I’ve been working on some small pieces lately. First up are some felt flowers for Lori’s Yarn Store (FB link).
They are partially felted and need another round or two.
There’s new yarn on my wheel. I’m teaching myself how to spin cocoons. They’re a little tricky but I think I’m getting the hang of it.
It’s probably overtwisted but I’m hoping I can correct that some during plying.
Ok, I couldn’t resist the above title. 
This yarn is made from handpainted merino roving from Strandavarious. I got it from Lori at the Taos Yarn Shop.
I spun this into a 2 ply yarn and have 516 yards.
The color variegation is just lovely.
I decided to challenge myself and spun as thin as I could. My yarn gauge said I spun a fingering weight. Here’s a quarter to indicate yarn thickness.
I turned around and took this quick picture of Sieben.
When I turned back around to the yarn this is what I saw:
Granola loves playing with yarn! Thankfully I got him away before he could start nomming it.
The larger of these skeins is what what won second place in the yarn competition at the Wool Fest.
When I arrived at the second day of the Taos Wool Festival today my friends Laura and Meredith took me immediately over to the yarn competition booth. Guess what? I won ribbons!
My blue Lonesome Stone two ply yarn won Reserve Champion, 1st place.
And my purple/brown Strandavarious 2 ply yarn won 2nd place.
I’m ecstatic!
I’ve spun up some new yarn:
This is handdyed wool and a sparkly cotton/nylon core thread.
I used a quarter coin for a size reference pic.
For this yarn I taught myself corespinning. It’s a fun technique. The sparkly thread was my core and I let the core pop out sporadically through.
I have 62 yards total. This yarn is going into my new art piece.
I’m making individual posts for my art pieces so I can better catalog them.
Lunar Life
Lunar Life honors the traditional Pagan phases of a woman’s life-Maiden, Mother, Crone. It also uses the Pagan symbol of the triple moon which represents the Goddess.
The Maiden is the top triple moon. She is a young girl dancing through spring. The trees and flowers are just beginning to bloom as is she. The spiral of life is in her chest since childhood is so full of emotional experiences.
The Mother is the middle triple moon. The woman is in the midst of her garden. Trees and flowers are in full bloom. The spiral is in her womb because she is creating.
The Crone is the last triple moon. The woman is floating upwards. The trees’ leaves have fallen and the flowers have died. The spiral is in her head because she is in the spiritual time of her life.
The branch atop echoes the trees in the moons. The ribbons tie the moons together as the phases of life are tied together.
For this piece I spun several of the yarns. Techniques used were needle felting, embroidery and hand sewing.
Lunar Life was featured in the 2009 Beyond The Fringe art show. It also won second place in the Embroidery Division at the 2011 Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta.
I’ve finished up some new yarn. This is a merino and mohair mix. I started out with eight ounces of roving bought from Yada Yada Yarn in Silver City.
I have 174 yards of 2 ply yarn.
Since this is my first yarn on my new wheel I focused on consistency.
I’ve seen spinners on Ravelry post pictures with coins to show yarn thickness. That’s a clever trick that I’ve taken to using.
The Rose is a nice wheel. I feel like I’m still getting used to it though. This yarn is nice but it’s a tad overtwisted. I’ll have to watch that next time I ply.
Granola loves to play with yarn. I put the yarn on the pillows and turned around to grab the camera. When I turned back around he had already snatched a skein:
Guess what I bought last month?
A new Majacraft Rose spinning wheel! Oh Goddess how I love it. It took me awhile to save up but it’s finally mine. I bought it from Lori at the Yarn Shop in Taos. Thebes assembled it for me.
Isn’t it lovely? It is a joy to spin. The angle of the double treadle is great on the calves. I can spin a lot more before my legs feel tired. I already have new yarn on the bobbin.
This is from some merino/mohair roving I bought at Yada Yada Yarn on our last visit to Silver City.
My old wheel is being gifted to Abbey. Since Meredith gave it to me when I wanted a wheel I’m passing that favor on. Next time we hang out there will be spinning lessons.
The last time I sat down to spin I was in the mood to experiment so I made some more thick and think yarn. (My first is here.)
The pink was some wool roving and the purple is some retro nylon thread from my stash.
Spinning thick and thin yarn is tricky but by the end I felt like I was getting the hang of it. I definitely have to try it again.
I have 48 yards. What will I make with it? I have no clue. Maybe I’ll use it as trim or in an art project.
My friend Laura was so nice and let me use her bathtub to wash my latest wool fleece.
Latest as in, I bought it two years ago. Lazy hippie! But hey, at least I’m finally getting to it. I’m planning on spinning it up first and then dyeing it afterward.
While the fleece soaked I mended a pair of pants for Laura. Then I attached some new clasps on my Arwen sweater.
I bought these pretty clasps on Etsy. Proper pics to come soon.
I brought Sieben along because he gets along with Laura’s dogs, especially her dog Bobo.
He had a fun time and so did I.
