How to spin my Posy Toes batts--Snake Plant

The Snake Plant socks are finished! I have 80 yards left of the yarn, and realize that I never posted the total yardage. And now I've either lost the notes or packed them in some box somewhere. Oh well....

At any rate, they are thick, soft and spongy to walk on. I think they will do well in my Birkie clogs this fall and winter. Too thick for dress socks, tho. But it's nice to know how this particular method works up. Notice how different the striping is on the socks? That's due to the haphazard way in which I just grabbed a handful of fiber and spun it up.

I'm working my way through the Sweet Peas fiber. I have one sock started and the second bobbin ready to ply. Will post pix next week and talk about yardage, wpi and all the other techie stuff. In the meantime, here's a panarama (left to right, back of the house to front of the house) of my studio 2 months ago when we moved my fiber/yarn boxes in. I've added a dissembled loom, a carding table and some more boxes since but at least I have all the books on the shelves and the sock fiber unearthed so I can make sock batts for Etsy. Just have to figure out which fiber will be stored in the knee walls and how to know what's stashed in which cubby.

It's done! Well, sort of....

We've managed to mostly complete the move, and we're still married to each other and actually still talking to each other. Which I understand from friends is rather unusual. Never again. I will die in this house, or pay someone else to pack and move/donate my stuff.

But now we have to UNpack all that stuff, and still go through the junk we left behind to see if there's anything we still want, then clean the house and list it. I will be glad when it's all finished. Some things we learned:
1. Start WEEKS earlier than you think you need to. Although I was working mostly by myself, I should have started this packing back in February.
2. Never underestimate a salesman. One moving company salesperson sent me a contract which I never signed. Figured he'd get the message. Nope. His company showed up an hour after the one we'd signed with, but the crew was more than happy to go home that hot humid day.
3. Never believe the moving agent. If they say it's okay to NOT pack the freezer/refrigerator, they really don't mean it because the truck driver WILL make you pack both before they'll even consider putting them on their dolly.
4. Hire a moving company who hires professional truck drivers. Joe backed that truck into our driveway with inches to spare, because he thought about what he wanted to do and knew how to do it. Joe, here's to you!
5. Pack yourself a lunch. Otherwise, you'll be stopping at the local coffee shop for a quick muffin and brew. The truck crews usually pack/buy their lunch and eat it while in transit to the new house, and you won't have a spare minute to stop for a McNasty burger.
6. Swallow a dose of your favorite pain med and/or sleeping pill before going to bed that night. You'll be so tired and overwrought that you won't sleep without them.
7. WIPs make lovely packing material. They cushion the breakables and lighten the load. However, prepare yourself for the rude awakening when you realize just how many WIPs you really have!

When all is said and done, I'm glad to be here even tho the work isn't finished. Even tho we've named the rabbits here Hassen and Pfeffer and named the deer Stew, Burger and Little Stew, and named the groundhog #%&$* because she and the kids leveled my garden--it's still a great place to live. And I can't say enough good things about South Hills Movers--they were professional, supportive, thorough and hard-working.

I have begun to spin the second Posy Toes batts for the series I was writing on spinning my sock batts. The first batts were spun and one sock is completed. I'll continue the series soon--I need to download photos and figure out which box I stuck the sock knitting into. I know I was packing the CDs when I used it for packing material...wonder if it's in the Living Room boxes.....(wanders off to check)

The first step is admitting you have a problem

I/we need a 12-step program. We rented an econoline van yesterday in order to move our boxes of stuff to the new house so we wouldn't have to pay burly guys to do it for us. And hubby and I have received our Godsmacks today. The four of us loaded the van with my fiber and yarn boxes and drove off to the new place. Unloaded. Oldest son and I stayed behind to hang light fixtures while youngest son and hubby went to load up again. Second vanful was half boxes of fiber and yarn--and there's still bits and pieces of yarn at home! The other half was boxes of hubsters books. And the third van was more boxes of books. (Although I have to say that MY boxes were MUCH easier to unload than his--we had to use the riding mower and trailer to drive them from the van to the door and then walk them up the stairs.)

