Regrets and Success

I got this lovely skein of 100% cashmere from the Hawkesbury Show a few months back. I finally pulled it out to get it started and stupidly decided I didn't need t use my umbrella swift to get it would up. 

This resulted in the below ungodly mess!

Cries loudly

Two evenings later I finally got it into a centre pull ball and started making the scarf pattern that came with it. 

Note to self - always use your swift as you always make a mess when you try and take the "quick" route. Thankfully I didn't break it or leave any knots. Worst case scenario Ravelry has a group dedicated to people who enjoy undoing yarn messes called Knot a Problem. There is even a thread about the worst mess every successfully fixed.

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Tour De Fleece - Day

Well we have just started the Tour de Fleece. What is that you ask? During the Tour de France us spinner can join the fun by spinning each day. Many spinning sellers and groups team up and some spinner go solo. I have teamed up with Ixchel's team as I have a heap of her Fiber I need to start using. I might also join some other teams, maybe Majacraft team and if there is a NZ team.

I will be posting my achievements as I go and learn a bit about this fun game

This year, the Tour de Fleece starts on Saturday July 2 and runs until Sunday July 24th, 2016.

Guidelines (NOT RULES):

• Spin every day the Tour rides, if possible. Saturday July 2 through Sunday July 24th. Days of rest: Monday, July 11th and Tuesday, July 19th. (Just like the actual tour.)
• Spin something challenging on the challenge days (usually the toughest high mountain stage: this year, it’s Stage 8, on Saturday, July 9th, when they will climb 4 mountains, including the 2115m high Col du Tourmalet, and Stage 15, on Sunday, July 17th, when they take on the Grand Columbier!
• Wear yellow on Sunday July 24th to announce victory. Why not wear yellow on any day you feel particularly successful? (Yellow is the color of the race leader in the Tour - but here we are all ‘race leaders’) Other colors if desired: Green (sprinter - think FAST), Polka-dot (climber - as in uphill), and white (rookie).

Teams: Join one, or many, or none.

• Peloton (the main group)
• Rookies (first years)
• Sprinters (fast and/or high mileage, like lace, sweater quantities, etc)
• Climbers (conquer mountains, big personal challenges)
• Breakaways (textured “art” yarns)
• Lanterne Rouge (you will participate as much as possible but you may skip days here and there)
• Maillot Blanc (This team is intended for our younger participants. Anyone under the age of 18 who wishes to take part in the Tour is encouraged to participate in the Maillot Blanc team. This thread will be monitored and is required to be kept at the equivalent of a G/U rating.)
• Wildcards (This is for people who want to form their own team. This includes sponsored teams, like those affiliated with a specific fiber shop or people who live in the same town, etc.)

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Akerworks Bobbins Review

One necessary product us spinners need and tend to have too many of (is there such a thing? Sorry no!) is bobbins! I have 11 types between all my wheels (with about 30+ in total), and because it was a fun idea here are all my bobbin types in a row!

Missing a Wee Peggy!! It's like an Ashford DD anyway. So 10 out of 11 bobbin types

Anyway.... I had known about Akerworks for awhile they not only do bobbins, but also 3d printed spindles, magnetic needle holder lazy kate and flyer threaders (there is some non-spinning stuff as well). I had been fascinated by the bobbins, but unsure due to the $USD to $AUD. Why the fascination about the bobbins? There are a couple of cool functions. First is this is a bobbin you can put in your pocket!

Picture from Akerworks.com

These flat pack bobbins allow use have a hollow composite core with two 3d printed ends. Because the ends are 3d printed this allows for the choice of not only several cool colours.

Picture from Akerworks.com

There is also a choice of different cool ends. 

Picture from Akerworks.com

They also have a large range of wheels they have bobbin for including Ashford, Hansen, Lendrum, Pocket Wheel, SpinOlution, Fricke, Kromski, Schacht, and Majacraft.  They cater for lots of different types of flyer types within the brands including double drive, jumbo, and lace. So what made me finally break the piggy bank and get these? Well, I have been loving my pre-loved Woolee Winder but have been unable to use it on my Aura due to the bobbins being 2cm or so too long. I noticed that they had Woolee Winder Majacraft compatible bobbins available so decided to go for it. To make the shipping a little be more palatable I also grabbed a Baby bobbin so I could ply on my lace flyer. 

