Rhinebeck Reminiscing

Posted on November 1, 2017 by shoelaceswitcher

Only slightly delayed, here’s my Rhinebeck recap! Rhinebeck was fun (obviously) but also super, duper busy. It’s different with a kid, and major props to the Fiasco for being there to care for the Hatchling while I was spending extra time at the festival. It wasn’t quite the relaxing family vacation we’d envisioned, but we’ll just have to plan for another one of those to make up for it.

IndieUntangled acquisition.

We arrived on Friday, to an incredible AirBnB apartment in Saugerties. (Seriously, it was lovely, we didn’t ever want to go home.) We went for dinner, visited The Perfect Blend yarn and tea shop (they had a great spread going for knit night), and then arrived for the last half hour of the IndieUntangled Trunk Show and HOLY MOSES was it crowded. The instant claustrophobia kind of crowded, and of course many of the indie maker booths I wanted to see where slammed and inaccessible. However, I did manage to fight my way through to the Spun Right Round booth and acquired a lovely skein of 4-ply SW Merino Classic sock yarn in the neon-and-speckled Caterpillar colorway. (For all pics below, click to embiggen and hover for captions.)

Grumpy line-waiting.

Wall of Blue Moon STR.

Katy finishing my Flax sweater.

As a super mega epic forever fan, the first thing we did after waiting in line for tickets (where Katy offered an assist in finishing the Hatchling’s sweater in time for Rhinebeck) was rush over to The Fold’s booth to check out the Blue Moon Fiber Arts yarns. There’s nothing like seeing a wall of Tina’s colorways in person! Since I have literally every skein of BMFA yarn that I’ve ever acquired from previous years at Rhinebeck still in stash, I refrained from buying more… somehow.

Toddler woe.

Katy + sheep = happiness.

5pm cider donut line

Nose scritches

Gorgeous shawl in Fiber Optic booth.

The rest of Saturday was long and filled to the brim with yarn, sheep, beautiful knit samples (at the Fiber Optic Yarns booth), a ridiculously long donut line for closing time, and a cranky toddler in need of a nap. He and the Fiasco went back to the AirBnB but then Katy and I stuck it out through the end of the festival which was a HUGE MISTAKE because there was so much traffic getting back that we missed getting dinner with the fellas and I got a little cranky.

Family bridge portrait

The Hudson River

Sillyness

Phragmites

Loveliness

Best. Pic. Ever.

Sunday morning we resisted the call of the festival to go for a bit of a hike, which was a great idea because it was a gorgeous morning and I don’t get outside nearly as much as I need to. We did a quick and easy trail to the Saugerties lighthouse on the Hudson River. It was delightful, many sweet and silly photos were taken, and the scenery was gorgeous.

Goats!

Llamas!

Sheep-people!

I rather surprisingly don’t have many pictures of the second day besides the animal-themed ones above. I managed to meet up with a few Ravelry friends (although I missed most of the official meetups) and I think we were all a little wiped out by that point so we mostly just got lunch and speed-shopped that barns that we hadn’t visited yet. Which brings me to…

The whole haul.

Into the Whirled Shokan Singles

Jenkins Kuchulu

Pretty tulipwood!

Primrose Yarn Co. Adeleide Minis

Besides the Spun Right Round skein from IndieUntangled, other pretties that came home with me included:

Six mini skeins from Primrose Yarn Co. to make a Tool Box Cowl (theoretically);
a skein of Into The Whirled Shokan Singles in The Cat’s Pyjamas;
a Jenkins Kuchulu Turkish spindle (the tiniest one I own!) in tulipwood;
an ounce of cashmere fluff; and
a little wooly sheep coin purse (courtesy of Katy).

I’m happy that I aimed to fill a niche in my stash that is underrepresented: speckles. These were also all new-to-me dyers, and I didn’t have any cashmere in the fiber stash before now. The only purely gratuitous purchase was the spindle, but I couldn’t help myself! Jenkins spindles are really hard to come by and I’ve been curious about their tiny model for some time. And so far, it’s a pleasure to spin short-stapled fluffy cashmere on because it’s so tiny and lightweight.

