My Huge Thrift Store Score!

So if you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed that a week or so ago, I made a humongous score at the thrift store!  I got a literal MOUNTAIN of yarn for quite a deal :D  Aren't you proud?

You can see there where I kind of nested myself in the middle while looking at each and every ball.

I found all kinds of goodies that by themselves would've cost more than than I spent on the whole lot!  So many vintage wools, Tahki Donegal Tweeds, handspun silk, handspun Camel (that's right. Camel) along with rovings of wool, silk, camel and others that I can't definitely place.  I got so many wonderful yarns!

Now, of course, I can't keep them all for myself, my studio would explode.  Speaking of which, I have to move my studio, right when I was finally getting it all set up too! Isn't that sad?  But its ok, I'll get it all set up again and show you all the final results :)  Ok, back to the score at hand, I can't possibly keep it all for myself so I will be periodically destashing some of the goodies in my shop, like this little collection:

Now don't you want to go scoop that up for yourself and make something wonderful with it?  I definitely want to see what comes of the destash, so if you wouldn't mind, let me know what you create with it!

Tuesday Learn Something New Day - Wool

I’ve decided that I’d like to make Tuesdays into Learn Something New Days! As a college student I learn new things all the time. I learn something new every day. And I probably say that at least once a day when I learn something new!

I often learn about math or chemistry being at a Tech school but I don’t want these days to be like that. What I post on Tuesdays will be about some sort of art or crafting, perhaps nutrition, or a new technique.

What would you like to learn on Tuesdays? Please tell me in the comments below! I will do my best to talk about anything and everything that you want to learn :)

And now, on to the first installment of Tuesday Learn Something New Day!

Today I will talk about wool specifically and other animal fibers sometime in the future, this post would be way to long if I tried to squeeze it all into one. Wool for yarn and knitting purposes to be exact. Where does wool yarn come from? What are the differences between yarns? What garments would be best to be made of which fiber??

All fibers from animals are protein fibers. Protein fibers all have one basic thing in common, scales. Even human hair has scales (you can feel them by running your finger along a strand of hair toward the scalp). These scales hold yarn together while also allowing each strand of hair to be separate. They are also the reason wool felts. The fewer number of scales per inch of a fiber, generally yields a rougher feel, the more scales per inch, the softer the yarn. Granted, these are very general statements and do not always hold true.

Moving on. Wool. Wool comes from sheep. There are more sheep varieties than I care to count and therefore as many different types of wool. After the sheep are shorn and the fleece is processed (vegetable matter, dirt, etc removed) the wool may be washed and treated to also remove the lanolin. Lanolin is an oil secreted by the sheep to keep it dry and ward off infections. Some breeds are fairly lanolin free and no washing is needed, as with some Shetlands and Icelandic wools.

The staple length of a fiber is very important in determining what should and should not be made from a particular yarn. Longer fibers spun up together make for a more durable yarn which will create a garment that can be used or worn a great deal longer than those with shorter stable lengths. The longer fibers may not feel as soft as the shorter ones though.

Another contributing factor to the final yarn product is the fineness of the original fiber. Fineness is generally determined by the diameter of the fiber. The finer the yarn (the smaller the diameter) the softer the yarn feels.

Wool is a great all-around fiber for many reasons. One, it can absorb a considerable amount of water (up to 30% its weight) while you still feel dry and warm underneath. Great for snowboarding beanies, scarves, gloves, and the like. Two, naturally flame retardant, wool will pretty much put itself out instead of progressing the flame’s progress. Three, wool bounces back quicker than a post-baby body. You can stretch it dry or wet and it will often return to the shape and size of the original project (unless it has been felted, but that’s another topic).

Fiberful Weekend

So this was a very fibrous weekend for me!

I got some knitting done, handpainted some wonderful alpaca yarn that will be going up in SillyLittleYarns later and finished spinning up that purple roving I've had for ages that will make its appearance sometime this week :)

Also, we made salsa yesterday for the first time, and didn't even have a recipe to follow, we just threw stuff together! We will have the recipe and photos on our website if you'd like to see how you can make salsa without plastic too.

New Items For My Shop, a Busy Weekend

This weekend was productive, I did some spinning, some knitting, some chilling with my momma, and I got a much Much MUCH needed haircut. I didn't get a chance to blog this weekend because I didn't have the cord to download my pictures, so I am going to do a weekend's worth of blogging now, hold on tight!

I had received about 8oz of navy wool roving sometime last week and put off spinning it until I go visit my momma and show her how to spin. Needless to say, 8oz of roving definitely takes some time to spin and appears to be a small explosion of fluff when left unspun on the couch for a few moments. The spinning was fun and most of said spinning took place while watching Bucket List and 21 with my mom on the couch, while she was knitting her scarves and I was lost under a storm of roving. It yielded about 110 yards of worsted or heavy worsted yarn and will be listed my Etsy shop soon. As with all handspun yarns, there are slight variations throughout the skein, some thicker parts, some thinner parts, but these, to me, add character to the color, texture and general feel of the completed garment.


I also finished some small ornament hats during my visit. I had already completed a Santa hat, and during the trip I made two beanies of the same size, one red and white striped and one mostly white with some red stripes. I think I will list these in my shop as well, as a set. And if it seems to get good reviews I will make some more in varying colors and sizes and patterns. Perhaps some small mittens, stockings, candy canes, etc. If you have any ideas or requests for ornaments for the coming holiday season please let me know! I need all the ideas I can get :)

My mom taught me to knit way back in the day and she still does some knitting (mostly when her baby girl is home to accompany her though hehe). She found a pattern for a mohair cardigan that she really loved and bought the yarn to make it. After all the pieces had been knit and sewn up, she found out that it didn't fit her quite right. I tried it on when I got there and it fit me just fine :) And its soft, and orange, and beautiful and I love it! I mean, I ant my mom to finish and love her own projects, but I don't mind taking them off her hands if needed. So these pictures are trying to depict the gorgeous sweater and my new super cool hair cut. It actually doesn't look all that different from my old one, its just more cleaned up. It had been over a year and half since I had a real haircut and it showed. So, these pictures aren't great, but I'm sure you all know the difficulties of trying to photograph yourself by yourself.








And, as classes have started back up, I find my bag unorganized and difficult to sift through, so I made myself this yellow pouch. I especially love the red buttons and red bamboo that hold the piece together, literally!



And here are some cute photos of my pup Panda. He always sleeps like this, crotch up, passed out. I figured you all would get a laugh out of it :)