I'm a lucky woman

As part of my sanity program, I've been taking walks every day.  I go out in the morning for about an hour.  I've figured out a couple different loops that fit the criteria:  pretty flowers, some hills, not too many people, which is why I go out in the morning.  By 3 pm, people are getting a bit stir crazy.  Since it's been warm in the afternoon already, morning is my time.  There are a few dog walkers, some solitary runners and walkers, very few others.

It is Saturday, not that it makes much difference to me, but for those working and educating at home it's a day off.  I came across 2 families.  The first was 2 parents and 2 boys in the 9-11 range, on bikes. The boys were the kind of manic that is well suited to that age group.  The other family was 2 your parents with 2 small girls - may 1 & 3.  The girls were kind of weepy - not inconsolable crying, just clearly unhappy without the emotional maturity that (hopefully) comes later.  I chatted with the mom for just a minute - confirming that her job is hard right now, but my heart went out to her and her family. 

It again gave me a feeling of gratitude.  I am healthy, happy and even in lockdown I have some control over my life. 

Since we are in fact in 'Stay home; Stay Healthy' mode, It's been a good week in the garden and the studio.  I'm enlarging one of the garden beds and setting up a worm composting bin.  I'm also starting some plants from cuttings:  buddliea and lavender.  As I as in the back of the yard getting compost, sand and other amendments, I noticed some hostas coming up.  I planted these when I first moved to this house nearly 20 years ago,  but have't paid them much attention so they've gotten over run with vines.  I cleared out a space, and sure enough there were 2 - each about a foot across.  Nice surprise.

One of the most engaging project this week was the strap for one of my ukuleles.  2 ukes + 1 strap = 1 problem.  I thought of weaving one, then I remembered that I had a couple of bands woven on backstrap looms.  I cannot recall their origin, but why not press one into service?  So totally made from materials on hand (the strap, leather, belt hardware), and my 1949 Singer Featherweight sewing machine, I now have a strap that allows me to play either uke much more easily.  More funky than elegant, but hey, it's ukulele!

I am nearly finished with the red sweater - I just need to kitchener the  armpits.  I am very pleased.  It is exactly the 'farm sweater' I intended.  I'm also about 1/2 way through my THIRD scarf on the cricket loom.  I'm not a great weaver, but it has just the right amount of creativity and mindless physicality that I need right now.  I've left it set up in the basement.  So I can just pick up where I left off.  Audio books and weaving are the bomb!

With finishing the red sweater, I'm deciding on my next project.  I could knit a few hats and maybe a pair of socks while I decide.  There are some interesting sweater patterns popping up on Ravelry of late.

As for now, it's time to see what item is next on the list.  I think the chores so far today weren't actually on the list.  How does that happen!?!

Happy New Year 2015

As the new year rolls around we tend to take stock.  What was wonderful...other things...well, less so.  I find that I miss the blog.  Not the self promotion, that gets tired.  I've never been one for a parade of finished objects.  I can hardly remember to take pictures for my Ravelry page.

But I think that what I miss is the writing.  Writing a few times a week give me a time for introspection...thoughtfulness...as I try to put thoughts and feelings into words. I have used this blog as a diary of sorts, mostly writing about fiber (obviously), gardening, travel and the public parts of my life.  There's only a little about work, except as it gives me a few interesting travel opportunities a year.  My private life is only interesting to me - no drama to make salacious reading.

So in 2015, I'm going to revive the blog.  Other resolutions...

• Finish the purple sweater (about 80% done).
• Rework red sweater.  So far I have pulled out the sleeves and washed the yarn.
• Knit at least 6 pair of socks (2 already on needles)
• Work out more - Notice that I did NOT quantify that. but I've either walked or done yoga nearly every day since the Christmas break began.
• Pay attention the Etsy shop.  I started by putting my patterns up.
• A little promotion wouldn't hurt (Facebook; Phat fiber)
• Add patterns to Ravelry.
• Keep my office cleaner.  It's currently quite tidy. Can I spend 5 minutes at the end of every day tidying up? 

