KathleensSpin

Kudzobbies

2012-01-23T14:01:00.000-08:00

You heard it here first. My sons have coined a new name for fiber (and other) enthusiasts. I must say that my sons have a knack for turning a phrase and adding new ones to the English language. Now for the story behind Kudzobbies.

It's Sunday morning and we quite often go to breakfast together before or after church. It's a fun way for my husband, myself, my two sons (ages 36 and 28) and my daughter-in-law to catch up on each others lives and solve the problems of the world. This last Sunday the main topic under discussion was presidential candidates both past and present and possible future ones. This conversation eventually turned to our options if Hilary Clinton became President. The conversation sort of went like this:
D (younger son): If she becomes president, I'm moving to Canada.
Me: How about New Zealand? (I'm always thinking about those lovely sheep).
R (older son): No, New Zealand is having a lot of political, economical and other problems.
D: We'll just all have to move to a private and isolated island.
Me: Both of you had better get your books published so we can afford an island.
R: Don't need to. We just perfect the method of using gravitational pull to capture and asteroid and place it in a temperate location to make our own island.
Me: I have a better idea. We can buy a TARDIS and live in it.
D: That is a good idea.
Me: And I can have a special area in the TARDIS for my fibers and spinning wheels.
R: You know that won't make any difference. Before long the TARDIS interior will be festooned with your yarns. You have to admit, Mom, that your yarn grows and takes over everything. It's a Kudzu Hobby (Kudzobbie). You always have Kudzu Hobbies, even when you made jewelry the beads took over the house.

I had to admit that my sons were correct. My fiber enthusiasm has led to boxes full of yarn and spinning fibers. But it doesn't stop there. You will find little pieces of yarn wherever our shoes or the cats take them. One of the cats likes to decorate his food dish with my yarns. You will also find wool and alpaca dust bunnies throughout the house since I prefer spinning to sweeping. The family room is filled with my boxes of fibers and the living room is now home to 2 spinning wheels, a yarn swift, a skein winder, a niddy noddy, a nostepin and several Turkish spindles. It is definitely reminiscent of Kudzu cover trees, yards, and even entire buildings like the ones that have been destroyed by that voracious plant in the Carolinas and Georgia. What someone really needs to do is turn Kudzu into a soft spinning fiber similar to banana fiber or SeaCell. It is already used for basket weaving. I bet it would make a beautiful spinning fiber. We could reclaim our south central states and have something beautiful to spin.

Blocking!

2012-01-18T13:38:00.000-08:00

I know a lot of you (including me) do not enjoy or understand the reason for blocking your finished knit, crochet and woven pieces. I have always been one of those people who avoided it if possible. Now I find myself doing it more for numerous reasons. In researching this blog article, I found some excellent reasons to start blocking all my finished pieces as well as gauge swatches.

One reason is to make sure all your little ends that you have so painstakingly taken the time to weave in will become secure during the blocking process. Reason two - it will help set the stitches. Reason three - your swatch gauge might change sizes if blocked. This is very important when knitting or crocheting a garment to a specific size. Reason four has become very obvious to me now that I use a couple of continuous weave looms - it will even out the tension and make those lovely shawls, stoles and scarves look like they weren't woven for use by a lopsided human. My scarves no longer look like a slightly ruffled parallelogram.

Now that I've accepted blocking as a way of life, I have started looking for tools to make it easier. Fortunately one of those needs was provided by my Mom, who was given a slightly padded blocking board with the grid printed right on the the fabric cover of the board. Thanks, Mom!

Now on to some amazing tools from 7 Yaks Design. Lynne sent me these wonderful Mitten Blockers.

Aren't they fabulous! They are made from acrylic so you never have to worry about them warping the way wooden ones could. And the thumb pieces do double duty as WPI gauges with a one inch gauge one one side and a half-inch gauge on the other. Even better is the New and Improved Mitten Blockers set in her etsy shop. The new ones have cute heart cutouts which have been turned into needle gauges and a diz for pulling your roving. Lynne also has three sizes of sock blockers, leg and yoga warmer blockers, and wrist warmer blockers which all double as various types of gauges. There are also some beautiful snowflake needle gauges which would make a nice gift item for your next swap. Also in acrylic are some beautiful spindles and a strand holder for your spinning (I just ordered one for myself).

7 Yaks Design is one of those lovely little shops that carries almost everything a spinner and/or knitter may need including yarns, fibers, tools, needles and hooks, felted toys, beads and jewelry. You must stop in just for a peek at Lynne's unique creative vision.

Alpaca!

2012-01-10T11:07:00.000-08:00

I must admit I am partial to alpaca. I love the softness, the ease of spinning, and they are just too darned cute. If I was 25 years younger, I might even want to own a couple.

Several of the members in our SparkleSpin group are Alpaca farmers, one of which is Lisa of Maranatha Alpaca Farm. Lisa sent me this beautifully soft and lofty roving. I have decided to dye it Red Vermillion to use in a shawl for one of my aunts. I had decided to gradually spin and weave a shawl or stole for each of the female members of my family. So far I have finished 2 of them for a couple of my nieces who recently graduated from college. If you want to do something similar or would like to arrange a farm tour so you can see these adorable animals, contact Lisa at Maranath Alpaca Farm.

Happy 2012 Fiber Year!

2012-01-03T14:22:00.000-08:00

What better way to start off the new year than playing with fiber. And this fiber feels even softer than it looks. Those beautiful balls of fluff in the picture are just aching to be used. This gorgeous Tahiti Sunrise dyed balls of fiber are the most luscious bits of cashmere that will soon be meeting by drum carder in preparation for spinning something ultra fine. If you want some of these loose cashmere fibers for yourself, they can be found at Girl Meets Spindle on Etsy.

Rachel has many fascinating hand painted fibers and rovings in her shop. I just wish I had a lot of extra money to buy more of this loose cashmere fiber in the Painters Palette section of her shop. It really is the some of the softest, loftiest fibers I have ever touched. Another section of her shop, Plant Fiber, has some banana roving that I have not had a chance to spin yet.

Thank you Rachel for the beautiful cashmere and your wonderful talent for color!

It's a Wonderful Life!

2012-01-03T13:52:00.000-08:00

That sounds like a cliche and more than a little schmaltzy but it's true. Christmas this year was fantastic. I just felt this wonderful sense of Joy throughout the holidays. For our family the holidays began on December 23 when we were all able to spend the day at Universal Studios to celebrate my daughter-in-law's 25th birthday. The weather was perfect and the Butterbeer was deliscious. We had birthday cake and more Butterbeer (my own version) on December 24 after Church and before we opened our Christmas presents. I was fortunate enough to receive a beautiful skeinwinder from my husband. It was quickly named "the Pirate's Wheel" by my children.

