Fiber tool investment! *I really shouldn’t post at night, many edits*

Ok, I’m super stoked. I’m more than that, I’m down right silly excited right now. To explain why, I have to rewind a few days. Wednesday, was a miserable,  terrible, horrible, everything that could go wrong quite possibly did go wrong day. So bad, hubby brought home flowers and candy for me. (The rarer than a blue moon treatment ) Anywho, the next day I went to post something and came home and I was on the phone with my bff. We were discussing the horrors of the day before, when lo and behold, a package!

Now our mail is for the most part consistent and comes between 10:45 and 1pm. This was well after 3pm. So my suspicions were aroused. You see, my husband has been buying a bunch of cheap Chinese made knock off stuff for his guns and other random stuff around the house, that I had totally forgot about something I had purchased earlier this week. Who knew a perfectly timed package could brighten a day so quickly?

This purchase was one of the smartest fiber purchases I have made yet. I bought a second hand Woolee Winder with extra bobbins. The lady I purchased it from was moving and was selling a wheel as well, but it was the same model I had and I was not in the market for another, but a half price Woolee Winder, that didn’t take me long to jump on!

So I’m currently in the middle of spinning the chocolate brown bfl my mom won me on ROC day, and I will be spinning some caramel colored bamboo  and plying them for a nice two ply. If I’m correct I will have two nice sized 2ply skeins. I’m in love with the ww already. It was a fabulous impulse buy.

I’ve actually spun more since this picture was taken, but won’t be taking any more until I get to the bamboo and then start plying. Bamboo is tricky to work with, so I’m going to have to be patient. Especially since I’ve only been working with wool exclusively lately. I can’t wait to start plying, it’s going to look like a twix bar by the time I get through, all chocolate and caramel colored.
Now I just need the fiber fairy to visit me and up my fiber stash, because I’m down to 1 or 2 roving braids after this for a bit until my Camaj fiber arts group order comes in. I guess I’ll have to start knitting some of my beautiful hand spun stash. (Like this freshly added beauty)

ROC Day!

We have a local artists hangout market in a converted factory in the middle of town called Lowe Mill. There is a plethora of artists in every genre of artistry you could imagine there. From tea to pottery, cigar box guitars to a whiskey distillery, they seem to have something for everyone. My mom found an article alluding to events of the fibery nature, and I was aware of St. Distaff’s Day, but hadn’t been actively looking for anything as we haven’t had a full weekend to ourselves since we’ve been back from our trip. She finally persuaded me to go and dragged my little sister along for the ride. My sister had an agenda of her own, so my mother and I were on our own.

We enjoyed walking around and visiting all the different stores. I found a Saori Weaving shop that is a Kromski outfitter. *be still my heart* I finally was able to get a replacement for my wheel oil that broke ages ago. I’ve been using a medicine syringe, and that is a mess. I also found a luscious batt of merino bamboo while I was there that managed to find it’s way home with me.

We discovered a pop up shop called 3 Rings Traveling Apothecary that is one of the coolest places I’ve seen there. They have natural and organic items for skin care and house. I ended up getting a bath oil that doubles as a oil you can use as an alternative to baby oil. It smells pretty good and comes in a wicked cool vintage upcycled apothecary jar. They also make soy candle melts with essential oils, and they smell awesome and are reasonably priced. So I picked some up to go with the new warmer that my mother-in-law got me for Christmas.

We eventually found our way around after a few treats and made it into the room where the main even was being held. My mom ended up being coerced into weaving! It was so funny, mainly because my mom is shy and not usually the type to volunteer to do things. There was a woman with a small floor loom set up and was having people who weren’t familiar with weaving, learn the basics. She was also showing them how to add pieces in the middle of the row for artsy pieces. It was fun to watch and talk with her. She had a beautiful jacket on, made from pieces that she had woven. I need to trade my loom for a smaller one, because this looks like much more fun than what I have to go through.

Also at the event, many of the lys’s throughout the neighboring cities contributed items as well as our local fiber guild to raffle off. My mom won a bag of chocolate brown bfl from my lys for me. Way to go mom!

There were so many ladies and a few gents that traveled in and out of the event. So many spinning wheels and knitting needles flying, and even few crocheters in the mix. I regretted not bringing a project to join in on the the fun of the demonstration, but I had enough fun wandering and discovering the local artistry and getting out and enjoying some quality time with my mom and sister.

Update on my infinity scarf:

It’s finished!!!!!

 

Although blocking it didn’t really stop the vicious curl this scarf has, I’m glad I made it extra long rather than the patterns stated length. I was trying to match where the orange met so when I sewed it up, it would appear invisible and seamless.

My doesn’t blocking make a world of difference!

Hand Spun and Dyed

This is the yarn I finished spinning and plying late last night.

I’m using it to make the Brain Made Shawlette by Sassy Girl. It’s a free pattern on ravelry,  and very simple not requiring much yardage either.  I can’t wait to see how well the colors transition when it’s finished.

Humidity

The hardest part of dyeing is waiting for it to dry. We’ve had a ton of 90°+ days and lots of humidity, and a few storms the last couple of days. Not to mention, our air conditioner isn’t functioning properly. We had an hvac specialist look at it, and frankly I hope the air conditioner dies so we can replace it with a proper model. Right now it’s too small for our tri – split level home. Add this to the humidity, ac air flow issues and freshly dyed yarn… feels like an eternity.