Tour de Fleece - still spinning

I've been spinning the Merino on my drop spindle using the Navajo Ply-on-the-Fly method that I learned from Michael Wade.

I'm taking a chunk of fiber, about 1/8 oz, and spinning singles. Then when I get to the end of the fiber, I butterfly the singles onto my hand and Navajo ply in sections.

Here I am ready to ply:


TdF 2012

I've taken 21 39 yds of yarn off the spindle so far. It's slow going, but who's in a rush? This isn't a race or anything... oh, wait a minute.


TdF 2012

Ready or not, TdF

Can you believe this post isn't about food or the garden? Shocking, I know. I'm preparing for Tour de Fleece that starts on Saturday. Here are my initial goals:

• Spin every day the cyclists ride on the tour.
• Finish spinning the fiber currently on my drop spindles.

First up, wool on the Jorn Piel Nordic Spindle. The fiber was given to me by a friend and from the looks of it, I think it is Merino from Ashland Bay. This is spun using the Ply-on-the-Fly method. I learned PotF from Michael Wade on Day 16 of TdF 2011, so it's fitting that I continue with it for TdF 2012.


TdF 1

The second spindle is from KCL Woods and has Zen Top Merino-Tussah Silk-Bamboo from Lisa Souza. Both were purchased at Stitches West this year and this target yarn will be a fine 2-ply.


TdF 2

What are your goals for TdF 2012?

Stitches West 2012 recap

Seeing friends from near and far makes the Stitches West weekend special. It's the one event where I get to see many friends in the fiber arts that I keep in touch with online, like Benjamin, Lisa Souza, Romi, and Mel, and this year I had the pleasure of meeting Ysolda and Ragga. Oh, and being surrounded by beautiful fiber, equipment, and designs isn't bad either. ;)

What made your Stitches West memorable this year?

Thursday Market Preview:
I headed to the WEBS booth to find coned yarn for weaving. As I walked the aisles, Steve Elkins saw me and said, "Hello Janice." (!!!) We chatted for a bit--mostly about how we missed Kathy who was home in MA--then we went back to our business of shopping (me) and selling (him). I only say hello to Steve once a year and he sees so many customers, I certainly didn't expect to be recognized. Of course the nametag and a few exchanges on Facebook might have helped, but even so, it was pretty cool. What a guy.

Thursday finds:


Colrain Lace, WEBS, Booth 604 & 703.
2/10 Merino Tencel in black, plum, and steel


Knitters' Pride Circs, WEBS, Booth 604 & 703.


Shuttles, KCL Woods, Booth 1138.


South Pacific, Lisa Souza, Booth 717.
Merino, Tussah Silk, & Bamboo

Friday:
Gayle Roehm's class, Understanding Japanese Knitting Patterns, expanded my knitting universe. Now I feel better equipped to try one of those beautiful Japanese patterns. I showed Gayle a photo of Baroque, a sock that uses a modified stitch pattern from a Japanese stitch pattern book. She remarked, "I thought your name sounded familiar." :D

Friday finds:


Japanese Knitting Patterns


KCL Woods spindle


Ysolda, Lauriel, and me

Saturday:
I volunteered for XRX and helped students find their classrooms in the morning and after lunch. It was actually pretty fun. The rooms are a bit spread out with some in the convention center and some in the hotel. Attendees looked so relieved after they received directions. A woman who was sitting at a table nearby was watching for a while and then came up and told me that she appreciated that XRX put someone upstairs to help people out. Yeah, it felt good. I was surprised with how many people needed directions to the garage in the afternoon. :)

Saturday finds:


The Silent Underground
Baby Camel & Silk from AVFKW. The photo doesn't do this justice. There are subtle color changes that apparently can't be captured (by me) in a photo.


Zen Top - Sedona
Merino, Tussah Silk, & Bamboo from Lisa Souza. Beautiful.


KCL Woods Spindle & Lisa Souza Zen Top
The spindle and fiber spin like a dream.

Sunday:
AVFKW won for prettiest booth! It was a well deserved honor--their booth was lovely. One last highlight, I spent the entire weekend with my sister. What fun! It was a great weekend for hanging with my big sis.

Another year, another great show. Thank you Benjamin, XRX staff, and vendors, I'm looking forward to next year's show!

Stitches West 2013
Feb 21-24, 2013
Santa Clara Convention Center &
Hyatt Regency
Santa Clara, CA

Friday at Stitches West

Stitches West
Feb 23-26
Santa Clara Convention Center &
Hyatt Regency
Santa Clara, CA

Market Hours:
Fri & Sat: 10AM-6PM
Sun: 10AM-4PM

Stitches West Discount Coupon, $5 off Market Admission:
From WEBS, booth 604
From Prism Yarn, booth 506a
From CascadeYarns, booth 314 (posted on Ravelry)

I spent the day in Gayle Roehm's class, Understanding Japanese Knitting Patterns, and I really enjoyed it. I've been buying Japanese stitch pattern books and drooling over Japanese knitting pattern books for a while, but I hadn't tried any of the patterns. The patterns are beautiful and intricate, but they can be intimidating. Gayle covered the topic thoroughly and had plenty of examples for us to decipher. We also swatched some stitch patterns to practice reading the standard symbols used in Japanese knitting patterns. Did you catch that? The symbols are standardized. What a concept!


