Happy Friday! Featured Roving of the Day

Here is a picture of the roving that I did for a custom order this week. The batch came out beautiful, much nicer than the picture. I am tempted to sell my current camera on "you know where" and find one that is a bit truer with the colors. I used a different process to dye this roving. I did it in three stages with the last stage (the purple part) being painted on by hand. It was a lot of fun to do and I think I might do a similar batch this weekend only in a different color scheme. The problem, and it isn't really that much of a problem, is that it takes 2 to 3 days for each batch. Hubby just loves it when I have pots and jars of roving all over the kitchen... something about allergies to wool. I keep telling him to find me a house with a summer kitchen so that we don't have to share.

Work has been too much like work lately. Every time year end rolls around I wonder why I decided to go into accounting. I haven't even done any spinning lately. Now that I have finished Harry Potter life can get back to normal... once I see the movie this weekend that is.

I wish I had some news on moving but I don't. I didn't really like the inside of the house that looked so promising from the outside. Small rooms with old wallpaper, old carpets, forced hot air... it wouldn't be a problem except that chances are I will have to do everything myself because of Phil's back and I don't want to buy into a big job if I can help it. Plus, these people are turning down good offers which means they want the full asking price... for an old house that needs work... good luck to them.

Featured Roving of the Day - Plum Tussah Silk

I am finally getting to the point where I can take pictures (albeit bad ones) of some of the roving that I dyed a few weeks back. You wouldn't know there was a drought on this island the way it has rained at our house for the last few weeks. I think I have moss growing on my arms. Ah... the joys of living on the side of a volcano with its weird weather patterns.

I keep trying new ways to take pictures so that the color is more true-to-life... and then I read on a Canon site that these particular cameras are made to make the colors brighter than they really are because people like it better that way!?! Says who! I want my blues to look blue, not purple. Any way, I have discovered that by using two ott lights and setting the roving on my sewing table I can get the color on the roving right but the table/background turns a nice pink/peach color as you can see. So ignore the background color and enjoy the roving. :)

On the moving front... I am sitting here at work watching the number of emails I have in my Gmail account (aren't separate tabs a wonderful invention) hoping to hear back from my realtor friend in New York. I found one house that I like and she was going to go see what kind of shape it was in and see if they would consider a rent to buy option since it has been on the market forever. It has two porches, one enclosed, and both have views of the surrounding mountains. So I am picturing myself on my enclosed deck, with no mosquitoes, doing yoga. Om....

So much for the patience that yoga brings... until next time, Happy Spinning

Featured Roving of the Day (and I got a niddy noddy)

Isn't this roving pretty! I did this up as a sample for the custom order that I am working on. The final order will have more purple in it but this one is really nice too. I listed it today for those interested. Oh yeah, it is a superwash just in case that makes a difference.

And here is a picture of my new niddy noddy. It is a Kromski medium sized one and I love it. It makes my yarn look so professional. :) Even a lefty like myself was able to figure out how it works. I just wish it did a yard when wrapped; it is a little over which means I have to multiply it out and hope I have it right.


On the moving front... we have decided to buy a house instead of finding a place to rent and then have to move everything again in a year or less. The reason for this is my husbands broken back. The thought of having to move everything twice was something he (and I) didn't care to think about, turth be told here. After all, we aren't twenty anymore and that furniture seems a lot heavier than it used too. Plus, the prices to rent are absolutely ridiculous. Our mortgage will be a lot less than the monthly rental amount.

In spinning news, I have decided to crochet myself a new handbag. It will be a modified market/hobo bag. I pulled some superwash from my shop and am spinning that up. I have even put together some of the wool to bring to work and spin during my lunch break, not that I am in a hurry to get this stuff spun up or anything. At least it will keep me busy and give me something to work on when I'm not packing. I think I will line it with some nice batik (I have a few thousand pieces to choose from) so that it doesn't stretch too much when it use.

I guess that's it for now... happy spinning

New Tussah Silk

Here is one of my newest pieces of tussah silk. I listed this one this morning and I am sure glad that I did. Someone liked the colors well enough that I have a custom order to do. I like custom orders... they give me a chance to grow and play with the colors that I like while trying to create the perfect roving for someone. So now I am sitting here at work, chatting with you folks and deciding the best way to dye the roving when I should really be doing the paperwork that is backed up here because of the checkrun that I just spent the last two days working on. The joys of working for the man....

There is some news in the moving department. We might have found a place that is reasonably priced and is on 6 acres. The only draw back is that there is no oven in the kitchen. Not that big a deal though, we can live without one for a few months. We will find out Friday whether we are getting it or not. We will even be able to bring the kitties if we want. Yeah!!!

Until next time happy spinning...

Friday at Last

Greetings everyone, hope those of you in the U.S. of A. had a nice 4th. We didn't do a darn thing but that is okay. Well I can't say that I did nothing, I woke up that morning to my first large sale (5 items). My stock of tussah silk took quite a hit so I figured I better get busy and dye up some more. Here is the result, they look so pretty this way. I hope to have a few of them in the shop by Monday. I wasn't too happy with the yellow and orange so might save that and ply it up with another color.

I also finished some fiber art that I had been working on forever... kind of got side tracked by the spinning, and crocheting, and dyeing, and school.... This is my version of a waterfall, I have wanted to do one for quite some time now. This will most likely be my last piece for awhile because as I think I have told you before I am hoping to move back to the mainland real soon and I can't create when my mind is focused on something as big as that. Plus, I am starting to get into that "nesting" mode for movers and want to get everything put in its rightful place so that I can get started on the packing. Now all I need is a place to move to, who knew it would be so hard to find a house to rent in the upstate New York, Vermont area. We might end up in Rutland, will let you know as soon as I hear back from someone.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and happy spinning.