Friday, May 24

Did I ever introduce myself?

Archirat... you can find me many places, but I don't visit all those places anymore.

But, I tell you this because if you wanted to... if you were interested, you could find me on Ravelry. (Also imgur...)

Wednesday, May 22

Wait... WHAT?

I go over my stats randomly. I like to see who reads my blog from where because it makes me feel exotic like:

"Oh, I haven't been to Russia, but my blog's been accidentally opened in a browser window there."

OR

"England? Yeah, I'm cool there. 2 people have hopped onto my blog page from there once upon a time. Maybe they even stayed."

Where was I when I got over a hundred hits last month? Really? I didn't even start updating again until this month. It makes me feel like I missed something terribly important.


Like the Doctor Who season finale.... Oh crap!

I have to do things now...

Monday, May 20

Bucket List for the Crazy Crafter- part deux

Oh, about a year and a half ago I posted this post. I didn't detail my bucket list (I should really do that sometime soon), but ya'll got the general idea. I really, desperately wanted to do a ceramics class. I never got to in college (one of my main regrets actually.)

Well guess who just signed up for Pottery I classes through my county! Well, if you guessed Momar, you would be correct, but misguided as to who the important person of the blog is. Yeah, Momar and I will start a pottery class together this summer. It will be awesome!

Friday, May 17

What have I been doing lately?

Well, I'll let you in on a secret. Last year I bought some fiber. It remained stashed until just before the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival because well, I was busy. The reason my fiber was pulled out of the stash and put to use was manifold and complex.

1) I got a new job and had to convince the little 4-year-old that I was cool. 'Cause you know, Spinning is super cool.

2) I've spent forever on the lace edging of the shawl and want to scream when I go near it. That would result in odd looks and kids ushered hurriedly away. Not a good thing when I am a nanny. So it lies in the bottom of my bag and I hope that some knitting gremlins will finish it someday.

3) I needed to justify the purchase of MORE fiber by using some of the fiber I already have. Alpha is always watching... Not really, but since I am in charge of the budget, it's so much easier to explain to myself that I am already using stuff, so I deserve MORE!

And all of these reasons coalesced into 560 yards of 2-ply yarn. Now I need to find a project for it.

THERE IS A SALE!

Since I got some yarn, I figured my limited readership would be interested to know that yarn.com is having a sale on yarn...

Cascade 220, normally $8-12 is being sold for $5.59.

It saves a couple of dollars, and that can add up pretty quickly.

Get it now, it ends May 31st. (P.S. It ships quickly too!)

I have a problem...

She says after opening a package from yarn.com (cascade 220 Heathers, worsted weight, colorways 'shire' and 'heather') and realizing that she committed to buying a loom this weekend.

"Maybe it's a little more than a problem."

She thinks as she pulls out the books she checked out of the library. "Learn to Spin" by Anne Fields and "Weaving made Easy" by Liz Gipson. (She hasn't really checked out any other literature besides spinning and knitting books in the last... oh, MONTH.)

"It might be classified as an obsession."

She muses as she twists her drop spindle clockwise, spinning a length of Miss Babs "Vixen". (It was supposed to be red and orange... where is the PINK coming from!)

"And you know... I'm okay with that..."

Wednesday, May 15

Fiber 5 of Maryland Sheep and Wool 2013

Maryland Sheep and Wool festival... if you don't go in with a plan you can lose a lot of money. A lot. My plan is to write what I want to buy and then assiduously ask for cards of all the places I would like to buy from. If I can get to a pen, I write what specific thing I loved from the booth so I can remember it amidst the freak-ton lot of amazing that is all over the festival.

Today I will present the FIBER FIVE! My top picks of holy-goodness wooly happiness.

5) The Spanish Peacock

Coming in at #5, the Spanish Peacock. I remember their beautiful wooden spindles secondhand to their books on Naalbinding. If they had some of the awesome (or disgusting, I've heard it both ways) antler needles... I would have remembered them a little better. As it is, I'll save money next year to buy a book from them.

