Pictures

I counted. There are 17 skeins between 2 and 4 ounces, 4 mini skeins, 2 batches of dyed top, and 5 ounces of dyed fleece.

Our bathroom is just not that big. Check it out - left is the tub, middle is the radiator, and on the right is the door. I was standing against the back wall when I took these shots. I think it's 8'x5'.

Left to right: obnoxiously orange superwash merino (I love it!); light-rust romney spun from the (dyed) lock; tiny bits of pink skeins behind the romney that you can barely see; some corriedale for another person; some of my cvm/alpaca blend for my eventual sweater; light blue superwash merino behind (under); and some dark brown superwash top for a sweater for a friend.

Left to right, some are the same: Light blue superwash merino (I'm calling it Blue Ice, after a picture of a bit of a glacier someone took); the sweater yarn; top for my friend's sweater; you can see a hint of the alpaca/silk that was dyed orchid (same dyelot as the cormo fleece drying at the bottom); a mixed skein - one Blue Ice single, one mystery single from a gift batt - pretty sure it includes at least merino, alpaca, silk, and something sparkly, not sure what else; another small skein of Blue Ice; a purple yarn that I think is superwash wool but I couldn't swear to it; the green/gray yarn for the other person; mauve 3 ply, magenta merino (from fleece, not commercial top); light rust; obnoxious orange; and the green stuff I mentioned in my last post that some lucky person will get to use.

These will all get glamour shots after they dry, before they move on to their new life. So happy that these aren't guilt-tripping me anymore, since I finished spinning some of them more than a month ago (see, I was going to write that I finished them a month ago, but finished is the other step - had to clarify that I finished spinning).

Finished finishing

I have about 4 pounds of fiber hanging from any available rod in the bathroom - shower curtain, towel rod, shelves, plus some cormo fleece laid out to dry. I dyed 3 batches of fiber this weekend, and I've been slacking on finishing the yarn I've spun in the past month. That's why there's been a dirth of pictures. Once it dries, I hope to take lots of pictures. I've got yarn in about 10 different colorways, several different fibers. Some of it's for me, some of it is for specific others, some is for the shop, and some is for giveaways and samples. I am yarnful.

There's some green BFL (I think) that I'm super-happy with. I can't think of anything to make with it, so it'll be off to another happy home somewhere. In addition to the Etsy shop, the Minnesota Weavers Guild has a Fiber Fair in November, and I'm signed up to sell there.

You'd think finishing yarn would be when the spinning is done, but it's not. The yarn has to be washed and "whacked." I prefer the harsh finishing method. I wash/rinse the yarn 4 times, alternating hot and cold water. This isn't recommended as a general rule for wool, because you most people don't want to turn their knitted or crocheted items into felt. But for finishing the yarn, a little bit of felting is helpful - it makes the yarn a little stronger, a little less splitty. Whacking the yarn (snapping it or twirling it) gets some of the water out of it and evens out the twist of the yarn.

So I finished yarn tonight for about 90 minutes - filling and refilling buckets of water for all the skeins of yarn, then whacking and hanging it to dry. Finishing is pretty tiring.

Is it just me?

I was at a spinning group last week. I carded some fall colors - browns and dark reds - and everyone was admiring the colors, and saying how perfect they were for the season.

I then started spinning orange. Not fall colors orange. Bright, obnoxious, you-might-need-sunglasses orange. Fire Engine Orange, if fire engines were painted orange.

As the days get shorter and darker, I need color and brightness that much more.

I ended up giving the autumn-color batts away to another spinner, who was planning to spin it for autumn leaves in a tapestry she was weaving. The batts needed to go to a home where they'd be loved.

I'm a little worried, though. If I need this much brightness in October, by the time February hits, I'm afraid my fiber will have to provide its own light source. Maybe be radioactive.

Interests vs. Time

The thing about varied interests are, sometimes they get in the way of each other.

• I love to spin yarn. That's why I've got this blog and the shop and the wheel and related items.

• Spending so much time spinning has taken away from my exercise time, and I definitely notice the difference. Clothes aren't fitting as well and I'm more tired and lazy than before.

• Computery stuff necessary for the shop: Updating the shop takes a surprising amount of time - mostly because I'm not very good at photography. I'm supposed to be participating more in some of the spinning communities I've joined, but I'm definitely not managing that.

