Spinning on my friend Lee Ann's Lendrum. Fall is just around the corner and it is time for some serious spinning. The latest thing I've been trying is Navajo 3-ply. The technique is easy - you can look it up on youtube to see how it is done - I just cannot get over the fact that you start out with this enormous amount of single ply yarn and when you have 3-plied it there is so much less. Of course that is obvious because you are making one yarn that is three times as thick, but it makes two ply seem somehow decadent in how far it will go. Must also say that the Lendrum is a dream to spin on. It comes with three heads for different kinds of spinning and a lazy kate for plying. Probably the most important thing I noticed is that the orifice, which is quite large, is also set higher than the one on the Ashford Joy that I normally use. I never thought about this until LeeAnn and her new Lendrum came to spin with me last week at the Ramble. We sat for about two hours spinning, then the next day I took my wheel to the market and spun for about 4 hours straight. My back was killing me after all that spinning and hunching down over the Joy - need I mention that I am awaiting the delivery of my very own Lendrum this week?

In more somber news I must report that my office manager George died in August. He was with me 12 years and his presence in every sense will be sorely missed.

May all your skeins be tangle free.

Last of July

Earlier this month I started checking in with the amazing artists on Ravelry. The Art Yarn group continues to inspire and amaze me. This week I did a mixed bat that became an autowraped single here

But I have not posted here very much in the past two weeks and it is because my very short attention span has been taken up by this lovely new instrument that arrived finally from the wonderful people of Dusty Strings in Seattle:

It is a 4 &1/2 octave Hammered Dulcimer, Dusty Strings model D650 with dampers. I am so in love with it. You can see the hammers on the stool below the dulcimer. Because of this obsession I will be absent from this blog and the farmer's market for at least the next week while I attend the Swannanoa Gathering at Warren Wilson College in Asheville NC. Look for me back at the market August 14.

Latest Greatest Idea

People at the market are always asking me what they can do with a skein of yarn. Now most of my handspun skeins are 225+ yards - which means that you can make something and have lots left over. Or maybe make two somethings, like a matching hat and scarf. But since I've never been a matchy-matchy type I would be more interested in more colors and less matching. Which brings me to my latest idea, ready made pull-balls in various colors that come in around 100 yds. (They are marked so you know how many yards  you get.)

For those still wondering what to do with a ball of yarn I suggest the books by Judith Durant, One Skein Wonders and also 101 Designer One Skein Wonders. Check with Amazon.

Midsummer in the Desert

The Solstice reminds me of England and Stonehenge and the abundance of fecund green things everywhere. In my mind it is pleasantly warm with trees and flowers. In my reality it is over 100 and scorching sunlight that few things are able to brave to celebrate this mid-turning point of the year. In my yard this Mexican Bird of Paradise flowers and prospers energetically making bean pods that reseed it all over. In my hot summer kitchen I am dyeing wool and chenille - though not in the same pot. When I started this project of selling hand dyed yarns at the Farmer's Market back in February I did not dream that by midsummer people would still be buying wool and other fiber yarns from me. When it is hot I don't think about knitting as much but clearly there are many people who get their start on fall projects when it is blistering hot outside. I'm grateful to them. May you all be blessed as the wheel of the year turns.

Summer 2-ply

It is hot here in New Mexico this summer. I'm dreaming of cool ocean breezes with these colors. This yarn is a 2-ply of handspun wool and eyelash/flag all dyed in the same pot and twisted together for a fun yarn. This would make a great hat.

The heat is also reflected in this Shetland roving that is the colors of our sunsets:

And finally a yarn that reflects many of our local colors, turquoise orange and purple:

See you at the market on Saturday!