This week I’ve been working on dyeing spinning fiber. First up has been superfine alpaca top. I wanted to show you part of the process. Especially with alpaca fiber, the dry dyed product is a lot lighter than the wet product. You can see the difference!
Author: Lisa Check
WIP Wednesday–Alpaca Roving Edition
I’m working on replenishing my hand dyed roving…. Here are the ones I just took out of the dye bath.
Remember these will dry lighter of course. I’ll post in social media when they are available for sale. This is superfine alpaca top. It is pretty slippery, and so makes some really fine singles if you like to spin fine yarn!!
Last Minute Gift?
The post office is running behind. UPS and FedEx are working on getting vaccines to the places they need to go. The shipping deadlines are looming.
How about a gift certificate? Or how about a selection of gift certificates from various small businesses?
I know I would love to have one. I could go shopping after the holidays and pick out what I really would like to make!
Click here to get a Flying Goat Farm Certificate. Available in any denomination.
Always a sock on the needles
That’s my motto. I always have a pair of socks on the needles at my house. Oh did I tell you that I knit them 2 at a time on one circular needle? Well I do. I learned to do this many years ago. I prefer this for so many reasons. First, I hate DPN’s. I have a hard time managing stitches on them and typically lose stitches off the back side of the needles. Secondly, I never have to worry about the second sock syndrome. I will always have a matching or someone matching pair of socks. They will be the same length and the same width. The gauge will be the same for both socks.
This is the pair on my needles right now. Truth be told, I haven’t knit on these for a month or so, since I’m focusing all my knitting time to my Shifty sweater. These socks are made with our Chinook Sock Base which is a blend of superwash merino, cashmere and nylon. And they are so soft and great. Because there’s nylon in there, they should were well too.
Want to learn how to knit socks 2 at a time? I have a class for that. Click here to find out about it. I have EARLY BIRD pricing on that until Sunday at midnight. The class is totally self study. There are 4 parts from cast on to bind off. And you have access for 60 days which should be plenty of time to knit your socks. You just need a skein of yarn (or a sock blank), a stitch marker and a circular needle of 32-40″ in length. I prefer to use size 1 US needles for fingering weight yarn. But pick the needles that work with the yarn you are using.
New Podcast: Making is what we need
In this new podcast, Lisa talks about how making with our hands can help us through the anxiety, the monotony and the general sadness we may be feeling due to this pandemic. Parts of our nation is already going through a second lock down and we need a way to get through it all. Making something with your hands helps you reach a state of flow or even a meditative state. The repetitive motion connects your mind and body. To listen to the podcast click here. You can also subscribe to the podcast on itunes so you never miss an episode. Or you can listen with a powerpoint presentation on our youtube channel.
The Podcast is taking a short hiatus until after the new year. So I hope you have a great December… Make something!!
Shop Update: Superfine Alpaca Top
Helping Pick Out Yarn Combos
I’ve been missing helping people put yarn combos together. It’s part of what I love about in person festivals and now my open studio days. And there are some of you who are just not close. But last week, I had the fun and pleasure of helping Kathleen pick out some yarn from afar. She wanted to use my Cacao mohair yarn and to pair it with my synergy yarn for a pop of color. Here’s how it started:
Then we narrowed it down to these 2:
And finally she picked out the Carribean and Majesty Synergy yarns for a shawl. It’s funny how you don’t know what will really tickle your fancy until it just hits you!! That was so fun. We did this in Facebook Messenger. But you can also set up a personal shopping session on Facetime or Zoom. Just shoot me an email and we can start from there!!
Last Open Studio of 2020
It’s been a tough one for sure. I know that everyone is really tired, exhausted by all the isolation, the endless confusing information and the loss we are all feeling about these holidays.
This coming weekend is the last open studio of the year. It’s a small way to use the best practices of social distancing and masks and still allow you to come and squish the yarn and to see all the pretty colors. I will be open Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 4pm. We will let 2 people in at a time with masks and I will be wiping down with cleaner and we have hand sanitizer.
Dalis, Karen and I have been collaborating again and this time for a holiday inspired photo. We all came up with our own takes on this photo. Mine is made with sparkly yarn just because it is the holidays!!
And if you don’t want to come out because of the covid numbers or if you aren’t close, I’ll be having a zoom call from 4-5pm EST on Saturday. Karen and Dalis will be joining me. We will share our collaboration yarns and we will have a holiday happy hour. Click here to join the meeting
So I hope you will join us in person or on zoom.
Need some quick stocking stuffers?
So I developed a quick tutorial to make felted soap. This is a great gift to have on hand. They can be hostess gifts. They have be stocking stuffers. They can be gifts that your children make for their aunts, uncles and grandparents. They take about 10-15 minutes to make.
So you can find the tutorial on my youtube channel. Click here to watch.
I have kits that include directions, roving and a knee hi. You just have to add soap and water. You can find the kits here.
New Podcast: Gifts for Crafty Friends
During this presentation, Lisa gives some gift suggestions for friends and relatives. These gifts range from kids to a new knitter and from friends that love mysteries and those who are history buffs.