Oops!…..

Another wheel? Um….blushes I’m afraid so. I know, I think it’s crazy, I’m crazy. It’s an addiction.

I brought a Lendrum, the one where you have to wait months and months, the one where there is a waiting list, the one where there is only one dealer in UK. Although I have to admit, I am very very lucky, ONE WEEK was all I had to wait. My heart goes out for those who had to wait 9 months for their wheel. It’s a terribly long time to wait for something. I’m sorry.

She spin’s wonderfully and smells divine. The maple wood gives off a beautiful scent. It’s becoming a habit to sniff her every so often. Holly joins me in our morning sniff, we’re mad! We then sniff the Suzi, it’s our new routine!

It doesn’t spin quite as smooth as my Suzi but she does spin well, quiet and smooth and damn sexy too!

She was my first love, the wheel I lusted after when I wanted a spinning wheel but wasn’t prepared for the long wait. Now I have her and my Suzi, my heart is content, very content. They are both beautifully made and a joy to spin.

Now I must have another sniff.

Silky Textured Shawl…..

Textured Shawl Recipe, Malabrigo Silk Merino ~ 3 skeins ~ Cape Cod~ 5.5mm needles.

CO 5sts, knit 2 rows.
I followed the increase pattern until I got 35st.

Textured pattern, I had one extra st before the centre st which I knitted, M1L, slm, k centre st, slm, M1R, K1 then continued with the pattern.
Wrong side, K2, purl to last 2 sts, K2.

16 rows in st st
16 rows in textured pattern
16 rows in st st
14 rows in textured pattern
16 rows in st st
12 rows in textured pattern
12 rows in st st
12 rows in textured pattern
22 rows in garter st

If you cast off tightly, I would suggest you go up a needle size.

Twilight handspun Shetland 2 ply, purchased at the Spinning Guiild at the weekend. Approx 220yrds…what weight? No idea, maybe sports weight. Shetland is so lovely to spin, its not the softess of fibers but is a great fiber for a newbie.

On the bobbin right now is a batt of BFL that I dyed almost to a semi solid lilac, really intense in colour and so hard to photograph. Im spinning this as fine as I can get it, then will dye up another batt in maybe a variegated colour and ply them both, see what interesting handspun I can come up with! I want yardage, plenty yardage so I can knit it up into something.

Spinning is addictive, is an obsession, I can’t get enough of it! I must knit it up though…….Have I knitted anything with them?, Um, well. no but I will.

Lucky Winner & A Surprise….

OH MY!!! You are an interesting lot! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading all your wonderful comments. You’ve all been so busy with lots of projects, some of you have several on the go, whilst some have just one, like me. You are a creative bunch too with some wonderful names for the handspun, very interesting.

Right…lets get down to business. I have a surprise for all my wonderful readers.

Weilangta Forest by The Thylacine 100% Cheviot approx 103yrds 94gms

Whilst you’ve been commenting on my blog, of course I’ve been spinning and guess what? This will be awarded to the second random number drawn out! OH YES, two chances to win! Doesn’t that make you squeal with joy? Woooohooo!  Just my way of saying  THANK YOU to all who have taken time to read and post a comment. You are all so wonderful!

OK…..quit the babbling, you ready…lets go! Good luck everyone.

The first number from my random number generator is  9…….Mary Ellen.

The 2nd number is 58……TJ

Congratulations and sorry to those whose number didn’t get chosen. Winners, please contact me to claim your handspuns!! This has be so fun!!! I think I’ll do another competition again someday, so please, drop by again!

Simple Contest……

Come to think of it, when was the last time I had a contest, a give away? A long time ago, thats when…….A skein of yarn, spun by me, on my Majacraft Suzi Pro, washed, twirled, twanged and whacked from this:

to this:

Dyed by FeltStudioUK  BFL approx 90gms 128yrds 13wpi

……….can be yours. So what do you have to do to win this? Well…..it’s simple, leave a comment, tell me something, your favoutite things, the size of your feet,  what’s in your handbag, what you’re knitting/crocheting, an embarassing moment,  what brings you to my blog, likes and dislikes, inspirations, what would you knit with this yarn, or maybe you can give a name to this handspun……anything!!! Simple!!….easy peasy lemon squeezy!

