What is really the important things

When I started this blog way back I really meant for it to be a reflection of my life, my family, my faith and my fiber. Well it has turned out to be more about my fiber then anything. Fiber is an important part of who I am, after all I do knit and spin just about every day. I also spend a lot of time thinking about what my next projects will be, how can I buy whatever the "new" thing is. But of late I have really been thinking a lot about what really is important. Over the past two years we have had a lot of deaths in our lives. My father in law, my grandmother, my aunt and her sister, a couple of friends, a teen girl that was friends with my oldest daughter, My DH's best friend and this past weekend my DH's boss. It kind of makes you think about what really is important. Does having the most fiber really matter?

Not that I am saying buying fiber it a bad thing, because I have and still plan to add to my stash, But the question should be how can I use my stash for more important things. Like can I use my stash to make things for people, not just the ones I love but how about people I have never met. I bet I can use some really neat fiber to spin and knit mittens for kids who may not have a home. Or I can knit a shawl and give it to someone who is going through a hard time. I bet we can all find some ways to use our stash to bless someone else which in turn blesses us. If you have any great ideas let me know.


Although fiber is a huge part of my life its not the only part and I would even say its not even the biggest part or the most important part so I plan to start sharing more of all the things that are important in my life. I also would like to encourage you to think about what it the important things in life? Is it really who is on Oprah today or what is the latest hair style or even I just saw a new spinning wheel I really have to have it? Now go and hug someone that is important to you, then go dig through your stash and find something to make for someone who needs to be blessed today, or if you are like me in a couple of month because it will take me that long to spin and knit it up.

Inspiration! Where do you get yours

So for the past week or so I have been doing a lot of thinking about inspiration and where it comes from. As I talk about in previous posts I was so blessed to be able to attend SOAR this past month. I have to say it really was a bucket list type of event for me. I will talk more in future posts, because I gained so much knowledge and inspiration. But now that I am two weeks away from SOAR and I am beginning to think about what projects I want to make either for Christmas gifts or because I just can't stop thinking about it.

At SOAR I took 5 classes those being Secrets of lace ( learning to spin, design and create the lace you want),perfect plying,spinning for next to skin,American long draw,and drumcarding. Never fear I will post about each class later either this week or next. One of the neatest things that we did at SOAR was to do a show and tell. After the three day workshop everyone who took a class was asked to display what they learned so that everyone could see about the classes. Now I totally loved the lace class and I know I will have all kinds of designs to come from it. But I also wish we could have signed up for another class after seeing all the fun things people did. Its kind of funny I went to SOAR not really interested in weaving but after the show and tell I was bitten hard by the bug. So now, after I recover from all the cash out flow I am thinking I need to get a smaller rigid heddle loom. I am glad I wasn't in the class because some of the students were up all night spinning so that they would have the needed yarn for the next day. I really enjoyed the results that they came up with.

I as also inspired by the fall colors that were on display at Sunriver. I can't even count all the really neat knits that I saw and have been inspired to spin and knit in the future.

So my question to you is Where do you get your inspiration? Please leave a comment and let us all know where it comes from with you.

Already to SOAR

Well I am just about all packed and ready to leave to SOAR. I won't be leaving until Sunday morning but tomorrow is going to be crazy to the only time I have to pack was tonight. I have been saving so that I could add to the stash. I am happy to say I have not bought any yarn or fiber for months. May to be exact. Until today. I bought a used folding wheel. I will pick it up on Sunday night when I get to SOAR. I don't plan to use it in class but I will spin on it at night. I can hardly wait to get there and get to spinning. I haven't sat at my wheel for three weeks. I know I know but its been so busy here that I didn't have time. It did get a really nice clean and wax though. She looks like is as ready to leave as I am. I am planning on updating my blog as much as I can. I'm not sure if I can while I am SOAR ( I refuse to take a computer to a retreat) but I will update when I get home.

Just about ready to SOAR

I know its been like forever sense I posted. Well like usual summer and fall have gotten away from me. It seems like I have been running full speed for months now. Which of course I have. With college student in BSU's marching band to Jr. High student in choir to now a 5th grader learning to play basketball, not to mention teaching knitting classes and spinning up a storm.
One of the big reasons I have been tied up with things is I have been getting ready to SOAR. Also known as Spin Off Autumn Retreat. Now I know the New York Fiber Fair its the biggest fiber fair in the county if not the world, but when it comes to the biggest and best spinning event it has to be SOAR. Which I as so excited to say I will be attending in little more then a week. This year it will be held at SunRiver resort near Bend Oregon. I will be taking a three day class on spinning and designing lace, I will also be taking 4 three hour classes on plying, using a drum carder, American long draw and spinning for softness. Not to mention picking up some neat new fibers and maybe a spindle or two at the Spinners market. I will also be sitting in a booth spinning suri alpaca for a couple of hours.
So for the past few months I have been spinning and knitting to get ready to leave. At SOAR there is a gallery where you can display up to three items. I am planning on taking the scarf that was in the natural fibers contest that was in the current issue of Spin Off. I am also planning on taking the little purse that I knit and used the cast iron handles that my Hubby made for me. I am also taking a hat that I spun and knit up this summer.
One of the big projects that I did over the summer and fall was to knit a whole bunch of socks, my plan it so wear a different pair of hand knit socks each day at SOAR. I'm not sure if I will take a whole lot of hand knits as its not really that cold yet. Today it was in the 70's here in Boise and Bend is a lot like Boise so I'm thinking it will still be a bit warm for heavy wool sweaters, but we will see as the week goes on.
I am planning on leaving Sunday morning on the 25th. The retreat runs until the following Sunday. I plan to post (with pictures) some of the things I see and do. I most likely won't do that until I get back home. So stay tuned for updates to come.

