Woodland Woolworks

The Lendrums are here!

2009-07-03T12:24:00.001-07:00

Our UPS driver just unloaded 1/2 his truck here, bringing us much Lendrum and Leclerc joy. We're operating on a skeleton crew today, so I don't know how much we'll turn around for the afternoon UPS driver, but we'll try! And if not today, then Monday...

Enjoy your 4th of July weekend! We're closed tomorrow, but we'll be back on Monday.

Slight delay on Wool Rag

2009-07-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

We're trying out a new format - size, shape - on the Wool Rag and had it all done and ready to take to the printer... and that's when they tell us that oh, by the way, the postal service has changed the rates on the type of stuff we send out... Long story short, we're changing the size AGAIN, and switching to a different paper. It sure would have been nice to know it before we were ready to take it to the printer... Tim is going to be more than ready to see the end of this project! I think he must be really good at Tetris - getting all the funky shapes to meld together and fit on the page.

He'll have a pdf of it up on the website next week, and here's hoping there are no new bombs from the printer and it can get mailed as soon as possible!

Random Fiber Shots

2009-05-30T16:43:00.000-07:00

Because we all need more fiber...

This is a Romney/Perendale blend that came in with an interesting shading, I really like it.

Have a happy weekend!

Sock Summit

2009-05-30T16:19:00.001-07:00

We're getting pretty excited about Sock Summit in August! Tuesday was class registration day, and I just want to commend the whole Sock Summit team for a really amazing job! I'm really hoping that they'll want to do this again, but know that I have only the faintest glimmer of an idea of the amount of work that has gone into this. THANK YOU x100000 for all this work!!

We've got a booth there, and would love suggestions on what you'd like US to bring! Know that there will be a ton (or 20) of hand painted yarns there, so we won't be bringing any of that! Also keep in mind that if anybody would like to place an order ahead of time we're happy to bring it there so all you have to do is grab and go. We do this for Black Sheep Gathering too! We've already got the box for that started....

I'm excited! It's going to be a fabulous weekend!

Artfelt class

2009-05-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

We had an intro to Artfelt class here recently with Joanne Ellis, and I thought I'd share some pics of what the students took home with them. Not all of these are finished, but you'll see where they're going with them, I think. These squares can be used as pillow fronts, or little purses, or a bunch of other things. There was a lot of creativity in the room!!

Off to the Printer

2009-05-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

Hurray, hurray! The spring knit catalog is off to the printer, and with luck will be out on its own in the big big world within a matter of weeks... Depending on the speed of the mail service, some could have it as soon as next week, if the stars align and all that... Tim did a great job, as always. Check out the cool infinity cover he did... Now we're working on the next Wool Rag.

It's less than 2 months till Black Sheep Gathering, which is hard to believe. It's coolish and rainy today, so hard to think that June is just around the corner.

Maryland Sheep & Wool festival was this past weekend. I used to live about 5 minutes from there, and it's because of that that I learned to spin and weave. Well, maybe I was destined to learn, but Md S&W played a big part, that's for sure. I found the lady who taught me there! I bought my first spinning wheel there! It was a used Peacock, which was made in New Zealand, and evidently no longer made. Cutest darn wheel, I should get a picture of it. I'd determined that I would buy a wheel, but I had zero confidence in spinning in front of anyone (let alone the masses and hordes at the festival!), and looked around at wheels everywhere, but of course wouldn't try any of them... then I spied this little used wheel, MUCH cheaper than all the fancy new wheels. I didn't really want to spend a lot of money, not knowing just how likely I was to continue this little hobby, so I told the person selling it that if they could prove that it did indeed spin yarn, I'd buy it. They did, and I did, and so the story began. Funny the paths we take... had I not lived near the Md S&W festival, where would I be today?

May your paths be interesting and happy!

Some Assembly Required

2009-04-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

I've been making slow progress on my Monday Night Knit Night project... This sock first made its debut on the cover of our spring knit catalog. Last year... Now it's a completed sock! ONE completed sock. I started the 2nd one last night. I took time out in the past year to try my hand at some stranded Selbuvotter mittens, which also aren't finished. Gads, somebody's going to take away my License to Knit if I don't get something finished pretty soon!
Sock yarn used: Alpaca Sox from Classic Elite
Pattern: Hellen's Favorite Socks from Fiber Trends

I love this yarn, it's lovely soft, and with alpaca in it, it's going to be nice and warm & toasty. I only knit on it at Monday night knit night, so a max of 1-2 hours per week, and I don't make it every week, plus the mitten hiatus in there explains why the progress is so slow. At least, that's my excuse anyway!

