So, of course, no sheep and wool festival is complete without stuff! Mmm shiny stuff.

Birthday stuff:

My parents bought me some more lovely fiber for Strider. And a wrap gauge for me! Been wanting one for a while, yay! All from Spunky Eclectic. I narrowly avoided a bird’s eye maple Loki as well.

Merino/Tencel on the left, Corriedale batt by Grafton Fibers on the right, and wrap gauge below.

See? Shiny!

Let’s see… what else… oh right!

Heeeeee. For my birthday, I got Tsuper Tserious Tsock Tstuff.

Hand carded and blended Tsock Batts by the Tsarina herself… made with some of the fleece I gave her from the Great Fleece Adventure.

Mood Indigo: Romney, Mohair, Silk

And this one, “just for fun” which, in grand black tradition is hard to do photographic justice to

Assyrian Cohort: Merino, Seacell, Silk, Mohair, Sparkly

And, finally, recieved in the mail presents from England!

The shirt made me laugh. Which is good, laughter is the best medicine.

The socks… wow. Dude.

Here’s a better photo of them, truer to the gorgeous claret-ey color. DAMN they’re soft. If I recall correctly, they have silk in them. Fit great too. Look at those cables!

They’re even cabled on the back!

Aren’t they awesome? ::squee::

Presents from me, to me:

Now, of course, I can’t go to a sheep and wool festival without buying a few things myself. And so…

I got me some Abby Batts from Spunky Eclectic. Mmmm. Shiiiny.

And a closeup of the green one

I also got some Icelandic Lamb, because I haven’t spun any Icelandic yet, and it’s about time. Marcy helped with this purchase.

And finally, I had to valiantly throw myself on these to save my dear friend Lynn from them. Ahem. 30/2 and 40/2 cotton thread, which will be used for weaving.

Stuff I made:

And that’s all the new stuff… except…

Remember this photo?

Notice something? Here, let me zoom in…

See that? That was my not so super secret project after making the spindle bags.

Here it is with better light

Or on the table so maybe you can see it better…

Still can’t tell what’s going on?

Try this…

Get it now?

If not, wander over here and look at the 4th photo down, I’ll wait…

See it? Yeah, that’s me, at NH Sheep and Wool, wandering around spindle spinning. That’s what I do. I do it here at work too.

And it’s for that that I invented this little “device.”

It’s a spindle holster. Yes, a spindle holster. When they’re not all full, you can put them through button holes. But when the cop gets large, they won’t fit in button holes anymore. And spindle bags are great, but they really go IN bigger bags. And when I’m walking around spindle spinning, I want a place to put the spindle that’s right there at hand, that I can get the spindle back from. You know, you walk up, spinning away, to a booth and then OOOH cormo-silk, you have to pick it up to touch and look at the price, but where do you put your spindle? Oh noes! Put it in your pocket and it may get squeezed back out and dropped and… ::gasp:: lost.

So, I made this. Admittedly, it’s probably not for many people. I mean, it’s got a belt loop, and two draw strings. But as the link pointed out, I’m hardcore ::snickers:: really ::twitch:: hardcore… ::falls out of chair laughing:: Ahem… totally. Anyway, for me, it’s awesome. As the cop gets bigger, I can adjust the lower drawstring so that the spindle is snug and secure and won’t drop out the bottom or bounce out the top.

It’s awesome! I’m happy.

And finally:

A new bit of fiber for the shop.

Deep sea blue-green currents swirl and twist in the depths of the water, where strange creatures swim…

Deep Sea – 1oz – 50/50 Cashmere/Tussah Combed Top

SO SOFT. SO SHINY. Love.

That’s all for now.

Later!

~The Gnome

Spent Saturday with my parents, put in some veggies, relaxed. Always a good time. Didn’t do any fiber things.

I think I’m going to try retting some nettle, and some hyssop this summer, just because. I’m curious.

Also managed to check in on my horribly neglected garden at my parents’ place. The wisteria tree I grew from seed was in bloom. It’s large enough that there’s a cave underneath you can stand up in. Very fragrant. The wooden thing is my trellis with a Niobe and Autumn Clematis, which is falling over.

