The Unadorned Truth – Sweet Georgia Yarn Fiber Rocks

Posted on September 9, 2015 by silvergrrl

The truth is in the swatching.

Today I swatched the Black Cherry BFL-silk blend that I spun yesterday. It was just the plain top, no fancy prep of any kind. I wanted to see how much of the cushy, luxurious feel of my previous sample was the fiber and how much the prep with hand cards.

I’m happy to say that today’s swatch also has that amazing feel. It’s denser, which is to be expected. But it was sweet to knit with, and the knitted fabric is wonderful. So I am a very happy camper.

To restate, for my spinner friends who want to check it out: I am spinning BFL-Silk blend from Sweet Georgia Yarns. Their website is http://shop.sweetgeorgiayarns.com/.

For today’s project, I took the Riptide and carded it with Birch and the sari silk. It looks pretty on the bobbin. Tomorrow I’ll ply it & post a picture.

Until next time.

Black Cherry BFL-silk blend

Black Cherry BFL-silk blend

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This is Why I Spin

Posted on September 8, 2015 by silvergrrl

Yesterday I wrote about how I just started experimenting with some new fibers, and ended up with a gorgeous hand-carded blend of two colors of BFL-Silk with some sari silk. Today, I swatched that yarn.

I’m.In.Love.

I think it’s my favorite yarn yet, in my almost-a-year of practice with different fibers, batts, and blends. I wish I could convey the gorgeous feel of it. In another post, I talked about being a tactile junkie… I can only imagine what it would feel like to wear a sweater of this soft, luxurious yarn. Plus it’s gorgeous. Since the “green” is really composed of gold and teal fibers, it is heathery rather than monotone. The little flecks of bright color from the sari silk add subtle visual texture. I’m totally inspired to try more combinations with different colors.

I also don’t know what to attribute to the fiber itself, and what to attribute to the hand-card prep method. The “woolen” process of the hand-card prep adds fluffiness, even when spun “worsted” as I did. So tonight I spun some straight fiber right off the braid (Black Plum) and I’ll swatch it tomorrow.

Until next time.

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More Fun With Hand Cards

Posted on September 7, 2015 by silvergrrl

Now that I’ve finished the Blue-Faced Leicester (BFL), I moved on to some BFL-Silk blend fiber that I got from Sweet Georgia Yarns. They do dye-to-order lots in gorgeous colors, and I got 100 grams each of 8 different colors. You can see them (plus a few more) on my Pinterest Board All Things Fiber.

So I thought I wanted to play with color. I took some Goldmine and some Riptide (dark teal) and first tried spinning them together. I found out right away that it’s very difficult to spin fibers together when you’re just holding them like that. So I got out my hand cards and carded them together to make a rolag, which I spun. It was pretty much green at that point which wasn’t really what I wanted. BUT there were also a few brightly colored sari silk fibers that had been stuck in the hand cards, and got mixed in. Immediately I was inspired to make more rolags with the 2 BFL-silk colors and sari silk fibers. Oh yes. Lovely. The picture shows a rolag and some spun fiber.

I’ll swatch it tomorrow.

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Still Spinning – Everyday Practice

Posted on September 1, 2015 by silvergrrl

I’m still spinning every day. I’m working my way through the Blue-Faced Leicester that I wrote about earlier. I keep noticing the springy texture of the pure wool as compared to the feel of the same wool blended with silk. Lovely.

So today’s picture shows raw BFL fiber, spun fiber on the bobbin, and the final plied yarn.

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Blue-Faced Leicester Once Again

Posted on August 17, 2015 by silvergrrl

Yes. I’m once again spinning the same variety of wool that I started with, so many months ago. This time, happily, I know what I’m doing.

It’s interesting to notice how it feels. Now, this is a better quality than what I spun before, but it has the same qualities of long staple length and soft texture. This first bobbin I’m just spinning to see how it feels, and how it comes out when I ply & swatch it.

And yes, this means I finished spinning the merino/silk blend I was working on before, but I haven’t plied it yet. That will probably be this weekend.

Until next time.

