First, the spin-fest. What follows is a summary of my last few months of spinning (I know, I know - you were hoping the above pictures were the summary, but... no such luck). Interestingly, all of these handspun yarns remind me of photos I've taken, so I decided to name them after the photos - pretty goofy, I know, but fun (for me, anyway) :)
Handspun Yarn I: December Sunset
Fiber: The Sheep Shed @ Mountain View Farm, Merino/Tencel (50/50) Roving
Stats: 187 yards (64 g), 15 wpi (fingering / light fingering weight)
Ply: "Navajo" plied
The namesake photo:
Handspun Yarn II: Milk Chocolate Lizard
Fiber: The Painted Sheep, Merino/Tencel (50/50) Roving
Stats: 503 yards (119 g), 20 wpi (light fingering / lace weight)
Ply: 2 ply
The namesake photo:
Mmmm... milk chocolatey! (Don't worry, I know I'm describing you in food terms, but I'm not going to eat you, Mr. Lizard.)
I had plans for this fiber even before I started spinning! I will be making Ruth's Tokyo top using my Milk Chocolate Lizard yarn in conjunction with Knitpicks Gloss Sock Yarn in the color cocoa (seen here with the fiber, pre-spinning):
Handspun Yarn III: Amber Ant (a.k.a. Sunflower)
Fiber: JulieSpins, Merino/Silk (80/20) Roving
Stats: 625 yards (113 g), 19 wpi (light fingering / lace weight)
Ply: 3 ply
The namesake photo:
I didn't do a great job of dividing the singles evenly between the 3 bobbins, so instead of trying to redistribute the singles after I ran out of the first bobbin, I switched to a 2 ply (55 yards, 6 g). I ran out of the 2nd bobbin with just a bit to go and finished up by Navajo plying the remainder (less than 1 g). Here they are together:
Bug appreciates Amber Ant's pillowy properties
Handspun Yarn IV: Owl Clover
Fiber: Ancient Threads Farm, Merino Superwash Roving (naturally dyed with cochineal, osage orange, tumeric, and lac)
Stats: 578 yards (126 g), 14 wpi (fingering weight)
Ply: single ply
The namesake photo:
My young nephew found it to be quite passably squooshy:
Handspun Yarn V: Columbia Fuzz
Fiber: Weaving Works, Local Columbia Wool Roving
Stats: 615 yards (128 g), 15 wpi (light fingering weight)
Ply: 2 ply
The namesake photo (yeah, this is a real stretch, I know):
Baa aaa aaa aa a... ...meow?
The guest cat paw you may have noticed caressing (well, perhaps "gripping" is a more accurate description - I had to disentangle the claws several times) the singles above belongs to my mom and dad's cat, Cali. She was kind enough to sit for a photo shoot with my oh-so-exciting white yarn (which I spun while visiting them):
Well, now... was that really called for?
Apparently Cali's not one to hide how she feels about a situation. Hmph.
Arte Y Pico & I Love Your Blog awards!
Bryony of Library Girl knits! (who has a fantastic blog herself) has nominated me for an award - thanks, Bryony! Here are the rules* of Arte Y Pico:
1) You pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.*
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.*
3) Each award-winning, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.*
4) Award-winning and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y pico” blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.*
5) To show these rules.*
* = I'm amending this to add "if you want to," because I don't wish to impose mandates on anyone :)
Now, I read a ton of blogs (well, ahem... I usually do, though I have been rather bad about it these past few months, unfortunately for me), and I find stunning examples of creativity all over the place - you guys are a bunch of super-interesting, inspiring, and artistic people - so it's really difficult to choose a few blogs to mention, but here goes:
Through the Loops: Gorgeous photography (and fun photoshoots with Kirsten's spirited and entertaining kids), beautiful knits (and spinning!), great patterns...
Anna's Flying Needles: Anna has really lovely taste in knits and her execution is fabulous :)
Green Apples - A Knitting Blog: Beautiful knits (and crochet!) - very artsy :)
missalicefaye: Holey, moley! (pun totally intended...) Alice does exquisite lace work and is my hero when it comes to drop spindle spinning :)
Yes, I'm A Yarn Snob: Great knits! She's currently on a bit of a cable kick :)
More recently, Washington Kestrel (check out her knitting and sewing projects - and zoo photos!) nominated me for another award (heh, maybe I should try to blog more often, so I can feel more deserving of these awards). Thanks!
Here are the rules*:
1. Please put the award on your blog.*
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.*
3. You must nominate at least 4 fellow bloggers for this award.*
4. Add links to the recipients.*
5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.*
* = Again, I'm amending this to add "if you want to," :)
Hee, hee! So here are 5 more blogs that I love :)
A Little Loopy: Three crafty women share this wonderful blog :)
CATKNITS: Wendy knits, spins, and cares for four unbearably cute kitties!
Knittymuggins: A funny, very friendly knitter who's always doing exciting things :)
Sunflowerfairy Knits: The exploits of a knitting, spinning mom who I have the pleasure of knowing.
The A.D.D. Knitter: The queen of knitted accessories (with a healthy lust for sock yarn)!
Yay! Have a great weekend (and for those of you going to Rhinebeck - have a fantastic time)!
