The Yarn Side

Busy Spinning; I should be dyeing!

My local yarn store is starting a beginning spinning class (on a spindle!) in late November. Ever since learning about this, however, I've been focused on teaching myself to spin. Considering I've owned a spindle for 6 months and hadn't spent much time with it since it was unwrapped, I decided to take it for a whirl!

The spindle I chose a while back is a top-whorl, made by Zebisis Designs:

I apologize for the iPhone photo quality, but look at the fiber samples she sent with the spindle! Just fabulous. That was spun up the day I received the package, so the last two days I've been spinning some of my own fiber!

The above is not actually the braid of roving I'm spinning from. I'm spinning from scraps from that dye lot, so right now it's a lot of orange with tufts of brown in a Baby Alpaca and Merino blend--yummy! It's coming out really nice and I'm getting a decent fingering-weight single! Not bad for only the third or so time I've spun with my drop spindle. My drafting could definitely use some work, hence the interest in the class that She Sells Yarn will be offering.

In the next shop update there will be a couple of Baby Alpaca/Merino braids, so definitely keep an eye out for those. Don't worry, I'll post photos to update you.

Till then...

Shop Update 10-18-2009

In the most recent update there is a nice offering of both sock and lace weight headed your way. One colorway, in particular, wanted to be used in 3 different bases, so if you love it, make sure to check them all out.

The yarn is already up in the shop, which you can get to by clicking the shop link above or by clicking the image thumbnails to the right.

There was some roving dyed as well but roving doesn't seem to do too well in the online shop, so it's going to She Sells Yarn, a local LYS where it can be fondled and snapped up! If you would like to see roving in the shop, let me know by leaving a comment here and I'll definitely work on getting those up more often.

As an example of some of the roving dyed recently...

 

The above is "Tickle Me Pink" in a 50% Baby Alpaca and 50% Merino. This is beyond soft and is my favorite roving base. If you're local(ish) to the Daytona Beach area, make sure you stop by and see if it's available!

The above is a new fiber to The Yarn Side. It's 50% Tencel and 50% Merino. "Sunset at the Pumpkin Patch" is incredibly soft and a bit slippery in the hand, but it's beautiful when spun up. Absolutely perfect for this gorgeous Fall we're seeing right now.

This beauty was created with a new dye technique I was testing. It had some interesting results! This is "Bruised Pristine" in my 100% Superwash Merino roving. This has been drafted some to help the colors to open up and show themselves off. Can you see the turquoise and purple blending and dancing together? They make a great couple, those two.

One more roving photo and then I'll call it a night...

"Apple Orchard" (I'm not totally sold on the name, so please feel free to suggest something else for this colorway) is a lovely 80% Superwash Merino and 20% Bamboo. The Bamboo tends to take the dye differently, so it shimmers a bit and appears lighter than the merino itself. Look at those colors. I kind of want to dye everything pink and green.

Well, that's it for the night. The above beauties are heading to Kathleen at She Sells Yarn tomorrow afternoon, and then I'll be jumping right back into the dye pots. Until then, I look forward to reading any comments you have about roving, the additions to the shop, and more!

I'm just getting started...

Getting The Yarn Side up and running has been slow going. It's only recently hit me how REAL I'm making this all become. My yarn has been sold by my friend Kathleen for a few months now, but as of this month it'll be featured in her new shop, She Sells Yarn. Can you believe that? It's pretty exciting to me.

Another new thing that has happened as of late is that I've been planning for a studio in my home. The following has made its way home to be part of that studio...

Isn't that a thing of beauty? It's currently taking up residence in a corner of my living room, but there are already hooks, yarn and fiber hanging up! A great place to store some finished dyed items in preparation for listing.

I hope you come back to keep up with what's going on!