The Finished Project

I sheared the alpaca, who's name was Ozzie.

I brought his stunningly white fiber home and carded it into fluffy batts.

Then I dyed it in varying shades of brown, buff, grey, and gold.

I spun the dyed fiber.

I plied the singles together.

I wound the yarn into a skein, and counted out 90 yards of it.

I started at the beginning, and worked my way almost to the end.

Now, what shall I do with it...? ;)

Finished!!!

I did it. After 6 months of work, I finished a bag of fiber that someone sent me.

Normally, it would not take me this long to finish a project, but the fiber was baby Suri alpaca, which involves high twist, careful handling and slow, steady movements to create a lovely yarn that has incredible drape, luster and feel.

I got a total of 10 skeins from this fleece, which is pretty decent. Total yardage is somewhere around 1,200 yards.

And boy does it feel good to have finally finished this fleece! :)

Now, to go do the other two bags of Suri alpaca that are still upstairs....

Stay tuned to find out what else has been going on around here! With luck, I will do another post on Monday!

~Caitlyn

Bliss...

It's been a good day....

I spun on my wheel for three hours outside in the warm sunshine while listening to music (Joshua Messick, of course). I've almost finished one skein out of, I think, fifteen, that someone custom ordered. But fifteen skeins isn't too bad to spin when the fiber is deliciously soft baby Suri alpaca. Mmmmm.....

Later, I went "Window shopping" via the internet. ;) I found a couple of really neat websites that had some utterly amazing spindles, and I have been in a state of pure bliss looking at them...

I found three spindles in particular that caught me eye... One is made of Wooly Mammoth tusk (Yes! Real wooly mammoth!!), the second is made of Moose antler, and the third is walnut that has been set with silver.

This is a peek at the walnut/silver spindle...

Here's another spindle that I liked. It's called 'Lothlorien Leaf' (From the LOTR Mallorn tree)

Alas, I wasn't able to get any good pictures of the mammoth tusk or the Moose antler but you can see them here.

I love spindle window shopping... ;D

~Caitlyn

Too much of a good thing?

You wish to know the reason as to why I have been neglecting my blog so shamefully of the late? The answer?

Cashmere!

I have been up to my ears in cashmere for the past week!

I had a custom order on my shop for two cashmere skeins, had another request for for three cashmere skeins from a different person, there was a confusion in my cashmere fiber order so I ended up receiving 5 ounces of cashmere that was the wrong color, I ended up keeping that five ounces but ordered more cashmere in the right color, which came in the mail today. Cashmere, cashmere, cashmere!! Is it really possible to get tired of something so lovely as cashmere?

Ahem, to add to all this cashmere, I'm thinking very seriously on adding a couple cashmere goats to my little fiber flock! Yup, I'm crazy! ;D

Cashmere anyone?

~A cashmere crazy Caitlyn

A thought that blossomed....

As most of you know, I give spinning lessons, and that's really the furthest I've gone with my teaching. But this morning via e-mail someone asked me if I would consider doing a 6-hour workshop! Six hours of spinning and everything else fiber related! My first thought was: "What a great idea!" and then the second thought was, "Why didn't I ever think of that before!" ;)

And so the thought (and my enthusiasm) has grown!

Alas, I came up with so many class ideas that I'm going to have to do two workshops! So I'm thinking about doing one in Feb/March and then another in May. The reason for doing one in May, is that I'm planning on having a professional shearer come out and teach everyone to shear their own animals! By shearing my own animals rather than having a shearer do it, I save well over $200 each year!

The hardest part is deciding what classes to do in the first workshop since it will be only 6 hours, and each class being roughly an hour long! Here is the list of classes that I want to cover.

The basics: spinning on a drop spindle

Navajo plying (very tricky and challenging, but very important to know!)

Dyeing, both with plants and chemical dyes

Making your own Niddy-Noddy and using a Nostepinde

An hour of spin time! A time where everyone can just visit and work on their spinning skills.

Spinning exotic fibers such as casmere, suri alpaca, cotton and silk

Preparing fibers. How to use handcards, a drumcarder, and how to prepare those exotice fibers.

