Here's What's Been Going On

Little Buster has been having a hard week. Last Tuesday night (11PM-ish) his dad took him to the emergency room because he was having a croup attack and it just kept getting worse until he could hardly breath. So off they went and spent 5 hours there.

He seemed to be getting better. The cough was a lot better and he was running and jumping like usual.

Monday he went to the pediatrician for his 6 year old check up. He needed 4 immunizations and it wasn't fun. They really do hurt when they shoot that medicine into your muscle.
So I took him for ice cream and said he could get whatever he wanted. Two scoops in a waffle cone was the verdict. It was as big as his head.

Then yesterday things started gettign worse again and there was lots of vomiting. Over 6 hours there were at least 12 episodes. So off I took him again to the ER. We were there for about 3 hours while he had a very much protested I.V. and some anti nausea stuff.

Today he is on the couch and there will be no playing in the snow...no matter how much he wants to tramp through the lovely smooth 8 inches of snow that happened yesterday and last night.

So before the sick yesterday I worked on moving more stuff to my new fiber room. In that plastic storage thingy will be lace and sock yarns. It is full now and I have more to add. Not sure what to do but...
This is just another view of the chaos. There is plenty of work to do. I think that wall unit will jsut be spinnign fiber. This all needs to be finished before the Sara Lamb weekend because Ryan's new room will be my old fiber room and Ryan's current room is going to be a guest room for teachers and family and friends.
After the fiber organizing there was bread making and I thought it might be fun to share my process. I'm a big preparedness girl and so have hundreds of pounds of dry goods including lots of wheat. So when making bread I usually grind my own wheat. I love my grinder. It will grind coars and fine and anything in between. For bread I like a finer ground wheat.
Here's the ground wheat. Isn't it pretty? That's about 3.5 cups in there.
I also buy my yeast in those 1 pound blocks that are vacuum sealed. One pound of yeast lasts me for about a year. When I open the package the first time I just put it all in a zip lock bag and store it in the fridge. So I proof the yeast every time before I bake. I just add the warm/hot water (3 cups) and some sugar or honey (1/4 cup) and one tablespoon of yeast to the mixing bowl and watch for bubbles and signs of life.

When i am convinced the little darlings are willing to work I add a tablespoon of salt, and 1/4 cup of oil or melted butter. Sometimes I add an egg or two, sometimes I use milk instead of water - but then I have to warm the milk. You can proof the yeast in 1 cup of warm water and then use 2 cups of milk but adding cold milk slows the rising A LOT!

Then I start to add the flour. I rarely use only whole wheat flour anymore. Generally I use 2/3 wheat I grind and 1/3 white flour (also stored in big cans in the basement). The thing is my family will eat the wheat bread if I add enough white flour to make it lighter. Using whole wheat flour only makes a much heavier bread and it needs to be kneaded a lot longer in my experience.
So I mix the dough in the mixer until it starts to climb up the bread hook and won't stay in the bowl. Then I turn it out onto the well floured counter an.d knead for about 10 minutes adding more flour as needed. When the dough no longer looks smooth and starts to have breaking places during the kneading I know I am done. I don't over add flour because I think that makes a really dry bread
I put the dough into a greased bowl - I use Pam - and grease the top and bottom sides and cover with a cloth. Rising times are variable but I wait until I think it's doubled. I have a hard time judging this but the bread's almost always good so....

So this dough was risen until it was even with the top of the bowl then I punched it down and kneaded it again for about 5 minutes. It then rests for a short time while I turn on the oven and grease the bread pans. I split the dough into 3 evenish pieces and shape them into loafs.
This dough needs one more rise and you can see why I say evenISH. I let it sit until it's about double again and bake it in a 375 oven for about 35-40 minutes.
This bread is really good and the family who won't eat store bought wheat bread will eat this.

