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.