So we shall see if I can keep this going.  Stay tuned...

Coming Out of Hibernation

Only the blog has been hibernating.  I've been (in local parlance) covered up.  A few highlights...

Kitchen remodeling is mostly complete.  Cabinet knobs and a few minor issues remain (non-functional electrical outlets, but I am moving into my new kitchen and the rest of the house, but it's nearly done and I love it. 

The first picture is the view as you walk into the house.  The dining room wall is now green to better frame the mostly white kitchen and its orange accents.  Note the shiny wood floor.  There was oak flooring under those incredibly grungy tiles.  The best surprise of the project!

You'll also see new cabinets and appliances including the dishwasher (which I LOVE), a stove that heats up fast (the old extra slow stove has been moved to the (still non-functional) dye studio) and a counter-depth refrigerator with an icemaker.   I may not be in the 21st century, but I'm out of the 1950's!

Under-counter lighting, interesting tile work and a decent range hood make this a lovely kitchen.  It's not perfect, but on my budget, it's just fine. I now have a lazy Susan-equipped cabinet that gives me access to what was a wasted black hole, electrical outlets where I need them and a lovely space to work in.  There's more to it, but these are the best pictures.

Not having a kitchen for a month was annoying, but living on raw fruits & vegetables, yogurt, tomato sandwiches and roasted chicken from the grocery store left me 5 pounds lighter.  The garden was lovely and most of the produce was eaten raw, dehydrated or given away.  I spent a couple of quality hours last evening watering, weeding, picking beans and generally putting it back into shape for the cooler weather.  I need to shell about 3/4 of the 2 bags of Kentucky Wonder beans as they got WAY ahead of me.

On the fiber front, I finished and blocked 2 sweaters, made good progress on another, knit a few hats for the upcoming season and have spun a LOT!  I have gone to my spinning group most Wednesday evenings and have spun a good bit at home in the evening.  Not spending time cooking opens up time for spinning - a decent trade!

Because the kitchen stuff (and living & dining room stuff) had to go somewhere, the dye studio has been down.  After this weekend it will be back in force.  I have felting and spinning and knitting ideas and the right fiber colors are so important.  I need red!

The day job is also keeping me way too busy, but that's seldom blog fodder.  I think I'll keep it that way.

So Much Fiber - Time for a Sale!

As you know, I love to dye  In the crock pot, on the stove, sock yarn in the microwave.  But every now and then I take a look at what I have on hand and I'm blown away!  I went down to take some pictures and see what I need to dye  The short answer:  I need to take a lot of GOOD pictures & I don't need to dye anything!

I need to move it out or spin it, and as it is getting into gardening season, I am spinning less these beautiful spring days.  I call the roving on the left Copper Penny.  It's a lovely merino combed top, that really wants to be spun or felted.  It has many friends and they all need new homes.

So, my faithful blog readers - Does 20% off get your attention?  All fibers, patterns and tools in my Etsy shop, Smoky Mountain Fibers are 20% off through the end of March.  I'll keep posting new stuff daily so check back.  Just use the code, SPRINGSALE.  It's an Etsy coupon, so the 20% will be deducted from your invoice automatically.  No revised invoice required!  I'll also refund shipping overages for purchases where Etsy's shipping calculations go beyond actual cost of shipping.

If you can't find anything that you like, drop me a line at amwalter [at] mail [dot] com (edited appropriately, of course) and ask.  I have some beautiful fiber that my point 'n' shoot camera can't quite capture & I may have more that I haven't posted yet. 

mmmmm....Mohair

One of my favorite goat herds called me up the other day.  Seems that it's nearly time to shear and she still has plenty of mohair so it was time to find new homes for the good fleece - nice enough to be processed by hand.  I bought 3 lovely fleeces.  Here's how it starts - a little stinky and dirty.

