7.22.2012

spin, spin, spin

yay! i completed my first ravelry 'tour de fleece' a couple of hours ago. all in all, i was able to spin a sampling of dyed bombyx silk brick, 25 grams of treenway silks dyed tussah roving, 25 grams of bombyx silk noil, 25 grams of treenway silks tussah noil, and a half sheet of mulberry paper. the mulberry paper connects with the silk theme, as silkworms eat mulberry leaves.


the interesting thing about these types of silk (the exception being the bombyx brick) is that as a single they are somewhat course feeling, but once plied, become soft and light. as well, the bombyx noils contrast more when blending with carders than the tussah, which is a finer noil.

as if a steady stream of spinning for the last 23 days wasn't enough, i've started carding a bombyx silk noil and green colorgrown peruvian cotton batt to spin this week. striking while the irons hot, and all that.

7.21.2012

topsy turvy

spinning away on my drop spindle; this time tussah noil. it's drafting thinner than the bombyx noil, so the singles are finer. i've decided to play it safe and to divide up the fiber into two balls to ply together, rather than risk a center pull ball tangling. it should be interesting and nubby when plied, hopefully tomorrow. tour de fleece is over on the 22nd, so i should concentrate on finishing this up. fingers crossed!


7.11.2012

challenging silk

as i've been doing a bit of spinning lately, i thought it would be fun to join the tour de fleece on ravelry this year. there's a wildcard team for jenkin's turkish spindlers; and as it's my spindle of choice, i joined them.



focusing on silk and different preparations of it, i've spun up some dyed bombyx brick, 25g of dyed tussah roving, and now some silk noil. the silk noil is the really interesting one, as it's spun similarly to short staple cotton. popcorn garlands come to mind when i look at it. i think i'll keep it as a singles. i have another bag of tussah silk noils which is smoother, no vegetable matter, and looks to be a longer staple length. which i plan on spinning up after this noil.


i love drop spinning; it helps me focus, work through my emotions/thoughts, and forms a kind of meditation practice for me. now if only it burned a significant amount of calories...

7.04.2012

making additions


i make little changes to this doll from time to time. whenever i come across a feather on the ground i pick it up. i've been collecting white and speckled ones for some time, and just keep adding them to the top of her head. the other day i had a swatch of sequined fabric laying next to her and saw the mirroring silver dots on her legs and arms and thought the sequins would go lovely on the bottom layer of skirt. she could be done now, but who knows. she tells me her name is bone feather. 

just finding a cool spot

there are many frogs who live around the outside of the house during the summer. sometimes they come in, and sometimes they just stay between the doors, neither coming or going. this guy was just hanging out on the storm door when i came home from work. i love the iridescent strips and the neon green glow of its skin. this type is a little less vocal than the green and yellow tree frogs, and much larger.

7.03.2012

living in the past

yay! we have electricity again! after the storms knocked it out around 8:30 sunday night, it was back on around 11:30 today. that's only 39 hours or so. in the heat. without water. blech.

it's storming outside now, so lets hope it stays on!