Spinzilla 2013 ~ Day 5

I thought I'd change things up and post in the morning.  I haven't spun an ounce yet today, but I have taken a photo.  Here's the yarn that I made from yesterday's fiber pic.  I wish you could photograph softness because the most awesome thing about this yarn is how it feels.  It also has fabulous drape.  I only have 150 yards, but I will have to figure out something fun to do with them.

Time to pillage my studio for more fiber and get spinning!

Spinzilla 2013 ~ Days 3 & 4

The days are starting to blur into each other as Spinzilla week heads into the weekend.  I'm walking around with with multicolored fibers clinging to my clothes and that's nothing compared to the bits of wool, silk, alpaca and yak all over my favorite spinning chair.  I am living and breathing spinning and starting to feel a bit crazed.  I look up from my wheel and it takes my eyes a minute to focus on the external, non-whorling world.

All madness aside, I feel like I'm only just beginning to get my mojo back.  What this week has taught me is that I need to spin more regularly.  I spent the beginning of the week feeling very rusty.  for all of my hours at the wheel, I wasn't very excited about the yarn I was producing.  Today I feel my old creativity and comfort coming back and it's such a relief.  I raided my studio earlier today for this yellow Merino, black alpaca, and this super soft yak/silk blend.  The resulting yarn is my favorite thus far.  Tomorrow, when the sun returns, I'll share a picture.  As for now, it's back to the wheel!

Spinzilla 2013 ~ Day 2

I just stopped spinning to wrap this niddy noddy full of yarn.  The spool was starting to feel heavy on the wheel, so even though there was a little room left, I decided to go ahead and call it a skein.

I went outside to take advantage of the day's fading light for a photo.  I was looking around for nice place to lay my yarn and decided on this bush.  This is the first time I have photographed yarn on a bush, but I think it looks rather groovy.  

This is a fat singles or my version of one at least.  It's probably just a little heavier than a DK, but that's about as heavy as I like to work with living in a warm climate.  I have 266 yards on this niddy noddy and enough rolags left to make a comparable skein, but I think I'm going to take a break from woolen spinning.  

 I received this gorgeous South African Top as an early registration gift from Team Louet.  I'm thinking about making a nice thick and thin, nothing too bulky.  I just want to show off this superfine wool. 

I'm feeling a bit sleepy, but it's early yet, so I think I'll do just a little more spinning before I call it a night. 

Spinzilla 2013 ~ Day 1

It's 5pm on Day 1 of Spinzilla and it's been a very pleasant day.  It's rather rare that I devote myself completely to spinning.  I tend to divide my time among many interests which means none of them get the attention they deserve.  This week however, that is not the case.  This week I am a spinning monster ascending the Empire State Building one yard at a time!

That last sentence would be more powerful if I had a picture of the Empire State Building, but I am a desert dweller.  This is my spinning spot, so perhaps a diving analogy would have been more appropriate.  

I actually began spinning last night at 9:00 because the event began at midnight EST.  I know I wasn't alone.  Scattered across North America, several hundred spinners were doing the exact same thing.  The thought of so many spinners, sitting down with their wheels and spindles, all at the same time, is what makes this event so much fun.  

 What have I spun so far?  Hey, thanks for asking!  I started off spinning a Bluefaced Leicester and Tussah silk blend.  After spinning 4oz of lace weight, I had to take a break.  Now I'm working on this fat singles from a hatbox full of rolags I carded last week.  This is Merino that I also dyed last week come to think of it.  I mixed a little Firestar into each rolag to give it a hint of sparkle.  It was very pretty to work with out in the sun by the pool.

Now it's time to take a break and feed my family.  I'll probably spin a little more tonight, but I don't want to burn out on the first day.  I'll be writing updates through the week.  I wonder how many yards I'll manage to spin?

Fiber Fiber Everywhere!

I'm sitting at my desk with my shirt front covered in wool, bamboo, silk and yak.  I have spent the afternoon unpacking, photographing and listing luxurious fibers into Wind Rose Fiber Studio.  I'm tired, but feeling rather contented.  There's nothing like replenishing the studio with a variety of gorgeous top.  I think my favorite of the day is this 50/50 Merino/Yak I have pictured here.  I can already see myself raiding this fiber during Spinzilla.  Oh, by the way, there's just four more days to register for this monster spinning event.  I'm on Team Louet if you want to hang.