 








Then I soak it - at least twice - before I wash it.













 After a trip through the dyepot, it looks like this.  This is my fire colorway.  I dyed it together in my big turkey roaster.









Pretty, eh?

Getting Organized

I think of myself as an organized person.  I like to make lists and cross things off.  I keep both a private, online calendar and a public paper one.  I like to be sure of deadlines.  The undergrad course that I teach is well laid out at the beginning of the semester - at least the view that my students have;>)

But my creative work - the fiber that I dye for my Etsy shop, for my retail customers and my own work -can get a bit out of whack.  This weekend I spent a good bit of time butting my dye studio back together.

I unpacked the boxes from my workshops last weekend.  But because they were all sitting on an already cluttered table where the dyes and color cards live, that table had to be cleared of those boxes, the random papers and tools that was accumulated, I thought I might as well clear the whole thing off and wipe it down. Result:  One clean surface.

I have been accumulating dyed fiber: some leftover from the last time I was a vendor (different put up than the Etsy shop); examples for my classes, fiber that I dyed in my classes, roving I have set aside to overdye,  stuff that I haven't listed on Etsy yet, fiber that I have set aside for myself, etc.  You get the picture:  Large plastic tubs and copier paper boxes full of fiber that looks pretty random to the naked eye.  Now it is organized:  Fiber it now weighed and packaged for Etsy, drum carded fiber is properly stored away for future blending or spinning.  Dyed fiber is sorted by color and ready for its future destination - whatever that may be.

Detritus has been tossed.  Stuff (clothing, extraneous household objects, yarns that need to go to a new home, etc.) has been put into boxes for donation.  Some is already in my car.  Feeling pretty good here.

A friend who works in glass asked to see my studio the other evening.  I was all set to show off my newly organized studio.  Yet somehow it just didn't look that snazzy.  Of course I'm not finished.  Since I didn't have enough newspaper to put down fresh, The old spotty stuff was still down on the main dyeing table.  I have not yet swept the fluffy bits that letter the floor/  Empty boxes were piled on my nice clean table.  My sweetie's stuff was all gathered in a large area in front of his worktable.

So I'll cross off a few things on the list and add more, including taking pictures.  My life:  A work in progress.

Winter Fiber Retreat

It's a big weekend in Asheville - It's the Winter Fiber Retreat sponsored by Friends and FiberWorks, a yarn and fiber shop here in Asheville.  Many of the SAFF vendors, instructors and board members are involved.  I'm teaching Crockpot dyeing and a knitting class.

I'm nearly set up, but still have to finish up this morning and do a bit of knitting to get my samples in a couple of different stages.  Gotta go.  More later.

Something to Look Forward to in January: Winter Fiber Retreat in Asheville

Registration is now open for classes at the Winter Fiber Retreat in Asheville, NC.

Hosted by local yarn shop Friends and Fiberworks, this weekend of activities will take place on January 14-16, 2011.  A large variety of classes in knitting, spinning, weaving, felting, dyeing and lots more.  Great teachers - many of them teach at SAFF.  We spin each Wednesday evening at F&FW and the ideas were flowing freely the other evening.  Still being hatched: a sheep-to-shawl contests - my job is to make the rules!  Yikes!

Lisa has negotiated special hotel packages for people looking for a mid-winter get-away. Vendor space is still available too.  Here is the link:  http://friendsandfiberworks.com/winter-retreat

I’m teaching a couple of knitting and dyeing classes and there are plenty more that I’d love to take!  I just don't know how they will fit in, though I hope I can. 

Little Bunny FooFoo

A few years ago I had an English Angora rabbit.  A red-eyed white, he was a rescue bunny who never quite got over his trauma.  He wasn't happy outside his cage, although eventually he did become relaxed and content while I groomed him, talking and singing as I brushed, plucked and clipped him.  He was around for about 3 years before he died of a kind of bunny stroke.  He was an excellent helper in the garden as he produced copious amounts of fertilizer. 

