Cute little toys...

Turkish Spindle, originally uploaded by jeaniefarley1973.

I happened upon this cute little Turkish Spindle on Etsy about a week ago! I fell in love. I had a tiny Turkish spindle on order with Jenkins Wood Working but it has a seriously long wait and I just couldn't stand it so I cancelled the one order and ordered this one up. I had it in a couple of days. The little bag behind it was a purchase I had made a month ago at Far North Yarn Co. and is made by Lantern Moon. It is three nesting bags and each of them now have a purpose. The spindle fits perfectly in it nestled on a little bit of spinning fiber. I have gotten the swing of spinning with it. It is fun and portable and plain old cute. I am working on some keeper fiber now and hope to show you some of those results eventually!

Mixed Blessings results...

Spun FCK Mixed Blessing, originally uploaded by jeaniefarley1973.

Here is my plied, soaked, beaten (it was a bit unbalanced) and dried fiber from the two braids previously shown. Don't the colors blend beautifully together! It is such a fun and unique yarn. Definitely bulky and it will most likely become a baby object. I am thinking a bulky sweater and stripes worked into it somehow! We will see. I still have half of each braid and I am thinking (well with the brainstorming of my BFF, Farrah) that I will spin up singles and ply them against each other (not mixing the two color ways). That will give me some options to make something unique and maybe have a different hem and color area on a garment. Want to see the cute little toy I purchased? Stay tuned!

My first BULKY spinning job...

Fat Cat Knits Mixed Blessing Fiber Braids, originally uploaded by jeaniefarley1973.

Oh, I have not mentioned that I have been spinning more than usual lately. I am not sure why but spinning seems to be interesting me this spring. I have been challenging myself to learn new techniques. Spinners can get into serious ruts and that is me... Never taking chances with the fiber that I spend precious money on. I decided at the fiber retreat to just go with it, learn new things and try to be a little more creative. Some time ago I purchased these two braids from a de-stash link in Ravelry. I love Fat Cat Knits fiber. She is amazing with color and she has this wonderful sense of how to mix two different color ways into these "mixed blessing" sets. So I have been sitting on this fiber for some time trying to decide, what shall I do with you. I sat down at the wheel yesterday after some chores were done and before company showed up for a BBQ. I split the braids in half and started spinning. I wanted to preserve long color draws so I did not split it into thinner sections. As I started this fiber decided to be thick and I created my first bulky fiber wit it! I am so please. I spun 1/2 of the first color braid and 1/2 of the second color braid and I plied them against each other. At first I was a bit nervous because the colors are so different but as I started I could see exactly what FCK could see and they blended perfectly with each other!
Stay tuned for the results...

Don't you just love long weekends?

Spring Herbs, originally uploaded by jeaniefarley1973.

Happy Memorial Day weekend bloggers! I am doing a brief update about well, what is going on in my fiber life! This picture is not fiber related, I know but I just think my herb garden is so cute and I accomplished this as well as mucking out my perennial garden this weekend so I wanted to share! I have about 5 mini posts to share and I would like to apologize for the mini posts but I still cannot figure out how to post my URL pics into Blogger so this is how it is going to have to happen!
Stay tuned for some fiber posts up NEXT...

Navajo Ply in Twilight by Abstract Fibers

Nply, originally uploaded by jeaniefarley1973.

Here is a close up of my fiber that I have been Navajo Plying. Isn't it gorgeous! I am building quite a collection of hand spun. I suppose I better start using it in some projects!

May Madness!

Nply, originally uploaded by jeaniefarley1973.

It has been a crazy busy May... I don't even know where to start! Tanner's graduation, fiber retreat in Big Lake, Elliot's promotion to middle school, the last day of school, Opening Ceremonies for Dimond West Little League! BASEBALL, BASEBALL, BASEBALL every night until 10 or so! Life is busy but in between all of the stuff I have managed to work on my knitting and my spinning. Do you remember the reference to the fiber retreat in Big Lake? What fun we had and what happens at Fiber Camp, stays at Fiber Camp! No really, I was there with 3 of my favorite people and I took my weekend to try new things. I spun from a batt, plied with thread, mastered spinning merino and had a little lesson in Navajo plying which I have been wanting to learn for a long time. Trinette was super and gave me a mini lesson which made so much sense. I came home and bombed my first few attempts but yesterday while spinning with Farrah I showed her the video of the lady I wanted to be like and she ummmm figured it out! I was still struggling but a few little tactile prompts from Farrah and I had it. It is so rhythmic and soothing that I just love plying this way and it also is a great way to spin and preserve long color sections. I am using it on some fiber that Cathy brought me from OFFF called Twilight. It is merino and silk and it is just beautiful I am spinning it in a way to have very long color draws and the N-Ply is preserving them very nicely. Check out this video sometime if you are looking for a nice way to Navajo Ply.

Citron

Citron, originally uploaded by jeaniefarley1973.

Pattern: Citron by Hilary Smith Callis
Yarn: Mama Llama Silken Cash (discontinued)
Needles: Size 6 Knit Picks Options

Graduation Pretties...

Citron, originally uploaded by jeaniefarley1973.

Yesterday my oldest son graduated from high school. To say that my life is entering a new phase is a small statement. I still have two boys left at home but this was the start of things to come and I have been a little "strange" this last week! I can't really put my finger on it but maybe it is best to just say, life is changing!
My in-laws flew in from Montana this last week and in order to show them the very best of all times we drove them to Homer, took the ferry to Seldovia and my Dad took us out Halibut and King Salmon fishing on Kachemak Bay! We were successful at not getting skunked but we did not limit out either (well I did ;-)). During the long 5 hour drive down and 5 hour drive back and bits of time in between I worked on Citron. I had a goal. Get this little number done in time to wear for graduation! It took me all of the trip and into the night Sunday but it was blocking while we slept and I shopped for the right outfit Monday morning! I love it. It is soft and cozy and a very pretty knit. The long rows are long, the ruffle is 540 stitches x 11 rows. You do the math! It is a bit tedious but the end result is worth it. Details in next post!
Here is my handsome graduate and my wonderful family!