The toughest azalea ever (eaten to the ground two years in a row by the goat, eaten many years after, including this one, by deer) was blooming as well.

It was a good day. Got to talk to my parents about life and plans and such. As much as I could with so much still in the air, at least.

Sunday was fiber day again.

Here’s the skein I posted earlier, reskeined, set, whacked, and measured.

A Heady Brew – 250yds – 4oz – Polwarth

I’m keeping this one, since it’s the first off Strider. Debating whether to use it for a cabled hat, or for weaving. I like it. It’s very soft, with a lovely hand, and a soft shine. Mmm. I dyed this one, and love the color.

I got the other yarn I was doing on the wheel finished and plied, but it’s not dry yet, so photos forthcoming. The weight difference between superwash and nonsuperwash never ceases to amaze me.

And I got this guy plied and set. Little skein, but it’s the first full skein I’ve done on the spindle. And it’s small ’cause that’s what I had of the sparkly fiber. The alpaca is undyed, and the blue was hand blended just for me by Heather, yay!

Moon on the Water – 100yds – 0.95oz – 50% Alpaca – 50% Wool (Merino I think) + Angelina

Then I got my butt sat down and worked on a commissioned set of stitch markers (I’ve still got another set waiting, plus a request, whee!). I will note these are some of my poorest photos of stitch markers.

Aventurine – Sodalite – Amethyst
Master: Pewter – Sodalite – Amethyst

And a set of binary stitch markers 1-8, or technically 0-7 I guess.

Lapis and Blue Aventurine

And a set of markers that can be used for crochet…

Lapis – Copper – Malachite

And while I was at it, I figured I should make some for the store as well.

Lapis and White Howlite

And another set…

Rhodonite and Poppy (Brecciated) Jasper

As is the usual case these days, I also spent some time weaving. I’m loving it. So very much. I want a floor loom with treadles!

Noting that these are truly awful photos because I never take them other than at 11:00 at night, I think they’re coming out well.

Here’s the bottom end of a spindle bag…

And here are two spindle “holsters” that I’m working on. I’m not sure if the idea will work, but I hope to test one or more of them out this weekend. The second one isn’t done yet.

I’m going to be at MA Sheep and Wool this weekend. Exactly when and for how long will depend a lot on how my thesis meeting goes on Friday. If the weather is good and I’m in a good mood from the meeting, I’m hoping to bring Strider to meet people, and I’ll stay long to celebrate. If not… well then it’s hard to say.

Incidentally, it will be two days after my birthday, and the one year anniversary of my enablement by the wonderful Tsock Tsarina and Jennifer of Holiday Yarns.

In other news, I will be doing dyeing/spinning/etc. this week. I have to to keep sane. However, I don’t know how often, or if, I will be updating. I just got comments back on my paper draft, and I have a lot of work to do, and I have to make a presentation for the committee meeting, and finish and edit my thesis outline for my committee. So, yeah… hectic week.

Hope to see people at MASW if I don’t post more here before then.

~The Gnome

So yesterday I promised some better photos.

And so there will be, better photos. Well… of some of the fiber. Diamonds in the Rust and That Old Black Magic are already gone.

But for the others…

Moss growing in the deep woods, hanging off the ancient trees and catching the drops of cool morning dew under your feet, a green carpet stretching off into the fog…

Moss – 4oz – Carded Jacob Roving

“Black” velvet, a red so dark you can almost not see the color, with an unsavory, but accurate name…

Oxblood – 4oz – Carded Dorset Roving

A deep and warm golden brown, heathered with age…

Hardwood – 4oz – Carded Dorset Roving

I also made sets of two of the demo-markers I posted yesterday.

Sodalite, with a Howlite master marker:

and

Lapis – Amethyst – Garnet

More to come soon!

~The Gnome

::waves:: Hello everyone, sorry for the delay in posting anything or getting anything up. But I had to get a draft of the paper done for the boss before she left on vacation (which I did, yay!) and then start to try to get my life back in order a bit (you know, hair cuts, bills, groceries, cleaning, those fascinating necessities). Allergies seem to be backing off. I can get to my oven again.