Washing fiber. It's not so scary after the first few times!

Shearing, sheep, alpacas and angora rabbits ([sing, song voice] Oh Miss Victoria.... ;D)

Spin-off contests! Just a bunch of fun games that anyone could do. :)

Creating novelty yarn

Plying: It's all about balance

Spindles: One for each occasion (going through all the different kinds of spindles)

And Spinning with beads

So I have been busy today getting details figured out! I decided to hold it at our Church since it's neutral ground and there would be enough room for everyone.

I really am excited about this. I'm excited to watch the Lord move and work through this, and I pray that I will remember to give Him all the glory for it!

~Caitlyn

Not Just Talent

While meandering around at the Farmer's Market yesterday, I found a gal who was selling wool at her booth. being the fiber addict that I am, I couldn't help but strike up a converstaion with her about her sheep and the wool she was selling. Her wool was very nice quality; very clean with a beautiful length and luster. However, I only brought $8 with me, intending to buy some fabric for a skirt, and I knew she was probably selling the wool for more than what I had.

Curious though, I asked how much she was asking for it. She smiled and said, "I'll sell it to you for twenty."

"Oh." :-/ I told her that I would come back next week, since I didn't have enough with me today.

"Well, how much do you have?" She inquired.

After telling her my grand total that was in my purse [wink], she smiled again and said: "Done! I'll sell it to you for $8!" :D

It wasn't until I got in the van that I looked at the price tag on the bag of wool. She was originally selling it for $30!!

I was also given a pound of mohair (it comes from angora goats and is super silky) for free a couple days ago too. :)

Dad says I have a natural talent for getting things for good prices (or free!), but I think this is a bit more than talent. After all, who else but the lord would know that I've been looking around for that exact kind of wool? Dad thinks I should try asking around for a log splitter now..... ;D

God is so good.....

~Caitlyn

Pictures! (poor quality but they're still pictures!)

Before you go any further, I want to say that the pictures were taken by me and that is why they are of such poor quality. My blog photographer (aka, Emily) told me that I was on my own for pics this evening, so I had to fend for myself. :-/ I'm sure there's some sort of button you can push on the camera to make them turn out better; I just don't know which one it is. ;)

But here are some pics of my new spinning wheel! :D

Yup, a bad shot. Unfortunately the wheel only fits in one spot of our sewing room, and there just happens to be a window right there, which is why it's been so hard for us to take any pictures of it.

one of the names of this kind of wheel is the 'walking wheel' because you do indeed walk back and forth in a slow manner while spinning. Pioneer women would often walk twenty miles in a day spinning on one of these!

Here's a pic of my Ahsford wheel and my kick spindle next to my Great wheel (these huge wheels are known as Great wheels, walking wheels and wool wheels). You can't even see the top of it! :D Suprisingly, it's really light; probably around 12 pounds in all.

Being the odd person that I am, I had to give it a name (yep, I'm strange ;D). My Ashford's name is Patsy and my Great wheel is Melba. For some reason I've always liked the name Melba.... And Elaine..... ;)

~Caitlyn

An All-American Trade

I'm so happy right now! :D You'll never guess what new toy I just got!

I got a beautiful, huge, 6 feet long and 5 feet tall, 100+ year old, Spinning wheel!!

And best of all, I got it for almost free.

I had noticed this wheel on Craigslist about a week ago and fell head-over-heels in love with it at first sight. I later found out that a good friend of ours was the one who owned it. She was selling it for a super good price, but I didn't have enough to buy it, and when she heard that I was interested, she offered to do some bartering. :)

So we traded. She gave me the wheel, and I am baking her some pies!!

It's a perfect, all-American trade. Pies for an American wheel. :D

It's missing a piece, so I can't spin on it just yet; but I found the exact piece I need on ebay for a good price.

My Ashford Traditional wheel looks so tiny next to it. It weighs 17 pounds (the Ashford that is) and I used to think that it was big, until I got this new wheel.

