Yes, sir, Cap'n Tight-Pants.

Shindig roving, I took my inspiration from the TV show Firefly. Based on Kaylee's fluffy layer cake dress. 2 braids, 5 oz total, Superwash wool, Sheep Shed Studios, Brown Sheep mill ends, Jaquard dyes, hand dyed by me. Here is the dress. Picture from http://www.costumersguide.com/

Second sock made on the trip to Branson, Feb. 2010. Yarn from the Two Windows Dye Co. from Yarns in Hutchinson, KS.

Haven't felt to good this last week. Monday was downright horrible, Tues. I at least felt good enough to make it up to Salina for lunch with a couple of the knit girls then to Stitch N Bitch. Wednesday was much better and I managed to finally get a few things done I've been meaning too. Today I'm feeling fairly crapy again. Ah, well, this too shall pass.

Here are some interesting links I've come across.

Just how big is a billion? Awesome picture of Earth at the end and a great quote from Carl Sagan.

39% Of Bagged Salad Is Gross, Some Has Poop - The Consumerist

For my knit buddies out there. Use variegated yarn for lace!

Lovely Locks!

A couple of months ago Techpriest and I went to the Kansas Sampler Festival, where towns, attractions, areas of Kansas can set up a booth and tell you all about themselves.  There are also vendors, bands, storytellers, etc.  It's fun.  The sports car club Techpriest is a member of had a booth and in the same tent was a museum that had a guy(Garry) demonstrating spinning.  So I took my spinning wheel and had a good ole time.  We have since started a spinning group up in Minneapolis (KS!), there is only 4 of us, but it is fun.  It is only once a month, but since it is an hour away that works out good.  Gerry has a small yarn shop we meet in. The 2 guys have actually been spinning longer than the 2 girls! Garry has been spinning since 1973, one year before I was born!

Garry and I went to Abilene in June to an Alpaca Fiber festival.  There was only about 7 alpaca breeders, but there was a good selection and it was all good stuff! After much dithering, I bought a 2.5 lb fleece, for cheap too!  It was  just the blanket (back and sides) so it doesn't have much vm in it.  I'm in the process of carding it.  It only needs to be passed through twice. It is still dusty, but I'll wait to wash it after I spin it, much easier. 

Lady had to sniff it, probably has never smelled Alpaca before! Also shows scale. That's a big bag!

See that chestnut brown? It is beautiful.


Add closer...
Gorgeous locks!

Here is the lastest I've dyed and carded.  Already shipped off for a swap on craftster, will be getting a package of fiber in return here shortly.

1st side of 2 batts of woodland faerie.


2nd side.


Smoke on the Water. There is enough green in there that it should probably be Smoke on the Algae Covered Water, but oh well, I didn't want to think up a different name. 

I sold one skein of yarn at the store, helped me buy some more fiber! Once I get some more spun up I might try selling on Etsy. Just got an order in from Sheep Shed Studio.  Really good prices.  Bought 2 lbs of superwash and a pound of white mill end rovings.  Dyed 8 oz of the superwash today for another swap. 

I just bought a Flickr pro account so all my pictures can be seen again.  I know I haven't shown any of my yarns on here, but they are all on flickr.  I have a picture of my wheel in there too, which if I haven't mentioned it, I love! 

Well, that's all for now, take care all!

Do the Hop!

The Yarn Hop was lots of fun! Two of the ladies couldn't go with us at the last minute, but we had enough enablers anyway. Lots of yarn was bought, and almost every store gave us a little gift for being hoppers too. We managed to hit all but two stores on Saturday, but unfortunately we lost two more ladies on Sunday. Techpriest found the camera after we were already in Wichita, so while I don't have any pictures of the actual Yarn Hop, I can at least show you pictures of all the goodies!

Twist - Wichita
My new tattoo! My mil and nephew were here Sat. and he told me "That's a temporary tattoo you know." I said, "No, really? I have two real ones and didn't figure that out!" sheesh! The picture was taken 4 days after I put it on, so maybe it is more like semi-permanent. They sell them on their online catalog.
Jitterbug, Kingfisher. I tried so hard not to buy anything that Yarns sells, but I started shooting pictures and realized that they do in fact sell Jitterbug. Opps! I don't think they have this colorway, and if they do, please don't tell me about it! The guilt might kill me!
StitchKeepers, size 0-3, 6 in. I really like this. You slip one end over your dpn's (with sock in progress on them) stretch the band to put the other end on. The caps are even purple! I haven't lost a stitch since I started using it!

The gift Twist gave us, little coin purse to put stitch markers, etc in.

Heritage Hut - Wichita
Just some notions, and yes I know that Yarns probably has them too, but I never think of buying them there!

Yarn - Hutchinson




Knitty Bits Sock Yarn from Two Windows Dye Co. Local dyer, loved her colors! Ann says I stole this skein from her, don't listen! I picked it up first and clung to it like a baby clings to its momma! It is mine, I tell you! The second picture is much truer to the color.

Yarn actually gave us the best gift, look at all this stuff! Upper left is their newsletter, right of that is a very nice pencil bag, lower left the back of their business card(it is a little graph to keep track of the needle sizes you have!) a measuring tape, sample of soak, little scratch pad and a stitch marker.

Close up of the scratch pad and stitch marker. The pad says, doing my part to keep the yarn industry rolling. Aren't they are both cute?

The Shivering Sheep - Abilene



Fleece Artist, Origin. I love that splash of purple in between the brown and sunflower yellow!

Brown Sheep wool wash, 2 oz, was the gift from the Shivering Sheep(don't you love that name?)

Yarns: Sold and Told - Salina, my LYS



J. Knits, Pueblo. I really wouldn't have named this Pueblo, pueblos are sandy colored, aren't they? I bought this colorway half because it was so different than the other skeins I had bought. Though I still love the colors, I just am pulled more to the dark blues, greens and of course purple! So this is a nice change.

The gift from Yarns, measuring tape that is also a keychain.

The Newton Beadery - Newton



The gift from the Beadery. A 20% discount coupon good till the end of the year, but not during the Yarn Hop. Clever of them, wasn't it? And a sample of soak and a sample of foot cream.


So, now I think I have plenty of wool wash and measuring tapes! But still not enough sock yarn, no matter what Techpriest says! :)