Do you shop with a purpose at festivals, or just tend to go with your impulses? I held myself back from many impulse purchases but it actually felt pretty good.

Spindle Happy

Posted on January 24, 2017 by shoelaceswitcher

Goodness knows I have an abundance of spindles. (Remember that time I thought I’d clear all my spindle spinning projects off in the few months I had before the baby was born? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I’m so funny.) But when I learned that Journey Wheel (a.k.a. the makers of Bosworth spindles) were going to be at the Knitting Weekend market, I knew without a doubt that I’d be adding to my collection.

My new friends.

Bosworth drop spindles are among the best of the best. They’re prized by some of the most prominent spindle spinners in the business, and for good reason. They’re beautiful, perfectly balanced, and have a long, smooth spin. I’ve been wanting one for a long time but have been reluctant to order online because I didn’t know how to tell which one I wanted based just on a description of the size and type of wood. I really needed to see them in person and actually try a few out. Some I liked the look of didn’t spin as nicely as I wanted. One of my spinner friends was right when she said you have to find one that clicks for you.

Blurry pic of the Midi spindle and Rag Hill Fiber batt.

I first clicked with a Midi size spindle made from Monkeywood. (I admit, I half picked it on name alone.) I purchased a batt from Rag Hill Farm(we’ve vended with them a few times, they’re lovely people!) and started spinning then and there. I’ve been using this batt to practice plying on the fly, and it’s been a lot of fun turn fiber into 3-ply yarn at once, instead of spinning it all into singles, winding it all off, then plying it in a separate step. (Google it, there are lots of videos out there.) Then I came home with a second spindle the next day (a Mini in Heart Pine reclaimed from the roof of an 18th century cabin) because how am I expected to hang around the pretty spindles and chat with the friendly and kind Bosworth couple without buying another?

All in all, it was an excellent show, preceded by a flurry of activity to prepare for it (and to meet some work deadlines) so I’m looking forward to spending my birthday (today!) going out to dinner and relaxing with my Fiasco. My parents are visiting this coming weekend, which should be fun, and I’m planning to spin with my new pretties every second that my hands are baby-free thanks to grandparent occupation.

(Have no fear, all the leftover product from the show will be updated to the shop over the next few days. Just not tonight!)

More Pretty Things

Posted on January 25, 2016 by shoelaceswitcher

The stash-enhancement around these parts continues due to holiday/birthday funds, so I figured I’d share the goodies!

More lovelies from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

I couldn’t resist adding another skein of BMFA Tigger Targhee to my stash, so I grabbed one in the most icy blue ever (Let It Go… Let It Go). I also acquired another skein of Yaksi (a heavenly DK weight blend of 60% wool/ 20% yak/ 20% silk) in Shoqua (in case I run out of yarn on my Yaksi Cancan shawl) and one skein in Tanzanite (because it’s pretty and I want a purple hat).

My happy mailbox visitor.

My mailbox made me smile for other reasons last week, too. I received a funny card and lovely little holiday sloth from Audry to cheer me up after the rough few weeks I’d been having. The kindness and generosity of knitters and internet friends never cease to amaze me. It makes me simultaneously happy that I get to know so many wonderful people virtually, and sad that we can’t easily hang out in ‘real life’. Perhaps someday. The wee sloth now keeps me company in my office. 🙂

New birthday spindle!

Finally, the Fiasco humored me with a new spindle for my birthday present. I’ve been eyeing up Meilindis’ beautiful spinning and admiring the lovely Mingo and Asho glasspin support spindle she’s been featuring in her blog posts. Glass-tipped spindles (or glindles) have been notoriously popular and hard to get a hold of from Bristlecone (whom I think were the original makers) so I was very happy to see other artists begin making their own versions.