Maybe when I've got it up and running I'll have Emily get a video of it. It's beautiful to watch someone spin on it; it reminds me of doing a slow graceful waltz.....

I will post pictures as soon as possible! Right now the lighting upstairs isn't good enough so Emily and I have to wait until it gets better.

~Caitlyn

It's Fixed! It's Fixed!

Hurray!! My spinning wheel is officially fixed and working!!

Dad and I took the wheel up to the spinning wheel guy today to see if he could fix it, and he did! He was a really nice man and told us stories while he worked. He's retired and fixes spinning wheels for a hobby; it was so neat seeing all the different wheels that people have brought him to fix. He showed us each wheel, telling where it was made and what was wrong with it. There were wheels made in Germany, Austria, Wales, America (veeery old ones from pilgrim to colonial days!), Finland, Holland, England, Scotland, and who knows where else!

We had been told that he was a nice man, but we weren't expecting him to be as nice as he turned out to be. after working on my wheel, sanding it, putting new leather pieces on, giving us a new scotch brake, giving me a handmade orifice hook, cleaning it, tuning it and some other things, he wouldn't let me pay him!!

His stories were great. He told us about how his great-grandfather escaped from being enlisted into the Franco-Prussian war by stowing away on a cargo ship bound for America, at the age of 17.

He showed us a beautiful wheel that he's been keeping for someone for five years. The gal who it belonged to, disappeared one day and no one knows where she went. The spinning wheel guy searched high and low for her, following every lead, but still couldn't find her. He keeps the wheel in hopes that someday she will return, so he can give it back, fixed, and no charge to her. I like that. :)

And two guesses as to what I am busy doing now! Spinning!! ;D I have missed having a wheel, that's for sure.

~Caitlyn

What is a Mother Marion Kick Spindle?

So you probably know what a spinning wheel is, but have you ever heard of a mother marion kick spindle? A lot of my friends have asked so I decided to put a picture on here so ya'll can see what I am talking about.

It's basically just a drop spindle that has a little wooden wheel at the bottom and is on a permanent stand. You can either sit or stand while spinning with it and all you do is just give the wheel a whirl and you're spinning! When I get mine I'll have to have Emily get a video.

~Caitlyn

The Power of Prayer

Hello everyone!! It's been a while hasn't it? It's been HOT up here in the hills and while I like heat, 105 degrees has been a leeeeetle much. ;)

So while trying to stay moderately cool I've been working on getting my spinning classes up and running. The Lord has blessed me beyond belief and I should be ready to begin next week!

In the last post I did about spinning lessons, I was having a troublesome time with my wheel and figuring out times and places.

It's so wonderful being able to cast our burdens to the Lord and leave them there, knowing that he will take care of them. I prayed and told the Lord everything and he has worked everything out in the most perfect detail.....

He provided a lovely Mother Marion Kick Spindle that was in my budget. (It should be here by Friday!)

A friend sold me 22 oz. of roving at a wonderful price and then suprised me by giving me 6 more ounces for free!!!

A friend of my mom's offered me her drum carder to use as long as I like. (this was a HUGE blessing as drum carders cost $400 to $700!)

The Lord has given me eight students so far.

I'm getting my spinning wheel fixed hopefully tomorrow.

There's a chance that I may be getting a paying job, spinning yarn for a small yarn company; while staying home!

There is a possibility of my getting another spinning wheel for free! (this is another big blessing, as I could then have a wheel for my own use and then have one for teaching).

A guy up in Clackamas is offering alpaca, llama and sheep wool for $1 a pound! I think we might be going up there in a week or so to get some.

The list continues on and on.....

God is so good! :D

~Caitlyn

Life is never easy is it?

Why can't life be easy? Or at least, why can't some of our problems be easy to solve?

I am working on starting spinning classes and am hoping to be ready by mid-August or early September. One would think it easy enough to just start but it doesn't seem to be working that way.... :-/

My Ashford Traditional, while a good wheel, isn't very beginner friendly so I tried calling Woodland Woolworks to see how much they would offer for it. They do wheel trades, and I was really hoping that I would be able to trade it in for a better wheel. Alas, they only offered $175 for my wheel and the one I am wanting is $495. Ouch.