The website is very well put together and easy to use. They also are very active on Ravelry where they frequently get USA members to be beta testers of their products and have a wishlist on which wheel/flyer types to consider engineering next. They are also quick with correspondence and shipping. 

I had initially just purchased the Majacraft WooLee winder and baby bobbins, then thought I should ask if the WooLee Winder one fit on the Aura. I did get told they do but had seen in the Ravelry chat they were still too long. I wasn't too worried as I could still use it on my Suzy.  I chose the Lotus design in in Emerald Green and the Honeycomb in Purple. Being the Aura is a bit special I was pleasantly surprised that all but the Bike Tire design was available to use on all Majacraft wheel types. It was under two weeks (like a lot under) to get it made and shipped and I got emails throughout to let me know how it was progressing. 

So excitedly I ripped open my package and found some nicely packed products. They came flat packed in special black gauze bags that has a separate area for the spool part and the round parts. They each had a small Akerworks card and there was a personalized thank-you letter that commented on how they liked my two colour combos.

Lovely hand written note

So I excitedly put the WooLee Winder one on my wheel and did it work........no. It was the same length. On inspecting the bobbin there was a part that pocked out more that I felt I could possibly sand back. This didn't work (or more so I didn't have the patience to get it down far enough). So I thought, as well, and got back to things.

Baby Bobbin Purple and WooLee Winder Bobbin Green

The baby bobbin is cute, it does run a bit noisier than standard bobbins, but my Suzie is an older edition so the drive shaft is a tad longer and things clack a little in general. So I don't hold that against the bobbin. I have done a full ply on it and it did well.

Showing the ball bearings and notches you use to attach

While I was exploring the Baby bobbin I noted something in the design. It was missing that middle section I found was protruding in the WooLee Winder version. So I unclipped the back part and clipped on the back section to the Winder version and low and behold...it was actually a tad too short! The two cog parts just touched, but they did touch! When I treadled my Winder did what it is supposed to do and wound!

Combo! The cog at the front of the WooLee Winder

Now you might remember I had this problem originally with my WooLee Winder on my Suzie and I just put a small washer on the shaft and it worked! So I tried the washer to give it the tiny push forward, but the random one I have is too big, but I am sure I can hit up a store for a cheap small washer (or even a rubber band!). I did try the shaft on the baby bobbin and different combos, but only the Woolee Winder bobbin with a different back end worked. 

So what started as sadness is ending in happiness! I have a bobbin I can use to combine my Winder and my Aura as I have been trying for ages to figure! What I might do when my piggy bank fills up enough again is when I order more (could do with 2 more) is to have a chat beforehand and figure out the exact combo that could work. With having so many different brands I am sure they have the right combo of front part with cog, shaft length and back part to make a perfect bobbin. I am also sure being able to advertise that this is possible might help another person like me. 

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Winter Wool Fest!

As I mentioned in my summary post my credit card got a huge working out at the Sutherlands Winter Wool Fair held by Sutherlands Spinners and Weavers. This group is very close, but does its classes when I am at uni sadly.

As you can see I have already started on one

I went there on a mission. It was 2 days after my birthday and I had missed the Canberra Wool Day. My first stop after saying hello to some friends was straight to Frank Williams Spindle booth. A friend who had gone to Canberra had bought one and I just had to have one after seeing it. I knew I wanted a small one, but was hard put deciding between the small and mini. So I got both! I had a great chat with Frank while I stood there spinning the different spindles (had to have the right spin as well as the looks). I even suggested/asked if he would possibly do distaffs as many of us were looking for some, but were only able to get them from America at a steep price. He seemed quite keen and is going to check things out after Bendigo Wool Show (wish I could go!).

After getting my first buy I decided to do a general look around before purchasing more.

