Virgin Wool

Spinning Yarns...

2008-07-24T18:52:00.005-04:00

...literally.

But before the yarn and spinning talk, let me first address a minor change in the decor that you may have noticed when you opened Virgin Wool today. There's a new ticker up there, prompted by a suggestion from knitting pal (blogless) Issy. I have moved my knitting ticker down to the very bottom of the blog, and the new spinning ticker takes its place at the top, since that's my current passion, and also because some would argue that after a certain amount of time has elapsed, one cannot call oneself a novice knitter anymore. Ahem.

But even as the buried knitting ticker fades into the obscurity that is a blog footer, I feel I should point out a momentous event that occurred recently:

Sunday was my 3-year knitiversary!
My, how time flies....

I'm so glad that I found fiber crafts, even if at an age when most knitters have been doing their craft for 30+ years. The hobby itself has brought me much pleasure, but more than that, it's introduced me to many wonderful knitters and knit-bloggers and widened my circle of friends exponentially. It's influenced my shopping and spending habits, how I spend my free time, how I spend my time on the internet (Ravelry much?), what I read, where I go on Tuesday nights, where and how and what I do when I travel.... I could go on, but I'm sure you know what I mean, if you're a knitter. If not, you can get an idea by reading the archives of my blog or any of the thousands of other knitting blogs out there.

So, anyway, once again, for the third year in a row, I offer my heart-felt thanks to my sister-in-law Jenny who three years ago gave me a learn-to-knit kit for my birthday and taught me to knit three days later on her birthday, and ultimately created a monster. :-)

I am learning that with the fiber arts, one never says never. When I first learned to knit and soon thereafter discovered that there are people out there who, in this day-and-age still spin their own yarn (!), I thought to myself, I will never do that.

Hee hee!

Now that I've learned how to spin and am reading the associated spinning books and magazines, I'm thinking that the ruling out of weaving way-back-when was also a silly declaration. However, there will be no rush to learn to weave, since my tiny house can't even fit a spinning wheel!

I'm just keeping an open mind....

Okay, now it's time to show my first two finished yarns spun on my Womack Butterfly spinner:

The white 2-ply is mostly Corriedale with a little mystery wool thrown in towards the end. It is under-plied is many places, and started out slightly coarse, but softened up nicely after a wash with Eucalan and hair conditioner. I haven't yet measured the yardage or the WPI, but it's about 4 oz., probably about worsted weight, which, by some estimates makes it roughly 225-300 yards. It seems like a lot of yarn to me, so my guess is it's on the high end of that range.

I might dye it, maybe with some Wilton's food coloring. Or I might leave it as-is. I think it might make a nice Urchin hat, perhaps if held doubled, since that pattern calls for super bulky....

The blue-green 2-ply is the merino I showed in my last post. It was a delight to spin, is also under-plied in many places, and I also don't yet know the yardage or WPI. But again, it's about 4 oz., and probably sport weight, so roughly 300-450 yards. I'm thinking it's on the low end of that range -- definitely doesn't weigh as much as the white yarn. But now I'm thinking the white yarn might actually be closer to 5 oz.

I really need to measure and weigh this stuff.

Anyway, more photos:

After I plied and washed everything, I immediately started spinning some more fiber in my stash:

That's the most gorgeously-dyed fiber I've laid my eyes on in recent memory. Of course the photos don't do it justice, but I just love how it's almost iridescent, like an oil slick. It's 4 oz. of 100% merino that I purchased from a gal up at Susan's Fiber Shop Spinning Retreat back in March.

Gorgeous, right? After my good experience with that first batch of merino, I was really looking forward to spinning this lovely stuff, but quickly discovered that not all hand-dyed merinos are equal, especially if one is partially FELTED! Ack!! I'm still spinning it, but, if spinning that last merino was like butter, then spinning this stuff is like, well, trying to spin felted merino, for lack of a better metaphor.

The first half is done -- here it is on the bobbin:

And I'm a little ways into the second bobbin, although tonight I'm taking a break from it, because frankly, my hands, wrists and fingers are aching from trying to draft that stuff, even after pre-drafting the hell out of it. I have another batch of fiber in a different colorway from the same gal. It's also gorgeously dyed. I'm crossing my aching fingers that it's not also felted....

Note to self: ply the HECK out of this, when the time comes.

Keeping up with the Peloton....

2008-07-13T11:59:00.008-04:00

This weekend finds me continuing to "compete" in the Tour de Fleece, although it's not so much a competition with other spinners as a personal challenge to practice and improve my own spinning skills. It's been a fun challenge, thus far.

I did find out, sort of accidentally, that there are actually two different Tour de Fleece challenges out there on the internet. The first one I linked to the other day:

and another, different one that I found via its Ravelry group:

I've joined them both, because the goals are essentially the same -- you spin every day of the race, take a break during the days of rest, (if you want), and try to meet a personal challenge along the way.

