Bobbles and Buttons - Neckwarmer and Mitts

I have put this pattern on Ravelry - you can find me there as lildebi, and you can find the pattern PDF for printing here

I went to the Fiber Festival in Marshall last Saturday and fell in love with all the fibers. This fiber was from Jehovah Jireh farm and I purchased it in an 80z roving ready for spinning. It is a blend of 70% Merino Wool and 30% Alpaca, and I spun it up on my new bottom whorl spindle that I bought from Spin2knit to make a bulky yarn. I happened upon a women plying on her spindle using the navajo plying method, it was great to see, and even greater to realize that I knew and recognized what she was doing. I tried the Navajo Ply myself on this yarn and it turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself. I really love it and have decided to continue to purchase this fiber and make more yarn to sell in My Etsy Shop . I can envision this yarn in a nice chunky sweater or poncho with pockets. Too many of my clothes are minus pockets and I really miss the ability to carry small things without having to lug around my huge duffel of a purse.

Since I am under the weather this week, I am using this down time to spin and knit. I just finished up some angora/silk last night, it is a light pink reminiscent of Cotton Candy, and I just love it. I am also spinning up another smaller bundle of Merino/Alpaca from Jehovah Jireh Farm that I am going to navajo ply and use to make myself a pair of fingerless mitts.

I have also written up the pattern for the Owl Pincushion and am adding it to that blog entry later today. So keep an eye out for it later on.

Spinning Flax into Linen Thread

Here is my very first YouTube Video! How exciting. I am still getting the hang of my video camera. I have had it for a year, but I have just started using it to make videos of my spinning and other crafts.

This video is a close-up view of drafting and spinning flax into linen thread using the Wet-Spun method. This is my first time spinning flax. It sort of resembles a twine when finished and this type of flax is Line Linen I believe as it is the longer fibers and it does not need to plied at all. It can be used as a single. I plan to use my linen thread to knit a lace tank top. It is large enough that it is worn over a lighter blouse and long similar to an apron style in the front. I thought I had a copy of the pattern, but I cannot find it in my stash. I will have to hunt it down online and see if I can post a link to it here.

This is just the first of many more videos you will see from me in the future!

Happy Spinning!

Funky Bird Collages

I am in a mail art swap on ATCsforall and the theme is funky birds. No matter what I do I just can't seem to get away from color. I love big, bright and bold color, no art piece seems to be complete until I throw some bright color on it. I have to make 3 more pages before I mail them out to the hostess and so I am going to take some photos and possibly some video of the step by step process of making one of my Funky Bird Pages.Next, I will be making some mini ATC's. I dropped by Rocnic's blog at www.whatsuproc.blogspot.com and was inspired by her mini ATC collages. If you haven't dropped by her blog yet, follow this link and check it out!