Solstice Picnic

I know, Solstice was a few weeks ago.  I just been so busy, uh, spinning, that I haven’t had a chance to share my pictures.  We were so lucky to be blessed with a gorgeous sunny day.  What better way to celebrate the Solstice than by having an impromptu picnic!

The nibbles:

Top plate clockwise:  pecan halves, apricot slices, strawberries, blueberries

Bottom plate clockwise:  sugar snap peas, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, cheese topped bagel

Getting in on the action:

Big Brother:

Little Brother:

Little Brother enjoying an apricot slice (with intense supervision):

We will have to come up with something pretty awesome for the winter Solstice to top this experience.

Peace.

Second ever handspun

So, my second “real” handspun yarn is leaving me with a so-so feeling.  I was jonesing for some spinning time and waiting on my big order of roving, so I went to my LYS to see what they had.  Not much in regards to roving.  I settled on this roving:

Optim by Chameleon Colorworks

I found that I had to predraft it quite a bit.  I am not usually a predrafter, but this stuff was very slippery and difficult for my novice hands to manage.  But, beyond that…it was like spinning butter.  Incredibly soft and silky.  It is processed in a way to make it more like silk.

It isn’t as even as I was hoping it to be, but it is all a learning experience.  The color is October something or other…not really what I have in mind when I look at it.  The main thing is that it was spun with lots of love.

Peace.

For a girl…

The pillowcase dress.  ( I swapped out the not-so-white ribbons with bright white ribbons later.)  An easy to construct dress that will grow with the girl.  A dress first, then a tunic to wear over leggings or shorts.  A sweet gift for an even sweeter little girl.  Almost makes me wish I had a little girl to sew for.  Almost.

Peace.

Mad Scientist

I’ve been feeling like a mad scientist lately.  I certainly have the hairdo to pull off the look.  Complete with a few new stark white strands peeking out on top.  Yikes!  When did that happen?

I recently ordered a whole bunch of wool to spin up.  Like 2 1/2 pounds!  It was supposed to last me through the Tour de Fleece (a spinning thing coinciding with the Tour de France), but I don’t think it will make it.  I am having way too much fun dyeing it and spinning it up.  Have a look see, will ya?

I take this nice white wool roving:

Throw it in a pot with my ingredients:

Spin it up and end up with this:

This:

Became this:

I love the color of this one:

It is hanging up in the shower, drying at the moment. But, if you want to see more, here you go:

So, what do we think? Decent? Decent enough to sell? I hope so because something needs to fund this addiction. I am taking them to my LYS tomorrow to see if she is interested in carrying them. It’s a 50/50 prospect…she has a tiny space that is already bursting at the seams with awesome yarns. But none from Juneau. That could be my niche. If she doesn’t want them, then into the poor, forgotten etsy shop they will go.

Oh, by the way. If your name starts with a “P” and ends in an “e” and you live in the UK and you like any of these, please let me know. Because I owe you : )

Peace.

Find of the Summer

I haven’t been thrifting for a few weeks, and I miss it terribly.  Hopefully next weekend I can hit some of the sales to see what I can add to the collection.  In the meantime, I wanted to share our best find of the summer…

I have no idea what the technical name for the piece is called, but it is in mint condition and has the Portmeirion Botanic Garden stamp on the back.  The best part?  It was $1.  Yep, a whole buck!  I could hardly contain my excitement when I spied it on a table at a sale.  I didn’t want to alert the people having the sale that they were getting rid of a pricey item.  It wasn’t tagged, so when we went to pay for it, the lady hesitated and said, “Oh, I dunno.  How about a dollar?”  SOLD!  I was willing to pay quite a bit more.

I love thrifting!