by Kat | Jul 18, 2016 | General, In This Moment
Although we desperately need the rain, a gloomy Monday makes for a slow starting week.
So, let’s spend a moment reliving the weekend which was the antithesis of gloomy!
There was spinning, and knitting, and cocktails, and reading.
- I listened to Doc by Mary Doria Russell and I am about half-way through. I am enjoying it tremendously, and I really love the narrator’s voice. I started reading The Inner Circle by Brad Meltzer.
- I watched Spotlight and The Big Short.
- I harvested the first tomatoes from the garden.
- I almost finished spinning all the Montadale and I got the first bump plied up.
- And, the epic bind off began…
All in all, it was a fantastic weekend. I hope yours was too.
by Kat | Jul 15, 2016 | General
Tour de Fleece continues to be in the forefront for me this week, today is Stage 13 for le Tour and it is the first time-trial, for those that are following along with the riders.
As such, I am pacing through my Montadale singles, having 2 bobbins spun – I will start today on the third so I can begin plying this weekend. My goal is to finish the bobbin today, and I have Doc queued up on Audiobooks, so I have no excuses!
Then, I can begin my second bump of fiber…No worries though, with over 18 hours of Doc to listen too and rain in the forecast, I should get a good bit of spinning done this weekend!
Now for the Friday Links:
As I spin today, my thoughts will be centered on the citizens of France – especially after last nights horrific tragedy.
Have a safe weekend, Gentle Reader.
by Kat | Jul 13, 2016 | General, Making
It’s Wednesday and that means it is Ginny’s Yarn Along today!
I am completely immersed in Tour de Fleece this year and enjoying it far more than I have in previous years. This year I am not keyed into logging miles of frenzied spinning, rather I am more focused on fiber and creating a yarn to highlight that. I finished spinning up the vintage batts from Deep, Deep Stash. My goal was a lofty, tweedy yarn and I think I achieved that! There is some sheen from the silk in the batts and the bits of silk noil have created the loveliest tweedy effect. The yarn is as squishy as the batts were and I wish you could feel it!
I have started in on the Montadale, which I am spinning for socks, so this will become a 3-ply fingering weight yarn. Slow going, but enjoyable none the less!
I am looking ahead to determine what to spin to finish the tour out – I will have this done this week and I only have the Coopworth remaining from my original selections.
I have 2 gradient bumps from Amy at Spunky Eclectic that I think I will finish out with. I am not sure I will get them both finished, but I will certainly try. My goal will be to spin this in a lace weight 2-ply.
I am almost finished listening to The Summer Before the War, which I am enjoying tremendously! Once I am done with this, I have Doc queued up, thanks Carole for that suggestion. I finished reading A Man Called Ove. What can I say about this book, if you have not read it – do so right now! Ove wormed his way into my heart and by the end of the book, I found myself longing to live next door to him. I did not want the book to end, despite the tears that would not stop through the last chapters. Fantastic writing! The reading this summer has been absolutely spectacular. I am still working through Big Magic, though it is losing that rosy glow it had when I started. It will be some work to finish it, but I will try. I should get a good bit of reading done again this week as Steve will be away for work from Thursday through Sunday.
I am knitting a row or two at night on the Mystery Shawl. I am almost done with the set up rows for the final clue – so the end is in sight! My goal remains, finish this by month end!
I would especially like to thank Kate Larson for the shout out today on the Spinning Daily Blog. It is truly an honor and deeply appreciated!
How is your summer reading and knitting (or crafting) going?
by Kat | Dec 4, 2015 | General
I made the decision to be in only one fiber club this year, the Sheepspot Breed Club with the addition of the Breed School – it cost a little bit more, but what I am learning is invaluable.
The second installment was Montadale that Sasha got at MDSW. I saw the fiber there and it was lovely! I was thrilled to learn that I would have the opportunity to try this fiber. The fiber was dyed beautifully – I selected the Autumn Wedding colorway. The fiber was processed nicely, although there were a few bits that appeared to be second cuts. I am not sure, but they were easy to remove and I had less than a dozen of them in the first braid. However, these bits did not impede my spinning in anyway at all; I was able to maintain good consistency by removing them as I spun.
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