I had no plans to watch the actual race:

but yesterday when I sat down to spin it happened to be on tv, (on Versus - channel 2 on Comcast digital cable in Richmond), so I watched it. I don't really understand all the intricacies of the race, but I'm learning, and the French countryside is quite lovely, and that last kilometer of each day's stage is always exciting, so it's a pleasant sporting event to watch. All those fit young men aren't hard on the eyes, either.

Yesterday I finished up my bobbin of white fiber, cramming on as much as I possibly could, before the arms of the flyer started rubbing against the yarn while turning -- a clear indication that I'd reached the limit of its capacity:

I haven't plied it yet -- I was too eager to get started on something with color. I did talk to Nathan Lee of WooLee Winder on Friday about the problem with the flyer winding on unevenly, and he talked me through how to tweak it so that it will load more evenly with the next bobbin.

So, are you wondering what I picked to spin next? I went with my heart, and picked the superwash merino that my head was telling me to "save" until I was more experienced. But, it's so lovely, how could I not spin this right away?

And just by sheer coincidence, the aptly-named colorway is French-inspired:

and reminds me of my favorite painting:

The Artist's Garden at Giverny, Claude Monet

I hope to visit France and Giverny someday. My grandmother was French, (a WWI war bride), my dad speaks fluent French, but I've never been there. It's on my bucket list.

But I digress....

This morning I turned on the race again and watched their first day on the slopes of the Pyrenees, while I relaxed on the couch with a cat on my lap and spun my merino. Here's what I have so far:

The bobbin looks a little lumpy because of my choice of leader yarn, a rookie mistake I won't make with the next one.

While spinning this morning, I had an epiphany, a breakthrough, a "Eureka!" moment. I had just read last night someone's description on how to do long draw drafting, a skill I really hoped to gain at some point, but was sure would take years of spinning and perhaps several classes with master teachers to acquire. But this morning while spinning and watching those racers on a downhill stretch, I was thinking about what I'd read last night, and before I realized what was happening, my hands figured out what to do, seemingly all on their own. I can now long-draw! I find it hard to express how much this thrills me, and how much I feel it opens up possibilities for me; all I can say is, this totally rocks.

O, joy!

Today, I feel like I've not only kept up with the peloton (the pack), I've actually broken away to take the lead and win the yellow jersey.

Lance knows what I'm talkin' about....

My first bobbin full

2008-07-11T11:53:00.004-04:00

singles spun from 100% Corriedale top
on my new Womack Butterfly electric spinner

No, your eyes are not deceiving you -- that is definitely an uneven bobbin, with more yarn on the left (front) than on the right (back). From my preliminary investigation, (searching in the Ravelry forums using the keywords "WooLee Winder uneven"), this is apparently not unusual for a new WW, and will apparently work itself out as the WooLee Winder flyer gets broken in. I hope that's true. Otherwise, I'll be contacting the WW folks for advice and perhaps a repair. I need to order more bobbins from them anyway....

I also need to order some spinning wheel oil and a tensioned Lazy Kate. I'm open to recommendations.

I've been spinning every day for at least an hour, since the start of Tour de Fleece last Saturday, and I'm really enjoying it. It's very relaxing, and I could keep at it for longer, but during the work-week, I tend to get sleepy in the evenings after an hour or two of spinning. I do look forward to finishing up this bobbin. (Experienced spinners: should I consider this bobbin already finished, since the front is full?)

In any case, once finished, I will then wind it into a center-pull ball and ply it to itself, (that is, if I've given the singles enough twist so that they don't fall apart during plying. Fingers crossed.)

My next minor dilemma is a good problem to have: what to spin next? The prettiest hand-painted fibers I currently own all happen to be merino, but I'm thinking that I should maybe stick with long-stapled fibers for awhile. I'm uninspired by the BFL, Targhee and Rambouillet in my stash, and I'm saving my Polwarth until I feel much more proficient with the spinner. Should I wait for the BFL that I just ordered to arrive? Dare I try the merino?

An announcer's deep voice cuts in, accompanied by dramatic organ music:

What will Mary do?
How will this saga unfold?
Which fiber will Mary pick?
Tune in next time to find out!

;-)

Butterfly in da howse!

2008-07-06T22:27:00.006-04:00

My Womack Butterfly electric spinner is now out of its box and situated in its rightful place on my coffee table, next to the couch:

Now I can actually lay on the couch and spin while I watch tv! How great is that? Can I get any lazier? ;-)

So, let me introduce you to my Butterfly.

Here is the motor end of the device, covered in a cute woven material:

Those buttons on top, front to back, are: the on/off switch, the speed dial, the clockwise/counter-clockwise switch, and the fuse.

The drive band connected to the rotor on the front is a stretchy clear plastic, much like what you find on a Lendrum wheel.

The flyer is a WooLee Winder:

which is probably the most ingenious invention to hit yarn-making since the spinning wheel. I highly recommend it. Basically, it allows one to continually spin and draft without having to stop and change hooks. It also allows more yarn on the bobbin, because it fills it so evenly. And the best thing about this particular WooLee Winder is that it and its bobbins will fit both Ashford and Lendrum wheels, and should I choose to go with either of those makers if/when I eventually get a wheel, I can use it interchangeably. Nice.

