Ordinary Things

I wait all year for October and it rushes by quicker than anything in the spring or summer. It is as though the last 90 days of the year are supercharged and travel at light speed while the first 3/4 of the year meanders along taking it's merry time. Probably that perception would be different if I were still in school or had rug rats in school to remind me that summer usually goes fastest. But now in my late middle years it is the fall that goes so fast that it makes my head swim. So today some ordinary things to slow things down.

The dogs waterbowls on the back porch.

Late summer coleus.

Climbing roses on the shade wall.

The cottonwood tree in the early morning sun.

New skeins from last week's dye pots.

Color everywhere this season. It is time to become a connoisseur of light. Drink it in like fine wine in this clear dry weather. Over at Windthread, Grace is appreciating the light in her modest home to the north of where I live.

The week that wasn't.....

Sometimes things get so hectic that I don't get small things done. Like this week having absolutely no post at all about the daily spinning for SNAP. We had a number of wonderful people contribute handspun skeins of yarn to the basket this week at the store. I did some spinning but won't lie and tell you it was all on the drop spindle. We are going to continue to sell the handspun skeins through the end of September and then donate the proceeds to SNAP. I will post here when it is possible.....

This is a two ply for the shop 

New spindle and a merino/mohair blend.

Hope you all have a great last week of August!

Can you believe next weekend is Labor Day already???

Polwarth & Sari Silk

We are just over half way through the month and I must admit that I am barely keeping up with the ounce a day on the Turkish spindle. These are great tools and are wonderful for taking places to spin that it would be impractical to take a spinning wheel along. The down side is that if you are trying to get other things done that require large amounts of time, spending 2.5 hours per day spinning in this way is just not as productive as other methods.




This is Organic Polwarth from the Falkland Islands mixed with Sari Silk waste. A nice color combination.

 It is slightly finer than the other skeins I've been doing and came out to 98 yards and weighs 2 ounces. 

We will continue to sell the skeins for SNAP through the end of September. There are several other local spinners who are contributing yarns for this donation drive. 

Have a great weekend!

Slowly Spinning through August

Yesterday I completely forgot to take a picture of the day's spinning before I had finished it and plied it with that pink from the day before. So here is the complete skein. It is about 72 yards and weighs about 2 ounces. What can you do with that amount of yarn? Fingerless gloves on size 9 knitting needles. Hat on size 11. Add it to something else......

This is the skein from today. It is an organic polwarth and sari silk mix. Nice to spin. The one for tomorrow is exactly the same.

One of the things I want to learn next is Navajo Plying directly on the Turkish spindle. Maybe if I get some time to practice this weekend I will have something new to show you next week. 

We received new spinning wheels at the store this afternoon and they will be assembled and ready for inspection (and trial) early next week. 

Also just a reminder that the Southwest Regional Spinners Spin-In is this Sunday at Susan Jewell's place on Wyatt from 1-4pm. Everyone is welcome. Email me if you need directions!

August 13

It was quiet here yesterday because we went to Albuquerque to the Stock Bldg Supply to get lumber for upcoming woodworking projects. New spindles, wheels, distaves and niddy noddys can now be made. Just as soon as Jim get his stitches out from where he tried to cut his left index finger off with the table saw. Fortunately he was not successful.

I took advantage of the portability of the Turkish spindle and did my one ounce on the trip. A pink that will be paired with a purple for a girly two ply. The purple is today's spinning.

It has been raining a lot around here. I hardly know what to think about it. Woke up to it this morning. A mystery and cup of tea kind of day, but there is actually a warp on the loom and work to be done.

 This warp is kona fingering superwash dyed in the Fairy Blue colorway. The weft will be mohair boucle in the same colors.

Bunny Royalty

Photographing the rabbit is kind of like trying to get a headshot of someone in the Royal Family when they don't want to be photographed.

He quickly turns around and looks like a big fluffy mushroom........... with ears.

He is hard to resist with these beautiful markings. I took him out this morning into the yard so he could eat grass and weeds and be a semi wild bunny for a few minutes instead of a house rabbit.

