End of season spinning

March 15, 2009 at 11:21 am | In spinning | Leave a Comment

The weather is getting better and the large piles of snow has melted off.  Promise of spring rests in the air, the sun and the song of the birds.  But…yardwork is still a ways off, at least a couple more weeks.  I am using this time to get in all the fiber time I can before nature forces me outdoors to take care of the aesthetics.

Recently I read about the Rit dyes being used for not only plant fiber, but animal fiber as well.  Seems that it is dual purpose, and what doesn’t take simply stays in the water.  I tried it out on some really nice Merino/Ramboullet mix roving I picked up at Zeilingers last year.  I used royal blue dye that my grandma had stashed away in the back of one of her cupboards for some reason.  Not one to waste thing, I figured why not give it a try.  It came out more like a periwinkle than royal blue, but beautiful nonetheless.

I am getting so used to spinning from batts, that I cranked the dyed roving through my drum carder and got a lot of very lofty fine batts.  It is spinning up very fine and very soft.  Take a look:

bluebattiness1

bluebattsingle

bluebattthinsingle

Custom Rags

March 14, 2009 at 3:40 pm | In Knitting, Life in General, Spinning projects | Leave a Comment

I remember when I was very young and starting to crochet, my Barbie had many Wilma Flintstone style dresses – of my own design. My older brother used to laugh at them and call them Diane’s custom rags. At the time, it really hurt my feelings; although he had a great sense of humor and I know he was just trying to tease me.

Many, many moons later, I am still cranking out the custom rags. Fiber arts is second nature to me, and  I am as passionate about my art as cooking and eating. If I go too long without a project, I get antsy, and nothing seems quite right in life.

I like my creations a lot better then back then.  I can even read and write patterns now.

Now that I have been knitting for over a year, I am getting some of my favorite hand spun stash out and finding projects that really match.  I found the perfect one for my Spanish Moss yarn: Boutique Knits Soft Kid Bubble.  What a beautiful pattern.  This will be my first attempt at a fine knitted project with my hand spun.

I already started:

bubble1b

New Shawl

March 9, 2009 at 12:17 pm | In spinning | Leave a Comment

I just finished a thread shawl.  I really don’t know that I can explain the process but it was both tedious and fun.  I loved the look as it progressed, but my eyes kept wanting to slam shut after about 15 minutes with the thread.

shawl

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