Nowhere Slow Handmade » winter

ms. mary thursday.

nowhereslow — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 06:27:35 +0000

ms. mary amaryllis is up to 17.75 inches!

i just got this fiber. it’s lapoli’s fiber of the month colorway for march:

i am making a two-ply. i experimented and rolled into a ball so i could ply from the two ends – this makes it so there is no yarn leftover after plying.

it was kind of a mess to do as it kept twisting on itself before it got to the orifice of my wheel.

and i’m handcarding and blending my leftovers for a self-striping yarn:

my rolags:

’til then…

Tagged: amaryllis, handcarding, nz romney

amaryllis wednesday.

nowhereslow — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 03:43:26 +0000

mary (what everyone called my grandmother, though her real name was emerenciana – yeah, try to pronounce that!) the amaryllis has grown 1.5″ since yesterday.

she still looks the same, only taller (my grandmother was not tall), so i won’t bore you with another picture.

but i will bore you with this:

my navajo 3-ply all wet finished and looking fabulous! 4 oz. of superfine merino produced a total of 172 yards.

and i started this:

i split the 4 ounces in half and am spinning two singles. this is the fiber i got from northern light fiber co.

’til then…

Tagged: 3 ply, alaska wool, amaryllis, fiber, navajo ply, nothern lights fiber co., superfine merino, targhee wool

amaryllis tuesday.

nowhereslow — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:15:55 +0000

amaryllis update – 15″ and going strong. it may bloom soon as the bulb looks like it’s filling out.

i am wet finishing my two bobbins of green navajo-plied yarn. the second bobbin went easier than the first and came out more balanced. i will post a picture tomorrow when it is dry.

’til then…

Tagged: amaryllis, navajo ply

amaryllis war.

nowhereslow — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 06:43:13 +0000

one of my best friends will be giving up her swimsuit and tan and heading to alaska this summer. from the far southeast (st. croix, USVI) to the far far northwest. i’m so excited! she got a job working at a fishing lodge/boat take out on the kasilof (in kasilof). we will be only 4 hours apart – and i don’t mean by time zone hours!

this has to be my favorite picture of us. that’s her in the background… haha!

on the bobbins:

i just realized that i never took a picture of the fiber when i got it (and i like to plug who i bought it from), so i had to steal this picture off her etsy site. i got this fiber at the end of january from dyeing for fibre works on etsy. it is a superwash merino cashmere and i love the bright colors!

raw:

cooked:

this is the super fine homegrown merino i showed in the previous post. i plan to navajo three-ply it (keep your fingers crossed that all goes well). i LOVE this color!

off the bobbins:

a total of 662 yards of 2-ply wooly sockweight awesomeness:

328 yards of single-ply handspun falkland wool:

please check my etsy site (click here or the link on the right) if you are interested in any of these yarns!

about a month ago i sent my sister an amaryllis and kept one for myself. we had one on the boat last winter, it grew, but never bloomed. i think there was too much exposure to salt water.

my sister planted hers, but i hear it’s not going as well. i don’t think she understands photosynthesis – a plant needs light ashley! and water, so stop neglecting it! and now she posted a fake picture of one on facebook and wanted me to believe that it was real. so now we are having an amaryllis war. it’s so on!

i planted mine about two weeks ago, and i think the recently extended daylight hours are helping it move right along.

this is it on the 25th:

and today, the 27th:

in yo’ face ashley!

’til then…

Tagged: amaryllis, falkand wool, superfine merino, superwash merino cashmere, yarn

a very redneck weekend.

nowhereslow — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 05:48:25 +0000

i’m too tired to do this, but i made a list today and am sticking to it.

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…

Tagged: blue faced leicester, denali, fiber, lapoli, mazda protege 5, northern lights fiber co., snowmobiling, touch of alaska, yarn