Oh dear. We. have. a. problem. Is anyone interested in becoming our Executor of Fiber and Books? I think the boys' inheritance is tied up in our collections and they'd probably like some cash when we die instead of wool and history books. They've already threatened to hold a big bonfire in our honor, fueled by my fiber and his books. And today they took bets before we started packing, trying to guess how many loads it would take to move my fiber/yarn. It's just embarrassing.

Won't stop me from going to another fiber festival, tho! Phffft!

Temporary hiatus

I haven't posted for 12 days, shame on me you say? But, but, but.....I have a good reason! We've stepped into high gear on finishing the 18-month-long renovation and getting ready for the upcoming household move, and I can't seem to keep a straight thought in my head any more. Had to send the hubster out to threaten the carpenter today because I was busy chasing down the last 2 cans of matching paint for our interior trim--company changed their line of paint when I wasn't looking, humph! I certainly shouldn't be at a spinning wheel trying to make fine evenly spun sock yarn if I can rarely drive one block without thinking of 3 things I forgot to do and almost driving into oncoming traffic!

So.....posts on spinning sock yarn will be sparse or nonexistent for a bit. I'm cleaning, painting and packing boxes. But I'm definitely thinking about how to spin the next batts. I just can't manage it right now. Will hopefully post pix of packing/moving soon!

How to Spin My Posy Toes Batts--Snake Plant techie stuff

Hmmm.....I suppose I should throw some numbers out there for those of us who enjoy them? Or want to copy my socks exactly? (that's not gonna happen. handspun yarn will differ every time because it's our hands that control the yarn, and our hands are not machines built to churn out exact duplicates. besides, I want my students and other miscellaneous spinners to follow their own karma when making yarn)

Now that I've exposed yinz to my rarely-humble opinions, here's the relevant stats. As stated a few days ago, I like to put a lot of twist in the singles and ply tightly to produce a nice tight yarn that will stand up to the wear that socks get. My yarn was spun on the 16:1 whorl of my Bosworth Journey Wheel. I did not keep track of the tpi (twists per inch) because I've been spinning sock yarn long enough that I just do it to my usual standards, which are engrained in my brain. Sorry. However, the 2-ply washed and finished yarn came out at 16 wpi (wraps per inch) which is standard sock yarn. Since it was spun semi-woolen, this yarn was spongy and bouncy and I felt it needed to be knit at a tight gauge. So I've used US#0 for the toes and heels, US#1 for the body of the sock, and US#2 for the bind off. I'm using Judy Gibson's You're Putting Me On Socks pattern and so it's very easy to switch to the smaller needles when necessary. The gauge I'm getting is 7.5 sts and 10 rows per inch over Stockinette. It's a nice tight fabric and a nice thick sock, yet soft, flexible and springy due to the Merino content in the batts and the semi-woolen spinning technique.

I've gotten one sock finished already (a 4-day sock! amazing!) and have cast on for the second one. I've not yet started spinning the next set of batts for a very good reason. I've been spending a good bit of time this past week at the almost-renovated family house, dealing with a stray pit bull that's been hanging around. That means lots of time to sit and knit on the porch while I wait for her to wander back into the yard, for the police to respond to my call (didn't happen--wonder if they'd come in a REAL emergency?), or for the county dog warden to stop by again. This dog would sleep on the front porch but would run away when we got within 30 feet of her. Last night the dog warden left a humane trap on the porch with a big bowl of kibble. We caught her this morning! She's an older dog and a bit thin from living outdoors for several weeks--she was shaking with fear when we talked to her inside the cage. So sad. But she's now in a safe haven that's run by a very kind man who loves pit bulls, and will either live out her life with him or be adopted by a very special person. Saving her is the best reason I can think of for not getting my spinning started.

How to Spin My Posy Toes Sock Batts AND Hiking Pix!

The Snake Plant yarn is finished.

It was spun on the 16:1 whorl of my Bosworth Journey Wheel, as will all the sock yarns in this series. I like to put a lot of twist in my sock yarn and then ply it tightly so it wears longer.

The sock has been started, and I can see the subtle variation between the forest green and the teal colors. The tan seems to be mixing in well--I wanted it to appear serendipitously in the sock. Hopefully I'll have the time this coming week to start spinning the Sweet Peas colorway.


On another subject altogether.....
We went out early this morning to a local park, Raccoon Creek State Park. The Audubon Trail is at it's peak at the end of April and I LOVE wildflowers!










Trout Lily and May Apples

About 9:30 we heard honking and saw a pair of Canada geese calling for their buddies to join them. After a bit they flew off and circled the area a couple of times before heading out to their destination.










"Hey Mable, it's time to leave!" and a Trillium

By 10:30am I was getting pretty sweaty walking around in the valley, but it was so worth it. sigh....If only I had the time and enough colored wool to interpret all these flowers in sock batts.














A hillside of Virginia Bluebells and Carpets of tiny white flowers










Virginia Bluebells and Wild Phlox

How to Spin My Posy Toes Sock Batts: Snake Plant colorway

I started on the Snake Plant colorway last week and am about halfway through the 3 batts. I'm spinning them by grabbing a handful and spinning from the side of the handful. In the above photo, I've unrolled one batt in preparation for yanking off a couple of handsful--notice my favorite sheep watching over the proceedings. I decided to work across the batt for no other reason than it's easier to tear the handful away if I move in that direction.


I'm hoping that by using this method I will be able to mix the pale tan color more thoroughly with the green and deep teal colors. It's not that I don't find a green-and-tan stripped sock to be appealing, it's more that I have already started knitting a pair of green stripped socks and just don't want duplicates in my sock drawer. (There's already enough confusion in my life without my willingly adding more!)

This is a shot of my spinning technique--fluff out the handful and spin from the side:


This technique is yielding a semi-woolen yarn which is thicker than my usual sock yarn. However, since many of the fibers are no longer parallel within the yarn, the sock should also be warmer.


I'm hoping to be finished with the spinning and twist-setting in the next 2 weeks. Then it's on to knitting the actual socks to see how the yarn behaves.

How to spin my Posy Toes sock batts: Introduction

While carding up some batts yesterday, I decided that a tutorial on the 3 spinning methods I recommend would be interesting. I've spun the batts myself but never compared the results, and I think it would be instructional for me and for my readers. What I plan to do is spin a colorway in one of the 3 methods, photo/post pix of the yarn, and then knit up a sock with the yarn. Seeing them all in one place and perhaps side-by-side (if Blogger will align them all) will be something we can all learn from.


I think I'll start out with the "grab a handfun and spin it" method, and will use Snake Plant for this. This colorway has two close greens and a light tan--I think I would prefer that the tan be mixed into the yarn more and I think this method will work toward that end. Give me a week or so to spin it up and we'll see what happens.

A week of spinning

I'm rather amazed at the amount of spinning I've been doing lately, especially with all the renovation I'm dealing with! This past week I finished off 2 skeins of Delicate, a superwash and Merino wool and silk yarn. I was playing with an idea for sock blends that would be different, and while this yarn probably isn't appropriate for socks I still love it. (The silk waste formed clumps in the spinning which would not be comfortable as socks but is still way cool.)


When I plied the bobbins I had quite a bit left on one bobbin and, not to be a wasteful slug, I plied it on itself. And THIS is the yarn I absolutely love and exactly the one I was looking for when experimenting with carding those batts! I call it Marbled yarn because the colors melt into each other in much the same way as marbled paper. It's suitable for socks, and as soon as I can get enough carded up it will appear in my Etsy shop.


During the recent spinning-and-carding spate, I also got some Posy Toes Bamboo batts carded up. The yarn I spun from these batts isn't photographed yet (it's raining outside today so photos will have to wait for the sun to reappear). However, there's 3 lots of batts in the shop for those who want to celebrate Spring or the next St. Patricks Day by wearing green socks. Hopefully I'll be able to get more carding done this week and will be able to offer the last of the Bamboo sock batts, Petunias. Then it's on to the Marbled series--I can't wait to play with this and see what colors I can create.


Take care and have a lovely weekend!

What was I thinking? Renovation of a money pit

Yeah, it's the family house that we've owned since 1943. Built in 1911. We were doing the last bit (we thought) on the diningroom, then finish the flooring installation in the diningroom and kitchen, and have Sears install the oven/cooktop. Then we could move in and enjoy the acre of trees and the garden. It. Ain't. Happenin.

