More goodies

Ok, so don't faint.  I know, you're not used to hearing from me 2 days in a row.  I can't help it if I go in spurts.  I'm busy doing a LOT of stuff!

I asked my friends to look at my shawl pins on yesterday's blog.  I asked for their opinions and told them they had to be honest.  I love that about these friends - they are good friends and honest (but kind).

One of them asked to see the shawl pin in use.  Well duh - I should have thought of that, eh?  So here it is.  This is a blue neck warmer that I knitted, with a blue beaded shawl pin in it holding it in place.  It's the perfect size!

Excuse the extra large photo but I wanted to make it easy to see the shawl pin in use. 

Another friend asked me how do they stay in place?  I call it a shawl pin, but it isn't really a pin, although, it's used like a pin.  It has a rounded bottom edge, and it doesn't have a closure on it.  Once you stick it through the layers of the neck warmer, it stays pretty tight.  The rounded bottom edge is nice because it doesn't poke through the layers of the yarn. 

Did I mention this is one of the neck warmers I knitted from my hand spun (by me) yarn?  Yes!  I love this - it's soooo soft and the blue is beautiful.  The shawl pin adds a little pizzazz to it too. 

I'm very pleased with how things are turning out!  Not bad for not being a knitter.  I am going to get that project that is on the loom, off soon, and get going on weaving some of my hand spun yarns.  I'm not sure they are good enough for warp, but certainly they will make a beautiful weft and they will be lovely.

Oh, and here is a mobius scarf or infinity scarf with a twist in it, that I also spun and knitted.  Once again, no pattern, just imagination involved.  It fits perfectly too! 

I have to say, PicMonkey has been very easy to use and it has a LOT of options that you don't have to pay for.  I feel my presentations are turning out MUCH better. 

Thanks for looking.  I appreciate your feedback.  I do not appreciate the spam emails I'm getting in my inbox though.  Bummer! 

Take care,
Martha

Shawl Pins - yep, another new idea

So I've been a little bit busy lately.  I've made a couple of more neck warmers (photos to come!) and I've been busy figuring out how to make some simple, inexpensive shawl pins to close the neck warmers with.  I made some wooden ones.  They aren't my favorite.  They just don't look as nice as I'd like them too - thinking about possibly painting them, but not sure that's smart either.  No photos of those yet.

I did, however, try to use my imagination.  I didn't want to get into the whole bent wire thing - first I'd have to buy wire and it's not cheap, then I'd have to make a jig to bend the wire, and I don't really have the proper tools.  I'm not really a metal working so I kept dismissing that idea.

I spent almost an hour in Joann's Fabric and Crafts store yesterday, ended up buying some glue, beads, a bead reamer (which doesn't work for me) and a Spin Off magazine.  I was more excited about the magazine than anything else!

Then I decided to go to Hobby Lobby.  They are fairly new to our area (about a year) and I usually forget to check there - I always seem to check in Michaels, A.C. Moore, Hancock Fabrics, and Joanns.  I tend to forget about Hobby Lobby.  Of course, I hadn't brought my coupon, but I was just there to see if there was something that would work.  Well, don'tcha know, I found something that is perfect for what I want it for.  Now, if I could just find them in bulk....but no, I don't really want to get into making these all the time - unless they sell well.  LOL.

Not only did I find exactly what I'd been looking for, but they were on sale - 50% off!  YAY!  I bought twice as many as I would have, and I'm really glad I did because it was fun playing and I only took about 2 hours to make the ones I made.  I'm pretty happy with them.  I just hope they appeal to others.

Here they are:

If you read my post yesterday,  I had said I'd mixed up the numbers on these.  Well, I fixed it but see another way I could have done it.  I've replaced the photos and fixed the numbers, and it's good enough for me at this point!
I think they are pretty.  they aren't very long (need to measure).  That's why I placed the quarter there - for perspective.

Thanks for checking in.  I'll be posting more in the next couple of days to catch up to myself.
Thanks for looking!
Take care,
Martha

FIber Fiber Fiber!

I went to a class on Saturday.  A spinning class.  Not the kind where you sweat and have to ride a bike in place.  Oh no....it was MUCH more fun than that.
No, I have no photos of the class.  Yeah, I know, I have a smart phone, what the heck????  I thought the same thing when class was all over!  Bummer!

I do, however, have lots of fibery fun to show you.  Wanna see?