I especially love the pyrography featured on the spindles. The trees, birds, and sunrise cattail landscape are so delicate and detailed, it’s truly beautiful. This spindle is 11 inches long and weighs 1.75 ounces, and the shaft is birdseye maple with bubinga and mahogany accents.

I’m super duper in love with it. I’ve also come to the amusing conclusion that I think part of the reason I love support spindles so much is that they feel an awful lot like owning a collection of magic wands. I AM A WIZARD.

Ok, we’re done here.

This Year’s Crazy Idea

Posted on January 11, 2016 by shoelaceswitcher

While preparing for a spinner’s guild meeting over the weekend (that I never even made it to because life has been far too busy lately) I had a flash of brilliance/madness/ambition. I decided that this year, my big goal will be to finish all of the spinning projects that I have in progress — preferably before the Hatchling makes its appearance in June.

Yes, this is utter madness.

Now, I’m clearly not going to kill myself trying to make this goal, but I think that focusing on spinning over the next few months will be a really good way for me to:

take my mind off of how much I hate pregnancy,
do a little something that makes me happy every day,
get my zen relaxation on, and
work in some gentle movement (treadling, standing while spindling) that could help my DVT-caused leg pain while I’m on a bit of an exercise hiatus.

Plus, I went on a spindle-buying-bender a couple of years ago, and every time I got a new spindle I started a new project, so things have gotten out of hand. I’d really like to turn more of my spinning visions into reality before I have a squalling newborn occupying all of my free time, and I think this will be a nice way to turn spinning into a daily habit. So without further ado, here are all of the projects I have in progress. (All links go to my Ravelry handspun project pages.)

Turkish Spindles

1 – Jenkins Aegean, 4 oz. Nunoco Batts, Summer Love — Batty Challenge, begun April 2014.

2 – Jenkins Aegean, 6 oz. BMFA Yak/Silk, RWC Tarnished Yak/Silk, begun July 2014.

3 – Subterranean Woodworks Medium, 4 oz. Nest Merino, Magrat MegaSAL, begun April 2015.

4 – Subterranean Woodworks Small, 4 oz. BeeMiceElf Merino, Merino Mind Bullets, begun July 2015.

5 – Jenkins Finch, 4 oz. Wooldancer Merino, Tropical Merino, begun November 2014.

Supported Spindles

6 – Woodland Woodworking Bead, 4 oz. June Pryce Fiber Arts Merino, WW Merino begun December 2014.

7 – TexasJeans Russian, 4 oz. Inglenook Batts, begun October 2014.

8 – TexasJeans Tibetan, 2 oz. Angora + 4 oz. Shetland, Bunny Fur, begun April 2014.

9 – hipstrings acrylic tahkli, 4 oz. cotton, begun sampling only, no project page yet.

(The two newer spindles that I haven’t even had time to try yet will play supporting roles.)

Drop Spindles

10 – Kundert drop spindle, 16 oz. Woolgathering’s Spinner’s Study of different breeds, begun May 2012.

11 – Golding Cherry, 6 oz. BMFA camel/merino/silk, begun January 2014.

12 – TexasJeans polka dot drop spindle, 4 oz. BMFA Masham, Indigo Masham, begun June 2014. (This project may have been abandoned…)

13 – Golding Tsunami, 2 oz. quiviut/alpaca + 2 oz. silk, Quiviut/Alpaca, begun October 2013.

Wheel Projects

14 – Earth & Sky Stacks, 8 oz. Gotland, begun March 2015.

15 – I Shall Spin Midnight, 8 oz. Louet merino/silk, begun October 2015.

16 – 10 oz. Loop! Batts, begun November 2013.

17 – Earthy Bubble Crepe, art yarn using a few different braids, begun June 2013.

18 – Shadyside Fiber merino/silk, begun October 2012. Honestly, I think I gave away the rest of this fiber. Will just ply up what I have here and call it a day.

What do you think, folks, can it be done? Finishing all 18 would mean I’d have to finish 3 projects a month to be done by the end of June… Yikes. How far do you think I’ll get?

