Erector set

The erection crew showed up this morning and I can't believe my eyes with how fast the new building is going up!  It seriously is pretty much just like a giant 'Erector's Set'.  Look at the progression below.....

8:30 am

a tad after lunch time

3 pm - ish

7 pm Bill is walking up the hill to check out the new digs.

better view

I am standing in my building!  Isn't it amazing!?!

Mythic Proportions

I decided I needed to change it up a little to not only liven up the Etsy side of the business, but to also make life a little easier. So I am introducing new colorways of mythic proportions!  You can find the new colors here:  http://LunabudKnits.etsy.com

The name sake of each new colorway is from Classic Greek or Roman Mythology or simple words or phrases. To find the meaning you can do a simple word search on the internet using a greek or or latin dictionary.  Of course, you could always knit or weave along in blissful ignorance of the colorway's name, but where is the fun in that!?!

And we are now dating our yarn so that dye lots can be more easily identified!  For example:  4/11 means the yarn was dyed on April of 2011.  Yarns dyed prior to 4/11 will not be dated.  Although the date might be the same, I would like to remind you that hand dyed yarn can vary greatly from skein to skein.  Needless to say, if you have a large project in mind for the yarn, I recommend alternating the skeins every other row;)

Hydra

Verte

Vae

Caelestis

Gleba

Acerbitas

Caelestis

Gleba

Orsus

As a side note:  I would like to point out to my Mom & Dad .... See, I am FINALLY making good use of the 2 years in Highschool of Latin & in College 1 semester each of Latin & Greek terminology.  You know the 'dead languages' all thought I would have absolutely no use for?

Who Let the Yarn Out!?!

I did!  I did!  Well at least I soon will be!  This is the new building that will be housing LunabudKnits!   And we wont have just yarn!

lol...  I have to take a break here and apologize for all of the exclamation points, but it really is hard to contain my excitement!

After 7 months of back and forth with the 'Mother may I get a permit for the building', my heart is bursting with joy that #1 we finally received the permit and #2 I am taking it to the next level with an 'in real life' shop of my own.

I have to admit, it will be pure bliss to actually have some place to go that does not involve stashing yarn and fiber in drawers, cupboards, bins, giant zip locks, hanging from the chandelier, covering the dining table, taking up the countertop in the kitchen......  At times the house feels like the furry fairy Godmother came for a visit and left fiber in her wake!

Instead, I will have a lovely little shop with fiber, wheels and yarn.  At this little shop, there will also be spinning lessons, felting lessons, knitting lessons, & dying lessons.  The pure bliss of the new shop will be that none and I repeat... NONE of the fluff will be in my home any more!

I am in a happy little state of shock that I will soon have not just a cute little shop, but also a completely separate home to go home to at the end of the day.   AH, can life get any more grand, I think not!

Indiana Fiber & Music Festival

Just a quick shout to let you know LunabudKnits will be at the First Annual Indiana Fiber & Music Festival.  The Festival is April 30 through May 1st in Charlestown, IN which is just a smidgen outside of Louisville, KY and not far from Cincinnati, OH.  I sure hope to see you there!

My Wheel's Likes & Dislikes.

I have very much so enjoyed reading everyone's odes and woes of their wheels in the Spin-List Group on Yahoo.  Figure it is my turn to give it a whirl and thought I might as well post them here too;)

My numero uno absolutely favorite go to wheel is the Louet S10.  Here are the reasons why I adore it so....  

For starters, I can spin art yarn on it and cram a large assortment of funky stuff through the 1/2" orifice.  This also makes using an orifice hook pretty well obsolete. 

Secondly, the bobbins... OMG... the huge bobbins just make me squeeee in delight when I find I have managed to spin an entire 1/2 pound of wool onto just one bobbin.  In truth here, the last ounce was a bugger to get on, but it did go on;)

Finally I like that you ABSOLUTELY CAN spin lace with this wheel simply by adding a core to the bobbin.  My favorite method is to use a piece of foam insulation cut to the size of my bobbin and spinning from there.  This is the same insulation tubing used to winterize metal piping in colder climates.  Of course Louet does make a lace flyer with fatcore bobbins for this wheel, but I have always been a fan of simple home ingenuity;)

Probably my only dislike of this wheel is that it is a touch modern looking for my tastes.  But in all honesty, the simple look of the S10 is really growing on me.  Especially after I came to realization what a lovely canvas it makes when painting scenes and happy smiling sheepies!

Now, some of my current wheels and likes/dislikes:

S10 Single Treadle:  

Same as above but add the dislike of having just one treadle.

S17 Single Treadle:

Likes: For the most part the same as the S10 Single Treadle, but the price simply can not be beat!!

dislike.....  Assembly.  But for the price, who cares!

PS:  I custom paint these for folks:)

Louet Victoria

Likes:  Super fast little spinner that can transition easily from lace to bulky in a heart beat.  It fits in a back pack so that you can take on a flight as carry on luggage. Assembling and disassembling is as easy as pulling off the flyer assemble and disconnecting the  footman to fold it over and put in the back pack.  Great if you need to save space or erm... Keep the hubs from knowing you brought yet another wheel into the house...hahaha

Dislikes:  smaller bobbins than the S10, but they are comparable if not larger in size that other popular wheels.  So really, what am I being itchy about..hahaha

100+yr Castle Wheel- (on left)

Likes:  simple design with ornate turnings.  Easy to use and was my first wheel.

dislikes:   There is only one itty-bitty bobbin so any type of production is definitely out of the question.

Kromski Sonata (Sold) (on right)

Likes:  Semi Portable.  This was my very first brand spanking wheel that was not over 100 years old and I was amazed at it's smooth treadling and ease of use.

Dislikes:  It is really not at all easy to assemble or disassemble in my opinion.  When put up it saves a little more space than when assembled, but not a wheel that you can take on a plane as carry on baggage.

Oak Walking Wheel 100+ yr

Likes:  Absolutely stunning wheel that is complete and excellent for demonstrations.

dislikes:  Weighs a ton and difficult to transport.  This makes it more of a conversation piece in my living room.

Castle Wheel from Lithuania 100+yr

Likes:  Pretty blue paint and ornately hand turned woodwork. Spins, but with a wobble

Dislikes:  Quite a few of the pieces did not arrive with the wheel from Lithuania which resulted in costly repairs.  

Pirtle Wheel

Likes:  1" orifice excellent for spinning bulky & art yarns

Dislikes:  The treadle is so darn awkward

1960's model Charkha 

Likes:  It's a pretty display piece.

Dislikes:  Wobble to drive wheel which causes the drive band to pop off.

late 1800's early 1900's table tip Charkha (No Picture)

Likes:  It's cute

Dislikes:  Needs a new quill, but the repair will be tricky.  Still working it out.

The Greatest Show on EARTH!

Everyone loves a Circus.  In my family they do:)  Last night, we took Luke to his first circus!

He has no idea what he is in for!

The one time Dad slowed down from our run to the Yum Arena.  Jen & I had to almost jog to keep up with Dad & Luke!

I love the elephants.

Taking a break.

Conga line!

Luke could not keep his eyes off of the Clowns!

Dad couldn't help but borrow Luke's hat for a little while. in between bites of pizza!

Tigers.

Oh My!

Don't worry, I've been busy the past few weeks catching up on some dye work!