don't to waste any of your singles. Just wind into a center pull ball and ply from both ends. A word of warning, though: No matter how lazy kate is, she's not going to help you with this! And the outside will always unravel at warp (;>) speed compared to the inside. This can lead to some serious tangles if you're not careful. When using this method, I always use a drop spindle instead of a wheel. I've found that placing some sort of weight on each side of the ball helps. Placement must be strategic, though, so it doesn't impede the movement of either strand. I've become adept at using my left foot to control the draw. Don't worry -- I always clean my feet and the yarn gets washed again before the finishing process to set the twist!

Pastel Experiment 2

Okay, this isn't really a separate post. I just didn't have the pics ready the first time. This is just a picture of the full skeins of the pastel experiment. Feedback welcome!

Jacob Lace Scarf

This is one of the first things I made with my handspun yarns. A friend of mine here in central PA who raises Jacob sheep gave me some fleeces. In return I spun and knitted scarves for his wife and sister-in-law. The picture looks like b/w but it really is a color photo. I spun the black and white wool together to get varying shades of gray. I spun it to to something between a lace and a sport weight and knitted the scarves in feather and fan.