Spinning Gallery!

For whatever reason, when I first started blogging about my fibery pursuits I wasn’t going to connect the blog to the rest my my web site. Well, I decided that is foolish and I’m working on putting together galleries for my fibery stuff.

Because I have only been spinning for over a month (and not solidly since I didn’t purchase my own wheel until the 18th of June) I started with that gallery as it was a task that could be completed in an evening. I don’t have it linked to on all the other gallery pages just yet as that is quite the uploading task. But, I thought I could share the link with you anyway for anyone who is curious to see all my hand spun yarns in one location.

http://designedlykristi.com/gallery/spinning/index.html

Pity Party is Over!

Okay, so not really, but I’m going to try to pretend that I do not have terrible, awful cabin fever and an itch to get the heck out of dodge. But, alas, I have 18 days, well really 19 days until I leave for my two weeks in Minnesota where it will also be hot but also humid, but I will have my own window AC unit and a bed to myself so I’ll get the best 2 weeks of sleep since last June when I was last there…

It’s time for pictures, isn’t it?

On the right is my third hank, which was previously picture on the bobbin earlier in the week. I finally took it off and set the twist. It still is slightly over twisted, but not as much as the previous two. This hank is 45 yds and 1.3 oz of fiber which once again is a wool blend with angelina from the Bountiful grab bag of multiple colors.

On the left is the medium grade wool blend. It is a 3 oz hank and 82 yds of 2-ply. It’s probably a heavy worsted on average. The yardage isn’t enough for a decent branching out so I’m open to project suggestions for it if anyone has some ideas…

This is my homemade $3 PVC Niddy Noddy in it’s 1.5 yd configuration. There are directions for making them in several spots on the net - try here or here.

Some notes:

• Some directions did not take into account the extra length caused by the T-connectors and wrapping around the 1/2 inch arms when saying what length center piece to cut.
• For a 1 m niddy noddy , I needed a 6 inch center piece.
• For a 1.5 m niddy noddy, I needed a 10.5 inch center piece.
• For a 2 m niddy noddy, I needed a 15 inch center piece.
• To some it up with an equation (sorry, being a meteorologist for so long has me liking concreate numerical formulas for things) - C/4 - 3 inches = L, where C is the final circumference of the hank you want to make and L is the length of the center portion of the niddy noddy. This equation is for 1/2 inch PVC pipe only and may vary slightly depending upon how tightly you seat the Ts onto the center sections.
• One of the best ways to remove the ugly printing on the pipe so you have a nice looking niddy noddy is to sand it off. They make a PVC pipe clearner, but it is expensive and smelly and quite likely somewhat caustic. Sand first with a medium fine sand paper and finish with some fine steel wool for a nice satin smooth finish.
• If you have a commercial clothing steamer and plan to use it on your yarn to set the twist, pre drill a 3/16 inch hole in the top of one of the T connectors and screw in a 7/8 inch cup hook into the top. Then you can hang the niddy noddy from your steamer’s mast and steam the yarn without burning yourself. Or, if you wet set wool on it you can hang it from a shower curtain hook in the bathroom etc.
• The caps make the niddy noddy look really nice, but are just thick enough to get in the way of removing the yarn. If you have the means to make a nice smooth and very straight cut, do so and look for plugs that go inside of the pipe instead of the caps that go on the oustide. In my case, we just cut with a hack saw and didn’t get the most straight of cups so the caps are the best option and I am able to easily remove one to make removing the yarn easier.

So, there you have it! Tomorrow I’ll announce the new contest…

*sigh*

I’m just feeling *really* off this week. Yuck!

I think part of it is the heat and the fact that I don’t have the pleasure of an air conditioned work place, so I’ve been in 76+ degree temperatures (usually we’re pushing or exceeding 80 degrees in the house by 3pm) with a few hours of respite every couple of days when I give in and buy an iced coffee at Catalyst. It has me cranky and ornery and lazy and tired and in pain and bitchy.

Okay, so I’ve tried my darndest to not fall prey to the laziness factor. I’ve been riding my bike to the grocery store in the mornings to get some fresh fruit before it heats up too bad and I’ve gone to all my water aerobics classes. But when it comes to doing work that should be done that requires my computer I get lazy and don’t follow through. Fortunately most of it doesn’t *have* to be done. But, all the same I feel like a big ole lump on a log.

For me, I think summer is almost more depressing than winter because we close all the blinds and draw all the curtains and leave them that way until sunset so the house is dark and depressing.