One lucky winner will be chosen using the Random Number Generator.  Last date for your comments will be Sunday 10th May and at 10pm BST when I will announce the winner. So post a comment!

Bad Spin, Good Spin….

Now when is that Yarnsnob going to show us some spinning I hear you all cry? Ok Ok…here goes……my first attempts, which I trashed but dug out of the bin so I can remember how crap I was! Art yarn maybe? Look closely….there are coils and plenty of them! See the twists? YAY! YARN!

It does get slightly better, really it does…..look this IS Art Yarn

…..and better still……there’s a bit of normal plying here

and navajo plying here……

a spin kept as singles…..

and…….Look SUCCESS! I did it! I’m having a real blast with my new toy……is this addictive or what!

Note to myself…..you can’t spin merino yet, so avoid until you can.

New Addition…..

There’s a new addition in the snob household. It’s not the meows of a kitten nor is it the cries of a baby. It’s not the sound of an engine of a new car either. So what is it??? Well…. she’s green, smooth, curvy, solid, sexy and very HOT HOT HOT! She’s my new toy…….

Majacraft Suzi Pro. A spinning wheel, gifted to me by my darling Mr Snobs as my birthday present. Awww isn’t she a beauty? (can you see Holly?)

For weeks I had been reading reviews on wheels and finally set my heart on the Lendrum DT but having to wait weeks, maybe months for one? No No. I want a wheel and I want it now. Woke up one morning, called a dealer in the UK and luckily she had one in stock. Ordered Tuesday arrived Friday. Now that’s fast!

I’ve been having so much fun with her. Not quite a pro yet but I’m getting there! I spun coils and lots of them, thick and thin and a bin full of scraps. Soon, I shall spin something that resembles yarn! Practice, practice, practice.

Something Beautiful…..

…..lovely handspun yarns from Sheknitgans aka Coley, Take a look at her beautiful spun yarns.

 

Raspberry Mocha, a beautiful combination of brown and raspberry coloured merino, wonderfully spun into something so soft and divine. I could not resist.

A lovely gift from a wonderful friend Sheknitigans - Knitted Gifts, Scarf Style and handspun yarn from her collection.

 

Two ”must have it” books for your collection : Knitted Gifts and Scarf Style. We’re both working on the Ene scarf from one of the books, a soul sucker project as she has named it and she’s right about that!  It’s taken the life and soul out of me, cast on 375sts……..3 times. That’s 375+375+375= Don’t tell me, I can’t add up. Third time lucky though as I finally got going lol.

More on that later.

Motlen Lava – a mix of grey and purple with a hint of  sparkle! Lovely!

Check out her store for more yummy handspun yarns.

Hear Me Roar, Hamani Stole & Retail Therapy….

No more sitting on the toilet seat (which I broke with my big bum) no more imprints on my bum and no more trying to get a signal!! Yay! I’m back on the internet at a whopping 108mbps rather than 54mbps……zzzoooooommmm!!!! I was up and running in no less than 20 minutes!! The first one I installed for a friend took 6 hours, second one took one hour. Getting faster but still don’t know what I’m doing or what the technical terms mean. Anyway……rooooooaaaarrrrrrr!!!!! whizzzzzz!!

OK…..don’t want to bore you to death with all that techy stuff so lets see what I’ve got to show you.

Well, I whipped out Mr S credit card, thought it was the most sensible thing to do and did a little bit of retail therapy, thought I’d treat myself to a few things.

Sock Blockers. It was about time I bought some of these. When I first started knitting socks, I didn’t see the point in having these. I used to just let the socks just mould onto my feet after knitting and besides, the socks are on your feet and won’t be seen. But since I have decided that I am going to start my Christmas knitting and everyone is going to get socks this year, whether they like it or not and tough titties if they don’t, I thought they would look better if blocked. What do you do? Do you bother to block your socks? Oh……these socks have been hibernating for months!!! So it’s socks socks socks for everyone and I have loads of patterns that I want to start.

Then I decided I NEEDED some roving

On the left is Merino roving and the right is pencil roving, bought from The Yarn Yard

Check out her sock yarns…..gorgeous!

Many of you have been asking how my Hanami stole is coming along. I still Luuurrve it and it’s coming along nicely.