The second floor of the house has not had the wiring replaced since 1911, and we thought we'd do that in the future. However, we discovered an exposed junction box in the diningroom ceiling that had to be rewired so thought we should have the second floor rewired while everything was exposed anyway. Unfortunately, the electrician and I discovered this week that the rooms that had been rewired in 1968-70 were done in the 4 years that electrical wiring had to be made of aluminum because the copper mines were on strike. The 1911 wiring is very dangerous to say the least. The aluminium wiring is only marginally less dangerous. sigh.......

The diningroom ceiling--junction box in question is at the point where the two heat ducts meet.


However, I DID manage to get lots of skeins of yarn finished and put into the Etsy shop this week. There's 6 skeins of a pastel beaded yarn called Hibiscus Patch (so-named because the deer have eaten all the ones that popped up at the house, and I just needed some hibiscus somewhere!)




And a skein of DK/Sport weight sock yarn in my Posy Toes Bamboo, Sunflower colorway.







The Hibiscus Patch is tempting me to knit a spring shawl. But I already have at least a dozen shawls and 35-40 WIPs sitting around. Do not need another shawl/project. If I say it enough, perhaps I'll convince myself.....

I learned something new today......

I often tell my students that although spinning is relaxing, there are just some times that you shouldn't spin. For me, I can't spin during Steeler football games because I've been known to jump up and knock the wheel over! You have to know yourself and learn when you just can't manage to spin a decent yarn. Today that lesson was brought home to me yet again.

I had some minor surgery this morning, the second of two that were scheduled, and it's always traumatic for me to undergo ANY medical procedure. I'm the woman who gave birth twice with Lamaze because I can't stand the thought of them sticking a needle in my spine, that's how bad I am. So, last time they gave me post-surgery painkillers based on acetominophen which does me NO good whatsoever. This time I requested an aspirin-based painkiller.

Once the anesthesia wore off this afternoon, I took the first one. Felt pretty good so went into the studio and carded sock batts for a couple of hours. When it came time to take the next one, I sat down at my wheel to spin the snowy white sparkly sock batt. And at one point the yarn drifted apart because I'd treadled in the wrong direction for one or two revolutions, I thought. Fixed the problem and soldiered on, although the pill was making me drowsy enough to almost fall off the chair.

This evening I went to ply the bobbins on the wheel and discovered that, at the point where the yarn drifted apart, I'd somehow reversed my spinning direction and spun the last THIRD of the bobbin in the wrong direction! If I'd tried to do this intentionally, I'd have had to rig the yarn somehow on the bobbin so it would work. But being 'under the influence' meant I just did it without thinking and almost botched up several hundred yarns of fingering-weight yarn. Problem is fixed, taking me an hour to respin the incorrect yards and the lesson is learned:

Do not spin during Steelers football games, nor when taking really really good painkillers. Sheesh, y'think I'd be old enough to know those things already? Maybe I can blame it on the stress of surgery.....

New stuff happenin--I'm excited!

I'm re-energized this week, coming off the "Cabin Fever" months of January and February and having lots of good things happen in my life. Last weekend during a nasty windstorm/cold spell that kept me inside hibernating, I finally came up with a solution to an art project I've been wanting to do for years. Back then I thought I had to draw or paint the idea, but realized that it would work best in cross stitch. It's about my family and is very internal and private, but cross stitch is a medium Grandma and Mom would have used and understood perfectly. I really don't want to go into the entire backstory or show the finished project, but I can say that it's been incredibly cathartic to finally get this thing out of my system. I'm sure some family members will not appreciate it, but hey! it's not always about YOU, folks!




And, most exciting of all, there were 3 fiber art connections this week. First, KnitDance on Etsy had purchased a skein of my Jordan Almonds yarn to make fingerless mitts for HER shop. Here they are, and didn't she do a wonderful job?



I was also invited into the Fiber Friday Carnival over on Alpaca Girl's website. I consider it an honor to be included with lots of great textile creations and creators.