He grew lovely fiber too.  I even won an award for a hat that I spun and knitted from his lovely fuzzy wool.  However, I have not been tempted to get  a new bunny.  His cage and accessories went quickly to another friend who had bunny fever and continues to raise and breed them for fiber.

Another friend got a gray German Angora bunny at last year's SAFF.  Really, I tried to talk her out of it.  They are not cats with long ears and cool fiber. But Mrs. Simpson became part of her life and she likes her a lot.  Now my friend is an excellent knitter but a new spinner.  We have had a number of conversations about spinning, though I have never seen her spin.  But the conversations that we have had regarding angora spinning made me realize that spinning angora was beyond her skill level. 

Angora is hard!  I seldom spin it alone but usually blend it with a soft wool.  I always sandwiched it between layers of merino and sent it through the drum carder several times.

So that is what I have been doing with this lovely gray angora.  About 5 passes through the drum carder with white merino wool gave me this very pretty batt.  I did not pull out all the short pieces, so it is likely to be a wee bit bumpy.  But it did spin very nicely to a heavy worsted weight 2 ply yarn. I carded another batch with some darker gray wool roving and it it coming out very nicely as well. 

This time I am much fussier about the angora that I am carding.  The brown yarn in the photo is a purchased roving of chestnut angora and pale brown rambouillet wool.  Reasonably nice spinning and already carded for my convenience!

I passed both yarns on to Mrs. Simpson's bunny-mama and she was quite happy!  So much so that she asked if I would spin her angora forever in exchange for all the foo-fur I want.  I suggested she learn to card her own.  Not to be ungenerous, but wouldn't she rather take control of the whole process?  Of course!

GoodBye Grover!

We have had a bit of a pest in the garden.  Someone was eating the leaves of the green beans.  Not the beans; not the vines.  The same someone was also eating the lettuce to the ground.  Since it was bolting, no complaints there.  But when the varmint started snacking on my tomatoes, it was war!

Turns out it was a groundhog and the leaves of green beans are one of their absolute favorite foods.  I saw him a few times, usually in the early mornings and after standing up in his cute little woodchuck way, he always dashed under the back deck. 

We took a low key approach, placing pinwheels in the garden, since they can be frightened of shiny moving objects, then didn't see him for a while.  But he reappeared, so my sweetie and a neighbor set up a have-a-heart trap to help him find a new home.

  Sometime yesterday, he finally decided that a lovely snack of apples was just what he wanted and in he went.  so today he will be taken on a little trip to the country.  Although I don't like him, I didn't want him to starve.  As I was pushing bok choi leaves through the cage, the little dickens snarled at me, ready to bite the hand that was feeding him. 

Goodbye, Gover!  Time to go to your new home!

Requisite fiber content:  In between feeding and photographing Grover, I dyed roving and packed bags of mixed fiber for the LYS and made up one-ounce bundles, affectionately known as bon-bons.  I also knitted a good bit on the orange socks, and am starting the gusset of sock #2.  I am loving these socks!  Fast + pretty = Fun! 

Phat Fiber Time - Zinnias

It's Phat Fiber time again and I am a contributor to the May box.  The theme this month is 'Blossoms and Bark.' Since I'm in the throes of gardening, how could I resist.  But I must admit I didn't do spring flowers, I jumped ahead to the hot sunny season when the zinnias are in bloom.  I love their bright colors and simple shapes.  I have a hot and sunny bed by the street, so I give the walkers something to brighten their day.  Here is my interpretation of zinnias, as told by a squishy soft merino wool.

This is a full size roving, with more in the dyepot.  I also sampled a blue/purple/green colorway that I call 'Delphiniums' (delphinia?).  More of that is yet to be dyed.  I've been quite busy as the school year ended and I seem to have stopped dyeing. I had a good bit on hand, and I wasn't spinning it up myself,  sock-maniac that I've been lately.  But this week is something of a stay-cation and I'm getting caught up on things around the house - getting the garden in, painting and other home repairs.  Since this is the traditionally slow time for fiber, I like to get everything else done.

