More spinning!

Posted by ann

Twisted Fiber Art

without getting too OCD about it, I have been trying to incorporate some spinning into my morning routine. Here is extra fine BFL from Twisted Fiber Art. I had two 4 ounce braids which spun up into 200 yds. of 2 ply bulky-ish weight.

news from the homefront:

D#1 just signed a lease on a new apartment – she sent pictures last night and it looks really nice. Up until now she has been living in an apartment, but it has been more along the lines of student/off campus living. I actually haven’t seen the one she’s been in since September – which I believe to be a blessing since at the time she moved in, she didn’t have a job and just took the absolute cheapest place she could find. let’s not think about it. It just so happens my MIL is relocating to Florida and will be shedding lots of her furniture, so D#1 will happily take whatever she can get. All of this means there is a U-Haul in my future!
D#2 will be home for Easter — since spring break has never fallen over Easter, this is the first time in many years I will have one or the other here. And I am oddly excited since we really don’t make a big deal out of Easter ……
now that Downton Abbey is over, I have been watching something on MTV called I Just Want My Pants Back. You would think I should be filled with shame, but I’m not. It’s pretty good!

news from the shop: lots and lots going on!

We have tons of fab new yarns in – Fiberphile, String Theory just to name a few.
And we are getting our own custom colorway with MadelineTosh! We just got a picture of it yesterday and it is absolutely gorgeous!!
We are also hosting a workshop in April with Alasdair Post Quinn on Double Knitting. Have you seen his stuff??
Kathleen and I will be traveling to Boston in two weeks to attend Yarn Market News Smart Business Conference – that should be interesting and fun! We won’t be able to go to TNNA this year since Gracie (Kathleen’s girly) will be graduating on those dates, so we thought we would try this instead.

wheels

Posted by ann

I took this picture a week or two ago during a bike ride I went on. One of my girlfriends is into biking and she has invited me to go along with her a few times – it is amazing that she keeps inviting me since I am s-l-o-w!!

Anyway, she claims this was a 14 mile loop and my ass believes her! These swans here just gave me a good excuse to stop, I was stopping no matter what the scenery. ; )

There has been some knitting going on, some purchasing going on and some future purchasing being contemplated! I am about to take the plunge and become a spinning wheel collector. Right now I have three (a Lendrum, a Hitchhiker and an antique Canadian production). Some might say that that right there is a collection and I suppose it is. But one more would really seal the deal.

I have had my eye on some Jensens in my spinning guild and recently had a chance to give one a whirl. So nice, so smooth and so pretty! I am going to wait until after Rhinebeck to make sure nothing else catches my eye ….. any opinions from all you spinners out there?

a little spinning?

Posted by ann

Although the needles have not been flying, the wheel has been going round and round! I even brought the Lendrum out on the deck for a bit of alfresco spinning.

Once again I find myself making vows … vows to spin more, to keep track of what the hell is on the wheel and to simply try to stick with it and pay attention. Toward this end I even started a spinning notebook – hopefully writing everything down will help to keep track of the details. Wish me luck!

First up is some Blue Faced Leicester that was bought at Rhinebeck 2007. I decided to leave this as singles to maxamize yardage, with the idea of knitting a lacy shawl. Although I have knit with my handspun, I have not yet managed a significant project.

Next is some SW Merino that was given to me by Christine of Now and Zen. Christine is in my Spinning Guild and has a wonderful yarn shop on the east end in Greenport. I need to ask her what the SW stands for. This fiber spun like a dream. Really lovely to work with. I ended up with 96 yards because I Navajo plyed it — in retrospect, I wonder if I should have simply done a two ply to have more yardage. Anyway, I have a few hat or scarf patterns in my Ravelry favorites that would look great knit up with this.

I am sure some of you are wondering what became of the yarn that was in my freezer …… the project did two days in the freezer, one day defrosting and another 24 hours back in and there are NO SIGNS of LIFE! I am beginning to think that perhaps it wasn’t the yarn at all and simply the holes in my window screens. Now I have to get to knitting it to give this story a truly happy ending!

fleece!

Posted by ann

fleece

Originally uploaded by purlingswine

Do you remember that at last year’s Rhinebeck I bought a fleece? The only reason I even remember is that it has been in the garage lo these many months! Every time I park Onslow I have a guilty reminder of all those promises I made myself in the seconds before I bought it.

I figure the least I could do is get it washed before Rhinebeck rolls around again. geesh!

So washing a fleece is first and foremost a big pain in the ass.

Everything I have read highly recommends that you do not dump the dirty water down the drain since the lanolin can cause plumbing problems.

I am not into plumbing problems. I live in fear of my cess pool and will go to great lengths to keep my cess pool happy (yes, we are on cess pools here in Suffolk County NY – civilization seems so close and yet so far away) .

Fleece washing is therefore an outdoor activity.

Fleece washing takes a great deal of hot water. The last time I did this, I set myself up on the deck, right outside of my kitchen with the hot water not too far away. Well, I like to keep Mr. Boar happy as well. I may not worry about his happiness quite as much as my cess pool’s, but I at least try not to make him unhappy.

I do believe that dumping dirty, lanolin soaked fleece water all over his new deck boards would make Mr. Boar unhappy. very very unhappy.

So on Friday, I started washing the fleece out in the yard. This is not close to the hot water. And with every electric tea kettle full of hot water that I trotted out back, it seemed to get further and further. I only did one tub full of fleece, it took me an entire afternoon and by the end I was exhausted and stinky.

This is where my friend Flair comes in to save the day. I was bitching to her on Friday night about what a colossal pain in the ass it all was. (by the way, friends with full time jobs just love it when you complain about crap like this) She reminded me that she holds the keys to the kingdom. Hot Water in the Back Yard!

Sunday saw me at Flair’s, reveling in the steamy outdoor availability, realizing that fleece washing isn’t as bad as all that and wondering just what it would take to get Boar to put in an outdoor shower?