Aha! We have *some* pictures! :)

Okay, we don't have all of my pictures from the vacation, but at least some have been put up... So here, we have the latest spinning, finished:



It's the one on the right, 49 yards of english rose handspun merino... 8 ply. Yes, 8 ply. It's about 32 WPI. Yes, I outdid myself there. The blue next to it is 41 yards of 4 ply robin's egg blue merino, and it's about 36wpi...

A better example of how fine these came out might show if I put them next to a dime. Here:



And a quarter:



Yes, it's that small. 8 ply! :) I almost wish I'd saved it up for competition purposes... Now I'll have to do that again, but I can live with that. I'll spin something that thin up with romney or something and enter it into the spinning competition next year. :)

I've finished one bootie, but I don't currently have the pix available. The second bootie has been started, but isn't very far yet.

When we get to the pix, there's also pictures of the needlepoint scissor case, the camel down I'm spinning, and the booties themselves (but NOT the baby blanket, I can't show that one yet)... But the problem with taking over 11,000 pix while on vacation is having to screen it down to the good ones when you've finished... :)

EDIT: One needlepoint case, before completion:



It's done now... Now I just need to put in the scissors!

I have to laugh at this...

This is me, at MDSW, with the brand new El Cid spindle in hand... :)



Okay, was I not excited? :)

Hm, need to use that spindle again... After I finish more knitting. Oh, and spinning the camel hair...

Home from vacation!

Didn't get nearly as many projects done as I thought... but finished the spinning, one baby sock, and one needlepoint project (scissors case), plus a bit of a secret project that I'm not showing anyone (that is effectively a UFO anyways).

I am home, and pix of some things shall be forthcoming... It's tough to actually knit and craft while you're driving in a car taking pix of the landscape, so my craft project that got the most work in the last few weeks was my photography... But since we took over 11,000 between the two of us, I don't think we'll be posting them here (yes, the wonders of digital photography).

Of course, the 11,000 pix means I have to search through them for the actual project pix to put up here, so it may be a while... ;)

On the road...

Pictures will happen after I get back from vacation, but I wound up with 49 yards of 8-ply merino. WPI? 32. Yes, 32. I'm also currently working on camel, a part of the samples I got from Woolbunny earlier this year.

So now, I'm about to embark on a set of baby booties for my soon-to-be niece. :)

Thinner than the hair on a frog

Yes, that's two ply.

I've finished the two-ply of the English Rose merino, and shall now commence working on the cable ply. I may even have to fold it over another time, considering just how thin this stuff is... I really worked this one!

My brother will never appreciate it. ;)

"Irony" is done, and a PSA

So the Irony spinning challenge for May is done!





It's 65 yards of an unknown wool with some angelina sprinkled in there. Too bad you really can't get good pix of Angelina. :)

I really need to put together a lighting box though... Because pix on the floor just don't make for good pix. :)

However, on to my PSA:

If I have absolutely no idea who you are, why on earth do you think I would just give you a pattern that I purchased at one point? First, it's illegal. Copyright for patterns are retained by the original owner, and it is up to them to determine how their patterns are distributed and if they will cost money. They spent their time developing a pattern, they deserve the money for it. Free patterns are only free because someone paid for advertising on the site that distributed them. A pattern that is not available for free distribution has to be paid for somehow. Second, if you have never spoken to me before, why do you think I would give you (for free) a pattern I spent my hard earned cash on? Third, when you join something like a sock club, it is with the knowledge that those patterns and yarns that come from the club are exclusive and have not been released to the general public. So if I spent my hard-earned cash on a club so I could get yarns and patterns otherwise not released to the general public, why do you think I would give it to you?

Sorry, this is just the first time I've had a Raveller actually ask me for a pattern. I firmly believe that the pattern creator has the right to determine how the pattern is distributed. It is one thing to loan the pattern to a friend when you physically hand the pattern to them and you have made no copies of it. It is entirely another to make copies of a pattern and distribute it against copyright.

Just got irritated because an absolute stranger saw a pattern that is supposed to be an exclusive one and asked me to make a copy and send it to her.

Stash Enhancement from MDSW!

Okay, the pix are up!

First, my pride and joy from the weekend: My brand new "El Cid" Spanish Peacock spindle!







Wow, it spins like a dream... I also picked up a wrist distaff to go with it, and it's working like a charm! :)






Hang the little elastic bit off my wrist, and just go for it! I need to pick up a fishing swivel for it, though... While I can slowly unwind it, I think it would work better if I had a swivel on it.

