pointysticks.net

In a fit of giggles and questionable taste I registered the domain name yarnporn.com. Although I don’t really need another domain name or website, I realized that I’ve been pretty serious lately (especially when it comes to yarn) and that it would be fun just to create something cheeky.

I had fun at BSG, Saturday hubby and I wandered around. I bought some firestar and pink angelina from the Carolina Homespun booth, yes the same place I bought the new fibers sampler from last year– that booth is a bad influence on me (I realize saying that is like an alcoholic saying the bartender is a bad influence!)

Then Sunday I returned with my mom– I was on a mission then. I was going to buy only one thing; an 8 oz bag of Tussah silk. Well, wouldn’t you know it? The booth that I was going to buy from sold out before I made it there and I ended up with a one pound bag of processed silk from another booth (I think it’s bleached Tussah, although I would have really prefered natural colored.)

Oh yeah, lots of booths had undyed Tussah, just not in the quantities that I like.

No fleeces this year, I’m still working on cleaning and spinning up the stuff I bought last year and I really do not want a big mulch pile formerly known as fluff living in the pantry.

Red and green firestar (just a pinch of each) blended nicely with mohair and wool.

I posted a stash challenge over at another fiber community (Chaos Fibers) which then meant that I should actually participate in the challenge.

I came up with this:

A brown paper bag shaped bag.

Okay, I know the resemblance to a brown paper bag, really ends at the size and shape, but I did use a treasure tooth hem at the top to imitate the zig-zag cut at the top of my model (a brown paper bag.)

On other fronts, I decided that I would get over my near pathological fear of felting merino and take a shot at dyeing some in the crockpot. I have yet to order some grown up dyes, so this is KA and deco-cake food drops.

Of course I had to dye some mohair to match, the picture really doesn’t show how well I matched the two fibers.

More weaving:

amongst more spinning:

I had a strange fiber related dream, I won’t go into great detail about it but I must truly be a fiberholic of some sort in that when I first woke up I went immediately to my work space to fondle the wonderous fiber I’d dreamed up. Nope– just a dream. Although spinning in dreams is supposed to be a great omen for housewives, that the dreamer’s industry and creativity makes it possible to pull through even the meanest of times– so I flatter myself even in my dreams.

It’s here, and I actually think I like weaving now.

Of course I had to unload the bright primary colors from the shuttles and load on my own yarn.

A closer picture.

This little loom could totally lead to a whole new fiber obsession.

I also picked up the The Joy of Handweaving by Osma Gallinger Tod and Spinning Designer Yarns by Diane Varney at Borders yesterday.

Spinning camel has been a very humbling experience. The shorty short fine fibers want to tangle and create all sorts of neps. However patience paid off and I have a nice little sample skein for my efforts.

The Merino is heavenly, but slow going since I’m still practicing my wheelie skills.

From the wheel: Camel, Merino, beaded Merino, Merino and silk plied together.

Then there’s the Optim threads from my spindle:

The top skein of optim is from about a year ago when I first decided to see how thin I could spin, the second skein is the recent one.

Ordered a child’s loom from Kidsurplus.com, as if I need another hobby. Oh yes, I still have the loom that Matt made for me, but I really need a small one with all the bells and whistles. This loom seems to have (to my weaving uneducated eyes at least) all of the components of a grownup loom, so I’m eagerly awaiting it’s arrival.

The UPS man brought goodies for me today.

Camel above and Merino below.

At first my heart dropped because I thought for sure that they’d mistakenly sent me something other than the merino that I’d ordered– the staple is about 4 inches. But then I started comparing it to the merino wool and optim that I have and it’s definitely merino. Now that both have been freed from their plastic bags they’ve expanded to about twice the size without any fluffing on my part.

I had to take the camel for a test spin, so I tried carding a little of it up. Mostly that produced noils, so unless I’m blending the camel, I think I’ll refrain from carding any more of it up. It seems to spin perfectly from the clouds of fluff, so I’ll continue to spin from the fluff.