Shop Update Oct. 23rd, 2012

Studio Tour

Shop Update Aug. 30th, 2012

Shop Update August 21, 2012

How about a different kind of shop update? I gathered up some of the new stuff that has hit the site over the last couple weeks and put it in a video so you can get an up close look at the fluffy goodies!

Balloons in the Backyard

There's always something exciting going on around here. Today it was Hot Air Balloons!

The County Fair

Last week was our County Fair. It seems like the last one was just a little bit ago, but here it is again! :)

The kids all worked really hard on their projects for 4-H and they did really well. I thought I'd share the fibery projects with you.

The oldest knit an awesome shawl out of 100% natural wool. She spent a lot of time working on the project and then setting it down in favor of another project. She finished this right at the last minute, but you wouldn't know it by looking at it.

She got a Best in Class for this!

She also crocheted a sweater. She's the first of us to actually finish a sweater! Mine is still waiting for cooler weather to work on it again.

The sweater got a Best in Class and then went on to get a Best in Show award!

The middle child (she'll hate me for calling her that) knit a very cute pair of snowmen. She named them Candace and Jeremy. Can you guess what her favorite show is?

She got a blue ribbon for these. She also got a Best in Show award for the counted cross stitch picture she entered. Yay! I can't find my picture of it right now though.

Oh, and because I didn't want to feel left out, I entered my shawl in the Adult Open class division. It got first place!

Pattern ~ Camera Strap Cover

I finally got my new camera!

I wasn't in love with the basic camera strap that came with it though. It made the back of my neck itch, but I'd already spent enough on the camera. I didn't want to spend more on a fancier strap. That's when I came up with this cover knit from a skein of sock yarn I had in my stash.






The stripes were a happy accident that appeared when I started knitting. I imagine all sorts of different patterns might emerge based on how the yarn used was dyed.

I ended up using about 120 yards of fingering weight sock yarn to knit the strap cover. It's made from superwash merino wool which means that I can wash it easily when it gets gross. I'm guessing that'll be often if I use it in the summer. All that heat, sweat and sunscreen. Yuck!

Here's the basic pattern:

I used US size 2 needles. These are my normal sock needles so I knew what my gauge was before I started. I knit fingering weight yarn on size 2 needles at about 9 stitches per inch. That's a little tighter than normal so you may need to adjust your needle size accordingly.

My strap measured at 1 1/2" across. I wanted the cover to fit snuggly so I cast on 28 stitches and joined to work in the round. Use your favorite method for knitting in the round. To figure out how many stitches you'll need, use the following formula.

Measurement of strap width in inches x Gauge (stitches per inch) = stitches needed per side, multiply this by 2 to get the number of cast on stitches.

1.5  x 9  = 13.5 I rounded up to 14

Knit 2, Purl 2 rib in the round until piece measures 1". This will hold the strap snuggly at the end. 

Continue knitting in stockinette stitch until strap cover is 1" away from other end. Your measurements don't need to be exact just close. 

Knit 2, Purl 2 for 1". Bind off and weave in ends. Slip it on and enjoy!

Super easy! I love the sock yarn because it covers well without any added bulk.

Wine & Wool Festival

Yesterday was one of my favorite fiber festivals of the year. It may be small, but it's so much fun! I think there was 17-ish vendors there this year.

So many of us vend together at other festivals so this is like a big family reunion. And we are all so completely different that we fit together well at a small event like this.

Last year the temperature was in the upper 90s and the humidity made the day nearly unbearable. With the weather we've been having this year I figured the odds were not on our side. Surprisingly though the day was only in the mid 80s and no humidity! If only the wind had died down the day would have been perfect. :)

The wind did like to blow things around and at one point sent one of the big black racks flying, but we pulled through and had a great time.

Here's some pictures for those of you that couldn't make it yesterday.

 Handspun Yarn!

A wall of spinning fiber!

Weekend Dyeing

I spent 3 days this weekend trying to make a dent in the undyed inventory I have by dyeing some of it. I know many of you have probably noticed some holes in sections of the shop. My goal was to start filling some of those with this dyeing session.

I had no idea I could get so much dyed in one weekend! Planning ahead really helped and I loved seeing it all lined up as they dried. Here's some pics of the braided tops as the were tagged and labeled. I dyed more than 17 pounds over the weekend!

Tour de Fleece Days 5-7

A question for all my Midwest friends - Are you surviving the heat? 11 days in a row over 90* is way too much!! We don't have any air conditioning so it's been a rough week and a half.

I've been sitting and hugging the fan this week. I can't knit at all, but spinning hasn't been too bad. I have a small desk fan that I "liberated" from my teenage daughter's room and if I keep it blowing on my hands I can spin without the fiber sticking too much to my hands.

This is a good thing since the Tour de Fleece is still going strong. I showed you the first yarn I finished and yesterday I was able to complete my second. I love this yarn so much!

I had some leftover batts from a spin-a-long that we did back in the Spring. They were orange with a bit of red and called Tulips. Orange normally isn't my color, but these were calling my name.