Right now I'm getting used to it by practicing with some plain white corriedale. I've found that, for me, right now, low speed, low tension, and spinning from the fold seems to work best to make the smoothest yarn. Not sure why that is -- I'd really prefer to spin from the end of the roving like I can when I'm spindle-spinning. But with the electric spinner, (and I think this is also true for me with wheels), I seem to get more neps and slubs when I spin from the end of the roving/top. Seems counter-intuitive, but somehow it's smoother, spinning from the fold. So, I have more stops and starts, feeding in new fiber to old more often, but the end result is better.

If you'd like to see videos of a Butterfly in motion, Northern Virginia knitter KSee has blogged about it here, including sharing two videos. The spinner really is that quiet, which is how it got its name -- quiet as a butterfly.

Back in March when I was attending the spinning retreat up in Wisconsin, I picked up a couple of pretty orifice hooks being sold by one of the talented and crafty ladies in attendance. So yesterday, when I realized that I would need an orifice hook for my new e-spinner, I remembered that I had the perfect one:

How cool is that?! If I had planned on finding a butterfly orifice hook to "match" my Butterfly spinner, I never would have found one. Gotta love how things work out.

I expect I'll get lots more practice with my e-spinner during the rest of this month. I've unofficially joined the Tour de Fleece challenge:

which basically just requires that you spin every day during the Tour de France. I'm "riding" for Team Rookie and going for the Maillot Jaune (Yellow Jersey).

And once I feel comfortable spinning that white Corriedale, I'm switching to one of my pretty hand-dyed rovings.

Should be fun!

Happy Independence Day!

2008-07-04T08:47:00.005-04:00

(full story here)
*

Have a fun and safe Fourth of July!

(Edited to add -- check out this great knitted flag hat!)

Holiday Toy

2008-07-03T15:20:00.002-04:00

This has been a painfully slow week at work, and yesterday dragged particularly long, especially as I wasn't feeling all that well. So it was therefore the perfect afternoon for me to come home to this box on my front porch:

What could it be?

And what does that say?

Sounds interesting!

But what is under all those peanuts?

Is that wicker I spy?

It's my new Womack Butterfly electric spinner. I've left it in the box for now, but will be setting it up and taking it on its maiden voyage this weekend. Photos to follow.

Yippee! Happy Holiday weekend to ME! :-)

Too funny not to share....

2008-06-30T14:30:00.003-04:00

Miss LakeKnitter Emmy has a valid point in her most recent blog post, in that Ravelry may be sucking up a lot of what used to be prime blogging time. I can definitely relate.

Being as my latest passion is spinning and drop-spindling, I've been spending a lot of time chatting in Ravelry's Spindlers group, where much inspiration, encouragement, education, admiration and (most dangerously) enabling of stash-enhancement (for both spindles and fiber) is taking place.

Case in point, some recent acquisitions:

Spindle: Lotus Lace Spindle by RestlessPeasant (on Ravelry)
Fiber: 80/20% Merino/Silk in "Cabaret" from Tempted, on The Loopy Ewe

Recently somewhat started a discussion entitled "Spinning becoming a passion?", about how her knitting projects have gone neglected by the wayside, while she becomes more and more enchanted with creating yarn on her drop spindle. Oh, how I can relate.

Many people voiced agreement and cited their reasons for loving spindling, including its portability and the ability to take advantage of stolen moments while on hold on the phone, or waiting for a pot to boil. This prompted someone to suggest the creation of a bumper sticker that says something like "Spindlers do it during every spare moment".

Which then led to an even racier bumper sticker suggestion:

"Wheel Spinners do it in the orifice".

I know, I know. Tacky and classless.

And hilarious.

Made my day.

;-)

Crock Pot Leg o' Lamb

2008-06-20T17:23:00.003-04:00

Being as I live alone, I'm not much of a cook, (the burners on my stove are turned on once a year, whether they need it or not), but I do like my crock pot. So far, I've really only been successful with split pea soup, but I'm determined to expand my repertoire.

I joined the "CrockPot Love!" group on Ravelry, where there's lots of great recipe suggestions, and someone recently posted a link to this awesome blog called "A Year of Crockpotting". Basically, the gal is cooking a different recipe in her crock pot every single day in 2008, and even better, she's blogging about it, complete with photos and reviews of the success or failure of the recipe, and her family's reception of it. Oh, and all her recipes are gluten-free, in case that matters to you. (Not an issue for me, thank God.)

Anyway, I stumbled upon her leg of lamb recipe, and was inspired to try my own. So, here is my version, complete with photos:

The beast:

The "dry" ingredients for the rub:

The liquid ingredients:

In progress:

All cooked and ready for dinner:

It was actually very good, although a bit salty (even with those low-sodium liquid ingredients). I think that rosemary-ginger rub has a lot (too much?) salt in it.