Cheese Surprise Biscuits

2011-12-18T15:59:00.000-08:00

If you love those cheesy biscuits that they serve at Red Lobster and you like olives and jalapenos, you will love these biscuits. I combined a favorite snack recipe with my favorite biscuit recipe to bring you this new goodie. So far, everyone who has tasted them gives them the thumbs up. The jalapeno stuffed olives add that special little something to the taste but will not overpower the cheesy, buttery flavor of the biscuits. They are very easy to make and only take 10 minutes to bake. If you make them, please let me know what you think of them.

Kathleen's Cheese Surprise Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 and one-fourth cups Bisquick
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 stick very cold butter
1 jar Lindsay Jalapeno Stuffed Olives
two thirds cup milk
about half a teaspoon Garlic Powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drain olives and cut or chop into small pieces (about the size of a small pea) and set aside. Measure the Bisquick into a medium bowl. Cut stick of butter into half and set half of the butter aside to be used later. Take half the stick of butter and cut it into the Bisquick with a pastry cutter (or sharp knives if you don't have a pastry cutter). Part of the key to the recipe is making sure the butter is quite cold when you cut it into the Bisquick. The butter will end up the size of small peas after being cut into the Bisquick. Add the chopped olives and the cheese to the Bisquick mixture. Stir in the milk until the mixture is moistened. The dough will be sticky. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake the biscuits for about 10 minutes or until they start to brown on the outside. While the biscuits are baking, melt the other half stick butter and add the garlic powder to the melted butter. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, brush the top of each biscuit with the melted butter and garlic powder mixture. Serve warm.

I usually end up with about 10 biscuits although you could make them a little smaller and make a dozen. If making large biscuits, I suggest flattening the spoonful of dough slightly so they are completely baked in the middle. Although they are best just out of the oven, you can put the leftover biscuits in the refrigerator and warm up later in a microwave.

Giffordables Goodies

2011-12-17T06:51:00.000-08:00

I've been a little remiss lately and have taken way too much time to take this photo write about Susan's shop in my blog. This beautiful batt came from Susan Gifford and her wonderful shop, Giffordables Folk Art & Fiber. She carded it up from her beautiful hand dyed fleece. The photo does not even come close to showing the beauty and softness of this glorious batt. Spinning it is going to be a real pleasure.

Make sure you visit her etsy shop and ogle all the beautiful batts. You should also visit her blog, Giffordables, to see all the beautiful photos!

2011-11-16T11:50:00.001-08:00

Beautiful Locks!

Aren't these beautiful? They are hand-dyed locks from Karen at Avalon Springs Farm. They are young Angora goat girls/mohair courtesy of Duchess, Hope, and a little bit from Glen May. Karen says that these colors were based on a roving she did called Excalibur. She also said that they brought her good luck because a friend of hers, Melissa Hicks (Wild Hare Fiber Studio) core spun some and entered them in a hand spinning contest at Maryland Sheep and Wool festival and she got a ribbon.

I was originally going to try to thrum them on the outside of a toy sheep that I was knitting. It was my first time to try thrumming and I did not have much success. For those of you who are unfamiliar with thrumming it is a way of attaching loose fibers while knitting. It was usually used to line mittens and give them a very soft fleece like lining.

Be sure to check out Karen's and Melissa's etsy shops. You can do so by clicking on the above links.

Real People, Real Needs

2011-09-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

This has been the year of disasters. Thereare many people who are wondering how they will make it through the comingwinter now that they have lost all their winter clothing and blankets. There also many people who want to know how they can help those in need. If you are like me, you would like to be able to help these real people withreal needs. When I looked for ways to help I found that all the bigrelief agencies just wanted money. They are not set up for people to helppeople on an individual basis. I also found many smaller groups who collecthandmade items and distribute them, but they seemed very impersonal. These are all very worthy causes but I would like to know a little more aboutthe people who will be receiving my gifts and feel that I am making adifference in individual lives. After talking with other people who feel thesame way I do, I decided to do something about it. Therefore you arewitnessing the birth of a new effort - Real People, Real Needs.

Real People, Real Needs is an effort to providehandmade knit, crochet, and quilted hats, scarves, mittens, shawls, afghans,blankets, lap robes, quilts, and comforters to those people who really needthem. If you would like to help do this you can fill out the Volunteer Questionnaire farther down on this blog page. We only ask that you take the timeto carefully consider what your involvement in this effort will require in timeand materials. If you do have the time and talent to commit to thiseffort, but cannot afford the materials, we will try to provide them. We alsowelcome donations of yarn, fabric, hooks, needles and monetary donations to payshipping costs and buy supplies when needed. When you fill out the Volunteer Questionnaire, please make sure you use the questionnaire slider button to the right in order to complete the form then click on the Submit button to complete it.

For those of you who have lost your homes orbelongings to the storms, fires, earthquakes or other catastrophes that haveravaged our world in the last few months, we hope that we can assist you in thesearch for winter clothing and coverings. You can also fill out the Real People, Real Needs Request Form lower down on this blog page. If you do notneed these things for yourself but know someone else who does need them, pleaseforward the blog URL or give them a hard copy. Please beaware that this is a new group and we do not yet know how many responses andrequests that we are going to receive. We cannot guarantee that we willbe able to fill all requests for help. When you fill out the Request Form, please make sure you use the questionnaire slider button to the right in order to complete the form then click on the Submit button to complete it.

How will this work? Thequestionnaires are linked to spreadsheets in Google documents. Asrequests for winter wear come in they will be matched up with volunteers on ourdatabase. Volunteers will turn in finished projects which will then becarefully cleaned and sent to the recipient. All personal contactinformation will be kept confidential. We would like to be able to sharethe first names of the volunteers and the recipients and the circumstancesbehind the requests, but only with your permission.

Thank you for taking the time to read about thisnew effort to help others.We hope that you will spread the word to all yourfriends, neighbors and relative both online and IRL.

You can also download the forms below if you wish to copy them fordistribution:
NeedsRequest Form
VolunteerForm

If you have any questions, you can contact us at realpeoplerealneeds@gmail.com.

2011-09-11T12:21:00.001-07:00

2011-09-11T12:19:00.001-07:00

Tropical Beauty

2011-08-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

I 'm finally home again from a fantastic vacation. We started out with a one week cruise around the Hawaiian Island on NCL's Pride of America. I hope to be able to finish editing the photos sometime soon so that I can share this wonderful adventure with you. After the cruise we spent another 5 nights in Waikiki. After a long flight back to West Palm my husband drove home and I turned around and got on another airplane heading for my nephew's wedding in Columbus, Ohio. I got to spend two wonderful days there visiting with lots of far flung relatives. On the day following the wedding I rode with my nephew and my daugter to Des Moines, Iowa. I spent 3 days in Des Moines before boarding a bus to go back home. Whew! I do know after all of this that my two favorite ways of traveling are by ship and by train. Airplanes are probably the most uncomfortable way to travel unless you can afford a first class seat.

