Spinning anyone?

It's been a long while since I spin anything. Here's the fiber I predrafted a few days ago. It's my own handdyed corriedale. Even though the fiber is very easy to open and I really didn't need to predraft it, I like to do it anyway because I am spoiled from spinning the batts.

Store is updated this week

Yesterday, I added four brand new handdyed handpainted merino wool blend to the shop.  They are all one-of-a-kind handdyed in small batch.  The wool blend is 60% superwash merino, 30% bamboo, and 10% nylon.  Have you try spinning this blend? Oh, it is so soft and fun to spin.  Merino is general short fiber but bamboo helps make it stronger.  A bit of nylon makes it a great choice for spinning sock yarn or lace.  Your fabric will drape very nicely.

Try it!

Today I am going to add some BFL and Corriedale.  So come take a look at Fiber Monster.

♥ Shop Update ♥ With New Free Style Batt Series

This new Free Style Batts Series are so much fun to card. They are a
dream to spin too. They are mostly one of a kind batts as I dyed in
small batch.

Enjoy!!!

March 22-26 Update on Etsy

Here're some handpainted corriedale wool tops for this week update on Etsy. Next week update will be some fresh new handspun yarns and some one-of-a-kind wooly batts. Let see how fast I can card them.

Have a fabulous weekend! And happy crafting :)

UFOs. Yes.

Unfinished object with an s. Let me know if you are a knitter and have only one unfinished project sitting around.

I have been wanting to get back to some of the UFOs and decide what to do with them. I know that many of them are done with knitting but what is left is either seaming or weaving in ends. I am terribly bad with seaming. It the least fun part of knitting. But I've got to do it, right? May be spending an evening mindlessly weaving ends in front of TV wouldn't be so bad. We'll see how it goes.

This week went by so fast. I got some wool dyeing done today. Not much done on the knitting or spinning department but that's OK.

Happy knitting/spinning

Store Updated

These are one-of-a-kind handpainted tops. 100% Corriedale wool.

Shop Update: New One-Of-A-Kind Handdyed BFL Wool Tops

I just updated my etsy shop with these one-of-a-kind handdyed
Bluefaced Leicester wool tops. Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Collage

Valentine's Day Collage

Hello February!  Here are some of my selections for Valentine's Day.  You can find more information at my Etsy here.

See you online.

First Cowl

This is the first cowl I knit and I love it!  And I know that it is not going to be the only one I knit.  This cowl is done mostly in front of TV, two nights to be exact.  I casted on Tuesday night and I already forgot what I was watching on TV.  But I remember that I finished it while watching the Prez's State of the Union Address.  I repeated the pattern 3 times and got to the length I like.  The pattern said to block it but I am not going to as yet.  I am going to wear it to the play this weekend.

My handdyed handspun yarn, 100% merino wool

From skein into ball.  Ready to knit

Darkside Cowl

Yarn: Fiber Monster's Handspun Yarn - personal collection.  100% merino wool, 165 yards, chunky weight.

Pattern: Darkside Cowl by Sarah Fama.  I found her pattern on Ravelry.

This is a great project for handspun yarn.  And guess what? If your ears get cold, you can pull it up and wear as an earwarmer!  I am going to make more.  How about you?

Shenanigans

It's sock shenanigans! Two new pairs of socks to add to the pile.  The small pair is a demo one I knitted when I tried to figure out how to knit two socks on two circular needles.  At first I tried it with just one 40-inch long circular needles.  It didn't work.  Too much yarn management and it was all twisted and tangled.  Using two circular needles technique works much better for me :)

Knitted from 100% wool commercial yarn I handdyed in green and purple.

This one is from shetland fleece

The same handspun yarn I used to knit Shetland Triangle Shawl

I got the fleece from a local farm.  It was a long process to get this pair done: washing, carding, dyeing, spinning, and knitting.  I knitted them on Addi Turbo size 2.  Nice snuggly fit those toasty toes :)

Hooray...Let's See Some 2010 New Carded Batts

Yeah, after several color testings, I came up with these batts :)

Aladdin 100% Merino Wool

Jumpwee 100% Merino Wool

Spyte 100% Colonial Wool

Yowdon 100% Merino Wool

There are more new colorway in the pipeline. I just haven't got around to take photos. So many things to do, so little time...

