Knit One...Kill Two... giveaway...

This is Maggie Sefton's first knitting mystery books and,

one of her most popular,



"Despite the fact that her aunt was an expert knitter,

Kelly Flynn never picked up a pair of knitting needles she liked

—until she strolled into House of Lambspun.

Now, in the first in a brand-new series, she learns

 how to knit one, purl two, and untangle the mystery behind

 her aunt's murder."   --excerpt form back of book

I'm listening to this on audio-book and am REALLY

enjoying it!

You can read more about the author and her other books...

HERE

~~THE GIVEAWAY~~

enter to win* by doing...the following

 -ONE ENTRY to win-

 - Please, leave a comment...do you like (not like) to

knit? or have you never tried, but want to? Beginner"

or very accomplished knitter?

and...

-THREE ENTRIES (more) to win-

 - if you blog about it and leave a separate comment

 that you did.

Giveaway ends...next Thursday November 24th midnight MT

*to win, must be a follower

Wasatch Woolpack Spinning Saturday

Last Saturday, about 10 of us got together for

some fun fiber chatter-ee and eats.

I wish I had taken more pictures!! I will have to

be more diligent behind the lens, next time.

There were 6 different spinning wheels, someone using

a drop spindle, a couple of people were knitting too.

We did show and tell...each object shared would

garner a ticket to win...there were 4 little goodie bags to win.

Here one of the ladies was sharing a knitted

purse/satchel that she was going to felt.

And, here are some very fun and whimsical

"thigh" high striped socks. 

(sorry the picture is so blurry)

We ate some yummy vegetable chili and

had chocolate dipped banana and apple slices.

I learned soooo much from all of the talented

knitters/spinners that shared that day!

====   ===   ===   ===   ====

This is some great fiber purchased at

Oregon Flock and Fiber this last September

4 oz of roving

50% Merino ~ 25% Bamboo ~ 25% Tussah Silk

spun single ply...eventually to be 2 ply.

I'll show the plied yarn... in a future post (hopefully!)

The thought is to make a small neck scarf.  It's

so soft and even tho, it will be light weight,

it will be very warm.

====   ===   ===   ===   ====

Did EWE know?

Sheep were domesticated 10,000 years ago in

Central Asia, but it wasn't until 3,500 B.C. that man

learned to spin wool.

spin...dye...stitch... Oh! My!

Oh...MY...this is one of my favorite fiber-eee books!

This is a grrrrr....reat book by Jennifer Claydon.

If you want to make your own one-of-a-kind yarn, then,

this is the book for YOU!

But, even if you don't want to dye your own fibers...

this is still a great book for the fundamentals of the

spinning wheel and spinning. 

The pictures are all wonderful. Instructions/explanations

of different aspects of spinning and creating yarn

can be clearly understood even for the beginner.

If you don't see this book at your local fiber shop...

check out Amazon...where you can look inside the book.

So...let me know with your comments...are you

a well "seasoned" spinner, a beginner, or have you never

spun on a spinning wheel?  If you've never spun...do you think

you would like to try someday?  What would need to happen

to get you on the road to starting to spin?

I LUV spinning!  It is one of the most relaxing hobbies

that I have ever encountered...and, I have met up with

MANY a crafty hobby...fur shore =P



Friday's Fiber Play...Oct 28th

It started out looking like this...

It's a roving of Yak, Merino and Bamboo.

This combination is really soft and when spun it

has a kind of springy-ness.

To help you see where the fibers were "born"

read below.  =)

Yaks have a course outer coat that is used

for making things like rope.  It's the soft undercoat

that is mainly used for spinning. The softness

is often compared to cashmere.  But, the fiber

is short.  So, it is blended with other fibers

like wool and/or silk.

Merino...

 is very fine and very soft...in the realm of sheepdom.

It is a wool used to make garments that will be next to

the skin.  It is quite greasy tho and can become matted

easily.  So, processing it into fiber to spin...takes extra

effort and care.  But, imho, it's truly worth it.  I will post

more about the wide range of wool/sheep, in the future.

  And, about the wonderful and unique properties of wool.

Original Bamboo...

