Vacation Spinning, and Spinning WIPs

Finished yarns:

3oo yards of fingering weight two ply from a loop batt, top. Somehow I see this as part of a shawl someday.

250 yards of laceweight tussah silk singles from Spunky Eclectic, bottom, for the Etsy shop.

On the spindles:

Spunky Eclectic "Rosebud" corriedale

Susan's Spinning Bunny tussah silk in a rosy color


White Pin Drafted Cormo with Peacock Feathers

Yum!

Top Vacation Pics

The dinosaur is moving so fast, everything is a blur....oh, no, I guess it's because I forgot to use my flash. Verity at the Creation Museum.





This Peruvian weaving hangs in the home where we had our wedding reception. I have always liked it for its optical illusion, but I appreciate it even more now!




We had our picture taken in this rose garden when we were courting a few years ago now. We decided to do it again.


Here's a picture from the Greenvile Scottish Games where we spent the day. I loved this wheel. So pretty!



Last but not least, my Grandpa and his lovely wife.

Spoiled

Yarn or a Tale's package was the first I got this week, a roving that I won for unventing the colorway! She is a fellow Michigan-der, and I picked things that remind me of Michigan in the spring.... maple syrup, cherry blossoms, and asparagus. The colorway is called "May" and I am delighted to have some of it! Leah has a colorway contest every month, and you all should go enter! It's fun.






The next day brought my handmade spindle swap package! amymarie
did a wonderful job of research and everything was perfect! Do you see the pretty spindle? It is so cheery and sturdy, perfect to take with me on the go. I started spinning my "may" roving on it , of course!

The fiber is luscious, 4 oz. merino and 2 oz. of carbonized bamboo. Earl Grey tea leaves with lavender made the package smell wonderful. Sweet little necklaces for Verity, Mercy, and Peace. Chocolate. Stitch Markers.

It was a wonderful package.

Then, yesterday I got a package from a lady that we stayed with on our recent vacation.... she put in two pretty knitted dishcloths....I wish I had taken a picture of them right away, because they have already seen use. :-)

So this week? I am feeling rather spoiled.

Simplicity+Love=Smiles

Colorway Inspiration for the Weekend--- Woodsy, Flowery

Making a Spindle

First, let me say that I have been on vacation....so of course my fiber blog fodder is piling up... there was the spinning, the photos of lovely spots, the knitting of socks in the car, getting to meet Rhonna...

But first I am going to tell you about how I made a spindle for a handmade spindle swap. There are probably as many ways to make a spindle as there are people in the world... maybe more~ Here's my own little recipe.

One nice wooden knitting needle whose mate broke.
One screw-on plastic lid to a jar of Diamond nuts.
One cup-hook.
One unbleached coffee filter.
One page from an old Mary Engelbreit page-a-day calendar.
Rubber cement.

I skewered the lid through the center with the knitting needle, and slid it up until it reached the carvings. Put the cup hook on the top, and decorated the lid/whorl with the coffee filter and the calendar page.

It spins rather nicely, and is light, though it is not quite as stable as some of my other spindles. Because it made with a screw on lid, there is a slight rim weighted effect that keeps it spinning fairly long. It says "Tranquility" on it. I like it! This is a form of recycling that I can definitely warm to......