TDF Day 7

No spinning today. Too hot, too tired.

TDF Day 6

I spun and spun and spun today. I am super tired.

TDF Day 5

I spun for about 4hrs today, maybe more. I forgot to keep track. I spun bamboo but I didn't fill the bobbin like I had hoped. I got really close and I will definitely finish it tomorrow. I might even be able to ply it with the soysilk!

TDF Day 4

Today was a tough day. There were lots of crashes in the race and in my spinning. I used a supported spindle to spin some tencel and it just isn't going very well. I think I just don't get alone with this spindle. I am thinking about switching over to my wheel. In order to do that I need to spin some fiber to ply with my soysilk single. I have decided that I would like to ply it with bamboo. So, I pulled out some carbonized bamboo roving and started spinning. I hope to get a bobbin full tomorrow.

Total time spinning today: 3hr. 44min

TDF Day 3

I finished the soy silk. Spun for 3 hrs.

Squirrel Interrupted

As I was fixing lunch I glanced out the back and I saw this:

I ran to grab my camera. I didn't know if the squirrel was dead or what but I knew I had to get a picture of it. At first I thought maybe it missed a branch and fell out of a tree. *SPLAT* on the cement! I got closer to the window and the squirrel was still not moving.

At this point Abby had come over. She didn't see it right away. So I knocked on the glass door. Abby went nutz and the squirrel moved! It was alive!

Abby started to bark/growl at it so it took off. I guess the squirrel was just sleeping or keeping cool in the shade. Very weird but I am glad it is ok. Next time I will just let it nap.

TDF Day 2

I worked on the soysilk while watching the race this morning. Then this afternoon I started to spin some tencel on a supported spindle. I spun for 4hrs 3min.

TDF Day 1

I didn't get much spinning in today. My dad is visiting this weekend. I did get 1hr and 40min of spinning done. I am starting with the 4oz of soysilk.

TDF Goal 2012

My goal for Tour de Fleece is to spin one pound of fiber. I have 4 rovings each 4oz each. One is soysilk the rest is tencel.

Happy Mother's Day

I finished my Gonzo batts last weekend. I still need to set the twist but I think the yarn came out nice. I spun the batts as one single. I spun another single of blue soy silk that I dyed last year. I plyed them together and wa-la I have yarn! I did some coils and a few shells. I can't get too wild with the art yarns because of the small orifice on my wheel...and the hooks. I am giving this yarn to my mom.

Happy Mother's Day!

SAL Gonzo

I am participating in another online spin-a-long that is Muppet themed. I picked Gonzo as my character! My friend Chris Knight or Xiane is hosting the SAL. She does great work in the Fiber Art world so check out her shop.

My box not only included some wonderful luxury batts made of soft alpaca (and other fibers) to spin up but she included some extras to spin into my yarn. There are feathers, denim and alpaca locks. I also really love the inspiration photo she included in my box of fluff! I can't wait to start spinning! I just have to decide how I want to spin it.

She also included some wonderful gifts for me. Chocolate, a vellum sketch pad, and the most amazing fiber ever, Vicuna! They are a South American camelid, related to the Alpaca. It is some of the softest...if not the softest fiber I have ever felt! What a treat!

Ok, back to the SAL. There was also a small bottle of bubbles. I had a great time blowing them. The dogs were not sure what to make of the bubbles but I think they are really pretty!

221b Baker Street SAL

My first spin-a-long online this year was with Natural Obsessions. Andrea has a Sherlock Holmes themed SAL and it is great fun. You get themed fiber, a little surprise and support in the Raverly forum. Plus, you get to see what everyone else gets in their box and what they are doing with their fiber.

I got 4oz of milk fiber dyed an awesome shade of purple. (I love Andrea's colors!) I spun it into a super energetic single. Then I decided to knit it into a scarf. I finished back in March but didn't get around to blocking it till this week. I think it turned out pretty great.

The skull did not last long. It fell on the floor at one point and Abby got hold of it. She was transfixed with it from the moment she saw the skull. She was in love. I had to take it away from her before she ripped it apart. (The other fiber in the pic below is from a birthday month giveaway...that I won!)

Peonies & Irises

Peonies and Irises are in bloom!

 Abby helped me take some pictures the other day.

Jazz was in her natural state of blanket.

Pots in Progress

The first session of pottery has been over for a couple of weeks. Everything is glazed and waiting to be fired. I start back up at the end of this month. I can't wait! Hopefully, the pots will be fired soon. It is always nerve racking waiting to see how everything comes out. Here is a little collection of the bisque fired pots I made during session one.

Skirting Alpaca

We built a skirting table. It is lightweight and cheap. I have had some alpaca fleece for awhile now and every spring I feel like getting outside & skirting. Finally, I have a place to do that! I am about half done with this fleece. It is taking longer than expected. The fiber is really soft so it is hard for me to tell the difference in fiber grade. It all feels soft to me! (note cute doggies in background)

It's All About the Rainbow!

My MiL got me this beautiful hand painted silk from Zebisis Designs for x-mas. I had to share because it is so colorful! The photo doesn't do it justice. The colors in this brick are so vivid! I can not wait to spin this up!

First Finished Project 2012

My first finished project of 2012 is this coil sewn basket. It is made from an old shirt that my father gave me to transform into something else. I think this is pretty good for my first coil fabric experience. Plus, I used ever bit of the shirt except a few scraps, the pocket, and the buttons. The tulips are from my hubby.

Also, eleven years together with my man. I love glass bottles and my hubby gave me this tiny bottle from Kiva Ford. :) Mini bottles are amazing!

Happy New Year!

Jazz and Abby got their fist pictures of the new year taken today. They are so cute! Jazz wouldn't get out of bed but Abby was doing some good posing.

The only real resolution I have made this year is just to have more laughter in my daily life. I have been dealing with a lot of heavy things in 2011. I know there is still lots of work but I don't see why I can't laugh more too!

I did a few things today to ring in the new year. One was to finally hang a picture on a wall! The other was to finish a craft project. I want to start the year out right by finishing a project instead of starting another one. Hope everyone else had a pleasant day.

Last Day of 2011

It has been a long year yet it seems to have flown by! It has been one hell of a year. I started pottery this year and I made well over a hundred pots! Here is a collage of just a sample of the work I did this year.

We took the dogs to the park for what ended up being a very long walk. It was about 3+ miles. It was just such a nice day we couldn't stop. The trees and fungi were just beautiful! The river was very calming too. The dogs are still exhausted and so are we.

Our holiday cards finally came in and we got them all sent out. No more left! I didn't order many cause I hate having a ton of cards left over. We celebrated New Year's Eve by watching the ball drop in NYC via the web. We also celebrated 11 years together! That is a heck of a long time to be together if you ask me. It was a great day! Lots of laughs.