This is my absolute favorite so far - I call it Cinnamon Toast.  I spun the singles of the yarn that was beautiful to begin with.  Because I didn't want to mix the colors on this one, and I wanted to add something shiny, I decided to ply it with copper thread.  Linda says it's still considered a singles.  Amazingly enough, it didn't twist in either direction when I took it off the spool.  I have a few ends to clip off, but this is SO lovely in person.  It's BFL and it's SOFT.  It blooms when washed, but it doesn't felt because it's Super Wash.  

Here are some more fun things from class:

FUN FUN FUN!!!  This is a combination of many types of wool.  It includes locks, mohair, and several different types of wool.  I had SO much fun making this!  The only thing is that I am not sure how to get the rest of the "stuff" out of it - the "stuff" I'm referring to is hay, dirt, etc.!!!!!  Yep, it has it all.  Yep, I washed it - several times! LOL.  It's SOOO fun though.  I can't wait to make some more!  First, I will need to be able to afford a drum carder..........and that's not going to happen quite yet.

Next is something more subtle.  I actually finished this before class but haven't posted it here yet (I don't think).

Super wash BFL - soft soft soft - natural - undyed.  It is SOOOO nice.  And look - it really looks like real yarn.  Granted its not perfect like store bought, but hey, it's HAND SPUN!
On the left is the fiber.  On the right, is yarn spun from the fiber.  Pretty, and soft!

 Above is a batt that came to class - Linda, bless her heart, brought it for me to play with.  I'd been eyeballing it in her shop and she brought it because I love it sooooooooooooo much!

Below, is a batt I made at the end of class.  I should have started sooner as it needs some "plain" fiber in it.  This thing has purple sparkle, yellow sparkle, light blue nylon, and the rest is all kinds of wool.  The white is mohair locks.  SO cool!  This was so danged fun to make.  Again, I'd need a drum carder, and I won't be getting one any time soon.  Someday..........
Meanwhile, I can't wait to spin this!

There is more, but I'm really exhausted today, and I am not really able to focus very well.  There is a lot of mental stuff going on in our lives right now.  It doesn't help that today is the 9/11 anniversary - I still remember very clearly where I was, and what I was doing on this day eleven years ago. 
Tomorrow will be the one year anniversary of my surgery that threw me into a deep depression and anxiety place for months.  Just so much to think about.  There is more, but not stuff I want to put on here.

So for now, that's it.  At least the weather has been perfect.  Cold nights, warm days, and LOTS of sunshine. 

Take care, be kind to one another and take care of yourself.
Martha

Neck Warmer

So I decided to take the yarn that I spun, the one with just one skein (from one braid) and I knitted a neck warmer.  I did it kind of free form - no pattern, just from looking at some online and in my books and went for it!  I'm like that....
This fiber

Turned into this yarn

Which I have now turned into this neck warmer

It's not the BEST knitting ever - its really free- form - which if you know anything about me, that's how I roll. 
The photos do NOT show how great the coconut buttons look on this scarf.  It's like they were made for it.  I paid more for those 2 buttons than I've ever paid for buttons before - but they are PERFECT!  So I ahd to have them.
This yarn spoke to me - it told me it had to be this neck warmer.  I started to try making a hat with it - in fact, I started a few times.  But this yarn did not want to be a hat - it wanted to be a neck warmer - and boy, did it!  I'm not the best model, and hubby isn't the best photographer.  Even with a tri-pod, the photos came out a bit blurry.  I used very high resolution and still, they came out blurry.  I needed to use the timer, and I tried, but hubby asked why I wasn't asking him to help.  So what is a woman to do?  I let him help.  :-)

This yarn is Polworth and silk blend.  It's soft, it's warm, it's squishy and it's fun.  Great fall colors too. I  have GOT to learn to dye my own fiber now, so I can decide what colors I want!  I can see this is going to be a very slippery slope for me!  LOL

I didn't work on spinning today.  I started reading a new book and I've gotten hooked on it.  I tried making some buttons this morning from red air dry clay, and also from Shrinky Dink plastic.  I didn't like the way the plastic ones were looking.  The clay ones were ok but not dry yet and I wasn't sure they'd look nice enough for this scarf.  Maybe for a future one.  They are upstairs still drying. They take a couple of days to get really dry.

I'm trying to update my website, but it's not cooperating.
Time to take the pups out.  Tomorrow I will post about our Saturday with Grand daughter.  What a hoot that kid is!  Poor thing wasn't too sure about me at first - it's been about a month since she's seen me, but when she saw her Pop Pop, she really didn't know what to do - she was really NOT sure of him at all.  Poor Pop Pop was a bit disappointed, but he's the one that doesn't make the time to go visit..........what can I say?  I want to squeeze that little one!  I love her SO much!

