New Things!

I have completed the handspun shawl. It's the swallowtail shawl by Evelyn A.Clarke made from merino/soysilk handspun lace yarn on size 5 vintage nylon needles. I love how it turned out!





I've also finished the kneee high socks for my husband.



I also purchased two new spindles from the Spanish Peacock. They both spin like tornados!
This is a Russian spindle made of Zebrawood. It's 25g.



This one is a Tibetan Spindle. I forgot to ask what woods are involved.



Here are some recent thrift store finds:

CVM 3 ply

CVM 3 ply
Originally uploaded by nkosit1968

Ok, so I finally finished spinning the CVM into a three ply yarn. It turned out fabulous! Washing made the yarn bloom very nicely. It's so creamy and quishy! I'm very, very proud of this yarn. It only took me forever to finish, but it's done! There is about 560 yards of yumminess in this skein.

Update

I've been working very long hours and when I get home I'm too tired to do anything. That's the reason I haven't posted anything in a while.

I am still trying to squeeze some knitting in on the train ride to and from work, but the spinning is almost at a standstill. My hands miss it terribly.

Here's an update on some things I've been working on. Hope to finish both of these projects very soon.

This is the swallowtail lace shawl by Evelyn A. Clarke. It's coming out very nicely, and after a few rough patches in following the pattern, I'm thoroughly enjoying knitting this. The shawl has been competing fiercely with my other project for my attention! I'm not sure that the yarn I'm using is the best choice for the pattern, as it is such a dark and variegated color. This shawl would probably look best with a single color yarn. However, this yarn is my handspun merino/soysilk (fiber received a couple years ago at a fiber swap)which I really wanted to use in a lace pattern. Hopefully everything will work out and I'll be wearing this shawl soon.



Here are the hubby socks I previously posted about. I had completed them already and they turned out too short in the foot. So, I had to rip out the toes, add length to the foot, and now I'm about the do the toes again. Hubby is anxiously waiting for them to be finished so he can wear them!

Long time no post!

Well, it's been quite some time since I've posted. It's because I've been working crazy, long hours. When I get home late at night, I'm just too exhausted to do anything! And, as a result, this blog has been sorely neglected. I'm going to try my best not to let so much time pass again before I post again next time.

I really haven't had much time for crafting either. I've been squeezing it in here and there when I can. It's been really hard doing that, but it is what keeps me sane and I can't be away from my fibers for too long :).

Here's some things I've been working on lately:

Phang spindle purchased through a destash with some unknown fiber that accompanied the spindle


This phang is a good weight and it spins pretty well. I really enjoy working with it and like the color of the wood a lot. Good fiber prep is really the key to working with these types of spindles.


Carded cotton on a hookless tahkli spindle


Absolutely adore spinning up cotton. This hookless takhli is a nice tool. While it doesn't spin as fast as the hooked Indian takhli I have, it sure does hold way more fiber. I'm challenging myself to see how much fiber I can pack on it.

California Variegated Mutant wool being 3 plyed on a CD spindle


I'm almost done plying this wool. I had a blast spinning this fluffy, springy white wool. I have lots more of it to play with too!

Cashmere on a handmade wittled phang and simple toy wheel support spindle



The cashmere loves these two spindles. It spins so effortlessly! The phang works surprisingly well for me, now that I've gotten some good practice time in. I love it so much. Thanks Janet!

I was also gifted these two beautiful bead whorl spindles and cotton samples from a Ravelry friend. Thanks Jame! They spin very well, making a nice, thin thread. Cotton with silk nubs is on the clear glass bead spindle. I'm always fortunate to come in contact with some very generous fiber folks on line.



I'll be going on vacation in the coming week and I should have plenty of time to play with my fibers! It's hard to choose what to take with me. LOL!

Score at the Thrift Store and Street Finds!

This past weekend I went thrifting. Not really looking for anything specific, just checking out the merchandise. I found this really nice, interesting looking chair for $5.00 (it was half off). I love the shape and simplicity of the chair. I'm wondering what, if anything should I do with it. Any suggestions?



I also found these sweet milk glass vases for $.50 a piece,



and this old tarnished silver platter for $3.50 (again, both half off). Check out the little feet on her!



I decided I could use them to change out the display on my dresser. Now, I'd seen vases like these before and simply passed them by. But, after seeing a lovely vignette somewhere out in blogland, I decided to give them a try. What could it hurt at that price? Turns out I love the way they look on my dresser.

This morning while taking my girls to school, I spotted this lovely cane back chair on the sidewalk. Apparently, the owner had put it out to trash. Well, now that I've gotten the thrifty decorating eye, I quickly got out of my car, inspected it, and finding it to be in great shape, threw it in my trunk. Talk about score!!!! Oh yeah!!!!



And it goes well with the other piece I had gotten from the Salvation Army a while back.



Looks like I got my work cut out for me with all my recent furniture finds!

Knitting and spinning

I started making a pair of knee socks for the "man." They are long overdue. I kept knitting and ripping until finally settling on just a plain knit sock. I'm using Filatura Lanarota's "Fashion Toes" which is a 90% superwash Merino Woll , 10% Nylon yarn. I love this yarn! Knit on size 1 needles makes a nice fabric for socks, and the socks are turning out well. Still have about 4-5 inches of leg left to do, then the long (size 12)feet to go.



