A New Toy... Ashford Extra Wide Drum Carder!!!

I have been holding in my excitement and haven't told anyone yet... but, mom went all out and got me an Ashford Extra Wide Drum Carder for Christmas!!!

I am beyond excited... it is gigantic and amazing... I finally got to take it for a test drive last night... and it runs so smoothly :)

The Gorgeous Carder!!!

Isn't it pretty???

I can not say thank you enough to my mom for always believing in me... and doing whatever she can to make sure I follow my dreams...

Now, onto the good stuff... what the machine can create :)

Batt #1 - "Sun Burst" - A mix of Superwash BFL/Nylon/Gold Hologram Angelina

Batt #2 - "Indian Summer" - A Mix of Superwash BFL/Nylon/Gold Hologram Angelina

Batt #3 - "Rock Star" - Various Wools/Camel/Silk/Bamboo/Angelina

All of the batts are currently for sale at:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TwinMommyCreations

Get Free Domestic Shipping on Purchases over $20... Use Coupon Code "FREEUSASHIP" at Checkout :)

And since there is always a little bit of left over fiber on the drums... I am going to spin all the extra little bits over the course of creating beautiful batts...

Scrap Fluff and Trindle

It Begins :)

Hope that you all have a wonderful and safe New Year's Eve :)

No benefits to being lazy...

As you know from yesterday... I was super lazy and didn't want to have to re-warp the loom that I warped backwards... Trust me, if this happens to you... just re-warp the dang thing :)

I'm happy that I actually finished the scarf.. and that I didn't let my "attitude" get the best of me... but I cant say that I am very pleased with the end result... Hopefully a good wash and drying will help loosen some spots and tighten others.

I used Bernat Handicrafter... Kitchen Cotton... and the end scarf (without fringe or being washed yet) measures 57" long by 7 1/2" wide.

The middle fabric looks fine...

The end of the scarf

The finished product... its still not too bad for a second try :)

And of course, the best fiber magazine I have found came in the mail yesterday... I have been not so patiently awaiting its arrival... PLY Magazine showed up... Although I have not gotten a chance to open it yet... I did manage to take it out of the protective plastic :)

PLY - Worsted Issue 

I'm not sure yet if I will be warping the loom tonight... or breaking out the gift from mom... which will a surprise :)

A Very Weaving Christmas!!!

When my husband asked what I wanted to for Christmas... I made the decision to tell him exactly what I wanted and see what happened. Well, I wanted a loom... what kind? I had no idea... He told me to pick out which one I wanted and he would get it...

I decided on a 20" Ashford Knitter's Loom... I didn't want it to be too big... and I liked that it could be folded for storage.

And of course, I just had to take it for a test drive the Saturday after Christmas :)

Warped and Weaving Away...

Finished Fabric

44" long by 6" wide

After how easy the first one worked up... I just wanted to make another scarf... but of course I didn't want to pull the instructions back out (because I know everything... ha!)

I ended up warping the loom backwards... which basically screwed everything up... but I didn't want to have to take the weft off... so I'm just dealing with the screw up.

The middle of the fabric... looks nice right?

The edge of the fabric... it looks terrible... and its all because I was too dang lazy and pigheaded to take out the instructions

Progress so far...

I'm hoping to do some fun fiber-y creating tonight... lets see what happens :)

Fall Inspired and a Little Kinky

There were two sets of rolags that I made last year... they didn't sell... but they just seemed to "belong" together... and wouldn't you know, that is exactly what happened, lol.

I went ahead and spun one from each set, back and forth, until I ran out of rolags :)

"Pumpkin Patch" and "Halloween-y Harvest"

"Pumpkin Patch" Contents:

*Teeswater

*Merino

*Corriedale

*Silk

*Alpaca

*Llama

*Tencel

*Angelina

"Halloween-y Harvest" Contents:

*Merino

*Angelina

As you can see, the mix of fibers is a little strange... and I learned that while spinning... Teeswater has a long staple, great luster... but might not be the "softest" thing for next to skin... so this yarn would definitely not be great for that use.

Spun Single

Navajo/Chain Plied Yarn

On the Knitty Noddy... with one of Ethan's spiders, lol

Pre-Wash

Even with the "scratch-y" feeling at times... this yarn is quite nice... It is super sparkly... but over spun in places, which makes it kinky, lol.

"Pumpkin Harvest" Yarn - 125 yards - Sport Weight - 3-Ply (NPly)

The Finished "Pumpkin Harvest" Yarn

In the Skein

And a Close Up... because I really love the colors!!!