Happy spinning!

Fiber Talk

Today I was organizing my fiber bins and found that I actually have some handdyed wool tops that didn't get tagged or photographed at all. It's good thing that I keep my fiber safe and clean. But it's bad thing that I didn't notice what was in the boxes. So I spent this afternoon taking the photos, tagged, and listed them on my etsy store.

Merino Top - 588202

 Banana Boats - Merino Top

Moccasin BFL Top - 6471

When I found them I thought I could just add them to my stash.  But then I looked at my stash shelves (notice an "s" there) thought long... and hard and decided that these fibers should go to good home.  Plus there are wonderful spinners and lots of fiber artists out there who could turn these handdyed wool into something spectacular.  It will be wonderful to see the finished projects.  So send me some pics.  Better yet join Fiber Monster's Group at Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/fibermonster

You will get a one-time offer FREE shipping on your next purchase at my etsy shop http://fibermonster.etsy.com.  Let me know before you place an order.  I can get it taking of for you or email me for revised invoice before payment.

And as I continue to organize my studio, I probably will have another surprise to show you.

I also spent time on spinning.  Both are spun in single and bulky weight.  I planned to knit a cowl with Proton multicolored merino.  The other handspun yarn in rainbow is self-stripping designed for a hat.  I spun it from the last Rainbow corriedale top I dyed.  This one didn't make it to the shop.  Love it too much to let go.

Proton Merino Batts

Proton merino handspun yarn close up

Proton is ready!

Rainbow corriedale on Majacraft Rose

Rainbow handspun yarn close up

Rainbow is ready!

That's all for now folks. 

New Carded Batt Colorway

In case you haven't been to the shop lately, I have some new batts up.


Kinetic Merino/Tencel Blend


Hussar Merino/Tencel Blend


Green Meadow 100% merino wool

So check it out!

Carding...and more carding

I had too much fun washing, dyeing, and carding. It's been a productive week for me. The shop is updated and I am happy to present these to you.


Swirl

Mandarin Orange

Deep Purple

Dart Fire
These are custom blend carded fiber batts that are very sweet to spin. I chose mostly monochrome colors this time for easy color coordination with your stash!

I also manage to squeeze in some moment for spinning too.


I handdyed these rovings a couple weeks ago. The one in the front is Superwash Merino/Bamboo/Nylon 60/30/10 blend. The one in the back is the 100% Merino Top. As you can see, the bamboo top took the dye a little different.

And below is how it spun up. You may not notice the difference in the photos. But the bobbin on the left is bamboo blend. It's shiny and very easy to spin. I can spin it fairly thin if I want to. The bobbin on the right is pure merino, my all time favorite fiber.



Half are spun, another half left to go. Then move on to plying....

It's been a week already?

I can't believe another week past by so quickly. It's been a productive week for me. I spun one of my handdyed BFL roving "Low Tide" and made 2-ply worsted weight yarn.



The roving below here is Corriedale wool handdyed on Sunday.



I'm thinking fingerless mittens. One pair for me and one pair for my hubby :)

Fiber Monster Store Update!

Yes, we have an update today! Lots of new goodies especially in the handdyed section.

Here is the latest addition to my stash. I handdyed and spun this up a couple weeks ago.

Update at Fiber Monster - Home for Handspinners

We have some new handdyed fiber at Fiber Monster - Home for Handspinners today. I dyed small batch this time so once they are gone, they are gone. Happy spinning :)

What happened to July?

I don't even know where to begin. Since Blacksheep, I put in some extra hours on my other part-time job (non-fiber related.) Then I took two weeks off for much needed vacation, came back, and was swamped with work again. I am not complaining, OK? I am lucky enough to have a job. So all is cool. It just that I wish I have more time with my little fiber business.

I haven't been spinning much during the last month. But guess what? There are lots of knitting going on here.


Currawong colorway is handdyed by me :)


Also first sock pattern designed by me.


Started on 7/11/2008. Finished 8/14/2008.


Freshy colorway is handdyed by me :)


Simple stockinette stitch pattern.


Worsted weight yarn made fast knitting. I finished the pair in 2 days!

And last but not least...

Miss Clapotis. I am on section 3.

This is how my August goes. How about you?