Ummmm, did I mention I started another pair of socks?  But they might be too small, so I think I may pull them out and re-knit them.  They have been a quick knit, and I think I'll like them better a bit bigger.

Loves Me Lots

I dye fiber several times a week and ship it to my Etsy customers (thank you very much!) and to local yarn shops ( thank you very much!), but then I often lose track of it.  Roving gets spun into yarn or made into felt, patterns get knitted into hats and worn with style and grace or get lost on the school bus, never to be seen again.  But it finds a life of it's own.  But these simple dyed Romney locks became part of a lovely work of art.

Spin Drift Studios in Maine took a few ounces of moss green locks and felted them to become the background for 'Loves Me Lots,' a hand made piece of art that truly declares love.  In her description the artist states, 'The daisy petals are created from a handmade felt of silk caps and merino wool rovings. A real daisy was used for the petal templates. They are embroidered sashiko style with fine cotton thread.'  Already framed and ready for hanging, 'Loves Me Lots' is available in SpinDriftStudios Etsy shop.  What a perfect wedding or engagement gift!

What have you made from Smoky Mountain Fibers?  Let me know and I'll be happy to feature it here!

How to Spend a Snowy Weekend

Here in Western North Carolina, we had a several inches of snow with a warmish Saturday that melted the top layer into a crust of ice.  I planned ahead so that I would not need to go anywhere.  Plenty of food, a choice of beverages, good reading material and no shortage of fiber!

I baked a delicious Pumpkin Sour Cream Bundt Cake.  The center is a cinnamon-sugar struesel.  The cake is substantial without being heavy.  I plan to add a dollop of Cream cheese based hard sauce this evening.  It's yummy!  But I have 3/4 of a can of pumpkin leftover, so I'll be looking for some more pumpkin recipes to use it up. We also made a delicious beef stew and chicken soup.  Yum!!!

I carded wool.  Last December I was in the neighborhood of the Mid States Wool Growers Coop and purchased a few pounds of natural colored wool. I've been separating it into different colors.  This is the 'Oxford Grey.'  Should be enough for a very nice skein, though I did not weigh it.  Fills a copier paper box; could be this evening's spinning.

I cleared the walk.  With the help of my fine neighbor, we shoveled the snow.  Light and fluffy on the bottom, crusty on top, so not a difficult task.  The street is still icy, but today it should get up to the mid-30s with sun.  Let the thawing begin!  I hope to finish digging my truck out and free it from its snowy bondage.

I started my taxes.  Not thrilling but necessary.  Besides I wanted to see how Smoky Mountain Fibers did.  The short answer:  Don't quit your day job! But with a good sized ending inventory of fiber, yarn and dyes, not bad at all.  2011 will be a year of cost-containment.  Hear that? Watch your spending!  Maybe time for another destash!

I knit!  My raglan cardigan was at the stage where I attached the sleeves to the body.  A dozen or so rows later, it is coming along nicely.  The best thing about raglan sweaters (other than the minimal sewing up at the end), is how each row gets successively shorter as you go from the armpit to the neckline.  Now with 300+ stitches, it's still a slog. 

I also washed hand spun yarns and planned an English Country dance that I'll lead next Sunday. J and I laid out some garden plans for the coming spring and summer.  Won't be long until it's time to put peas in the ground!

New Natural Medley

I'm working on some new rovings and combos in my Etsy shop. Because natural colors do not have a specific 'dye lot,' the shades of natural rovings change.  I purchase my natural colors wholesale from an excellent supplier, but colors do change.  My recent 'Fawn' roving came in decidedly grey.  Very nice,spins up nicely - much better than I expected, but quite grey - not fawn at all.

