New Art Yarn - and Interim Result of the Year End Spinning Challenge

Finally I found the time for a blog post - I've been quite busy working and writing my thesis, the usual ;-) But luckily, I also found a little time for spinning here and there, and I really needed that for balance...

I've spun a yarn which I will knit into a broad scarf, and which I will then trade for gorgeous bath bombs, shower melts and/or other wellness stuff handmade by the wonderful goodgirl :-)

(The pictures are crappy, but it just isn't possible for me to take good ones, so these will have to do)

 Preparing, getting all the things together:

The first skein of yarn - I love the colours and the texture, and even the flowers although they're light pink ;-) I think the go well with the black. I also added tons of sparkling angelina, as well as the beads and sequins from the picture above.

 

... but there's more: I have spun two and a half skeins of this wonderful yarn, hopefully enough for a scarf measuring 1,75 * 0,25 m

The total of these three skeins is 346 m, 349 g!

I also wanted to take a photo of all the yarns I've spun for the challenge so far - but I forgot two and added one. So, here's the photo, but the third from the right is technically not part of the challenge, and there should be two more. I also calculated the sum of yardage and weight of all the yarns I spun in November:

1208 m,  893 g - not too bad, but I bet there are many people who managed more than that ;-)

My wonderful husband and I will be going to Prague tomorrow, so I won't be able to ship any yarn orders - but you're still welcome to order, and I will ship your yarns after my return :-) Have a wonderful week, I'll be back on the 6th or 7th.

Snowball Fight

Here's another challenge art yarn I took great pleasure in spinning :-) My hands felt sore after felting the snow balls, but I still think it was worth it!

 

There are many snowflakey/flowery sequins, too - and glittery angelina, and silver thread.

I've also spun another yarn today, but it needs to dry before I can take photos. Also, the weather is quite bad at the moment and it's difficult to catch enough light for photos...

Featured!

 Some of our yarns are featured in Crochet Uncut - we're so happy :-)
 
There should also be another feature in a different magazine, or at least we were promised to be featured and to receive a copy of the magazine itself - but we haven't received it yet and we don't know if we're REALLY featured, so I will postpone telling you about it.I hope it'll be happy news...



We're also very happy to show you what a good customer of ours made from one of our art yarns:

Please click here for more information about the neck piece :-)

Isn't it beautiful?

By the way, this was the yarn it was made from:

Sea-Spray and Ice Flowers

I've managed to spin two more challenge yarns during the last few days :-) One will go to the shop (hopefully soon...), the other one will become part of my ocean shawl.
I really have to count the weight and yardage of my challenge yarns before there are too many. A counter would be great, maybe there is even a kind of application or plugin for that kind of thing where I can add information as I spin? I'll try to find out.

Ice Flowers

Sea-Spray

I have also participated in another challenge: Today I found a message on our Etsy account informing us one of our yarn was part of a treasury. Well, that's always news we love to hear :-) But this time, the treasury was part of the Non Team Treasury Challenge, which I hadn't heard of before, and which couldn't resist *g* So I made this treasury:

I think the non team challenge is a great idea, it's uncomplicated and so much fun! And whoever wins gets to be the inspiration for the next challenge, since every one of these treasuries is created around one inspiration item. That's thrilling! :-)

Coffee House

I finished another Year End Spinning Challenge yarn yesterday evening. I thought about naming it "Victorian Coffee Table", but right now I think "Coffee House" is a better option. It might be "The Grand Café" in the end (the building hosting the first coffee house in England - which I've just found out on Wikipedia ;-)), or something completely different. But it's good to know that there ARE so many options, since I like the colour combo and might want to spin some more coffee related yarns ;-)


I have also carded two batts, one of which I will spin into a yarn for my Ocean Shawl. So, hopefully there will be more yarn pictures soon :-)

Year End Spinning Challenge 2010

A few days ago, I was invited to join a spinning challenge on Ravelry. Let me quote the rules:

From November 1st until the last Day of the Year (December 31st) spin as much yarn as you want to! It’s that easy :-) You’ve got 61 days to put a dent in that multiplying stash of yours!

