Fri Jan 11, 2008

Batty, batty, batty, batty, batty, batty, batty, bat!

1, 2, 3, count!

So yesterday, I went down into my newly usable basement kitchen to card some batts to take to spinning group.

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I carded 3 romney/alpaca batts, but only ended up spinning one, as it wasn’t spinning up as soft as I wanted it to, meaning I need to add more alpaca.

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(That’s about 7 ounces of washed alpaca fluff that is remarkably similar in color to my countertop).

Since you saw the basement kitchen last, I’ve added more shelves

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and a corkboard to pin various project notes and color inspirations to, along with a few pieces of the girls’ artwork.

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(That piece on the bottom right is a 3 dimensional depiction of the life of a silkworm that Abby made in class last year. It’s really, really cool, and theme appropriate)!

I navajo plied the batt spun last night to get it off of my bobbin, and surprisingly, it still made a very nice yarn. Good to know. I’ve washed it and it’s drying now.

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And this is interesting… Here are two skeins of yarn made with the same wool, and different colors of alpaca, one black and one that reddish tan color.

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The black skein is extremely soft and amazing, and that’s what I’m trying to recreate, this time, measuring and recording fiber amounts.

This morning, I carded a new batt that I’m trying to spin,

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but Clark is enjoying holding on to my whorl while it’s spinning, and plucking my driveband like a bass ’til it falls off. And laughing. So the spinning will resume at nap time. Stinker.

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I have some sock progress. I’m finished with one gusset, and almost done with the second.

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And after taking all of these pictures this morning, I noticed a very large smudge on my lens, which would explain why they all look a little overexposed and fuzzy, but I couldn’t bring myself to take them all again.

Lame.

3 Responses to “Batty, batty, batty, batty, batty, batty, batty, bat!”

  1. Elizabeth Says:

    That boy is thee cutest.

    I think it’s great that you’re cleaning and carding your own batts.

  2. Maggie Says:

    I love your workspace! I can’t help but be a little jealous because I long to be able to just leave my stuff sitting out when I’m not using it! I have to clean up and put everything away every time.

    Man, that Clark is a cutie!

  3. Stephanie Says:

    Very nice! The kitchen area looks so perfect for all of your carding and washing. Woohoo! I wish I had my own space for crafting in general. Mine right now is called the dining room table. THe socks are looking good! I can’t wait to see ’em both finished up.

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