His Royal Bunnyness is about ready to be sheared.

The ball on the left was today's spinning on the Turkish spindle.

 Plied on the Lendrum. 5 HOURS to spin on the Turkish spindle. 10 MINUTES to ply on the Lendrum.

This is why spinning wheels were invented. Because soon there will be bunny fur to spin.....

I get easily distracted. This is a lace spindle and I just had to try spinning some fine merino/silk blend roving on it.

Which is why it took me forever (it seemed like) to finish this spindle.

This was how it looked plied and this picture is way more blue than the yarn really is. It is more of a dusky purple.

Here is the spinning from today. Raspberry colored NM wool. Corriedale mainly.

August 8

We actually had rain last night. I am so used to the drought around here that rain is a huge surprise.

This is the ball from yesterday.

Off the spindle.

Time flies and life changes. Five years ago today my father died suddenly of a heart attack. It is strange to find yourself without any of the people you grew up with and knew. The people who knew you when you were young and foolish. The people who knew exactly how you liked your toast and tea. My father was a strong combination of opposites. He was terrible with money but the most generous person I have known. He had a wicked sense of humor but was often depressed. He was a great cook but disliked almost all healthy food. Ours was never an easy relationship although I do miss him. I am sorry my sister did not have more time with him and he with her. They were more alike than not. 

My advice for you today is to hug the people you love and tell them you are glad they are in your life because one day they won't be. 

pink and blue

The new ball of yarn plied with the one from yesterday. Sorry about the short post!

How it started out.

Underside of the spindle when full.

Two skeins plied and the spindle ready for the next ball!

shade wall update

Earlier in the summer we decided to try a shadewall to help with the heat that radiates from the west facing walls of the house. There are no trees to shade this area and so we put up a wire fence kind of a thing to grow plants on. These plants are passionfruit vines.

They have these large purple flowers that smell very sweet and attract hummingbirds. So far no fruit.

This is the skein from last night. It weighed in at 1.2 ounces.

Of Skeins and Cats in Baskets

Cats are such wonderful curious creatures. This is not the first one to check out a basket but he surely must be one of the most beautiful. His name is Raffles and he is a Ragdoll who belongs to my friend Pam. I actually picked the basket to go with her living room rug and decor but it fits the cat nicely too.

I'm learning a lot even just at this beginning end of the Turkish spindle exploration. One of my goals is to eventually learn to navajo ply on one. For now I am pretty happy just spinning away and getting better at that.











This is the previous day's ball along with the current one.

The two pull balls ready to ply.

It is currently taking me 2 1/2 hours to spin one ounce. That is five hours total to spin the two ounces to make one plied skein. I'm cheating and plying on a spinning wheel and it take all of about 10 minutes. The reason I am not plying on the spindle is that it would not hold the entire skein and I don't want to cut it.

This is the latest skein and it weighed in at 2.3 ounces and was 81 yards.

August 3

Here is the plied yarn from days one and two. I like the blues of this with just a little bit of saffron.

Today's ball was slightly larger and came in at 1.3 ounces.

This is the batt before it was spun. 

On the spindle.

1.3 ounces!

Here is tomorrow's batt.

So all of this is well and good and I am getting better at spinning on the Turkish spindle but I had a thought. What if we put all these little skeins up for sale at the shop during this month as they are made, up until the middle of September. Then the proceeds will be donated to our local chapter of SNAP which is the Spay and Neuter Action Program here in Las Cruces. Some of the other Turkish spinners here asked if they could join in and I think that is a great idea. Hopefully we can raise some money for this very worthwhile charity this month. Come join me at the shop and spin some or email me pictures of what you are currently working on. You can also follow us on Facebook Here

Second Ball

Here is the day's spinning for you.

The spindle, last nights spun ball and the batt for today.

The ball from today. About an ounce.

The two balls together.

I plied them on the Lendrum.

Check back tomorrow to see the finished skein....