The website, while a little dated in design, has nice pictures and is very easy to navigate. Sadly, they do not do custom orders anymore (My dream of antler needles wanes in this light. Curses!)

4) Fiber Optic Yarns

Everyone probably knows about this. If you don't, well... you will soon enough. These yarn and fiber sellers sell absolutely beautiful gradient dyed rovings. Their merino/silk gradients are in bright vibrant colors that are to die for. I have no idea what I would use the yarn for, but I would love to get a box of their rovings and go at it forever. I would never recover. They have a new colorway, Chocolate to Aqua.Hmmmm.....

3) Kate's Cauldron

Okay, technically, this should have been the fiber find of November when I went to the Alpaca festival. Oh well. Better late than never. Kate's Cauldron has some wonderful handmade spindles with the twist top or a t-notch.  Also, they are very affordable. I am a HUGE fan of her short shaft t-notch spindles. I already had one and had to buy another. My current count is 3. That count didn't include the one I stole back from my sister since she doesn't appreciate it enough. I will probably buy a new one each show I go to from now on because these spindles (and the lady who makes them) ROCK!

2) Golding

Have you ever seen something that just makes you weep with jealousy? (I have several times, usually at the festival.) These spindles made me die a little inside. I guarantee one of these has gone on my Christmas list. (It's not too early!) Beautiful craftsmanship, fun designs, ingenious groove in the shaft for easier grip.... the only what I could be any happier is if one of them came with a t-notch design. Sadly, not the case. Either way... I strayed to that booth several times, dragged my friends, family and everyone else into the booth and just basked in the glory of it all.

1) Solitude Wool

Now, the #1 fiber find had to grow on me. I admit I didn't run into the booth oohing and awing over the goods like I did with other booths. (Fiber Optics and Golding, I'ma looking at YOU!) In fact, I skipped over the booth the first time and only looked into it as my friend and I were looking for fiber for her. They had bags of wool from particular species that didn't look matted or nasty. She was drawn to the brown Targhee wool. I was drawn in by the fact that they HAD Targhee. The YARN was separated by breed, not just the roving. On top of this all, the wool is harvested from local sheep... (I kind of want to be these people.)

The wool is beautifully prepared, by the way. Very good for a beginner or me... or more advanced.

Anyway.... These were my fiber finds this year. I only bought one spindle (from Kate's Cauldron), but I asked for cards and I will dream away until my budget recovers from the awful things I did to it.

Tuesday, May 14

Something wicked this way comes...

When it gets here... I will take pictures and AMAZE you all. I am very enthralled and I wait the passing week with breathless anticipation.

Monday, May 13

There has not been much sheepery, or geekery....

and I can't quite bring myself to apologize...

There was scads of  sheepery at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2013. Scads and Scads. I pet and Oxford for about 30 minutes over the course of the day and when you think about how much shopping there was to be done, that's a pretty significant commitment to petting a sheep.

Haul-
Yarn bowl,knitting needles, spindle, felt balls, food, cheese...

Geekery--

Saw Iron Man 3 for Alpha's birthday. I was really excited during the previews. Catching Fire, Thor 2, Wolverine.... yeah. There was geeking in the seating. Then there was quite a lot of geeking during the movie. I mean, it's Iron Man.

I remember seeing the first Iron Man movie with Alpha when we went to college. We were engaged and  it was the last week of the semester (looks up.. yeah May 3rd). We sat in the theatre and had an absolutely marvelous time. (Robert Downey Jr. was is and always will be perfect for the role.) I thought that maybe my future husband could give my father a run for his money when it came to comic books. Having been married for almost 5 years... I know that that is true now. I mean we showed up to a college lecture about Iron Man (given by Marymount last year; the college presentations were awkward and undergraduate, but the guest lecturer on Marvel and Iron Man was amazing.)

Wow... 5 years of Iron Man. 5 years of amazing Marvel movies... that's really strange to think about right now.

Anyway, once I get my hands on a picture-taker I will enlighten you all on what I've been doing lately instead of knitting on the shawl like I should.