Hope your knitting is speeding along!

Diane

Lendrum Saxony wheels

2009-04-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

We recently got a shipment of Lendrum Saxony wheels in, and they are so beautiful! I wish we could have put them all together and had a photograph of the whole herd, but no such luck. We did get to finish one walnut wheel, and it turned out gorgeous. My photos don't do it justice. We use a couple of coats of tung oil to finish wheels. It allows the gorgeous wood to be the star, as it should be.

The boxes for shipping that Mr. Lendrum designed are a pretty amazing feat of engineering in their own right. There was obviously a great deal of thought put into these, as well as the boxes that the regular folding Lendrum wheels come in. To be able to fit so much wheel into such a small amount of space takes a lot of skill! We photograph the packing when we need to finish a wheel for a customer and put it BACK into the box, because it's like a big puzzle. All these pieces couldn't possibly fit in here! And yet...

The wheel itself is in the next layer below this... A marvel of engineering! This is a maple wheel in the box.

Happy new Saxony owners!

Festivals & Shows

2009-02-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

Wow, this is turning out to be quite a year for festival and show possibilities! We always have a booth at the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, and the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival in Canby and have entirely too much fun at both. This year we're also going to have a booth at the brand new Sock Summit at the Portland Convention Center. AND I've put in for a booth at SOAR (Spin Off Autumn Retreat) at Sunriver. Twice as many shows as usual! I won't know about SOAR till April, so cross your fingers.

I'm pretty excited about these. Seems far away right now, but I have to remind myself that Items on Calendar Are Closer Than They Appear.

Pendleton Woolen Mill Celebrates 100 Years

2009-02-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

There's a great article in the Oregonian about the Pendleton Woolen Mill, which is celebrating its 100th year anniversary this year. Check it out! There are so few mills left in the US, it's nice to have this one in Oregon (and Washington). There's also an interesting Wikipedia entry about the mill, with a surprise connection to the Beach Boys! Who knew?

A little bit of Oregon history...

Knitting as Art

2009-02-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed reading Franklin's blog post about a knitting/art installation at a museum in Chicago. Check it out. Wishing I could get to Chicago to take part too, and get into a discussion with other folks taking part! There are so many hobbies nowadays involving things that used to be requirements for life - knitting, spinning, weaving... gardening, cooking even. It's so easy to get meals that don't require any real knowledge of food and cooking. On the other end of the spectrum people that make cooking an event are getting rare. Is cooking turning into a hobby, like handweaving?

Random thoughts on a Thursday...

Finished socks!

2009-02-07T14:57:00.001-08:00

Okay, imagine if you will that the picture shows a finished pair of socks, artfully posed. Because they ARE finished. Right now they're posing in my bathroom waiting to be washed, having been worn... did I get a picture of them on the feet, proof that they were done? Uh uh. Nope...

They are superwash merino/tencel yarn that I dyed using Procion dyes. I THINK I steamed the bundle of painted yarn after I dyed it, but to be honest I've forgotten. I think I did though because when I tested out all sorts of methods of dyeing the merino/bamboo yarn I found that while all the methods work just fine, the fiber reactive worked better with some heat than as a cold dye. And these colors are nothing if not vivid! Too bad my one and only photo doesn't show that as vividly, but there you have it. Oh wait, I thought I talked about this sock before (besides on Ravelry, that is) - I did way back when. The colors show up better there maybe. Anyway, the yarn worked great, took the dye beautifully, and felt good on my feeties.

And I'm making progress on the other sock shown in that same post! I've turned the heel and am moving along on the gusset decreases. Soon I'll be to that Peter-Pan moment in sock knitting - "Straight on 'til Toe!" Probably my favorite part. Well, besides casting on, which is really the most fun, all that anticipation...

Karen and I were talking at knit night last week that we have a different sort of Second Sock Syndrome. Once we start on the 2nd sock, there's no stopping. We want to have that Pair of Socks! No other project gets worked on. While it's in the 1st sock stage we cast on other socks, we cast on other hats/wash clothes, etc. We work on this and that, and mosey along at something maybe slightly above a snail's pace... but once that 2nd sock is underway it's Katie bar the door! I have 3 different socks on the needles as 1st socks.... plus that green sweater that never makes any progress... But 2 of the socks are at or near the Straight on 'til Toe portion, so there may be more finished socks coming in the near-ish future. One of them only gets worked on at Monday Night Knitting.

I need more hours in the day. Don't you?

Smooshy!

2009-01-20T14:30:00.000-08:00

The Dream in Color Smooshy is here! This is a wonderful sock yarn in colors that are vibrant and just draw you in. The name is very apt too - squeezably soft, not to mention fun to say... Smooooshy, smoooshy, smoooshy!

