Friday Fiber Arts ~ A New Plying Technique

Happy Friday! I hope you've all had a great week.

Today I want to introduce you to our new blog hop. What better way to share your fiber projects with others! Feel free to link your fiber arts blog posts below so others can stop by and enjoy them.

This week I thought I'd share something new I tried. I've seen this plying technique done by others and I've been thinking about it for awhile, but last week I finally decided to jump in and try it. Of course that may be because I just received this awesome lot of inspiration from the UK. Aren't those colors gorgeous!

If you're wondering what in the world I'm talking about, I'm spinning some alpaca fiber into a single ply yarn and then plying it with this machine embroidery thread to make the finished 2-ply yarn. It really was a lot of fun.

The one thing I did find though was that I had to keep tension on the thread at all times or it would fly all over the place and wrap around anything in it's reach. These thread bobbins don't have end covers to keep the thread from coming off. I may have to improvise something. It would save a lot of headaches.

The whole process was easier than I thought it'd be and was a real pleasure to spin. In fact, I completed 2 yarns in less than 48 hours. This is a record for me! I now have a third yarn using this technique waiting to be plyed. This has become my new favorite way to make yarn!

Here is the first yarn I spun: It's brown alpaca blended with some bamboo and soysilk. I plyed it with gold thread.

And here is the second: I used white alpaca blended with some hot pink merino, bamboo and sparkly angelina. This one I plyed with bright pink thread. I love all this pink!

What do you think? Have you ever spun yarn or used yarn plyed with a thread like this?

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, an experience or anything else you feel fits Friday Fiber Arts. If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

1. Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the linky form below.
2. Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!

If you want to play along don't forget to grab a button to place at the top or bottom of your post to show you are participating in Friday Fiber Arts!
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Wordless Wednesday ~ Pink!

Spin in Your PJs Day Follow-Up

Spin in Your PJs Day was a rousing success!!


Several of us from around the world came together and spent at least part
of the day spinning in our jammies. Some of us were even brave enough to post pictures in our pjs.

For many of us, this was a day to enjoy spinning again. In our busy lives
it can be difficult to find the time for our fiber hobbies and we occasionally need a push in the direction of relaxation. Coming together in a group where we can encourage and nudge each other helped me get back to my spinning wheel and I know a lot of others felt the same way.

The day was so successful that we've all agreed that we want to do it again next year! I'm already super excited and planning some fun. I'll be sure to let you know in plenty of time in case you want to join in. In the meantime, you can read through this year's thread and see some of the great pictures posted.

FAF: Spin in Your PJs Day

Happy Friday! I hope your Thanksgiving was a happy one!

How are you spending your day after Thanksgiving? Did you brave the dark and stand in line for great deals? Did you sleep in and do your shopping online? Or did you skip the post holiday shopping altogether?

I did a little shopping online yesterday after the big meal and was able to score the couple of "doorbuster" deals I wanted. I really liked the fact that most retailers were offering their sales online yesterday instead of waiting for today.

So today I am celebrating a day that I have officially declared "Spin in Your PJs Day". It's a simple concept. Just spend the day relaxing in your jammies and do something you love. In this case, spinning.

I started a thread on Ravelry so people can gather together and it's taking off. At least I'm not celebrating it alone! I've even offered a prize drawing for anyone that posts pictures of themselves spinning in their jammies.

 I was a good girl and posted this picture taken of me this morning spinning in my Christmas pjs.

Today will be a day of relaxing. I needed one and I suppose it's a little sad that I had to declare my own holiday to get it. I'll enjoy every second of it though and hope to get some yummy silk yarn spun. Maybe I'll even get a few more rows of my Georgiana shawl done.

Have a great one!

Crafty Friday 8/26 - Going Batty

Happy Friday!! For those of you on the East coast....I pray that you stay safe from Irene. For the rest of you....Enjoy your weekend. It's supposed to be beautiful here!

This past week I finally managed to clean my studio. For most of the summer I haven't been able to walk in it easily or even find it because there was stuff everywhere. Projects were stacked on top of each other and bags of alpaca fiber seemed to be multiplying like bunnies when I wasn't looking.

