Meanderings of a Mermaid

 Announcing the creation of a new fibre crafts guild in the Hill Country. The Mason Knitting and Spinning Guild. Okay, so that's a boring name....I am sure the new members will be able to come up with a jazzy title.  As with most guild groups the focus will be on education and also comaraderie. Probably we will focus primarily on knitting and spinning, but as demand changes, we will adapt. Teachers can be found amongst us all.  The group will start up on Nov 29 at the Seniors' Center in Mason Texas. All are welcome. For more info leave a comment here.

 So where do I begin. I've been too busy having fun to sit down and get into the internet much. There's been lots of topaz prospecting (no luck), some teaching of knitting and lots of crafting. A little house renovation is going on too. Above is a used drum carder that I just bought and I'm splitting the cost of it with a friend. We will have joint custody, I will get to play with it in the winter,and GM will get to enjoy it all summer.  Pretty cool! (By the way it is used to prepare fibres for spinning).  On the needles #1: I am working up a test sample of the Ebony Jewelwing Bag, a free Ravelry pattern offered by Mary Scott Huff. As usual, I am using up stash for this. After the lightest green I will move to a white band and then the soft yellow. I intend to use this pattern in a free workshop on Beginner Fair Isle techniques that I am teaching March 17th.  Here's another view of the dragonfly pattern as I am working it up.  On the ne...

 Here is the first bit off yarn produced off the Minstrel spinning wheel here at Home South. I am a beginner at this, having spent only a little bit of time spinning on the antique wheel at Home North this past summer. This fibre was given to me by two friends and some was washed and some wasn't. The more greasy fibre had lumps which translate into the poofy bits you will see below.  I washed the Romney wool after it was plied, and most of the grease and other junk came out no problem. In this second photo the two hanks are drying outside. I am learning about fibre preparation now and next time I will do the prep all before hand. That will make the fibre easier to spin. I found carding combs at an antique store and made my own hackle for blending and aligning fibres.  The final product of the gifts of Romney wool. It's about 166.5 m and 113g. It is very soft and after washing and whacking against the wall (really) the resulting yarn has bloomed nicely. And...