Monthly Archives: October 2013

A Win, A Dream, and A Frogging

Carbon Fiber Needles, Handspun Yarn, Knitting, Spinning

This week has been a busy one, but here are the highlights….. A Win, a Dream, and a Frogging!

Before I go on to explain the win, dream, and frogging I want to THANK everyone for the nice complements on my Spinzilla spinning.  I had wanted to reply to each one of you, but then I saw how that was going to muddy up the numbering for the drawing.  Besides thanking the kind writers there were also a few questions I’d like to answer.  Roxie wanted to know if my Hansen needed a rest… My little Miss Mini is a trooper and kept up with me the whole time!  Vicky asked when did I sleep……Let’s just say I don’t sleep a whole lot:)  Ashley thought I should do something rewarding for myself…..my reward is that I have all the yarn I need for Christmas gift knitting!…..now to find the time to get the knitting done..lol.

Now on to the Win, the Dream, and the Frogging

The Win was most yards spun by an individual during  Spinzilla.  Team Fancy Tiger was the first place team, and Team Storey Publishing (which I was a member of) came in 3rd place.  You can check out all the winners and prizes on the Spinzilla blog post My award, A Yarn to Yards Balance with the Spinzilla  plaque   arrived in the mail from the Woolery.

Spinzilla,sweater,High Tide
Spinzilla Award, Sweater yarn, and High Tide prize skein.

There are still a few days left for you to enter to win the High Tide skein of Bam Huey Handspun Yarn pictured above.  To enter for your chance to win,  leave a comment on the  Spinzilla: It’s all over but the Awards  Post  by Midnight October 31st!

Now for my Dream……

It is about the Spinzilla competition next year.  Those who know me, and put up with me, know I have done long marathon spinning sessions many times.  Spinning all day for weeks at a time  is what I love to do.  Some people run marathons, some climb mountains, and others swim the English Channel…. me, I  spin.  My dream is to spend the week of Spinzilla next year in a hotel.  This would be a fund raising spin in.  I would have a room at the hotel, and the spin in would be in one of the meeting rooms that would be open 24 hours a day.  Spinners could make a donations for the opportunity to spin along.   When I dream, I dream big, so in my dream there would be a fiber supplier/mill that  would donate the fiber, and all the spun yarn would be sold to benefit the Spinzilla education program, oh yeah…and my room and room service would be paid for:)  It’s a big dream and I know I don’t have the skill to organize it, but boy do I want to do it!

Last but not least….the Frogging. …

I started a sweater from some of the yarn I spun for Spinzilla. I chose Anne Hanson’s Aztec Mazes This is my first sweater and I am a bit worried that it won’t fit.  I’m knitting this as a surprise for Mr X.    I don’t have exact measurements for Mr. X , and I am working with a different size yarn and needle than the pattern calls for.  This means I have to work a bit of math to figure out gauge and which size to knit.

Mr x's too big sweater
Mr. X’s sweater…Pre Frogging

One does start to wonder if the sweater is too big when it doesn’t fit in the photo box…. Yikes! it was WAY TOO BIG!  Turns out I rounded up when I should have been rounding down…lol…to the Frog Pile!  There were a few tears among the Ripppp- it Rippppp-it noises, but all is well now.  I’ve started over in a size smaller and will have some progress pictures of it next posting on November 1st  when I announce the winner of the skein of Bam Huey yarn in High Tide.  I will also have some pictures of a new needle style I made for sweater knitting.

until next time,  Happy Spinning and Knitting!

Cheryl <^..^>

 

 

Spinzilla: It’s All Over But The Awards!

Fiber, Handspun Yarn, Home Life, Spinning
The Spinzilla group on Ravelry  has been buzzing with numbers.  Teams are checking in with the group totals.  The final tally will be announced on Friday, just a few more hours before we know which team spun the most yards.  It is so nice to read about handspun yarns being talked about in the number of MILES spun!

 

I am on  Team Storey Publishing, and have loved every minute of getting to know some of the spinners on the team.  Not only was I lucky enough to make some new friends, but I also lucked out on one of the daily drawing for prizes on our team.  Henry , Team Captain Bonnie’s  sweet little birdy ,who with out a doubt rules the house, pecked my name from the ticket bowl!  I found my lovely prize in this morning’s mail.    I had to immediately  fill this beautiful  wood yarn bowl with my latest project on the needles, Anne Hanson’s Sugarfrost from FIFC 2012.

Wood yarn bowl
Ash wood yarn bowl by Carl Tubbs

This yarn bowl is made by Carl Tubbs.  The wood is  Ash and has such a warm smooth feel to it.  I love the swirls of grain and the glow that emanates from them.  Hand made tools always make my work so much more enjoyable, and I am looking forward to spending hours knitting with this bowl holding my yarn:)

I am still trying to find where Carl and Christine Tubbs sell their bowls, and I will add a link just as soon as I get that info! UPDATE…I now have the Info!!! Carl also has a full time job so not a lot of bowl listed right now but go check out the beauties he has listed HERE The only complaint I have is that Carl has not signed his work of art.  If I am ever lucky enough to meet them in real life, I will be begging Carl to sign my bowl!