I finally just did it. I really don't like cleaning, but I was running out of fiber batts to spin so I had to find the studio.

I'm so glad I did! I was able to create nearly 2 dozen batts in one afternoon on the carder. I made so many that I even had extra for the shop.

Here are some of the ones I made......

This is "Genie in a Bottle"

"Dracula's Curse"

And "Nebula"

So what have you been up to this week?

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, recipes, or anything else you feel is "crafty". If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

1. Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the linky form below.
2. Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!

If you want to play along don't forget to grab a button to place at the top or bottom of your post to show you are participating in Crafty Fridays!
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Wine & Wool Festival

This past Saturday we were vendors at the 2nd annual Wine & Wool Festival at Sandhill Crane Winery in Jackson, MI. This was the first outdoor festival we've done in 2 years that it didn't rain. What a relief! Although it was unbelievably hot.

This was also the first fiber festival that the kids haven't come along with us. They are usually very well behaved at these festivals and most of the vendors know that they belong to us because we see the same vendors over and over again.....I just didn't feel that a winery was the place for them to be running around. It made for some nice mommy and daddy quiet time.

(grape vines)

I saw so many of my favorite local vendors. These are some very, very talented women. I couldn't help but spend some of the days profits on fluffy goodies. I even bought a pattern for a sweater that maybe I'll eventually get the nerve to make. Sweaters scare me, but this one was really pretty.

The highlight of the day though was meeting the queen of Phatfiber herself. Do you remember when I told you about Phat fiber? The lady behind it all lives in Illinois, but drove all the way to Michigan to visit the phatties at Wine & Wool. Considering nearly all the vendors were phat fiber contributors I can understand the visit. So many of us know eachother online, but how many chances do you get to meet online friends?

It really was the best part of the day and I now have a face to put with the hands on the Phat video. If you don't know about Phat fiber you really need to check it out and the video every month is hilarious!

Our next festival is in just a couple weeks and isn't really a festival, but an exhibit at the county fair. It should be fun!

Crafty Friday 7/15 - Tour de Fleece

Hi! Sorry it's been quiet around here. Our internet had been weird all week. :(

How many of you are spinners? Are you spinning in the Tour de Fleece? For those of you that have no idea what I am talking about....there is a huge group of people world-wide that are all spinning yarn along with the Tour de France. There are several teams to join and probably the most fun of all is just sharing the pictures of all our yarn goodies.

I've been spinning when time allows and have actually managed to complete 2 skeins of yarn and a mini skein. I can't remember the last time I spun 2 skeins in the same week. Yeah!

Yarn #1 is a 2-ply fingering weight yarn. This is superwash merino and was such a delight to spin. I haven't spun a lot of superwash and it was very easy and this yarn is SOFT!! It deserves to be made into something extra special.


Yarn #2 is alpaca straight from the alpacas in our backyard. I carded up a whole bunch of Tudors inspired batts for a spin-a-long we are hosting and this is Henry VIII. It's hard to see, but there are blacks, grays, purples and blues throughout the whole yarn. It's so pretty!


So what have you been up to this week?

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, recipes, or anything else you feel is "crafty". If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

1. Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the linky form below.
2. Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!

If you want to play along don't forget to grab a button to place at the top or bottom of your post to show you are participating in Crafty Fridays!
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Crafty Friday 6/24 - Phat Fiber Box has Arrived!

Do you remember that Phat Fiber box I told you about last week? They went on sale last weekend and started showing up on doorsteps Wednesday. I was pacing in front of the door waiting for the mailman. This box is so much fun!

Mine showed up in the early afternoon and I couldn't wait to get it open. There were so many great goodies in it.


There are yarn samples, fiber samples, stitch markers and other fun stuff. Everything demanded attention and petting right out of the box. I had some favorites right away and as I looked for the full size versions online I realized that some were already sold-out. Didn't I tell you this box was full of popular stuff? :)

The small yarn sample in the front of the picture (black and green) was called "Green Goblin". It was the first thing to come out of the box and get played with. In just a short amount of time last night I made this ~

Isn't it cute??

I also had to spin one of the roving samples too (the one attached to the green alien) and made this yarn. I got 35 yards out of the little .5 oz sample. I might have to make another little sock out of it.