Weekend Spinning...

Hubby had to work this weekend... so before and after Fiber Guild on Saturday... I spent the day spinning with little boys wanting to put their little fingers in the wheel... 

"Fields of Lavender" and "Dark Night" Rolags

"Fields of Lavender" Contents:

*Merino

*Angelina

"Dark Night" Contents:

*Corriedale

*Merino

*Llama

*Tencel

*Firestar

*Angelina

I decided to just spin one from each bundle and go back and forth... that way after it was Navajo/Chain Plied, the finished yarn would be self striping :)

Plied... Apparently I forgot to take a picture of the single

On the Knitty Noddy

Pre-Wash

I think that once this skein was washed, it deepened the dark purple or something... 

"Lavender Night" - 115 yards - Worsted Weight - 3-ply (Nply)

"Lavender Night"

The next spinning project on my "list" is...

"Pumpkin Patch" and "Halloween-y Harvest"

Winter Wonderland... Spun

As promised... the yarn from yesterday's post was dry when I got home from work last night... 

120 yards - 3-Ply (N-Ply) - Fingering to Sport Weight

"Skate Park"

Skeined

And onto the next skein, lol... I honestly thought that these rolags would have sold... but they didn't, so they became another addition to the handspun collection :)

"Winter Wonderland" Rolags

Contents:

*Merino

*Wendesleydale

*Angelina (Red, Green, and Gold)

The Single

Since I almost felt like the yarn was a little too subtle... I decided that it needed something to "pop"... how about some RED Cotton/Polyester Thread???

Plied with Thread

On the Knitty Noddy

Pre-Wash

And this one was actually dry this morning... 

115 Yards - Plied with Thread - Thick/Thin - But Primarily Sport Weight

The red sort of mutes out the green... but it reminds me of the holidays

Skeined

The next skein is going to be a bit of a larger project... the process has already begun, lol :)

A New Wheel... A New Yarn...

A couple weeks ago, I saw an ad on Facebook for a used Ashford Joy 1... It was a great price... so I messaged to seller... and wouldn't you know that I was the first person to contact her (the listing had only been active for 4 minutes, lol).

After talking with her for a bit, I went ahead and took the plunge... and I couldn't be happier :)

I even took it out at work and gave it a "test spin" before heading home for the day... this picture is under my desk at work, lol.

Ashford Joy 1

Before I show you the new yarn that was spun... I have to share the dried yarn from yesterday... Surprise Batt #2 Yarn - Approximately 50 yards - Worsted/Bulky Weight - 2-Ply

I freaking love it

All Skeined

Now, onto the new yarn from off the Joy... These rolags are some that never sold online, so rather than re-listing them, I decided that one day I would spin them... and yesterday was the day.

"Skate Park" Rolags

*Merino

*Corriedale

*Rambouillet

*Columbia

*A bit of Angelina

The Single

Navajo/Chain Ply... so its a 3-Ply... Between Fingering/Sport Weight

On the Knitty Knoddy

Pre-Wash

I actually washed this one last night and had it hang to dry over night... but it was still a bit yet this morning... so hopefully tonight I will measure and photograph it.

I have only spun a little on the Ashford Joy 1... but I love how smoothly it "runs"... I cant wait to get my Kiwi put together now... especially since I have been putting it off for two years now :(

Each Day is an Adventure!

Each day when I get up, I want to spin... and each day when I get home from work, I want to spin... It makes me feel so lazy... I should really be doing the dishes or folding laundry... but I just don't want to, lol.

So, I have just been happily spinning...

The yarn from yesterday's post (http://twinmommycreations.blogspot.com/2014/12/spinning-away.html) is dry... 

60 yards of 2-Ply Thick/Thin Yarn... with tons of different "ingredients" :)

Look at all the colors!

In the Skein

Its roughly 8-9 WPI

Now that I'm spinning all this "extra" fiber that is laying around... I feel like I'm constantly on a scavenger hunt to see what my next fiber to spin will be...

It happens to be a Twin Mommy Creations Batt that I never listed online... and it has been sitting in the package on the kitchen table for about 8 months now...

It's called a "Surprise Inside", because the colors change and are not the same as the outside

Surprise Inside Batt #2

The Single - see the green???

And since the batt was pretty small (weight wise)... and I let the fiber do what it wanted... I didn't want to even attempt a N-Ply... so Andean Plying it was again...

Plying Bracelet

Skeined

Pre-Wash

This one might be my new favorite... the mixed up colors are awesome... This skein got "washed" this morning... so if everything goes well, you will get to see it tomorrow :)