# Pictures of November Projects :)



## Oceanrose (Mar 25, 2005)

Devin learning to spin (hey, he's a project!) he and his twin brother made Pokemon's out of their spun yarn.



New loom! Assembled but not warped yet  



Newly dyed roving and wool:







Newly spun and plied yarn. This is handpainted merino/viscose btw.





What have you all being doing?? :dance:


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

er, drinking a good burgundy and thinking about warping my loom?

wow. nice stuff there, lady. nice looking stuff.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

:lol: Ann!!

WowWowWowWow - that loom is gorgeous!! Good to see young uns picking up spinning. My foster son says he wants to learn, but I don't have the free time when he does and when I do have free time, he's not interested or off doing something else.

I adore the colorway on your niddy noddy!


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I think I'll go and join Ann. Hey Ann, semi sweet chocolate chips are really nummy when eaten while sipping on brandy :dance: I'll help you warp your loom if you help me figure out the foot peddle assembly on mine! Nope I take that back I need to focus on my next project on my RH loom.

Nice stuff Heather! Way to encourage the guys to appreciate fibers when they grow up.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

I've switched to mulled wine tonight. With a cherry/raspberry pie. I'm liking the idea of the chocolate tho....

Heather how difficult was it for your son to learn the spinning? and did you start with drop spindle or right to the spinning wheel? did they do their own carding or do you have roving for them?


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## donsgal (May 2, 2005)

Oceanrose said:


> Devin learning to spin (hey, he's a project!) he and his twin brother made Pokemon's out of their spun yarn.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh all of it is just gorgeous! I'm sooooooo envious. What did youi dye the roving with? 

donsgal


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## Oceanrose (Mar 25, 2005)

Hi Ann,

Actually that's one of my nephews, though they may as well be my kids - they're with me more than their parents . Anyway, I let them play with my wheels if there is no yarn on it, and I keep one empty just for them. They have been practicing treadling for awhile just when they wanted to, and both had gotten to the point where they could treadle backwards and forwards, so I told them they could learn. I used pencil roving, and I'm now convinced that's the way to teach as they don't have to worry about drafting really yet. Devin there was using some hand dyed scraps from my Merino mill ends. Last night I found a BIG ball of pencil roving in one of my bags of that so I'll dye that into cool colors and make that theirs. I can't use a drop spindle or rather I hate to, so no way could I show someone else how to do that .

Donsgal, I used Kool-aid. I'm a Kool-aid addict. You should have seen the people at work staring at my dyed hands today . I have learned one important thing, since I'm leaving a bit of white, it lightens as I spin (duh) that lovely pastelly pink and blue was originally red and blue.... Ah well. It is what it is. This time I tried to dye darker, we'll see if it works.


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## Flwrbrd (Jan 14, 2007)

http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x180/Flwrbrd/?action=view&current=babies004.jpg
http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x180/Flwrbrd/?action=view&current=babies001.jpg

my most recent project...one koolaid...one natural


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## Vashti (Dec 22, 2006)

Oh man...I need a bigger house.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

flwrbird, those are lovely colors. koolaid, eh? and here I've been trying to use lichens and flowers. time to take a trip to the grocery store!


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## Flwrbrd (Jan 14, 2007)

Well, between Oceanrose and some gals in the guild who love using koolaid....I got inspired! Sorry I didn't think to take a picture of the roving before it was spun...it was sooo colorful! What an absolutely wonderful way to add some fun to the whole deal! I've been having a blast with it...I'm sure there'll be more to come....
Think the kids will like the hats?
lol


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## weever (Oct 1, 2006)

Cool! I'm guessing that is a Cromaine Crafts loom or a Gallinger loom? Looks very similar to the one in my basement. Does it have the motto: "Things useful and beautiful" stamped on it?


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## Oceanrose (Mar 25, 2005)

Weever, this is a Cromaine Crafts loom. I still haven't gotten it warped.....



This is my biggest project, Thanksgiving dinner!



But between company and dinner I did get this completed. It's already sold believe it or not, I'll have to dye more to this color. I have another skein half done of it it already.