Also, I finally finished spinning up the bit of llama that accompanied the spindle that Janet gave me. http://www.ravelry.com/people/popsicletote . The spindle took a little getting used to, but it the end I was able to spin it as I wanted to. Fiber prep is extremely important when using these phang spindles. It really makes spinning much easier. The llama is really soft and nice. I wouldn't mind getting some more of this.





I think I'll eventually ply this bit of llama with some Romney lambswool (in the same natural color) that I'm working on and make a pair of lace wrist warmers-if there's enough yardage.

Freecycle Finds And Street Finds

Yay Freecycle! I've mentioned what Freecycle is in a previous post, so I won't wasate time going into again.

Here are some free cycle items I've gotten recently.

Not sure if I'll repaint that table, since I like the paint job.



Something is obviously missing from this table. I have no idea what was there, and the owner was using it as is to put shoes in. I'm going to fill the open space with baskets for storage.



I'm going to sand and paint the dresser, as I'm not loving the loving the look of it right now. I'll also change out the knobs. Then it should be fabulous.



Check out the old casters on the dresser legs!




I absolutely love the Vintage singer sewing machine table! The machine is not included. The owner had been given the table by a friend whose family had it for three generations. She says she didn't have room for it anymore. I gladly took it off her hands.
The detailing on the drawers is amazing! And the foot pedal still works!



Check out the high boy I found on the street. A neighbor, 3 houses away was throwing it out, and I rescued it as it was in great condition. Only the finial in the middle is missing. I have no before pictures, unfortunately. It was a blah honey brown color. This is how it looks now, after I sanded and painted it.




You know, it's strange. I never thought I'd be one to like antiques or vintage furniture. But now that I'm furnishing a new place that old (in age), it seems appropriate to have some vintage pieces. I also have been extremely inspired by the vintage furniture I've seen on so many decorating blogs. Finally, vintage pieces are perfect for the non-existent decorating budget, especially when it's FREE!
I like an eclectic mix of vintage and contemporary. That suits my style very well, I think. And speaking of contemporary...I rescued this lamp someone had put out one day when I was running errands.

It's made with some kind of paper!


I'm absolutely thrilled to have gotten these things. Free can be good.

Some of my favorite things

I wanted to share some of my favorite things. I've found that I'm a rather simple person really. Things found in nature bring me great pleasure. The tactile feel of things is really inspiring for me. Shells, stones,rocks, flowers, clay.... I have some others too, but I'll just share these for now.

Projects and things

WARNING
This post will be sort of jumbled, and jumping from thing to thing - Just like my state of mind right now! :) But, it's all good, as I'm still getting things done.

Since moving into the house and having a $0 decorating budget right now, I'm really heavy into renew, reuse, recycle. I wanted a new look on my bathroom window sill, so I decided to reuse some emerald green sparkling cider bottles to decorate with. They match with the green marble tiles on the floor. I may embellish them a bit more later, but, so far, this is what I've come up with. It looks kinda neat to me.



Here's a look at some of my lovely plants:





Here's my finished Dane Shawl, first shown in the October 27, 2010 post. It turned out great. This one is from sheep to shawl. For those of you who don't know what that means : I got the raw fleece, washed it, dyed it, spun it into yarn, and then knitted it into this shawl. I love it and it's happily on display in my craft room.



I made some new bead spindles. I made one a couple years ago (it's shown here in my December 30, 2010 post, and my November 27, 2009 post). But, after seeing similar bead spindles in an online friend's post on http://www.ravelry.com, and on her blog, http://www.fiberdrunk.blogspot.com, I had spindle envy and decided to make some also. They are made with African beads and bamboo for the shafts. One has a vintage no.3 steel double pointed knitting needle as a shaft. Three of them spin very well (including the one with the steel shaft), but one has a little wobble. That's the one with the cotton fiber on it. I'm hoping that a bit more fiber on it will make the wobble disappear, as sometimes happens with spindles.
Here's what they look like:




I was gifted an interesting spindle by an online friend, Janet, I met on ravelry. It's called a PHANG spindle, and is used in Asia. If you go on youtube.com and type in phang, you will be able to view videos of women using them. For some strange reason, I can't insert links here. Maybe someone out there can tell me what I'm doing wrong.

Janet makes these spindles by hand whittling them from wood in her area of the country. I saw her post showing some she'd made and I was intrigued so I asked if I could buy or trade for one, and she decided to gift me one! The selfless generosity of Fiber folks never ceases to amaze me! Anyway, along with the spindle came some lovely llama fiber to practice with. I've been practicing and getting use to the feel of the spindle. Since I'm already familiar with support spinning, it's not too difficult. But, there's still a learning curve. :) Here's a look at the spindle:



Lastly,my 7 year old recently lost her mittens on the bus on the way from school. I'm making her another pair from handspun yarn (made on a spindle) I made about 5 years ago. I'll be smart this time and make an I-cord to run through the sleeves of her coat, so these won't get lost! The handspun actually looks very good considering it was one made during my first year of spinning. They are being knit on bamboo double pointed knitting needles that I made from bamboo skewers. They are a size 4 and they knit very well.



A shot of the needles