Super busy getting ready for
"Art in the Hollow" on Saturday.
I don't know what I was thinking yesterday when I thought I could do 6 birdhouses in one day.
The layout took a LONG time for so many pieces. So I had one or two in the rolling machine while laying out the others. I worked on them until 9 p.m. and finally finished shaping them this morning. They still need to be decorated and hangers added. One decided it wanted to be a vessel with sparkly mylar in the karakul fiber. They are all lined with Shetland Mule fiber and have coarser fiber on the outside for strength. One is made with Shetland britch wool, one is made with Lincoln fiber, and the rest are all made with Karakul fiber. It's fun seeing how the different fibers felt. I still have an Icelandic fleece to try.
I was working so hard on the birdhouses down in the basement, I missed the UPS guy when he dropped off my wool from Zeilingers. Finding this big box was a happy surprise when I went outside around 7.
I received 8 lbs of white combed top, 8 lbs. of moorit Shetland top, and two 2# quilt batts made of Ile de France/Dorset wool. Zeilingers will ship the dark Shetland Mule combed top when it's finished. I can't wait to see how that spins up!
I had to take a moment to spin up just a little of the white combed top last night. It's a mix of Shetland, Bluefaced Leicester and Shetland Mule fleece and neck fiber. Rather than throw out the finest areas of the fleeces due to excessive VM, I saved them until I had 8 pounds (washed) -- enough for a run of combed top.
Rocky is getting bigger and Stan says he's a going to be a good hunter someday. Here he is drooling over the Buff Chantecler chicks this morning. He has to learn the chickens are part of our family, so it is probably a good thing to have some in the house. I tried to get a broody hen to take them, but she hadn't been broody long enough to accept them.
Okay off to find some big buttons and copper wire in town. If you're near St. Paul tomorrow, stop in and see me at
Art in the Hollow, the weather is supposed to be perfect!
I hope you have a very successful weekend at 'Art in the Hollow'. Do you feel you have one product that consistently outsells others?
ReplyDeleteI've got to send in a bunch of fleeces for processing. I think I'll sell my drumcarder. Do you prefer spinning with combed top as opposed to roving? I've never used top. Maybe I'll try a little this year...
Thanks Nancy, I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow night. The soap and yarn sales are usually something I can count on wherever I go.
ReplyDeleteYes, I bought combs from Detta in 2002 and have preferred spinning top ever since. I love that it has no noils or VM. But I do get a lot of use out of my drumcarder for felting. I really like using batts for felting, the layout goes much faster that way. I'll drumcard my top when I'm felting.
Time for bed, I'll be on the road early tomorrow morning.
As promised, the things that went well at this show were note cards and matted photos. Only sold one little bar of soap and NO yarn. Except for the dyed skein of BFL, I didn't have the rest of the BFL yarn marked -- I think it was a sub-conscious effort to keep it for myself.
ReplyDeleteThe birdhouses really got a lot of interest! I need to finish them up a bit and they will be hung at the Kanabec History Center in Mora this week so see can see how the birds like them.