 

They took me 3 days to complete and I love this yarn. Oh wait, I already said that. It's got lots of angelina which gives this skein a real sparkle. Watching it hanging out on the line catching the sun, made it look breathtaking!

Are you spinning in the Tour de Fleece? How's is your spinning going?

Tour de Fleece Days 1-4

The Tour de Fleece has started! If you aren't sure what the Tour de Fleece is, it's a spinning (as in yarn) competition that happens right alongside the Tour de France. A lot of people spin their yarn while watching the race, but unfortunately we don't get the race on our TV.

I have been spinning lots of yarn though. Over the last few days I've finished one yarn and started another. That's a big deal for me because I can never seem to finish a yarn in less than a week during other times of the year.

Days 1, 2 and 3 I spent spinning the singles for my very first ever 3-ply yarn.

Each one of those bobbins took me about 3 hours. At our house that was several episodes of Merlin and Star Trek.

Yesterday was day 4 and I finished the yarn! It's a rainbow gradient which means it starts out red and by the end it has gone through the rainbow and ended at purple. The colors do not repeat. The yarn weighs in at 3.95 oz., contains 341 yards and is about a sport weight. It's made from superwash merino, bamboo and nylon so would be great for socks or anything else you'd feel like not worrying about hand washing.

I also managed to start a second skein of yarn. This is from a batt that contains everything but the kitchen sink I think. There's alpaca, merino, silk, and a whole bunch of other things. I'm hoping to finish it tomorrow.

A "Magical" Weekend

It only seems fitting that I start this blog going back to the place that a lot of my fiber inspiration comes from. This truly is a Magical place, but what makes it so are the people that share it and call it home. Or at least a home away from home.

As you may or may not know, we started our alpaca farm about 4 1/2 years ago with every intention of getting into the fiber business. At the time I knitted.......a little. That was it.

It was nearly 2 years after our first alpacas came home that we finally decided it was time to do something with all of the fiber the animals were producing. Leaving it in the barn was not a good idea.

I bought a spinning wheel and a carder and proceeded to spend my time with YouTube and all the wisdom it had to share. I learned a lot, practiced a lot, but was still scared to share what I was doing with the world. Being self-taught and YouTube taught, how would my stuff compare?

Here's were the story gets interesting. Facebook is the place of randomness and random friends. I don't even know about half of my "friends", but sometimes they can pass along a tidbit of information that you otherwise wouldn't have known.

An alpaca friend posted a link to a place called Magical Farms. Now of course I had heard about them since they are by far the largest alpaca farm anywhere near me, but that's not the point.

This link was to a list of seminars. Free seminars. One per person and you could pick whichever one you wanted. I immediately zeroed in on one for carding fiber by someone that I practically stalked on facebook because I LOVED her stuff. To me she was the alpaca fiber Goddess who excelled at all things alpaca related.

Now I know she's going to read this and get horribly embarassed, but that is the type of person she is. Completely humble in her talent and willing to guide us little alpaca fiber folk along like a good shepherd. And she truly loves to watch us grow and cheer us on. You couldn't ask for anyone better. And if you are wondering who I'm talking about......Roo from Moonwood Farm in Alabama. We affectionately call her Miss Roo.

Anyway, I signed up and impatiently counted down the days (90 or so) until it was time to go. My husband and I got up at 4 in the morning to drive there because we couldn't afford to be gone more than just a single day.

This class was the best thing I ever could have done. Both for myself and for my business. I'm not sure I actually learned anything super new, but what it gave me was confidence. Confidence in myself, confidence in my abilities and also some new friends so I knew I wasn't alone in my fiber journey.

Fast forward a little more than a year. Our farms fiber business has grown so much that it has taken on a life of it's own. It was renamed to encompass all things instead of just alpacas, because I love all the fluffy things! We also moved to our new website which I built from the ground up just a few weeks ago.

This past weekend I went back to Magical Farms for a reunion weekend of all the people that had attended last year. Granted we all couldn't make it and some people were really missed, but it was great!

This weekend was the first time I had gone anywhere by myself in more than 4 years. It was hard because I'm with my kids 24/7 and my husband every day. Being by yourself is a strange quiet existance.

These ladies are not quiet though let me tell you. Put a little alcohol into us and we turn into a giggly bunch! I needed this time. It was a time of renewal, inspiration and fiber nirvana. So much fiber!

This is the fiber room on the farm. Can you imagine having so much fiber, but then again they have hundreds of alpacas!

This weekend gave me so many ideas and inspirations, but I have to say the best of all was learning to dye bamboo. If you know me at all, this was what I had been waiting for. I wanted to dye bamboo! And like most things, it was far easier than my brain was making it out to be. I came home so full of bamboo desire and knowledge that I ordered the dyes I needed for bamboo as soon as I got home.

(I may have gone a wee bit crazy.)

I have to say to all the ladies that attended this weekend, I had a blast. Two full days of fiber fun, food and friends, does it get any better?

(That's me in the pink.)