Close to my Heart

Happy Mother's Day

I'm coming to you from a different location tonight.  I had to head out of town this afternoon because I'm on a course this week.  Said course starts at 8:30 tomorrow morning, and since I'm not really into leaving home by 5:30 in the morning, I came down this afternoon.  I'm checked into a lovely B & B with wireless internet.  Unfortunately, I kind of screwed up the password, and I'm a wireless newby so after an hour of screwing around with the computer myself, I finally caved in and phoned tech support. I ended up with a rather cranky person at the other end of the line, first she told me she couldn't help me and hung up.  Well I didn't accept that and called back again.  She was still cranky and it took her a while, but she did get me back on.  Her male co-worker was much more helpful when I needed other assistance yesterday, sure wish he had been on shift tonight.  Oh well!

I did make a couple Mother's Day cards this weekend.  My MIL has received her gift and card, my own mother will receive hers when I see her later this week.  I made the same card for both Moms:

I also made a quick Anniversary Card, my parents FIFTY FIRST is next weekend:

The 1 1/2 day weekend that I had was quite busy getting ready for this trip.  I will be having spinning withdrawal, since I wasn't able to bring my wheel with me.  I did a bit of spinning last night and this morning.  Last night, I plied some more yarn from Yummy Yarn:

Obviously I did a very lousy job of winding it evenly around the bobbin! 

I also started spinning some Cherry Tree Hill fiber that I purchased last month from Fun Knits:

I just realized that I didn't take a picture of this fiber before spinning it up, unfortunately.  To me it looks like ice cream, and the picture of the single really doesn't do it justice.

Excuse the lack of links with this post, I'm not used to this laptop keyboard and want to finish this post now.  Plus I really need to do some work stuff, since that is really why I have this with me.  Have a great week!

Yummy

Yet another spinning post from this obsessed spinner, but hey, at least I'm posting more consistently these days!  Warning, this is a picture intensive post.

Today, I am showing you the journey from fiber to handspun yarn.  First, here is this beautiful fiber from Yummy Yarns, purchased last summer at Three Bags Full while on vacation in Vancouver.  Isn't it beautiful?

This fiber stayed in my stash for some time, partly because she was too pretty to spin, and partly because I kind of got away from spinning while papercrafting took over.  Last weekend, feeling a little more confident with my spinning progress, I decided her time had come.  Here is the single on the bobbin:

After spinning the second half of the fiber, it was ready to ply and then wind onto the niddy noddy:

And after her bath, she was hung outside to dry:

All skeined up:

It's a little over plied this time (I had felt that my previous yarns were a little underplied so overcompensated this time) but I love the colours of this yarn, it is my favourite of my own handspun yet. 

Now the big question, what should I make from it?  I estimate this to be between 80 to 90 yards of yarn, and it is heavy worsted weight.  Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Spinning all the time

My crafting time this past weekend was (as usual lately) predominantly spent on spinning, with only small breaks for making a card, knitting, and crocheting.  I tried plying another couple times, and am content with my progress, even if it is far from looking like the lovely yarns I've seen on the Ravelry spinning forums.  Since it's pretty much time for me to hit the shower, I'll make this post quick, here's one of latest skeins.  Fiber is Louet Northern Lights Teddy Bear.

Have a good Monday!

Cards and a Meme

It's been a long time since I've posted any cards here.  I've neglected papercrafting and my Etsy shop since purchasing my spinning wheel and becoming an obsessed spinner.  The last couple cards I've made have been simple and quick. 

This card was for a dear friend's birthday a few weeks ago:

And this one, sadly was for a co-worker who lost her mother earlier this week:

Jackie tagged me for a meme, so I will close with that. Today is the first Farmer's Market of the season for my community, so I'm headed there this morning.

• I am:  who I am
• I think: I am a thoughtful, caring person
• I know: I am a homebody
• I want: to travel
• I have: lots of purses!
• I wish: I was more motivated to clean my house more
• I hate: prejudice
• I miss: My Granny who died almost 24 years ago
• I fear: loosing my loved ones
• I feel: content
• I hear: the television
• I crave: sweets
• I wonder: why people can have no compassion for people less fortunate than them
• I regret: that I didn't travel in my youth
• I love: my husband
• I ache: can't think of an answer
• I care: about children
• I always: need my morning coffee
• I am not: athletic
• I believe: in fate
• I dance: rarely but sure love it when I do!
• I sing: while listening to music in my car
• I cry: easily
• I don't always: listen as well as I should
• I fight: for what I believe in
• I write: for my blog, Ravelry forums, and lots of emails at work
  
• I win: can't think of an answer to this one
• I lose: or to this one.  I'm not a competitive person

I'm not going to tag anyone.  If you've made it this far....have a great Sunday!

Spinning!

Just waiting for several podcasts to download, then am going to listen and spin, one of my favourite ways to relax.  I've been listening to some new knitting podcasts lately, some of which are listed in my sidebar.  Please share any new favourites that you may have.

Spinning update.  I have my first plied yarn to show you today.  I think I have a tendency to under ply, there is certainly lots of room for improvement.  I already like the looks of this under plied and somewhat uneven yarn much better than the singles that I had previously spun on my spindles.  I can certainly understand the benefit of plying now.  Here's some pictures:

This is Louet Northern Lights in the Toffee colourway, available from Fun Knits.  Here's a close-up:

I'm currently spinning more of this fiber in the Teddy Bear colourway.  I'm drafting it a bit more aggressively and am spinning a thinner single.  I should be ready to try plying again this weekend, hopefully with more success.  Here's this single on the bobbin:

Well my podcasts are almost finished downloading, so time to get ready to spin!