At SAFF this year, I bought a little more than a pound of Oxford grey roving.  It is a Alpaca wool blend, but not the sweetest baby alpaca I have ever spun.  A lovely grey, but I am not reaching in to spin it.  Other fiber is calling me.

So it's now in a grab bag in the Etsy shop and at Locally Grown at the WNC Farmer's Market.

On the calling front, this is a 3 dance week!  I called the Old Farmer's Ball on Sunday afternoon for the Annual Meeting Members dance, I'll call the regular Thursday contra dance with the Avant Gardeners and Saturday night in Jonesborough, TN with a band that includes Cary Fridley.  Lucky, lucky me!

To Infinty and Beyond!

The December Phat Fiber sampler box was actually themed Aurora Borealis and Beyond, but why stop there?  Yes, I know it's already January, but with holiday travel and the back-to-school season, I'm just getting around to blogging about it.  What can I say, I'm a busy woman!

I always get excited when the box comes, but I don't open it until I have a few minutes to actually enjoy it, take pictures as I open it.  Later I go back to see what is really there.  Although every month is good, some of them totally blow me away.  December made me very happy - you'll see why...

  Sparkly black tissue paper greeted me with a striped coupon pack right on top.  Part of the fun of opening the box is seeing Jessie's packaging - It's always fun!  Just below the tissue, the goodies kicked it.  I'll do the fiber first, then the yarn.  Starting with the gold fiber you see in the 12:00 position, I'll promenade the circle. 

Kalpaca Farm sent a generous baggie of carded alpaca that was Kool Aid dyed in similar colors of salmon and yellow with a bit of lavender showing through.  From Ewe to Ewe’s sample was Merino roving in a colorway called ‘Fir’ – a saturated dark green.  Spincerely Yours gives us a sunny roving of blue, turquoise and yellow in superwash merino.

It was hand dyed locks from Farm Girl Chic – the blues and greens of 'Neptune' interpreted in color on Border Leicester locks – curly and shiny.  Moose in Socks interpreted the theme as ‘Northern Lights with a superwash merino/bamboo blend.  The lavender, green, grey, bronze, pink roving has that bamboo sheen and merino softness that makes me want to spin it NOW.  Both of these seller have more of their sampled colorways available in their shops.

WC Mercantile sent a lovely ‘snowball’ of superfine merino artisan dyed in shades of lavender and grey.  Very pretty fiber and clever packaging.  Misty at Desired Haven Farm used a photo of a nebula as her inspiration and included the photo with the roving.  In colors of blue, purple, salmon and black with a good bit of white showing through, this roving is bright and colorful.

Look right in the center of the picture.  The Sassy Sheep sent her merino/cashmere/nylon roving in a pretty little gift box.  But the real gift was the supersoft (as you can imagine!) roving dyed in a colorway called Galaxy – black, purple and teal.

And now the yarns...a particularly nice selection of yarns for December.  This time I'll go from left to right in an orderly manner.  Melissa’s Kre8tions sent a lovely sample yarn in deeply saturated blues that she calls, A December Evening. Blue Mountain Handcrafts sent a similar singles of handspun merino in a colorway aptly named ‘Alien Sun’ – red, orange, gold and burgundy.  Very rich!  Similar in weight, these yarns will stay together in my mind and in a future creation of my own.

The Cool Climates sample is an intriguing art yarn of wool, mohair, bamboo, tencel and what  looks like firestar plied with beaded thread.  She calls it Aurora Borealis1 and it rocks!  What an amazing spinner - watch for this in a stripe of a hat near you!

Two lovely sock yarns.  #1 is ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ from Twiggi Knits is a merino/silk blend in dark grey nd purple highlighted with yellow and orange.  #2 is a  superwash merino/ nylon blend from WabiSabi Yarns in a deep purple medley.  With the number of sock yarn samples that I have been accumulating, I think a pair of ‘fraternal twin’ striped socks is in the future.  I’ll just have to decide on a base color that will show off these and other sock yarns that the talented Phat dyers are sampling.