I have to toot my own horn a little, sorry, but I just can’t help myself.  This post was made by the Spinzilla moderators  in the Yardage total discussion thread for Spinzilla…..

We’ll be posting updates as our count begins here:

We have over 300 spinners accounted for and more coming in every minute. Deadline for Team Captain’s is 8pm EST tonight (Wednesday Oct 16th). We have just begun the happy task of recording all the entries. So far the highest yardage from an individual team member we have recorded is Cheryl Newhouse of TeamStorey with 16,852 monster yards!

EEEEEEK, That’s ME!  It’s quite possible that someone will be checking in with more, but for now I am tickled PINK!!  well, more like Purple, because after all I am a Purple Girl at heart:)

It’s  a weird mix of emotions reading posts of people commenting on the amount I have spun.  My ego has gotten quite a boost, but I know I didn’t do any where near my personal best of 24,000 yards spun and plied in a week’s time.  Some of you may remember seeing these pictures…

FIFC 2011 Knitspot
550, 400 yard skeins of handspun yarn for Knitspot’s FIFC 2011 club

This was a 8.5 months of spinning for Anne Hanson’s Knitspot’s 2011 Fall in Full Color Club…..but that is a story for another day.

For now I will  reply to all the lovely compliments   “thank you…..but just wait until next year!!!!!!”

Now I do believe it is time for a little prize! As a reward for all the new and  old readers of the blog along with  celebrating  a successful Spinzilla!  Leave a comment on this posting before  Midnight October 31st  Pacific Mountain Time, and enter for your chance to win one of the skeins of yarn I spun for Spinzilla.  This is a 435 yard skein of two ply  Bam Huey in a lace weight of about 18-19 wpi, in the High Tides colorway. The yarn is hanging to dry right now, so I don’t have a good picture, but I will post one soon. If you look close you can see the teal skein in the basket before it was washed.  Winner will be chosen by using a random number generator.

New Hue Handspuns Spinzilla Spinning.
The multi shades of Teal skein in the upper right corner is the prize skein pre washing.

Now all that remains is to wait for the Spinzilla results………..

Until next time, Happy Spinning and Knitting!

Cheryl <^..^>

 

UPDATE!   My 16,852 yards held up as most yards spun by and individual!  The skein of Bam Huey being given away is dry and here is an updated picture!

Bam Huey handspun
432 yards of Handspun Bam Huey – High Tide

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spinzilla has been SPUN!

Fiber, Handspun Yarn, Home Life, Spinning

Spinzilla spinning is officially over! The teams have just a few more moments to tally up their yardage and the team captains are collecting and organizing the entries.

The week long spinning event was not without it’s pitfalls.  Team members reported in with flu, headaches, arm pain, leg pain and just plain old life getting in the way of spinning.  Me, I had my own problems……..

Spinzilla Burns and blisters
Burns from boiling dye

I’ve been dyeing fiber for 16+  years……never once have I spilled boiling dye on myself…..until this time. OUCH!  I had to keep my hands covered with ice packs for over a day.  I slept with hands wrapped in blue ice packs. About 36 hours later I was able to get back to spinning.  My goal was 20,000 yards of handspun singles, but with more than a day of spinning lost there was no way I could make it.  That didn’t discourage me I reset my goal for 17,000 yards…………Then Mom and Dad came for a visit Friday afternoon until Monday morning!  I only see my parents for a few days 2-3 times year.  It was difficult to spin and entertain the troops, but I think we had a nice visit chatting while I spun.  9 pm Sunday night arrived right on schedule, and at last it was fiber down and spinners stopped!  Monday was all about plying, plying, and PLYING!  I did ply a few thousand yards during the week, but there were thousands left to ply on Monday.  Plying up the fine lace weight Cashmere and Tussah Silk seemed to never end, but finally the pound +  of fiber was done, almost 3,000 yards of 2 ply lace.  I have some secret plans for this:)  Here is my final picture I sent off as my entry.

Spinzilla final yards 16,852!
16,852 yards of singles!

The dark brown and greens are for another secret project.  The chocolate Cashmere on the rolls will be shipped off to Tanglewood Fiber Creations. The BFL gradients and other odds and ends will be up for sale in the Shop before long. The Navajo 3 ply will be use on the secret brown/green project.  The pale blue/green/white Merino and Cashmere will be turned into some toasty warm leg warmers and slippers for me!

Spinzilla week was long, and full of road blocks, but it was fun!  It was great to get some spinning done for myself and get some odds and ends finished up that have been waiting too long.  I’ve been a production spinner for many years so producing thousands of yard of yarn in a week wasn’t unusual for me, but it was fun to read about spinners who were experiencing production spinning for the first time.  I can’t help but wonder how many of them will now be bitten by the production spinning bug!

If you are a Raveler you may want to go check out the Spinzilla Group Threads and read the adventures of hundreds of spinners for yourself.  If you are not a  member of Ravelry do yourself a favor and go sign up..it’s free, fun and a wealth of information.  I have made some wonderful friends there!