The only trouble comes in deciding which one to do first...

The other hat

2009-01-17T14:14:00.000-08:00

I got a picture finally of the 3rd Fake Isle hat. I'm going to have to figure out what to make for mine! Then again, I have some socks & a sweater to finish too...

The color on this one works great for Ed because it goes well with the moss from the trees he's trimming and cutting up. We've got dozens of trees that fell or lost large limbs, so lots of chainsaw time... One paddock's fencing was demolished in FOUR places... Luckily Daedalus was too wigged out from the noise to think about going and visiting the girls! "I'm not going out there, are you nuts? it's a war zone!"

Catching up

2009-01-15T10:07:00.000-08:00

Is there such a thing as catching up? Not really, is there? We use the term all the time, but what does it really mean? "catch up on the laundry" - I'm still wearing clothes, and they're gonna need cleaning... "catch up on reading" - too many wonderful things to read in a dozen lifetimes... "catch up on weeding" - yeah right, maybe slow down some of the weeds for a short while, but the weeds will win.

But still, it's nice to think we could actually catch up, isn't it? I mean, what's the alternative? Chaos, pandemonium and fields of thistles...

So, in the spirit of catching up, I present some hats! Because winter had a few dirty tricks up its sleeves for us recently, I spent more time at home than at work for 2 weeks, and had more time for knitting. It was more fun than dwelling on the field of destruction that exists everywhere there are/were trees in my area and all the damage to fences that we'll be cleaning up for months to come (catching up, ha ha ha!). We were very lucky though - barns & house were unscathed.

I became addicted to the Fake Isle hat! I've made 3, and can't help but eyeball all the rest of the self-striping yarns in the showroom...

This red one is made with Plymouth Boku for the multi-color, and Nashua Creative Focus Worsted for the solid. I made this for a friend who looks terrific in red.

This one is also Plymouth Boku, and Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted for the black solid. I made this one for my friend's sweetie, so they can be twins. Course, I don't know if he likes bright colors or not so it may never ever be worn. And I had a really hard time giving it away because those are MY colors! I adore purples and greens! I hope he does too, because he would look good in it. The 3rd hat was for MY sweetie, and I have no pictures! It's greens & browns, and he wears it all the time. I need to get pictures.

AND I got my loom warped and started weaving! I haven't woven in years, which is tragic, and needed to be rectified. I really need to weave more - dare I say it? I have project after project in mind to catch up on! I crack myself up.

This is a kit I bought at Madrona last year from the good people at Just Our Yarns. It's handdyed tencel and it's perfectly lovely.

Website problems

2008-12-10T10:59:00.000-08:00

If you've been trying to order in the last couple days and are having trouble, it's because the USPS is having trouble with their software that gives the shipping quotes. Here's the latest info I have:

Webtools Interruptions: Updates

The Postal Service continues to experience intermittent system interruptions in our Webtools API’s.. We apologize for the inconvenience this is causing, especially at what is one of the busiest times of the year. We are hopeful that full service, across the country, will be restored as soon as possible. We thank you again for your patience.
We have taken every step to resolve the situation, and continue to work around the clock both internally and with our external partners.

We appreciate your business and your patience.

Yeah... no pressure USPS, but we'd all really like it to work! Me and every other business that's relying on the postal service for shipping - and it turns out, ordering as well, since you can't order if their software won't calculate shipping.

Please call if you have trouble with the website!

Mittens - the new sock?

2008-11-29T13:05:00.000-08:00

A while ago we decided we'd try our hand at knitting some mittens on Monday nights. I've been intrigued by the Selbuvotter mittens described in the book by Terri Shea, and mittens seem like such a warm and cozy little project. No heals to turn, so how hard could it be, right? One of our wonderful customers shared her Selbu mittens with us:
Aren't they lovely? Shari is an amazing inspiration!! I loved the pattern of the pink ones too, but I chose a blue color:I'm a few rows further along now, but I keep messing up and having to unknit. I've only worked on them here on Monday nights after work, maybe that's jinxing them! Maybe I should take them home to make some progress on them... I'm knitting mine out of O-Wool Classic 2 Ply, which is lovely stuff!
Karen decided to tackle some fingerless mitts - Winter Twilight (Ravelry link) from Interweave Knits magazine using Brown Sheep's Wildfoote sock yarn.
And Wanda! Wanda is making two pair for two of her daughters, starting with a Selbuvotter inspiration and charting her own:Aren't these cute? I'm completely in love with these. Here's the other pair she's making:
Tim heard we were making mittens, and he whipped these out in one evening. He wins! Sorry about the lousy picture...

