I’ve been busy getting ready for Tour de Fleece. I’ve dyed Polwarth wool and silk top and BFL so far.
This weekend I’ll probably get to the alpaca top. I’ve got some fun colors coming along. I will have a shop update Friday by 5pm.
I think that I have decided that my goal is to just spin color. To try some different color spinning techniques and I think I will do some dyeing especially for ME! I haven’t done that for a few years. The last 2 Tours I was concentrating on getting this lamb fleece spun. 2 YEARS!! It was white. And I still can’t figure out what color I want to dye that handspun yarn. I have an idea. I want to make one of those yoked sweaters…probably make it as a steeked cardigan. So I want to work on some handspun yarn that might coordinate all together to make another kind of sweater. That’s my goal.
What is your goal? Do you want to join my team? Drop me a line and I’ll send you a facebook invite.
It’s T-6 days until the start of the 2020 Tour de Fleece. Since it’s inception, the point of the tour de fleece is to spin all the days that the tour de france is running…Get it? spinning yarn while they’re spinning their wheels across France. In the past there are challenge days when the cyclists are in the mountain stages. There are also rest days when the cyclists are also resting. What I’ve loved about the tour is that even if I’m just spinning a few minutes a day. I’m always improving my skills. I’ve done the tour 5 years now. I’ve even transported my wheel when we arranged a vacation during the tour. I am hosting a team for the 6th year. If you would like to join us, click here to get to our facebook group.
In that vein, I thought you might want to know what kinds of rovings we have available.
Our organic Polwarth Wool/Silk is a blend of cultivated silk to add additional shine and luxury to the beautiful fine wool. It is 80% Polwarth Wool / 20% Silk. You can actually see the lustrous silk in amongst the wool roving. It is a really fun yarn to spin and can also be a beautiful addition to felting projects. The Polwarth sheep was developed in Australia by breeding Merino rams to Lincoln/Merino ewes with the resulting animals being 75% Merino/25% Lincoln. You get a longer staple length and more lustrous quality from the Lincoln and a micron count between 22-25 from the fine wool Merinos. These sheep are raised primarily in Australia, New Zealand, Falkland Islands, and South America. Definitely next to skin softness. Yarn made from this roving are known for its elasticity, durability it is still considered a delicate fiber with bounce and drape. 3ounce portion Retail $16
Blue Face Leicester is of British provenance. This sheep is one of the most prolific in the British Kingdom. It is a lustrous long wool . It is typically 25-27 microns with a staple length 4 ¼ inches (110 mm). The fiber feels finer than the micron count would suggest. The luster promotes beautiful results whether you are spinning or felting with this fiber. This is a great roving for beginners. 3ounce portion Retail$15
Superfine Alpaca is 100% alpaca combed top. It is incredibly soft, so the yarn you make will be next to your skin soft to make handcrafted items. The fibers are very fine (24-26 micons) with a 3-4 inch staple length. and the preparation is combed top, so you can spin this roving in a worsted way and get fingerling weight yarns that will show your stitches very well. Any yarn or felt that you make from this will feel so luxurious that you will want to wear it all the time! 3ounce portion Retail$15
Our Mohair roving is made from the fleeces of our lovely goats. It is highly lustrous and takes dye really well. Because it is a farm roving, there will be some veg matter in it that is easily picked out while you are spinning. 8ounce portion Retail $20
Our Puck and Friends roving is made from BFL fleeces that we grow as well as those from friend’s flocks. This is a natural charcoal yarn. It is great for beginners. 8ounce portion Retail $20
I’ve been thinking a lot about farm yarn. One of my big 4 goals this year was to widen out my line of FGF yarns. I want to have an offering at every standard weight of yarn. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Watch this video that I recorded this week for my #farmchickslive #ThursdayThreads.
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Here are some of the farm yarns that are already in our line.
Okay it’s a really weird year. The Tour de France is postponed until the end of August….will it happen then?? I’m not sure, so I decided to do my tour during the original dates: June 27- July 19.
What do you do on Tour de Fleece? Well you spin everyday. Even if it is just 10 minutes a day. Just sit at your wheel or walk with your spindle. This is the single best way to improve your spinning technique. In years past, I have made a goal for myself. Last year, it was to finish spinning a 3ply worsted weight yarn out of a lamb’s fleece. I did that. I have enough to make myself a sweater.