Now that Spinzilla is coming to a close,  It is time to do some celebrating,  the winning team will be announced on Friday.  Other things to celebrate along with completing Spinzilla are my 27th wedding anniversary, and my 18th year of spinning!!!  Next posting will announce my plans of some competitions and some prizes to spread the love of spinning and my anniversaries!

until next time, Happy Spinning!

Cheryl <^..^>

p.s. get those needles warmed up, because there will be some knitting prizes too.

Spinzilla is in full Spin!

H

Welcome  to day 3 of Spinzilla!  Spinning is in full force, team members have been checking in  and reporting yardage spun. GO Team Storey Publishing!!  My goal is to spin 20,000 yards in the 7 days of spinning.  I’m pretty much on track with 5,336 yards spun in 2 days.  I’ve been taking late night pictures of the day’s progress, so please excuse the bad flash pictures.

Spinzilla day 1
Day 1 Spinzilla, 3,490 yards of singles!
Spinzilla day 2
Spinzilla Day two 1,846 yards of single spun!

I’ve been plying up some of the yarn as I go, it is just easier to do that even though I loose some spinning time.

Today I get to spend the day spinning Chocolate Cashmere……such a tough day…lol!!!!  24 oz of the lovely fiber arrived in this morning’s mail, and just as soon as I finish a little bit of house work I plan on diving into this pile…..

Cashmere, TFC
24 oz of Chocolate Cashmere!

My parents, the Snow Birds, stop by to visit for a few days every year before they head South for the Winter.  Their visit will be during Spinzilla…… hope they like to watch me spin:)  Now I must spend some time cleaning house:(    I have to at least shovel out some of the dust bunnies so people can get into the house, and make sure there are at least a few clean dishes!   Maybe we will use paper plates this time….

Until next time, Happy spinning and Knitting!

Cheryl <^..^>

 

 

Ready! Set! GO SPINZILLA!!!

Dyeing, Fiber, Home Life, Spinning

It is now 7 pm Pacific Time as I start to write this post, and that means just 2 hours to SpinZilla !!! SpinZilla is a friendly week long team spinning competition to see which team can spin the most yardage from 12:01 am Monday  October 7th to Midnight  Sunday October 13th.

I am spinning for Team Storey Publishing, and have set myself a goal of spinning 20,000 yards.  I’m still working on getting enough fiber to spin.  So far I have 2 pounds of black BFL wool that needs to be spun into a 2 ply DK weight, 1- 1/2   pounds of Merino Cashmere that I will be spinning into a 2 ply fingering weight, 1/2 pound of Cashmere/Tussah Silk that should make some very nice lace weight yarn.

Spinning Fiber
Spinning Fiber for SpinZilla

This week you can expect to see daily posts of my progress, but right now it is time for me to hang up  the fiber I dyed today,  eat the lovely dinner Will made for me, then it will be time to get settled in to spin.

Wish me luck to meet my goal of 20,000 yards spun!

Happy Spinning,

Cheryl <^..^>

Back from OFFF-On the Mend & Spinning Again!

Carbon Fiber Needles, Fiber, Handspun Yarn, Home Life, Spinning

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival, OFFF  was quite eventful this year.  Set up on Friday went smoothly.  I share a booth with the Duncan Drum Carders.  After a few hours the booth was ready.

OFFF booth 2013
New Hue Handspuns and Duncan Carders

Lucky for me I live only 20 miles from the Canby Fairgrounds where OFFF is held, but the trip home that night wasn’t so lucky for me.  North bound I-205 was stop and go traffic the whole way.

I was looking forward to getting home to celebrate my 27th wedding anniversary with my husband.  Little did I know that we would be spending most of the evening in the emergency room…….  A distracted driver plowed into the back of my truck!  I ended up strapped to a back board and had a lovely ride to ER in the ambulance.  My dear Hubby met us at the hospital.  After a few hours and what seemed like hundreds of x-rays they determined  nothing was broken.  I was finally  turned  loose with prescriptions for pain meds and muscle relaxants.

My truck wasn’t hurt, and lucky for me I just have to deal with  sore muscles for a few weeks. I was pretty loopy on the pain meds, and unable to drive, so Will drove me down and picked me up from OFFF both days.  I wasn’t able to spin at all on Saturday.  Sitting upright in my chair and selling fiber was challenging enough!

The weather during OFFF was pretty nasty with the wind and rain.  Several outside vendor’s tents were blown over and some decided it was best to head home.  Lucky for me, we have an inside booth.

Despite the rain, wind, and the trip to the ER, it was a good show.  I got to see some old friends and make some new ones…..even if I was a bit out of it, and can’t remember names:)

I’m now back at home resting up and working on my  “Just Add Knitter Kits”  The last label has been made.

Brick-O-Brack
New Hue & Newhouse Just Add Knitter Kit tag

hopefully by the next posting  the first Neck Warmer Kit will be available!

I’m getting ready for Spinzilla !  I am on Team Storey Publishing.  Now to  line up enough fiber to spin during the week long event.  The goal  I’ve set for myself is to spin 20,000 yards in 7 days! now I just have to find enough fiber to spin……

Until next time, Happy Spinning and Knitting!

Cheryl <^..^>