Take care and thanks for stopping by
Martha

Navaho plied - another learning experience

Hello again.  I know I've been sparse around here.  Hey, I've been busier than normal, but not really with anything that is blog worthy.

I did get my colorfully died fiber (bought that way - learning to dye yarn will be the next thing I'm sure), spun and plied.  Someone told me I should try Navaho plying and suggested I watch YouTube videos to see how it was done.  I did.  Then I gave it a shot.  It's not perfect, but it's something I think I'd try again.

Here is the before photo - the fiber I started with:

This is a multi-colored superwash BFL Merino.  I like working with this yarn a lot.  For someone who wouldn't touch wool before, I'm sure getting to know this one well...........

So I wasn't crazy about the green in this, but I liked the brown and the blue and the red a LOT, and since there was more of that, I decided to give it a try.

Below are photos of how it turned out as yarn.  The colors aren't as bright, and I did the Navaho ply on it, which makes it a 3 ply yarn.  I had some issues (still/again) with my singles not being spun tight enough in spots, and then coming apart when I plied, so there are some spots where it isn't perfect.  But it's done and it's mine.  I'll make something out of it!

This is one small skein and one larger skein of the yarn.  It's been drying since last night.  I gave it the soaks I read about doing - hot water with a drop of Dawn dish soap for awhile, then a warm soak with water and vinegar, then a rinse in cool water for awhile, then squeeze in a towel to dry as much as possible.  Then it hung around in the bathroom overnight, then it went outside on the porch this morning.  It's VERY hot today (ick) and I'm sure it'll be dry by tonight.



Here's another shot:

Navaho Plied Yarn

Navaho Plied Yarn Close Up

The above shot is my artsy fartsy shot.

I think for not knowing what I was doing, I did ok.........like I said, there are spot.  But hey, I'm a BEGINNER!

I've started spinning the fiber that was given to me by Linda at Misty Mountain Farm, where I bought my spinning wheel.  It's not dyed and I thought it would be just beautiful leaving it natural.  I'm spinning it and thinking, it's awfully plain.......I could try to dye it after it's spun.  What I'm trying to do is decide if I want to ply something into it.  A sparkly thread?  Some beads? 

I tried plying beads into the yarn in the photos above, but I failed.  That's when I tried the Navaho ply.  Glad that worked, because it's really hard to UN-ply anything!

On the other hand, this "plain" natural fiber might be really pretty once it's made into something.  The fiber is BFL superwash too.  So it should be really great as a garment.  I still think a little sparkle of some sort would be nice though.....

Well, I'm really in need of a nap (not sure why) so I'm going to go lay down.
Take care, and I'll be back with more later.
Martha

More Yarn!

Yes, I have more yarn to show off. I've been busy lately!  :-)
Here is the fiber I started with.  I finally got smart, and started taking photos of the fiber (not the kind you eat) that I start with, then the yarn that come from spinning that fiber.  It's something I have to remember to make myself do!

Spinning fiber

Isn't it beautiful?  I could only get 4 oz of this fiber.  There was only one braid of it left.  I hope to find some more in similar colors at some point soon.
This is what the fiber turned into.

Pretty Yarn!

I am not spinning very thin right now.  Even when I think it's thin, after plying and washing and drying, it ends up being quite bulky - but I  LIKE the bulky look!  I can't wait to get weaving on this.  Of course, I have to get what's ON my loom now, finished and off!

Speaking of that, I haven't been very good at going up once a day and spending an hour weaving.  I did it twice last week.  I enjoyed it.  But I didn't continue to do it every day.  What the heck?

I'm working on some new fiber - quite out of my normal color range.  It's interesting.

Multi color superwash bfl

Quite the color scheme, eh?  There wasn't much to choose from at the LYS.  It's spinning up in an interesting way.  The colors are quite blocked, especially the red and blue (almost a turquoise).  At the spinning group last week, when I started spinning this, someone asked me if I was going to Navaho ply this yarn.  I don't think I want to.  What I DID want to do, was to ply it with invisible thread, with beads strung onto it.  I tried it and it didn't work - I think because the yarn I was trying to ply it to was not spun with enough twist.  Although, hubby asked me if the invisible thread was causing the yarn to break.  After tearing off what I'd not been successful at, I decided not to try again - I hate waste!  I did spin some more of it up and made sure I spun it tighter....but I'm still afraid to try the thread and beads in the ply.  I did start thinking that maybe I had been trying to ply it too tightly, and maybe that was why my yarn was breaking as it was going onto the bobbin.  I dunno.  So much to learn yet.  But I'm getting there!