Created a Gnomespun flickr group for people to share the projects they’ve made, yarns they’ve spun, etc. So, go, post! I wanna SEEEEEEEE! Gnomespun Yarn and Fiber Arts on Flickr

I also skirted my two Southdown fleeces. First experience skirting specifically for fiber prep, especially for milling. A lot of VM there was no way to get out. This may very well be the stress test on this mill, given that this type of fleece isn’t the easiest to work with and it’s got the VM. Here’s to experiments.

Played with Strider some more, talked with a bunch of people, including Spunky Eclectic (where he came from) and managed to learn a lot. I now know how to get the drive band on without cursing, and how to realign his various wheels and pulleys. He’s still got a mischievous bone, though. Managed to work one of the threads of his drive band out of the knot and started to unravel it. So, I’ll be replacing that shortly, probably doing it myself. We’re getting along a lot better now. I love him.

Finished my first and second yarns on him too!

A Heady Brew – 4oz – Polwarth DK weight – Guessing ~250 yds?
(No, I haven’t measured it yet, it’s harder to measure this much yarn on my little niddy)
Once it’s measured and reskeined, it will go up on the shop.

Patches – >4oz – You name it – Sport-Worsted Thick/Thin
Icelandic, Romney, BFL, Merino, Corriedale, Cormo, Alpaca, etc.
This will not be in the shop, but will be sent off to my friend KnittyBe for a super-seecrit project

Right now, I’m spinning up some Spunky Eclectic fiber, Berry Berry in SW BFL which I’m loving.

And then I started dyeing again. Got a lot of commission dyeing done, and a bit for the shop. Note here that these are photos in my living room and in my puny light box. I’ll take more tomorrow, ’cause a lot of these (notably the red and purple)… suck.

First up, “A Sky Full of Stars” as a commission for a friend. Icelandic.

Then, onto roving… I discovered the exact limit of my bathroom fiber capacitywise… 13

This was enough fiber to slow the drying process, but not to halt it.

First up of these are the ones I don’t have photos of because they are still drying. All commissions. In the green/brown you can see a redux of Frog and Toad in SW Merino. Further you can see a Sapphire Surprise and a War for the Oaks in Polwarth. All still wet. Polwarth dries like mud.

First up of those you can see, more of a colorway you’ve seen, Burning Bright, this time in Cormo/Mohair, an interesting blend. Very soft. A little different than prior versions because I had to change the method for just short of a pound of fiber. Note the bad photography. It’s not nearly this neon, this is a sample of it, not the whole thing. This is the other half of the Sky Full of Stars commission.

That finishes the comissions and gets us to ones which will go up on the shop as soon as I get decent photographs of them (tomorrow morning, most likely).

A new fiber to Gnomespun, Jacob. I think I’m in love with this fiber. It’s super soft, great for semi-solid heathers, and lofty. Love.

Similar, but I think even better than the original, Moss. With all the shadings of deep green and hanging moss.

Moss – 4oz – Carded Jacob Roving

That Old Black Magic, a wonderful super deep almost black heathered purple. The pictures totally don’t do it justice.

That Old Black Magic – 4oz – Carded Jacob Roving

And one who’s name is more because it’s funny and I couldn’t come up with something perfect. I wanted to call it Hobbes, but that’s just not quite right for the grey-brown and orange. So instead…

Diamonds in the Rust – 4oz – Carded Jacob Roving

And another new fiber to Gnomespun, Dorset. A durable, and well nigh unfeltable downs wool. Not merino soft, but with a lot higher wear factor and a ton of loft. Excellent memory in this fiber.

Oxblood – 4oz – Carded Dorset Roving
This photo is terrible. Super dark, deep, red-black.

And a colorway you’ve seen before…

Hardwood – 4oz – Carded Dorset Roving
This is the worst photo ever. This is a deep golden BROWN. Not red. Not orange. Ugh. Will get better one tomorrow.

In other news… I finished this…

Look familiar? That’s because it is. It’s the other end of the pattern, which I did twice, in mirror, so I can fold it in half, sew up the sides, fold over the top, and make a bag.

