Whoo Hoooo Bamboo

My new spinning love is . . . BAMBOO. I bought some of the most luscious bamboo fiber artfully dyed by Gwen of FiberCloud which turned into this


and this.Unfortunately, there is not enough to use as weft for weaving a shawl or scarf. Soooooo, I've ordered a POUND of bamboo top with the idea I'll dye it a color suitable to coordinate. That kind of thinking usually leads to a big mess and inevitably to the purchase of even more crafty stuff. At the very least I'll have to purchase different dyes, 'cause the dyes I have for wool won't work on plant fibers.


In January the Tulsa HandSpinners held a ROC DAY celebration, which I'm told many spinning groups do. The day grew out of the tradition whereby spinners put away their work during the 12 days of Christmas. After the Feast of the Epiphany the women resumed work. The men, however, laid about for a few more days and, in the days before television and football bowl games, amused themselves by setting the flax on fire. Apparently this substituted for flirting in some circles. So, the women dumped water on the men, or something like that. Anyway, now days men are busy with television sports so the women spinners get together, have lunch and play spinning games, which fortunately did not involve either fire or water. It was great fun--we spun tinsel icicles and Easter grass among other things. All of that to say, I won an Inkle Loom during the festivities, which I haven't had a chance to play with because I don't have any suitable thread to use.

And that leads to the next topic. . . . ROAD TRIP

Some of the beer knitters have Presidents' Day off work, so it's off to Lawrence, Kansas we go to the weaving, spinning, knitting mecca of the Yarn Barn. Word is, one of the shoe stores there is a Birkenstock Outlet chock-a-block with good Birk deals. AND, there is a World Market store in Lawrence, so maybe I'll also get the chance to satiate my endless desire for Dutch Licorice.


My newest most favorite-est knitting project is this shawl.


Probably my least-est favorite project right now is this pair of socks. The yarn is Tempted hand painted sock yarn in the Koi in a blender colorway. I loved the way the colors pooled in the first sock,
but the color repeats changed and the second sock is just horrible.

I have actually completed something . . . . my first ever toe-up socks.



LOVE the yarn--an Opal self-patterning affair and LOVE the technique so much that when I get finished with my socks-in-progress, I'll knit them all that way.

Now I'm off to collect little snippets of some of my spinning yarn so I can actually get something I will use at the Yarn Barn.