I think mine are going to be another one of those Epic Projects - you know, "2 years in the making!", said in that big movie announcer voice. Before I got started while I was still dreaming of them and flipping through the book saying I want to make this one, and this one, and this one, and wandering around the show room looking at yarns saying these colors, and these colors, and wouldn't that combo be divine too? Yeah, well, these puppies are taking f o r e v e r and keep being difficult and needing to be unknit, and it's NOT a hard pattern! Maybe I just don't have Monday Night Mitten Mojo. Maybe Monday nights I need miles of easy stockinette. I do adore the concept and the patterns, and I would like to make a bunch of pairs. I definitely need more fingerless mitts for keeping my hands warm...

Hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Diane

Fall things

2008-11-14T08:46:00.000-08:00

The Autumn Test

Your Autumn Test Results

You are a energetic, warm, optimistic person. You approach everything with a lot of enthusiasm.

When you are happiest, you are calm. You appreciate tradition and family. You enjoy feeling cozy.

You tend to be afraid of change. You are never ready for things to be different.

You find solitude to be the most comforting thing in the world. Being alone with your thoughts feels very peaceful.

Your ideal day is spontaneous and surprising. You like to play things by ear, and you always end up doing something interesting.

You tend to live in the moment. You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don't obsess over the past or future.

I have to say that the part about being afraid of change cracks me up. Let's see, I've lived in Arizona, Missouri, Maryland, Oregon, I gave up a perfectly good job and left the best friends anybody could have to come to Oregon to be closer to my parents and live in paradise without having a job lined up, or anything else.... I got another perfectly good job with a large corporation and then 8 years later took a severance package and risked it all to buy this business. Nope, change - it's way too scary, not gonna have any of that around. Yeah, good luck with that!

A Little Help

2008-11-06T10:28:00.000-08:00

Some time ago a good friend of mind saw a report on NBC about a lady that's doing a lot of good things in Afghanistan, including working with the Kabul School for the Blind providing knitting needles and yarn and whatnot - see the story here on NBC. My friend isn't a knitter, but she wanted to help, and hoped I'd get involved too. She sent some money for yarn, and I provided a couple of tubs of yarn from my personal stash as well, and we sent over a large box of yarn. I haven't heard yet that the yarn has arrived, or gotten any pictures from that side, but I'm still hopeful. I have no idea how long it takes to get from here to there via the APO system, and I know Rosemary has more than enough to do!

Rosemary Stasek's organization is called A Little Help, and I'd like to use this as an ongoing project for one of the ways that we give back. If you'd like in on this, drop me a line and we'll see what we can do together.

Diane

Naturally Fun Fiber Holiday Show

2008-11-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

We're joining the fun at the Naturally Fun Fiber Holiday show this Saturday at the mall in Albany Oregon. Come see what fiber artists in our area have been up to! We'll be there doing some demonstrating and helping people make their own fiber art.

Have you received your fall knitting catalog? They're out there! Followed quickly by the next Wool Rag, which went to the post office on Friday.... now we're starting on the next spinning & weaving catalog, which should be in mail boxes in early January. Since this catalog only comes out once a year, it's something of a balancing act for when to publish it. A lot of the manufacturers put out their new price lists right around the beginning of the year, and we really hate to print the catalog and have the prices be wrong immediately. It's frustrating for everybody! ("what do you mean the price went up? I just got your catalog!") We do know, we do feel your pain. I go around kicking walls when I get a new price sheet right after the printer has taken the catalog to the post office.

OFFF

2008-09-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Alternate title - more weeks & weeks. Sheesh.

This week we're scrambling around packing up for Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival, which is this weekend in Canby. It's a great show, you should all come! We'll be on the porch, just like last year. If you want us to bring something specific, just let us know!

We're also VERY close to having the catalog ready for the printer. We're just editing for last minute stuff, so any day now....

Monday Night Mittens are progressing with some ripping back and small amounts of gnashing of teeth. Wanda's are looking great! TIM is done, even though he won't stay and knit with us. Show off. I'll post pictures next time, when I have some...

I also have some socks to show, but not today. Really I'm just popping in to wave and pretend like I'm still around, even though clearly I'm not.

Hopefully my next post won't have a title with anything to do with weeks passing by silently....

Diane

Weeks & weeks

2008-08-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

I hate it when weeks and weeks go by, silently. We're working away on the Wool Rag, which should go to the printer next week; and on the fall knit catalog, which should follow in a couple weeks. Then the next Wool Rag, then the spinning & weaving catalog, followed by another Wool Rag.... it's that time of year that starts feeling rather relentless.