I’m finding my first knitting experience of chart reading very easy with just a few glances just to remind me what the symbols mean. I’m wanting to finish the stole for mid November for a christening which I am really looking forward to as the father of the baby has some Scottish ancestors and that means Scottish = Kilts = Mr S. Oh yes…I am hoping he will have to wear a kilt for the ceremony which means I can get some photos of him and the father wearing kilts! Men in kilts? A turn on or turn off??? lol. Let there be wind which will whoosh up the kilts and reveal……eemmmm well, I’ll leave that to your imagination.

Have a great day my bloggy buddies!

How NOT To Drop Spin…..

This is the way NOT to drop spindle…..spin near your cats bed, as you will drop the spindle and frighten the life out of her. She will then shoot out of bed like a shot, taking your roving with her which is attached to the spindle. Thinking she is being chased by something freaky she’ll run like hell around the house!! You will have a hard time catching her and attempts to unravell the roving caught between her nails on her paws are undescribable…..Poo!

She will then look at you with frustration in her eyes and a frown, (which is so funny and yes they do frown!!) “what the flaming heck you do that for, you stupid woman?” look on her face as she glares at you with her eyes.

Oh my poor baby (my cat, that is) was rather confused and dazed poor thing. She now looks at my spindle with hate and fear and I don’t blame her. Almost another major disaster.

Well, after detatching my roving from her and spindle, did you think I was going to spin with Holly attached??? Eeekkk,  I did manage to spin.

I think I overspun in certain places but I am getting the hang of it and much prefer the top whorl method to the bottom. Mr S said…I see you’re getting the hang of it, I told you that’s the way to do it…..smart ass!!

I set the twist and blocked a small section of the yarn and this is what it looks like. Novelty yarn maybe? If you’ve never spun before, you should give it a whirl, what are you waiting for? It’s fun, but don’t spin near your pets though!!

Now Plying?…..where do I start?

Ooooh!! You Handsome Thing….

I’m talking about my new toy that I’m so excited about, not my Hubby, although he’s handsome too

I decided to have another attempt at spinning, might be another disaster but I REALLY REALLY want to learn to spin my own yarn. I am determined this time and there’s no stopping me. Are you ready for a major tantrum and a rage? I’m not going to give up so easy this time. I will be brave and hope that it will be better than this major disaster. I will spin and spin until I can spin no more. So stand back and hold your breath!

Inspired by Gnomiejo, who said she spun for the first time (She kidding ?? ) have you seen her first attempt?  I purchased a Top & Bottom Whorl Spindle and it’s so damn pretty (ahem, not sure which is the top or bottom tho.) Even if spinning isn’t for me, my spindle is just beautiful just look at. I’ll just place it amongst my stash of yarns and pretend I can spin. I’ve been twirling it everyday since I got it without the roving though (cheat) Hee. 

Made with Plywood, Pitch, Pine and Yew as a special request order, I had this made with a weight of approximately 75gms. I haven’t a clue where to start so fingers, toes and eyes crossed, take a deep breath for me please, I SHALL SPIN! Woot Woot!! Yeah Baby!

……..Oh you can breathe now

Don’Cha Wish You Could Spin?

I’ve never spun wool before and I had bought a Turkish Spindle a few months back hoping that one day I would be able to spin my own yarn. I thought….yeah…that’s easy peasy, I can do that no bother. Well how wrong I was. Just look…

No matter how many times I tried to master it, standing on the table, spinning sitting down I just couldn’t do it. As the Turkish Spindle creates a centre pull ball, I just couldn’t figure out how it could form a ball. “It’s not working, wheres the ball? Why isn’t it spinning?”

Mr Snobs said…the yarn spins at the top, twists and then you wind it around the base!!! Doh!!!! He’s never spun before, so he says…….only on the dance floor!! Oh!!! I see, I get it now!!! So again I tried, no luck. The spindle has gone to a new home now and hope that person will have better luck than me.

Then this arrived this morning…..

its beautiful. I had forgotton I had ordered it but I have no spindle. So I am on the look for another spindle in hope that I can master it and have come across Spindolyn (US shipping only……uh??) She makes it look ever so easy, such a natural at it and I want to get my grubby hands on one. Anyone tried it?