Lastly, I've decided to become a sponsor of the Makin' Cookie's forum over on Ravelry. They've formed to knit socks from Cookie A's upcoming book and are soliciting prizes. I'm donating a bag of my sock batts (enough to spin yarn for a pair of socks) which will be included in a gift basket with other items to enable (my favorite word, 'enable') you to make a pair of Cookie A socks from scratch. I think it's a lovely idea and would like to thank Theresa for initiating and running the forum. If you're not on Ravelry, you should be! Go there now and request an invitation!

I must be off to get some work done today. Am having minor surgery Thursday morning and so won't be able to attend the Spinner Central gathering at the shop that evening. I do hope to make the Ewe Guys spin-in on Friday though--I miss Ewe Guys (pun intended)!

New shawl is finally done!

I have finally finished the last lace point on the shawl and blocked it--woo hoo!! I have a love of deep lace on my shawls, but it takes forever to knit. I love this version of my Red Dog Redux shawl, made of Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in Blueberry Mix as the main color and Noro Kureyon Sock yarn as the contrast color. The half-circle shape is fun to knit and wraps around me in chilly reception halls like it was tailored for my body.




Both the rose shawl (which is the original version and which won first place in handspun knitted shawl category in 2005 at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival) and the brown shawl are knit with my handspun yarn.














I wish I'd remembered to pack the brown one when we were in LA for BILs wedding last year. The day of the wedding it dipped to 50 degrees--shocking in LA but still manageable for us Pittsburghers. The poor bride was freezing, tho, as she had to stand around outside for 2 hours while the wedding portraits were taken, wearing a sari and little red slippers. I spent over an hour wishing I had the brown shawl to wrap around her--maybe she wouldn't have come down with flu the next day?

ETA: The pattern is available on my Etsy site but is not yet available on Ravelry--has to do with glitches and other stuff that Casey does that I don't even PRETEND to understand.

How does this happen?

Somehow life got away from me again this week. You would think, in this economy, that a young man would be glad to have someone finance his business startup, right? We took the chance because we'd known this fella for 10 years and had watched him mature into a hard worker, and so when he approached us to propose that he do the renovation on my family home we gave him a chance. Last week we had to fire him and hire another more-established contractor to finish his work. Which involves sending carefully worded letters that let him know why he was fired so that we can take him to Small Claims Court to recover the costs incurred in paying for the second contractor. And then cleaning up the mess he left behind because he decided that partying at the house was a priority. How does this happen? Did he not listen when we and the local Small Business Administration told him that construction work is hard and that being the boss involves solving problems? His average work week these past 2 months was 10 hours/week which will not finish the renovation in this decade! This is his little 'Nintendo Nest' in my mom's bedroom.....I spent yesterday morning emptying bottles and tossing his garbage.




















The the piles of construction materials which require us to hire a dumpster, fill it ourselves and have it hauled away.















And then we hired a contractor to put down new flooring, so next week there will be TWO table saws and at least 3 guys in the house making noise and sawdust. But at least we can finally see some progress in the renovation and are more confident that we'll be able to move in before June. Yay!!


I'm still plugging away on the Red Dog Redux Shawl.






When it's finished I'll redo the photos on my pattern and post it on my Etsy site and in Ravelry. It's a very easy shawl to knit with two different lace edgings--a shorter one that goes rather quickly and a longer one which I love to death and which takes longer to finish up. I have about 8 repeats to do and then the blocking--should be done this coming week. Then I need the weather to cooperate so I can get decent photos outside.

Did you notice I was gone??

Due to a sudden bout of laryngitis followed immediately by a bout of bronchitis, I've been down for the count for 2 weeks. As soon as I got strong again, it was time to hop a plane and head for Charlotte, NC to celebrate my wedding anniversary with DH. I'm back and catching up with work, my Etsy shop, SWA business and COE work. Did you miss me?

Interesting item about the local news media in Charlotte. A snowstorm blew across the entire east coast while I was there and the following morning the local tv station was having a great time scaring the local populace into staying indoors all day. I can understand that the city is not prepared for salting the roads or plowing. But to tell people not to go out because the water dripping off store awnings is refreezing on the sidewalk, and you will probably slip and fall and go to the hospital in an ambulance is not journalism--it's scare tactics calculated to boost ratings. C'mon guys, wouldn't it have been more responsible to simply tell folks to be careful?

