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…

A Maker’s Journal: Knitting a Handspun Cotton Tee

Once I get inspired to work with a particular material or technique I have to keep going at it until something else grabs my attention. This past summer I was given the opportunity to share my point of view on spinning and knitting cotton. Oh my! In three weeks I ended up designing and knitting…

As We Say: Tis’ the Season

I don't know what it is about sunshine. It seems that every time I come into this season I go into a fiber frenzy. Suddenly I have this unquenchable urge to wash skeins of handspun that I have hoarded all year, wash and spin raw fleeces, dyestuff, and spin everything in sight. I guess 'tis…

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…

Working with Camelids and Other Fiber Shenanigans

The latest cold snap has got me suddenly working with the camelids . Back when I first started spinning I would search out as many different types of fibers as I could find. In my search I found myself driving to a local farm to purchase my first Huacaya alpaca combed top. It was so lofty and soft. I ended up…

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…

My Stash: Am I Busting or Building?

I have been spinning a lot of yarn lately. A lot. Now a sane crafter would be telling herself "Good job, see you may buy a lot of craft supplies  but at least you're producing", "Look at all of that yarn you've spun, one day soon your  fiber and yarn stash will be reasonable. Nope not…

Finished Objects: Wheels spinning, Needles Clicking

I finished up spinning the 16ounces of llama fiber I began working on last month. Love It! It's a little late in the season to start a project with it so I have decided to store it for later. I really want to start working on plant fibers now for spring. We'll see. I still have about…

Spinning My Wheels

I have been in a crafty frenzy lately. Every since Winter break I have been pulling out all of my fiber stuff that had been hibernating in the basement for years. I have since put my dining table in a closet (heck, I only host people twice a year) so that I can have a workspace in my…