Prepare for Eye Candy

Posted on December 19, 2014 by shoelaceswitcher

Oh boy, oh boy. My new Woodland Woodworking support spindle showed up and it is beyond gorgeous.

Feast your eyes!

If you haven’t heard of Woodland Woodworking before, you must immediately go admire Carl’s work. His spindles are fairly unique in both shape and style. I had never encountered a teacup spindle before his, and rarely have I seen any spindles painted with such gorgeous precision.

Pretty, pretty snowflakes!

His custom list is filled up months and months in advance and his updates seem to be few and far between, and sell out in seconds. In truth, I was hoping to land this blue snowflake beauty, but I am thankful to have been able to purchase any spindle at all. The one I received is a bead spindle made of German hornbeam and redheart. It is quite lightweight (0.87 oz, or 24 g) and shorter than some of my other support spindles (9.75 in).

My support spindle family.

Different spinning ends.

Different length shafts.

My collection currently consists of a Texas Jeans Russian spindle in curly maple, a Texas Jeans Tibetan in maple and purpleheart, the new Woodland Woodworking bead spindle, and a Hipstrings tahkli for cotton spinning in carbon fiber and acrylic. The two Texas Jeans spindles are the longest at 12″ and 11″, while the tahkli is the shortest at 9″. The Tibetan is the heaviest (31 g), followed by the Russian (27 g), then the new bead spindle (24 g), and finally the tahkli (7 g).

Spinning tip comparison.

What I found really interesting is the difference in the thickness of the spinning tip of the new Woodland Woodworking spindle from the tips of the Texas Jeans support spindles I’ve been accustomed to using. The WW tip is much thicker than the TJ spindle tips. So while the spindle is lighter, you don’t get quite as much spinning force bang-for-your-buck as you do with a thinner-shafted spindle and it took my fingers a little bit of time to adjust to the different feel.

I can tell that I could get really wrapped up in analyzing the different spin times / feels / speeds etc. of different spindle types. I may or may not have already begun a spreadsheet tracking the dimensions of my spindles. I suppose this means I’ll just have to obtain one of every kind for a thorough analysis… what do you think? 😉

(P.S. The lovely fiber I’m spinning on the new spindle is some Merino wool hand-dyed by June Pryce Fiber Arts. I love the colors!)

WIPWed #73: Preoccupied

Posted on November 19, 2014 by shoelaceswitcher

My crafty thoughts this week have been all caught up with spinning. Between internal wheel debates, a new spindle in the mail, and some brilliantly tropical fiber, my poor #NaKniSweMo sweater has been a little bit neglected, but I’m still knocking out at least a few rows a day and am nearing the end of the back piece. Just a couple of inches of shoulder shaping left to do before I bind off!

Overdyed Cypress. Click for project page.

I’m not super hopeful that I’ll finish before the end of the month, but to tell you the truth, I’m just happy I’ve gotten this far and that it’s all going well!

Wooldancer 19.5 micron Merino

That’s the lovely tropical-looking Merino fiber I picked up from Madison Wool when I went to try out wheels. Isn’t it gorgeous? I’m not usually a pink person but this is just so vibrant and gorgeous that I couldn’t resist. I guess my eyes were craving color after a string of grey days, and I wanted something new to spin on this little guy after I finish the sample it came with:

Granadillo wood is so pretty!

My Jenkins spindles.

Snug as a bug.

Jenkins Finch

I was super duper excited when the Jenkins ran their most recent Finch spindle lottery and allowed the runner ups to purchase a spindle, because I was a runner up! I believe with their new website that the lotteries might be a thing of the past, so I feel especially lucky to have gotten this little guy. It’s itty bitty, weighs only 12 g, and is made of a gorgeous two-toned granadillo wood. I’m officially a tiny spindle convert. It spins effortlessly, I can use it easily in the car or curled up on the couch, and when you remove the shaft it fits within a sunglass case for storage!

That’s all I’ve got going this week. How about you? (And does anyone know what’s happened to Tami? She hasn’t posted in quite a while!)