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The Last Bobbin…

Posted on August 10, 2015 by silvergrrl

This last bobbin of the merino/silk blend is taking a long time to finish, because I’m only able to spend about 15-20 minutes a day right now at my wheel. That’s part of my “lower the stress” program. I love spinning, and it relaxes me, but when I spend too much time at my wheel, other things don’t get done. And right now I have very little leeway in that regard.

So I have the discipline to spend a little time at my wheel each day. And maybe I’ll finish this bobbin this week. If not, then next. It’s all good.

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I don’t want to like Yoga. There. I said it.

Posted on August 9, 2015 by silvergrrl

Work is brutally busy and stressful right now.

Mick and I are making no progress on the design for our new house-to-be.

I’ll be 59 in just a few weeks, and I feel like this upcoming year is going to be pivotal as big changes come my way and I approach my next decade.

More than ever, I have so many things I want to be getting done, but somehow all the drive and organizational skills I use so successfully at work evaporate the minute I get home.

And while the exercise I get is certainly helpful in many ways, it is NOT helping me with any of those problems.

So, what am I to do? These last couple of weeks, I have been forced to look at all this and start making some choices. I am finding that taking more tender care of myself is becoming a necessity, not just an “oh wouldn’t it be nice…”. I have to have some breathing room.

Last Thursday night, I got a massage for the first time in way too long. It was amazing, and I will go back to her again soon. And Friday morning, I looked up the schedule at Southern Sky Yoga JUST to see what they might have available, and sure enough they have a TGIF class at 6:30 on Friday. So I signed up – and paid for it – online in advance. That way I’d be sure to go. And I’ll be darned if it wasn’t great. See, I have this resistance to yoga. I don’t want to like it. It seems like EVERYBODY does yoga, and I have never wanted to follow the herd. But the luminous Sri Mati’s yoga classes at HoopPath have opened my heart year after year. Other classes I’ve taken from local instructors have always had more impact than I expected on my sense of well-being. So in spite of the fact that I don’t want to like it, yoga is sidling in to a place in my life. Phooey.

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Strawberry Pizza? Yes, Please!

Posted on July 26, 2015 by silvergrrl

Yes. Strawberry Pizza.

That’s how I used the surplus from the strawberry bonanza we had this week. I had a feeling that there was more to do with them than sweet luscious desserts, and I was right. Besides this amazing dish, I also found recipes for Strawberry Gazpacho and Roasted Strawberry Rhubarb Sorbet. I’m saving those for later!

This is where I got the recipe for today’s venture: http://cookieandkate.com/2013/strawberry-basil-and-balsamic-pizza/. One note: I did use feta instead of goat cheese. It came out really delicious – not sweet, but with a really lively savory fruitiness.

She also has a link there for a quick no-rise crust, and that’s what I used. It’s a definite keeper. I see quick, easy veggie pizzas in my future.

So if you are looking for something deliciously different, try this recipe!

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Strawberry Pizza

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Catching up

Posted on July 21, 2015 by silvergrrl

Yesterday was a tough day and I’m really glad for my spinning as a centering practice. It’s a meditation in its own way.

After last week’s plying debacle I’m spinning the rest of this merino/silk blend in 4 chunks, matched by weight (about 3 oz each). I’ve finished bobbin number 1 and tonight started on bobbin number 2. I really want to get it spun by Saturday so I can ply these two on Sunday – 3 ounces fills a bobbin and the plying will take a while. So doing it when I have a full afternoon is definitely my first choice.

Until next time.

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Spinning Away

Posted on July 16, 2015 by silvergrrl

I’m working my way through the merino/silk blend, and doing much better at keeping the diameter even. The hardest is when I first start each evening, it always takes a minute to settle in. But tonight, even that was better. I can tell now by the way if feels and looks if I’m at the right diameter or not, reinforced by regular checking against my sample.

The first batch, that I plied last Monday, is all done now, and I wanted to show how very different the raw fiber looks compared to the finished yarn. That’s today’s picture.

Until next time.

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Merino/silk fiber & the spun result

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