Distaff Day Orlando 2014 - Part 3

I managed to capture a couple people spinning on my way back from the fashion show... there were tons of people spinning... including Mara right next to me... but unfortunately, my brain didnt put two and two together and push the camera button...

So, here they are :)

Spinning on a Turkish Spindle

Spinning on a wheel... I think its an Ashford Joy

I did manage to get a close up of the Nuno Felted Scarf... she stopped by the table... and as you know, I am super annoying and asked for a pic, lol.

Look at that detail :)

And of course, I had to end on a "funny" note... this is Laurie, she is my bestie... she tries her best to attend all the shows with me to be an extra set of hands... I just had to get a pic of her converted towel shawl... isnt it genius???

Laurie with her Towel Shawl...

Until next time :)

Distaff Day Orlando 2014 - Part 2

As promised... I am sorry if I missed you (altough I think I got everyone)... I tried to get pics of everyone...

Our lovely announcer... look at that hand knit skirt

She made her tunic... as well as the shawl

Gorgeous Shawl and Cardigan

Crocheted sweater :)

Two tailed Christmas Hat

Another of the shawls

Baby sweater... modeled by this little cutie :)

Another of the two tailed hat

Our wonderful organizer with her shirt and shawl

Happy with her two tailed hat

Gorgeous shawl and top...

Nuno Felted Scarf/Shawl

Knit Shawl... one of the Stephen West mysteries...

The back view

Shawl and work in progress

Front view... she came all the way from North Carolina (I believe)

Shawlette and Collar...

Hand Spun and Navajo Plied on the Fly

Absolutely Amazing... Hush Baby - Sleep Baby

Another View

Look at all that lovely knitting and crocheting... eveyone did such an amazing job... I am so sorry that I do not have everyones names... I do have some of them, but I dont want anyone to feel left out... 

If you have any questions about any of the projects,  I will do my best to direct you to who created them :)

I still have a couple pics left... but those will be tomorrow :)

Distaff Day Orlando 2014 - Part 1

On January 11th, Distaff Day Orlando 2014 was held at the UCF campus in the Student Union Building... we got a little turned around and ended up showing up just before the event started... I was so worried that we wouldnt be ready when people came in... but everything worked out...

The event was amazing... everyone was in a wonderful mood... Laurie came with to help me... and my friend Mara drove over from New Port Richey...

Thanks to the guys at work, they fixed up a dolly for me to use... which made hauling everything from the car to the room extremely easy... we only had to make one trip :)

Here is the booth... of course I didnt get very many pictures, lol...

The Yarn

Some of the Mini Batts

Of course I didnt get any other pictures of the table... but its all good... 

All the chairs this year were set up in a huge circle, with a smaller circle in the middle... pretty similar to what it was last year... but for some reason, it just seemed like there was more room, lol.

Well, thats all for today... Ill be back with Part 2 (hopefully Monday)... it will be all about the Fashion Show... Hope you have a wonderful weekend and see you later :)

Raw Merino... I'm a Chicken!!!

About 6 months ago... it was actually probably longer than that... I decided that I should buy some raw merino fleece... I honestly have no idea what I was thinking... 

I had never worked with a raw merino fleece before... but I have read a ton of people's horror stories about felting everything into a pile... talk about fear!!!

I ended up purchasing two pounds... and when it arrived, I opened the box... closed the box... and put it with my other fleece... I was way too chicken to try and process it...

Well, last weekend while Aaron had to work... I decided that I should just bite the bullet and give it a try... I started on the back porch... shaking out the fiber while the boys played on the porch... 

I ended up shaking out about a pound of it at first... we came inside and I went ahead and used the same ammonia/dawn mixture from all the other stuff lately... and gave it a good ol' fashioned try...

Here are the results :)

All five colors... 

Green, Purple, and Red

Magenta and Blue

I was pleasantly surprised with how all the fiber turned out... not a bit of felting... now I just have to work on getting that other pound scoured and dyed... I do love all the colors that worked out this time though :)

Alafia River Rendezvous 2014... this weekend!!!

I just wanted to take a moment and let anyone who is interested that the 43rd Alafia River Rendezvous is this Friday and Saturday... January 24th and 25th in Homeland, FL.

I took the boys last year and we had a blast... be prepared to walk... A LOT!!!

There is a small charge... Adults - $10, kids (4 to 15) - $5, under 3 is free... 

If you are available and like to visit "old timey" places... this is for you... there are tons of encampments set up, great food, live music... and of course shopping... 

Last year, I found some awesome cotton, hemp, and flax spinning fiber from one of the re-enactors... 

Definitely worth checking out... we will be there Saturday :)

http://www.floridafrontiersmen.org/alafia2014.html

"Peacock in Paradise" - Finished :)

Wanted to make sure I finished what I started... the skein of "Peacock in Paradise" is complete :)

After Rolag Four

After Rolag Five

Rolag Six

Rolag Seven

Rolag Eight - Done spinning the single

Andean Plyed back onto the Trindle with heavier arms

Close Up of the 2-ply yarn

Taken off the spindle... still needs to be set

And another shot of the yarn...

It ended up being .9 ounces... 94 yards... and 2 ply

I am pretty thrilled with how it turned out... and with the bamboo and silk, it is super soft :)

"Peacock in Paradise"... Test Spin

In the previous post, I said that I was testing out spinning with peacock feathers inside the rolags... Well, here you go :)

I clipped the "hair-y" feathers off the sides of the feather... added them onto the blending board, and then covered with more fiber... while rolling them off, you can see some of the feather ends poking through... but the yarn is super cool...

 "Peacock In Paradise" Rolags - See the lovely feathers glistening :)

Another pic of the rolags

When I weighed out the set, it only weighed .9 ounces... and lets face it, I didnt want to try and sell it when I had no idea how the peacock feathers were going to act...

Here is the progress from last night:

After One Rolag

Two Rolags

and Three Rolags...

I believe there were eight rolags in the set... some are more aqua colored, others are more lime colored... so I have been alternating them... Cant wait to work on this some more... hopefully Monday, it will be finished with pics after each rolag is complete :)

Water Lily Rolags

So, last night, I decided that I really needed to get my butt in gear and start creating... I havent listed anything on Etsy since December 31st... and that is just ridiculous...

I kept looking at everything... and finally decided on some "Water Lily" rolags... they are a mix of Superwash Merino, Bamboo, and Silk... 

Of course once they were all created, I had to keep one to spin... Here is how they turned out :)

I spun the sample on a trindle (one that I bought over a year ago and finally found last weekend)... I couldnt believe how thin they spun... and with all the squishy-s that were added, the yarn is super soft and silky :)

I have listed them on Etsy, here is the link if you are interested:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/175999412/water-lily-rolags-41-grams-13-ounces

I also created a set using Peacock Feathers... unfortunately, I did not feel like I had made a large enough set.. plus, since the feathers were new to me... I am spinning them to see how they behave before making a set to sell...

Hopefully I will have an update tomorrow for you :)