february Newsletter

Groundhog Day. I'm always confused about the shadow/no shadow thing and what it all means. What I do know is there is plenty of spinning to do and lots of weaving and in a couple of months there will be new fleeces to be had and added to the fleece room! I love shearing season. Love it! In the mean time here's some fun stuff. Just in is a Schacht Matchless Cherry Bulky Flyer. We've also still got one of each of Abby Franquemont's videos in stock now. These videos are sold out everywhere and soon to be sold out at the Loft. The teacher line up for 2010 is stupendous! We have dates for most teachers and details as far as cost and topics will be coming soon for the instructors. The new Buy in Bulk Program is a great way to make sure you get your fiber on sale any time you like. Also new this year.....We have always loved giving bonus gifts to those who bought equipment from us. Now we're going one step further and making it more fun for you. Keep reading for details! Classes!!!! Private Lessons - If there's something you want to learn or improve as far as spinning or weaving, just call and set up an appointment. We can work in a lesson to suit your schedule. Beginning Spinning - 4 weeks $80 - includes materials Saturdays February 27, March 6, 13, and 20th From 10AM to 11:30 AM In this class we will learn the basics of spinning. Students are welcome to use wheels or spindles. We will cover drafting, wheel mechanics, basic plying, learn the differences between woolen and worsted and try a bunch of fibers to see what you love. This is always a fun class. And it is a relaxed way to learn and build your skills quickly. Spinning fiber will be provided during class. Home practice fiber is not included. Minimum of 2 students. Beginning Rigid Heddle Weaving - 2 weeks $65 - Plus Materials Fridays February 19 and March 5 from 10 AM to 1 PM Learn to plan, direct warp and weave a plain weave scarf or table runner on your rigid heddle loom. You will do this project from warping to finishing and have a lovely usable item at the end along with a lovely new relationship with your loom. Class meets 2 times. Materials are not included in the class fee. Ply, Ply, Ply Beth $30 - 02/13/2010 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM You've got the 2 ply down and would like to expand your plying arsenal. Let's try 3 or more ply, Andean, and Navajo. We will look at the benefits and uses for each method. Please come to class with 3 bobbins partially full as well as one empty bobbin. Minimum 2 Students Drafting Methods Beth $45 - includes materials 02/25/2010 12:00 AM - 12:00 AM Lets look at a wide range of drafting methods and talk about why and how to use each one. Having three or four methods to choose from can change your spinning life and help you get to the yarn you want. Minimum 2 Students Weave a Kimono Jacket Gisela Bosch $240 - Plus Materials Saturday March 13 10AM to 3PM Friday May 7 and Saturday May 8th 10AM to 4PM The goal is to come out with a jacket made with handwoven fabric and to learn how to make other garments using handwoven fabric. We will be spending the first day, Jan 30, with planning the garment, the warp and the threading. You should leave that day with the dimensions for your warp, color placement ideas and your yarn ordered. We will be working with Cotton that Beth will order for us. You then have six weeks to weave and finish your fabric. Then on March 12th and 13th we will get together and actually finish the jackets. You may have some embellishments to do at home it depends on what you want. We have had a lot of interest with this class and I hope you can join us. Out of Town Here's the ever growing list of who will be flying in this year: March 26, 27, 28 Sara Lamb Knotted Pile - this class is sold out May 1 and 2 (Saturday and Sunday) Abby Franquemont Wheel vs Spindle 10AM to 4PM $220 This class will focus on the strengths and weeknesses of both Spinning Wheels and Spindles. Be prepared to learn lots of techniques to improve your spinning with both tools. Also come with an open mind and start to dispel some spinning myths. Bring a spinning wheel in working condition as well as a suspended (drop)spindle or two you want to improve with. participants should be able to make yarn with both a wheel and spindle but expertise is not required. Cost includes fibers for spinning. Bring lunch or chip in for carry out. June 25 and 26 (Friday evening and Saturday) Maggie Casey Still working out the class details. August 13, 14, 15 Galina Khmeleva Friday evening will be Russian Spindle Spinning followed by 2 full days of Orenburg Warm Shawl construction November 12 and 13 Deb Robson Still working on the details but something about breeds is in the works. Check out Deb's Blog at http://www.independentstitch.typepad.com/ Watch this newsletter for more classes. Currently we are also working on scheduling Denny McMillan, Amy King and Micheal Cook. It's going to be a busy year! WooHoo! Equipment Bonus! So any of you who have bought a wheel or loom from us in the past know that we always love to give you a gift or two. Well, we've decided to sort of change the way it works...for the better. Beginning in 2010 any purchase of a wheel or loom over $300 will receive a gift certificate work 10% of the purchase price of that piece of equipment. The certificate is good for any in stock items and can be used in the shop or as an online purchase. This is going to be so fun.

So come in to the shop or shop online and mark your calendars for some great fiber stuff this year. Sincerely, Beth Smith Spinning Loft ltd 517-540-1344

Save Up to 20%

New for 2010. A Bulk Buy Program. So here's how it works. There are three discount levels. Purchase your discount level and spend your credit throughout the year. Wensleydale Level - Spend $300 plus tax and get $375 worth of Fiber Rambouillet Level - Spend $212.50 plus tax and get $250 worth of Fiber Oxford Level - Spend $112.50 plus tax and get $125 worth of Fiber You do not have to spend your credit right away. We will keep track for you. All Spinning Fiber and Yarn does qualify! This offer is not good on sale merchandise, tools or equipment. Even if you are an Online Customer you can do this with us. Just email or call and we will ship your order right out! Call or email if you'd like more details.