My next purchase was at Virginia Farm Woolworks, they had a lovely set for scar felting with lots of little fun things to add. I also spied one of the Majacraft limited edition coloured bobbins (they are my local Majacraft dealer). While, there were some jokes about it spinning differently they started bringing out these limited edition yearly colours last year. This was right when I started spinning, so I am going to get one for each year of spinning and put the years on them to mark each spinning year. 

Lime bobbin! Scarf is grey and black with mauve

Then I stopped in at Glenora Weaving and Wool and fell for some silk for knitting and also the pin looms I have been seeing such cute designs from. 

Lovely coloured silk! Now for a pattern!

Finally I hit up Feltfine and got some felting supplies with this cool water, wetting bulb thingy.......look like an apple. It sprays water nicely and I have seen it in action before. I also fell in love with another silk colourway and got another skein. 

Water spray thingy!

I picked up two more items from general stands including a lovely merino/silk top that actually matched the tie-dye top I was wearing and a Kumihimo starter pack that has the disk. 

Fun day!

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Dutch Merkelbach Wheel

Well, we all knew it would happen. I had been eyeing off this type of wheel for awhile as the castle style was literally an all-in-one wheel with the distaff, skeiner with flyer above and lazy kate. So when I saw the Saxony version I had to sit on my hands. I didn't bid initially, but when it was $99 I couldn't resist. So it became mine and I planned the 3+hour trip to Moruya

The drive was nice with a mixture of coastal cities, wooded drive and of course country! I couldn't take many pictures sadly and it was a grey day.

I picked up the wheel and started the long drive home. I should have planned things better because I passed so many cool shops I would have liked to spend time investigating on the way home. But is was 4pm on a grey Sunday.

I stopped in at Mogo, which wasn't too far and bought a patchwork kit from Rosemount the Patchwork Shop.

They also had a antique store attached which had a great museum of sewing machines. 

I also saw a leather store and picked up a large scrap which I will cut and decorate into a lap mat for when I am flicking. There should also be enough to make something to protect my combs and carders.

Finally I stopped in at Berry as it was getting late and dark to get some fuel for my body. I had noticed on my way past in going to get the wheel they had mentioned Alpaca burgers. So I just had to stop and try it.

It was a nice, and had a nice gamey taste to it. I wouldn't go out of my way to get one, but I am glad I tried it. 

After almost 7 hours of driving and some of it in pitch black, rain in the highway I got home. 

I like the wheel, but I am not in love with it. The wheel comes apart easily and is a double drive. It is very light wood which I am not a fan off (I like a bit of heft in my wheel). The orifice is super tiny, I have been told this is a flax wheel or spinning silk. I really like the way they have a spot above the skeiner where you put your bobbins. The bobbins are SUPER tiny, like palm of the hand tiny. I took this to my spinning class and it caught the attention of my spinning teacher. So after an easy thought this wheel is going to be passed on to my teacher who will appreciate it much more than me. If I had the room for wheels that could just sit there and look pretty and create my own spinning museum it would stay. Alas! I am glad it will go to a good home. 

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Long time no post = large haul!

I know it has been........yes well a long time. My main distraction is getting my ethics in, which I got in the day before my 30th Birthday!

Since my last post, I have picked up a new wheel. This is a Dutch Merlkelbach and saw a lot of the country

Then I picked up an 8 Shaft Kirsten loom - pictures pending once I get it out of my car where it has been making a lot of noise!

I bought myself high-speed head for my Majacraft Suzy - being posted!

Finally, I had 2 days of craft buying. First was a day at Sutherland Spinners and Weavers Winter Wool Fair where I got some stuff from Frank Williams Spindles, Virginia Farm Woolworks and Glenora Weaving and Wool. 

Then my parents and I hit up Mittagong and checked out Victoria House and The Villiage Quilt Shop and later in Berrima the Berrima Patchwork and Craft's Store (before we go flooded away!)

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Wibbly Wobbly Crochet Lines

I have been doing a bit of catch up on old crochet projects. I am a huge Dr Who fan so when I saw some patterns for each of the Doctors and Tardis I picked up the Tardis and David Tennant one.

So keep an eye out for some updated pictures as I go!

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