SteeleSpun Yarns sent 5 yards of a bulky single in Superwash merino and alpaca dyed a color called Meteorite – a deep rich grey.  Jag’s Funky Fibers continues recycling yarns for creative re-use, this time a polyester ‘terry cloth’ yarn in beachy colors of sand and sea.

The non-fiber samples in this month’s box includes 2 very lovely, snagless stitch markers from MyFairBagLady and Lampyridae   Skein Snake sent a repurposed cord lock to be used to hold your knitting on your needles.  Since I am currently knitting a sweater on a circular needle, it was immediately pressed into service.

There were two patterns in my box this month:  DaniDo Crafty’s lovely Verge cabled neck warmer design and a ‘Mood Lifter’ Slouch hat pattern from Kelsey and Northern Lights Fiber Company.  Both are knits that will be satisfying to knit without being overly complicated.  The slouch is in a slip stitch pattern that should be excellent for hand dyed yarns.



There were also a number of coupons and business cards, but this post has about done me in!  Thanks again to Jessie and Marcus for making this Phat Fiber thing happen!

Dyeing Mohair

I have been having fun dyeing mohair lately.  While at the Southeast Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) one of my jobs was to assist the director of the Fleece Show and Sale.  The upside of that task is that you see the fleeces as they come in, so you get early pick of the fleeces.  Now I was not really looking for a wool fleece nor alpaca.  I have some left over from last year and really want to get the remainder carded and spun.  But  I was on the lookout for a nice angora goat fleece.

When I got the the show a few mohair fleeces were already there, including the fleece of Brooks Hill Farm's Minnie Pearl.  Now I must say that picking a raw mohair fleece requires a great leap of faith.  The fleeces are quite dirty, they can smell a bit...ummm...goaty.  They might look dingy and grey and Minnie Pearl was no exception.  Her fleece was grey, smelled like she had spent her life outside laying in the dirt and living in a barn.  But she felt right.  The ringlets were long and I had a great belief that she would wash up beautifully.  Turns out I was a fine judge of mohair fleece and Minnie Pearl's took the blue ribbon for white mohair.

Once home I began the process of turning mohair from funky to just fine!  I soaked it.

I washed it.

I dyed it.






And created a number of fun colorways including Beach Glass above and Autumn Sky to the left.   I've left some white and may tail spin the locks, though it is not my favorite spinning.  I'd rather spin my own hand dyed roving or carded fleece that I have processed.  I spent a bit of time carding a sweet brown lamb fleece I purchased at the Mountain State Fair this fall.  I've knitted a couple of nice hats from it.  My sweetie gets first pick, but they will likely end up in one of the local gallery shops.

This long weekend has been great fun.  As I have a serious aversion  to traveling on Thanksgiving weekend, I've spent time close to the house and studio  In addition to carding, dyeing, spinning and knitting, I've caught up on some chores.  With a bit of time off for unstructured play, I was happy to clean up the yard, catch up the mountain of laundry that accumulated when the house had plumbing issues, and tidy up the studio.  A fine holiday weekend indeed!

Buying Less Fiber - with a Minor Exception or 2!

This morning I was looking at a Yahoo group digest email (Spin-Sales; yarnandfiber; FleeceforSale - one of those) and a seller was offering a delightful fleece for sale. The picture looked delightful - lovely gray color, good breed, right price - but I was not seriously tempted. In my earlier spining days, I would have jumped all over that fleece. But this morning I lingered briefly thinking, that would be very nice. I have some shows coming up, so I'll need real live fleece to demo carding and spinning. A lovely fleece to process and spin. Then I clicked off.