Understanding Japanese Knitting Patterns

The red book, Clear and Simple Knitting Symbols, is a reference for stitch symbols. It has step-by-step illustrations that show how to do each stitch. Take a look at the cover of the pattern book on the right... isn't it beautiful? I bought both books from Yarn Barn of Kansas, Booths 404 & 503.

During lunch and after class, Mutare and I visited the Market and I picked up a few more things.


KCL Woods spindle

The whorl is mango wood and the shaft & finial are dyed maple. It weighs 0.95 oz. and spins like a dream.


Ysolda, Lauriel, and me

Ysolda is in Booth 1244 with sweaters and accessories from her latest books. I tried on Lauriel and took a photo with the lovely Ysolda in her photo booth. She also signed my book. She's really lovely and it was nice to meet her. If you don't have one of her books, visit AVFKW in Booth 1134 and buy one (or two), then visit her and have them signed.

That's it for tonight. Tomorrow I'll be around the convention center helping students find their classrooms, and hanging out near the Market.

The Spin-in

Spinning, knitting, weaving, and socializing (and eating!) kept us engaged at Spinnity's Spin-in. It was nice to catch up with everyone in the new year.

Here are a few images from yesterday's gathering.


Spinning and Knitting


Knitting and Spinning


Weaving


Navajo Ply on the Fly


Laughing


Discussing


Exploring

Propelled out of Funkytown

I've been working on the list from funk-day and not only did it propel me out of funkytown, but I also got stuff done. Pretty cool.

1. Finish editing word doc.
   So far so good, this one is progressing.
   
   
2. Make 3 more hats for the craft fair.
   Finished! 8 hats are ready to go.
   
   
   Timba hats
   
   
3. Finish waffle weave project & warp next project.
   
4. Finish writing one of the patterns designed/started.
   I haven't worked on either of the items above.
   
   
5. Finish Navajo ply-on-the-fly spinning.
   Finished! Thank you WonderMike, your class on this technique was excellent.
   
   
   Navajo Ply on the Fly yarn
   
   
6. Work out.
   I've been to the club for cardio, strength training, and tennis, so this one is a big win.
   
   
7. Bake something.
   With Thanksgiving just hours away, this one hasn't been a problem at all. In fact, I'm even trying the Fresh-Frozen Pie technique from King Arthur Flour. Here's the pie I made last night:
   
   
   Apple Cranberry Pie
   
   Psych! It's frozen solid!
   
   Apple Cranberry Pie
   
   That pie is for later. There's one more Apple Cranberry Pie and a Pumpkin Pie for tomorrow.
   
   
8. Design something.
   Nothing to speak of.
   
   
9. Clean something.
   Nothing worth blogging about.
   
   
10. Blog - post photos taken earlier this year.
    Nope.
    

Tour de Fleece Day 16

Today I took a break from the Lendrum and took a spinning class. This was a raffle prize that my sister won at the Grand Opening for A Verb For Keeping Warm, a private 2 hour session with Michael Wade. She generously asked if it could be a 1 hour session for 2 people and when she got the okay, invited me along. Now how great is that?

But before the session started, we stopped at the shop that just opened next door to AVFKW, James & the Giant Cupcake. We sampled Love Potion and Salt Sea Caramel, then I got a box of four to go.


Cupcakes

Zingo, I was high on chocolate and icing and ready to spin!

Grace and I narrowed down the list of topics to bottom whorl/Turkish spindle spinning, horizontal drafting, Navajo plying on a spindle and Navajo plying on the fly. What a great session! We saw a variety of Turkish spindles and talked about the advantages and disadvantages (if any) of each design, I learned how to wind a cop properly, and Michael talked about different ways to initiate the spin.

The horizontal drafting was very cool. With a slight modification it made controlling the twist easier for me and I was able to handle my slippery Merino-bamboo blend better and not have my drop spindle drop to the floor.

I had never Navajo plied on a spindle before, so seeing how it was done and practicing a bit was very helpful. But the last technique totally blew me away--Navajo Ply on the Fly. You don't spin singles first and then transfer the singles off the spindle before plying. You start with singles and end up with plied yarn on your spindle. It's like magic. I'm going to finish spinning the Merino-Bamboo using this method.

If you want to learn cool drop spinning techniques, check the class schedule at A Verb for Keeping Warm. Michael is a great teacher and I recommend him highly.

I may be a spindle spinner yet. (Note, this is my first blog post tagged with the word "spindle".)

Thank you Grace & Michael, I had a great time and learned a lot!