At any rate, this is some of what I've been up to.

This morning we went and got 42 bales of hay, and we stacked it in the barn. I helped move some hay from a storage stall to the tack room, then we off-loaded the hay from the truck to the storage stall.  Time to start putting the hay in for the winter.  There is a lot in the stall that needs to go to the dump as it's not any good.  Sad.  I don't like waste.  Oh, had I mentioned that before????

I'm really tired - stayed up too late last night.  Watched Army Wives.  Only one more show left "before it all ends."  I read online that they don't know if they are going to continue the show or not.  What the heck????  Oh well, another one bites the dust.

I think today may consist of a nap............zzzzzzzzzzzz..........
Take care,
Martha

Stuff!

I know, I haven't been posting much lately. I really lead such a quiet life lately - not at all normal for me, but there ya go. I have been keeping quite busy though.

See?

This is my second hand spun yarn.  The picture is partially in the sun, so that's why it's kinda bright.  I tried to take it in the shade under the overhang to the porch, but it didn't want to come out.  So I moved closer to the light source and of course, the sun had to come out!  The yarn probably isn't quite that bright.  It's a really pretty blue though.

I also went to the Lazy Kate Spinsters group on Wednesday.  Last week, it was held at Susan's house. I hadn't met Susan because she has a little boy under 2 years old, and the meetings are on Wednesdays from 12:30 - 4:30 - which of course is nap time for little boys of that age.  :-)  She was sweet and had a cute home she's renting.  Here is the group - I'm waaaaaayyyyy in the back, on the right, and I was ok there!

I guess I was pulling on my earlobe.  LOL.  I was talking instead of spinning.  I was taking a break.  But you can see my wheel back there too.  Look at the variety of wheels and there are 2 spindles there too. 
We certainly were a tight fit into the room.  What you can't see, is all the food on the table behind the photographer (Susan).  I think everyone brought something.  I have to figure out what to bring this week because it is at another person's house this week - see that woman in the far left corner with the green spinning wheel?  That's Mariane and the group will be meeting at her home this week.  The art center has had things going on, so they didn't have room for us to meet.

I was outside taking photos of the yarn, and the butterfly bush was being swarmed by butterflies.  When the sun comes out, it's amazing how many will be out there.  I just can't seem to get a good photo of all of them on the bush.  I get as many photos as I can, and some of them come out good, some don't......I have a lot to learn about my camera still I think...........

See the one below?  I have NO idea how I managed the butterfly in flight.  See the shadow under it on the ground?  COOL! 

 

This is the first Monarch of the season that I've seen.  I could NOT get a clear photo - I'm so mad!  I took over 100 photos....and yet, not a clear one of this one butterfly!  Grrr.

 

Below is a hummer.  We have 3 I think - hard to tell when they move so danged fast!  This one was just sitting on the fence.  I took the photos from between the wood rails on the porch.  Too funny because I took about a dozen, tried another setting, then couldn't get the camera to focus even when I went back to the setting I took this photo on.  Gee, I sure have a LOT to learn about my camera.  And it's not even the big fancy kind!  I'm just thankful some of them came out.

So there you have it, what I've been up to lately.
I also was able to remove the quilt stitches from the quilt I started and hated.  I know now, I'll be quilting stitch in the ditch.  I should have listened to the quilt the first time.  That's what it wanted to be.  I'm not a person that does a lot of tight, close, tiny quilting.  It just does NOT work on my quilts - and besides, I'm not good at it. 

I have some more fiber I'm spinning into yarn.  I was going to use thread to ply it with, but I didn't do a good job of it, and I spent hours un-plying it.  Ick.  I don't ever want to do that again.  I only have 4 ounces of it, not 8 like all the other I've done, so I don't know if I'll actually have enough to make anything with when I'm done plying it, if I ply it to itself.  I'm very undecided at this point.................

I've decided I'm going to change the way the website works. I need to make my products, and I need to sell just those that are made up.  I'll be working on printing out some cards, and making card sets.  I'll be printing out some photos on paper and putting them on the canvases. I'll also put my quilts that are done up there, and lower the price of the one that is already there. 
Then I have to figure out how to drive more customers there.
I started it in January, and I'll renew it for at least one more year.  After that, we'll see.

See, even if I don't come around often enough, when I do, I try to make it a good post!  :-)
Time to make dinner.
Martha