Some things I'm working on

I've been working on some cotton that I have ignored for some time. I started spinning it with a vengeance since I've been home with the kids over the holiday break.

Variegated green cotton! Photo is not so clear and doesn't show the colors too well. The colors on the spindle show pretty well though. Spun directly from the hand ginned bolls.


White ginned cotton carded on wool cards


Progress on the CVM wool
Here is my progress on the CVM wool I posted on before. I've rolled 3 plying balls as I'm planning on making a 3 ply yarn.

Cool Socks!

Cool Socks!
Originally uploaded by nkosit1968

Finally finished my socks. These were knit with Red Heart superwash wool and nylon with Aloe! Pretty good stuff. I love the colors.

Freecycle finds

Today, I scored well on Freecycle ( an organized yahoo group in your local area where people list things they have to give away, and people request things that they'd like - all for FREE!). Yay Freecycle!

I went to meet a lady who offered a small antique table. It had been stripped of paint, as she had intended to fix it up, but never got around to it. I got it and painted it. Should have taken some before pictures, but didn't think of it.

From this same lady, who was apparently cleaning out her apartment, I got a large, old, wooden frame that was gold in color and detailed with flowers or something. I painted that too, and put an old corkboard I had in it. Since the corkboard didn't fill the entire frame, I used a bit of burlap to cover the area . Now it's a message or picture board! I also forgot to take before pictures.

I also got a large potted plant and an old sign.

Here are the pics:

Pretty Things!

I just had to share these really cute items I scored recently while thrifting. Generally, when I go to the thrift stores, it's to seek out hand made pottery and ceramics. But, I think I did well to find these really pretty cups. I love to drink tea, and drinking out of a pretty cup just makes you feel oh so pretty! LOL!


Mikasa "Ivory China"




Unnamed yellow teacups with flower print and gold rim

Cotton grows in Brooklyn????

Yay! I'm doing a happy dance!

Folks, I love spinning cotton, and so, I wanted to experiment with growing it here in Brooklyn. Now, last year I tried growing some cotton (from seeds I ginned from purchased cotton bolls) when we lived in an apartment. I put it in bright sunny, west facing windows with no luck. An online friend said she had gotten some to grow in her south facing window in Ohio! So, this year, when we moved into our home, I decided to try it out in little pots in my north facing back yard. Well, let me tell you...cotton takes a long time to grow! I had two pots outside all summer long. One plant flowered and grew a boll. The other didn't. When the weather gold cold, I brought the pots inside and placed them in a very sunny south facing window. The boll grew and grew until finally, today, I noticed it had popped open! Inside is really some white cotton! Can you tell how thrilled I am? The second plant flowered and has a tiny boll growing on it. I never thought the plants would last long. They were showing signs of death. Leaves were drying up and falling off, even with watering almost every other day. But, those little plants are survivors!

Enough with the talk.... Let me show you what I"m talking about.


Well, well, well! I'll be......! Cotton can grow in Brooklyn! And I did it! Yes, sirree, I did it!!

New Projects

Well, it's been a while since my last post! I've finally made some time to list some of the projects I've been working on lately. My life has been so stressful lately, and these projects have helped me maintain my sanity. I can't express how good it feels to work with fibers. The feel of the fiber in my hand; the smell of it; the look of it - it makes me feel happy! I love the process so much. The finished yarn and project are secondary for me. Anyway, here are a few of the things I'm working on currently. There's one finished item also!


Merino/Viscose pencil roving on spindles. This wool was gifted to me by a good internet buddy and handyed by me.



Dane Shawl made from handspun, easter egg dyed corriedale wool fleece. Can't wait to finish this!



CVM wool on spindles. I love this wool!



Crocheted Hat for the man! Made with my handspun superwash wool.



Socks for the man!


I'll try to be a good blogger and update more regularly. I'll also have some more pics of my thrift finds! Love, Love, Love.
Peace!