I'm also happy to report that the number of spinning students who are signing up for my classes has increased tremendously. I'm so happy that I can pass this skill on to others who are smitten with the magic of making yarn to their own liking. It's just such a kick to see the sparkle in someone's eyes when they 'get it'! That excitement is my drug of choice and much better than any silly street drug I could buy. You guys rock!

Sweater finished! Another COE skein done

After almost a year of work in fits and starts, I've finally finished hubsters sweater. This was a Filati Mens Special #6 that I purchased last November while living in Holland. I bought the yarn from Webs and had it shipped home so I could start knitting as soon as I landed home again. We thought the company had English translations, but when the shop owner called Lana Grossa he was told that issue #5 was the last to have an English translation. Drat! My friend Anke stepped forward and translated the pattern so that I was able to start knitting some time in late March/early April. Knitting was halted during the hot summer and finished min-January. I caught this photo right after hubster scraped the car at 5am so I could drive him to the airport for an early flight. He looks good, he likes it and I'm finished with the darn thing--just too many stitches in the same pattern stitch for me. I like a little change-up in my sweater-knitting.


And I'm halfway through the Fine Textured Cotton skein for the COE. Made lots of little punis for this skein and they are SO fun to spin. I may just have to get more of this cotton from the southern plantation that grew it. Especially since I don't think they use those nasty exfoliants since they're growing a "tourist patch" and not harvesting for the cotton market. Photo shows the basket of punis and two bolls of cotton sitting in front. Too bad there's no real use for all those cotton seeds I plucked out....

COE Handspinning progress report 1

This was the week I started in earnest on spinning the 40+ small skeins required for my submission. I had originally planned to post photos and give in-depth details of the process, but then realized that my identity is supposed to be anonymous for my submission. While I can talk in generalizations, I won't be posting pix of the skeins at this time.

It took me 2 days to finish the skein of Fine Woolen yarn from a raw fleece. I'd forgotten how much work is involved in cleaning, carding and finishing wool--and now I'm glad that I now longer have to do it this way. "Back in the day" when we didn't have access to many mill-prepared fibers, if you wanted to spin you bought a fleece and prepared it yourself. And spinning a fine and truly woolen yarn was something I'd never done. I've used long draw and I've spun woolen yarn (especially good for the kids mittens when they were little), but not so fine as required for this skein. I've got over 300 yards in a 1.4 oz. skein!

Have started prepping the cotton bolls for spinning, teasing the cotton off the seeds and carding it into punis. I've also gotten some Rambouillet lambs fleece from Wild Rose Farm washed up and ready for combing. Hopefully, I'll get some spinning time this Saturday either before or after I teach on Saturday. Sunday is, of course, reserved for watching the Steeler game--Luv Ya, Black 'n Gold! Go Steelers!

Six Hands: End of the story

So, Dottie has finished and listed both the scarf and cowl on her Etsy page. They are both lovely and ON SALE! Go take a look at the Garden of Colors scarf http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18681691 and the Garden of Colors cowl http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19310653 Truly lovely work! This was a collaborative project between Whirligig Yarns who dyed the alpaca roving in such colors that I couldn't pull myself away from her site for 3 days, myself who spun the alpaca roving and plied it with Merino wool, and Dottie at CCDZS who pulled it all together with her crochet hook and imagination.