On my other wheel I have a skein going of a similar one to the green above. And I finished a red and white skein but unfortunately it is a tangled ball right now. Need to tackle that and rewind it I think.

Happy late Thanksgiving :dance:


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## Flwrbrd (Jan 14, 2007)

Ocean, what is the color combo on that pretty orange ball???
I did some that was orange and pink lemonade koolaids....it looked like sherberts, and everybody loved it.
Yours looks like it might have another color in there.....


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## Oceanrose (Mar 25, 2005)

Flwrbrd said:


> Ocean, what is the color combo on that pretty orange ball???
> I did some that was orange and pink lemonade koolaids....it looked like sherberts, and everybody loved it.
> Yours looks like it might have another color in there.....


This one I started with lemonade, (2 packs) added 3 packs of orange) and then 2 of pink lemonade, and 4 of strawberry I think. I always start light and work to dark. It's really pretty. The roving is really brigh but it does lighten once I spun it.

Once I replenish my kool-aid supplies I'll do more. I have a few more ideas now with the orange... And some more with the lemonade. 

Anyone else notice kool-aid prices go up in the winter?


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## Flwrbrd (Jan 14, 2007)

LOL...I have noticed....
But, my store, right now...has pink lemonade for [email protected]$1...Is one reason I've been playing with it a bit....


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## thatcompchick (Dec 29, 2004)

Learned to spin last month, totally HOOKED - on drop spindle. not liking the wheel.

I have enough Romney done to get most of my first shawl done on the triloom, spun a bunch of merino blend getting started - have no idea what I'm going to do with that - spun a bunch of my own Black Welsh Mountain up -

but here are the biggies I've been playing with...5lb fleece - natural colored Border Leicester yearling named Milton. I met Milton at the fiber festival and begged his mom for his fleece - yes that's all from the same sheep!!! Pictures are captioned so you can see which is which!


http://arare-breed.net/Spin/

Andrea
www.arare-breed.net
www.faintinggoat.net


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## Oceanrose (Mar 25, 2005)

That border leicester is YUMMY! And I so envy that you can spin that much on the drop spindle. I get so utterly frustrated.. Yet they are so portable... I simply can't stick my Jensen in a bag...:bash:


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## thatcompchick (Dec 29, 2004)

That's why I can spin so much - I have to take my son to the bus stop, bus is always perpetually early or late - so I'm down there for about 35 min in am and then again in pm - I spin while cooking spaghetti - when watching movies - it helps I can't sit still ;-p 

Andrea


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Andrea what spindle are you using? Beautiful yarns you two are making. I love BL wool. I have a bag of my favorite rams wool in my attic waiting for me to make it into a beautiful cables sweater for me  Ill be spinning it on my wheel though, I think.


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## thatcompchick (Dec 29, 2004)

Mostly a Schaht?sp? hi -lo. Also played with some ceramic ones at the store. I 
have a Golding on my wish list ;-)

How do you store your fleeces???

Andrea
www.arare-breed.net
www.faintinggoat.net


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I think if most people saw how I stored my fleeces they would have this expression on their face  The fleeces I have in the attic have been washed and carded. They are in the same plastic bags they came back from the processor in. I soaked some cotton balls in lavander or other essential oil or tossed a bar of Yardley's English Lavander soap onto the bag closed it lightly and tossed it in the attic. Some have been up there a very long time. They are still in very good shape.

I have raw fleeces as they were shipped to me, usually in plastic bags and boxes. I have them stored out on one of my porches, it will get as cold out there as it gets outside and that can be as cold as -40+ I also have fleeces I have washed stored in plastic bags stored out there too. I do need to go and put cotton balls soaked in essential oils in all the bags of fibers. So far the only problem I have had is a bag of raw buffalo (bison) wool that became full of bugs. Thankfully that was kept outside, in plastic. The bugs didnt get into anything else.


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## thatcompchick (Dec 29, 2004)

Cool - I'm trying to figure out where to stash stuff. I have a craft/plant starting area of the basement, but it's well, in the basement... I've heard plastic bags are a no-no - is there a 'only if' to this???

