Oh, hi...

I have a spinning wheel!
A spinning wheel that I stained PINK! I heart it so much... It's a double treadle Roadbug made by an awesome little company from Vermont, The Merlin Tree.

My first yarn is pink, too...

FLUFFfiber Merino, 4 oz in This Bouquet... I got about 300 yards of 10-11 wpi (about dk/worsted weight) yarn! That's soooo awesome!!! It's not very even, some over plyed areas, some under... but I really love it. It has character, right?

This is a very nice, relaxing addiction :) I think I'm going to knit a pair of Toasties with it, and then maybe a One Day Beret, if I can squeak out that much yardage, lol...

Oh, Thor wanted to say, "Hi!" :)

How Thor Thinks I Should Crochet

silly kitty!

New Scarf Pattern Available!

I present... the Castle Walls Scarf!

This beautiful scarf can be made either thick and toasty or light and lacy. Either one results in a stunning accessory. The name came to me while blocking… the circular holes staggered on top of one another reminded me of a stone castle wall.

The fingering weight version of this scarf only takes 1 skein of Knit Picks Palette yarn! Can you think of anything better than a gorgeous wool scarf for only $1.99?!?!?

An easy pattern, this scarf only uses sc, dc and chains! A great option for the beginning crocheter, but the mix of stitches won’t bore the more experienced fiber artist!

Buy it on Ravelry by clicking or in my etsy shop by clicking the link in my sidebar to the right... I really love this scarf, I hope you do, too!

And, thanks for all the suggestions about the blanky... I'm finishing the first one up for the in-laws and will make another for the hubby. Good news is that I have a few more weeks to finish the one for the in-laws... Phew!

I Have a Dilema

Ok, so a few months ago I saw this beautiful vintage table cloth, with these tiny little thread motifs that reminded me of lotus flowers. I immediately thought, "Make it bigger! Worsted weight yarn and COLOR!" So I tweaked the design in my head, came up with something rather pretty and decided it would be the perfect 5th year wedding anniversary present for my bro/sis-in-law. I started making it up and, much to my surprise, hubby actually really likes it! Like, really likes it enough that I think he'd love to have one for himself, and would be a great 3rd year wedding anniversary gift for him... I think the boys like it, too!

So, now what do I do? Make 2 exactly the same? Make another in slightly different colors to give to hubby? Or keep this one and make something different for the in-laws (mind you, it needs to be complete in 3 weekends)?

I'm so confused!

Ok, maybe I'm getting good at this...

Two things... Knitting!

The first of two Bella's Mittens... Pattern is AWESOME! Made for my cousin's 15th birthday. She loved them (even though there's only one for her left hand so far, lol).

And second... Kool-Aid dying!


The Ravelry Group "What a Kool Way to Dye" has a DAL (dye-a-long) this month and you are supposed to use a painting as your inspiration. I've loved Alphonse Mucha's work forever, so I used one of his prints, La Primevere, as my inspiration. Pretty good match, huh? The roving started out as mill end roving from Sheep Shed Studios and I hand dyed it with Kool-Aid, and Crystal Lightish single serve packets. I LOVE IT! Now to spin it up and figure out what in the heck to make with it!

Ok, so I'm late...

But, I have a hat. And not just any hat... A knitted hat! Woo! I love it, I love it, I love it!

It's the Chunky Slouch Cap pattern that you can download on Ravlery for free by clicking on the link... Mine didn't turn out so slouchy, more beanie style, but it's ok, it's still super pretty! I doubled my handspun with some Lion Brand Wool-Ease that I had in my stash to make the bulky weight and cast on 48 st instead of 40. I think my gauge is really too small on this tho, cause I have a pretty small head :) I also only did 4 rows of the ribbing instead of 8 because I was worried about running out of yarn. I didn't, so I probably could have done the full 8 rows and my 75-80 yards of handspun would have been perfect. Oh well, maybe next time!

Oh, and I promised a picture of my yarn all wound into a ball, didn't I?

Totally overspun (see all the little kinks?) but hey, it was my first try, right? It still turned out gorgeous, and of course this picture doesn't do it justice at all! I have another braid of roving from FLUFFfibers and can't wait to spin it up, but first, I have an anniversay present to finish (for my bro/sis-in-law, 5 years in September!)...

My Own Handspun... Parto Uno

I have a new obsession... Pretty, pretty, soft, soft, soft, GORGEOUS unspun roving! Looky...

I bought it from Coley's Etsy shop, FLUFFfibers. This stuff is soooo fantastic! I purchased another colorway first, but then saw this one in her "Sold" items and begged for a recreation... It was done in like a day... I swear, SO FAST!

Anyways, here's an in-progress pic... I think this is the most interesting part of hand spinning, when you draft the fiber before spinning. I split my braid of roving in 7-8 sections first and then each section had to be drafted. (If you're interested, visit youtube and search for drop spindle. There are tons of instructions.) This picture shows the predrafted fiber on the right and the drafted, even fluffier fiber on the left.

And here's my finished, approximately 80 yards, single ply yarn. Soaking before going outside to dry in the hot Central CA sun...

Tomorrow (hopefully) I'll show you the finished product, all wound up in a pretty ball! And, if I can't help myself, which I'm sure could happen, maybe something made with it! I'm thinking this hat, maybe?