I'm glad to get back to my spinning wheel and my fibers. Beautiful, beautiful fibers. In the spotlight today are some very lovely fibers from Tina of The Knittery at Herman Hills Farm. Tina sent me some beautiful fibers that are spinning up into absolutely glorious yarn.

Aren't these curls delightfull! I hope to use them in a small knitted sheep toy that I've designed. It's going to be so cute!

Tina has a lot of beautiful fibers available and you don't want to miss them!

I Want A Watch!

2011-07-14T06:12:00.000-07:00

That's Right!

I want a watch.
   I don't use one.
                                  And I hate to wear one.
                                                          But I want one.
                                                                                A very, very special one.

This watch would do Dr. Who proud.

This watch would have that wibbly, wobbly, timey, wimey feel to it.

It would not show the local time.

It would not show minutes, or hours, or days.

It would not have an alarm.

It would however show moments.
But not just any moments.
These are frozen moments.
Moments of your happiest times.
Moments of peace.
Moments of excitement.
Moments full of love.
Moments of life lived to the fullest.
The moment when you first held someone you love.
The moment when your first saw your sons and daughters.
Only the most special moments of your life.
Yes, that's the watch I want.
The Moments Watch..

More Celebrations!

2011-07-07T03:35:00.000-07:00

Aaacck! It's already Thursday! It has been an eventful and celebrationful week. Monday was Independence Day and a wonderful day it is! In addition to being the day we celebrate the birth of our nation it has several more personal aspects. Our son Daniel was born on June 17 so when we were deciding on a day to have him baptized July 4th seemed very natural. After all, it is a day to celebrate your freedom from sin and becoming a member of God's family. Twenty seven years after his baptism, Daniel decided to turn July 4 into another major celebration in his life when he took Melissa as his wife. And now they have just celebrated their first wedding anniversary.

We spent Tuesday in a continued wedding anniversary celebration by going to Harry Potter World with the family. First thing on my agenda was to get some Butterbeer. After exploring Hogsmeade for a while we went on to lunch at the fabulous Mythos. Fabulous! You get to eat a delightful meal in an almost mystical setting.

It was a long day at the park and then a long drive home. Fortunately I arrived home with just barely enough time to get in a little spinning for the Tour de Fleece.

Celebrate Sunday, Silver Sun Alpacas and TDF

2011-07-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

My second day to celebrate life and all things in it. Today is Sunday which is a celebration in itself. After all this is the day the Lord gave us to pray, praise and give thanks for our lives and all things in them.

I also want to celebrate having the opportunity to start spinning the 2011 Tour De Fleece with some absolutely gorgeous fiber from Silver Sun Alpacas. You have to touch this fabulous batt and see the depth of the color to believe it.

I didn't get started spinning until late in the day, but I did get started and this is a spectacular yarn:

Have a wonderful Independence Day, Everyone!

Celebrating Electric Carnation and TDF

2011-07-02T01:01:00.000-07:00

I made a decision today! Life should be a celebration and I am going to try and celebrate it every day. The hard part is going to be remembering to do this every day.

Today is a triple celebration! First part of the celebration will be making a trip to the airport to pick up my daughter who is coming to visit for a week. We only get to see her a couple of times each year so this makes today a great day to celebrate.

The next thing to celebrate is some more beautiful fibers from Electric Carnation. Not long ago I received some glorious fiber batts that came in the mail all the way from South Africa. They were made with some of the softest merino wool that I have ever touched. The first batt was Nebulae which was a very rich looking black with touches of brown and accented with the most glorious magenta and lots of silver sparkle hologram Angelina. It was so beautiful and so soft that I had to order some more of it. You know it has to be good when I am willing to pay the shipping all the way from South Africa.

The other batt was Sunrise on Titan, a luxurious creation running from a tangerine orange on one edge to a beautiful deep lime green on the other edge.I can hardly wait to spin these. I am hoping te rest of the fiber is waiting at the post office for me to pick up this morning. I wasn't home yesterday when our mailwoman came by and left me a note that said that a package was awaiting my signature.

The third thing to celebrate is the chance to spin all this beautiful fiber for the 2011 Tour De Fleece which starts today. For those of you who do not know what the Tour De Fleece is: for the last few years during the Tour De France bicycle race, hand spinners all around the world spin the wheels and twirl their spindles while the bicyclists spin the wheels of their bicycles. What better way to start out a life celebration!

Hippie Penguin Fibers

2011-06-17T04:31:00.000-07:00

Aren't these batts glorious! Hippie Penguin Fibers sent these two totally awesome batts. They are incredibly soft and spinning them is a lot of fun. (Yes, I could not resist, and decided no to wait until Tour De Fleece to play with these babies.) I wish I had some extra money at the moment for more fibers I would love too buy some of her luxurious hand dyed rovings. They are not to be missed. Can you just imagine spinning a cashmere silk top! And be sure to take a look at her hand dyed DK weight yarns and sock yarns. Her colorways are vibrant and out of the norm. Well, as I said, I have spun up these two batts and am currently spinning some roving in similar colorways so that I will have enough to weave another one of my shawls. I hope to post photos of it soon.

WWKIP

2011-06-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

It's Here! WWKIP 2011 week has finally arrived! Although knitting seems to be a superfluous hobby in Florida where you usually don't need all those beautifully warm items made with sticks, it is a popular and fulfilling pastime. And those of us who live here know how to have a good time playing with out sticks and fibers.

For the uninitiated, WWKIP stands for World Wide Knitting In Public. You will see knitters everywhere with their needles clicking all week long. I've joined the Ravelry group The Great Gold Coast KIP Hunt for events to celebrate this week. We started out with a small gathering of kindred souls at Yarn It! a fiber, knitting, weaving, spinning, crochet shop in Fort Pierce, Florida. At shop we received our list of places that we are challenged to knit at during this week. Photos are to be taken and published on Ravelry. We will receive points for the photos showing all the places where we knitted throughout the week and prizes will be awarded.

For my first KIP adventure this week, I grabbed my knitting bag, made sure my camera was in my handbag and left our LYS to go to lunch with my son. After we placed our orders for lunch at Archie’s Seabreeze I got out my kip bag and camera only to find out that one of my knitting needles was missing. I went back out to the van and looked all over for the missing needle with no luck. But I did find a new pair of chopsticks on the floor between the seats. Well knitting is just manipulating yarn with two sticks so I thought “why not"? So I started knitting with the chopsticks and looked for the best photo location for this event. I could not resist the opportunity to have my photo taken with Archie’s famous pirate and even let him hold my ball of yarn on his hook.