Why I make every effort to stand behind my work; pattern clarifications

I think most of us folks "of a certain age" can agree that customer service at big-name companies in the US has become scarce, if not completely extinct. On Feb. 4, 2006 hubster bought me a set of Godinger silver salt and pepper shakers for our anniversary. (The Steelers also won the Super Bowl the next day but I don't think it was intended as part of my anniversary present.) The set was part of my 'good china' used only on holidays and important dinners. I used the set that Easter. Took it out for Christmas 2006 to find that there was white crust on the side of the salt shaker, but I cleaned it and used it. Next time I wanted to use it for Easter 2007, it was again encrusted and the top was fused to the body by crust. Looked up the company online so I could ask them how to clean it and avoid the same experience in future--no address, no contact info as they are wholesale only. Six months later they now have email, which I used and to which I never received a reply. Couldn't use them for Christmas 2008 either, so sat down yesterday to search out a phone number which is now included on the website. First time, I went round and round the digital menu and finally left a message. Got tired of waiting for a return call and phoned again, only to be told that I shouldn't keep salt in the salt shaker (???). Then I'm transferred to 3 other people, none of whom "work in that department", including the supervisor (Mr. Torn) who got rather nasty with me and sent me back to his assistant, who tells me to contact the Mississippi plantation where the set was purchased. This is a direct quote from their website:
"The Godinger motto is, "customer first". Our aim is to focus on the unique demands of every customer, and to aggressively fulfill those needs. Our excellent customer service is what allows us to retain and grow our loyal customer base."

Really? In what alternative universe are you known for your customer service? Not here, not in my house right now. All I wanted to know was how to clean off the salt shaker so I could use it and learn how to care for it in the future. Godinger Silver is a lesson to me in how I will never treat a customer of mine. I may not be able to solve your problem, but at least I won't tell you that it's not my department and shove you off onto someone else.

All of which leads me to an small announcement. If you have purchased a copy of my Red Dog Redux Shawl pattern, please be aware that I've made some small changes to make the lace pattern easier to follow. If you're interested in receiving the clarifications, please contact me at feistywoman AT verizon DOT net.

Thank you all for being wonderful customers, wonderful friends and loving family this past year. May all your needs be met and may you enjoy good health, good friends and much love in the coming year.

Turning the page

The holidays are a few days away and I'm pushing myself to finish knitting the gifts I want to give friends and family. Obviously I can't post photos as that would be giving away the surprise, but I promise to try to get them up after Christmas.

Last month, I decided that I really needed to concentrate my efforts if I was going to complete the COE-Handspinning work for Level I. While in the Netherlands last year I did much of the research, but still have several in-depth research presentations to finish. Although I've done some of the spinning, I really need to start producing finished sample skeins to complete the 40 that are required. These are not projects that I can pick up and work on for 20-30 minutes but need my full attention. And all of it needs to be packaged in a certain way and sent off for the examination in October 2009. So this is my New Years resolution--I'll be devoting much less time to my Etsy shop and saleable items and spending several hours each day finishing up the research and samples for the examination. I'll still be teaching at the shop because I so enjoy enabling others, but I need to buckle down and get this done. I've already learned so much and refreshed my memory of spinning basics by doing the research. I'll be blogging about the work as it gets done and putting up photos, because I think this learning experience could benefit many of the spinners I know.

For those who observe the holiday (and those who don't, too!), I wish for you lots of yarn and fiber in your stocking, many happy hours of knitting, good health, and the love of those around you.

Last chance! and...What WAS I thinking?

The sale in my Etsy shop ends Tuesday morning. This is your last chance to pick up yarn for making gifts at 10-20% off, fiber to spin into gift sock yarn or gift socks at 10% off, and handspun/handknit scarves at 30% off. Don't wait till the last minute to buy, as I rarely repeat myself.


New addition to the shop today--It's Only Natural neckwarmer and mitts set:
















And early tomorrow I'll be posting this handspun/commercial wool scarf:









This August I worked a shift at my CSA in exchange for $30 worth of produce. Silly me figured that it it's free I should take a bunch of apples and cabbage. The apples came home in September and I made tons of applesauce, apple butter and dried apples (great in hot oatmeal!). In early October I picked up a case of cabbage and we shredded and packed it in 2 crocks to ferment into saurkraut. (I'm of German descent and there's nothing better than a good wurst, potatoes and homemade kraut with a cold beer.) Last weekend the kraut was done and we proceeded to can it. I had 12 quart jars left and figured that was plenty--HA! After all 12 were packed solid, I still had 2/3 of the last crock left! We packed the rest into every plastic freezer bag we had. We figured we had a total of 24 quarts of saurkraut. Yep, 24 quarts! So we started calling friends and family to rescue us. We've managed to give away enough to ease our storage problem, but I've got saurkraut enough for the next 2 years. We have decided that 50# of cabbage was....ummm.....just a tad too much saurkraut. What WAS I thinking?

