Pretty, pretty!

The hydrangeas are blooming - big fat, gorgeous clumps of flowers. Oddly, this year I have one that's blooming pink (never, ever happens in our southern acid soil) and another that's blooming purple (happens, but not to me). They are gorgeous.

And this is the finished blue bamboo sample that I spun on my trindle. I was able to ply the sample on itself using the trindle - a first for me. It's a lovely, very fine yarn and I think I'm going to make Miss S a lace S bookmark with it after I've washed it and set the spin.

May Phat Fiber

This is the box that Lanolyn won. It's lovely - maybe the best one yet. First the bits - several stitch markers, a wonderful old spinning wheel necklace, a needle case, a made by tag, a bookmark, a pattern and a mini WIP bag by ruddawg - which I love! And there is a handmade ceramic button by Summer Studios .etsy that I think is fabulous - think I'll buy a set for my February Lady.

And the yarn - I got some Beautiful silk from Fiber Friendzy and some gorgeous handspun by Sheepish, some nice bare corriedale from Black Tie, green sock from Polyart Designs, some pretty blue/yellow from Serindipitous Ewe which has been claimed by a girl, and the lovely, soft and gorgeous purple from Snicklefritz.

And the fiber - oh the fiber! I finally got a Giffordables bat! And the Maude & Me sample is huge. And I wish words could convey how wonderfully soft and shiney the Portfibers braid (in the middle) is - I think I'm sleeping with it tonight. And Wild Hare sent a cute little needle felted flower button with her sample. I'll always love Feeling Sheepish - she didn't have to send me a sample cuz I'll be buying from her again and I suspect you will too! BusyBee.etsy is new to me but the sample (in the baggie) is glitzy and gorgeous and soft.

Spun Yarn

A pile of handspun yarn that is waiting to be knit. The chocolate brown in front is what's left of the alpaca/merino that I made the shawlette from. The lighter brown in front is the gray/white/brown is the stuff I entered in the contest - destined to be wrist warmers for the girls. The light green is the ecospun (recycled pop bottles)/merino that has no purpose yet. The pastel next to it is merino samples that are destined to become an I-Touch holder for a young lady. The green and blue that are behind those are destined to become short sweaters for young ladies and the pastel in the back might become a bag - someone called it for something but I can't remember what. Not shown is the deep turquoise/purple that I love and it's destined to become another shoulder shawl, probably one that I will design for myself.

The birthday before . . .

Sorry, I don't have the after. The blue box with the puffy bow on top is from you. She loved it.

Spinning to Be

This is Casey, yesterday afternoon, before she went for her annual haircut. Her hair is gorgeous and soft and she's fat and fluffy.














This is Casey this afternoon, after coming home from the groomers. She's gorgeous and soft and cute as can be, but a lot slimmer and less fluffy. The hair is in a bag, ready to be shipped to a friend who will be combining it with some lovely alpaca for my spinning pleasure.

She's so pretty either way!

Trindle

This is some Natural Obsessions bamboo that came in a Phat Fiber box (I think it was April). It was so lovely but I wasn't at all sure I could spin it. Then someone posted a video in the Phat Fiber Group on Ravelry and I watched it. I decided that I should try and try I did. It's not that difficult on a spindle and if I can do it on a spindle, I can spin that lovely Cherry Roving on my wheel. Just you wait!

This is the Trindle that I bought at Stitches. I so love this thing!

Spinning

This is the two bumps I got at Stitches South from Miss Babs. One was shades of turquoise and the other purple and a coppery green. I spun them each (4 oz each) as very fine singles - and then plyed them together. They were a delight to spin and the yarn is lovely - very fine at 15/16 wpi and lots of it - 488 yards. I think I might make another shawlette.

Also in the mail today

Well, actually this one came a while ago . . . it's bamboo from Natural Obsessions who was having a secret favorites sale. She made a list of her 20 favorite items in her sale and if you bought one of them that weekend, you got half the price back as a refund. This just happened to be one of her favorites and since it was already marked down, it cost very little and it's lovely! It's pure bamboo and I was a little afraid to try it until someone posted a video on youtube and I watched it. I've tried it on a spindle now and it was fine.

This is some more alpaca that I ordered from North Star Alpacas. The white is Alpaca/Merino/Mohair. The gray is Alpaca blended with Baby Doll sheep. And the Gray/Brown/White is the same 100% alpaca that I've been spinning. I liked it so much that I went and got more for the girls to spin on their spindles. I'll bring some with me when I come.

Lendrum Bulky/Plying Heads

The one on the top came with my Lendrum - it is big, very big. I would be willing to bet that you could put 3 pounds of yarn on that sucker and not fill it. It has the hooks on the side that are permanent and not the new slinding yarn guides. It has a gigantic orifice hole - you could put quarters thru that if you wanted. The one on the bottom is newer and lighter wood. It has 3 bobbins but they aren't nearly as big. They do, however, have 3 different ratios on the flyer and the big one only has two. This one has the sliding yarn guides and not the permanent hooks. The bobbins from the bottom one will not fit the top one so they are not interchangeable. The bottom one is $120 and comes with the two extra bobbins and the larger drive band if you want it. The top one is negotiable (think $33 plus shipping) and it too can come with the drive band if you want it. Let me know.

Contest is over . . .

So now I can show you my entries. I was proud of them and they didn't do too badly (they at least all got some votes), so I didn't embarass myself.

First, in the handspun category, I entered this alpaca handspun. The fiber came from North Star Alpacas and is a blend of three colors of alpaca - white, gray & brown. It was lovely to spin and because some of it was shorter staple, was less expensive. It still spun like a dream. I navaho plied this for the first time ever.

Then there is the brown shawlette that I entered. It's 75% Alpaca and 25% Merino that I spun, made into a two ply and then knit into the Eyelet & Garter Shawlette Pattern that I bought at Knitter's Camp a gazillion years ago - made a blue one and still love it, so why not make it again? Made this one slightly differently, didn't quite follow the pattern, but it's close enough and still quite a nice little shoulder shawl. In fact, it's so nice that the model stole it and I haven't seen it since the photo shoot.

And last, but certainly not least, is Lanolyn the Mermaid. Crafted by the very talented Miss S. She's gotten very good at needle felting and has made some wonderful things. She's got the cutest little monster in production now . . . will show it when it's done. Unfortunately, Lanolyn had a bit of a run in with some wild dogs and is now in need of major surgery.

Lanolyn won the felting section of the Phat Fiber contest . . . we are very proud and will be repairing her soon.