I love the smell of lamb, but this stunk up my house house all day while it was cooking, and that would have been fine last week if the air conditioning had been working, to clear the air. Alas, my heat pump chose that very day to die on me, during our oppressive heat wave, and so the humidity and lamb smell just hung around my hot house all day.

It was still a good leg of lamb, and I'm fairly proud of myself, because it's the first successful non-soup item in my crock pot, and my first, ever, home-cooked lamb.

So now I'm rooting around in books and on the internet for my next inspiration for the crock pot. It may very well be the "Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic" recipe that came in my crock pot's owner's guide. I just need to go buy a chicken. And a boat-load of garlic....

So, what's your favorite crock pot recipe?

Glass Spinning Wheel

2008-06-02T15:31:00.004-04:00

Work has utterly consumed my concentration these past few weeks, so, in a shameless attempt to fill the lengthy void between blog posts, I'm sticking my head up for a second to give you the following:

(Feedblitz email subscribers click here to see embedded video)

So, how portable do you think that thing is? ;-)

While I'm here, how about a brief fiber-related update?

I've been knitting a bit on my Prism longtail wrap with the yarn and pattern I purchased in Wisconsin in April, (I got a lot done down at the lake last weekend), and I'm also spinning almost every day on whichever drop spindle happens to be nearby. The spindle collection continues to grow, and I really need to find some time to document them all. Not sure when that will happen, however.

I am no closer to a wheel purchase, (again -- still no room for one), but have decided that in the meantime, in in the interest of faster yarn production, and thanks in part to inspiration from this video podcast, I'm going to try using an electric spinner, (I can always clear a space on the coffee table for that). I have narrowed my choices down to Jerry Womack's Butterfly spinner (the little wicker gizmo seen for sale in the main building at Maryland Sheep & Wool). He will very graciously ship one out to me on spec, and allow me to test drive it for a few weeks before I pay for it. If I don't like it, I can ship it back. But I've got a feeling I will like it.

I've done a lot of research on the various models, and have even gone so far as to create a Ravelry group for electric spinners (since there was an obvious lack of such a forum), and the folks who own Butterfly spinners swear by them. So I'm looking forward to receiving mine. Jerry says I should have it in a week or two. Maybe then I can finally reduce some of the fiber stash that's been accumulating around the house! :-)

I came, I saw, I bought NO yarn

2008-05-04T22:22:00.004-04:00

Yes, you read that right. Two days at the 2008 Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival and I came away with zero yarn. Proud of me?

Don't be. What I didn't purchase in yarn, I made up for in drop spindle purchases and fiber. And I'm giddy with delight.

Unlike previous years, I took very few photos, so don't have much to show you tonight. But I will share my favorite spindle purchase of the weekend.

Feast thine eyes upon this beauty:

That's a Golding ring spindle called "4 Blue Roses", with a vintage enamel ring, a 2¾" carved & painted cherry whorl and walnut shaft, and it weighs 1.32 oz. (The fiber is 70/30% Corriedale/Alpaca top from “A Touch of Twist”.) Needless to say, it's a delight to spin. And Tom Golding is even more delightful in person than he has been in emails. I'd been asking him questions about a few of the other gorgeous vintage spindles on his website, and so he very graciously brought them to the show especially for me to see, hidden away from his main display. I could have hugged him right there. Those spindles were breathtaking in person. But after seeing the blue rose spindle, I knew it was the one for me. Oh, happy day. :-)

Okay, enough about the spindle. Not everyone feels the same way I feel about them, so it must get boring. So, for those who'd like more details about my weekend, I will elaborate.

I left Richmond around 5:30 pm on Friday, and arrived in Columbia, MD around 8 pm. Thanks to Nigel, (my beloved GPS), I made one intermediate stop to pick up some dinner-to-go at Macaroni Grill, and enjoyed it after I checked into my hotel. (I wish Richmond had a Macaroni Grill -- I adore their "Carmella's Chicken Rigatoni" - chicken, pasta, mushrooms, garlic, onions, parmesian cheese -- how can you go wrong?)

Staying at my hotel were Suzanne, Melanie & Lou, and we ate breakfast together both mornings. After breakfast on Saturday, I got to the festival early, and managed to hit all my "must-see" vendors by noon. At various points during the morning, I ran into Patsy & friends, Jane & Donna, and Robin C. and her husband. Oh, and I ran into Gina Bonomo as I was leaving. After grabbing a lamb sandwich for lunch, I wandered by the Ravelry meet-up in the rabbit barn (jam-packed with people), and then decided I'd had enough of the heat, humidity and crowds, and went back to my hotel to relax for a few hours before dinner and the Ravelry party at the Sheraton.

I met up with a few other Ravelers at the best sushi place in Columbia, Sushi Sono, which is conveniently just a quick stroll down the sidewalk from the Sheraton. I had my favorite item on their menu -- Una Jyu (freshwater eel over rice) and some spicy tuna tartar. Dee-lish. The Ravelry gals I met there were complete strangers prior to Saturday evening, but turned out to be fun dinner companions. We wandered over to the party after dinner, and I managed to get a Ravelry tote bag -- cute! Later I ran into Beth and Monet, who were both amusingly entertaining and the life of my little corner of the party. (I do have a photo of that -- dare I publish it?) I stayed long enough to hear Casey, Jessica and Mary Heather talk a little about Ravelry, and then draw numbers for door prizes. Some nice prizes to be had, for sure. Alas, I did not win anything.

