in the last week, i have been spinning my a$$ off.  my high speed whorl has made my finer spinning go so fast!

but to start, a new bumper (see this post):

they even cleaned my car inside and out, though it was nasty and wet out (i’m hoping this is break-up!) when i picked it up so ran through a ton of puddles on my way home.

and here is the AWESOME fiber i bought from the Fiber Festival a few weekends ago.  i’m glad i went, though the crowd was disappointing, it was nice to meet people, buy locally, and actually touch my purchases before buying (as opposed to buying on etsy).

From Northern Lights Fiber Co. (and her etsy site):

My first BFL:

i can’t wait to spin this, but have to scheme a little first.

and this:

and some fine merino from Touch of Alaska.  This is from a homegrown (ak) sheep (there is lots of organic bits to pick out while spinning this yarn, which i love!!  i feel like i’m on a farm or something).  i LOVE this green and am spinning up some fine singles to try out some navajo plying.

i also bought a little wallet thing (technically a billfold) for buku (it was his 32nd birthday the 13th.  it’s not very manly, but he likes a certain style and this lady made them).  i will have to steal it when he isn’t looking a take a picture!

and i have been spinning this – Lapoli’s February fiber ‘twilight moves’.  i decided to keep it as a single because i love the colors so much.  i split it up into 2 ~2 oz. chunks and spun up two worsted weight skeins:

i have some other stuff spun up, but don’t have any photos taken yet.  will have to wait until next time.

and some photos from this beautiful weekend.  it was the kind of weekend that makes you LOVE and truly appreciate alaska:

friday night 822pm sunset.

big and mighty denali.  she was out all weekend.

buku and jake filling up the hot tub:

andre a.k.a. lance mackey minus about 1000 miles, a dog team, and facial hair:

going too fast:

it was a great weekend.

and i got everything done on my list!

’til then…

so i started another one, but it’s going to have more gold because i’m running out of my green.  and its smaller.

i also felted these last night:

see this post to see how huge they were before.

and the koolaid scarf:

i’m holding the yarn double so it will be thicker.

and a picture of nootka a.k.a. tootka (she has the worst gas) a.k.a. nooty pants and her friend.  i took this of her over new years weekend (the only picture i managed to take since we discovered the sd card was left in the  computer) and think it’s hilarious.

’til then…

-lots of caribbean sailing, diving, friends, fun-

-saw family in wi in january after the passing of my lovely, little filipino grandmother-

-lots of work in anchorage-

-a wrangell visit- little little brother graduating-

-little sister graduated from UAA, got accepted to optometry school, and got engaged-

-learned to spin (spindle and wheel)-

-got a spinning wheel!!-

-lots of  ‘degnarly’-

-friends and family having babies -stephanie and brian had sydney, jillian and phillip had tejase, moksha and serg had sofia, vanessa and andy had van, juri and roy had brady, chris and katie had oscar – sorry if i missed anyone, there are so many!-

-we sold our boat.  but are getting a bigger boat.  -

-i opened an etsy store (click on link in sidebar) and started a blog-

-it was full of family, new friends, old friends.  lots of love and fresh air.  2009 was mighty fine-

on the bobbin:

ahh, my baby alpaca.  this is all i have had time for between christmas and a busy new year weekend at degnarly (more on that later)…  i’m spinning it as fine as i can, with a bit of extra twist as i will ply it with some silk.

on wednesday we stopped by the salvation army after work.  my finds:

a basket for fiber and a really creepy model for my hats!

COMING TOMORROW: what you have all been waiting for – sofia, the tiniest little supermodel from cyprus, will be modelling ABC (alissa, buku, and corinne) babywear.  see previous post here and here.

