Spinning

Harry Potter and Other Things

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2nd Spool of Cria

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I’m finally spinning my 2nd spool of Alpaca Cria.  This is the softest stuff!!  It’s so wonderful to spin!!!  Knitting it will be wonderful too :).  This will be my 2nd skein of yarn and I might need one more, then I can make the shawl I have in mind for this wonderfully soft fiber.

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spinning BFL/Romney

I got a friend of mine at my church interested in spinning with a spindle I made her, and she has gone whole hog, buying whole fleeces and carding them herself.  I thought wow, I love to spin, but I’m not into getting a whole fleece, washing it, and carding it- yet! 🙂  She kindly gave me some of a BFL/Romney fleece (already carded of course) that she had purchased.  It’s a very springy and surprisingly soft fiber.  Not as soft as the Alpaca, but it will make a nice pair of socks or a scarf :).  She has 7 whole fleeces on order for next spring.  🙂

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I did go see Harry Potter 1 & 1/2 weeks ago.  It was wonderful, and well worth the 2 hr wait in line (yes my daughter and I were one of the first in line so we could get good seats.  Didn’t want a crick in my neck from having to sit way up front like I loved to do as a kid – can’t even imagine why I wanted to do that ;).  I think they chose a good place to break the movie and I’m anticipating the next and final installment of the movie series.  Nice thing is I don’t have to wait 2 years, it will be shown this coming June, so only a 7 month wait. 🙂  If you haven’t gone to see this yet, I encourage you to do so.  If you haven’t seen any of them yet, I suggest you rent them in order, and then go see this one (it won’t make a lot of sense unless you’ve seen the others, like starting a book near the end and then wondering what in the world it’s all about.)  Wonderful visual effects.

I will be a permanent employee as of 12/1.  I’m very excited and it relieves a lot of “uncertainty stress”.  I will still have to watch my finances until my son’s funeral is paid off, but it will be a permanent income source now instead of wondering how long will this one last and not losing pay on my paycheck for the holidays the company gives.

I Hope You Voted!!

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I hope you all got out today and voted.   I did.  My son and I tease that we cancel each other out.  But that is alright, it’s our civic duty to vote, what an awful state we would be in if we didn’t have that right and opportunity!!  Guess we will see in the morning who will be in control of the House and Senate and our state.

lsfiberadventure has posted a picture, of the PIF I sent, on her blog. 🙂  You can see it here.   PIF’s are fun to do, they take time and a little bit of money :P, but they are fun.  I think the most fun is waiting to see if they will like what you sent, and well, yes – the excitement of getting your own PIF package in the mail ;).

Scarf Finished

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click on picture for larger image

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This is the hand dyed (Wilton cake icing coloring – Purple), hand spun and hand knit scarf that I have just finished.  It was interesting to see the colors the food coloring broke into.  The last time I used the purple Wilton cake icing coloring, it turned out different shades of purple and no blue, you can see it here.  This time it had a beautiful pastel blue in there as well, see it here.  You just never know when you use the Wilton colors what you will get.

I wish it was longer, but I mis-judged the amount of fiber I dyed and because I can’t match the color, it is a bit shorter than I had intended to make it.  I’ll be more careful to weigh the roving before dying next time. 🙂

I originally had different plans for this scarf, but felt prompted as I began knitting it to give it to my neighbor who has been graciously giving me her Sunday paper every Sunday so I could look for work.  She’s a very nice lady and it will be a simple thank you gift.   Now I will have to chose a different fiber to spin on :).  Think I will begin spinning more of the cria (baby alpaca), it’s so soft and soooo relaxing to spin. 🙂

Knitting with My Handspun

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Spun Hand Dyed Superwash Merino on the Niddy Noddy

Skein of handspun, hand dyed merion superwash

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Well, on the left, you can see the Merino superwash roving, that I was spinning, wound on the niddy noddy.  It made a nice baby weight yarn.  I did have the wpi (wraps per inch) but forgot to write it down and so much has happened this week that I have forgotten what it was.  Some of it plyed all purple, some all blue and some heathered with both colors.

On the right is the final skein after it came off the niddy noddy, and below is the lace scarf I am working on with the skein.  🙂

Knitting a lace scarf from the hand spun

My computer is fixed (thanks to a very nice neighbor who had a boot disk and the operating system that I use.)  My 2nd hard drive was large enough to put my things on from my main hard drive so now it is just a matter of moving things back over to my newly reformated main hard drive.  So nice to have my computer back up and running!!  You don’t realize how much you depend on them until they are not available.

I started my new job on Tuesday.  It is very busy, but not stressful and I am doing things that I enjoy and working with people I worked with last year when I had a long term temp job at this place of business.  Things are a bit tight as I have been on unemployment for the last 3 weeks, but when the new month starts life will be back to more normal financially.  My job starts at 7:30 instead of 8am, so I will have to get up a little earlier sigh, but it’s just so nice to have a job that will become permanent in the next month or two. 