Today, (Sunday), I arrived at the festival mid-morning and almost literally ran into Bess at one point, (wearing her beautiful KipFee sweater), which was a lovely surprise. We shopped a bit together and then parted ways. I spent the rest of the day visiting all the barns, buildings and vendors I'd missed on Saturday, and added more spindles and fiber to the stash. Oh, my. I had lamb again for lunch, (and ordered some to-go, for dinner). I love lamb. I then had an ice cream cone and spent a little quiet time on the hill outside the main building -- that's always nice. I took another round of the vendors in the main building, and before I knew it, they were announcing that the festival would be over in half an hour! Where did my day go? For the first time, I missed the sheep-to-shawl competition. I also missed the skein & garment competition -- hated missing that, but them's the breaks. I'm hoping someone else who attended took lots of photos and will share.

Once again, for the third year in a row, Sunday turned out to be a much better day than Saturday, both weather-wise and crowd-wise. So, I will always recommend that people go on Sundays. It's really like a completely different (sane) event.

My drive home was trouble-free, for which I'm eternally grateful, and now I'm sufficiently exhausted. Time for bed!

And later this week I hope to get some photos of my purchases taken and published here. Need daylight and wakefulness for that. :-)

So, how was your weekend?

The Boss

2008-05-02T11:00:00.006-04:00

Wednesday night I saw my dream-husband Bruce Springsteen and his "heart-stoppin', pants-droppin', earth-shockin', hard-rockin', booty-shakin', earth-quakin', love-makin', Viagra-takin', history-makin', legendary E-Street Band" perform at the John Paul Jones arena in Charlottesville.

I last saw him 2005, when he came to Richmond on his solo "Devils and Dust" tour and gave us an incredible show, one that was very different from what E-Street Band fans are used to seeing. And while that '05 tour and album proved to me his incredible artistic versatility, Wednesday's show underscored his stamina and longevity.

This 58-year-old man, who has been rockin' hard for 30 years, has still got it. With every bit as much energy as his four-hour "Born in the USA" tour I caught in Hampton in 1985, (but alas, only half the length -- the man is pushing 60, after all, and his fans are getting old, as well), The Boss did not disappoint. (Although, someday, somehow, someway, I'm going to see him perform "Rosalita" live...).

Clarence "Big Man" Clemmons

Stevie van Zandt

Max Weinberg

Best songs of the night included a surprise rendition of "No Surrender" early in the show, "Radio Nowhere" from his new album 'Magic'; and oldies like "10th Avenue Freeze-Out", "Born to Run", "Badlands", "Adam Raised a Cain", "Prove It All Night"...

...and "Jungleland":

(Feedblitz subscribers click here to view embedded video)

"Badlands" and "Jungleland" are two of my all-time favorite Springsteen songs, and were easily the highlights of the night for me. A moment that was a close second, however, and that proved that (my dream-husband) Bruce has still got it, was when he slid across the stage on his knees (58-year old knees!) during "Mary's Place". I cannot think of a better song to prove his virility.

:-)

(Newspaper reviews here and here. Set list here. A few more photos out on Flickr, here.)

Fiber Fun

2008-04-26T19:58:00.005-04:00

Thought I'd share just a little of what I've been up to recently, spinning-wise.

Yesterday I decided to try spinning up some cultivated silk sliver that was in my stash, that I'd purchased from Jennifer of Spirit Trail Fiberworks at the 2006 Knitters Review Retreat. I had originally thought I'd knit with it, sorta like people knit with unspun silk hankies. But in the interim I have learned how to spin, so decided to try it on one of my Golding drop spindles:

It was a lot easier to spin than I thought it would be. Drafting the silk sliver is sorta like drafting a fairly long staple-length wool, in that you need to keep your fingers/hands fairly far apart to allow the fibers to slide past each other and draft.

Now I'm wondering what I'll do with the singles once I have more of them spun up -- will I two-ply the silk to itself? Ply it with something like a merino? I don't know. But I don't really worry about those things when I spin. I spin for entertainment value alone. The yarn end-product is icing on the cake. I guess that makes me a process spinner, which is a good thing, since the process is slow-going on a spindle.

Here's a more recent fiber purchase:

That's about 8 oz. of Polwarth wool (an Australian breed that is a merino-Lincoln cross), in the "Summer Garden" colorway, purchased from Rovings.com. What you see above is one long strip of roving, starting with the blue end on the left, dyed with large sections of single colors that graduate into the next color, ending with the purpley end on the right. I'm not exactly sure how this should be spun to its best advantage, but I have some time to consider that, as I most likely won't be spinning this until I get a wheel.