The bamboo content in the roving

I have pictured above - the one in the brown bucket,

...actually came from the bamboo plant.  Isn't that

amazing?  It's really hard for me to think that

the VERY soft shiney fiber comes from the stalk

of wooden-like bamboo.  This fiber has been

compared closely to silk.  But, it is less expensive,

a bit shinnier, and slippery-er.

Hanging around waiting for it's warm bath...

* two things learned*

I found out after the fiber was washed and

dried to set, that I tied the turquoise figure 8s,

that I tied too tight.  There were lines when

I took off the ties.  =( .  I think that if I rewash,

the lines might come out. I'll let you know.

Another thing learned from the last few

fiber-to-yarn experiences is that:

If I want to spin equal amounts onto the

bobbins, I need to divide the roving into

equal parts firsts BEFORE I start to spin.

Why would I need the bobbins to have equal

amounts of single ply yarn?  Well, when plying the

two single ply yarns...some would be left

on one bobbin, while the other would be empty.

Is that clear as mud? Or does it make any sense?

Friday's Fiber Play...

A good friend gave me a really wonderful

prepared roving of merino and tencil...

Here pictured are two bobbins of single plied...

sitting in a lazy kate.

Spinning two ply...

With the drivebands taken off the whirl and the bobbin,

 so the bobbin can spin free...

the plied yarn is wound onto a kniddy-knoddy.

After washing gently in warm slightly sudsy water and

then, rinsed in cool water...the yarn is left to dry on a towel.

It rests in a relaxed position of it's choice...plumping/fluffing

as the twist becomes set.

Once completely dry...it's ready to become something

special like a scarf or hat.

Visiting the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival...

OH....MY...GOSH!

Calling OFFF a "fiber feast" is an

exaggerated UNDER-statement!

It was a fiber enthusiasts..."heaven"!

We drove about 20 minutes south of our

hotel...arriving right at 9am...just as the festival opened.

The weather was very cooperative...even tho

I did miss those Pacific Northwest clouds.

We were so excited! Our first stop was the

Woolie Winder booth so that I could purchase

2 more bobbins for my Majacraft Susie spinning wheel.

Our VERY next stop was at the

Hansen Electric minispinner's booth.

I've been communicating thru emails with

Mr Hansen and his wife since 2009...when they

 first started selling their

"miraculous" mini-spinning machine.

I approached them with the idea of making it

out of exotic wood...and, not very long after,

...I was the proud owner of a

Bloodwood Minispinner with Maple Woolie Winder

and Maple bobbins...it's  #21

I was so excited to actually meet them in person.

They are two of the nicest...most fun

people I've ever met...also MOST talented and

clever for creating such a simple and unique

product.  Can you tell I'm in LUV with my

Hansen electric?  I have to admit, while mozeee-ing

around the booth...there was some bad news.

Well, bad news for my wallet.  I came across

a display shelf with...probably, more than a half

dozen new, pristine minispinners.  Several of them

were made of beautifully colored, wonderfully grained

exotic woods.  AND...one special one seemed to keep

calling..."annie....AAAAnnnnie...." Then, in a quiet sultry

whisper..."taaaayK....meee...hooOHme with you"

Now, Mr Hansen speaks telling me that this

particular one is part of small group (maybe12-15)

 "Anniversary Issue" designed spinners.

This particular one...that I was holding...

 numbered 1001.

So...I'm now the proud owner of TWO

wonderful Hansen Electric Minispinners.

My new limited edition minispiner.  =)

This booth had some lucious feeling fibers...and

some wonderful colors too.  One thing I really liked

about her display was that about 90% of her colorways

and/or different fiber content rovings...had spun samples.

It can be difficult to look at a roving and guess what it

will look like spun into yarn.  Granted, my spinning would

be different from hers...but, at least I have an idea

of what the end product might look like.

Below are two of my purchases...just petting them...

brings on the endorphins!

I'm kicking myself because I didn't take pictures

of one of our Utah representative vendors.

Judy's Novelty Wool

Judy is one of the most sharing/caring fiber

teacher and vendor I know!  She always has

fun things in her booth to try...like "loop/roving" to make

rugs.  Her prices are really good and she is so

patient to answer just about any fiber-eee

question you might have.  She is a REAL

regular at OFFF and has one of the nicest booth

areas to prove her patience to work up the "list"

to get her special location...inside and with a breezy

access to two doors.