Other places I plan on knitting this week include my local auto repair shop, at the movie theater when I go to see "Super 8", and at the beach. I'll try to post photos from the other spots at the end of the week. Meanwhile - Happy WWKIP Everyone!

Beesybee Fibers

2011-06-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

It's time to take a look at Beesybee Fibers. Patricia carries many beautiful fibers in her shop. She has glorious rovings of BFL, Corriedale, Merino and Polwarth as well as milk protein and recycled Sari fibers from Nepal. You will also love her batts, so soft and lustrous.

I received two gorgeous batt from Patricia and just have to show them to you. I love the way the luminosity of some fibers just bring out the character of the others. And the batts are so soft. They will make a beautiful addition to my art yarns when finished.

Have fun looking around Beesybee Fibers, a spinners candy shop.

Fabulous Fibers from KnitSpin

2011-06-02T11:07:00.000-07:00

I received one of the prettiest most colorful rovings from KnitSpin. It is super soft and I can tell that it is going to spin like a dream.

She also sent some gorgeous
Angora Lambswool and a
beautiful pack of silk all of it
ready to dye or spin or both.

Her KnitSpin Etsy shop is full of beautiful Merino rovings as well as other fibers. She also has some wonderful hand spun yarns that would crown any knitter's basket. Among these is a beautiful solid purple alpaca handspun that is very hard to resist and needs a thoughtful knitter to bring it into its full glory. I strongly suggest that every spinner and knitter I know pay a visit to KnitSpin's store.

Feistywoman Designs

2011-05-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

I have more fibery goodness to show everyone. Today the spotlight is on Feistywoman Designs. She sent me two beautiful batts very soft and very colorful. Her shop is a real treasure trove, full of he most delightful fibers. The rovings and batts are beautiful and the yarns are to die for. I have also decided to purchase the Ladies Simply Warm Hat pattern which sports a lovely texturized pattern near the edge.

Dreaming Fiber with Dawning Dreams

2011-05-15T11:42:00.000-07:00

I received a wondrous scrap batt from Dawn of Dawning Dreams. It is very soft and beautifully blended. Dawn's shop has many other wonderful items for the spinner, knitter, fiber artist, and anyone who enjoys beautiful fiber products and supplies. Dawn also has some lovely wood spindles in her artfire shop as well as some handsomely woven shawls and scarves. She has also designed some great tags and cards for those of you who are better at organizing their fibers than I am. A visit to Dawning Dreams Artfire shop is well worth it

Charmed by Fiber Charmer

2011-05-12T06:26:00.000-07:00

After receiving some beautifully hand dyed fibers from Fiber Charmer, I had to visit her Etsy shop. The shop is full of vibrantly colored hand dyed yarns. Her sock yarns made of include such wondrous colors as Beach Glass Mosaic and Red Grapes and my personal favorite is the Butterfly Bush Pooling yarn. You will have too hurry though if you want to get hold of either of the Bulky yarns which are currently on sale. Be sure to visit the page with all of her spinning fibers. There are a number of beautifully dyed silk caps. One of the items she sent me was a gorgeous blue silk cap that I can hardly wait to use. She also sent some lusciously dyed curls that are fust begging to be gently teased apart and spun into an art yarn. Visit Fiber Charmer today, you won't regret it.

The Benefits of Parkinson's Disease.

2011-05-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

It's less than a month until my 60th birthday and I am finding the benefits of having Parkingson's Disease and getting older. Parkinson's Disease has benefits? It all depends upon how you look at things.

I was first diagnosed about 18 years ago when I was 42 years old and my daughter was still in elementary school. Eighteen years ago most people did not believe that you could have Parkinson's Disease. This was before Michael J. Fox made the news as a Parkinson's patient. I was fortunate that the neurologist I went to was not afraid to make the diagnosis for someone my age. He started me on medications and my life changed.

I was also fortunate that I had a quad amputee as a brother-in-law. Rod's attitude was a great inspiration for me. His outlook was simple. Nothing could change the fact that he was a quad amputee. That would never change. All the whining and feeling sorry for yourself would never alter the facts. That famous bumper sticker in Forrest Gump says it all - shit happens. Its a fact of life. The only thing that can hold you back is yourself and your outlook on life. With that in mind I decided to just live with the problem and work around it. With time it became easier and there were often days that I would forget that I even had a problem. (I have always been good at being able to put unpleasant things out of my mind, which is not always a good thing and is probably the root of procrastination.)

I continued working for another 15 years. The biggest problem I seemed to have was getting tired. I think that my body just used up my energy reserves in my efforts to overcome the tremors and carry on as normal. The symptoms only became really noticeable when I was tired. Over the years the neurologist would occasionally change and adjust the medications.as the energy levels waned and the tremors increased. It gradually started affect me at my job. One of the better medications was Mirapex (pramiprexole). The side effects of the drug started causing different problems and I occasionally had diifculties with sudden sleep onset. I would become unbearably sleepy at work in the afternoons. At this time I decided to make a big change in my life. Our children had all finished school (except our daughter who still planned on going to medical school now that college was over) and I had been doing fairly well with my small weekend handmade jewelry business. I talked it over with my husband and decided to take a year's leave of absence from my job and work on my jewelry designs and setting up an internet storefront. In this business I could work at any hour of the day or night depending on my energy levels. The best thing about this decision was the freedom it gave me to work at my own pace and available energy levels. After a couple of months, on the advice of friends and aquaintances, I applied for Social Security Disability. Every one told me that no one received it right away without having to apply several times and getting the help of a lawyer. To my surprise I received approval and my first check a month and half later. With that check came a newfound sense of peace and freedom. I was finally able to do things again without having to push my body to the point that I had no energy to enjoy life and the world around me.

Yummy Fiber at Giffordables

2011-05-03T14:48:00.000-07:00

I just have to show you this fabulous batt from Giffordables. The colors are so vivid and the fibers really are luscious. You will also want to take a look at the Cotton Candy Batts in her shop. I don't know if I wished they were real enough to eat. They are so beautiful I think I'd rather have them as spinning fibers. I hope to have enough time to spin some of them this week. I was planning to spend all week spinning, but just learned about an upcoming baby shower so now I will be spending half my time knitting some booties and a cap. The mother to be knows how to crochet so I think I will also give her some of my handspun to make something for herself.

How to Attract Men

2011-04-22T06:20:00.000-07:00

We were having an interesting discussion on men and what attracts them at the LYS yesterday. I was telling them how I always had a large crowd of men around me on Saturday mornings at the market. Now, I want to let you know I am not some young slender beautiful woman. This happened when I was 57 years old, overweight, with glasses and long hair pulled back in a limp ponytail.