Rovings.com is a Canadian company that is breed-specific to Polwarth, and they import the fiber from Australia. I decided I needed more of their fiber after receiving a little sample of it:

with one of my drop spindles. (Incidently, the spindle shown above, a Cocobolo spindle purchased from The Spanish Peacock, is not the spindle which came with the Polwarth sample.) Anyway, after spinning the sample, (in the "Brick" colorway), I was immediately hooked. The fiber is incredibly soft (as soft as BFL or merino, I think), and the bonus is that it has a longer staple length -- 4-6", making it quite lovely to spin. So, about a month ago I talked a few local spinning friends into going in on an order with me, and we received our fiber last week. Nice stuff.

And now I, along with thousands of others, are counting down the days (hours, minutes) until Maryland Sheep & Wool, where we'll get to fondle fiber and yarn to our heart's content. Can't wait! Hope to see you there!

Mad Town Mania

2008-04-21T22:35:00.000-04:00

Wisconsin capitol building

Last week I was back in the greater Madison, WI area again for work, and since it will be my last trip there for the foreseeable future, I took full advantage of my time there, and hit not one, but three yarn shops. (Because apparently I can't get yarn at any of Richmond's wonderful yarn shops, nor online, nor at any upcoming fiber festivals?)

But I think most knitters will agree that common sense often flies out the window when we walk through the doors of a yarn shop.

First stop on my itinerary was Lakeside Fibers, and behind this unassuming entrance:

was room after room of tempting lovelies:

In that last room, way in the back, is a great cafe and knitting spot with a wall of glass that looks out onto this view:

winter is officially over

Can you imagine a better place to buy yarn, sit & knit, sip coffee and eat a cookie? Neither can I.

Downstairs they have a weaving studio, and upstairs in the cafe they sell quite a few finished woven items. Needless to say, I did not leave the place empty-handed.

I looked at this scarf over and over, and almost left without it until I overheard one of the shop owners tell another worker that the weaver is selling her loom and quitting the craft. How could I not get it?

But that's not all that came home with me.

I also could not resist this Prism Kid Slique in the "Smoke" colorway:

(this photo is more color-accurate)

which is for Prism's long-tailed wrap:

They had a store sample in a pinkish colorway that was quite lovely. (I've since found a free pattern on Prism's website that's very similar to the one I purchased, in case anyone reading this is interested...).

I also couldn't leave without this lovely Claudia's Hand Painted sock yarn, in her "Teal Party" colorway:

Teal.
Party.
Again, how could I not?

Next stop was The Knitting Tree:

Smaller than the first shop, but still quite nice, and I had a fun discussion with the owner on the addictive qualities of Ravelry. Oh, and I picked up some Dream in Color "Classy" in a gorgeous new colorway called "Pansy Golightly":

Shop owner Margaret said the iridescent colors reminded her of a shimmery oil slick, and I admit I must agree. I also grabbed Yarn Harlot's latest book. [I didn't even know she had a new one out, I'm so behind on hers (and everyone's) blogs.]

Last but not least, I made a return visit to The Sow's Ear, and was seduced by the siren song of this Colinette kit:

Hey, I'm nothing if not consistent -- I like what I like, and what I like happens to be teal. It's just a good thing that they don't make Rolex watches or Mercedes Benz in teal. And if they do, please don't tell me.

Wisconsin weather was quite spring-like last week -- we had a couple days in the low 70's -- and if it weren't for the bare, leafless trees and lack of pollen, I would have thought I hadn't left Richmond at all. Now that it's been raining buckets here for three days, I'm wistful for last week's Wisconsin sunshine.

The rain does has its advantages, though. Besides the obvious benefits of watering the plants and trees and replenishing aquifers, the giant puddle in front of my porch is keeping me out of yarn shops.

It's a good thing.

Saturday with Bess

2008-04-13T10:21:00.002-04:00

Last Saturday I drove 90 minutes north-eastward to Champlain, VA, near Tappahannock, to visit my friend Bess.

I came to know Bess via blogging. A couple years ago, our mutual knit-blogging friend and TNK founder Jane recommended that I read Bess' blog, and so I did, and became quickly enchanted by her fanciful writing style. A short while later, after exchanging blog comments, Bess & I discovered that we'd both attended the same high school, (although not at the same time). A friendship was born. Since then, we've met in person on many occasions, and usually at some fiber-related event, activity or location. Bess gave me my first drop spindle lesson (and ultimately created a monster). Bess is the adoptive parent of my first digital camera, and I freely admit it was given with a selfish, ulterior motive -- I wanted to see more photos on her blog! More recently she's surprised me with spinning fiber - a pound of a beautiful (teal!) merino-tencil roving. Last Saturday I contributed another drop spindle to her collection. You see how it goes -- that's what friends do.

Since my spinning classes last fall, and my more recent Wisconsin spinning retreat, I've been casually, unhurriedly window-shopping for wheels. Knowing this, Bess, as the owner of three beautiful wheels, invited me to come to her place for lunch and to test-drive her equipment. So, off I went.