WIPWed #71: Instant Gratification

Posted on October 29, 2014 by shoelaceswitcher

As a knitter, you wouldn’t think that I’d have a deep love of instant gratification, since knitting is probably one of the slowest ways to create something. Yet, I do. I can only stay project-monogamous for so long before my fingers get itchy for something new and quick. Especially when lovelies like these arrive:

The Verdant Gryphon Zaftig, colorways Russian Sage and Kiss of Cabernet

As I mentioned on Saturday, The Verdant Gryphon brought back my beloved Zaftig yarn (worsted weight MCN blend) and I just could not resist. Skeins were acquired, and swatches were nearly immediately made.

Swatches!

The top swatch was made with size 7 needles because I could not find the size 6 needles the pattern called for and of course, my gauge was too large. I finally did find my size 6 needles and made a second (slightly less enthusiastic) swatch, which was close enough! (Pattern called for 5 sts/inch, I achieved 5.25 sts/inch.)

The beginnings of a Lucy Hat. Click for project page.

Hats are my absolute favorite instant gratification project, and normally around this time of the year I’m knitting hats like crazy for gifts. However, this one’s for me, and it’s going to be awesome.

SG Codex, colorway Lioness of Brittany. Click for project page.

The project I’ve been (mostly) monogamous with is my Sweet November shawl knit with luscious, silky Codex. I know I’m going to love this thing like crazy when I’m done, it’s just not particularly engaging to knit anymore since it’s quite simple and repetitive. But that ball is shrinking quickly, so an FO should be in my future soon enough!

Inglenook Batts. Click for handspun project page.

I took a little spinning break after Spinzilla, but have since picked up my supported spindle project here and there. I’m still enjoying this spin. The singles are so colorful and such a crazy mix of fibers that I’m really looking forward to seeing what it will look like plied!

Spindle storage.

Over in the Spindlemania group there has been some discussion about how people store their spindles. The above photo illustrates my little spindle corner in the living room. If you look closely, you’ll spot two Turkish spindles on top of the tallest bookcase (one of the few spots in the house that Darwin can’t terrorize). Hanging on the wall are two colorful bags that each contain a top whorl spindle (my Golding and my Kundert) with their fiber. The small hanging bag holds fiber for one of my support spindling projects. Below the bags are my two support spindles and one additional top whorl stuck in a vase with glass beads to hold them upright. For traveling, my Jenkins Aegean and my larger Capar Turkish spindles each fit well within my Dakine school supply case (with shafts removed and with plenty of fiber).

How do you store or travel with your spindles? What do you do when the urge for instant gratification strikes?

Finding Time

Posted on August 18, 2014 by shoelaceswitcher

Last week was a whirlwind and this weekend was no different. I’ve been having difficulty finding time for everything that needs attention. I completely missed my intended Inspiration Saturday post (a followup to part 1 of our Costa Rica trip) because I haven’t had a single second to devote to processing the rest of the 1200+ photos we took on our trip. Instead I was making lotions, working on my business plan, developing a household budget, doing some scientific soul-searching, and finally (FINALLY!!!) cleaning up and organizing my office, which had been a hopeless mess since May and full of no-longer-necessary wedding junk. Since that task alone took me about 6 hours, I rewarded myself with 20 minutes to try out the new hipstrings tahkli cotton spindle I purchased at the beginning of July.

Cotton tahkli from hipstrings, click for Etsy shop.

I’ve noticed a lot of Etsy sellers making punis on Instagram lately, they appear to be all the rage. Punis are basically just tightly-wrapped rolags, a carded fiber preparation. They are traditionally used with cotton spinning (and other short fibers) but can be made with any fiber and are typically made with wool blends by Etsy sellers. If you’ve never used them before, they are incredibly easy to make.

Charging the carder.