Late!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted. I think I may need a new resolution for this year. Each week a post. Long or short it must be done!

What happens is thast stuff happens and I think - Ooo that's a blog post! Then I don't do it.

So here's what I've got and it's a week old.

The naughty girls came for a class

Carla spun Wensleydale.

It was a class about how to use all the drive systems on the Schacht matchless since all the naughty girls own them. It was a fun class and I hope they learned something.

If you have a couple of friends who want to get together for a class, let me know!

Christmas Kit

So Denny requested a blog post about my cute Buster (aka Ryan) and so I went searching in the Christmas photos from this year. The picture above sums up how Christmas went for all of us this year.

But, I couldn't just make it Buster so here are some of my favorite photos from December 24, 25 and 26 2009.
Me and the mother of Lousmith. She loves me. Can't you tell?

My darlin'

My dad and my brother (in the background is my mom's oldest brother Bill)
Chelsea will kill me for this one but I think she looks so pretty.
Maggie got a water colors set for Christmas from her Grammy and it was hard to drag her away from it. She's still painting every day.
Little Buster got a shaving kit. It was on his list along with a tie tack and money clip. He wants to grow up fast I guess.
Brittney. We had a great time during her visit and it went too fast. Now she's back in Utah. We all miss her.
And now a story in pictures. Ryan had something very special for his Grammy (that's my mom)
He carefully wrapped it over and over (with the same paper) until it was perfect.
He couldn't wait for her to open it.
It was something he worked very hard on.
It was a piece of string and some beads...a make your own necklace kit!

Now for the back story. He did really work hard on making a necklace for his Grammy. He threaded the beads on at least 4 times. He tried to tie it and all the beads fell off. Then Lousmith tried to tie it and all the beads fell off. I tried to tie it and all the beads fell off. He finally asked me for a box. I gave it to him and asked what he was going to do. He put all of the parts in and said, "It's a make your own necklace kit!"

And my boy who wants so badly to be a goalie.

I'm Posting the Current Newsletter

So here it is. A shortened version of the current Newsletter. If you aren't on the list and would like to be just got to the Spinning Loft Homepage and scroll down a little. There's a spot to put in your email address. I'm pretty sure there's also a little coupon for signing up too.

The formatting could be a little screwy - sorry for that.

Spinning Loft ltd Newsletter ALWAYS a Fiber Festival

January 2010 Classes!!!! Beginning Spinning - 4 weeks $80 - includes materials 01/14/2010 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM 01/21/2010 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM 01/28/2010 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM 02/04/2010 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM In this class we will learn the basics of spinning. Students are welcome to use wheels or spindles. We will cover drafting, wheel mechanics, basic plying, learn the differences between woolen and worsted and try a bunch of fibers to see what you love. This is always a fun class. And it is a relaxed way to learn and build your skills quickly. Spinning fiber will be provided during class. Home practice fiber is not included. Minimum of 2 students. Beginning Rigid Heddle Weaving - 2 weeks $80 - Plus Materials 01/16/2010 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM 10/23/2019 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM Learn to plan, direct warp and weave a plain weave scarf or table runner on your rigid heddle loom. You will do this project from warping to finishing and have a lovely usable item at the end along with a lovely new relationship with your loom. Class meets 2 times. January 16 and 23rd. Materials are not included in the class fee. Ply, Ply, Ply Beth $30 - 02/13/2010 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM You've got the 2 ply down and would like to expand your plying arsenal. Let's try 3 or more ply, Andean, and Navajo. We will look at the benefits and uses for each method. Please come to class with 3 bobbins partially full as well as one empty bobbin. Minimum 2 Students Drafting Methods Beth $45 - includes materials 02/25/2010 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Lets look at a wide range of drafting methods and talk about why and how to use each one. Having three or four methods to choose from can change your spinning life and help you get to the yarn you want. Minimum 2 Students Beginning Spinning Beth $80 - includes materials 02/27/2010 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM 03/06/2010 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM 03/20/2010 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM In this class we will learn the basics of spinning. Students are welcome to use wheels or spindles. We will cover drafting, wheel mechanics, basic plying, learn the differences between woolen and worsted and try a bunch of fibers to see what you love. This is always a fun class. And it is a relaxed way to learn and build your skills quickly. Spinning fiber will be provided during class. Home practice fiber is not included. Minimum of 2 students. Weave a Kimono Jacket Gisela Bosch $240 - Plus Materials 01/30/2010 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM 03/12/2010 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM 03/13/2010 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM The goal is to come out with a jacket made with handwoven fabric and to learn how to make other garments using handwoven fabric. We will be spending the first day, Jan 30, with planning the garment, the warp and the threading. You should leave that day with the dimensions for your warp, color placement ideas and your yarn ordered. We will be working with Cotton that Beth will order for us. You then have six weeks to weave and finish your fabric. Then on March 12th and 13th we will get together and actually finish the jackets. You may have some embellishments to do at home it depends on what you want. We have had a lot of interest with this class and I hope you can join us. Out of Town Here's the preliminary list of who will be flying in this year: March Sara Lamb June Maggie Casey August Galina Khmeleva November Deb Robson Watch this newsletter for big details in the next week or two. Currently we are also working on scheduling Denny McMillan, Abby Franquemont, Amy King and Micheal Cook. It's going to be a busy year! So come in to the shop or shop online and mark your calendars for some great fiber stuff this year. Sincerely, Beth Smith Spinning Loft ltd 517-540-1344

