Fiber Arts Friday: Estes Park Wool Market, 2013

I've said before, Estes Park is one of my favorite places and I make a point to visit the wool market every year.  This year it was on June 8th and 9th.

This is when I do most of my fiber, yarn and tool shopping.

I was on the lookout for a small drop spindle.  The one and only I had is quite heavy at 3 ounces.  The new ones are lovely and quite light at 0.77 and 0.98 ounces.

I also wanted to look for black yarn, white yarn and unusual rovings.  I forgot to look for the yarn but I was not disappointed with the selection of rovings and clouds.

First was a Romney Lamb + Alpaca blend.  I don't know what it is, but I love the way sheep's wool smells. :-)

Cotton was everywhere.  Surprising because I had not seen it on prior years.  I picked up a naturally colored brown sliver,

a white sliver,

and a large amount of Ginned Cotton.

The white cotton sliver is much softer than the brown cotton which makes sense since the white cotton has been bred for a much longer.  I'm very excited about the Ginned Cotton... there are little seeds in there that has me thinking I may be able to plant and grow my own... of course I'm sure that a huge amount of work.  ;-)

There is also some de-haired Bison in cloud form that is especially soft,

and a Bison + Tussah Silk roving.

Pure silk in a lovely cinnamon color that is not as silky as one might expect.  I have only spun silk in blends, so this one will be quite an adventure.

 A lovely cloud of cashmere,

And I added to my cashmere+silk stash.  This is a 50/50 blend.  :-)

And finally, the pièce de résistance, Qiviut!  This will need to be de-haired, but even the guard hair is super soft.

If it seems like quite a haul, I would have to agree.  But I always go with a canvas bag and cash in my pocket.  I'm done when either my bag is full or my pocket is empty... as you can see the bag was full, and I can tell you that my pocket was within a few dollars of being completely empty.  ;-)

I hope that you are having a fabulous Fiber Arts Friday.  :-)

Slow Living: July 2013

It almost seems too soon.... the last week or so has been quite comfortable, weather-wise.  We've had a few overcast and rainy days.  The breezes have been cooler and we noticed that the Cottonwoods are starting to change their leaves.  We are back into summer-like temperatures now, but Fall is just around the corner.

In the meantime, it's the July installment for the Slow Living Project.

NOURISH: Make and bake as much as possible from scratch. Ditch overpackaged, over-processed convenience foods and opt for 'real' food instead. Share favourite links/recipes/tips from the month here.

We usually spend a lot of time shopping at the Farmer's Market in the summers but this year, with the puppy, we've been spending a lot of time talking to people about our dogs at the Farmer's Market.... or I should say that Hubba has been.  I've been shearing most of those days.

There's been a little bit of vegetable shopping and a small amount of harvesting from our garden, otherwise Hubba has tried out of couple of new recipes for dinner.

PREPARE: Stockpile and preserve. Freeze extra meals or excess garden/market produce. Bottle/can, dehydrate or pickle foods to enjoy when they are not in season. Aim to reduce dependency on store bought items especially those known to contain BPA and other suspect additives. Stocking up on dry goods when prices are low counts too.

We have been making plans for our first Tibetan Mastiff Litter and this summer's alpaca breeding pairings and we are getting a large delivery of peaches later this week, so canning season is imminent.  yay.

REDUCE/Reuse/Re-purpose/Repair: Cut down on household waste by re-using, re-purposing and repairing. A ladder into a strawberry planter? A sheet into a dress? Share ideas and project links here, allowing others to be inspired.

Hubba is often unhappy with his haircut and I am an alpaca shearer.  So he suggested that I just cut his hair.  We'd save the cost of two haircuts a month and he doesn't have any issue with telling me how or where to make things shorter or more even.  lol.  So we bought a pair of lower-end clippers... so far, so good.  :-)

GREEN: up our lives. Start (or continue!) using homemade cleaners, body products and basic herbal remedies. The options are endless, the savings huge and the health benefits enormous.

The alpaca dog has a tough time with flies on his ears.  We had been using Neosporin to treat the affected areas without much success.  It doesn't stay in place very long and the flies don't seem to care about whatever happens to remain.  So I asked some friends and received some advice regarding fly deterrents.  In the meantime I started putting Vitamin E oil on the affected areas.  I know the Vitamin E will help the areas heal, and I'm thrilled to see that the flies are also avoiding the areas.