As I arrived, I rolled down her mile-long rustic driveway through fields of ... something, (soybeans? winter rye?), and came upon this ruin:

Oh, how I loves me a good ruin. I took this as a good omen for the day. I could insert the obvious joke here -- "she told me her home was rustic, but I didn't realize it was this rustic!" -- but I'd rather just do as I always do when I see an abandoned building, which is wonder about all the history behind it. When was it built? Who lived there? When did it become forever-empty? How long did it take for vines and decay to take over? How long will it take before it collapses? I'm inexplicably fascinated by the evolution of decaying architecture.

You know, in 16th through 19th-century Europe, it was considered the height of fashion to have a ruin (also known as a "folly") in one's garden. But those ancient poseurs with their intentionally-constructed ruins had nothing on Bess. Her ruin came by its rot honestly, over time; there was no fakery involved. Didn't know you were so fashionable, did you, Bess?

As I got closer to her actual house, I was greeted by Bess and her sweet dogs, and after parking and hugs (Bess) and sniffs & pats (dogs), I was introduced to Bess' "Big Darlin'" (BD) husband, Ed. Every bit as tall and charming and deep-voiced as Bess has advertised, Ed was the one who built their lovely home in the late 70's/early 80's, and the home is as charming as its builder. As I was walked in the front door I was greeted by the smell of something delicious cooking in the kitchen. Bess gave me a tour of the place, which reminded me quite a bit of Robin H.'s house down in Clarksville, which was built in the early 1700's. I love old homes, and newer ones, too, that just hearken back to an older era.

After the tour we had a delicious lunch of sandwiches and homemade soup, and then set about the business at hand, which was wheel and fiber play:

L-R: antique wheel; Ashford Elizabeth; Golding

I was given the opportunity to spin on two of Bess' wheels -- her Ashford Elizabeth and her gorgeous, triple-flyer Golding, the Rolls Royce of spinning wheels. Bess feared that I might be spoiled forever for other wheels after spinning on the incredible Golding, and I must admit it is one smooth ride. But I know my limitations, and know I'm a fickle enough hobbyist that I won't be bringing such a precious thing into my house, where it would likely succumb to a cat knocking it over and breaking off something important. But, oh, it was very good to get to test drive a Golding. Now I can die happy.

I'm still leaning towards a Lendrum, at this stage, but am also keeping an open mind. After all, Maryland Sheep & Wool is just a few weeks away, and I'm very excited to be attending it this year as a new spinner. I will be looking at everything with new eyes, test driving lots of wheels, fondling all kinds of fiber, and I can't wait!

In between lunch and wheel play I helped Bess get her laundry off the line before the rain came, and got to see the yurt where she and Big Darlin' (Ed) and Little Darlin' (son William) lived during their early years. Such hippies! ;-) Seriously, such romantic images that lifestyle conjures in my mind! Little House on the Prairie, as Bess referred to it, but perhaps more accurately, Little Yurt on the Rappahannock River. (I know Bess has a photo of the yurt somewhere on her blog, but for the life of me, I couldn't find it to link to it, so you'll just have to imagine...). Also while we were outdoors, we got to see Mama Bald Eagle carrying some kind of prey in her claws back to the nest high atop a tree on Bess' property, near the water's edge. There's definitely something magical and precious about Bess & Ed's place there. I hope the entirety of it always stays in their family.

Back inside, here is Bess snuggling with one of her super-sweet doggies, Miss Priss, while seated in front of her one-of-a-kind Golding:

Here's Tom Golding's inscription on the bottom of the wheel:

And here is all that gorgeous hand-carving in a whirling blur of motion:

I still recall reading Bess' post after she acquired this lovely wheel, at the 2006 MS&W. It's quite a little thrill for me now to not only have seen it in person, but also to have actually spun on it. That Tom Golding - he's a master.

In fact, it was Bess who first introduced me to his spindles, way-back-when. (I've since purchased three of them, and have set my sights on more, when I hit his booth at this year's MS&W.) And it was Bess who told me about the John C. Campbell Folk School, a place I've since visited, an experience that is one of the highlights of my life. With tongue-firmly-in-cheek, I believe at the time I called her an evil temptress for her shameless enabling, but that's an unfair description, even in jest. Bess has actually enriched my life quite a bit, and I'm blessed to call her a friend.

Thanks for a lovely Saturday, Bess!

Susan's Fiber Shop Spinning Retreat 2008 - Saturday

2008-03-30T10:15:00.004-04:00

Saturday was a lovely day here in Columbus, WI, and I got the chance to drive out to Susan's Fiber Shop, which is a building on her farm. Here's her barn and some of her sheep:

She had me try out a couple more wheels at her shop, including a Majacraft Suzie Pro and a Kromski Sonata. That Kromski is lovely -- the best thing I'd spun on all weekend, to date, and she let me bring it back to the hotel to spin on it some more during the rest of the day. (I'd wrestled with the Majacraft Rose at the hotel earlier in the day, and at various points in the afternoon and evening, and never did conquer that machine. The Rose is pretty, but fiddly, so I feel comfortable ruling it out as an option for my first wheel.)