Yesterday was my youngest son’s birthday.   My daughter was going to come with me to the cemetery, but it was storming.  I went anyway because I can’t give him presents like I do my children who survived him, all I can give now is my time – so I did.  He would have been 29.

Are You Ready for Some Football? 2010

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Dallas Cowboys!!!

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Yep, it’s pre-season again!!!!  Dallas won their first game against the Bengals (16 to 7) and lost their 2nd game against the Raiders (17 to 9).  They lost against the Raiders in pre-season last year too. 😛  I didn’t get to see either game tho, I need the NFL channel ;).

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Well I’m doing this from my daughter’s computer because I did the last Micro Soft windows update and now my computer will not boot up. 😦   It won’t even get to the windows screen, it freezes before it gets that far.  So when I get some money saved up, I will take it to a computer place and have them get my data off of the hard drive, and reformat and add the OS back on and then restore my data.  Computers can be such a pain, but you almost can’t do anything without them anymore.

I hope everyone is surviving the heat.  We have been hot, hot, hot the last several days.  Suppose to cool back down starting tonight, thank goodness.  I have some pictures of the yarn I finished spinning, plying and am now knitting into a scarf. 🙂  But I will have to wait to do that until I get my computer fixed so I can upload the new pictures.  sigh

Oh yeah, I have a temp to perm job that is suppose to start next week either on Monday or Tuesday.  It’s at the bank I worked the long term temp for last year :).  I’ll be grateful not to have to keep changing jobs, which is sooo stressful.

CD Spindle

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Spinning with a CD Spindle

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I finally got the rubber grommets I needed to make a CD Spindle this past Saturday.  So I went to Lowe’s and picked up some dowels, which Lowes was nice enough to cut down for me, and some cup hooks.  My current employer told me I was welcome to use their older CDs if I would make sure that the information would not be usable – so I used sand paper and sanded the underside of the CD.   Free is always good :). 
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Another look at the yarn

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The ball of yarn is one that I did with the same “waste not want not thrum“.  It had a bit more turquoise in it than the rest of the thrum.  It was spun on my spinning wheel and I’m spinning some on the spindle now.  It has come out as a novelty yarn because of the bits of yarn that was mixed in.  It’s soft and a fun spin.  I’m spinning it to show a friend that is having a hard time getting even yarn, that thick and thin is ok :).

Ebbs and Flows

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My grand daughter

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This last week end, my daughter had her wedding reception.  She got married on the April 15th (hoping it would take the sting out tax time?) in Las Vegas and had the reception here.  The picture is my youngest son’s daughter.  He lives in state but about 4 hrs away so I don’t get to see him or my grand daughter very often.   But I got to see her and him as we celebrated his sister’s wedding.   I promise to post a picture of the wedding as soon as I get one ;P.

While my daughter celebrates wedded bliss, my son is going through a divorce and this sweet little girl is caught in the middle with the divorce and custody upheaval.  She wants to spend more time with her daddy but in IA the dad has little say in what happens in custody cases and unless it is pre agreed, full custody usually goes to the mother with the dad getting every other week end.  My personal feelings are that in all states there needs to be automatic joint custody for the sake of the child unless there is found to be abuse.  A child needs equal access to both parents.   But no matter what happens we just need to patiently get through the hard stuff. 

I’m still working at my long term temp job.  It is a fun job and I actually enjoy going in every day. 🙂  I hope I can find a permanent job that I will enjoy as much.  Working temp jobs is a bit stressful because you never know, when that one is done, how long it will be before the next job and if it will be something you will enjoy or not. 

I am doing a little knitting on my lunch hr, the rest of my life has been a zoo lately and I haven’t gotten much done on the spinning or knitting front.  But I plan on spinning some today so I can relax.  I think I will take my spinning wheel out on the balconey and enjoy this cooler spring weather today. 🙂  Hope all of my friends haven’t been hit too hard by this crazy spring weather that has been churning up all those storms.

Officially Spring in Iowa

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Click on picture for larger image

I thought because most of the pictures I had taken were of snow this last winter that I would show you that Iowa really does have spring, it just seems forever to get here!  The leaves are starting to come forth and the robins have been here for a couple of weeks now.  But I know it’s really spring because the Magnolia buds are starting to bloom!  I don’t have a picture of that because I don’t have one close to my yard and I didn’t have my camera with me when I saw one yesterday.  We got pretty warm a week  & 1/2 ago, then late last week it got cold again, freezing at night again.  That is typical here tho, I can’t really depend on the warmer weather to stay until May. 🙂

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Spinning wilton dyed superwash merino

I have been spinning slowly on the wilton dyed superwash merino.  I’ve been busy with a temp job (which should last until mid May), my car wasn’t drivable for a couple of months and I had to rely on others to get around for errands, getting to and from work, church, etc, I caught a cold from my grandson 2 weeks ago and tho I am feeling better there is still the coughing thing going on (a wonderful repercussion from my asthma).  I’m gearing up for the spring cleaning in the house and (now how many excuses have I listed? :P).  Anyway, I’ve started spinning on it again, and it really is lovely.  I wonder what it will look like when I have enough to ply. 