Save Up to 20%

New for 2010. A Bulk Buy Program. So here's how it works. There are three discount levels. Purchase your discount level and spend your credit throughout the year. Spend $300 plus tax and get $375 worth of Fiber Spend $212.50 plus tax and get $250 worth of Fiber Spend $112.50 plus tax and get $125 worth of Fiber You do not have to spend your credit right away. We will keep track for you. All Spinning Fiber and Yarn does qualify! This offer is not good on sale merchandise, tools or equipment. Even if you are an Online Customer you can do this with us. Just email or call and we will ship your order right out! Call or email if you'd like more details.

Offer Expires: 12 Months from Purchase

2 things

So, there was a day when I wanted to color my hair. I bought a box of color at Meijer. It must have been old. It turned my hair many colors and in some areas no colors at all. When I walked into the shop that day all Chelsea said was "no".

So she called her room mate who is a hairdresser. She fixed it and I love it. I posted this for Amy cause she wanted to see:-)
Also, Amy sent me 3 pounds of Corriepaca in 3 different colors. I am going to make a sweater using all three colors. Of course I chose to spin the pink first.

I spun this yarn on the 3o inch Schacht Reeves. The bobbins on that wheel are surprisingly large. I plyed it into a 3 ply on the Louet S10. It took 2 S10 bobbins to fit the whole pound.

I like this yarn a lot. There are approximately 764 yards of the finished yarn at 14 wraps per inch. I knit a swatch using a size 2 and size 4 needle. I prefer the fabric on the size 4 needle. It is 22 stitches to 4 inches.

I need to get to work on the rest right away!

Down Breeds, They're not just for dinner anymore!

It has become very common for certain sheep breeds which fall into the Down category to be referred to as meat sheep. Now I will agree that, for those of us who are omnivores, well prepared lamb is very good…especially with a nice cucumber sauce on a pita. That’s where I’ll end my agreement. These sheep deserve a little more respect for the delightful work they do while walking around and munching grass. That work is growing their lovely wool. At the very least these should be considered dual purpose sheep. And we, as spinners, can help to start making the change.

Speaking from experience, it is pretty easy to find a good fleece in the longwools or the fine wools category but mention Dorset, Welsh Mountain, Oxford or Shropshire and there will generally be blank stares. The farmers of sheep in these categories are not raising their sheep for wool production so, many fleeces will have lots of VM and other undesirable contents. If you can get beyond that you will find a very lovely wool. It is a pleasure to spin.

The true down breeds are called “Down” because they originated in southeastern England and not because they have a downy undercoat. Most times the British Hill Breeds are also included in the down category because of fleece similarities. Let’s talk a little about these characteristics.

The wool from this class is generally lacking luster and the locks are not well defined. The crimp is not as obvious as with of wool in other categories. Though there is plenty of crimp in each fiber it is spiral in nature. Though the look of the crimp in the lock may not appear as a beautiful thing like the waviness of Cormo or the lovely curl of Wensleydale, this wool has a springiness and resilience unmatched in other types.

Another spectacular thing about this category is the resistance to felting. Though it can be needle felted it is generally a natural superwash requiring no more than reasonable care in washing.. This combined with the spring and resilience makes it a perfect option for socks and other items which may need frequent washings.