Like most spinners I have too much fiber - washed fleece, roving in white, natural colors & hand dyed. And because I am in the fiber business, buying unnecessary fiber cuts into the bottom line. But somehow, for the most part, it's enough. The Mountain State Fair (near Asheville, NC) is just around the corner with SAFF just a few weeks after that. I can wait untill I can see, touch, smell the fleece. Online pictures are tempting, but not enough. The real sheepy deal is just around the corner. I'l leave that beautiful fleece for somebody else. My fleece is waiting for me at the fair or SAFF.

Then I saw a note about the PhatFiber giveaway. Today the featured seller is Rachel, of My8KidsMom and Counting Sheep Farm fame. When looking at her shop, I didn't just decide what I liked, I bought it! Mulberry silk undyed roving. I don't have that - at least not undyed. I can dye that. I can blend that. She had 2. I bought then both! I paid retail! Yikes. I can't wait to get it!

Back to School, but Take Time to Dance!

The return of the academic year is taking a bit of a toll on my fiber work. I teach in a small college & run a professional development program for teachers, so back to school is a busy time in my life. I am teaching 3 sections of my Educational Technology class & developing new workshops for area in-service teachers. My evening class has already begun & day classes start next week. One of the toughest things about classroom technology integration is that it is a changing field and I have to keep up. I am adding some new elements to my course, including a blogging requirement.

In addition, it's a busy season in the traditional music and dance world. Last weekend I went to Mentone, Alabama to party and dance with the Red Mountain White Trash & Notorious. Okay Alabama and August - how do those 2 concepts work together? Easy - afternoons are spent on the river. Delightful. I did a number on my knee - possibly patella tendonitis - so I knit at the dance hall, just gave myself a couple of waltzes after the Saturday night break.

This weekend is Splash Dance, an all volunteer dance weekend hosted by our local dance community, the Old Farmer's Ball. I am in charge of T shirts, sounds like a pretty simple job, except that people will screen their own shirts. Our budget is very tight, but I managed to scrounge a LOT of inexpensive shirts in a variety of colors. I'm hoping for a feeding frenzy of folks looking for just the right color in their size. Dances at this event are mostly contras but with a healthy smattering of squares, English and waltzes. Variety - I like that!

I'm a busy woman, but managing to squeeze in a bit of knitting, much of it while in the car. I haven't dyed much in the past week or so - life has been too darn hectic! I'll be happy to spin and dye again soon!

Gull Lace Hat - Now on Etsy!

After a few months of meaning to get around to it, this evening I uploaded my lovely Gull Lace hat on Etsy. It's a fun knit and an easy way to learn to knit lace. The pattern has been selling nicely at Asheville Home Crafts, and it was time to get it done! The trickiest part was getting the tags right so it will come up in the Etsy search engine. It's had a few views, so I guess I was successful. Next step: get it listed on Ravelry. Maybe I'll get to it next week.

The weekend is coming up and I am ready to spend another weekend in the garden and house. I'm still getting rid of stuff. What do those people who have a LOT of stuff do?

The butternut squash vines are just beginning their annual trek across the yard, The largest grew a FOOT yesterday and it will likely do the same today. I'll be laying down a mulch of waste wool, hay and cardboard, where I am really trying to kill the grass. The poppies looked fabulous this morning, but no pics yet - wet grass!

Which Ewe Am I?

As it turns out, I'm Shropshire! "As the oldest pedigree breed, Shropshires can claim elegance, manners and grace as their inheritance. Like other down and down-type wools, Shropshires stick together and are always sure to make new friends feel welcome." Ah shucks!

You can take the Which Ewe Are Ewe? quiz too at the publisher of Clara Parks' new book, The Knitter's Book of Wool, in which Clara looks at the different sheep breeds from a knitter's point of view. As a spinner who prefers to work from the raw fleece, I really enjoy getting to know not just different breeds but also individual sheep. I have purchased the same sheep's fleece multiple times. So whether it's Carl (handsome grey Romney weather) or Abby (sweet, soft white Finn) or Faye (a lovely Jacob in brown and white), I think of the sheep fondly who gave me their fleece. Thanks, and grow some more!