’til then…

so in between getting ready for xmas and work, i took a beginning wheel spinning class.  i’m hooked already.  there were four in the class, including a girl in sixth grade who has already been spinning for a year or so.  what a lucky girl to be exposed to fiber arts (or any type of art) at such a young age!  i was the only one who had never touched a wheel.  i took the class at far north fibers in south anchorage (she just moved her studio to the south side).  i spun on a schadt ladybug.  with our gypsy lifestyle, i can’t have a wheel that large.  i have been looking at portable wheels, but have found they are too expensive for a beginning spinner who doesn’t really know what she is doing.

so i’ve compromised and have settled on the ashford kiwi.  it’s not super small (about the size of the ladybug) but it’s cheap, has a double treadle (which is what i was using in class), and there is a guy(merlin tree) who does a conversion so the pedals will fold up for storage and transport.  the conversion doesn’t cost anything extra.  AND you can paint it!!!  i’m very excited about that, and already have several designs in my head.  there are also options for different ratios and expandability.

i bought a smaller hand spindle and some fiber on my last day of class.  we got to try all kinds of different types of fibers – different wools, bamboo, a really glittery synthetic, silk, baby alpaca, and even angora rabbit (i knew i should have been saving buster’s fur from his last shed!).  i loved spinning the baby alpaca.  it’s really light, soft, and easy to draft.  i got 2 oz each of silk and baby alpaca that i will spin together:

enough about spinning….  here is the shawl thingy i made (see earlier post about the springtime bandit).  it’s my first really lacy project.  it took forever, but i love the pattern and think it turned out really pretty.  i wish it was a little lighter weight since i’m sending it out to someone in the desert – eventhough they had a ‘coldsnap’ a week ago – oh my god it was 50 degrees!!  puhhhlease…

springtime bandit:

i am making another lacy scarf (clapotis) out of a hemp/cotton that i think will be lighter since the yarn is really fine.

Buku and i also made a birthday cake this week for dre since corinne was out of town because that’s what friends do.  it’s a yellow cake with wild blueberries on top with cream cheese drizzle:

and a few  more pics from ‘degnarly’ from this summer and thanksgiving (fireweed is done- summer is over (click to see the beautiful view of denali); c and d and their load; ski skiing on his new teles; buku using the wolf for warmth- nootka cracks me up- she stayed like that forever! and luther looks tired:

my dad has been saving some of his karelian bear dog hair for me to spin.  i know it sounds gross, but you only spin the under fur (like qiviut from a musk ox).  he sent me some this week and it’s actually really soft and a natural grey color.  i might have to start brushing nootka and harley. 

Otso:

gotta do xmas stuff and some work!

’til then……

i started a project while out at the cabin.  The Springtime Bandit.  i tried starting it in the car, but the beginning is really weird, so after starting over a few times, i scrapped the instructions and just cast on two stitches and went from there.  the yarn i am using is cotton since it will go to someone in the desert.  i love this yarn.  it’s slippery and has a nice shine to it.  my progress:

corinne and i had a craft day for the new cypriot this past saturday, or was it sunday?  can’t remember….  and i just realized that i forgot to take pictures of what we did!!!  hopefully moksha and sergios will send us some pictures of their new daughter modelling our goods!!

i’ve also been working on a pair of felted clogs for a friend using the fibertrends felted clog pattern.  i have made a few pairs and found that this knits up super fast when you are a more experienced knitter.  this was one of the first patterns i knit when i was learning.  it is not a beginner pattern, but i powered through, and made three pairs of very beautiful clogs out of acrylic yarn.  ACRYLIC DOESN’T FELT.  the weight of the wet acrylic – which b was trying to felt atop our stove on the boat – actually made the  clogs bigger.  i called corinne for verification and we had a good laugh.  three pairs of clogs is very slow knitting for a beginning knitter!!  the clogs start out shaq size and then shrink into a nice thick felt after agitation in the washing machine.  the purple pair is the end product.  i made them for my mom for mothers day last year.

AND i finished one of the thumbs on my deathflake mitts.  orders (and iceskating and skiing) have forced me to put them aside for a bit.

on another note, please check out my new sidebar!  please check out www.buyhandmade.org for ‘handmade’ information.  also check out  www.etsy.com to buy things that are handmade – there is some really cool stuff. AND subscribe to myblog using the button so i won’t have to email or post blog updates on facebook!  now you can find this blog at:  www.nowhereslowhandmade.com!

’til then.