Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Guild meeting!

The 19th was our Spinning/knitting/weaving guilds Christmas party. There was food, there were donations, there was fun....most of all...there was relaxation! I was amazed at how many people showed up. There were 34 of us there (31 of the members and 3 visitors!) It's nice to see the group grow. Each month I try to sit by someone I've not sat by so I can get to know others there, but I have one stipulation.....that I sit at the back of the room. This month I was working n some yellow roving I had processed earlier. I'll have to check previous posts to verify content and dyeing method. :) Ironically the people that ended up sitting on either side of me were either spinning yellow or knitting yellow.....and we were all wearing red shirts! lol. It was commented and laughed at.

Next months guild meeting we will have a speaker that is going to help us prevent carpul tunnel and repetitive motion disorders while crafting. I'm keen to hear what she has to say as that is a major concern of mine. I don't ever want to have to stop crafting due to injury. It's such a thereputic thing for me that if I had to quit I'd probably go crazy! (ok, crazier. lol) Then in Feb and March we are going to be learning how to use sock dyeing boards. The guild is providing the boards for $5.00 and I was the first to sign up in November. I cannot wait! I certainly will have to spin up more white though if I'm planning on using it!

I participated in the Christmas gift exchange this month. The only requirement was that it was "Hand made". We only had one participant cheat and buy something, but honestly, she's a teacher that works full time as well as running her farm so we cut her major slack. lol. We did the "white elephant" style exchange where you drew a number and when your number is called you either pick a present from the pile or steal someone elses. We were allowed to open gifts so that others could see if they wanted to steal it or not. The major rule was that a gift could only be stolen once. A friend of mine had a lower number than me and drew a package that was full of processed roving.....




2 oz of white Lincoln,








....3oz of grey Romney and .....







....2 oz of grey Romney overdyed blue. (The gal that put that in owns the farm that produces it so we all know where we can get it in the future!)





By the time my turn came around I'd already decided I was stealing that fiber from her! lol She was NOT happy with me, but I'm certain she'll get over it. heheheh.

First thing I spun up was the blue. I didn't even take a picture of it in roving form. This stuff is super soft and slipped right into being a yarn. It's a two ply, not sure of the yardage yet. I'm currently spining the grey up and plan on creating a two ply out of that. Then I'll ply the blue and grey together to achieve a cable ply. (It's on my list of "To Do 2007", so I'll be happy to cross it off. I've not spun Romney before and am very pleased with it. I'm really looking forward to the Lincoln!


The hand made item that I "gifted" was one of these spindle pins. Actually, the one I gifted was smaller and wound with handspun, hand dyed, merino/silk. These I made a bit larger to make it easier to wind a cop large enough to mask the pin mechanism, and wound with crochet cotton. I decided it was going to take too long to spin up enough super fine singles in various colors to finish the pins in a timely manner. One of the gals at guild asked me where I got the idea and I readily admitted to seeing them in a catalog but I figured I could make them cheaper than the advertised price. A few people asked me to bring some in so I'm finishing these up for the meeting next month. All that is left is to secure the tread and glue on the back! I know, I know...they're all top whorls....but really, I've never used a bottom whorl so I never thought about it! I have a few ideas for a few knitting pins too. As soon as those work out, I'll post them here.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those pins are so cute! I really like the colors in that blue Romney. I can see why you grabbed it.

April said...

Thanks Sydney! I finished them up today and will post a picture of a finished pin. I'm pretty pleased with them. lol The lure of a new fiber spinning experience was too great....I had to have it. lol. I love that blue too!

DJ said...

Since no-one else has asked, I guess I'll show my ignorance and ask what the dickens is a sock dying board? Sounds interesting, to say the least. Nice blog, I think you do a nice job with it.
DJ in SW MI

April said...

Sorry DJ! I wasn't very clear on that. The board is used to dye self striping yarn, (typically for socks). It's not very big, and I'm not sure how to use it....so it's good there's going to be a class. lol. Here's a link to check it out...I think it's this concept, but the board shown was much more compact. I do believe the concept is the same though. http://whathousework.typepad.com/what_housework/2006/03/you_asked.html
Thanks for the compliment. It made my day!