So how did I do it? This happened every Saturday morning for about a year. I had a booth at our local Arts & Crafts Market for about 8 years. For this first 7 years I demonstrated beadweaving and sold my handcrafted jewelry and never had a crowd of people. I did pretty well with the chandelier earrings and the OOAK peyote stitch bracelets of my own design. In my 8th year at the market I made a huge change in my product line and quit selling jewelry. This was the year of the crowds.

What happened? I've always been interested in various needle fiber arts. Well to make a long story short our local Joann Fabrics closed their doors and I needed a new source for my yarn. At least this was the excuse I used to try something totally new (for me) and fascinating. I decided to learn how to spin my own yarns. Like most of the spinners I have met in Florida, this is a self teaching proposition. I got on the internet and found a drop spindle and some roving from Walmart On Line and spent time watching a lot of UTube videos. From there it quickly became obvious that I needed a real spinning wheel. More research on the internet led me to purchasing my first spinning wheel, a Kromski Prelude. From there it was a short trip to a new obsession and an interesting new business. This first year of spinning I still sold jewelry at the market until I felt my yarns were good enough to market. During this time I discovered Ravelry and lots of online sources for fibers and information.

Year 8 at the market I changed my business name and started demonstrating spinning and selling my handspun yarns. There is something about a spinning wheel actually being used that acts as a magnet for men (an women) of all ages. The guys would stand around me and talk while the wives and girlfriends explored the other vendor booths. I thinks its the engineering aspect that fascinates them. A simple machine with a wheel that goes round and round.

So how do you attract men in three easy steps:
1. Buy a spinning wheel.
2. Learn to use your spinning wheel.
3. Spin in public.

By the way we also discussed how men can attract women: Get a frou-frou dog and take it for walks in an area with lots of women.

Fiber Excitement from Wild Hare Fiber Studio

2011-04-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

I just have to share the goodies I just received from Wild Hare Fiber Studio. I am so excited about these fibers. When the envelope arrived (the first one to come from our Angelina buying group) I immediately tore it open and saw this beautiful specialty batt, Flame. the colors are so vibrant and the fibers are some of the softest I've ever had in an art batt. I'm going to have to find something very special to make with this one.

She also included a fabulous Polwarth Top Roving in "Lavender Breeze". This one has already found a spot in my spinning queue. It is so soft with a very high loft and will make lovely shawl on my tri-loom.

You will definitely want to check out her etsy shop. She has lots of beautiful hand dyed fibers and handpainted yarns, some handspun yarns and even Spinolution spinning wheels as well as her handpainted drop spindles.

Love That Sparkle!

2011-04-17T17:40:00.000-07:00

(Singing) "Angelina, angelina, angelina". Even after sorting, weighing and packing 150 pounds of Angelina, I still love it. It just adds the WOW factor to my hand spun yarns. I also took some new photos of small bits of it for my etsy shop. They are the best photos I've ever managed to get of Angelina. I am especially proud of the photo of the Silver Sparkle Hologram. It actually managed to catch all the fiery colors sparkling under my Ott lamp. It is so beautiful and brings my yarns alive when they hit the sunlight. They should have used it to make the vampires sparkle in the sunlight for the Twilight movies.

Creative Lighting

2011-03-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

Last night our minister spoke about all the different effects that light has on our lives, from the physical effects of light (vitamin D, photosynthesis, sunburns, etc.) to the spiritual effects. As I mused on this later last night, it started another train of thought concerning the effects of light on my artistic fiber endeavors.

I think most of us have learned to look at colors under natural lighting and sunlight if possible. I know photos of my yarns and finished projects are always better when taken outside in the sunlight. Fortunately I live in Florida's sunshine city, Fort Pierce, and we generally have the sun shining at some time almost every day. Colors can look very different under different lights and it always helps to look at variegated yarns in natural sunlight, especially when you want to pair them up with solid colors. Unfortunately light can also have an adverse effects on colors over the course of time and bleach them out to a pale shadow of their former glory.

I also love the differences in color perception caused by texture under strong lighting. Sometimes, when playing with my dye kettle, its fun to see the differences in color when you dye different fibers and yarn textures in the same pot full of dye. A silk ribbon dyed in Periwinkle will look quite different from the bulky wool yarn from the same pot.

Another effect of light is seen in the slight variations of color you get when hand dyeing. Those of us who dye know that one of the beautiful effects from the process is that a solid color is not really a solid color. I love the slight variations in color that give character to my yarns. This effect can change greatly depending upon the available lighting. Last fall I had dyed 3 skeins of yarn in Spruce for a shawl. The lighting in my house showed some little variation in the color. Later in the month, while in rehab for my knee replacement, the color variation hardly showed up at all in the flourescent lights of the hospital room.

I also love the play of light that I get when I spin Angelina into my fibers. I recently used my drum carder to blend turquoise wool with small amounts of Silver Sparkle Hologram Angelina and black and white mohair and alpaca. Then I spun up all the batts to make a lovely yarn for use on a triangle loom. The finished shawl was a treat for myself. It is beautiful under normal indoor lighting. When you take it outdoors into the sunshine it becomes spectacular with little bits of colored fire sparking off the Angelina. I am adding photos of the shawl and have tried to get the pictures to show the effects of the Angelina but the camera's eye just cannot do the same job as the human eye. P.S. The model in the photo is an acquaintance from our LYS.

Spinning in Public

2011-03-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

I recently spent a whole week demonstrating spinning at our county fair. This is my second year to do this. It's a great experience. People love to watch. For most people its the first time they've seen a spinning wheel in use. A lot of parents use it as a learning experience for their children. Unfortunately many people don't really know what you are doing. Some people think you are weaving and call your wheel a loom. It's important not to embarrass them and just use the correct terms for what you are doing with out noticeably correcting them.

The hardest part of demonstrating is finding a way of letting people be involved in your spinning without messing up the work-in-progress. I think I have finally found an easy way for the children to be involved. I let them put their foot next to mine on the treadle while I pump it up and down. For other requests I now bring two wheels with me. I mainly use my Ashford Joy for my current work-in-progress. I also brought along my Kromski Prelude which was my first wheel. I had a lot of fun with using this wheel at the fair for a special magical purpose. One of the questions I am usually asked is if I can spin gold. This year I prepared some special batts before the fair. Each of these batts had two layers of fawn colored alpaca with a layer of gold angelina in the center. When I spin from these batts it almost looks like I am spinning gold. I also used this wheel for the two or three adults who really wanted to try spinning.

This year we also had a gathering of spinners on the first Sunday of the fair. There were eight of us. Fortunately there was enough room for us to all sit in a large circle with extra chairs for bystanders to sit and watch and learn. Both the observers and the spinners had a wonderful time and this will now be an annual event.