I added a few other fibers today too.  There's a Merino/Bamboo/Silk which I like to call Merbamsi.  Let's see, there's also some Bamboo Viscose, Baby Camel, Tussah Silk and Cultivated Silk Hankies.  For the most part, I've linked to the 2oz portions, but you can find other quantities available in the shop. I guess that's all for my fiber roll call.  Have a great night everybody!

Tasseled Miser's Purse Pattern - Part II Help

Hi, Today I'm sitting down with Part II of my Tasseled Miser's Purse pattern.  It is by far the hardest part and so I want to see if there are any additions or clarifications I can make that will help.  The first time I made a miser's purse, it was a two-sided design from the 18oo's and I almost gave up.  I kept started over because it just looked wrong to me.  I could not imagine how the crochet in front of me would become anything like the sketch in the old publication.  Finally, I just kept going.  I figured if I was wrong, then I was wrong, but I was going to keep crocheting to the bitter end.  To my surprise and delight, it all worked out.  The crazy thing about these drawstrings is that they just don't seem to make sense until they are just about done.  The good news is, that I have made the top portion separate from the body of the purse, so the time investment is less that what it could be.  So here I go.

Here is my completed part one.  I want to take a moment to respond to a question I received about this part of the pattern.  Here are how many chains you should have after each row:
Row 1 - 3, Row 2 - 5, Row 3 - 7, Row 4 - 9, Row 5 - 11, Row 6 - 13, Row 7 - 15.

Now moving on to Part II.  I don't really know where people are getting thrown off, so I'm just going to follow my own pattern and see if I can add anything to make it more clear.  If you look at my picture of Part I, with the right side facing up, what you see are the drawstrings and the inside of the front of the purse.  What we are creating in Part II is the front flap and the back of the purse.  When Part II is completed, the right side or what I refer to in Part I as (front facing) will become the back side of the purse.  I can see now that it might be easier to just not distinguish a right vs. wrong side.  I made the distinction in Part I because I think it's easy to get your chains twisted if you're not careful.  

When the pattern says:  "sc in next 7 sts, ch 1, without removing loop from hook, lift next drawstring over the remaining sts of the row, sc in next _ sts", the chain 1 is creating space for the drawstring which will make it easier to pull the purse open and shut.  When you sc in the remaining stitches of the row, you will be working over the drawstring thus trapping it in that ch 1 space.

 When you finish Row 15 and you look down and see something like this in your hands, don't be alarmed.  That's exactly what your purse should look like at this stage.  I'm trying to think of anything else I should add.  By now you know that each row has you working up and back down again.  I hope this doesn't bother anyone.  I realize it's like working two rows, but when I wrote the pattern, it seemed more clear to write it this way.  I know this makes it harder to go back and count to see what row you are on.  Try marking the pattern at the end of each row, or if you are working in front of your computer, highlight the row you are working on and change as you go.  

Uh oh, Houston I found a problem.  There is a mistake in my pattern.  I guess I should say there was a mistake because I have now fixed it, but I feel terrible!  No wonder people had difficulties.  So this is where I went wrong in my pattern writing.  I basically had one row too many.  To correct the error, Row 22 has been removed and Row 21 has been changed to what the former Row 22 directed.  Row 21 is the last row of Part II.  I am soooooo sorry for my goof up.  To make it crystal clear, in Row 8 you work in the first chain, Row 9 the second and you continue on so that when you reach Row 21, you have two chains left unworked.  Row 21 takes care of those last two chains.  

Well, I guess all I can say is a big thank you for bringing this to my attention.  I am a perfectionist at heart, so I am glad to have this correction made.  To anyone who lost precious minutes over my pattern error, please accept my sincerest apologies!
 

Let's go for a spin!

Hey hey, so I was surfing around as people do, and I came across this link for Spinzilla.  What this?  A spinning event of which I have not heard?  No!  As it turns out, Spinzilla is a brand new, monster week of spinning being put on by The National Needle Arts Association.  Like the Tour de Fleece, there are teams and prizes and plenty of comradery.

You can spin along on Ravelry in the Spinzilla group.  I'm on team Louet North America if you want to hang out with me.   Registration for the event is open until September 23rd and the spinning week begins on October 7th.  This gives you plenty of time to prepare a fun stash of fiber which is what I have begun to do.  The dyed mixed BFL pictured here is just the first 4oz of the fiber I'll be spinning.  