Holiday Sale! Come fill up your stockings with fiber goodies!

In preparation for holiday shopping and gift-making, I’ll be having a sale in my Feistywoman Designs Etsy shop. Starting the morning of November 27 through the morning of December 2, most items in my etsy shop will be marked down 10%, 20% and 30%. I carry handspun yarn, spinning fiber and completed garments so you have quite an opportunity to find something for all the folks on your shopping list. As always, there’s free domestic (continental US) shipping on orders over $50.

Six Hands: The yarn is finished and heading to the next artisan

I finished spinning and plying late on Saturday, washed the yarn on Sunday and let it dry while watching the Steelers football game. I will not comment on the game except to say that I'm happy we won and that perhaps the NFL should insist on more extensive training for the officiating department--which is MUCH nicer language than I used during the actual game!

The yarn is firm due to the nice tight spin and ply, yet soft and supple due to the Merino/alpaca fibers. Just the right yarn for a long-wearing yet soft garment. The yarn is being forwarded to Dottie at http://www.ccdzs.blogspot.com/ Let's see what her creative mind and talented hands can do with this yarn.

Six hands: It may LOOK easy to make yarn, but….

…getting it right is sometimes it’s a royal PITA. Here's the first bobbin of luscious alpaca spun up on my Reeves double-treadle chair wheel.










I’d planned to use some of my own combed top with the Whirligig Yarns dyed alpaca, and I chose the wrong colors for it! Well, not the ‘wrong’ colors as there really ARE no wrong colors, but the wrong colors for the end product I was trying to achieve. Here’s the waaay too bright yarn—









And here’s the waaay too bright yarn being stripped off the spinning wheel bobbin so it can be un-plied and respun onto the bobbin. It's a good thing that the cats had gone outside to climb the apple tree--they think I do these things just for their amusement.









And then I had to spin another color that would be closer to what I wanted and ply the alpaca with it. It took me the better part of an entire day to unply, respin, spin and re-ply the yarn. The first successful skein is finished, so it’s onward to spinning the second skein the next few days, washing both of them to remove spinning and hand oils and give the alpaca a little ‘bloom’, and then they go onward to the next craftsperson. Check back to see what happens….

Six hands make a project

I’m a member of the Fiber Arts Street Team on Etsy.com—we call ourselves Etsy FAST for short, and it’s also the tag we use for the Etsy search engine so we can find each others’ work. We encourage, advise, and support each other in our creative paths and the team includes artists in most fiber mediums. Spinning, knitting, crochet, weaving, felting and embroidery are techniques that pop to mind although I’m sure I’ve left out a bunch of others (blame it on low caffeine levels today). We have monthly ‘challenges’ where we choose a topic meant to inspire us to create something that defines or describes that topic. We’ve done the Olympics, heroes, harvest, candy and others. Decembers challenge is teamwork, meaning we’ll do a piece using materials from another team member. Since I’m primarily a spinner I wanted to take it a step beyond simply spinning fiber from another member and suggested that some members could form a trio (or more) and work on a project. And I thought it would be fun to watch my trio progress toward the final goal, so I’m putting up pix of the fiber I’m working with. I stumbled onto this combed top at Whirlygig Yarns while wandering around the team sites and I managed to resist it for about….oh, 2 days maybe? It arrived home on Thursday and I couldn’t wait to get my hands into it. It’s 3.7 oz. of huacaya alpaca dyed in a soft rainbow of colors.

















I’ve just started spinning it, and it’s just lovely to work with. The colors when spun up are clear and change frequently and the color changes are subtle which is just perfect for the end use. I’ll be combining this with some of my own fiber and will hopefully get about 600-700 yards of sportweight yarn. I’ll be posting photos of the yarn being spun and the final plied and washed yarn. And at some point we should be seeing the finished product. I already know where the yarn is going and she’s a wonderful artist, but you’ll have to wait to see what she does with my yarn!

And on another topic completely, Pitt tromped all over Louisville yesterday, Penn State was beaten by Iowa (snort, chuckle), and the Steelers are set to beat the Colts today at 4:15 EST. Life is good…..