A Happy Little Detour: From Bobbins to Yarn Balls

I was just going to try something. That's how it starts. You have an idea and decide to see if it'll work then BOOM you're on and unexpected journey. I saw someone spinning yarn with a spindle made from a spool and thought hmm, that might be a great way to spin cotton. Yes, of…

Exalting the Humble Homespun Cloth

Weavers and fabric lovers spend countless hours admiring fabrics. We have our favorites. Sometimes we can pinpoint why a certain fabric attracts us but most of the time we have no idea why. We just feel something. Our eyes, our skin, our soul gets that strange tickle and we connect. I used to think it…

Moving Towards New Horizons: Yes I Can!

This past summer was a particularly productive spinning season for me. I processed a couple of fleeces, did some spin-alongs with the Ravelry family, and even read through a few books as I blissfully spun hundreds of yards of yarn on my spindles and wheels. Spinning yarn in all the various fibers is a true…

Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do

I've been making. Yes! my crafty fire still burns as bright as ever. I feel like I am in such a whirlwind of ideas at the moment. Inspiration to create new things is flooding me from all directions. I want to do more and more. This year has been filled with unexpected changes both at…

When You Spot a Unicorn: Betty Roberts Spinning Wheel

I first saw one of Betty Roberts’ wheels in 2007 in a Google Search. She uses exotic woods to make her double accelerator-wheel style spinning machines. What makes these wheels truly unique is that Betty painstakingly inlays each wheel with beautiful natural flora, insects, and even rattlesnake tails and porcupine quills she finds near her home…

Oh, This Old Thing?: Flax Wheel

It's been 11 years now since I bought my first spinning wheel. I can remember scouring the internet during this "Renaissance Spinning Era"  digging up all the information I could find about wheels. I had just moved to northern Indiana from college and had finally landed a full-time job. My first wheel was an old…

Smiles and Sparkles with Knits and Spins

September was a month with lots of knitting and spinning on-the-go. I literally took a project with me to school, BSF, restaurants, and everywhere else. I am so done with hiding away one of my dearest past times passions for the sake of appearing conventional. I have truly enjoyed the liberation and made some new…

Wait but There’s More

I did get a little housekeeping done. The Tour De Fleece skeins are finally washed. There was so much to wash that I just filled up my kiddie pool, added a little Dr. Bronners Castle Soap and gave them a swirl to set the twist.   I bought some stuff. I bought a lot of…

Spinning Under the Influence: Artsy Yarn

Every since I joined a few Ravelry spinning groups last month I've been under a bit of a trance with my spinning. No, stranger to color it was only natural that I would see Inglenook fibers and need to spin some. They have the most imaginative colorways. I decided to follow the technique of the Ravelry…

I Still Sew: Cappuccino Dress

I've been meaning to sew for a while now, really. I haven't forgot. Lately my spinning mojo has been in control. There was this one pattern though that was able to snap me out of my spinning trance for a brief moment, the cappuccino dress by Oliver & Co. I caught on to the Portfolio…