There will be prize categories and if you want to donate a prize, feel free!

I think that sounds wonderful, thank you for the invite, Kat! :-)

I already spun my first challenge yarn, and I even tried to take a photo of the process:

150m/82 g

I will try to update my process on the blog and the Ravelry forum, but spinning is more important, of course ;-) I also spun about 60 m of test yarn for a potential project I might write about some other time.

That's What I Call Service

A few weeks ago, my niddynoddy broke. I am ashamed to say it was probably my fault: since I was used to my self-made niddynoddy which I had bound and glued together, and which is therefore flexible, I usually take the yarn right off any niddynoddy I use at the given time. The niddynoddy I ordered on etsy is kind of screwed together, though, and it couldn't hold the tension. It creaked a few times, and then one of the two "arms" broke.


I wrote to The Spinner's Emporium, where I had bought the niddynoddy in question. I explained about what had happened and asked them whether it would be possible for them to make a replacement for the broken part. And guess what? They not only made a replacement, they didn't even charge me! Not even for shipping. I explained it was probably my fault, but they seemed to think it was valuable information, so I didn't have to pay anything. They were so nice and helpful, I am still thrilled. And the replacement piece arrived a few days ago and it fits and I am happy :-)

Now, here is some advice:

1. if you use a niddynoddy, don't take the yarn off right away, but do the following first: push the yarn on one "arm" to the middle of the niddynoddy, and then take off the part of the yarn that's on the opposite arm. That way you'll relax the tension a little before pulling the yarn off.

2. if you want a beautiful, handmade niddynoddy, AND wonderful service, go to The Spinner's Emporium and order one - they are great! Thank you so much, Paul and Dody!

3. don't think there is nothing to be done if one of your beloved tools breaks - just ask whoever might be able to help you (if possible, the person who made the tool)! I say this because what I thought first was: I'll have to send the niddynoddy back so they can make a replacement piece, it will cost lots of shipping fees, and I will have to pay for the replacement, and more shipping fees. For a while, I really thought about throwing it away and pouting ;-) But sometimes, whoever makes the replacement won't need the piece that broke, so getting a replacement piece is easier than you'd think. So asking about your options is always a good choice.

Well, having given out advice without having been asked, I'll shut up now ;-)

Long Time No Write

The last few weeks have been terribly busy and I haven't spun any yarns since my last blog post. What I did do, however, was trying a new craft - at least new to me. I had previously thought about ordering a mobile cozy for my new phone (if I haven't already told you, it's a Samsung Galaxy S and I am absolutely in love with it ;-)) and then decided I wanted to try embroidering one myself. I bought some wonderful wool fabric which looks and feels a little like felt, and which I stumbled upon by accident while I was looking for something else. So, I also looked for some embroidery thread and some helpful books, of which I ordered two: Judith Baker Montano's Embroidery & Crazy Quilt Stitch Tool and Doodle Stitching: Fresh & Fun Embroidery for Beginners. I like the stitch tool one, it's a kind of dictionary with lots of different stitches and it's already been quite helpful. The doodle stitching one I sent back - it wasn't really after my fancy.

Anyway, I made a simple mobile cozy using my very simple sewing machine, and then I started experimenting with stitches - first on a scrap of the fabric I used for the cozy, but soon I felt bold enough to try it with the real thing. I even finished it ;-)



The good thing about a small project like that - or maybe about embroidery in general - is that you don't have to spend whole hours at once working on it. It's portable and you can put it away after a few stitches without everything falling apart. With spinning, I feel differently: I really don't like working on a yarn for only a few minutes at a time, and that's why I haven't done any spinning during the last few weeks. I do hope I'll find the time for more yarns soon, I really miss spinning. The chances are good, though :-)