I Dyed That Day (Part the Third) (And some other yarn)

Hiya from a.,

Here is just a couple of things. First is my second attempt at dying roving and spinning it up. This time I remembered to take a photo of the dyed roving:



This roving then became this small bit of yarn:



It has been called Summer Yarn, Winter Version. Here at AnarchyCox we've decided that all yarn titles will be plays off of song names. Now it might interest you to know that this was the same fiber as the cream and brown yarn you saw spun up in the first spinning post, shows just how much a little food colouring can change things.

The other I have to show you is my first attempt at spinning merino. Now this is only a small sampling of the red merino fiber that I have, I just couldn't wait to ply some any longer. I still have to spin up probably another three ounces or so. But I think it has turned out pretty well:



When it is all done it will be turned into a scarf for my dad.
Now being a Friday post, and everyone deserves a treat on Fridays, enjoy a picture of our cat:



That's all.

Twisted Peppermint (or I Dyed that Day part the second)

Hiya from a.,

So the first thing I have to show you is this:



This is some handspun yarn that I did this week, it turned out pretty well. What is more exciting about it, is that it is also spun from roving that I dyed myself. I did splotches of green and pink, and then when it spun up it created the variety that you see here. I'm calling this Twisted Peppermint.

Next up is the finished scarf from the handspun yarn I made from the BFL Moulin Rouge (the end photo of You Spin Me Right Round). I went for a very open pattern to really show off the changes in the yarn:



I think it turned out kind of neato and it was nice to whip up a scarf in two days, as a lot of my crochet recently has been with fine yarn, which takes awhile to finish.

Finally we have a skirt that I made. I can't give you a specific pattern as it was just a lot of guesswork based on three different ideas I was putting together. Mainly this exists because, well, who doesn't love some eyeball fabric?



I know that that picture is a little dark, so here is a close up of the skirt, to really highlight the eyeball cutouts:



Enjoy the various items. And also make sure to enjoy the various cds that show up in the background of our pictures (in one you have the best of the Monkees, and in another the Reverend Horton Heat) That's all.

A Mixed Bag (it's funny because there is an actual bag)

Hi from a.,

So I got a few different things finished up in the last couple of days that I want to show you. First up is my finished handspun. This is the Moulin Rouge that there was a photo of in media res at the end of the spin right round blog post. Here is the finished product made up into two different yarn cakes:



I'm still a bit uneven and joins can still be a little rough, but overall I am pleased with this attempt, and think that I will definitely crochet something with it.

Next up is a lap blanket that I made for the chair I sit in, in the living room. I tend to sit in this chair for crafting, or just general hanging out with r. While I like big blankets, I thought that something smaller would work here. It is a pattern from interweave crochet, that I slightly adapted to suit my needs.



r.'s mom had picked me up this yarn at the big spinrite winter sale and it took a couple different blanket attempts before I figured out what it wanted to be.

Finally, we have r.'s new school bag. He wanted something fun, but sturdy as he tends to be a little rough on bags. His last main bag was an Andy Warhol pattern, so rather that something that was really Pop/Post Modern, whatever you want to call it, I went slightly more retro/fun/kitchy:





The bottom is made of canvas, so that it can be tossed on the ground and the inside lining (which is the bowling fabric that created the patches on the front) is also lined with medium interfacing to add some structure. The front side has a pocket for keys, and the back has a pocket for a water bottle. Upon seeing himself heading out to school last night, r. proclaimed "Hey, I look like the bassist in an indie band." That's all.

You Spin Me Right Round

Hiya from a.,

So it is time to talk about spinning yarn. It is something I learned how to do a few weeks ago, as a number of people in the yarn crew (aka the freaky little bitches) use both spinning wheels and drop spindles. A couple of us were interested in trying drop spindles as they are portable, cheap, and relatively easy to pick up the concept. Getting good is a steeper curve than the initial learning. So we had lessons and at first it wasn't going great for my, until I remembered that c., had said that sitting up high really helps. So I parked my butt on the computer table, and lo and behold it started to click for me.





So let's walk through the process a little. First you buy some fiber/roving. There is this great shop in town called the Fiber Studio, that sells tons of fiber at reasonable prices, and the woman who owns it is just as sweet as can be. The next step is to spin on the spindle which eventually results in a single. Right now I spin my singles in a clockwise direction.





So then you decide whether you are going to make singles, 2, 3, or even 4 ply yarn. As of yet I've stuck with 2ply, so what I've found best is to make a tight ball with the two singles together and then you spin it on the spindle counterclockwise to make yarn. Wash, dry, and you have yarn. Here are a couple examples of my stuff so far.





So, there you go. I have one final picture for you that kind of shows all the pieces together. It is with this crazy awesome BFL that I got at Depth of Field here in town, with the colourway being called Moulin Rouge. In the picture you will notice my high tech bobbin. When you have a single done and need the spindle for the next single, you are supposed to let the yarn hang out on a bobbin (or wrap into a ball, just something). People own these lovely wood bobbins, I use t.p. rolls with a notch cut in. Take care.

Addendum

r: If you look closely, yes I do let paintings dry on pages torn from the New York Review of Books. What a poncy twit am I!

r: Here are photos of my two latest paintings and #s 2 and 3 in my "Boom Boom Revolution" series. These are a little different from the first installment as they are larger, on canvasboard instead of canvas (I think I like canvas more), and the cat is silkscreened on to the prepared back ground. They were a bit of a pain in the arse as I had to correct the screen twice before I got these images to print right (hey kids, this is what test prints are for so remember to do them or else you may become cranky cats). The blue one's lettering is a combination of sharpie and paint and I'm thinking I may do most future lettering with the sharpie or graffiti marker because I liked the control and the not having to cut stuff out. The white slogan is clearly from 1984, the blue is based on a WW2 british propaganda poster. Yes, that's a little subversion on Boom Boom's part since he just displaced the crown, consider this our response to Robert Donat's "colonial accent" in the 39 Steps Britain!

Happy Easter

Hiya from a.,

Not much to say just want to wish everyone a Happy Easter, or a good Passover (which may actually be done now, not quite sure). Anyways, here is a bunny with a big puffy tail that I made as a thank you gift for a friend who taught me how to use a drop spindle. I quite enjoy how the button eyes give the bunny a nice, perturbed look. Enjoy.