Andrea
www.arare-breed.net
www.faintinggoat.net


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## MTDeb (Feb 20, 2003)

Andrea, plastic bags are fine, as long as you don't seal them up tight so that you get condensation on the inside of the bag.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Andrea, you know I had always been told that too. Don't put fibers in plastic. But over the many, many years I have been a fibreholics, and all the workshops and fiber fairs I have been to, all the fiber people have their fibers in plastic. These are well known international sellers of fibers too. Most of the shepherds I know also put their fleeces in plastic or into old feed sacks, which are lined in plastic. I have never had any problem with it. I think the reasoning behind it has to do with static causing the fibers to break. Hey I live in a place where static electricity is a year round event and I have never had a problem. Also as Deb says if you don't seal it too tight or put it in a place where it will be in direct sunlight, otherwise moisture can build up. If that does happen just leave the bag wide open until it cools and the condensation goes away. I also don't think that the bugs can get into the plastic as easily as they could get into cloth especially loosely woven fabric like burlap. I have had very good success with those very large zip-lock bags. I had a friend who worked in a place where they used them for blueprints and she gave me all the old ones. I can get them at the local Gander Mountain too.

Thats my story!


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## Oceanrose (Mar 25, 2005)

I use plastic too, either loose or within storage totes but not tightly sealed. It works fine. I do store them inside though, I'm always scared of animals getting into it outside.

Here's what I completed tonight, Mint Melody, a twist (Ha ha) of the the green above. The gray in the picture is actually lavender. 210 yards, and another 200 or so to ply still.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I hae a question for you Heather. When you say the skein is 280 yards or whatever it is. Do you actually sit and count the number of times you complete a round on your niddy noddy? If not how do you know how many yards a given skein is? Anyone who knows their yardage on any given skein can answer this for me. I for the life of me just cannot fathom sitting or standing and winding my niddy noddy and counting every time I make a round, no way :help:


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## thatcompchick (Dec 29, 2004)

We use the back of a chair right now, hubby is making me a niddy noddy - and yes, my dd and I count every round ;-) which is approx a yard. Guess if you continuously spun the same type of fiber at the same width, you could guesstimate by weight. I have gotten to the point where I know that if I spin the romney roving I have on the Schacht hand spindle, and spin it thin, a full spindle is approx 140 yards.



Andrea


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## Meg Z (Jun 8, 2004)

I don't store my wool in plastic. It always feels kinda 'dead' to me after it's been stored that way, although I have discovered that it'll liven back up after it's been exposed to air again for a while. :shrug: 

Wal-Mart sells compostable paper lawn and leaf bags. They're about hip high. I use those. Each bag gets a number. I keep a log book identifying what's in each bag. I just check the list for what I want, then go pull that bag. And each bag has cedar in it as well.

Small batches I just keep in paper grocery sacks. I'm planning on getting those properly logged in over the holidays.

I don't know how many small bags I currently have. But there are 33 of the large ones in there...and I STILL have wool that's not been sorted or washed and stored.  Yet another chore for the holidays...good thing I have a month off, huh?!

As far as yardage, after I run the yarn up on the niddy-noddy, then I count wraps. If I try to count while winding, someone WILL distract me and make me lose count! :nono: 

Meg


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## Oceanrose (Mar 25, 2005)

Hi March,

Yes I count it. I have a 1 yard niddy and a 2 yard niddy. I just count as I go. Probably due to having to count lunch trays when I used to work in the lunch room in elementary school I'm pretty fast at it. The crocheters that use my yarn insist on knowing that.

I am going to buy myself a counter though, but right now I am broke. Tis the season .


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## FalconDance (Feb 4, 2007)

March, I count each wind, as well. My niddy noddy holds 66" so it takes a little calculation in the end, but :shrug:.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Just finished up spinning some grey heathered Jacob carded with red corriedale, green mill end, white merino. Spun it worsted weight then plyed with white thread and knitted into socks for Paul - pretty cool!

Just started knitting my first mittens, almost finished with first one.

Niddy-Noddy, mine is about 45" between arms. I wind on, tie, remove & wash skein, let dry then measure in inches one round, count number of rounds, multiply by inches of one round, divide by 36 to get approx yardage.


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