Search This Blog

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

A Spindle Wheel On YouTube: Link below

Kinda cute. Kinda clunky. An option for someone...

And now. May I introduce the new addition to my fiber family.


                                                                      
                                          Ain't he a beaut.
This is a Brother Drum Carder . Has the lowest price far as I can see. It works good. Not used it for a bit cause I've been spinning from the (tangled) locks.

                                          Wanna see something amazing?


                                                  
Now that is gorgeous. My genuis husband made it. A true MacGyver it. But sadly the nails were too close up and down and all around. He took it away. I did say it didn't work. I think I may have hurt their feelings. I do hope he tries to make another lovely some day.




                                         Look at those teeth!
You can see where I removed some of the nails hoping it would help. But alas...

To the person searching for free box picker instructions, here's a Link for a picker already made. I have one but I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of it. Not to expensive. Something like 140 -150 bucks. (For those not in the US it's the shipping that kills ya. But a girl's gotta have what a girl's gotta have, right?). I have not found free instrux for a wool picker anywhere online. Yet. (Mumbles to self, "hmmm, maybe the husband will scratch one up....")

Well, looks like my camera cord has up and walked away. Hiding out. Really? No. I put it somewhere safe. Yeah. Must'a thought it was a good spot. Anyway, I wanted to share some pictures of the lastest batch of yarn I'm been working on. Some was dyed with marigolds and some with sunflowers. Again I will say this is so fun. I guess I'll have to force my lazy butt back online another day and post some pics. I'd rather do a bit of spinning, but then again I do want to share about my (how slow can ya go) progress.

Time for bed...

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Poncho Shawl: A Free Knit Pattern

This takes about one pound of yarn.
Could include crazy additions of fun fur, loopy stuff, thick and thin and so on.
A long circular needle a couple sizes bigger than you'd usually use.
I use a 13 or 15.
If you mix different sized yarns you'll want the shawl to have lots of bounce and a bigger needle will keep the yarns evened out.
2 round markers. 1 clip marker a different color for the increase side.
This poncho or shawl (or Ponchawl!) has 4 increases with 1 at each edge and 2 at center.

                                                Poncho Shawl


Begin:  cast on 3 sts
Row 1: knit 3, turn
Row 2: knit 1, yarn over (yo), knit 1, yo, knit 1, turn. 5 stitches
Row 3: k2, place marker (pm), k1, pm, k2, turn.
Row 4: k1, yo, k to marker, slip marker (sm), k center stitch, sm, k to last stitch, yo, k1. Mark this side with clip marker. You can move it up as the work progresses.
Row 5: k across.

Repeat rows 4 and 5 until out of yarn or it reaches your calves in back.

I will then make a yarn rope. How? Take about 8 or 10 feet of your regular yarn, fold over a door knob, tie a knot on the other end and spin. When nice and tight have someone hold the middle with tension while you make another fold. It'll spin up onto itself and become a nice tie for your poncho shawl. Just run back and forth through the front and tie. You've now got yourself a "Ponchawl".

I've used 3 different yarns knitting one row each dropping at the edge as I come to the yarn below. 3 works great because the edges look more even than with only 2 yarns. 2 has only one side with the yarn running along the edge but with the 3 both sides are the same. I like using a hairlash, a thick boucle (like Lion Brand's), and a regular yarn. It's pretty fun. You can see a picture of one under the lable Ponchawl. Scroll to the bottom.
Enjoy.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Hmm, lets see...we need a new label, like maybe, "PVC Spinning Wheel"?

Yeah, as I check on who is visiting my blog I realize many folks are stopping in on a search for instructions to make a PVC spinning wheel. I must tell yee curious ones that the free instrux at DragonsKeep (link listed under label spinning) is dead. But DonisFuff is still up. She is the genius behind my dandy little yarn spinner. Whether Donis still sells her pattern or not I do not know. Just gotta contact her if interested, right? And while we are on the subject of non-free spinning wheel instructions here is another place to investigate.

Bam and Bam

These are instructions for two different types of spinning wheels. Made from wood. $6 or $7 bucks a piece. Betcha can tell which one I want. Well, really, I want both kinds, but I gotta have that spindle one. So nice looking. That may seem strange. Weird even. But what can I say? Girl's gotta have what a girl's got to have. Heart stopping. Yup.

This eBay seller also has many very intriguing patterns for sale. Seems like hundreds. How about a Victrola??

