Merino/Tensel in October

I received the October shipment from the Yarn Pirate. This month's colorway is Night Magic. It is a merino/tensel blend and I have started spinning it on the Kiwi. I am using the high speed whorl for the first time and I'm liking how it is turning out, so far. The colors in the first picture is closer to the actual color, but the second one shows the shine from the tensel better.


Life has been pretty crazy lately, but I am still getting in about ten minutes a day, or more, at the spinning wheel. There is so many pretty bumps in my stash that I want to spin right now. I don't have enough wheels or drop spindles to get it all done, so I have to work on that ten minutes a day. I am surprised at how much can get spun in just that amount of time. I have two newly completed bobbins on two different wheel in just the past week.

It's knitting night tonight at Nature's Yarns. I'll be there with knitting in tow. That Christmas knitting has to get done sometime or another, you know. I might even take a drop spindle and finish off some fiber on one of those. Three drop spindles currently have fiber on them. Time to get them finished off also.

Happy knitting and spinning.

Lavender and Polworth

Sunday was the perfect day to go outside and get some pictures. There is lavender blooming again in the pot on the front steps. It's not as full of blooms as earlier in the summer, but still pretty and smells really good.

Sunday was also the day I finally finished plying the Polworth in the Water's Edge color from Misty Mountain. It is four ounces of a variegated blue which I really like. I chained plied it, wanting to keep the color variations. Not to mention, chain plying is my favorite form of plying.

This was the maiden fiber for my new to me Kiwi. It only took me two months to spin this fiber. Maybe it took so long because I have too many projects going right now. Four other spinning projects (no time limit on these) and about twelve knitting projects which I would like to have done in time for Christmas.

Now I have to find the perfect spinning project to put with with Kiwi. There is two ounces of silk going onto the Lendrum, four ounces of Crosspatch Creations going onto the Scholar, four ounces of "Fiona" going onto the Traditional, and four ounces of fiber from River's Edge going onto the Hitchiker. Can you tell I like the four ounces? They are perfect for a shawl or small accessories. Plus I usually don't get bored with spinning the fiber before I am done with it.

Well, off to do my daily spinning. Happy knitting and spinning.

Since attending the Montpelier Fiber Festival on Saturday, my desire to sit at the spinning wheel and get some spinning done has increased. On Monday I was able to go to a new friend's house and spin for a couple of hours. She is a new spinner and is doing a wonderful job with her spinning.

I remember what it was like when I first learned to spin. There is a fiber guild in Pocatello and I was invited to attend. For the first couple of meetings, I would go in and watch everything that was going on. I would watch how Edie, Phyllis and Anna Lucy spun and then I would go home, take my wheel out of the car, and sit down and practice what I had seen that day. That's right, I wouldn't even take my wheel into the guild meeting. It just stayed in the car until about the third meeting I attended when something was said and I said my wheel was out in the car and Edie had me bring it in so I could spin there. That was twenty years ago and since then there have been many enjoyable hours spent at my wheels.

I am so glad I made the comment to R & C's father saying I would like to learn how to spin and then he and Tim got me a wheel for Christmas that year. I don't know what I would do without my spinning now.

This is the last bump of fiber I purchased at the fiber festival last Saturday. As you can tell, there is a little bit of green, but it is very muted. I really like all the fiber that I've added to my stash. On Monday I started spinning the second to the last batch of fiber I picked up at last year's fiber festival. So this bump will probably sit in the stash for about a year before I get to spinning it. But then again, the anticipation of wanting to see how it will be as yarn may take over and it will be spun quickly.

What was your first spinning experience?

Happy knitting and spinning.

There is Something Drawing Me to Those Greens

Yesterday I was able to attend the Montpelier Fiber Festival, my first and only festival this year. I got there early, by 10:35 am and stayed until 4 pm. I probably went through the booths about six times both by myself and with the rest of the gang.

It seems like just about everything I was drawn to this year had some green in it. I had a strict budget this year and I stuck to it! My first stop was at the Creatively Dyed booth. I know how crowded her booth can get. I thought if I went there first I would avoid most of the crowd. I picked up the fiber the first picture there, the one with the shawl pin. I then wandered and looked to see what else would jump out and grab me.

The Finn locks I picked up at the Misty Mountain booth. I remember buying some Finn roving from them the first time I attended the SOAR vender event. I made a pair of felted mittens and a cowl from that fiber and have absolutely loved them. It's time for some new felted mittens.

I have the rest of the weekend to play with fiber and get some knitting done. I am currently working on lots of Christmas knitting and it is coming along quickly.

Happy knitting and spinning.

How Did It Know

My horoscope for today:

Though life can be rather stressful today, you need to respond in thoughtful ways if you don't want to make things worse. Your left brain is your best asset for the time being, so make the most of it!

It already knew we were going to be a person short at work today on our busiest day of the week. I am so looking forward to coming home tonight and doing some knitting or even some spinning. I received some fiber in the mail this week and I am anxious to start spinning it. I might even get some pictures before I start that spinning.

Happy knitting and spinning.

Ten on Tuesday the Football Edition

Today's topic is 10 Reasons to Watch Football. This one isn't really hard for me, but I like the college games better than the pros. There are also a few more of them to watch which works really well when......

1. It's not very long until Christmas and when better to work on all those knitted gifts.
2. The Weather is starting to cool off. That means it's sweater wearing time again.
3. I can get more time at the wheels while watching the games. I really need a reason to spin more.
4. Friends and family seem to gather together more during a game.
   
5. Food. Some of the best snacks are football snacks.
6. Did I mention Knitting time?
7. It's a good time to take an afternoon nap and still not miss much of the game especially if I'm watching by myself. ES isn't a big football person, but he will watch with me occasionally.
   
8. Reminds me of my dad and watching high school games with him. That also meant spending time at the field getting all the lines white again and passing out uniforms in the basement of the gym. Yeah, this only worked when we were younger.
   
9. It only lasts a few short months.
10. Yeah for knitting time!!

What do you like about football season?

I am almost finished spinning what is on the Kiwi. Soon I will have finished yarn to show you.

Happy knitting and spinning.

Pear Butter

What do you do with six past ripe pears?

I have been craving some apple or pear butter and couldn't get it out of my mind. My mom used to make apple butter every few years while I was growing up and she would sometimes make pear butter. It really wasn't one of my favorite things to put on my toast, but the older I got the more I liked it. Imagine that! Hence the craving for some fruit butter and those pears were just staring me in the face.

I looked on line for a recipe, but everything called for 'a lot' of pears and I only had six. So I loosely followed the recipe and came up with just this one container. It turned out a little darker than I thought it would, but man does it just hit the spot. I even took it and some bread to work yesterday, to share with my co-worker. She liked it also.

Last night I went to knit night. My Shetland Pi shawl is coming along nicely. I am on clue four. I also ripped out one shawl and restarted it in a different pattern. The new pattern isn't as easy to memorize as the previous one, but I will have enough yarn to complete it. Knitting pictures should be coming soon. I have a lot of FO, but they are Christmas gifts so no pictures till they are gifted.

Well, off to have some more pear butter and get this day going. Happy knitting and spinning.