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It's official! I have joined the ranks of retirees. Now it is time to 'spend' my stash, or as I have decided to call it, my retirement 'fund'. We start this with a very large blanket of alpaca fiber from an alpaca named Pegosa. The first pound is washed, but not completely processed as I am using it to test various processing methods. This podcast talks about combing with handheld combs, and the yarn that I spun from that top. Needless to say there will be plenty more to podcast about Pegosa's fiber in the next few months. However I have talked about alpaca in past podcasts too. If you are interested, here is a list of episodes with links: Episode 35 Washing alpaca Episode 101 Machine washing alpaca Episode 102 Spinning alpaca Episode 108 Dyeing alpaca Episode 123 Alpaca in the dyepots One other spinning project completed since the last podcast was fiber from Homestead Hobbyist, a lovely polworth/silk blend.
The Two Ewes are both in Seattle! Assembling spinning wheels, meeting listeners, weaving, knitting, and comparing notes on sweaters are just some of the activities from their fun week. Project Updates Marsha is knitting a new project since the last episode. The pattern is Opteka by Isabell Kraemer and the yarn is Imperial Yarn Tracie Too. This is Marsha's second long-sleeved pullover. She is wearing her Combo Spin sweater so much she decided to make another sweater with similar characteristics. Marsha has also finished a project already this year. In fact, it was finished in two days! Her first weaving project was a huge success. There will be more information about this in the next Winter Weave Along episode. Kelly is almost exclusively working on the Indigo Frost by Isabell Kraemer. The Ewes are definitely enjoying her patterns these days! Kelly's version is a vivid spring green cormo yarn from Sincere Sheep in the Virid colorway. The color work portion is being done with handspun left over from her Funky Grandpa cardigan. This will guarantee that she will stand out in a crowd! She also has weaving as her first finished project of 2018. The woven pouch is finished, sporting one of her favorite buttons from the button stash. The directions for the woven pouch can be found in the first Winter Weave Along lesson. Fiber Adventures Marsha's new/old Ashford Traditional got a good spin at the Spin-In. Many interesting wheels were there, including an interesting Dutch Moswalt wheel and an antique Norwegian Wheel with matching spinning chair that was for sale. The Ewes also made fiber purchases from a variety of fun vendors. Huckleberry Knits, Fleebers Farm, Sauked In Farm, and Homestead Hobbyist all got added to the stash. Fiber in the Wild Kelly was delighted to find that a new mill with spinning capability has opened in California. Valley Oak Wool and Fiber Mill in Yolo County is now the only mill in the state that spins yarn. This article details the story of the mill's owner and its recent opening. Stay tuned for more about this exciting development! Marsha shares a video in which Fairy Little knits a sweater in one day using time lapse video. Amazing!
The Black Sheep Gathering 2017 was so wonderful the Two Ewes can't stop talking about it! The wool judge was Judith MacKenzie so of course it was such a learning experience. There are also a few finished knits, some new fiber, yarn, and, you guessed it, FLEECE! Kelly arrived in Eugene after a long hot drive through the northern California heatwave. Marsha and Kim came down from Seattle on the train. They met and prepared for the opening of the show the next day. Marsha and Kelly spent Saturday in the fleece judging, soaking up all the information that Judith MacKenzie so generously shared with the audience. On Saturday, there was a side trip to two Eugene yarn shops. Cozy is a newly opened shop in the old downtown area near the train station. Youthful and spacious, this shop really showed off the many indie-dyed striped and speckled yarns in its stock. It also had a good stock of Flax by Fibra Natura and Marsha snagged some for a linen tee. Then on to Soft Horizons Fibre. This shop is in an old house filled with yarn. The attraction for the Two Ewes and their friend Kim was the Stone Hedge Fiber Crazy yarn. It has the largest selection of this yarn of any yarn shop in the northwest. Back at the fleece barn, Kelly found a gem of a fleece had gone unsold so she bought it. She also found some interesting breed blends at the Homestead Hobbyist booth. Both Marsha and Kelly found plying silk on wood bobbins and Marsha also found some batts that she loved. At the Jorstadt Creek booth, they both bought cashmere laceweight in support of The Great Steppe Fiber Project. Maddy from Jorstadt is going to Mongolia to teach spinning and help to provide women there with the skills to have a fiber company. To help pay for the trip and learn more, visit the gofundme page. As for the knitting, Marsha made good progress on her Twice Born shawl by Magdalena Lorentz. Friends helped her determine that the Easy Folded Poncho is finished and doesn't need the cowl neck. Kelly worked on an OLD project, her Playground Shawl, a pattern by Justyna Lorkowska. Started in August 2015, this shawl has been in hibernation since early last spring. Now it is back out and on its way to being finished.