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I have my car back again!  A friend and his wife, from my church, helped me get the steering rack and brakes fixed.  He said it still needs axels (they are ok for a while so we will do that this fall before winter comes) and the carborator needs a kit to rebuild it and he’s going to find a new handle for my passenger side front door (don’t even ask how that got broken – don’t want to embarrass one of my sons because he really is such a sweetie :P), and it needs a tune up, and the  jets for the windshield wiper fluid have never allowed fluid to come out, but it’s getting fixed little by little, the more important things first and hopefully all by the fall.  It’s just so nice to have it back and drivable and be independant again!!!!

It’s Done! It’s Done! & Spring is almost here!!

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Afghan Done! (click on picture for larger image)

 

 .I finished my grand-daughter’s  afghan!!  It was taken from the Triple Chevron Lace shawl pattern at knitting on the net and adjusted to be an afghan.  She is pretty happy as you can see from the picture.  She was glad to finally have it after waiting for about a year :P.  She said it was very soft and way cool :).

She spent the day with me today because she was out of school and I wasn’t working today.  We walked about 1/2 mile to go to McDonalds for lunch (because my car is too scary to drive :P).  We also baked chocolate chip cookies.  Yummy :).  She helped me move my sewing machine and sewing table into the spare bedroom since my son decided to stay close to where his daughter is (he lives on the other side of the state from me).  So I now have my sewing/craft room, still have stuff to do to make it a functional room tho, but the important stuff is in there :).

I will now work on finishing spinning that hand dyed superwash merino roving, that had been calling to me and I’ve had to give the cold shoulder to until I finished the afghan.  Now I won’t ignore it anymore :).   There is a pattern for some slippers I’d like to knit up for my youngest grand-children, but I have to wait until I get the yarn for it.  I need acrylic yarn for them.  My daughter doesn’t appreciate specialized care for their things, because she works full time and says she doesn’t have the time to fuss over hand washing things they will abuse anyway :P.

Oh Yeah, I know it isn’t really spring yet, but it’s March and we have been in the 40’s here this week and I’m soooooo happy!!! So to me it is SPRING!!  Makes me want to go out and start a garden :).

Roc Day Take 2 & Llama is Finished & tada ….. the Cowboys Rocked the Eagles again!

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Roc Day Take 2

Roc Day Take 2

Well, it was decided that since the weather ruined our official Roc Day celebration that we would reschedule our spinning celebration to yesterday.  I know it’s not really Roc Day, but fun was had by all!!  These are the wheels that were there, I took these while we were busy with our pot luck lunch :).  The spinner below on the right (and owner of the local spinning shop, R. Rabbits Fiber Studio ,) is enjoying her unoffical Roc Day spinning.  😉  

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Roc Day Take 2

It's Llama Yarn!!

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The Llama is FINISHED!!  That is what I did at our Roc Day, finished spinning the 2nd spool and plyed and skeined off.  I washed it and hung it to dry yesterday afternoon and used my new swift and ball winder this morning to make a center pull ball from one of them.  I will wind the other skein and my son will have the Llama yarn he has been patiently (ummmm) waiting for. 🙂  

Next Project

As you can see I’ve already started my next project.  I really wanted to spin the Suri Alpaca, but I have a gift project to finish first, then I can spin that Suri. 🙂  This is the Merino Superwash that I dyed with the Wilton purple cake decorating color.  The last time I used it I got beautiful shades of lavender and light purple.  This time it was light purple, lavender and light blue.  Gorgeous colors, but they are so unpredictable, great if you want the excitment of a mystery color, tho’ be prepared to be surprised at the finished colors. 🙂  But before I spin any more of this I need to finish knitting my grand daughter’s blanket.  She has been plenty patient and I need to get it done :). 

Ok, YES!!! The Cowboys beat the Eagles again (played them three times this year and beat them all three times and the Eagles are no slouches!!)  They not only won their division the week before last when they beat the Eagles, but this week’s win against the Eagles won a wild card slot for the playoffs.  Now this Sunday they play the Vikings, that should be an interesting match up.  I’ll be recording that to watch on Monday night :P.  The Cowboys have finally started to work together as a team and what a year they’ve had!!! 🙂  Now they just need to work on those penalties! 😛