New yarns are arriving almost daily, which is very fun. I like going and seeing what Dwayne, our UPS driver brings. He looks like a younger Kaffe Fassett, which is appropriate, don't you think?

We're going to start a Monday night knit night here, so come on over! We're going to be doing MITTENS - although anybody can knit whatever they like! I want to try something from Selbuvotter
Two color knitting! I've done a little, but want to do more. I simply adore fair isle, and want to do some of that soon. I keep ogling all the yarns and dreaming up color combinations. The possibilities are endless. I can see this getting like sock knitting, and having stacks of mittens soon. Fun! We're going to start the 1st Monday after Labor Day - so Sept 8th, from 5 till 7pm, and open to suggestions too. Join us!

Diane

Wanda's Tour de Fleece report

2008-08-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

My challenge was to find time, no matter how short, to spin everyday. I really enjoy spinning but you'd never know it based on my "output" in the last year. So, when Diane emailed me about the Tour De Fleece challenge I jumped on it. Initially, I planned on prepping/spinning this long-neglected fleece, that was solar dyed. My neighbors, being the polite sort, never even asked what the long black container parked (for days!) on my front lawn held.

The fleece took a lot of time to prep and the end result were lovely little fiber "buns" which would've been fine if my goal was to "comb more". So, it was set aside and I turned to other neglected in-progress spinning. I finished spinning & plied a mystery batt on my "meeting" wheel. Poor thing, it hadn't seen action for months! My spindle got a lot of use during the challenge and I put it to work on a wildly colored batt I picked up at this year's BSG. Being able to spindle during waits (kids, errands) and long car trips sometimes was the only way I got any spinning in on a day. Now, it has a home in my purse:)

So, though I don't have miles/pounds of handspun to show at the end of the TDF, participating in it has revived my "spinning life". The challenge is finished but thru it I discovered new ways to keep on spinning. Count me in for TDF 2009!

- Wanda

To Spin is to Win!

2008-07-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

I did a bit more spinning on Wednesday, but for some reason I wasn't getting enough twist into my cashmere, and it started drifting apart, so I walked away rather than get frustrated. I tried a couple times, but sometimes it's better for me if I just set it aside for the day. When I first started spinning I used that as a tool, and I think it still serves me well. This is supposed to be fun, this is a hobby I love, but when things are conspiring against me and it's getting frustrating and nothing seems to help, I can walk away before I hate it and never come back to it. I don't want to approach spinning as something I have to conquer, or sidle up to in trepidation, or whatever - I just want to do it and enjoy it. If today it's not working that way, tomorrow it will be fine. So I walked away.

In the endurance (horse) world, the Tevis Cup ride (a grueling 100 mile in one day ride with incredible changes in altitude) has a saying that to finish is to win. I've never ridden in the Tevis, but I like that saying, and attitude. I think for the Tour de Fleece, to spin is to win!

Here's to all the winners who are spinning today, and every day!

Diane

Another one!

2008-07-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

This guy, in spite of sticking his tongue out for the camera, is actually a rather charming fellow. He's about 2 weeks old now, and pretty full of himself! He and his 1/2 sister (same dad) were let out together yesterday for the 1st time and they had a good time racing around together. His mom would occasionally intervene though and make nasty faces at the filly, telling her not to try to corrupt her perfect son! HA!

On the spinning front, I'm not making a lot of progress on my big pile of cashmere fluff. I can say that the Tour de Fleece has encouraged me to spin more than I would have in this period, but I wouldn't say it's a lot! My goal was pretty wide open ("spin as much as possible"), but I still may have to pass on taking a yellow button. We'll see, there's still time!

Wanda is participating too, and she hopes to get her story written up and pictures too - she's working on a fleece she has.

Saturday we had a fun group of spinners from NwRSA here for the day spinning - I was very jealous, getting to spend the day spinning and chatting with friends! And shortly after they left I did the V-8 move and said Dang! Why didn't I take any pictures?? Bad blogger.

We're laboring away on the fall knitting catalog, picking patterns, arranging pages, deciding what fits and what doesn't fit. Tim is a master of layout, and can get a lot of information on a page! He must be really good at Tetris - getting odd shapes to work together.

I think it would be pretty amazing to see the full life cycle for yarns, etc. I get to see the new lines in late spring/early summer that are going to appear for the fall, but they had to be developed and colors picked and getting the spinning just right, and patterns developed and knit and re-knit with the yarns. I wonder how long the process really takes? What are they working on now? Fall of 2009, or later?