And I made some test stitch markers.

Lapis – Amethyst – Garnet

Sodalite

Amethyst – Mountain Jade – Kambaba Jasper (both greener than the photo shows)

Aventurine – Sodalite – Amethyst

Sodalite-Lapis-Sodalite (Made to be extra small and light for things like lace)

Upcoming projects: More dyed fiber, more spinning, finished woven spindle bags, stitch markers, cute knitted critters, and a Gnomespun webpage update.

Upcoming posts: Dyeing methodology

Upcoming events: NH S&W (dangerous), MA S&W

Think that’s about it for now.

Oh right, I have some fae to show you but they’re not in the computer yet.

~The Gnome

Whee. Got back to the gym after a 5 month absence last night. Oy. I’ll get it back, but it’s going to take a while. I haven’t been this out of shape in a long time, and I’ve never in my life weighed this much. Ouchy.

Lots of photos to post today.

We’ll start with older stuff that needs updating, or… something.

You might remember the last Spin-A-Sweater in Romney, Moss, Wood, and Stone? Well, I spun up a tiny bit of it, so people could see how it would spin, ply, and knit. Yay for spindles. All done on the Bossie.

First, I spun up singles.
Wood – Stone – Moss

Then I plied it into an itty bitty center pull ball.

And finally, I knitted it up into a little swatch, nothing fancy, but it’s a soft enough heathering, I think you could do cables without losing them in the heather.

Next, new fiber! Well, not new fiber, just new colors of fiber. This is all polwarth. Mmm. We’ll start with the two “oops” fibers, then move onto the non-oopses.

This one’s a lovely deep wine. Unfortunately it got a little compacted and a tiiiny bit felted during dyeing. Bugger. So I’m not selling it. Gnomespun does not provide inferior product. I’ll spin it myself (the big guy is handling it fine) and sell the yarn.

So, this one’s going back to the pot. It’s not “bad” just… boring. So I shall make it not boring.

And finally, before we get to the best stuff, this one, which I’m really proud of, and is already spoken for. It has a soft iridescent shine, which is part of how it got it’s name.

Balloon Flower: 4oz – Combed Polwarth Top

And finally, the fiber going up on the shop.

A repeat semi-solid in a new fiber, Aquamarine.

Aquamarine: 4oz – Combed Polwarth Top

One of my favorite yarn colorways, and a favorite summer… fall… ok all the time favorites, cranberries. Mmm cranberries. A true New England Tradition!

New England Cranberries: 4oz – Combed Polwarth Top

In spring, the river may run rapid, but the streams gurgle and splash…

Babbling Brook: 4oz – Combed Polwarth Top

And those of us who don’t like the heat much, seek out the deep forest, where the wild things dwell, and the fae dwell… another repeat, a slightly less dark version of Phouka, greener. His summer mein, perhaps.

Phouka: 4oz – Combed Polwarth Top

And, it’s spring! Which means it’s time for budding growth, tulips, and lots of mud! Mmm mud mud mud. Hee.

Spring Serendipity: 4oz – Combed Polwarth Top

And what do we get for all the rain and mud? Summer comes, with blue skies and bursting flowers!

Summer Serendipity: 4oz – Combed Polwarth Top

Yay fiber! More fiber coming soon. I’ve got a bunch of stuff on the way, and am scouting out some more suppliers.

And now, some stitch markers that have recently gone out as gifts in large orders (and one other).

First a pair of earrings that was part of a comission (which is why they get to be earrings, the earring findings cost more)

Sodalite – Aventurine x2 – Sterling Silver

A pair of Millefori glass markers I from beads in the batch Heather gave me.

Millefori Glass – Fancy Jasper

And finally a pair of amethyst dice stitch markers, which were added into a shipment that went out later than it should have.

Amethyst – Rose Quartz – Sodalite

And…

Hrm…

Nope, that’s it for now, sufficient? Got a couple projects coming up. Knitted objects, and possibly some stone whorl spindles. Yes, I sleep, sort of. Hush.

~The Gnome