Fairy Candy for an SAL

It's hard to believe that fiber has become an integral part of who I am only within the last year. I can't imagine myself not playing with yarn in some form or fashion- whether it's spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing, etc.

I recently participated in my very first SAL (spin along) and it was a ton of fun. I was a little intimidated, initially, since I'm a newer spinner and people (I don't know) were going to be judging my yarn.

I purchased the fiber from Fluffington Farms on Etsy. When it arrived, I knew it was far different than anything I had ever spun and that was exciting. A mixture of ribbon ends, glittery tinsel, bamboo, silk, mohair, thread and a whole lot of other stuff - I wasn't sure how to tackle the endeavor. I asked around and a friend suggested that I hand card it into some lovely pink Pagewood Farms BFL that I had bought from TYF.


I spun it up on my Lendrum (my spinning wheel) into a thick and thin single.


Then I took a Regia sock yarn (a commercial yarn) and used it as a core to make coiled yarn on the Country Spinner wheel at TYF. The Country Spinner is a wheel predominantly used to make thicker yarn.




I'm calling the yarn "Fairy Candy". I ended up with 56 yards and still have more fiber to make more, if I choose. Yum!

LOOMing Possibilities

My Mother would be mortified over what I'm about to do. I'm about to show you pictures of a room that finally knows what it wants to be and is a bit of a mess. These are the before pictures and I see endless possibilities and potential for this space.

This, my dear readers, is a spare bedroom that never had a purpose. At one time, my father stayed in this room for a few months. Another time, it served a roommate well. It was the "harp" room for several months. Now... now... it's going to be my fiber sanctuary. Here are some before shots.


Note the bookshelf in the next picture. My Dad made it out of scrap and it's been in my bedroom since 1994.


This is my stash on top of a box that my brother made to contain a wedding gift. I figured it made an ok surface for plastic bins.


I plan to paint the room, get some new furniture and make it a really special place. I can't wait to blog about the "after", but it might be a while. My Dad is helping and I am grateful to him.

Did you notice something LOOMing in all of these pictures?


Yes! It is my new loom. Her name is MacSally and she is a Macomber 24" wide, 10 treadle, 8 harness loom. She is also affectionately known as a "baby mac". How is it that I came upon this wonder?

Sam and I took a rigid heddle weaving class at TYF and had a wonderfully good time. I've been keeping my eyes open for a rigid heddle loom only to purchase it if it was a "really good deal". Otherwise, I knew I'd have to wait to buy a new one. Buying a new rigid heddle loom is not a bad thing, they are a good price and they hold their value. I was wandering around craigslist one night and happened to come across a posting for my new girl. I don't know a thing about floor looms. Was it a good deal? Could I learn to weave on it? Did I want to weave? All signs pointed to "yes" with the help of my fiber-enabling friend Debi. This was the deal of the century and I just couldn't pass it up.

So, the morning of New Year's Day (1/1/10, can you believe it?) came and Debi and I went to go meet Dana, the weaver from Carefree. It was love at first sight. Here's a photo of Debi, Dana and MacSally.


Debi was kind enough to lend me a couple of books and a video to get me familiar with my loom. She also helped me set the treadles up, which almost drove us both to drink. As much as I wanted to go home and start-a-weavin' - we had to get to TYF for the annual potluck.

Here are some fabulous photos of the potluck:
Yes, we were bad and got kicked outside. Just kidding! The shop was so full and the day was so lovely that it was a great opportunity to be outside!

Debi weaving a scarf on her cricket.

The shop was packed ;)

Look at all the food!


Such a blast! TYF is the greatest LYS (local yarn store) and all of us are so grateful to them for hosting such a wonderful day.

Now, for some FPs (finished projects):
This is Sam's Cabled Bella Mitten. They were a gift for someone. Don't ask me about the pattern, I think she found it on ravlery.


I finished spinning up my BFL ballerina-colorway by Dicentra Designs



I finished knitting a hat for everyone's favorite Argentine, Mauro, and managed to give it to him ON Christmas. The expression on his face is priceless. That's his new viola in the background.


I also managed to finish knitting up a town & country shawl (pattern at TYF) out of my handspun with some novelty yarns. My Mom was in the hospital and I gave it to her there on New Year's Eve, which she appreciated. Thanks to my model, Ben, for "showing" it.



It's been a good turn of the year. I hope to do more blogging, get some more projects done and complete my fiber sanctuary. Here's to 2010!