Tailspinning

What a thrill last year was. Full of epic  ups and downs to thrill me to my soul. 

Last year Louet launched the 'art yarn' flyer with a giant orifice and sliding ring guide.  There are no hooks to catch large loose locks as the glide effortlessly onto the bobbin.  It made me fall in love with tailspun yarn again. 

Looking for the art yarn flyer by Louet, check it out here: Lunabudknits

Last summers Tour de Fleece Suri alpaca tailspun. 

American bred and raised Teeswater tailspun. 

More lovely Teeswater. 

Wensleydale locks waiting to be tailspun. 

Fred helped me take the photos for the article on blending fiber for tweed yarn to be published in an up coming issue of the American Livestock magazine. http://www.americanlive.com

Craft or Bust and Then Some...

So far, this has been a very very busy spring for me. Thus the lack of proper posting on the blog. At the moment, I am hand painting a Louet S17 spinning wheel kit that will be shipped to Russia hopefully by the end of the week! Keeping my fingers crossed. So far, I have one side of the main wheel and all supporting frame pieces painted. Next to go are the flyer and bobbin parts! Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel:)

What the S17 looks like when it arrives.

After lightly sanding w/ 320 paper and ready for the first coat of paint.

Painted a Russian Tortoise on one side. The other side will be a pond with turtles around it.

All supporting beams are painted coffee brown with metallic turquoise dots.

Next on the agenda is one of the craft or bust projects! I really do feel bad that I have not had much of a chance to post more about the craft or bust project. As I'm getting ready for the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival next month. I sent 3 more skeins to Chris to send to her Sister and have a new skein on the bobbon. The single and fiber you are seeing are from Canty a lovely white alpaca Chris previously owned. Can't tell you how lovely this stuff really is!

Canty on the wheel

Canty punis

Alpaca VS 46 TPI

Well, I thought it was time to put it to the test. Put what to the test you say? Well, the whole idea that you need a higher TPI, Teeth Per Inch, to card alpaca using a drum carder.

It all started with a request from one of my customers over at LunabudKnits. She has alpacas and was wondering about how well alpaca could be carder with the Louet's 72 TPI. I had finally saved enough money that I could get one of the Louet Classic Drum Carders which has a 46 TPI. So off to the carder I went.

Here are the results. I picked the alpaca yearling fleece prior to carding and then sent it through the carder about 3 times. I have found that sending raw fleece through the carder a minimum of three times will properly open the fibers regardless of whether I am using the old 120 TPI carder or the new 46 TPI carder. As you can see from the photos, it turned out rather well!

WOW....

Can't believe I missed my blog Holiday Wishes! I wish you all good health and a great year!

Now on to the news.........

Several new little developments......... Trust me, there's a whole bunch more. This is just a little tidbit to tempt your taste buds:)

NUMBER ONE

I finally unpacked the Louet S17 kit wheel, proceeded to give the base and uprights a fine base coat of antique gold which doesn't show up very well on my puter, the bobbins were painted in metallic multi-colors and the wheel itself.....? Well, I just couldn't be happier with how it turned out! See, the side showing I painted with an adorable little sheepy that is based on the original pastel by artist Marianna McDonald.

It originally was a green base with the multi colored polka-dots I do so well.....lol I just didn't like how the dots looked after I was done with them and brain stormed for inspiration when I spied my little card that someone had give me with a picture of the original pastel. I simply could not resist how cute the little guy looked, so plowed ahead and painted my little furry friend.

This little guy is just too darn cute! He always seems so very happy for me to 'Sit and Spin'!

The back side is pink with gold polka-dots. Was a very hard decision which side I wanted facing me:)

Why just the other night, I was needing a break from regular spinning and well I did have an 8 ounce bag of Finn combed top, which I didn't particularly care for and don't want to pawn off on anyone else due to it's coarseness. I started to spin it bulky using a long draw and before I knew what had hit, I had the FULL 8 ounces spun and on the bobbin. The last ounce went on a little tight and awkward, but I managed to cram it right on there.

My eyes grew a little, well, OK, a lot big. Now, my little pea-brain is all a buzz with ideas of what I can do next with this fun little wheel! This particular wheel is not for sale, but Louet has plenty more in stock. Just give me a shout if you would like me to order one of these fun and INEXPENSIVE kits for you. Or, you can find them in the shop:) Lunabudknits

NUMBER TWO......

Right before the Holidays Nicholasville Knit Night had it's annual Christmas Party at Bella Notte in Lexington, KY and I scored big time. We do a little 'Dirty Santa' gift exchange where you can open a new present or you can steal one that was already open. I couldn't believe my luck when I drew the very LAST number, steal, or gift. The wrapping and tissue papers were flying. Gifts were stolen here there and every where.

Finally, my turn came and I had my eye on 3 gifts. I did a quick mental eni-meeni-mihni-moe to eliminate one gift and flipped a coin between the Ottlite and a hand turned bowl by the husband of one of the knitters. I figured there was not a more diplomatic way to steal a gift than to flip a coin. The tension was building up and heads won me the beautiful hand made bowl turned from a Black Walnut tree collected at the Kentucky River Palisades. I absolutely adore it!

NUMBER THREE......

Ace is back to sleeping in his wild and wacky nap positions:)