First, you need to load your fiber onto a hand card, this is called ‘charging’ the carder. I am using Strauch cotton hand cards in the child size. These carders have 255 teeth per inch (many wool carders have between 70 and 100) so they are particularly suited for fine, short fibers like cotton, angora, yak, quiviut, fine merino, etc. The truck is to place just a small amount of fiber on the carder, you don’t want to use too much at once.

After a few passes.

The idea behind carding is just to open up the fibers, get some air in there, and straighten them out a bit. Carded preparations are usually spun woolen style (with the fibers aligned every-which-way instead of straight like worsted) so I don’t fuss over keeping the fibers neatly aligned. I just work on getting them fluffy. There appear to be a ton of different ways to card and after watching a video and reading a book, I basically just do what feels right to me (though those resources are good ones to get you started).

Rolling the puni.

For the next bit you need a dowel or a thick knitting needle. You place it near the edge of your card with the teeth facing away from you and roll the fiber up around the needle. This lets you get the edges tucked in neatly and gives you something to manipulate during the rolling.

Tidying up the puni.

Once all the fiber is lifted off the card and around the needle, you can lift it off and bring it down to the front edge of the card to roll it up a few more times. This compacts the fiber around the needle and neatens up any stray fibers.

Spinning!

Then you spin! While I love spinning with supported spindles, the tahkli took a little getting used to. It’s extremely lightweight and does not stay vertical or spin for very long because of it. However, it does spin extremely quickly so it adds twist to the fiber at a fast enough rate to keep it all together. It’s a very different feel than spinning with Russian or Tibetan supported spindles but I’m enjoying the exploration so far.

How do you like to reward yourself after a lot of hard work?

WIPWed #61: Time Warp

Posted on August 6, 2014 by shoelaceswitcher

It turns out that when you spend your summer getting married and going on a honeymoon, your knitting progress seriously suffers. It appears that my active WIPs are exactly the same as they were in my last WIP Wednesday post a month ago!

(Not So) Secret Swatches:

This project is basically just a couple inches longer than it was in the last post, so nothing to see here.

Simply Royal:

BMFA BFL Fingering Superwash, colorway Royal. Click for project page.

I began this sock just before my wedding, knit on it during our photo session, and took it with me to Costa Rica. This is a very special sock, indeed, although the knitting is very simple. I’m loving the way the colors are knitting up, the combination of striping and pooling is really interesting!

Tarnished Yak/Silk:

BMFA Rockin’ Whorl Club Yak/Silk fiber, colorway Metalocalypse. Click for handspun project page.

My little Jenkins Aegean flew with me to Costa Rica, too, but only spent a little bit of time out and about. It was too humid to spin, really. The fine, soft fibers stuck to my fingers too much and it just wasn’t pleasant. But now I’m back, and ready to tackle this fiber as part of the Jenkins Ravelry group’s Fall Mini Spin-A-Long.

Speaking of spindles, a wonderful new addition joined my (quickly) growing collection:

Enid Ashcroft Mini Turkish spindle.

It is every bit as gorgeous and teeny tiny as it seems! Its whorl diameter is only 3.25″ and it weighs 17 g, my smallest and lightest Turk yet. The arms are Tulipwood and the shaft is African Padauk. I don’t know if it’s the weight, the dimensions, the woods, or the maker (or some combination) but it’s also the most pleasant to use of my Turkish spindles. It has the longest and most stable spin of the three that I own and it feels the most comfortable to wind on. Basically, I adore it and I anticipate much happy spinning in our future.

And speaking of new acquisitions, this is what happens when there is a mystery grab bag mill end sale, a closing down of a favorite yarn company, and a discontinuing of a favorite yarn base all at the same time during a fairly stressful month:

YARN-SPLOSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I swear, I’m usually much more restrained than this, but it was a trifecta of circumstance (plus so many sales!) and these acquisitions just could not be resisted. They should keep me going for quite a while, I’d say. Want more details?

Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight

These were my Mystery Mill End grab bags from BMFA. I told them I liked blues and purples and they totally delivered! I’m not completely in love with the skein all the way to the left (royal blues mixed with oranges that got a little muddy) but STR is superwash and always good for baby knits or toys, and I see this skein as a great baby boy color (which is rare in my stash). The rest of the skeins, I love: a pale icy blue, a moody mix of purples, teals, and maroons, and finally a skein that looks a lot like Lavender Fields in the Mist, which I’ve admired for a while. Very happy with my mysteries!

Final Cephalopod Yarns purchase.

These three skeins of CY Traveller were the only things I could snag off the website during the feeding-frenzy days of the final CY updates (2x Red Palace and Wolcott). I’m not usually drawn to reds, but I’m surprised by how much I like the Red Palace colorway and the Fiasco basically exclaimed “OMG THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!” with completely non-ironic enthusiasm when he saw it, so it stays. I actually have 2 more skeins of Skinny Bugga headed my way that my dear friend Jeremie picked up from his local yarn store. Before this point I wasn’t really buying yarn very actively so I am grateful he was able to get me a couple of colorways I’ve loved for a long time but hadn’t yet stashed. Yay for yarn-conscious friends!

CY Bugga in Flamboyant Cuttlefish

This skein also falls under the ‘loved for a long time but hadn’t yet stashed’ category. CY is pretty famous for its amazing rainbows and I just had to grab this from a destash while I still could.

Verdant Gryphon Mondegreen in Paradise Valley, Black Hole Evaporation, and Athena

One of my other favorite yarnies, Verdant Gryphon, is discontinuing one of my favorite yarn bases, Mondegreen, and selling it for 40% off with the coupon code ‘mondegreen40’ at checkout (I believe the sale is still going). So (I ask you again), how could I resist? Although I haven’t stashed very much Mondegreen (see: not actively buying lots of yarn recently) I still really love it and am sad to see it go. The blend of BFL wool, silk, and camel down is unique and a delight to work with.

VG Codex, colorway Carousel Horse

I believe at this stage of the game I reached a point of “what the hell, why not” and just grabbed this skein because it was pretty and different from anything else in my stash. Don’t judge me, ok? These things happen.

I hope that was enough yarn candy to perk up your Wednesdays! Check out more WIPs with Tamis Amis.

WIPWed #59: Wedding In Progress

Posted on July 2, 2014 by shoelaceswitcher

The wedding itself is not in progress at this moment, but the preparation for it certainly is! The Fiasco and I have been busy busy bees lately. Thank goodness he’s a teacher and has free time to run errands all over town while I’ve been working. Our evenings, late nights, and weekends have been overflowing with tasks but many of them have been creative so it’s been a good time.

ALL THE RIBBONS!

I essentially bought out the entire blue/green ribbon section of Michael’s to turn this mess:

White duct tape around a hula hoop + ribbons =

Into this gorgeous thing:

AWESOME!

The aptly-named “hula hoop ribbon thing” is going to serve as a backdrop during our ceremony and will reside behind the sweetheart table at the reception. It’s the one and only Pinterest-inspired wedding craft that I actually accomplished. That shawl I dreamt about? Never happened. I totally gave up on my Something Blue purse. But I was bound and determined to make this ribbon thing and I’m really glad I did!

Also, jewelry?

I also decided, in a fit of randomness, that I’d really like to make my own wedding jewelry. (I think we made one too many trips to Michael’s and I became infected with some sort of craft all the things bug.) The bracelet was a breeze, I’m going to tackle the earrings and necklace tonight. We’ll see how it goes!

Cotton tahkli from hipstrings. Click for Etsy shop.

As is my wont, stressful busy days with no time to knit or spin lead directly to some stash and tool enhancement. I am excited to try this little cotton tahkli from hipstrings. It’s made of acrylic and carbon fiber and is very lightweight and supposed to spin very quickly. Since I enjoy my Tibetan and Russian supported spindles so much, I figured it was time to branch out into cotton spinning and see how it goes. I’ll give this baby a whirl next week.

I hope you all are having wonderful weeks! Check out some actual knitting WIPs at Tamis Amis.