This is me with Hazel Rose of

Hazel Rose Looms

What a REALLY NICE lady she is!  The frame looms

that they make are really practical and easy to use.

 But, the added wonderfulness of the Hazel Rose Looms

is that they are made out of beautiful, strong woods...

with simple care, they will last a lifetime...or even longer.

This booth was stuffed to the gills with fiberee toys,

 books and gifts, along with some very yummy fibers

for spinning. They had the most variety of new/for sale

spinning wheels.  You could sit and try any of them.

Morgaine...was very helpful in helping the prospective

spinning wheel buyer...pic the wheel that was just right

for them. 

This is also the booth where I was able to purchase

the "famous" Zuca rolling bag.  It's perfect for

carrying the Hansen Minispinner with accessories.

The Pro-Zuca is airline approved for carry-on and only

weighs 9.3lbs...it also doubles as a chair securely

supporting up to 300lbs.

Below, can you see something furry?...
checking out the new "throne" for
the Hansen minispinner?

After our day of living in "Fiber Heaven"...

we had great low calorie (NOT!!!), YUMMY

finger-licking, lip-smacking ...dinner at

 Famous Daves. 

Then, my VERY sweet chauffeur took

me to my hotel near the Portland airport

and I flew back home early the next morning.

So....whuddda you think? Are you "ON" for

shopping at a FIber Festival in Oregon next year?





just bopping in to announce...

The WINNER of the picture book

SHEEP IN A JEEP


WINNER is....

Connie from Iowa

A Master Spinner in Action...

This is a great interview with a Pat Maley,

a Master Spinner. 

I would LUV to "hear" what you think about this

video.  Does it look fun?...easy?

When you watch...does it energize you to

want to SPIN?

Sheep in a Jeep ...giveaway!

Yeah... that's probably not going to happen...

in real life, anyway.

But, this is just one of several

great picture books about a group

of crazy sheep "girls" driving thru the country.

It has funny phrases...that rhyme and are fun to

read aloud.

Several other titles with these "silly" sheep

and their antics are...

Sheep in a Shop

Sheep Out to Eat

Sheep Trick or Treat

Sheep on a Ship

I do...of course...have them all! Yep, and

sometimes, I even sit and read them to myself.

So... do you have a favorite children's

Sheep Book?

If not, that's quite okay.  I'm sure there aren't any

sheep that would be offended. I certainly won't. 

But, if you would like a

Sheep in a Jeep book of your VERY own...

then, please leave a comment...

and mention that you are a follower...

**Drawing will be Thurs Sept 15th (midnight MT time)**



Have you any wool?

Sheep...they have wool.

AND,

O! yeah...I do too!!  I have lots of raw fleeces

waiting to be turned into yarn...and then, well...

maybe a scarf or a hat or...?

 

What's a "raw" fleece you might be asking?

It is the coat...

right off the sheeps back...literally.

The sheep doesn't have to give it's life to share it's coat.

It can share it's coat many times over, and....

When their coat is cut/shorn off, it doesn't hurt.

 

There are professional sheep shearers...

A good "sheep barber" is becoming harder to find.

Depending on location, the shearing cost can be
around $2.75 per sheep, and a minimum of $35 per farm.
But, at four minutes a sheep that amounts to
$41.25 an hour.
World shearing records :  One sheep @ 38 seconds;
720 sheep @ 9 hours,
~~~~~~

But, some sheep have another coat that goes over

their wool coats.  Really? and, WHY is that?

 These are Corriedale sheep that are raised mainly for

their wonderful wool coats...

Many spinners prefer to buy fleeces that have

been covered by jackets because this keeps the

sheep's wool much cleaner. 

 

After fleece is off of the sheep, the fleece

needs to be skirted.  Skirting a fleece is to trim

off sections where the wool isn't of good quality or

where it is really dirty.

 

The picture below was found on Spinderella's Fiber Mill

website.  http://www.spinderellas.com/skirting.html

Click on the link to read more great info on

skirting fleeces.