Long time no post

I haven't been posting lately and here's why:

1. Spinning
   
   
   
   
   
   


2. Etsy sales - 6 patterns so far


3. Bathroom Renovation
   
   
   
   
   
4. Sock making (5 one sock syndrome socks)
   
   
From left to right:
New Wisteria pattern in Fleece Artist merino (green and brown); Heat Wave Sock in cotton; Monkey sock in Sunshine Yarn; Heat Wave Sock in Trekking.

I miss posting and actually have been thinking of things I want to post about... but when it comes down to choosing to post or actually do the things I want to post about... well you know what wins.

Long weekend of Spinning

I spent a lot of time this May long weekend spinning away on Juliet. It was raining so there was not a lot else to do (other than house work) but to sit in front of the window with the dogs at my feet and spin away.

First up was the Merino/Silk blend that is addictive to spin. I've already spun some of this and plied it but it turned out to be about 100m so I wanted more. I bought another 1/4 pound back and have now spun half of it.



Next up was to finish spinning the pink and yellow polworth I had spun as a thick and thin single ply with the intentions of knitting a wrap. I have a strong suspicion I will also need more of this, but it spins so fast. No pics of the yarn itself (unfortunately) but here is the project I'm making with it. I'm blending in a ladder yarn to add lenght and sparkle.



Last but not least I spun up some wool in thick and thin single ply for my friend CJ. She had purchased this fiber after taking the drop spindle class but she never got around to spinning it yet. Now it's done and drying in my bathroom. The colors were really fun!



While spinning, I listend to two podcasts: Cast On and Lime & Violet. I had never really listened to Lime & Violet before and they are kind of funny. Both casts mentioned a new site called Ravelry.com. It is a place to log all your knitting supplies, projects, in the queue projects, etc. And you can have friends and chat and share on it. FreckleGirl and her husband started it up and it is still in Beta. They have a waiting list of 4500 already! They hope to have the site fully open by the end of the month. I'm on the waiting list and just can't wait!

Line and I also went on the Fundy Studio Tour. Unfortunately, due to the rain and a few shops being closed, it was more fun last year. It was still an enjoyable afternoon and we found a few new places.

Knit2Together shop is open!

My friend Line and I have opened our online shop under the name Knit2Together Designs. We chose Etsy.com as the venue and you can go directly to our shop at Knit2Together.Etsy.com.

So far only my Heat Waves pattern and one of her scarves are up there. We have some other dressy scarves and stitch markers waiting in the wings to post as well.

Within 2 hours of posting the pattern I had sold one to a lady in NY state! That was exciting! I am still waiting on payment and once I know that everything is working properly then I will post more items.

There are over 50,000 shops on etsy! Can you imagine?! There are a lot of crafters out there, and a lot of them are online. What a great time for expanding the art of hand made items!

Drop Spinning Tutorial

This post is dedicated to Heidi as she was my drop spinning teacher and held a very informative class at London-Wul Farm. I highly recommend learning to drop spin with someone familiar with the skill because it will be much more enjoyable and easier to pick up.

When I got home after my class I continued spinning and filled the spindle. I was a little unsure the first time what I was then to do with this spun yarn. Here are the steps that I discovered:

1. First start with a peaceful room



2. Then add fiber

This is combed Polworth wool. Spin until the spindle is full. In this picture I'd say the spindle is pretty full. I will not get into how to spin exactly because that is better learned by an experienced spinner and in person so they can show the techniques one on one. I will give one piece of advice: pre-draft! I was having a horrible time until I started pre-drafting the fiber so thin that I did not have to draft at all while spinning. This helped a lot, and now I can draft as I spin, but as a beginner it made all the difference.


3. Once the Spindle is full, make a center pull ball with a ball winder perferably


I made this spindle holder out of a simple tissue box.




4. Now it's time to ply. Simply take the center pull from the ball along with the outside piece of yarn from the ball and tie them to the spindle. Then just spin them together but make sure to spin the spindle in the opposite direction from the one you used when spinning the yarn originally.
   
   
   The single plies will be all twisty, but plying them should balance the twists out.
   
   
   The spindle became very full and hard to work with, but I made it fit.
   



5. Next make a skein using a Niddy Noddy. I didn't get a picture because the yarn started to fall off the Niddy Noddy because it was a little full so you will have to use your imagination. If you don't have a niddy noddy I believe you can use a hanger as well.
   
   
   Don't forget to tie the skein together in 2-4 places before removing from the niddy noddy.


6. Give your skein a bath.
   
   Really it's just a soak. I used Eculan so I didn't have to rinse the yarn but you can also use another mild soap but make sure to rinse it in that case.



7. Hang to dry with a weight to help the spin and ply settle.
   
   I just used a shower gel as the weight because of the hanger on the end of the bottle but you can find various items around the house that will work. You just want something to straighten the yarn as it dries to help settle the plies. (Please ignore my hideous wall paper, bathroom is under renovation as we speak)



8. Ta Da!
   
   
   2 ply yarn ready for knitting, or just to admire in your stash!