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!

Classes KSFF

I am so darn excited to be teaching 2 classes at the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival in May.  If you are in the Lexington KY area May 20-22, my class schedule and info is below.  You can also print off the Registration form here:  KSFF Registration

Art Yarn – Advanced Spinning

INSTRUCTOR:            Stephanie Stratton     

DATE:             Friday, May 21^st             1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

DESCRIPTION OF WORKSHOP:            Learn to construct Art Yarns such as Core Spun, Tail Spun, Coils, Hives, using Spin-Ins (such as sequins, ribbons, beads, wool locks, fabric strips, etc.), 3 Ply Navaho and Thick & Thin. 

SKILL LEVEL: This is an advanced spinning class for those who are comfortable spinning and plying yarn.

WORKSHOP FEE:  $65            MATERIAL FEE:  None

MATERIALS NEEDED:             Spinning wheel, 1 bobbin of pre-spun singles, darning needle, bobbins, fiber, cone or skein of woolen yarn, thread, and spin-ins.

SUPPLIES FOR SALE:              Yes

Carding Art Batts

INSTRUCTOR:            Stephanie Stratton            

DATE:             Saturday May 21^st              11:00 am - 1:00 pm

DESCRIPTION OF WORKSHOP:  Want to know how the beautifully sparkly, deliciously funky and extremely expensive art batts are created?  Or perhaps you are mystified by how to make your own roving from scratch? 

SKILL LEVEL:  Basic knowledge of carding is preferred, but squeaky clean drum carding newbies are welcome.

WORKSHOP FEE:  $55            MATERIAL FEE:             None

MATERIALS NEEDED:             Drum Carder & Diz and Fiber (Can reserve carder in advance, only 3 available!)

SUPPLIES FOR SALE:              Yes

Hail Storm

You have to love our Kentucky weather in the spring.  One week we have lovely 70 degree temps when along comes a hail storm to crank us down a notch to 50s during the days and freezing at night.  The hail we got wasn't much to complain about, but there were other areas that got golf ball sized rocks.  Here are a few pics of the little icy rocks.

He's HERE!!

Guess whose little nephew flew in from Japan this week!!!

MINE DID!  MINE DID!! MINE DID!!!

I would like to extend a huge and hearty Thank You to the US Navy for transporting such a special little cargo and his Mom across the Pacific and then home to Kentucky!  This picture was taken just as Luke and Jen stepped out of the airport to go home.  Unfortunately, I only had my cell phone, so this is the only picture I got.

Mom as you can tell is just as happy if not more so than I am;)

I have one more little favor for the US Navy...  Keep my brother safe while he is working in Japan.  I know that his job is important, not only to the United States, but to the relief effort as well.   All I ask is that you keep him safe and healthy while he is helping others!

Running around Aunt Stephanie's table

FAst asleep after a long afternoon of shopping with Mom & Aunt Stephanie

Look at the grin.  I tell you, this little fellow will be a heart breaker some day!

This one is from Luke's trip home for the Holidays a few months ago.  He was fascinated by the player piano at Mom & Dad's.

Florida Class

Right - O!  It is so time to get back to Blogging!

How about I start it out right with a post about how the classes went in Pensacola ;)

Unfortunately, I was so into each class that I completely forgot to take pictures until the very last beginning wheel class after a few people had left already.  There were two drop spindle classes that were completely full, two beginning spinning wheels also full and one advanced art yarn class not so full, but it did make a fun day of spinning where everyone got to learn all the techniques they wanted to.