Thursday, May 30, 2013

For the First Time, Introducing... My Hand Spun

It is a bit on the rustic side. But I don't mind. I'm learning so it's okay. Which, by the way, what I'm trying to learn is the long draw. It's starting to come together. Which, by the way, means the yarn I'm trying to learn to spin is not falling apart as I spin. This is probably why my yarn is a bit on the rustic side. Not trying to make excuses. But, well, it's kinda hard. I love doing it. What's wrong with me? Not really sure. Kinda hard to explain.

                   Ignore the date found at lower right hand corner.

This is a wonderful pattern created by Yolanda Teague. You can find it on Ravelry and is called the Cloud Bolero. I was lucky. Got the pattern back in 2010 when it was still free at Yarn Forward Mag.

Okay, wrong. Cloud Bolero is no longer available but a new version is. There is a link from the Cloud page to the new pattern. She also has some notes on the differences between them at her blog. That link also on Cloud page. Yolanda Teague on Ravelry

And so the above was made with one of my hand spun yarns. It was dyed with orange osage wood chips in an iron pot over an outside fire. Another story for another day. I did not care for the color so I over dyed with tobacco. The roll your own type. For real.
                     Here is the tobacco simmering. Horrible smelling stuff.

                                                 And here is the dye.

      This is how it came out. Added a bit of rustiness to the color which I liked better.

And here is a sweet little something for a sweet little person. This was spun up from wool shorn from a local Jacob sheep. The cocoon was so very soft. Baby's need soft. The mommy was very pleased.

And so this is what my PVC/bike spinning wheel has helped me to create. There was more but has been knitted or crocheted into something and given away.

A quick note on the two pattern links I put up on how to make a PVC spinning wheel. It seems one of the links is dead. That would be the free pattern. I will say the other pattern is worth every penny of the $7.00 price. And it will help out a fellow crafty person. Hey, run don't walk and get you one.

                 There were some needed changes. Will post on that soon.

Have a good day.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Well, Well. Blogger Has Fixed the "Browse" for Pictures Bug.


Glad to see it.

And now I would like you to meet some friends of mine. Are they not cute?


Meet Sally  A Ravelry pattern. Of course.










And this is Jack Skellington   He's such a doll.


Why can't I start writing at the left like a normal person? Blogger has gotten weird. This is annoying. In fact I Do Not Like It. Alignment has to be clicked for each sentence until blogger gets the point. Weird.

Yes. I am done bitching.

To He who listens: I am thankful to Blogger for the pleasure of its use and am grateful. I will stop being a stick-in-the-mud about change. Amen.

Umm. One more thing. I just gotta ask. What is up with the strange misshapen white part around Sally? aaahh well. Again with the mumbling, "don't be a stickinthemud..."





Monday, January 7, 2013

Happy New Year. It Better Be...

Blogger is having image upload issues.

So can't share any pics of knits or hand spun. But. Our family went to see "The Hobbit" on Christmas day. The movie was changed up from Tolkien's version and that is annoying. Though I felt much better when low and behold what do I see? The Dwarf hoards sitting there looking at me. With all sorts of big chunky knits! Even the hair was crafted into knit stitch like designs! I Love This.

I already have all the Fellowship movies but these woolie clothed dwarfs are a real incentive to get The Hobbit. Even when departing from the original adventure, which I dare say is the correct manner for my beloved Hobbit story, I will get these movies and try my hand at recreating those lovelies. Seriously? I'm already impatient for movie #2. Blather on that I may.

One of the tunics stands out in my mind. It had a lovely cable that looked a lot like my all time favorite stitch. The honeycomb. And also those fingerless mitts. That must have been the moss stitch. All looked to be knitted up in the most rustic-ish, itchiest, beautiful wool god or man ever has created. I want some.

Anyone think there will be patterns? Maybe yarn! Oh gosh. Sorry. But, blast it all, I am a great lover of everything ever written by Tolkien. You must understand when I first came to West Virginia (from Long Island at 16 yrs of age) I was gonna live like Bilbo Baggins. I have read these books many times over. And now someone(s) has crafted "The Knits". Yes. All is right in the world.

The Hobbit

Oin  lovely plaited gloves and hair in grey. +D
Nori  mega braids!
Bombur  yup these are the moss stitch mitts mentioned above and love that big fat braid.
dwarves are a-singing Fili, Dori, Ori and Nori

Really the effect is never the same as on the Silver Screen. Which must be the shock factor. I was struck (not) dumb too see so much knitting. Keep it up Peter Jackson.