GROW: plant/harvest. What's growing this month? What's being eaten from the garden? Herbs in a pot, sprouts on a windowsill or and entire fruit/vegetable garden -opt for what fits space and time constraints. Don't have a backyard? Ask a friendly neighbour or relative for a small patch of theirs in return for some home grown produce, they may surprise you!

We had a baby.  :-)

and started harvesting zucchinis and our first tomatoes out of our garden.

CREATE: to fill a need or feed the soul. Create for ourselves or for others. Create something as simple as a handmade gift tag or something as extravagant as a fine knit shawl. Share project details and any new skills learnt here.

There was lots of spinning for the Tour de Fleece.

DISCOVER: Feed the mind by reading texts relevant to current interests. Trawl libraries, second hand shops or local book shops to find titles that fill the need. Share titles/authors of what is being read this month.

Certainly there's something to include in this category, but nothing is coming to mind.

ENHANCE: community: Possibilities include supporting local growers and producers, help out at a local school/kindergarten, barter or foodswap, joining a playgroup or forming a walking or craft group. Car pooling where possible and biking/walking instead of driving. Even start up a blog if you haven't already - online communities count too! Or maybe just help out someone trying to cross the street! The rewards for your time are often returned tenfold.

Shearing season continues.  

ENJOY: Life! Embrace moments with friends and family. Marking the seasons, celebrations and new arrivals are all cause for enjoyment. Share a moment to be remembered from the month here.

I met some old friends of Hubba's as they were passing through town.  While I had never met them before, I have heard about them for years so it felt like I've known them for ever.  It was such a fun visit.

We also met up with some other friends at a third friend's Distillery's grand opening.

There were a few trips to the river with Hubba and the dogs.

In the garden

My garden has been almost completely neglected this summer.  But somehow, in spite of my neglect we are on the verge of tomatoes

and cucumbers.

The herbs are doing well and we've harvested a few zucchinis.  :-)

Fiber Arts Friday: Tour de Fleece 2013, part 5

The Tour de Fleece is now over.... here's how the last few days went.

Friday, July 19

Saturday, July 20

Sunday, July 21

I sheared today and spun a little.

Epilogue

I didn't state it as a goal, but I was hoping to finish the full 5 1/2 ounces of cotton.  Then about half-way through the Tour I thought I'd be happy if I just filled the bobbin before the Tour was over.

Before:

5 1/2 ounces

After:

4 1/2 ounces

 

In the end, I'm really just happy that I was able to spin each day... and even one extra day during the Tour.  I had been waffling on whether to participate because I wasn't sure I had the time to dedicate.  I'm happy I did.  I enjoyed the camaraderie and while my cotton is not finished, I am a lot further along.  :-)

But with only one ounce spun in three weeks, I guess that means the cotton will take at least 14 weeks of spinning every day to finish it.  :-o

Happy Fiber Arts Friday.

Fiber Arts Friday: Tour de Fleece 2013, part 4

It's the end of the third full week of the Tour de Fleece.  Only a few more days to go.

Friday, July 12

Saturday, July 13

Sheared alpacas in Wyoming today, then spun for about 90 minutes.

Sunday, July 14

Sheared for two new clients today.  Not certain I'll get to the wheel... ok maybe just 5 minutes.  ;-)

Monday, July 15 - Rest Day

I didn't realize today was a rest day, so I spun for about 30 minutes before going to work.  I've said this before, but it really is a nice way to start the day.

Tuesday, July 16

Wednesday, July 17

We had a baby.

I managed to spin for 5 minutes too. :-)

Thursday, July 18 - Challenge Day

I decided to attempt to drop my new drop spindle... I was parking-and-drafting last week.  My first spindle is quite heavy at 3 ounces and will spin for a reasonable period of time.  But with it being so heavy, I've been nervous to spin some of my more exotic fibers.  So I found two much lighter spindles at the Estes Park Wool Market last month.  I've been using the heavier of the two to spin the Romney Lamb/Alpaca blend and have not been able to get it to spin for any length of time while dropping.  I thought it might improve as I spun more yarn, but so far, nada.  So at this point I don't know if it's my skills (possible) or the roving (also possible) or the spindle is just too light (not likely).

