Welcome!

I've been blogging for a few years now, so "Welcome" seems like an odd name for a post.  It's actually the name of the video I just made for my YouTube channel.  In their recent updates, they have been spiffing things up by encouraging everyone to have a greeting video on their channel, so from me to you, welcome to Wind Rose Fiber Studio!

Happy Christmas Hat ~ New Crochet Pattern!

Early this year, I had a nice reader ask me if I would be writing a pattern for my Happy Christmas Hat.  (I think I shared a photograph in a post once upon a time.)  I promised her I would and that I would have it done in time for the holidays.  

That promise has kind of haunted me this year.  It's so easy to have our days and weeks fill with commitments and distractions.  Now, with November here and Christmas right around the corner, I had to make good on my promise.  

The great news is that this pattern is very quick and easy.  You can have whimsical hats made for the whole family in no time!  The pattern includes sizing for infants to adults as well as a choice between flowers or loopy pom-poms and a scalloped or straight brim.

The yarn for this hat is easy to find at the big craft stores like Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores.  I enjoy making this hat in Bernat's Soft Bouclé.  I love the texture and that it blurs the stitches together.  You can also use Bernat's Boucle for the brim, but in this version I used Sensations Beautiful.  It's so fluffy!

The pattern is for sale at a special holiday price.  Right now you can buy it for just 99¢ on Etsy or on Ravelry.  In both places it's available for instant download.  This hat is super cute on babies and kids, but it's pretty fun to see it on Grandpa too!  Happy Christmas everyone!

Layers of Lace Wrap Around Scarf - New Crochet Pattern!

Today I am excited to share my new crochet pattern.  Here's the Layers of Lace Wrap Around Scarf!  I've been working on this pattern for quite a while now, so it feels great to have it completed and available both on Etsy and on Ravelry.  

As a side note, isn't Instant Download great?  I love designing patterns, but I enjoy buying patterns just as much.  There's nothing quite like the immediate gratification of purchasing a pattern, downloading it, and never having to leave your office chair.  In fact, I went on to Ravelry today to upload my latest, and couldn't help purchasing a beautiful pattern from another designer.

 


This pattern came to me as I was designing another scarf.  I was going to bundle it with my Free Falling Scarf, but then I decided it was unique and should have it's own billing.  I got so excited about this one, that I haven't finished the Free Falling pattern yet.  I guess I'm designing out of order, but when inspiration calls, you must answer!

I have always loved the affect of layering.  The Layers of Lace scarf uses two different yarn weights to take full advantage of the colors and open stitching.  The lighter, lacy purple takes on a transparent quality allowing the darker layer to show through.  I was thrilled with the way these purples and plums came together, but of course there are endless color possibilities.  Right now I'm working on one in earth tones with blues and greys.  I'll be sure to share that one when it's complete.  

Spinzilla 2013 ~ Days 6 & 7

We have crossed the Spinzilla finish line.  My final tally for the week:  3,136 yards!

I am ready to spend a day doing something other than spinning, but I had a great week.  These events are so awesome because they remind me that there is an amazing community of spinners.  It's easy to lose sight of that when you are the only one in your neighborhood with a wheel.

Just to recap the last two days, on day 6 I finished up my thick & thin Boots & Jeans.  Then, because I had so much fun spinning that, I spun some more thick & thin using Merino rolags and South African top as my ply.  It all made for a relaxing day.

On the final day I decided I would finally spin my remaining mountain of German milk sheep wool, all 21.7 ounces of it!  I spun and spun and spun, and I swear it wasn't until the end of the day that the pile finally started to look smaller.  I spent the last couple hours of Spinzilla spinning like a maniac trying to get it done.  In the end, I finished all but about an ounce.  I had to stop and weigh my spool for my official Spinzilla count.  Then I put the spool back on and spun the rest of that wool!  It felt so good to finally spin what was originally 36 oz of fiber!

What a week!  I feel like I learned a couple things about my spinning self.  First, I am not a production spinner.  I am a spin for fun kind of girl.  Second, I have a love/hate relationship with competition.  I love that it motivates me to do more than I would ever normally do.  I hate that it makes me worry that I am not doing enough and the fear that I may let my team down.  Would I do it again?  Yes, I think so.  It was fun to submerge into my own world for a week.  It's an indulgence that I don't typically allow myself.  Some women go to the spa, but as for me, I'll take a week of fiber arts!

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.