Stuff I've Been Working On (and some finished)

The middle of Sarah's quilt. Borders yet to go, but I'm closing in on it. DL keeps calling it another UFO. I'm calling it a project from the stash almost complete. We're having it machine quilted.

Shetland wool yarn. Take-home fleece from two previous spinning and dyeing classes at the Folk School. This worked well with the new draw Lucy showed me last week: a sort of modified woolen draw, still drafting against the twist, but pulling the new yarn toward the wheel with my forward hand. I have had problems with underplying, so some of this is a bit overplied. But I'm pleased with it.

Northern Lights, sunset colorway, from Louet. I spun these singles on the new Lendrum. I struggled to find the right drafting technique, but finally settled into the same one as for the Shetland and it worked quite well. It may not be obvious, but the size of my yarn is more consistent in the bottom two groups of yarn than in the top 3, though it's still a bit overspun. I should have used the slow whorl. But the problem, and the ONLY problem with the Lendrum, is that the regular flyer, on the slow whorl only, makes quite a racket. I'm in correspondence with my vendor about that. But I loved the Northern Lights and will be spinning more of it soon I hope.

These are skeins that I'm very pleased with. Left to right: Corriedale from spinning class, brown and white wool, hand carded and some blended, Navajo plied; Coopworth with a little natural dyed Corriedale, flicked and then drum carded, singles spun long woolen draw; Winter Sunset roving from Deb Cline, Lincoln and Coopworth blend, singles spun long woolen draw.

Ready!

We're going paddling this weekend. Maybe tomorrow, maybe not until Saturday. Depends on how much it rains today. But we'll be leaving tomorrow in any case, because we'll camp and make a weekend of it, and need to be in camp tomorrow evening in order to meet our friends on Saturday morning.



When we get back, we'll have Monday to get things cleaned up and put away, because on Tuesday we're leaving for Chicago and Wisconsin! I'm going to a workshop with Meg Swansen! I tried to attend her camp last year, but selection was random and I didn't make it. So I'm really excited to be going now. I've never been to Chicago or Wisconsin, either.



Got books, notes, knitting needles, knitting gizmos?

















Got yarn?
















Got directions?

















I've been knitting, and doing a little sewing, too.








More on the sweater when I'm finished. I know it looks like an amorphous blog at this point, but it's really pretty cool and looks nice on. And here's the boot quilt, ready to assemble. I really need to get this done and to the quilter. It's tying up my sewing machine, and I'd really like it's intended recipient to have it!