Now for those who didn't already get sick of Bahama Blues while I was working on it, I present you with: MORE Bahama Blues! :)



I bought another 3/4 of a pound of the stuff... I thought 770 yards wasn't quite enough to do what I wanted to with it! Fortunately, they had similar batches of colors to last year (not identical, but since bahama blues was a range of colors, I can always alternate skeins anyway).

I also bought a bunch of silk cocoons for a friend who's interested in learning. 60 to be precise:



On top of that, since I'm interested in learning how to dye (and I needed another hobby, right?), I picked up 2 pounds each of Superwash Merino and Superwash BFL from Little Barn at EXCELLENT prices! I love a sale!



I also picked up a package of flax, so I can make bowstrings at the festival this year:



This should be really cool. And now Dash and Hamish can't tell me I'm "girlifying" the militia tent! :)

From Yarn Barn of Kansas, I picked up 8 ounces of Superwash Merino in Deep Sea Green:



And then I scored big time at Bijou Bison ranch... Yak yarn isn't cheap. Well, not only did I get stuff from their clearance section, but I got it at 25% off! :)



That's one skein of sock yarn (85% yak, 15% nylon), plus one skein of fingering-weight 50/50 yak down and alpaca blend in fingering weight. WHEE! Oh, and yes, they came with the included patterns... I'm seeing Foggy Bottom stuff here, since it's brown and white, and they just look so cool! :)



I'm loving that sideways cable. :)

And now, the stuff from Autumn House Farm. First, a DPN holder that's all wood, looks beautiful, and I've seen it in action holding the sock. Works like a charm!



They also had a sample of shetland. I've never tried shetland, so I figured I'd give it a shot:



I got 800 yards of Finnegan's Fuzz in October 13th colorway for making a shawl:



And I got 400 yards of a sock yarn that has a little wool, a little cotton, and a little angelina:



Did I mention I had a coupon? :)

So for the collection on the whole?



Okay, I'm staying away from fiber shopping for a while to come at this rate... With the dyeing I want to do I have plenty to keep me occupied! :)

I also had a good time at the Spin-In at the Dining hall that night... I met Andrea Price (she's just written a book called Knitspeak that translates knitting terminology to plain English, otherwise known as "the pink book"), and there were several people (including BitsyKnits, who was going to go get one the next morning if there were any left) who really loved the new El Cid spindle! By the way, BitsyKnits and WildHare (Bitsy's from Jersey and WildHare's from MD) both sell the Spin-o-loution wheels... I got to try Bitsy's Mach 1 wheel and saw the Bee wheel, and they're just so wonderfully fluid! One of these years, I will sell the Louet S10 I have at home (that the husband keeps putting away because it's too big to have out, so it rarely gets used) and get one of those Bees... It's portable (fits in a carry-on suitcase) and it's all sealed bearings so it never needs oiling! It's just such a perfect little wheel, since it can be put away in such a tiny compact space and yet still gets good ratios because it's effectively built like a large charkha, with multiple gearings! Wonder if I can have enough people drop a hint at the husband that if I got the Bee it would take up less room and would be more portable so I could take it out more often yet keep it out of his way... Perhaps as a birthday present? I know I'd have to sell the Louet, but if I got the Spin-o-loution Bee, I'd be perfectly happy to sell the Louet. :)

Oh my yes, I had a good time this weekend... :)

Funny thing was? I didn't even get to HALF of the festival! I swear, I need a whole weekend for this... And I wanted to take classes and enter competitions and... Oh sheesh. I'm doomed. :)

*giggling madly*

Okay, the pictures will have to come later, since I *just* got home from MDSW, with lots of goodies and lots of good information, and hung out half the day with a couple of friends while running into a number of others (Lori, after you left, Katie got a firsthand example of that phenomenon of me running into everyone... I swear we ran into at least ten or fifteen people I knew)...

But the best part of the day came rather early. :)

Okay, it's no secret I adore Spanish Peacock spindles. My "frankenspindle" is a Spanish Peacock, and my first "real" spindle (as opposed to those little stupid kit spindles that aren't worth diddly and fall apart when you look at them funny) was also a Spanish Peacock (and coincidentally happens to be the spindle I'm spinning on right now, that pink stuff).

Well, Miguel has been thinking up some new and evil creations lately... And apparently after one of the most recent, his wife said "Cyd's going to kill you, now she'll have to buy another one that can't be crushed by klutzy roommates."

He's named it the "El Cid." :)

I'll have to show you pictures later... But it spins like an absolute dream... He owes me commissions, 'cause I sent at least ten people in his direction today... ;) The best one was when we were at the Spin-In tonight, and several people saw the new El Cid and were absolutely enraptured by it... WHEE! :)

Okay, so after I get pictures, I'll post not only those, but all of the other fiber goodies that my husband's going to kill me for... ;)