As far as fineness of the fibers there is a pretty broad range here. Most fall into the middle range of softness and so will be great for outerwear and blankets, but there are several which will produce very fine soft fleeces. As with all sheep this is just an average and can vary from sheep to sheep so sampling is highly important to make sure you will get the end product you were first envisioning.

Preparation of these fibers for spinning will depend on the fiber length. Most times the best method will be hand carding or drum carding because of short staple length. If you find a fleece with a staple length greater than 3 inches then combing would be a great option.

That brings me to my next point. Spinning these breeds in a worsted style will give all of the benefits of worsted spun wool but the yarn will not look much different than if the wool had been carded and spun long draw. Do not despair! This is due to the spiral type crimp and resilience of the resulting yarn. The wear factor will still be greatly increased in the worsted spun yarn.

Something else to think about when using a worsted spinning technique with wool from these breeds is a bit of shrinkage will surely happen when the freshly spun skein is washed and dried. As the fibers are spun they are stretched and smoothed as twist is added. When the skein is washed the and fibers try to spring back to their pre yarn state there will be shrinkage so sampling all the way through to the washing is very important to make sure you will have enough yardage for your project.

Now the pet topics of worsted spinning, longwools, SAMPLING and the joy of spinning any wool type have been covered. Keep your eyes peeled for those down type fleeces and try them. You won’t be sorry. And don’t ever let anyone call them meat sheep again.

Originally published in Spindlicity


Also, Check out this blog http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com

A Tale of Two Teachers

So October was nutty and there was no sign of slowing down in November...except I got to stay home for all the excitement. Since Jacey Boggs was coming I thought we should move things around again. Chelsea always gives me the eye roll when I say it but she always likes it better when we're done.
In the midst of the mess was Abby's new Alden Amos wheel that I had temporary custody of. it went home with me before the crowds came.
Also, in the midst of the mess was my new Rick Reeves 24" Saxony wheel acquired at SOAR. The 24" Schacht-Reeves is right behind it. I love them both. The Reeves is Oak.
See how hard she works in her Puss in Boots Boots?
So here is the main room almost finished.
The new book corner.
The equipment room - rearranged.
And then there was jacey. We were all mesmerized by her spinny hands.
Plus she's quite the entertainer.
Plenty of fibers to try!
And the bossy stance...not really. She's really very encouraging even to me.
I need more practice but here are my yarns. I did love the core spinning. I need more practice with the other techniques. I'm most interested in the boucles.
And the aftermath!
This is where we stored most of the wheels during the class. Just a little pathway.

The class was fantastic. if you have an opportunity to take a class with Jacey jump on it! She's a fantastic teacher with plenty of patience and lots of good stories. I wish she lived closer. At least visit her blog and listen to her podcast and buy her video. K?
Also, I made yarn. It's 3 ply superwash from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I am in love with this yarn. I wish I had more fiber!

As soon as that excitemnet was over it was time to start preparing for the next big thing. The official book launch party for Respect the Spindle. Abby work so hard on this book and I was so nervous I would drop the ball on this thing.
Again, there was cleaning and reorganizing and moving things. And the shop looked great. Kat showed up around 9AM to help with finishing touches. And then we just waited! And at 5 minutes to 10 Amy and Sonya showed up and the floodgates were open. I didn't have my camera most of the day and it was all a blur.

At about 11:30-ish there was a phone call from Denny. She was saying congratulations and she was going to lunch with Rachel at the Korean grill place. so we each talked for a couple of minutes and then got back to work.
Not even 15 minutes later there was squeeling and hopping up and down. We had been duped!
Lots of the people stayed and just hung out and were spinning or knitting. It's Amy and Monica in the above photo and I wish I would have had my camera more...I think Ellen will have lots of photos....
Abby and Faina (who has the fantastic back cover project in the new Homespun Handknit book) had a little fun with my gossip wheel.
And there was the bewb signing of kat.
And the prize winning names were drawn. ( I think Chelsea sent emails to everyone on Saturday...I hope)
And there was a tiny photo at the end. Katherine (Presbytera to the Ravelry peeps and in Harloty comments) was there all day making sure all of the books got signed. It was great to have her. She's wrangled for Ms Harlot before and we knew she could be very helpful...now to figure out her pay.

Next thing...I had 3 tshirts made with special art. Abby has signed these shirts. I will photograph them tomorrow and list them on Ebay. All proceeds will go to the Center for Traditional Textiles in Cusco, Peru. Just go to Ebay and search "Respect the Spindle" and they magically will appear.