Week 1 of the Tour is now over - here's what I did

I love doing the Tour de Fleece each year. I am so glad to see its getting bigger and bigger. It looks like its the thing to do for the summer. I know I have enjoyed my first week. I am half way through my goals. I have completed the yarn for my first sweater. For my first sweater I want to take an easy knitting project to SOAR. One that I don't really have to think about as I am working on it. So of course its going to be a Top Down from Knitting Pure and Simple. I'm not sure what pattern I am going to use but I know that I will need some where around 1000 yards of a worsted weight. So that was my goal. A few months back there was a Spin Off magazine that had the coolest yarn on the cover. It was a moorit brown that was over dyed with bright yellow. Instead of the end result being a yellow yarn it turns out to be a really cool green. So that's what I was shooting for. I found about 2 pounds of a Shetland in my stash and on the 4th I got busy.

I spun a bobbin full for the first 6 days. I then plied them together making a two ply.

Once all the plying was done I wanted to make sure I would have enough for a sweater so I ended up with 1100 yards. Into the dye pot it all went.

Dyeing brown yarn green using yellow dye takes a bit of faith. For one it shouldn't work. I'm yellow makes green. No way. So as its sits in the dye pot you have to let it be and do its thing. Once its done it still doesn't look green, not until its dry will you be happy with it. So for me it was really hard to let it alone and do its thing. I was like a cook watching a pot to boil. Then of course I thought I messed up all my hard work, but once it was drying I fell in love with the result.

Now the hard part. Letting it alone until October. I really want to get to knitting on it. The Sheltand was not processed all that well, there was a lot and I mean a lot of VM through out. So I was a bit surprised at how soft the yarn ended up. I'm thinking dyeing it helped burn up some of the VM.

Besides the sweater yarn I also worked on some silk on my newest Greensleeves spindle. I plan to make the Quaint head band that is on the cover of the current Spin Off for daughter number 3.

Lastly for this week, I spun up about 110 yards of Spinning Bunny's High Fiber Dessert club for the month of June. The Color way is Fudgy Chocolate Bundt Cake with Strawberries topped wit Sour Cream Chocolate sauce. The fiber is a Pixie Batt of baby alpaca,and merino. Now only was the recipe really good. I bit hit with the family and my knitting girls, but the fiber was a dream to spin. I am planning on knitting the button up neck warmer that is in the current Spin Off.

Tomorrow is a rest day for the Tour. So I plan to clean my wheel and change the drive band from Scotch tension to Double drive. I haven't decided which one I like better so that is part of what I want to do during the tour. My next big project is to spin some Cooridale that I bought for my birthday. I have been cleaning and carding what I hope is enough for an Einstein Coat. Its a wonderful shade of medium grey.

So stay tuned and see now only how I do on the Tour but if you haven' been watching the Tour de France its been fun to see Lance Armstrong back on the bike. I'm betting he just may be wearing more yellow before its all over. Right now he is in 3rd and looking really good. Yea for the old guys!

The Tour begins

Happy Independents Day to all Americans! Don't eat to much BBQ and stay cool. Enjoy the fireworks but please don't set your house or the one next to you on fire.

Today is also the start of the Tour de France which means the Tour de Fleece also began. I think I am off to a pretty good start. Some what like Lance Armstrong. I'm not the fastest, nor did I spin as much as some, but I'm also not in last place.

I started out the day spinning a batt that I came across last night while I was looking for some yarn in my stash. I have no idea where I got it from but I'm sure it was from an exchange. The batt is one of those kitchen sink ones. Everything but the kitchen sink is in it. I'm not a huge fan of these, because for me its really hard to let the bumpy bits stay in the yarn. But i am please with the out come of the two ply. I ended up with about 80 yards. I think I will make a very loose scarf with it. It kind of looks like a yellow jersey. If you look real close anyway.

After I finished the first skein. I took a bit of a break, as some friends stopped by on their way out of town. So after they left I got down to business. As you may recall one of my Tour goals is to spin for two sweaters. So I started with my moorit brown, which I believe is Shetland. I do plan to over dye the yarn once its all done. I spun about 4 ounce, enough to fill the first bobbin. I think its going to try out to be just what I wanted for my basic top down sweater.

So I figure I am off to a good start. The Tour de Farnce looks like it will also be a fun one to watch. I have no idea who will win in the end but I'm sure it will have all kinds of twists and turns before we are all through, kind of like our yarn.

For the love of it

As a knitter and spinner no matter how a project turns out, it was still fun to do. But lets face it there are some that end up better then others. Its all good but once in a while there is a WOW project. One that when you are all done you look at it and can't believe you were the one to make it. Well my new hat was just one of those projects.

I first bought the wool at Snake River Fiber Fair with the plan to make socks. Then the summer issue of Spin Off came out and I saw the CVM hat. I just fell in love with the pattern. So I divided up the 4 ounce into 1 ounce chunks. I left one the natural color and dyed the blue, gold and orange. I didn't have a wool that was the medium brown so I used some alpaca. The original pattern colors were blue, cream, yellow, red and medium brown. Because my daughter is attending Boise State this next year I want to make the red more of an orange instead of red. Now I really don't like the color orange so its more of a tomato red.

The pattern called for a bulky weight yarn and to use a size 5 needle. The total pattern called for 180 yards. So after I got all the spinning done each 1 ounce ball ended up with something like 36- 40 yards. Which I was hopeful would be enough. As it turned out it was. I did have about 4 yards of the cream left which is a bit close for me. The pattern called for tassels but I like braids better. The over all hat ended up maybe a bit on the smaller size but it does fit just perfectly so all is good. I can hardly wait to wear it this next fall and winter.

As I say I enjoy doing just about all the different projects that I work on but this one was such a total joy all the way from the first thought to the end.