Finished Project, etc.

This is my latest finished project, a Confederate Civil War uniform for the son-in-law to be of a friend. The suit was a surprise gift from the bride, so it has not received a final press in this photo as we expected that there may be alterations.

Made from a commercial pattern from a well known company.

The colored part of this Valley Vogue hat is my handpsun soy silk spun super thin and single ply:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12313328

I am currently spinning the last of the luscious alpaca roving that I received from Northstar Alpacas and planning an original scarf design for it.

Today I received the cutest card from nadineandkathleen :
http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=8895818

I was the lucky 110th person to heart their shop. Mine is two shy of 150 hearts and I am now trying to think of something to keep the appreciation going.

Find of the week: Spinning wheels at ford4him on etsy : http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12168224

And looms for weaving and knitting and many other wonderful items at woolhandcrafts:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=11790

Spring, Spinning, Sewing

Spring has sprung in Western MA. The birds are building nests, forsithya is blooming, the trees are budding, the grass is growing, AND it's been sunny and warm.

Which is good for yard clean-up, but not for spinning.
This is last weekends haul from rose bushes run amuck along a 20 foot alley way, next to my husband's piano shop.



I finished spinning the custom order of cormo. Here it is, ready for dyeing. 653 yards of springy 2 ply. 1306 spun yards total, at 2 hours per 200 yards, approx. 7 hours of spinning and another nearly 3 of plying and skeining. I ordered the dye from Halcyon and plan to do the dyeing this weekend. They have great instructions to go with. The yarn will be hand painted in sea greens and blues with a touch of raspberry.

My first thrill of the week was the gift of this book, Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 1 (I think there are 3 in the series) which is a must have for a costumer. I've made at least five of the dresses in it over my career and am so happy to have a copy of my own. The second was being hired by a local dress company as an Office Assistant/Patternmaker/Shop Assistant. Sunday I'll be going to see the Yarn Harlot at the Calvin.

What's in Your Dye Pot?

Today is a beautiful day here in the northeast. Great day for dyeing.




Into the dye pot went this skein of Rambouilet 2 ply handspun,
some magenta and warm brown dye and some vinegar.






This is what came out. No brown in view. Looks more magenta and wine. Much more interesting than peach. It's still wet so will probably be lighter when it dries.







This is 15 ounces of luscious cormo for a custom spinning job. I decided to spin it first and dye it later.





This is the first two ounces spun.