Random Wednesday

1. Gave shots and vitamins to the alpacas over the weekend. They are loving the warmer weather and the grass growing in the pasture.

2. No progress on knitting works in progress -- instead cast on a new pair of socks.

3. Etsy update -- felted bags. Pictures later this week. In the meantime, click on that sidebar link to go to my shop.

4. Tribble is having his fur plucked this week. Plucking gives longer fibers than shearing and he seems to not mind at all. Other than looking bald in patches. Besides, I was more than a little nervous to shear him off.

5. We are fiercely on the trail of a girlfriend for Tribble -- I can hardly wait for fuzzy babies!

6. Fence progressing slowly, and will be interrupted by the start of spring turkey season.

I Heart Garter Stitch

I know, I know. I've heard it all already. Garter Stitch is boring. There is no challenge to Garter Stitch. Garter Stitch is for beginners. And even, Garter Stitch is for "knitting wussies."

I can't help myself. In a beautiful yarn, garter stitch creates a beautiful fabric. And even that annoying curl at the bottom can be taken care of with a row or two of ribbing. (At least I hope so, because I have a lot of curl at the bottom, and only one row of ribbing. I'm definitely relying on the blocking for this one!)

And for me, a person who is undertall for her weight class, simpler is always better. Details at the top of a garment draw the eye up and away from all those troublesome areas down around the middle. Case in point, this will be a sleeveless top, with criss cross straps in the front. From Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer of 2004.

Settin' Fence Post

What comes first, the fence or more alpacas? My theory is that if I buy the animals, the men around here are much more motivated to get that fence up. However, cooler heads are prevailing, and so, more fence!


Just posts so far...

The fabulous Mr. D helps out with his tractor to pound in the posts...

Yes sir, we just love puttin' in posts and stringin' fence! (I truly mean to write "stringin" and "puttin" although my mother will not appreciate it. Adding the "g" only marks me as having spent way too much time in grad school!)


Well, maybe not everybody...

Another Etsy Update

Now available on my Etsy shop...

Pictured is 1 oz. of true black alpaca roving. Right now I have about 8 oz. carded and ready to sell, with more still to be carded.

This fleece has been wonderful to work with. We got it last summer at Magical Farms in Litchfield, OH when we visited. It is very fine and was super easy to sort and clean. It has carded up to be as light and airy as any fleece I have worked with.

So I am looking for a new home to send this beautiful fiber to...if you would like to spin and love this fiber, click here to go to my Etsy shop.

Don't Worry Spin Happy

I think that it has been well established that I love fibers for art and for craft -- fabric, yarn, roving, the animals that bear the fiber, etc. etc. I love it (or them.)

(We interrupt this blog post to admire how cute and adorable Norman is.)

Moving on...so given my love for all things fiber-ish, it makes sense then, that I would like to make my own. Yarn, that is.

Drum roll please...this is the first bobbin of yarn I have spun on my Kromski Mazurka. Is it pretty? not really. Is it even? definitely not. Do I love it? YES!! I can spin a lot prettier yarn on my drop spindle, but let's face it. I am the slowest spinner in the world on the drop spindle. I can't believe how much faster the wheel goes! In part, this is why we have the thinness, and the thickness, and the overtwist, and the undertwist, etc.

But this was a joy to spin! I think I finally get the "zen of spinning" I have heard so much about. Of course, this is when I wasn't fighting my wheel. But with Maggie Casey's book nearby, adjustments were made and spinning continued. This is four oz. of sheeps wool (breed unknown, just lying about) and it took me less than an hour to spin it up.

No plying with this -- why make it worse? Best to just set the twist and move on. I'll keep it with the rest of the crazy yarn that is sure to be produced as I improve my spinning on the wheel. Eventually to be dyed up together and make something funky and cool!

To Dye For

This has made me happy beyond any reasonable expectation of happiness...

My first handpainted yarn! (please pardon the general out-of-focus not-true-to-color crappiness of the photo. I attribute it to the serious lack of sunshine available to take photos in natural light.)



I love this yarn! Two skeins of worsted weight in Navy Blue, Colonial Blue and Lavender, dyes from Pro Chem. I have dyed a lot, and I mean A LOT of fabric -- hundreds of yards! I have dyed fleece to card into rovings. I have been enchanted by all of it, but never never never have I been so in love with a handyed item as I am with this yarn.

I was surprised how easy it was to handpaint yarn. I think "handpaint" must have been a little intimidating to me, given that I have no drawing/painting skills other than to paint backgrounds into a canvas.

First, soak the yarn in a solution of citric acid and Synthropol. The Synthropol scours the yarn, and the citric acid is the chemical to activate the dye. Then, mix the dyes up, first with a little hot water to dissolve the powder and then the balance with regular tap water. Lay out the yarn, and paint it in any pattern you choose. I divided the yarn into six sections and used each color of dye twice. This gives me a longer section of color for more of a striping effect when I knit it up, as opposed to a more variegated effect. Wrap it up in plastic, steam in for 30 minutes, and hang it up to dry. And th-th-th that's all folks!

It is truly, to dye for!