So what have you been up to this week?

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, recipes, or anything else you feel is "crafty". If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

1. Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the linky form below.
2. Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!

If you want to play along don't forget to grab a button to place at the top or bottom of your post to show you are participating in Crafty Fridays!
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Crafty Friday 12/17

Happy Friday!! Oh what a week! All of my holiday orders are out the door and custom orders are completed so I've had some time to do other things this week. Things that I have been wanting to do for some time.

The big project was spinning some yarn. I realized that I had only spun 1 skein of yarn since July! I've been so busy concentrating on other fiber things that my poor wheel has been sadly neglected.

I fixed that this week with 2 skeins already completed and one more on it's way. It felt so good to sit down and make yarn. What do you think of them?











So what have you been up to this week?

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, recipes, or anything else you feel is "crafty". If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

1. Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the Mister Linky form below (need help with finding the permalink? (click here to see a great post Darcy wrote on this!)
2. Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog! so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!!
4. Let me know if you have any questions, problems or need help!

If you want to play along don't forget to grab a button to place at the top or bottom of your post to show you are participating in Crafty Fridays!
Simply copy the code below in the box and paste where you can edit the html in your blog post.




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Crafty Friday 9/24 - What do you do with a Drop Spindle?

We talk a lot about spinning around here and you may have heard about drop spindles. Have you ever wondered what they were?

A drop spindle is an easy, inexpensive way to start spinning yarn. It works by adding twist to your fibers (wool, alpaca, cotton, etc.). Adding twist to your fibers is what holds them together to make yarn.

Here is a great video that shows how-to use a spindle. This was the first video I found that really helped explain to me what I was doing. (This is not me, just a video I found that was helpful).




If you are interested in trying to spin on a drop spindle, we have spinning kits available in our Etsy shop.


These kits contain a handmade spindle (made by the hubby), 8 pages of instructions and 2 oz. of fiber ready to spin. Currently we have alpaca kits listed, but we do have some wool (dyed pink, blue or purple) kits that haven't made it on there yet.

This is really fun for the whole family. Kids love spinning too!

So what have you been up to this week?

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, recipes, or anything else you feel is "crafty". If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

1. Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the Mister Linky form below (need help with finding the permalink? (click here to see a great post Darcy wrote on this!)
2. Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog! so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!!
4. Let me know if you have any questions, problems or need help!

If you want to play along don't forget to grab a button to place at the top or bottom of your post to show you are participating in Crafty Fridays!
Simply copy the code below in the box and paste where you can edit the html in your blog post.




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Crafty Friday 9/10 - Drop Spindle Ornaments

It's my favorite time of the week again.....Crafty Friday!! Hi and thanks for joining us!

It's been really busy around here, but I think the coolest thing I've done this week is make these.


What are these you ask? What you see are mini drop spindle Christmas ornaments. For those of you who have absolutely no idea what a drop spindle is:

**From Wikipedia ~ A spindle is a wooden spike (known as the shaft) used for spinning wool, flax, hemp, cotton, and other fibres into thread. It is commonly weighted at either the bottom (sometimes called a drop spindle) middle or top, most commonly by a circular or spherical object called a whorl, and may also have a hook, groove or notch, though spindles without these are also common. Spindle whorls have been found in archaeological digs around the world.**

If your still confused here's the simplistic definition....you use it to make yarn.

Anywho, I made these really adorable mini drop spindles for all of you spinning enthusiasts to hang on you tree or anywhere else you'd like.

Wait, the hubs is saying he made them, I just decorated them. Hmmm, whatever. :o)

We are going to a fiber fest in a few weeks and we've been trying to make stuff like this to take and sell. I think they'll be a great addition to our fibers and yarns. What do you think?


So what have you been up to this week?

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, recipes, or anything else you feel is "crafty". If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

1. Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the Mister Linky form below (need help with finding the permalink? (click here to see a great post Darcy wrote on this!)
2. Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog! so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!!
4. Let me know if you have any questions, problems or need help!

If you want to play along don't forget to grab a button to place at the top or bottom of your post to show you are participating in Crafty Fridays!
Simply copy the code below in the box and paste where you can edit the html in your blog post.




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