I tried out the scribbling with crochet and found it MUCH easier to handle. Not having all the live stitches in the way really helped keep things in order. It's still a bit hectic, but I got through this swatch in less than half the time of the knitted one. Thank goodness I procrastinated long enough to try this out instead. I've already got some of the tutorial written (in my head), and there will be instructions for knitting OR crocheting so you can each pick your favorite method. Ooo, now comes the fun part--choosing which yarns to use.

Here's a preview of the batts I made this week. I'm hoping to get these (and 11 new handspuns) in the store by this weekend. Look for an update on or before Sunday the 28th. If you're not already signed up for my mailing list, put your email address in that little box over on the left of your screen, and I'll email you when I add things to the store.

I've been carding at... LUDICROUS SPEED!

In an effort to ramp up my spinning fiber section, I've been whipping up some crazy (pronounced kuh-RAY-zeh) batts, chock full of every fiber I own. Wool, locks, flax, hemp, silk, bamboo, corn fiber, angelina & metallic stuff, even cut up strands of other yarn. Most of the batts I had for sale previously were pretty boring by comparison, so hopefully this will give spinners something to get excited about buying. I've also been trying to make large batches of the same colorway (9 ounces of each, so far) so that someone could spin up a nice, big project if they wanted to:

I'm really trying to keep this whole "productive" phase going for as long as I can. Not only am I spinning and carding every day, I'm doing all sorts of housewifey stuff like keeping the sink empty of dirty dishes and vacuuming on a regular basis. (I know--WEIRD. It's like invasion of the Natasha-snatchers.)

Next on my list of crafts to try is vegan soap-making. I bought a couple different bars from independent sellers on Etsy and I really like them, so of course I've got to try it myself. I found a basic recipe that uses olive oil & coconut oil, I knitted up some little mini-washcloths out of organic nettle yarn and I'm going to embed them in the soap bars as a built-in scrubber. I'm also thinking about putting some four-leaf clovers inside the bars just to make them cuter. I'll probably test out the first batch on family & friends to see what they think, but if I become a talented soapstress, I may eventually want to sell my washcloth + soap sets over in the "handknit items" section.

Yesterday's swatching turned up two failures and one success. I had some ideas for a traveling cable that turned out to be the most unremarkable thing ever knitted so I didn't bother completing it, but my second experiment came out okay. I've got a ball of Lacey Lamb cobweb-lace yarn that I've been wanting to combine with some handspun to create a shawl or scarf of some kind. Along the lines of a scribble scarf, but with large blobs instead of individual lines. I'm carrying the thin yarn through every stitch, but only grabbing the handspun in certain sections, leaving spiderweb-style fabric connecting them. It took lots of wrangling and wrestling to keep everything untangled. I may go ahead and cast on for a full shawl this weekend (and I will take notes as I go, since I think the idea is rather publish-worthy). Here's a photo of the general idea:

<< Here's another skein from yesterday afternoon's spinning session. It's more of the super-fluffy uncarded alpaca mixed with bright fuchsia sari silk. I didn't realize that I had made this dye batch quite so huge, so I've still got about 4 ounces left that I plan to card into some crazy-batts for sale to other spinners.

It has been a while since I've done any pattern writing, so I sat down today with an idea that's been floating around in my head and tried to map it out on paper. My first tiny swatch was not what I wanted, but I think I'm on the right track. I'll scan and post my next one if it comes out a little better.

In other news, the ".PRO" top level domain recently became available and I sprung for "knitting.pro" today. They're supposedly requiring proof of being an actual pro, but since there's not one official knitting genius certification program, I'm hoping my business license will suffice. Fingers are crossed.

Yesterday afternoon, I came downstairs after my shower and saw a yellow and brown piece of paper taped to the front door. I nearly had a heart attack when I realized it was the "Sorry we missed you" note from UPS telling me they had tried to deliver my wheel but needed a signature. (Did I mention we recently discovered that the doorbell can't be heard upstairs? What kind of ghetto doorbell only rings in half the house?) I flung the door open and, THANK GOD, I saw the UPS truck still parked outside, so I ran out and found the driver in the back of the truck rearranging boxes. I must have looked like a crazy woman, sprinting out with my hair still dripping wet, frantically waving my door note in his face. After I babbled on and on about how glad I was that I caught him and how impatiently I had been waiting for this since before the hurricane, he chuckled at me and said, "I'm glad I picked this street to stop and organize my truck."

So far I am very pleased with my results. The learning curve with this wheel was fairly small, and after only one minor screw up (I forgot to attach the tension knob and couldn't figure out why it wouldn't suck the yarn in) I was trucking along. The foot pedal placement is nice, and the concept of having brakes is neat although I doubt I'll use them. It weighs one meellion pounds, so I have to stop what I'm doing to move it around rather than scooching it to the perfect location with my toes.

I'm up to 4 yarns so far and they all turned out almost exactly like I had in mind. My favorite is the uncarded alpaca (the greenish one in the bottom picture). It turned out very similar to a skein of Ozark Handspun, but much softer and fluffier. (Surely it will shed like crazy, but there's no use fighting it. That's what alpaca does.)

There's a botleneck of twist-setting because I've only got one yarn-tensioning-device. This leads me to believe I've got to come up with some sort of system for mass skein drying. It's no use hanging them all with weights in the bathroom because our shower curtain rod topples to the ground every time you put too much weight on it. Maybe I'll get one of those metal laundry racks or outdoor clothes lines. Anyway, here are pictures of my adventures so far:

Thankfully, no bad news to report from Hurricane Ike. We were without power for only about 12 hours and there was no damage to the house other than a couple of loose fence boards. Uprooted trees and torn up rooftops are all over the neighborhood, but our little subdivision is intact. The house did a lot more shaking than I would have liked... I still feel like if I push too hard on a wall, it will be the last straw that causes the whole building to collapse.

The recording that plays when you call UPS says they will not be resuming Houston-area deliveries today, so there's no telling when I'll get my spinning wheel. I realize I am lucky that being without my package is the worst of my concerns at a time like this, but dammit, I am impatient! I thought I was being responsible by thinking about my purchase for a few days before buying it, but in reality I should have bought the thing the minute I decided I wanted it, and it would have been here before the hurricane.

The grocery store by our house is back open with no long lines, so I was able to replenish my vinegar supply and get some dyeing done: