moving (physically, not electronically)

well, you may have noticed the lack of posts in the last month. it's only going to get quieter, as i've decided to move to california at the end of september. it's crazy scary, but something i need to do. i've been in savannah for 12 years, and it's time to put down roots somewhere else. california seems a reasonable place as any, and my cosmetology license has been reciprocated, so now the job hunt and place to live hunt is going underway. wish me luck!

spinning, spun, sampled

too much drama overflowing from work into life; must dam it up. enough said about that. after teaching a beginner drop spinning class the other day, i was asked if i could spin display samples up of all the spinning fibers a shopkeeper friend has in her store. i thought that would be quite nifty and give me a chance to spin fibers i would normally not.

over two days, i spun wool, alpaca, cotton, bamboo, silk, tencel, merino, hemp, flax, yak, and camel, from laceweight to bulky, worsted, slubby, navajo plied, and what have you. some stood out better for me than others, and those which are my least favorite to spin because they make your hand feel like it's been licked raw by a cat, are still on my dislike list. i think i am currently in love with color grown cotton, though.

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.

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!

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...