I'm back!!!!

t's been so long since I've blogged. So much has happened since my last post.
We moved into our house! That was a nightmare. I've put away just about everything and just have to figure out where I'll hang the pictures. I have some storage issues, so i'm looking for a solution to display some cherished items in the kitchen. I realize it's going to take some time to acquire some just right pieces. We didn't have much furniture in our apartment, so the house is sparsely furnished. That's actually fine with me, as I am trying to stay away from the clutter that was our apartment - mainly my crafting supplies.
I'm still getting accustomed to 3 floors plus a cellar. It's a lot of house to clean and there's always something to be done. I am trying to enjoy the house, but it's hard when you don't have all the things you want. I must nevertheless take time to give thanks for all that we do have. I'm very grateful.

I'm still spinning, knitting and crocheting. A bit less than usual though. Trying to get back into my grove. What I've been doing quite a bit of is thrift store shopping. Finding cute, functional things to decorate the place. It's a lot of fun, and looking for the bargains is a blast. Whether alone or with a friend, I'm totally enjoying myself.

I have some photos of some things I've accumulated lately that I want to share. Photos were taken with my blackberry, so excuse me if they don't look too hot.

Small trinket box made of colored glass, with a mirror insert


Inside of a pea pod - bowl?


Milk glass planter


Two soup bowls - Hull pottery


Another milk glass planter


Milk glass bowl -flower





"This old house" canister



Clay pottery - lipped pot


Old "Farmhouse" milk bottle

Too much going on!

camsilkwool2
Originally uploaded by nkosit1968

There has been so much going on in my life the past few months. It's been very stressful and hectic. But, through it all, I've been squeezing in little snippets of time to spin and knit.
I've been working on some camel/tussah silk for a while now. After finishing that singles, I then spun some rambo/romney fleece and plied the two together. I spun each single rather thin, as I was hoping to achieve a 2-ply lace weight yarn. Well...success! Here's a pic of the final yarn. It turned out rather nicely and I'm so pleased with it.

And here are the before shots:

RamboRomney2
Originally uploaded by nkosit1968

Rambo/romney fleece on the spindles and camel/tussah silk on the roll.

Rambo/Romney fleece:

RamboRomney1
Originally uploaded by nkosit1968

Camel/Tussah silk on a tiny bottom whorl spindle

Cameltusahsilk
Originally uploaded by nkosit1968

cotton punis

cotton punis
Originally uploaded by nkosit1968

Hey folks! There's been a lot going on in my life lately. Talk about STRESS! But, I've been keeping busy with my spinning and carding.

Here's a pic of some punis I made up recently. These punis are from machine ginned Acala cotton that I've had for a few years now. Believe it or not, I used my regular wool carder to make these, and they came out pretty nicely, IMHO. The last time I tried to make punis from this ginned cotton, they didn't turn out well. I realize now that the problem was that I wasn't fluffing out the cotton first being loading the carders. This stuff was pretty compacted, so fluffing it out first was a necessity in order to allow for a smoother spin. Now that I'm doing that, the punis are coming out way better.

This stuff, as with most of my spinning has been by trial and error. I'm glad I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. I think my preference for cotton spinning is still spinning from the freshly ginned bolls. The whole process is one that I enjoy.

The Never Ending Polypay Fleece Project

I have this 3lb polypay fleece that I bought about 3 years ago. I dyed the entire fleece in shades of pink and purple, and set out to spindle the entire fleece. Well, I have completed my 5th skein! Mind you, this is something I work on from time to time, because the staple length is short and I have to comb out each lock with my pet comb. When I set my mind to it, the combing out can go very quickly. So can the spinning -when I choose to work on it. I've been very happy with the way my skeins have turned out - all in the 260-290 yard range, fingering weight, and tightly plied.
I've been trying out a new way of plying as I normally ply right off the spindle. This time, I've wound the fiber from two spindles onto a paper towel roll and plyed from that. Much easier, less tangled, and most importantly - much faster plying. I also did all the plying via thigh rolling as this increases the speed tremendously.
Please excuse the pics as they were taken with my blackberry. And without further ado...Here are the pics.

First Yarn of the New Year!

first yarn of new year
Originally uploaded by nkosit1968

I actually finished this yarn around the 3rd or 4th of January, but had computer issues. I took the photo with my blackberry, so they aren't the clearest, but it'll have to suffice.
This is a 430 yard skein of romney/corriedale fleece spun up on my columbine wheel. It will be good for a pair of long socks as the wool appears to be very strong. I think it's also destined to be overdyed as it is a very pale green color.