I really, really just need to get out of the house. I thought I’d take in a matinee yesterday to have a couple hours of AC, but the movie I wanted to see (and knew DH didn’t really have an interest in) didn’t have any matinee show times. The cheap theater selections are kind of sucky as well at the moment or I already saw it and don’t care to see it again. Plus, movies by yourself aren’t a lot of fun either.

Anyway, sorry for all the bitching and not having much of a fiber-related post. But, this heat and such is making it hard for me to take pleasure in any of my fibery pursuits right now. And, I’m totally not looking forward to the 4th of July as the plans are not such that I can really participate, so I’ll likely be spending the day home alone like any normal Monday except that there won’t be any SnB to go to in the evening and DH won’t get home until midnight or later *sigh*

Gah! Yuck! I suck!

Fiber Friends are First Rate!

So, I had been contemplating spinning long before I actually met Snow. However, Snow made it her personal duty to increase the ranks of spinners in our little corner of the world - especially spinners who enjoy getting together and talking obsessively about their projects on a regular basis :-)

Once she got Amanda and I to both cave and make the BIG purchase she didn’t view her job as over like many would. Instead, she dived into her personal fiber stash and put together some fiber samplers for us so that we can learn a bit about choosing wool for spinning for particular projects.

A group of SnB regulars gathered for Sushi on Friday night and she brough with her this…

Let’s take a closer look…

1 - A blend with angelina
2 - Targhee that is somewhat neppy
3 - Shetland
4 - Superwash Merino
5 - Confetti from Copper Moose
6 & 7 - Coopworth

Amanda is having very good success with the Targhee and a drop spindle. I know I definitely want to try it on my wheel, but I think I might pull out the drop spindle and give some of it a go on there as well…

On a side note, it’s not really a knit a long, but I put it there anyway and you’ve maybe noticed over there in the upper right already. I heard about the first swap at Wax and Feathers and Piddeloop
and was wishing I had gotten in on the exchange as both DH and I love being exposed to new music. So, when Piddleloop announced that she was hosting the 2nd round I signed up! Now, to choose the tracks I want to include on my CD and design the cover…

Lastely, since I had only one entrant in the last contest and the guess wasn’t right, I’ll be announcing a new contest late this week, so stay tuned and exercise your thinking caps, especially if they are of the pithy variety… :-)

Yet More Goodies!

Because I ended up taking an unexpected break from blogland on Friday I still have a few more goodies to share that I got in Estes at the Wool Festival…

This was the last of my fiber purchases. It’s alpaca roving, 2 oz ea, from Red Barn in Loveland. When I feel my spinning is worthy it will be spun and I think the two colors plied together to make a scarf for my grandfather. I know it will knock my grandma’s socks off that I not only knit the scarf, but spun the yarn as well :-) Plus, it is soooo soft and so nice and warm, it’ll be perfect for grandpa and the Minnesota winters! But, my spinning isn’t quite up to par to pull it out just yet.

Now, I had given my partners in budget busting crime to not let me leave without getting a Niddy Noddy. I almost did, but Amanda reminded me and then I remembered the gorgeous one Margene had pointed out to me at the Magpie Woodworks booth (sorry, they have no web site), so we both headed over there. Amanda got the same set, but also a felting needle holder and I believe is going to be calling them to order a large Niddy Noddy as well. The ones we took home with us are only 1-yd. I thought that would be just fine for me for a while, but I’m finding I don’t like putting more than about 30 yds on it. Plus, it is so gorgeous I don’t want to steam set the twist on it either. This cherry looks great with the rimu wood of our Majacraft wheels though.

I spun up another color from my Bountiful sampler. I haven’t taken it off the bobbin yet so I’m not positive on weight or yardage, but I’m guessing it to be roughly 1.25 oz and again ~30 yds probably.

I tired of the angelina (I didn’t think it was possible, but one can only take so much sparkle) and the fibers that would never likely spin really evenly. So, I picked up an inexpensive medium grade wool blend from a local shop. It is 3 oz on that bobbin and I am getting roughly 15 wpi from the singles. I’m still debating on whether I want to ply it or not. I still don’t have the rods for my lazy Kate and if I’m lucky they have been sent today, so I have time to think about it. I don’t want to navajo ply this so it will mean winding 1.5 oz off onto another bobbin.

I want to make Branching Out with it. Part of me is considering knitting it from the singles. Anyone care to share some pros or cons of my doing that?

And, to prove that I haven’t foresaken knitting in favor of spinning, here is a little WIP…