Busy times at the Yarnadoodledoo household! Next Saturday, the 24th, I’ll be at the Harvest Days and Fiber Fest at Canonsburgh Village in Murfreesboro, TN. I’ll be sharing a booth with my friend Marissa. First fiber fest ever! I’m a little nervous!
That said, I’ve been dyeing like a madwoman. I would be getting more done, had my weekends not been booked with family and travel (this weekend, cousin’s wedding in Indiana).
These two are up in the shop:
On the knitting front, I finished my sister and bro-in-law’s wedding present! Here’s an action shot of it (Hemlock Ring Blanket) in its natural and permanent habitat:
Also, is Bedazzled (the original, natch) not the best movie ever?
Hoo-boy, has it been busy at the Yarnadoodledoo Cottage. First and foremost, I’d like y’all to help me welcome the newest addition to our family, Don Cherry! No, not that Don Cherry, but my new Canadian Production Wheel, named in honor of The Man.
Isn’t he handsome? From talking to the lovely folks over at the CPW group on Ravelry, we’ve surmised that he must be from the 1930s. There’ s no discernable maker’s mark, but I keep my fingers crossed that I may have missed it.
His detailing is so cool! Like little honeypots! Look at these maidens!
He’s an absolute dream to spin on. Getting used to the POWER that is a 3o inch drive wheel is a bit of an adjustment. After some minor cleaning (and I mean nothing than a good wash down with Murphy’s oil soap) and a good oiling, he was up and running!
We’ve been making yarn! Some of which have ended up in socks and others that ended in up in shawls. I took Don to the “Sheep to Shawl” competition at the Tennessee State Fair, and myself and 2 other spinners and one weaver made a lovely shawl! With fingering weight yarn that I dyed!
I really wish I had better pictures, but I forgot my camera on Day 2 of spinning. iPhone to the rescue!
And I’ve had a personal victory here at the Cottage: I FINALLY spun 400+ yds. of 3 ply sock yarn out of 4 or so oz. of fiber! Behold!
And it’s realyl making the most lovely socks!
Stats:
418 yds.
4.3 oz of South African Fine wool
Dyed by yours truly.
Speaking of dyeing: I’ve been lamenting the fact that October is going to be cuckoo crazy with travel (Buffalo next week, Indiana after that) and I was unable to go to Yarn School again. But, think of all the knitting time I’ll have on planes and in cars! So, I purchased a hefty amount of fiber and will be dyeing that up. I can pretend my dyeing area in the basement is actually in Harveyville. Also, I’m going to be at the Canonsburgh Fiber Fest (part of Harvest Days) in Murfreesboro, TN at the end of the month, and I’ll have both fiber AND sock yarn to sell! Also, I realized how much I love dyeing fiber, so I’m happy to be bringing that back to my dyeing repetoire.
Here’s some BFL I dyed earlier this week. I just want to squish it:
I’ll leave you with a picture of my spinning wheels, so you can grasp the massive size of Don Cherry. Pictured is my messy house (I was in the midst of cleaning Don and too elated to tidy up), Biff the cat, and my forlorn and dwarfed Kromski Symphony, which I still use for plying but am contemplating trading for a Sonata on Ravelry.
I’m so pleased, I can’t stop squealing! The Sour Fig! It is done!
With 380 yards in a fingering weight, this should make some badass socks. The colors are absolutely stunning and the Shetland was a dream to spin! I’m surprised with how soft it is! And now it’s off to Australia!
I’m just so exited! It can’t dry fast enough! I’ve spun this up for my friend, the lovely Miss Click Clack who sent me a TON of lovely undyed Australian wool from a recent fiber fest she attended. So, in return, she’s getting some hand dyed sock yarn AND this handspun sock yarn!
It’s Hello Yarn Shetland fiber in Sour Fig. I’ve never spun up Shetland as fingering weight before, and it was suprisingly glorious. It’s really actually pretty soft! I was suprised! It’ll make some durable socks, that’s for sure.
Better pictures to follow! I love spinning sock yarn!
With all this sock knitting, I’ve realized how much I miss spinning! So, I introduce to you, dear reader, Yarnadoodledoo Handspun Sock Yarn, merging the best of both worlds!
It took me a long time to master spinning such a fine gauge yarn, but after taking a spinning class with Lynne Vogel, I feel like a champ! There’s something I really love about handspun sock yarn, and all handspun, for that matter. What you’re knitting (or crocheting) with handspun, what you’re making is totally unique and beautiful! And the warmth and comfort provided from handspun can’t be beat!
Yay for handspun!
Ok, back to spinning some sock yarn for Miss Click Clack!
2 new skeins of Lingering Fingering have been added to the shop! Here’s a peek:
I’m knitting up Ben some socks with Chimney Sweep and they’re appropriately manly! I wish, though, he prefered socks that weren’t just plain stockinette. Everytime I suggest a pattern, it’s “They’re too textured…” Oh well! They’re knitting up pretty fast and it’s a nice mindless knit.
Off to the bookstore! “Sock Innovation” calls to me and I’m going to answer.
Hey Everybody!
I’m happy to announce a new and luxurious yarn base for the Yarnadoodledoo Lingering Fingering line. It’s a nice 4 ply 75% merino / 25% nylon blend for maximum softness and durability.
Here’s a picture:
There will be lots of dyeing this weekend. I’m thinking some variegated yarn might be in order. I’ll report back with photos!
I thought I should start up a blog for my little yarn business, Yarnadoodledoo! You may have been reading the inefficiently updated Read It and Wheeze, but now I promise to update more frequently! Why? Because I’m dyeing all the time!
Here’s one of my favorites that is up in the shop:
I kind of hope it won’t sell so I can knit with it!
