Spinning

I've been spinning on a drop spindle for a couple months now. When I got the drop spindle it came with a generous amount of fiber and my friend Laura help me start spinning right away. In May I ordered a Phat Fiber box and recently spun up a couple samples from that. Today I finished the large roving that came with my drop spindle. Since I got the spindle I have also made my own drop spindles from wooden toy wheels and dowels and CD's and dowels.

This is my first completed yarn. It's from a sample from the May Phat Fiber box from Moonlight and Laughter.

After I spun it I plied it with some bamboo crochet thread.


My second finished yarn is also from a sample from the May Phat Fiber box. It's from Woolyhands.

This was my first Navajo ply. It was such fun and I like how it turned out!

This is what I first started spinning and I just finished it. It's my first "full size" yarn. It ended up being ~ 47 yards of bulky-super bulky.

On two spindles, finished being spun, before plying

After plying together on a CD spindle

And, my ball of yarn


Now to decide what to make. I think I might make a hat and use some other handspun and some other samples I got from the Phat Fiber box. I'll have to think on it for a while. This has become so much fun for me. I got more fibers at the Estes Park Wool Market, but more on that later.

Phat Fiber Box

I'm a little late posting this, but better late than never.

I got a great (and my first) box from Phat Fiber last month! You can find out more about Phat Fiber here. Here are some pictures and descriptions of the wonderful goodies I got!

opening the Phat Fiber box

all of the goodies

needle and notions holder with coupons, stitch markers and great ceramic buttons

ceramic buttons by heartstone ceramics www.heartstone.etsy.com

stitch markers (left to right) miss becca designs rebeccamhill.etsy.com, odd-ish creations kataish.etsy.com and vbarton24.etsy.com

yarn samples, from the top down: copperpot.etsy.com, from ewe to you merino and silk, bunkybobos.etsy.com bunky toes sock yarn 100% superwash merino, snicklefritzyarns.com 100% blue-faced leicester, mystari.etsy.com 100% baby alpaca, wooliebullie.etsy.com beaded yarn, wittyknittin.etsy.com hand painted sock yarn merino wool and nylon, bohoknitterchic.etsy.com hand dyed yarn, the fox hop foxyie.etsy.com handspun 100% ramouillet wool.
Also a hat pattern from kirakdesigns.com and a knitting bag from goodnessgraciouswv.etsy.com

fiber samples from (clockwise from upper left) copperpot woolies, moonwood farm 75% alpaca 25% milk fiber, woolyhands merino, greenwood fiberworks merino, corgi hill farm, moonlight and laughter, desert garden farms, and calizonia

LOTS of wonderful stuff! I've already purchased some new roving! I'll post pictures of that next time. I also spun up the Moonlight and Laughter sample right away.
I'm going to ply this with some white that I'm spinning up right now. I'm planning on using it for the cuff of a pair of socks that I'm going to knit with some hand-dyed purple wool.

I need to update on my niece's birthday party and the great roving I bought from greenwood fiberworks!

handmade drop spindles

I am getting into spinning my own yarn. I have one drop spindle that I bought from etsy. I have since bought more roving and my spindle is getting full. I've been looking online for ways to make drop spindles since money is tight and I don't want to but 5 more. Also, I'm and instant gratification person. There are all kinds of tutorials for making CD spindles, but where the hell do I find a rubber grommet? Even if I did go to a hardware store I wouldn't know where to begin to look. So I looked at my spindle from etsy and thought that there had to be a cheap way to mimic that. I looked around craft stores and had some ideas in my head when I did see the perfect solution! I think it ended up costing me close to $5 to make 4 drop spindles and I would just need to buy another $3 bag of wheel to make another 4. So, here is what I did. (I got the wooden supplies at Hobby Lobby - and they were on sale!!!! The cup hooks I got at WalMart)



I found a bag of wooden toy wheels in many sizes and I picked the largest size.




The hole size was 3/8 inch so I bought a bag of 12 inch long dowels 3/8 inch diameter.



I bought a package of the smallest cuphooks I could find.



I decided to make top whorl spindles. My husband drilled a small hole at one end of the dowel and screwed the cup hook in.




I slid the wheel up the dowel towards the top. Since it slid pretty easily I wrapped some scotch taped around the dowel a few times where I wanted the wheel to stay. It works great. I haven't used a top whorl before, so I sometimes have a little trouble with the yarn not wanting to twist around the hook after I wind it around the shaft and start spinning again. But it was cheap, easy and fast!

knitting update

I've been working on a few things lately. A February Lady Sweater. I love it, but I'm getting a little bored with the lace pattern. I guess this is the perfect example of why I can't knit just one thing at a time. If I could, I'd have it done soon.


To take a break from the sweater, I started knitting Adeline a pair of ruffle socks with the leftover sock yarn from socks I made Izzy last year.


I'm also getting ready to make a twirly skirt for Isabel for her birthday. Since I'm using smaller yarn than what the pattern calls for and I'll be using smaller needles, I may need to knit an even larger size than I was planning. As it was, I thought it was going to be big for her. Oh well, it has a drawstring waist, so it will last her a long time!

My friend, Laura, taught me how to use my drop spindle and I've started spinning with that. Here is a picture from the first day I used it (the green stuff is what I spun). I've spun more since then and it's getting easier!


A little off topic, I went to fat fighters today -- not my usual meeting -- and one of my knitting friends was there. I'm so glad because she helped me get a little more motivated. Up till last week I missed 4 weeks. In the 4 weeks I didn't go, I gained 1.8 pounds. Last week I gained 0.2. Erg. So, we talked about a lot of things and I felt a lot better. It's been hard for me to find a good meeting time since I started my new job and have a new schedule. I think I'll go to these meetings now since my friend goes and it won't interfere with daytime sleep time. I have also signed up for a 5K in July and I want to do another on with my sister in May; I just need to find someone to work for me!