• I like to spend time with friends and family. I like to read and see movies. I like to relax and do nothing.

• And then there's my newish job (less than 2 months). I like it and I finally feel like I know what I'm doing - which means I can do things and am busy, as opposed to when I didn't know what I was doing and couldn't do anything.

• And sleep. Now that I've gotten most of my sleep disorders dealt with, an earlier bedtime actually makes a difference in how I feel the next day.

• Migraines, not so much an interest as a thing I'm forced to deal with, interfere with all of the above.

So I'm trying to figure out how to organize my life.

It's not that I'm not getting things done - I've been preparing yarn for the Phat Fiber box, had dinner with friends last night, served as an election judge Tuesday.

It's just hard for me to remember what I should do next to make sure that I move forward relatively evenly with all the different things I like to do and/or should do - so that I don't focus only on, say, photography, or only on 1-2 websites and ignore the other communities, or on anything-but-exercise.

I tried making a list of all the things I should check, do, or update daily. It's a long and still incomplete list. And it's sad, because except for the migraines, I like doing all the things I listed above. I'm not complaining about any of them. I just want time to do them all. (Note: cooking and cleaning - especially cleaning - are not on my list of interests, but I really need to spend time on them too. Just like migraines.)

Where do people find the time?

Sale Extension and First Week of the Month

I'm extending the sale in the shop through the end of the State Fair (Labor Day): 20% off anything in stock.

The first week of the month is always full of spinning. I go to spinning groups the first Tuesday and first Sunday of the month, plus whatever I can fit in other days. Then I don't see many spinners at all for the next three weeks.

This week is particularly fiberful - in addition to the two spinning groups, I'll be spinning for demonstration at the State Fair on Saturday (5-9pm, Creative Activities building - come visit!) and this past Sunday I spent 7.5 hours carding fiber - lots and lots of fiber. And yet not enough. Round 2 will be another day... possibly another month. Most of the batts I made will be for personal use - I plan to make a sweater out of my handspun. But some will be for sale. There's some pink merino I'm quite fond of that I hope to put up soon.

Off to the spinning group!

I'm a Winner - Again!

And this time I am talking about the State Fair!

Remember this single of Cotswold curls that I spun, but wasn't quite sure what to do with? I ended up plying it with a single of pink BFL, and plying this strand kind of loosely so it was almost a coil yarn. Then I entered it in the State Fair, along with a couple of other skeins and some items I'd crocheted. I entered this skein after my planned yarn for the category fell through.

Well, the other skeins of yarn, I don't know how they fared, other than not being in the top 4 in their categories. But this one took first place! First place in the Novelty Yarn category (novelty yarn in this case meaning something other than standard spinning/plying technique).

Since I was in such a rush to get it finished before the deadline for entries, I didn't actually take a picture of it before sending it off on its merry way. I did, however, decide to spin up the other half of the Cotswold curls and ply them the same way. So here are two pictures of the winner's sibling skein. (It's not photographed well, but they're better than nothing.)



We're going to the Fair tomorrow to see it all! And when I get the yarn back, mid-September, it'll definitely have a fancy schmancy photo shoot. Yarn glamour shots. This one would look nice with backlighting. Not soft focus, though - it's fuzzy enough.

I also one first place for my sweater, and 5th place (this category goes to 6 places) for a blanket. The blanket also won a separate prize, for best combination of yarn and stitch pattern.



Also, this experience totally ruins the moral of the story about the other skein of yarn that didn't work out. Oh well - I guess I'm ok with it! The other skein is a story for another day.

Oh! And SALE! To celebrate the still-unnamed yarn which is not yet available on Etsy, I'm having a sale through the end of the weekend - 20% off everything that's in stock!

Treasured

I'm happy to be featured once again in an Etsy Treasury. Treasuries are temporary galleries of (at least usually) 12 items, which a user picks based on a theme. My bubblegum pink yarn was featured in a pink gallery a few weeks ago, and today I got notified that my Galaxy yarn is being featured in a Space-themed Treasury in honor of the Discovery shuttle. Treasuries only last 2-3 days, so go see it now!



The curator of this treasury, tastykaeru, makes beautiful felted jewelry. Thanks, tastykaeru, for including my yarn!