Power Outage Plying

Nice to know that my Pocket Wheel still works when there is no power. Big storm last night, but did not hamper me too much as I was able to finish plying this wonderful experiment of medium wool.

I think it turned out really well - soft and even two ply yarn, not much "thick and thin" in these skeins. I believe a hat can be knit with 142 yards, total. As my daughter said of the yarn, "You are getting better!" Well, I am having fun with all the practice!

Spinning Medium ~

Can you not resist a deal of lovely soft fiber?  I cannot resist a screamin' deal.  Especially when I can call it, "educational experience" and then learn from the spinning. I am still so excited about all the mysteries to solve through spinning.  Today I started to solve this one, "What is "medium wool" going to spin into."

So far, the pink wool has a bit of texture to the single, a bit of a bump here and there.  The green and cream is slicker with no bumps, so not sure if this is really the same wool.  Both singles seem to be thin, so far. Only three ounces total, so I should be plying soon! Stay tuned!

We have a winner ~

Fiber Fusion was such a blast, and the fun just keeps going!  I found out that I won the $50 raffle prize!  How exciting for my first Fiber Fusion ever!  Of course I will be going next year to continue all this good fiber Karma!  Wait, there's MORE!

I found out that I won one of the individual raffles for a super bright neon fiber too! This blend from Star Eagle Farms is superwash merino/bamboo/nylon, so it would be best for sock yarn if I can spin it thin enough!  There are five ounces, so we'll see how thin I can spin and if I can spin enough for a pair of socks!  Challenge is ON!!!! (Debi, I am posting this for you!  Thanks for the nudge!)

Fiber Fusion, too ~

There were so many booths full of natural fibers and lovely hand dyed fiber. Overwhelming with colors and softness, and seeing all the spinners and wheels was inspiring. We stopped at Abundant Earth Fiber and purchased some mill ends of medium wool and English Leicester Longwool, both being part of my "educational experience" of new spinning fibers.

 

Can't wait to try spinning these! Jitteryknitter says the medium wool "yarn" would make a great hat, so we will have to check that out!

Fiber Fusion ~

My first time attending our local Fiber Fusion and it was grand! There was so much to see, and one of my favorite fiber vendors was there, Barry and Linda Taylor of Taylored Fibers!  I was able to find some new fiber that I need to try spinning for "educational experience" as we all need to practice, practice, practice!  The educational spinning will include my first rendezvous with silk noil, in hopes that my yarn will not be too lumpy-bumpy.  The colors of this fiber are so lovely!

Also delving into some sparkles of firestar to see how difficult (or not!) this spinning will be.

Of course I had to get more of Barry's super soft blends of merino/alpaca/angora in grey and dark grey as one can never have too much of the super soft yarn this spins into.  More tomorrow of the other treasures we found!

Matching Thumbs Up ~

I am thrilled that these thumbs seem to match on these mittens. Even my daughter, of the "unmatched thumbs" was surprised and pleased when I showed her the two thumbs.

Perhaps I have time to cast on another pair of mittens before the deadline for the kids at Detroit Achievement Academy!

Socks or Mittens ~

The more I look at these mittens, the more they still look like socks.  I thought I should knit some color work into the top so it will draw attention away from the thumbs.

I am still a little worried about matching thumbs.... you can see in this picture where the thumbs will be, someday soon. Would a second grader notice if the thumbs don't match?

Special Mittens ~

It turns out that we have enough hats knit for the kids at Detroit Achievement Academy, however we need a few more pair of mittens. I have not knit many mittens, as the two I have knit had some issues with matching thumbs, yet turned out well in the end...

So I cast on two mittens, as if they were toe up socks, and hope that they will turn out to look like mittens instead of socks...and I'm already worried about those thumbs....

Vacation Treasures ~

A great part of vacation is finding a great yarn shop or two. A bonus is when said yarn shops have great yarn and fiber that one doesn't find at one's local yarn shops.  The super deluxe bonus is when your great friend, Jitteryknitter, goes on vacation and gets the most wonderful and bright fiber and yarn and brings it home as a gift!  Yes!  I am the luckiest, ever!!!

Who else would pick up this lovely jeweled toned fiber from a quaint little shop?

Who else would find this amazing Jitterbug, one of my very favorite yarns, and bring it home for me?  Have you ever seen such lovely colors!!!!  Thanks for being such a great friend!!!

Happy Pocket Wheel Anniversary ~

On this day, back in 2011, Jitteryknitter and I picked up my oh-so-special Pocket Wheel that was made specially for me.  Has it really been three years with my special wheel?

With lessons and lots of practice, I have enjoyed all the time spent learning and improving my spinning. I have a long way to go and a lot to learn, yet I know my wheel and I have many many great years ahead to grow and learn together!

Twilight Knitting ~

One of our favorite cross country races happened tonight at twilight, and our varsity girl ran really fast.

We surprised her by bringing college daughter to the race so there was a wonderful reunion as younger daughter sees older daughter and can't believe she is HERE AT THE RACE!  It was a wonderful fun time for all of us.

Bonus for me is that I was able to get some road trip knitting of socks on the way there!  Hurrah!