whackadoodle coconut

my husband and I met up with some friends this weekend and they has asked about spinzilla and wanted to know how it all works.  I had briefly explained how it all works and figured that since I was likely to start from nothing on this journey it might be helpful to know how this all works. Step one: Sheep.  if you want to spin yarn, you will need to source some fiber.  but, where does it come from?  the easy answer is from sheep.  however, living in a non-spinning centered (or sheep herd centric) city, I choose to purchase prepared fiber.  I used to have a shop near by to purchase fiber from, now I order from an online vendor. the possibility also exists to find locks from sheep to prepare and then spin. like these. Step two: Prepare your fiber. I have several methods to choose from.  I own a pair of carders and a pair of combs.  I will either card or comb my fiber until it is the way I want to spin and then I'll spin.  I don...

hooray!  spinzilla has officially concluded and at midnight my time zone all the yardage should have been submitted and the finally team tallies will begin. I really pushed myself this year and placed my goal well outside of my reach.  at times I wasn't sure if I'd even make it.  even my hubby had to cheer me on and give a pep talk about keep working to meet my goal.  it was was close there for a few  hours (a day).  my goal this year to spin 5 km.  That is 5468 yards (5000 meters). at the end of it all, I did make my goal and passed it by just over 100 meters (technically 168 meters). here is my schedule for the week and what actually was  spun.  I was bummed I didn't get to the Sweet Georgia fiber I wanted to spin for this year, but I was unsure of with kind of prep that was needed, I decided to pass in order to make my mileage. of course I plied everything into a 2 ply yarn, so the mileage includes plying credit. three days I spun ...

didn't think there would be a part two.  however, receiving more wooly goodness tuesday and getting my spinning schedule worked up there is a need to update! I picked up one of these (actually two) of the Woolery's Spinzilla special Spinzilla 2017 Fiber packs. it is so soft and gorgeous i person.  this is the first time I have ordered fiber online and wasn't sure if I would like it. usually, I'd rather pick up fiber in person, so I can feel it and get an idea of what it looks like in person (colors, texture, depth, etc).  and the personal experience is better.  plus when my hubs goes along, he likes to help pick out colors and new fiber to challenge me with. I also purchased the Spinzilla 2017 Colorway from Sweet Georgia called fire starter. with eight fiber selections to work through this year, I'm really looking forward to the fun.  my goal is to reach 5456 yards (8047 meters) worth of spinning.  that's a 5k (3.1 miles)!  last year ...

it's that time of the year again ...Spinzilla!  Very excited about this year because I have a better plan for prepping my fiber and my goal is within reach of last year's final yardage. UPDATED: here are some pics of what I began (and finished) for the pre spin to ensure that my wheel is working properly and I remember how to spin.  I opted for finishing the fiber that I had already began to spin, but was trying my patience and needed more work. picked up a cat/dog brush to help work out the compaction in the fiber you can see the little dreds there. fluffy little clouds of fiber, after being worked through with the brush singles waiting to be plied finished plying and ready to be measured and wound I am starting this year with - some warm up spinning (see above), clearing my bobbins, attaching new leaders, and buying new fiber that will be a delight to spin. last year I fell short by a couple bobbins, so I immediately bought more afterwards...

my first spinzilla event and I did great!  I spun 3257 yards of yarn and at this point not sure what I'll do with it?!  some I will use in color work for a sweater I have in the queue and others not sure at all.  there's a lot of wool, some mixed with silk and alpaca.  I have some gradients and solids.  all of which I am quite proud of.

hi.  remember me?  I'm whackadoodle coconut. this week (and actually the last few months) have been quite busy for us around ye olde household.  I've been working on getting the house straightened up, cleaned up and organized.  makes a girl feel better knowing everything is in it's place.  so this week with the heat and prepping for spinzilla, I've been practicing my spinning and finishing up a couple projects. First - the evolution of the yarn I've had in my stash for over a year now.  I thought it was a nice mix of spring time colors, but I never really liked the way they looked together on my test spin.  then I had an idea, what if I blended the colors like I did with my sherbet yarn?  and voila! and here it is.  the evolution of yarn!  it's a nice mix of bulky yarn.  I think it looks like cotton candy and my husband said it looked like yarn for a baby.  I'd agree with that.  it is fresh, pastel and...

well, a lot of things actually.  in this case, what do I do when the hubby's down for a week with the sick?  I'll show you. a few bags of 1 ounce measure of sheep hairs.  these have been shorn, dyed and cleaned through ready to card and spin. this is what they look like once you've pulled them out of the bag and have them ready to card. yes like a dog brush. I know you will ask.  these are 112 flat carders that are used to "brush" or "tease" the wool so they are ready to spin. think of it as separating the locks so they can be drafted easily onto the wheel. I actually had to learn a new spinning method to do this. really unsure at this point if this is working.  looks like it is, but that really isn't a guarantee of anything. we'll see when I get ready to ply, then wash and finally knit something with it. so you all know, I do more than pew pew pew in my time.  this has been a huge undertaking. I am one step away from s...

take a looksy at the list. 1.  35 and my second round in braces. it's just as "awesome" as the first time. minutes after the ortho visit. 2.  being a leader is harder than it sounds.  but frankly it's just as fun as you'd think if you were one of "those" people. not really a "leader" picture, but how do you really photograph that? 3.  happiness is a lot of things.  but I'm sure that it's none of those things you see on pinterest.  really. 4.  dying to spin on that wheel over there (pointing).  funny thing, I saw a post on facebook of the company and there was the man who made my wheel sitting right there. hubby asks, "who is that?"  I said "I think he's the guy to made my wheel" (picking up my wheel and turning it over) "see?  there's his name on the bottom." it's like the earth just opened up and revealed a tiny pot of gold. yup, right there on the bottom. #176 5.  ...