My goal this year? I’m really not sure. I am so far out of practice. I don’t think I’ve spun A THING since last year’s TdF. Really? It’s pitiful. But I’m excited to get back to the wheel. I know I want to do some great colorful spinning. I know I want to practice preparing my cashmere for spinning. And I want to get better at documenting my spinning.
I made bingo board so that we can stretch our skills. And the prizes will be based on that board. More to come about that later.
Really early FGF dyeing
Members of my team will connect on Ravelry and Facebook too. And in this age of social distancing, we’ll have a zoom spin-in or two. We can check in with each other and talk about spinning or our lives or something like that.
The Fiber Art Studio group is going to have a special Tour de Fleece day on July 11th, too. We’re putting together what that will look like.
This scarf is made with 2 skeins of Zephyrette. It is a fun knit that combines a lace block in the shape of a diamond, cables running up the side and a lace border. ** Free pattern with purchase of 2 skeins of Zephyrette. No Coupon needed***
Diamond and Cables Scarf in Bluebell Colorway
The borders are knit first and one is set aside on scrap yarn while the other is used to make the rest of the scarf. When you get to the end of the scarf you merely knit the scarf and 2nd border together. And Voila! You have a beautiful, elegant scarf.
I love knitting shawls. They are so diverse. And today we have choices for a 2 skein shawl. Hug Shots, designed by Casapinka, is just one of those awesome shawls. But first I should you my shawl triads. These are one of a kind curated skeins that will work great in a shawl. There are literally thousands of shawl patterns for these triads. Just go to Ravelry and look for 1200 yard skein shawls in fingering weight. Oh and these shawl triads are on sale (15% off)!!
First of all thank you to all the people who came out to the Fiber Art Studio Virtual Tour this past weekend. It was a lot of fun. I loved visiting people as I did my live videos. And I loved seeing what all the other vendors were talking about in their videos sessions as well.
Pattern “Ticket to Anywhere” will drop Saturday morning. You can get a code for a free pattern, when you buy a 5 skein mini pack from any of our vendors. Coupon must be redeemed by 11:59pm Monday 6/8.
Ticket to Anywhere Shawl by Kristen Jancuk
Vendors will be doing FaceBook live presentations during the day. These will be in the Facebook group. Be sure to join the group here.
Prizes will be given out throughout the day. You just need to be in the group, watching and commenting. If you aren’t on Facebook, you can engage in the Ravelry group. We will be giving out prizes there too.
The group will have a watch party on Sunday. So you can see videos from our vendors if you missed them on Saturday, or if you just want to get a dose of cute animals, beautiful yarn and wonderful yarnie accessories, creams and spinning equipment.
Well, it’s a strange, strange world right now. The repetitive motions of knitting, seeing the colors change and watching a shawl grow can be just what you need for your mental health. This weekend is big for us around here. First it is our first Virtual Fiber Art Studio Tour. This is actually our 4th year of having the tour. Each year we have a featured shawl that is made with hand dyed mini-skeins. In years past, our tourists could pick up a skein here and there and then make a souvenir of the weekend. This year, since it is virtual, and we will have to mail all your purchases, we decided to ask our indie dyers to make packs of 5 mini’s.
This shawl is called “Ticket to Anywhere”. And I sure would like a ticket somewhere right now!! It is an asymmetrical triangle shawl that uses ten 100-yard minis. When you purchase a set from me or any of our dyers, you will recieve a code to discount the shawl pattern to $0. The code will be active from Saturday, June 6th to Monday, June 8. Do you have to wait until Saturday to buy the yarn? No! It’s up on my website right now. Click here to see what I have. I’ve added a few other choices as well. So go and take a look.
The second great shawl is called “Hug Shot”. It is designed by Casapinka. This shawl takes 2 skeins of fingering weight yarn. I have 8 different choices. And if you find a combo that you like better, just say that you’re buying this for the Hug Shot shawl, and I’ll send you a code. The code gives you the pattern for free. This code will be active from June 6th to 11:59pm June 14th. Casapinka says that this shawl is very soothing to knit. And it looks like a lot of fun, for sure!! Click here to see the combo’s that I have for you. These combos will be dyed to order when the current stock runs out.
Where to find us
We are located in Frederick MD. You can stop by during our open studios. Or buy online and stop by to pick up…I’ll run your purchases out to you in your car.
Open by Appointment!!
Monday through Friday 11-3
Closed Saturday and Sunday (Except Open Studio days)
Open Studios with Fiber Art Studio Tour
November 30…. Small Business Saturday open 11-4pm
December 6-8….. Along with CountrySide Artisans… open 10-5pm