Old-Heavy on the Left, New-Light on the Right

But I had to go back to my old, very-heavy, 3-ounce spindle to get any dropping action.  ;-/

I'm down to 4 5/8 ounces of Cotton left... which means I spun 3/8 of an ounce this week.  Pretty sure I won't finish the Cotton this Tour since there are only a few days left.  ;-)

But I am ahead one day since I forgot that Monday was a "Rest Day."

Happy Fiber Arts Friday.

Introducing: Alpacamundo's Silas

It finally happened.

Apple had her cria.

He's a handsome Bay Black boy we're calling Silas.

Silas likes to eat, so he's off to a good start.

All of the dogs have met him, including Mr. Gunnison at 5 months old.

Alpacamundo's Silas is the son of Alpacamundo's Apple, the first cria born under our watch at our own farm and Enchanted Sky's Charlie Brown, our very first alpaca ever.

Fiber Arts Friday: Tour de Fleece 2013, part 3

More Tour de Fleece this week.  :-)

Friday, July 5 - Holiday from the Day Job

Today I had a real, honest-to-goodness day off.  We slept in.  I leisurely goofed around on Facebook and Ravelry for a while.  We did some chores around the house but I did not have to be anywhere or do anything for anyone today.  It's been a long time since that happened.

I got word of a bear in a tree nearby so I went to check him out.  It was a young black bear they think had been spooked by the fireworks.  Parks and Wildlife was on site.  They had the area taped off.  He was snoozing while I was there but came down on his own sometime in the night.

After a great day off, I only really spent about 10 minutes spinning,

Saturday, July 6

A trip to the Farmer's Market had me spinning on my very first supported spindle.  No photos, but a lady we met there was spinning a beautiful wool-silk blend for an eventual sock yarn and let me try a little.  :-)

Then we had a day trip with a couple hours in the car, so I spun a Romney Lamb/Alpaca blend while Hubba drove.  This is my first time using my new, super-light spindle.  It was all park-n-draft in the car, but I will get some more time while traveling later this week.

I'm afraid this is my alpaca for the Tour.  I don't have any other prepared alpaca and the only other camelids I have in roving form is llama.

Sunday, July 7

I started the morning with about 15 minutes of spinning cotton today.  It really is a lovely way to begin the day.  :-)

Monday, July 8 - Rest Day

I spun for about 15 minutes today to make up for not spinning on Day 1.

Tuesday, July 9 - Traveling

Travelling today for the Day Job.  It was such a long day but I was able to have dinner with some friends.  So I spun maybe 10 inches of the Romney Lamb/Alpaca blend.  Not a lot, but it counts.  :-)

Wednesday, July 10 - Traveling

Another incredibly long day.  I spun at the MSP airport while waiting for a delayed flight.  A bunch of passengers were upset about the delays, so there were a couple of Police Officers hanging around.  It seems people have forgotten about the "benefits" our modern Hub-and-Spoke air travel system.  :-/

Weather on the East Coast caused Air Traffic Control to hold flights in Chicago.  Our plane was coming from Chicago.  So while Southwest Airlines does not use a Hub-and-Spoke system, they do use Hub airports and are therefore affected by the traffic backups in the Hub-and-Spoke systems.

Then I spun while waiting at the DEN airport for the shuttle to my part of the state.

I did not spin on the plane because I was in the middle seat and didn't think it would be kind to elbow both of my seat-mates for two hours.  I also did not spin on the van because it was way too dark and frankly, by then the only thing I could think about was how anxious I was to see my pillow.

Hubba and the dogs gave me a great welcome home.  I'm pretty sure they love me.  :-)

Thursday, July 11

After the late night, I was able to sleep in a little and spun for about 15 minutes while making coffee before logging on for my first meeting.

I am no longer down a day and I have spun an alpaca blend.  So I'm feeling pretty good about my Tour de Fleece goals so far.  :-)

But last week I spun 1/2 ounce of cotton, this week 1/4 ounce of cotton.  Only 4 3/4 ounces to go.  Yes, there was other fiber involved this week, but I don't think I will finish this wad of cotton before the Tour is over in about 10 days.  ;-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday.