Well Folks, its been exactly one week since I made myself a schedule for the kids naptimes… and how have I done with that?

After all, it’s Wednesday, and I am writing for the blog, and that is progress, right?

Aside from that, I spent Thursday’s nap time looking around for jewelry wire… apparently, i ran out at some point, horror of horrors, and so instead of making some awesome new stitch markers (I even have cool ladybug beads now, too), I moved on and spent some time with the drum carder.  I keep saying I will get to the store for more wire… but you know… I haven’t made it yet.

Friday was supposed to be a photo day… and yes, I DID take AND edit some photos.  Without further ado, I’d love to show them to you.

California Red - 3.2 ounces

Cheviot - 2.6 Ounces

Rose Petals - SW Merino, bamboo, nylon yarn

"Surprise Me" - a mix of random leftover bits from drum carding on a base of Falklands wool

You might notice, if you clicked on any of the pictures, that all but one of those items are already listed, too.  That is because I have also been working at keeping up my other goal, of listing at least one item every day in my shop.

On Monday, I was supposed to spin.  And I did… but not as much as I would like to say that I had.  I spun for a little while and then realized that my back was hurting me and my wheel was giving me issues. (not the wheel’s fault… apparently my kids must have unscrewed one of the feet on the front of the wheel, and it is now missing… the wheel was wobbly.  I am getting a replacement foot.)  Ok, so I am pregnant, so sue me, sometimes it will mean taking a break.

While I was resting my back, I sat in the couch and worked on my “Instant Grat Hat”.  That is, the project designed to meet 2 needs.. first, to give me a break from the larger and more complicated baby blanket I am working on (for the beeba 3), and second, to make a hat for me that will not fall off my head when I am wearing a ponytail (since I am nearly always wearing a ponytail).

Excuse the terrible picture of me… I hate pictures of me…

The Instant Grat Hat- actually a modified beret

Now, Yesterday, I did something I have not done in a long while.  I DYED FIBER!  yes, I know, I am running a fiber and yarn business, I need to be dyeing fiber.  But, you see, the dyes are not really the most healthy to be working with while pregnant, and so during the pregnancy, I have cut down on the dyeing I do.  It’s why most of my actual new listings in my shop for the last and next few months are an will be either carded batts or spun yarn rather than dyed top or dyed yarns… I am trying to be safe for my baby.  But really, I DO still have to do some dyeing, and so using the proper safety precautions, I spent a while dyeing yesterday.

Sorry, that does not mean that you are likely to see any dyed tops in my shop anytime soon.  I dyed solid lengths of top to use in the drum carder.  This type of dyeing takes less time in actual contact with the dyes, and leads to more variety, since I can take a bit of this color and a bit of that to create several different batts.  I did only a little over a pound, and so I will likely have to do more dyeing next week again, but it gives me a start, to add to the other fibers I have waiting for me.

Speaking of fiber, guess what arrived at my house yesterday?  MORE FIBER.  Yup.  More merino, which after this dyeing session I needed, as the dyeing session completely depleted what I had, and bamboo!  Yum, I love bamboo.  Some of it I will be adding as is to batts, and some will be dyed and sold as tops… and I can’t wait to play.

I guess, in my long winded way, all this is to say that I am On Track, at least so far.  and don’t worry, i won’t tell you day by day my every move on every wednesday… I promise.

*****

On to my second topic of the day.

I added a new page to my website.  This page is for all those beginning spinners out there who may not have tried every different form of fiber prep.  It is by no means complete, and in fact, may never be, since it is a list of tips and hints (with some useful information added in) on how to spin from the different forms.  I hope that readers will chime in with any tips and hints you may have for spinning from any form of prep… if you submit a tip and it is not already on the page, I will put it up with a credit to you.  You may submit tips and hints either by responding to this post or by using the contact form either here or on the site (it is actually the same contact form).

Here is a link to the page if you would like to check it out: Crystal City Fibers: Spinning Tips and Hints.

Yes, I know, most if not all of the tips and hints I have listed are already available somewhere else… But not, from what I can tell, in an organized and comprehensive form…  So, while I know I have probably missed many great hints and tips, I sat down and wrote down all that I could think of or had played with personally… and this is the list I came up with.  I know that my readers and viewers of the site will be able to add more to the list.

Tags: Beeba 3, drum carder, dyeing, Fiber, knitting, photography, yarn