My Idunn cardigan has been updated with pretty green buttons and a slimmer button band after I was determined to get it completely finished this week. I also talk about how I plan to stabilize the neckline for improved wearability. I ordered some yarn back at the beginning of April, and after getting lost in the mail for nearly 2 months, it finally found its way to my house! I finish off the show with some weaving chat (feel free to turn it off at the end of the spinning segment if you're not interested in hearing me talk about weaving).Crafty Creations, Delta, BCIdunn Cardigan, and look at all of these inspirational Lettlopi sweaters from the Fancy Tiger KAL! Iðunn CardiganNatural Knotwood Turkish Drop SpindleSchacht SidekickThe Homestead HobbyistRegia Sweet & Spicy 3653 - Ravelry Project PageWren & Ollie Yarn, Australia - Sorbet Swirl and Apple TonicA special announcement! I share my weaving projects at the end of this video. This is the first time and last time I'll be doing this, but don't worry, it's for good reason! I have started a new channel/podcast just for my weaving! If you are interested in following my weaving adventures, please follow along with my newest project, The Weaving Show!Snappy Stitches will continue to be the home of my knitting and hand spinning.MusicPerspectives Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Thank you for joining me this week! I have finished my Iðunn Cardigan (minus buttons), finished spinning the first half of the Homestead Hobbyist fiber on my Natural Knotwood Capar Turkish Drop Spindle, and have started spinning the second half on my Schacht Sidekick spinning wheel.I have some crazy progress on two vanilla socks, thanks to seeing two (TWO!!) movies in the theater in the last couple of weeks (Snatched and Baywatch - LOL - I know, I have no taste, but one of the local theaters has over-sized leather recliners, so I'd see practically anything to sit quietly in there and knit). Iðunn Cardigan, my Idunn project pageButtonhole CalculatorIn Color Order - Lined Drawstring Bag tutorialRegia Arne & Carlos Design Line - 3653 Star Night - my Rav project pageBiscotte Yarns Bis-Sock in Watermelon. I think Blue Pansies might be next for me.The Homestead HobbyistNatural Knotwood Capar Spindles from Winnipeg Manitoba. These are by far my favourite spindles!
Welcome to the sixteenth episode of The Mitten on Knittin’. There are 78 days until Rhinebeck starts (yes, it starts with the classes on Oct. 13), I may still be obsessing a bit about the weather – and I’ve finished the knit mitts for the Homestead Hobbyist corkal which may have been a bit problematic… … Continue reading Episode 16 – 78 Days to Rhinebeck
Welcome to the fifteenth episode of The Mitten on Knittin’. There are 85 days until Rhinebeck starts (yes, it starts with the classes on Oct. 13), a mention (or 12) about how hot it is – and I’ve finished a mitten or two with our knit-along from The Homestead Hobbyist! Stop by the Ravelry group … Continue reading Episode 15 – 85 Days to Rhinebeck
Welcome to the fourteenth episode of The Mitten on Knittin’. There are 92 days until Rhinebeck starts (yes, it starts with the classes on Oct. 13), and I’m interviewing the Homestead Hobbyist to learn all about him and his fluffy fibers. We’re starting a knit-along with one of his patterns and there is lots of … Continue reading Episode 14 – Part 1 – The Homestead Hobbyist Interview