I moved to WordPress!

I can't take Blogger anymore, so I have moved over to WordPress.

http://mandalinn.wordpress.com

If you want to see more of my crazy life, please update your Bloglines, Blogroll, etc. I would love to have you come and visit still!

Manda

Finally, I did it! Sock weight yarn!

Here is my latest handspun, called Sherbet. Roving was from Stony Creek on Etsy. I finally got down to a sock weight yarn and pretty consistant. It is 270 yards of 2ply, 4oz of Fresian & Shetland wool.

I am super happy as to how it came out, while not the softest wool, it is strong and has a great sheen to it. Now to find a project for it. :)

As soon as my hip has recovered I am on to some awesome superwash merino I have waiting for me.

Also, I am considering moving my blog over to WordPress, I will let everyone know if I do it for good. I like Blogger, but WordPress seems to offer a bit more of what I am looking for.

Well it is time for a new wheel....

I love my Lendrum ST, it is a great wheel and I love the portability, the look, the price and all that it offers. Except, one big thing......I cannot do the single treadle anymore. I have issues with my hipjoints and will need surgery sooner than later and the single treadle is just killing me. I am okay if I work both sides equally, but not just one side. She is a great wheel and has taught me how to spin, but it is time for me to start looking.

So I am going to have to sell her and move on. I will offer her here first, in case anyone is interested in a slightly used, perfect condition Lendrum ST Complete pacakge (It includes a tensioned Lazy Kate, drive band and 4 bobbins. Wheel diameter is 19". Ratios are 6, 8 and 10 to 1, plus the jumbo plying head with large orifice, plying drive band, one large bobbin (ratios: 5, 7 and 9 to 1) and the fast flyer (ratios: 12, 15 and 17 to 1).) I will also throw in some wool to get started with and a few extra goodies thrown in. :) The only things wrong with it is that the tension band on the lazy kate needs a new rubber band and that I am missing a bushing for one of the bobbins (it is a cheap part, less than a dollar I think).

I am asking $400 OBO for her plus exact shipping via UPS or FedEx in the US. She is less than a year old and spins beautifully. Just contact me at mandalinn@gmail.com and let me know if you are interested. Thanks!

If anyone has any advice on a good double treadle, let me know, right now I am considering the Lendrum DT, Majacraft Rose or Kromski Symphony. But I am still just beginning to look right now.

Great mail day and 2 new rovings!

Well today was a crappy day, then the mail came and I once again am very happy. LOL!

Here's what came. If you are in HollyEQQ's Batty Babes Club and don't have this month's batt yet, don't peak unless you want to be spoiled, K?????

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I got 3 packages today!!! One from Amazon with a Stitch-It Embroidery Kit that I have been coveting for months, also had the Hogwarts School Books set and the Alden Amos Big Book of Handspinning.

2nd package was 1lb of raw brown alpaca from Ebay, it is so soft and clean already. Just will take a quick scour and rinse and will be ready for carding!!

Lastly was my 1st month of HollyEQQ's Batty Babes Club, it is so fantastic!! This month is called Girl Gothic. It is 2.8 oz with wool, mohair, angelina, romney, BFL and silk noils all in a black, white and hot pink theme. Simply fantastic! I can't wait to spin it up!!!

I also have 2 new rovings up on Etsy for today, check them out!!

Dusk---4oz of hand-dyed Wool Blend roving

Withered---4oz of hand-dyed Falklands roving.

So now my day is looking up. I am going to go spin and clean a bit and then I am going to be dyeing up small bits in all sorts of colors for new batts I have in mind. They should be awesome. :)

Ahhhh Autumn.........

Autumn, the season that I miss so much here in FL. I miss the smells, the bite in the air and the leaves. Ahh the good old pumpkin patch and apple picking. We usually go to Georgia for a week to have our taste of fall, but with all of our trips (leave again on the 18th), we just cannot this year. :(

So to make up for it I did two new dyepots yesterday and will do some more today I think. Here they are:


Fallling Leaves; Romney roving, 4oz on Etsy

Autumn; Merino, 4oz, on Etsy.

I also just did a trade with ViralAnomaly on Etsy, she took my Technicolor Vision batts and I got her Bijou Superwash Roving, check out how fantastic it is! Make sure to check out her shop, I know I will be going back. ;)

My latest spinning, from StonyCreek on Etsy, it is Sherbet Wool Roving, a mix of Fresian & Shetland wool. I am going for a 2-ply fingering weight and I think I am getting it. :) Finally! Thin, thin, thin. ;)

I now have to show my sad spinning room, I think a bomb went off in it, not quite sure how it got this bad, but it is what I will be working on the next few days. LOL!

And now a baby update. Well it has officially been 13 months and nothing, not even a hint of a line. So we are moving on and going to be calling adoption agencies next week. I am so nervous yet excited. Please just send good thoughts/prayers/whatever you do our way. It is a huge decision and scary for us in many ways. But something I want more than anything, a child. I ache for a child of my own, no matter how he/she gets here, I yearn for one in my arms. It won't be an easy road but we will at least know that there will be one somewhere down in at the end and that is a comfort for me.

2 new Handspun yarns!

Parakeet Handspun, originally uploaded by mandalinn.

Here are my two latest yarns. The first is Parakeet, a Corriedale X yarn, spun from some awesome pin drafted roving off of Ebay. 110 yards of thick & thin candy striped goodness. So soft & squishy. Available on Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6921054

I am working with the dyer to get a bunch of it in bulk. I enjoyed spinning it so much.

Second is my first 'art yarn'. It is called Pink Sunday, it is 52 yards of mixed locks carded by me and then spun, with lots of whole locks left in. The pink/brown mix is from HollyEQQ it is BFL and the brown/ecru is my own New Zealand merino locks, undyed. I love how this turned out. Still deciding what to do with it. :)

Look what I found sunbathing by the pool!

Dyed wool, drying by the pool!, originally uploaded by mandalinn.

LOL! I found this wiley fiber sunbathing by the pool today. :)

Lincoln Locks, Finn-Dorset-Targhee X wool and Border Leciester Locks. All scoured & dyed by hand. My first time processing from scratch and might be my last. LOL! I have a bit of greasy fleece left, we will see. :)

Dyed in fall shade and after it is dryed I will be processing by carding and leaving some of the locks whole. They turned out nicely, but boy scouring wool is a PITA!

I have a bit left from the Finn-Dorset-Targhee X and the rest is processed. I don't think I will be doing that anytime soon, too messy & too stinky. I had a whole fleece that I had to throw away, it was just too disgusting. I got it for $4 though, so it wasn't much of a loss, besides my lunch. ;)

Whimsy Handspun 2-ply

Whimsy Handspun 2-ply, originally uploaded by mandalinn.

Here is my first finished spun yarn in a while, it is Whimsy; 140 yards, 2-ply, sport weight to bulky weight. Contains: Falkland, Merino, Recycled Denim, Mohair & Nylon. Batts were from Hobbledehoy on Etsy. www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=23459

I love how it turned out and it is super soft & squishy. Still deciding if I need if for myself or if I am going to sell it, we shall see.