Falling Leaves Scarf - Missteps = Modifications

One of the great things about blogging is that you get to share everything, including your mistakes.  While it's always a little disheartening to finish a project only to find that there are some things you need to fix, it helps to write it all down.  It's how we learn, is it not?

I was really excited about this scarf.  I loved the colors and the shape of the leaf I designed and I still love those things, but I need to make some corrections.  From a strictly visual perspective, I should have staggered the colors differently.  I also need to add length as the stripes have taken some of the stretchiness out of my scarf.  

I ended up, yesterday afternoon, on the floor of my studio with a notepad, my laptop and a few versions of the scarf in front of me.  I tend to write patterns on my computer these days, but whenever I get stuck, I always have to break out the pencil and paper and start writing and drawing.  I just cant process with a keyboard the way I can with a pencil.  It's must be a generational or visual learner thing, but I felt so much better after filling up a couple pages with notes. 

New Header, New Post

A few weeks ago I noticed that my header, the photo at the top of this blog, wasn't always loading.  Sometimes it was there, and sometimes it wasn't.  Today I decided it was time to stop procrastinating and do something about it.  At first I was planning to recreate what I had before and then I changed my mind.  I scrolled through my photos and found a skein of yarn I spun a couple years ago.  There it was, colorful and sparkling in the sun, a very happy looking skein of yarn.  After a little sizing and doctoring, I have my new header.  

In the meantime, I'm still working on my Free Falling Scarf pattern.  I keep coming up with more ideas.  I think when all is said and done, it will be a pattern that comes with 3 variations of a similar scarf design and 5 different motif options.  Here you can see that I am playing with leaves at the moment.  It will more like a pattern bundle, really.  I hope that people will enjoy the flexibility of being able to mix and match with motifs and colors that inspire them.  I'm excited because my favorite patterns tend to be the ones that offer versatility like this.  I hope I'll have it ready in a couple more weeks.  I have one more pattern I've promised to write before the holidays this year, so I need to stay focused.  Not my forte!

Free Falling Scarf With Hyperbolic Mobius Motif

Free Falling Scarf Necklace ~ The Pattern is Coming!

It's August.  It's hot.  It's muggy.  It's also the time of year when I think about what I still want to accomplish.  On the top of my list is pattern writing.  I have a couple pieces that I have committed to making into patterns and I am happy to have started the process.

I am well on the way to completing my Free Falling Scarf Necklace.  I just finished this version in blues and greys yesterday afternoon.  Before publishing, I want to make up a couple more.  I want to have pictures with only five flowers rather than seven and I also want to design two more motifs to show how the scarf can be personalized to different styles and tastes.

For example, this Hyperbolic Mobius Motif will also be included on the pattern.  I thought an abstract, three-dimensional shape would be fun.  I haven't quite decided what the third motif will be.  Perhaps something tubular, or geometric.  I just want to show a few choices.  I think most crocheters have favorite leaves, flowers and other basic shapes.  I'm hoping they will enjoy embellishing this design.

This scarf reflects my new focus on lightweight accessories.  I love the idea of wearing fiber pieces like jewelry no matter what the season! 

Four Months in One Day

This afternoon I found myself dressed and ready for a happy hour event with time to spare.  There I was with a whole hour an nothing to do.  I sat down at the computer and realized that this would be a good time to finally get back to my blog!

I've taken such a long break from blogging that I was stumped as to how to make my comeback.  Four months have gone by.  How could I possibly make up for four months?  Then that Crowded House song popped into my head, "Four Seasons In One Day".  I jumped into iPhoto and grabbed pictures from the last four months.

Here I am with four months worth of fiber arts in one day.  Since my last post I have traveled to Alberobello, Italy where I found a  counter balance loom on display in the Trullo Sovrano.  I made scarves that I wore through the grottos of Grottaglie.  In the spring, I entertained myself by making other people's patterns like the sleeveless vest in the upper left hand corner from PartPixyDesigns.  

I also indulged in a few Doris Chan innovations.  I wore the cute, lacy black sweater over a tank top while in Stockholm, Sweden.  I savored castles and countryside in this beautiful place and also discovered some fiber folk art, but I'll save that for another post. 

I've also been spinning and I have my first skeins of German Milchschafe prepared.  I used the Navajo ply on these and I enjoyed refreshing my muscle memory on this technique that I have not used in some time.  

There it is.  My last four months, not in great detail, but it feels good to finally post something on my beloved blog.  If you like details, my facebook page tends to be more up to date.  Until next time... which will be less than four months...