The End of an Era

2011-02-25T06:12:00.000-08:00

I was downtown yesterday afternoon when the space shuttle Discovery was launched for the last time. Even though we had partially cloudy skies, we were able to see the vapor trail and the last burn of the expendable booster tank before it dropped off. It was a very beautiful moment. Everyone in the nearby shops had walked out into the street and cheered as we all watched and shared this historical event.

My grown children and the newest generation probably won't quite understand the impact all of this has had on my generation. The space program began during my lifetime and the world was changed forever.

Why is this a post in a fiber artist's blog?

As I said before, the world changed forever in almost unimaginable ways that affected all areas of life. Spinning may be one of the oldest art forms but it has been greatly affected by the space age. Many of the new fibers that we use were able to be developed because of the technology developed during the space race. And they are beautiful! The softness and silkiness of Latte (a beautiful fiber made from milk protein), the loveliness of yarns made with bamboo and seaweed. There are many more fibers waiting to come into being. I still prefer natural fibers like wool and cotton and alpaca, but I like to blend these with the glitter of Angelina (a polyester metallic).

Art or Not Art: Yarns by Design

2010-06-14T08:16:00.000-07:00

I get so frustrated by people who think all Art is strictly painting or sculpture. Art is the combination of a creative state of mind and the passion behind whatever medium is being used. In my case it is fiber. An example of this is everything involved in designing a yarn. I quite often start with an overall concept or story or inspiration, sometimes based on the genius of another artist. Most recently I've used whatever is the monthly theme for the latest Phatfiber box. The June 2010 box has "A Midsummer Night's Dream" theme. I love fairies and decided to use the fairies from the Shakespeare play as my inspiration. Next I saw this lovely fluffy wool with little nubby bits that reminded me of cobwebs. Cobweb is the name of one of the fairies in the play. What else should I throw into the mix? How about some black mohair for a halo effect and some Aurora Angelina for that irridescent luminous magic that belongs to fairies. The next thing to be added is some white alpaca for that oh-so-soft and luxurious feel. I can just see all of this blended together and spun into a lace weight yarn for an airy cobwebby lacy shawl. How can this not be art?
Next thing is to take some of this Cobweb blend of fibers and add some lustrous light blue silk and some of my pale blue meriboo (a combination of merino wool and bamboo) fibers to get the feel of a Luna moth. Voila! The magic of another fairy in the play: Moth! I can see this being spun into a nice sportweight yarn and used for a baby blanket or layette. Again, how can this not be art? It is certainly magical and involves a lot of creative thought processes and a passion for fiber, spinning, and everything else leading to the yarn and eventually a finished garment.

Fiber Frenzy

2010-03-25T03:14:00.000-07:00

Fiber + Fiber = Fun. Yesterday was the Treasure Coast Art Association's First Annual Fiber Show. I think we outdid ourselves. Celeste brought her Angora rabbit to show how to pluck their fur for spinning. Mr. Bunny loved it and fell asleep in her lap while being plucked. If rabbits could purr!
She also brought her Majacraft wheel and her rug loom. I will definitely have to try making one of those fleece rugs. I showed everyone how to design a yarn using my drum carder. The batts were totally gorgeous made with a dark blue and emerald green superwash, gold angelina, and a beautiful silk hankie from Gale's Art. I also felted a soap and dyed some fiber and some yarn using Kool Aid. Nffra was painting her breathtaking denim art clothes, Bonnie was there to show her skills in hand painted canvas dropcloths and Jeanne started painting one of her gorgeous silk scarves. We had refreshments and a silent auction. Quite a number of people showed up throughout the afternoon including several of the Knit Sisters from Vero Beach.

Government Spending and Trains

2010-01-29T07:54:00.000-08:00

There are many items of government spending that I totally disagree with, but today I lauded the news of money going to develop our rail system. That is until I read the full article. Most of the money to be spent in Florida is for a high speed route from Orlando to Tampa., two cities that are only 90 minutes apart. There are so many other options that would be more usable.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for rail travel. I love it. I do not enjoy air travel in today's world and I think if most people were honest with themselves, they would also admit how little they enjoy air travel. The only good thing about it is speed. The seats are cramped and uncomfortable, security can be a huge hassle, and you spend almost as much time arranging to get on and off the airplane as you spend in the air. You can't move around much and you certainly don't have any scenery to enjoy. With a train you can move around, enjoy the almost hassle free travel, and even have a wonderful meal in the onboard restaurant. The seats are more spacious on a train and even have footrests.

I just feel there would be many better ways to use that rail development money in Florida. In the first place I wish they would reinstate the New Orleans to Jacksonville portion of the Sunset Limited. I would love to once again be able to take the train from West Palm to Houston and beyond. I also wish that they would develop a passenger line all the way down the east coast. It would be so nice to get on the train Fort Pierce and do day trips to Miami or go to the races in Daytona. If we had service along the east coast I would probably get to visit the relatives up north (including my daughter) more often. Service from Orlando to the rest of the east coast (not just Tampa on the west coast) would be a boon to the travel industry. There are probably thousands of people in the Treasure Coast area alone who would go to all the tourist attractions in Orlando and Tampa if they did not have to drive, pay toll roads and pay exorbitant amounts to park in Orlando. As it is we rarely go because the two hour drive each way makes for a very long day, or we have to stay overnight and pay for hotel rooms. We would probably also have more visitors to the Treasure Coast from Tampa and Orlando. The east coast of Florida has many outstanding features for the visitor. There are beautiful beaches, wonderful restaurants, many fantastic galleries and stores, and NASA of course.

I do want to say thank you to the govvernment for investing in Florida's train system. Hopefully this is just a starting point for expanding sevice throughout the rest of the statel

Its A Start

2010-01-29T03:43:00.000-08:00

Its time to start working towards making a dream come true. For quite a while now I've wanted to see a real working Fiber Arts Studio in the Fort Pierce area. A proposal for the real thing is being discussed. With some hard work it may actually come to pass, hopefully in time to host a real fiber arts festival in Fort Pierce in 2011.

As my own contribution towards this reality, I've started a Ravelry group - "Treasure Coast Fiber Arts". In less than 12 hours it already has 8 members. This group is aimed at anyone (resident or visitor) who is interested in any type of fiber arts in this area. I'm hoping this group will not only provide a cameraderie and source of information among the members, but also an impetus towards the realization of my dream.

If you read this, I hope you'll help actualize the dream!

New Day, New Year, New Photos

2010-01-12T07:12:00.000-08:00

Finally a new day that may be a little warmer. Haven't wanted to do anything for the last week except huddle under blankets.

This should be an interesting, fantastic year. Daniel (my middle child) will be getting married in July. First wedding in this family. Charlie and I and Bob (our oldest) will be going on an Alaskan cruise in May. (Better get our passports taken care of this week.) And I have lots of interesting things going on with my fiber art.