So I am kind of between a rock and a hard place. I wouldn't feel ready to teach without a wheel, as some students may graduate from the drop spindle faster than others. But I can't afford a new wheel until I earn money from spinning lessons!! I'm making myself dizzy.

I think what I may try and do, is take my wheel to a professional spinning wheel repair man and see if there is anthing he could do to make my wheel run easier, and then I would just have to teach with my Ashford until I can afford a better one. But we'll see if that works....

The other biggie is trying to figure out how to do the lessons. Mom and I agreed that $5 a lesson would be a good price (Sarah, You get your lessons free since you asked for some waaay before I ever thought about teaching) but the rest has been a bit more ticklish. Mom wants me to teach my students in a group, all at the same time. But I would prefer to do private lessons. I had my first lessons in group style and I didn't like it. The teacher was always elsewhere and you had to just hope that you were doing everything correctly, because it would take to much time if she helped everyone individually. I can see how it would be better this way though; my weeks would be free-er and we could meet somewhere for the group get together, like our church.

But with private lessons, I could be sure that my student understands what he/she is doing and why he/she is doing it that way. It would be one on one so they would be getting more for their money and they would progress faster. On the flip side, it could very easily make my weeks suddenly become busy and hectic and my students would probably have to come out here.

So why am I telling you poor readers all this?

I dunno'.

There has been a lot of prayer throughout this ordeal, making sure that this is the Lord's Will and not just my own selfish wants. I have a lot of people who want me to teach them, I just need to figure out those little, but important, details....

Your prayers and advice would be greatly appreciated! Right now I am really just needing wisdom on what my next step should be....


~Caitlyn

Rainy days can be nice

I peeked out my window this morning to find the sky wrapped in a fleecy, gray blanket of clouds; and the morning mist groggily slipping away into oblivion. All of nature seemed sleepy and hesitant to begin the day. It was one of those days where I felt content to stay indoors, wear my dark blue, plaid, A-frame skirt, take my time during school and do some spinning afterwards. :)

So that was exactly what I did!

This picture is of one of my favorite drop spindles that I have. I got it along with my spinning wheel, and it didn't take long for me to fall in love with it. ;D It's balance and speed are perfect, it's a top whorl (as opposed to being a bottom whorl) and the wood is gorgeous. On it, I have almost 2 ounces of spun alpaca yarn (two ounces is a LOT). The fiber is from one of the alpacas that we used to have. Right now, the yarn is a pale gray but after it's been washed it will turn to a stunning, pure, snowy white and will be oh-so-soft.

I think in all I have around 8 spindles. I love them all.... Each one is different in some way; either it's weight, its wood, top or bottom whorl, speed, balance... It's fun choosing between them for each spinning project.

I have so much fiber to spin and yet my poor, lovely spinning wheel still remains motionless.

We haven't been to Woodland Woolworks yet so I still have not been able to get a new scotch brake for it. Spinning is impossible without the scotch brake so I must stick with my spindles a bit longer.

Not that I mind though. :D Spinning on a drop spindle is slower than on a wheel, but it much more portable. I often bring one of my spindles with me when we have to go to the doctor or if we're going to a park. If at the doctor, then I can spin while waiting in the lobby; if at the park, then I spin while walking. It's fun. I do get a lot of funny looks when people see me spinning and a lot of people ask if I am Amish or Mennonite. I don't blame them though, I suppose I might ask the same question if I saw a girl dressed in an ankle length skirt, with her hair in a bun and she's spinning in public! LOL. I've also had people ask if I was on my way to a reenactment of some sort. And then there are the people who loudly ask what century I'm from. I'm used to it.

This is MY rocking chair. Well, my favorite chair anyway. :) It sits in a quiet, cozy little nook nestled in our sewing room upstairs. A handmade quilt made by my mom accents its back and invites young girls to sit and work on projects.

Rainy days aren't always dreary days. They can be wonderful cozy days where you put one extra log on the fire, grab a book or project and enjoy yourself.....

~Caitlyn