Usually Saturdays are my computer days where I list any new products I may have, blogs, uploading photos, etc. But today I don’t have anything to list, and I’ve been putting my photos here as well as blogging. It was like a free day for me, which was good because I finished spinning the angora I’ve been working on and needed to ply it. So a good chunk of my night was plying. Plying has been a challenge for me since the beginning. I usually ply a single ply yarn upon itself to make two. The reason for this is there is no extra yarn left over. I have tried many different methods for doing this and have had more yarn messes that I have agonized over fixing than I’d like to admit. The one method that I always go back to is the center pull ball. Granted it’s not perfect, but I haven’t had half the issues that I have had with others. The one thing I have started doing is winding the single ply onto the ball winder the night before so that it settles in that shape and makes it easier to pull out without as much “yarn barf” that can happen. Anyways I managed to ply this yarn which turned out to be a beautiful sport weight yarn at 166 yds. This is from one of my new girls this year Mary Anne. Her coat is absolutely gorgeous and soft. She rivals her mother in texture and color. Now keep in mind her mother is my favorite angora here at Samollynn, so that’s saying a lot about this girl.
Next I started a pair of mittens with a folding top to expose the fingers if you need them. This is made out of alpaca from Loops and Threads from Michaels. I found this yarn last year and love it. It’s so soft and warm. I made a friend of mine a scarf from this and she loves it.
Finally I was able to finish up the order of stitch counters for a customer that asked for a specific custom order. I love working with customers on what they need and want. I work closely with them to the point where I’m probably annoying, but again I want people to get what they want. This woman also pointed me to Ravelry. For those of you who don’t know Ravelry is pretty much like a whole fiber art community world. I’ve been on there for about 12 years but never knew what it was besides a great place to find patterns. I’ve been having issues with Ravelry this past year because I honestly don’t believe that politics have any place in the fiber arts world and Ravelry made it so. Is it something I am willing to leave Ravelry for, no, but I am going to be cautious entering this world.
So as Sunday approaches, it is usually a day I use to work on any personal projects that I may have since our ride to church is a long one. It is a day that I spend with my whole family, and I treasure these days. My husband has been extremely busy outside the house and Sundays are really the only days he’s with us for the whole day. These are also days that we go and see my in-laws, or my grandparents. As I get older I see how important spending this time with extended family is. My oldest daughter yes is still fairly young, but I know my time with her is getting shorter and shorter, so I want to make the most of it and pass on the family values that we have.
Finally I started on my next spinning project. This combination is my favorite next to pure angora, huacaya alpaca and angora blended together. Have you ever felt a cloud? This is about as close as you will get to it. The angora is black English angora from my girl Blue, and the alpaca is black alpaca I ordered a few years ago. I am carding the two together to blend the fibers together. This project is going to take a little longer. As I was getting the alpaca fiber out to spin I noticed that it was loaded with vegetable matter. Now anyone who knows about alpacas, they are dirty animals. But since I bought this fiber clean, meaning I didn’t have to wash it. Well I was wrong. The fiber itself is clean, just a ton of vm. But because I spent money on this, I am going to just pick it out as I go. Carding should help get a good chunk of it out. I tell you this as a warning to those who buy fleece. Please make sure the provider tells you how much, if any vm is in the fleece. It may cost more, but in the end it will save you so much time.
Categories: Life, My Journey, Uncategorized