Today I need to go outside with all of my beautiful yarns and take new photos. The old ones on Etsy are a little drab. Hopefully the sun will lend warmth and light to the fibers.

Phat Fiber Sample Box: Counting Sheep Farm Giveaway!

2010-01-12T07:11:00.000-08:00

Phat Fiber Sample Box: Counting Sheep Farm Giveaway!

Phat Fiber Sample Box: Fiber Fancy Stellar Giveaway!

2010-01-06T07:22:00.000-08:00

Phat Fiber Sample Box: Fiber Fancy Stellar Giveaway!

A Time to Spin

2009-12-09T04:05:00.000-08:00

Don't I wish. It seems I have less time to spin every day. And my reading time has totally disappeared. (I did manage to work in Dean Koontz's new book Breathless and will probably have to work in King's new Under the Dome. I always find time for their new books.) I've been spending all my time the last couple of weeks sculpting sea creatures out of polymer clay. At first they were an experiment for the Artful Tree I decorated for TCAA's Holiday Tree Auction. They turned out so cute and whimsical that I decided to make a bunch more for my Etsy store and Christmas gifts. I'm also going to try to sculpt a Peekachoo for Melissa's stocking. I guess I should also do a Dalleck for Daniel and something Star Wars or and Orc for Bob. Daniel has informed me that his toy Dalleck will once again grace the top of our Christmas tree this year.

Back to spinning. Ive had an idea for a whole series of yarns and spinning batts: University Colors. I will use my drum carder to make batts in the color combinations of all the major universities. I can either sell them as batts or spin them into yarns for my Etsy shop. (I finally opened my Etsy store last week and have already sold 15 items!) I think all the grandmothers, and mothers, and aunts, and other relatives of all those marvelous college students may enjoy using my yarns to make hats and scarves and other outerwear for their loved ones. I've started out by putting together a list of all schools (and their official colors) in the major university sports conferences. So far I've included the Big 10, the Big 12, and the Ivy League schools, next I need to work on the Southeast conference. I've already carded a batt of blue, orange, and royal blue Angelina that I have named "Florida Alligator". I plan on spinning that one up this Saturday while at market.

Now for places to spin during the time. I love to spin in public. And the public loves to watch me spin. I always enjoy talking with all the different people who stop to watch. I am also always getting asked to bring my wheel to other markets. Of course they all want me to rent a space at their markets. I've decided that for the moment I will probably only sell my yarns in my Etsy shop (KathleensSpin.etsy.com) and at one or two other markets as well as at TCAA. If other groups want me to come out I will offer to do so, but only as a demonstrator and only if I don't have to pay for the booth. We shall see.

I wish it was "time to spin" this morning, but I need to make more sea creatures and a blackberry pie.

Jury Duty

2009-09-12T01:04:00.000-07:00

I recently finished jury duty. It was a life changing experience. It was a murder trial. What surprised me most was the reaction of people to the jury's verdict. We received a lot of hostile comments because we found the defendant guilty of Second Degree Murder, not First Degree Premeditated.

What most people do not seem to remember is that jurors are chosen from a pool of people who have no knowledge of the case and have to make their decision based upon what the lawyers present in court. I was a trifle upset because it seemed that either the police department did a very poor job of investigating the crime, or the State Attorney chose not to present certain evidence and witnesses. There seemed to be no definitive evidence. Because a lot of questions were not answered by the testimony and evidence, the jury had to go with reasonable doubt and find the defendant guilty of Second Degree Murder. There just was not enough proof of premeditation. The jury was very serious in their deliberations and reviewed much of the testimony and evidence.

Decisions like this are not easy and must be made very carefully. It is a very serious business because you not only have the life of the defendant in your hands and your decision will have a deep impact on everyone involved, including the jury.

It was a very interesting process. I would like to make a suggestion to any attorneys of similar cases: have an uninterested party read through your evidence and make a list of unanswered questions and what evidence is missing. These additional items just might make a difference in the verdict.

Hidden Treasure

2009-06-24T00:25:00.000-07:00

Just spent a couple of weeks in Texas. While there, I spent most of my time at my mother's new apartment in a continuing care community. I was cleaning out a couple of drawers in her antique furniture when I found some papers behind the drawers. They were copies of handwritten notes made by my grandmother while she was in nursing school in 1918.

Yarn To Dye For (or a simple one pot method to make multicolor yarn.)

2009-05-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

After spinning and plying a large amount of white Corriedale wool, I decided it was time to play with color. I wanted to try and make a self- striping yarn for slipper socks and fingerless mittens. I also wanted to devise a method that would make the smallest mess possible and would not require lots of newspaper, paper towels, plastic wrap, and many containers that would have to be cleaned up afterwards.

If you try my method, you will need the following materials:

1 skein of yarn separated into 3 bundles (one for each color.) I have to find a simpler way of doing this, but that will be the subject of a future blog.
White vinegar
Water
Large pyrex or other glass bowl
Kool Aid
16 oz. disposable cups
1 gallon size large freezer bags
Latex gloves
Measuring cup
Large plastic collander
Large pot, bowl, or dishpan
Plastic wrap
Gentle liquid soap
Lavender oil
Large bath towel

My first step was to soak the wool in a water/vinegar mixture for 20 minutes to prepare it for dyeing. While the wool was soaking, I prepared my dye mixtures. I measured 2 ounces of vinegar and 6 ounces of water into each plastic cup. (I used 3 cups, one for each color.) I emptied 2 packages of Kool Aid into each cup and stirred the mixture. Higher concentrations of Kool Aid lead to more intense colors.

After soaking the wool for 20 minutes, remove it from the water/vinegar mixture and let it drain for a couple of minutes in the collander. Take 3 large freezer bags (again, one for each color) and stand them up in the large glass bowl. Put one bundle of yarn in each bag after carefully removing the ties holding the bundles together. Pour one of the dye mixtures over the yarn in one of the freezer bags. (Now would be a good time to put on the rebber or latex gloves.) Gently squish the yarn and the liquid around in the bottom of the bag. Repeat this process for each of the other yarn bundles and the dyes for each bundle. You may want to make sure the yarnat the top of each bundle is also immersed in some of the dye. Carefully stand up each bag in the bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Microwave the bowl on high for 8 to 9 minutes. Carefully remove the bowl from the microwave and make sure that any liquid in the bottom of each freezer bag is now clear. Let the bowl and its contentsd cool for a few minutes. Carefully move the freezer bags from the glass bowl and place them in the collander, then gently empty each bag of wool into the collander. Leave the wool in the collander until completely cooled.

Once the wool has completely cooled, gently wash in water with a small amount of gentle soap and a few drops of lavender oil. (This will help remove the Kool Aid smell. The lavender oil also helps to protect the wool from moths.) Rinse thoroughly in cool water and roll in dry towelling to help remove excess water. Hang yarn up to dry.

