Purple! I’ve been playing with soft grey-purples lately. For you non-purple fans, don’t worry, I’ve got some super dark green in now, and plans for more green messing.

Lavender Clouds. It’s almost lavender time! I love lavender blooms… Similar to yesterdays Chionodoxa, but a little purpler and less grey.

Lavender Clouds – 4oz – Combed Wensleydale Top

And always a favorite both with me and others… a really nice true amethyst this round…

Amethyst – 1oz x 2 – Combed Tussah Silk Top

Will get these up in the shop shortly.

In the meantime… spindle goodness.

First, a new spindle! One I eyed at Spunky Eclectic’s shop when I was picking up Strider, then again at MA Sheep and Wool… I was being good, saving for fiber, and a benefactor (who wishes to remain nameless) bought it for me! ::squee::

Isn’t it pretty? Ok, yeah, so I have a thing for Bird’s Eye Maple. So sue me! I lurves it. I got it an ounce of yak, which I’ve never spun before, as a “Welcome to the Gnomespun family” present. It has a lot of yak flakes in it. Rrm… not too happy about that, but I think it’ll be ok.

Greensleeves: Loki – 23.5g – 0.82oz – Bird’s Eye Maple – Top Whorl
1oz Yak – Paradise Fibers

And here’s my travel spindle, the Bocote Bosworth (0.88oz) with the Cormo/Angora/Alpaca I got at NH Sheep and Wool.

Still building up the cop, aiming to get as much as possible on there. I’m at 37g now, which is 1.3oz, not too bad! It’s getting tougher to flick spin it, but it still thigh rolls without any trouble. So I definitely still have a ways to go, the cop is still totally tight and stable.

That’s it for now. Have to go work on the resumy/cv and my western blots. This weekend there will be more stuff, more knitting, more spinning, more dyeing, and some time with friends.

~The Gnome

Right. Stuff!

Lab goes. Which is why I haven’t been here the way I’d like.

The semi-secret project continues, once it’s done and the new owner receives it, I’ll post.

Dyed a bunch of new fiber. Some of it vanished within minutes. If you want more immediate updates about when fiber actually appears in the shop, you can watch the “Shop Updates” posts in the new Ravelry Gnomespun group. I will of course continue to post here, but sometimes stuff goes up before posts and sometimes after. So that thread will be updated immediately after shop updates.

But there’s also some still there.

Centaurea, a lighter (truer to the flower) version of the “Dark Centaurea”

Centaurea – 4oz – Carded Dorset Roving

Bzzzz! Bright, yellow (clearer yellow than this photo)… With summer comes…

Yellow Jacket – 4oz – Combed BFL Top

A soft muted green the color of dark moss in cool forests.

Moss – 2oz x 2 – 80/20 Merino/Angora Combed Top

Golds and burgundy browns blend like the bright summer flower in this soft silk fiber…

Blanket Flower – 1oz x 2 – Combed Tussah Silk Top

And in the already gone category…

A rich oxblood clematis in deep lustrous red…

Niobe – 4oz – Carded Ramboulliet Roving

Also known as Glory of the Snow, these flowers bloom early in shining white and silver-lavender.

Chionodoxa – 1oz x 2 – Combed Tussah Silk Top

Tomorrow, some more fiber, and some spindle goodness.

~The Gnome

Here are two videos of me spinning.

My terminology is not the best, so I hesitate to name the style I use to spin this yarn, as I don’t want to steer anyone in the wrong direction. I call this an “unlongdraw” because it’s clearly not a pure longdraw. However, there is twist in the drafting triangle, and my left hand is smoothing, not gripping. So it’s more longdraw than not. I think it would fall in the category of a supported longdraw, or perhaps a point of twist method… but don’t quote me on that. It makes a semi-worsted yarn, that’s smoother than a woolen yarn, but not as lofty, and much faster to produce, and lighter, than a pure worsted short forward draw.

This is Polwarth/Silk I’m spinning, on Strider, 1:25 whorl. Spinning up some laceweight.

Wheee! I loves my strider. Please ignore the mess, it’s not there anymore.

~The Gnome

…I’m doing science and I’m still alive…

(Points for those who catch the reference there)

Weekend was pretty good. Friend came and visited and I got to think about not-my-science for a while. Got to go see Fred Small, who does one concert a year. It was awesome. I forgot what it’s like to be in an old fashioned folk crowd, where people aren’t afraid to sing and such.

It was also amusing because as we were walking around Cambridge, I was spindle spinning. I can’t knit while I walk, but I can spin. Then I proceeded to spin more (and knit some) in the line to get into the concert. Which made me lots of friends who asked all sorts of questions about it. ::grins:: Of course I forgot to give out business cards. Doh.

He sang (of course, it’s his famous one) my favorite song (Everything Possible) and I had tears streaming down my face. That song would probably top my list of influential songs in my life.

Also got some science done on Sunday, and a lot more reorganization of my fiber stash. It’s large. Not really large for the scale of these things, but considering the size of my apartment… it’s large. Considering the fact that fairly soon I have a *very* large shipment of fiber coming from the mill… it’s enormous.

So I reorganized, with the help of some nice boxes from IKEA that Tom got me (they aren’t carrying the beech veneer to match my shelves anymore!).

See the nice pull out boxes?

Doesn’t look too bad, does it?

Except… mouse over that, and notice what the mouse-over text is… right… “Layer 1″

Yeah. That’s layer two. The big tubs are 28 gallons. And this is before the 40lbs of fiber I sent to the mill comes back. Eeeeep!

And here’s some dyeing that’s been drying. I’ve also done a little more which will be photographed tomorrow.

Today, tussah silk!

My personal favorite, deep in the center of the forest, where the wild fey dwell and the emerald cathedral blocks out all but the most filtered light…

Heart of the Forest – 1oz x 2 – Combed Tussah Silk Top

When the moon is full and the soft silver light plays across the water, anything can happen. Swans turn to maidens and frogs hop down from the moon…

Moonlight – 1oz x 2 – Combed Tussah Silk Top

Mmm summer (when it doesn’t include all this rain and non-sun) brings fruit salad. Mmm fruit salad, with all the juice running together in the bowl…

Fruit Salad – 1oz x 2 – Combed Tussah Silk Top

And that’s about it for right now. In a bit I’ll put up another post with spinning videos. Tomorrow will be an update on the walking spindle project, the rest of the new fiber, and… well other stuff, I’m sure.

Now, to go order new GFP and V5 antibody for experiments, edit figures, and meet with the boss about paper edits.

~The Gnome

First, I will gloat over my new shininess.

mmm new shininess.

A Spindlewood, bottom whorl, 1.5oz – 41g made from Bird’s Eye Maple.

Isn’t it pretty? It’s my biggest and heaviest spindle to date. Primarily I got it for plying, but I’m sure I’ll use it for straight up spinning too. The bit of spinning that’s on it isn’t mine, I’m guessing it was from testing it.

There’s some super dark green silk drying right now, and some merino/angora dyeing.

Eye of the Storm – 4oz – Combed BFL Top

Will be up in the shop shortly.

Lab continues apace. All parts of the paper have been re-written at least once. The intro is getting close to complete, I think, and the results section as well, minus one last experiment I’m trying to get to work. This weekend will be largely a rest weekend.

That’s about it for now. More to come as always.