I seriously considered buying the Kromski Sonata from Susan to bring back home with me on the plane, but later changed my mind after I was able to spin on a Lendrum for a bit. Now I'm back to my original thinking, that a Lendrum is probably what I'll end up with, and I don't feel the need to get one this weekend.

So, I won't be breaking my no-wheel-shall-cross-my-threshold-until-there's-room-in-my-house-for-it vow, at least not as of this morning. This gives me more time to declutter the house and make room for it, try out a few more friends' wheels, and most importantly, shop the wheel vendors at Maryland Sheep & Wool. I've waited this long; I can certainly wait another month.

Lots of other cool crafts, classes and demonstrations took place on Saturday, including shibetty-dyeing, shirret, braided rug making, spinning beaded yarns, sock machine knitting and navajo three-plying. Susan says she'll give me a one-on-one lesson of navajo-plying today, and I'm looking forward to that. I did get to try out a navajo spindle, and it's kinda cool but I was correct in my estimation that it won't be replacing my affection for top whorl suspended spindles.

All weekend long there's been a masseuse giving chair massages, which is a nice bonus. I've yet to avail myself of that benefit, and probably won't, as I have to leave to catch my flight in early afternoon.

So, I will end this, but direct you back to my Flickr photoset, where I've added more photos from yesterday.

Thanks for stopping by!

Susan's Fiber Shop Spinning Retreat 2008 - Friday

2008-03-29T09:23:00.005-04:00

Don't know if it's Blogger or my computer or my slow wireless connection here at the hotel, but I'm not able to upload multiple pictures at a time this morning, so I will give you just this one, and then refer you to my Flickr photoset for the full batch of photos from my first day at the spinning retreat.

The rest of this post will be narrative (yawn).

So, I left the greater Madison, WI area around 12:30 pm on Friday and arrived in Columbus about an hour later. The retreat is at a local hotel, and we've taken over what would normally be their breakfast room with 30-40 people and their various fiber tools - spindles, wheels, electric spinners, and fiber, of course.

Shortly after I arrived, Susan got me started practicing on that Schacht LadyBug wheel you see in the above photo, and gave me a quick lesson on spinning from the fold, which I'd been wanting to learn. I practiced that for the rest of the day.

I like this wheel. I don't know that I love it, but I don't hate it, either. Today, (Saturday), I'm going to try using a Majacraft Rose and perhaps a Lendrum. Looking forward to seeing how they all compare to one another. I suspect that if/when the time comes for me to buy a wheel, it will be a Lendrum because of it's affordability, portability and versatility, but I don't want to rule anyone else out yet. Frankly, that electric spinner seems pretty darn cool, and definitely appeals to my very wide lazy streak as well as my space limitations....

In between spinning sessions, Susan gave demonstrations on how to create novelty batts and fiber using a picker and a drum carder and tossing in things like cut up pieces of ribbon, fabric and the like. She also gave a demonstration on how to spin overspun novelty yarns like those created by PluckyFluff. (I think there's an article in the Spring '08 issue Spin Off on a similar topic, but since I haven't received my issue yet.... Are you listening, Interweave...?) Definitely fun and interesting demos, but not something I'll attempt anytime soon -- I'll just be happy to be able to create a decent amount of consistently smooth yarn and have the colors and plies do what I want.

Several of the attendees, as well as Susan herself, are also vendors here, and they've set up shop in their various hotel rooms. There is a lot of fiber, yarn, books, tools, buttons, patterns, and handicrafts available for sale at incredibly reasonable prices. Despite my suitcase space limitations, you better know I picked up a few goodies, including two gorgeous hand-painted rovings, some beautiful batts, a lovely new spindle (surprise!) made by the brother of one of the attendee-vendors, and a couple of patterns. I forgot to photograph the loot yesterday -- perhaps I'll get to that today. I also hope to take a field trip to Susan's shop today, which is just 10 minutes from the hotel. I'll definitely bring the camera.

Today we're having several demonstrations on how to create beaded yarns, how to navajo ply (yippee! been wanting to learn this!), and how to make yarn with multi-colored rovings without muddying the colors, which also seems like a valuable skill.

A gal spinning on a wheel near me yesterday uses the Navajo spindle as her primary spinning tool of choice, so I'm looking forward to seeing her demonstrate that today, although I don't think it will replace my love of the top whorl drop spindle.

Edited to add:

Forgot to mention -- the big buzz around Columbus, WI is that Johnny Depp (and a film crew) have been in town filming a movie about John Dillinger. Susan's niece, I think, got some photos of him in town, and Susan posted them on the wall for all to enjoy. I took pictures of the photos, which are in my Flickr photoset. Supposedly Mr. Depp was staying at the same Marriott where I was staying in Madison, but, alas, we did not cross paths.

Well, I better end this post, jump in the shower and get started with my day. Here's hoping I'm able to post again tomorrow! 'Til then....