Enjoy using your hand dyed yarn in your next project!

Something Old, Something New

2009-05-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

Today I will start monitoring the Monday afternoon Open Studio at the Treasure Coast Art Association. I've requested that this studio time be dedicated to fiber arts. It will be interesting to see how many people will decide to become involved.

For myself, I have decided to crochet a small handbag using some of my new handspun yarn. I've been racking my brain for a crochet pattern to complement the yarn. Finally I went back to my bookshelves and found an old book titled The Complete Encyclopedia of Stitchery, which has a very well developed section on crochet. It was a lot of fun seeing some of the forgotten stitches and patterns in this old book. I finally decided to use a moss pattern. I'm going to attempt writing out the pattern for this handbag as I develop it. This will be an interesting challenge.

The Frog Prince (or, My Life Really Is A Fairytale!)

2009-04-30T03:47:00.000-07:00

We all know the story of the Frog Prince. The story includes 2 very important elements: the frog and the kiss. Without these 2 elements there would be no story.

My life as a fiber artist also incorporates these 2 elements that are an integral part of my art. First is the kiss. Many of us also know KISS as an acronym for Keep It Simple Stupid. I've often used that rule in my designs (the less is more concept). There are three very good reasons for keeping designs simple. First, there is nothing more elegant than something simple that shows your personality or fashion flair. Knowing when to stop adding things to a design is what makes the difference between an artist and a wannabee. Too much of a good thing is just that, TOO MUCH! Remember the wedding gown in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Second, it helps keep costs down. Every time you add something extra to a design the basic material costs go up. Don't go overboard here and minimize to the max. Once again the difference between an artist and a wannabee can be plainly seen. Too little of a good thing is TOO LITTLE! You know what I mean. A bracelet made with only two types of beads alternating throughout its length is simple but lacks imagination and personality.

Third, if you plan to duplicate the pattern, make the pattern available commercially, or use it as a teaching pattern, it is much easier to write it out with fewer mistakes if it is simple. It is also much simpler to teach a simple pattern and give your students a feeling of accomplishment when they can easily learn it and walk away with something they can be proud of.

The only thing left to discuss in this allegory is the other main element, the FROG. Anyone who has ever been involved in any form of needle art knows the frog stitch. Rippit, rippit, rippit!

By now you understand why I say my life really is a fairytale. I'm sure your life is also one!

Dragon Tote Bag

2009-04-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

Photo of a large fulled tote bag I designed for a Ravelry swap.

Drafting and Detours

2009-04-29T09:01:00.000-07:00

I finished reading the posts in a Ravelry group concerning how to spin evenly a little while ago. Most of it dealt with how to draft your fibers to make a smooth thread. Some of it dealt with making neural pathways within ourselves to handle these new tasks. This started a whole new stream of thought for me.

I have become very aware of my own network of neural pathways over the last 15 years while dealing with the effects of Parkinson's. I believe that many times I have set up detours on my neural pathways in order to accomplish tasks that have become more difficult due to the rigors of the disease.

Finding detours or new routes has always been part of my life, even before the Parkinson's. I remember the first Christmas after we got married when we got stuck in a blizzard on the way back to Nebraska. Some of the roads had 8 foot drifts blocking them. We ended up following snowplows on some back roads to bypass the snow drifts. When our children were small, we always enjoyed roaming the countryside in the station wagon, finding new roads to get where we wanted to go. I still enjoy roaming around in my vehicle, when the gas prices are down, of course.

Now I have a new network of roads to discover. But this network is all in my head. I've discovered new routes to familiar locations as well as paths to new places.

Life is always an adventure, both on the physical roads and landscapes as well as the mental ones.

First Photos

2009-04-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

Here they are! The first photos of items made with my first hand spun yarns! These are both small handbags made with a 50% Merino wool/50% silk blend combined with a solid wool yarns from my stash.

Plying

2009-04-09T11:03:00.000-07:00

I am very excited. I finally finished spinning two bobbins (50 grams each) of a handpainted merino/silk combination on my new spinning wheel. It's a learn as you go process since I can find no teachers within a hundred miles. I think they're slightly overspun in places, but hope that plying the yarn and washing it will help loosen it up and turn it into a viable 2 ply yarn.

I spent a couple of hours working to ply the the two bobbins together. I had a few mishaps along the way, but finally turned out a full bobbin. I used the Niddy Noddy to turn it into a skein, then got dressed and went to the monthly Treasure Coast Art Association meeting. I took my finished skein with me to show a couple of my friends. What fun!

Today I took my skein and gently washed it by hand in hot, soapy water I really started worrying when the water started turning red, but it cleared up when I rinsed it out. I added a couple drops of vinegar in the third rinse and the some lavender essential oil in the final rinse. My finished product is now hanging up to dry. I have envisioned using it to crochet a medium size round bag.

Plying was an interesting experience. Reminds me a lot of marriage. The smoothest looking sections of my yarn were the areas where each strand was equal in the spin. Marriage also goes smoother when both partners put an equal amount of time into the ply. There are also many times when one partner or the other puts less "spin" into the ply, turning the marriage into a thick/thin combination. I also like using variegated colors in my finished yarn. This really shows up the differences and the colors which complement each other and make life interesting. I do wonder, though, what will happen with the piece of handspun that was left when the plying was finished. Will the remaining partner from the many years of plying be as messed up as the leftover piece of handspun. I guess I will just have to find a use for that leftover piece of handspun. Will it be plied with another piece or be put to some other creative use. I do not think that it should ever be thrown away.

Insomnia and Computers

2009-04-09T02:38:00.000-07:00

The title of this post says it all. It reminds me of the question for all the ages: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

I'm sure that many of my most creative ideas come at 3 in the morning. I'm also sure that many of my most ludicrous ideas come at 4 in the morning. It remains to be seen whether the creative ones are also ludicrous. That's the question for 5 in the morning. This makes me wonder if a blog written before 6 in the morning should be considered creative or ludicrous. I guess it depends on what time I really woke up.

I wonder how many people spend half the night on their computers. I know my younger son is usually on his until 3 or 4 in the morning, sometimes even later. I know that I see a lot of people on Pogo or Ravelry during those wee hours of the morning, although it may not be middle of the night for many of them. The internet really is a worldwide community with no limitations based on localized temporal habits and rituals.

What's in a name?

2009-04-09T02:03:00.000-07:00

Shakespeare had it mostly right! Even more so in today's world where the right name can mean so much in the virtual world. Therefore, my new venture and my new blog need a new name, Kathleen's Spin. They say to make it personal and simple. So the combination of my name with a word of many different connotations should work well. Join me in, for, and around the spin!