Adventures with the Drum Carder

In an effort to avoid the cocooning that we tend to do all too much of in the winter here, we had a very lovely dinner with Chelle and her family last night; it's always nice to get out of the house & spend some relaxing fun time with friends. After dinner, while the guys chatted, we (Chelle & I) couldn't resist some serious goofing around with fiber. She had a fabulous new drum carder from Fancy Kitty, but was still a bit tentative about using it. Now, I'm no expert on drum carders, but I used them a bit back at Yarn School, and the main lesson I came away with from that experience is this: Throw whatever you like into the carder, it's almost impossible to make a mistake. So, we started cranking away on the thing and made a couple of batts.

The first batt was mostly brown wool with a little grey & green thrown in, and some bits of blue/green silk hankies just for fun. We didn't separate the silk nearly enough, which made it a bit difficult & clumpy to spin. I think next time I'll pull the silk into much thinner & shorter bits before feeding it into the carder. We just kept feeding this thing until it was quite fat and lofty; it weighed about half an ounce.

The second batt we tried was burgundy and brown wools, and some burgundy silk bits that were smaller (but still a little too big.) This one was lovely, and a little smaller at 3/8 oz. We could have made it bigger but it was getting late.

Chelle kindly gave me both batts to spin up, which I did... spinning from the batt is a bit different from spinning from a roving strip, but not significantly so. I had a couple of fat spots where it got away from me, but for the most part it came out to a nice worsted yarn when I plied the two singles together. The two colors, so different, worked together in a rather unexpected way! There's not a lot of it, but maybe enough to trim a collar or something. I like it.

Spinning buddies

Chelle and I went to a spinning class over at the Yarn Barn this weekend. We had a ton of fun! We got to test spin several wildly different fibers, some of which I loved (Chelle & I both liked spinning silk so much, we each bought a bag of silk hankies to take home) and some not so much (I'd be happy if I never had to touch cotton again.) Best of all, we got to hone some old techniques and practice some new ones. And we got to hang out with some very cool fiber artists for the afternoon. A great way to spend a Saturday!

A Good Thanksgiving

Three signs of a really good Thanksgiving:

1. You have family & friends gathered around. 2. All of the dishes that you're cooking are finished when they are supposed to be, plus or minus ten minutes or so.

3. There is at least a little dancing in the kitchen. A lot of dancing is better. Hope your Thanksgiving is as good as ours!

Get Phat!

Do you like surprises? (Who doesn't?! When they're nice surprises, anyway.) Jessie from Phat Fiber had the brilliant idea of putting together mystery boxes of samples from lots of different indie fiber artisans from all over the place. Every box is different, and who knows what you'll get? You can get a yarn-only box or a spinner's box, which may have both yarn & roving samples. I've also heard rumors of stitch markers & patterns & all kinds of other goodies to be included. Each month's box will have a different theme... the first box in January will be "Winter". Sounds fun! It's a great way to learn about some new artists you haven't heard of yet & maybe get a sneak peek of the "next big thing".

The Husband Quiz

Today we'll hear from Mike, the Imperator to my Imperatrix. Here's a fun little interview-style quiz -- I borrowed it from Laura.

Me: What is your favorite thing about my knitting?
Hubby: It's all useful stuff, as opposed to mine [he knits chain mail]

Me: What is your least favorite thing about my knitting?
Hubby: Never really thought of it.

Me: What is something I have knitted that you recall as good?
Hubby: Everything you knit is beautiful!

Me: Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?
Hubby: No more so than any other hobby, all hobbies can be expensive if you really get into it.

Me: Do you have any hobbies?
Hubby: Yes, all kinds. I knit chain mail and collect knives.

Me: Do you have a stash of any kind?
Hubby: Yes, I have a stash of rings that I've been sitting on for years but I am using them now. [Approximately 18,000 rings for an armour shirt]

Me: Have I ever embarrassed you, knitting in public?
Hubby: No

Me: Do you know my favorite kind of yarn?
Hubby: No, I have no idea. There's only like eight million kinds of yarn out there.

Me: Can you name another knitting blog?
Hubby: Not for your kind of knitting, but I'm on a chain mail forum right now.

Me: Do you mind my wanting to stop at knit shops wherever we go?
Hubby: No, do you mind me wanting to stop at the knife shops?

Me: Do you understand the importance of a swatch?
Hubby: Yes, of course. I have to do it too. It's a proof to make sure it's going to look the way I want it to.

Me: Do you read Ave Trivia Imperatrix! (this blog)?
Hubby: Once in a while.

Me: Have you ever left a comment?
Hubby: No

Me: Do you think the house would be cleaner if I didn't knit?
Hubby: No, you keep everything pretty organized, so it's not like it's cluttered. [Note, it's not true, but he said it very sweetly]

Me: Anything you'd like to add?
Hubby: Yes, I really enjoy wearing your knitted stuff.

Obama comes to KC

Yesterday, I took the kids down to Liberty Memorial Park to see Senator Barack Obama speak at a campaign rally. We were three of the 75,000-plus who turned out to see him in Kansas City. It was amazing! I'll leave it to the political blogs to do the in-depth analysis on his various policy positions... I'll just say that the man is a flat-out inspiration.

We got there a little before two, and waited in line for a couple hours before they let us into the park. Then we waited for a couple more hours before the speeches started. Of course, I was representing Knitters for Obama. Got a solid four inches of ribbing done on Mike's Antifreeze hat, too.

Obama's stump speech is thoughtful and engaging. He hit all the high notes... healthcare, education, and especially taxes... but he also repeated the story about stopping in a little diner while campaigning in Ohio for a slice of sweet-potato pie. You gotta love a man whose face lights up when he talks about sweet-potato pie.

Missouri is by no means a done deal, and I'll be working my patootie off for the next sixteen days along with all of the rest of the Obama volunteers here in the effort to turn MO blue. But I've got a really, really good feeling here.

Yarn Harlot comes to KC

A bunch of us went up to see Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka The Yarn Harlot, last night -- she is on a tour promoting her new book. From left to right: Carolyn, Chelle, Laura, Dorothy, and me. Three out of five knitters also blog, apparently. Anyway, it was fun hanging out with a bunch of other knitters, chatting and having a good old time seeing all the beautiful hand knits! And I won the door prize at the end of the evening! Man, I ought to go buy a lottery ticket or something, my luck seems to be running very strong right now.

(The picture was blatantly lifted from Chelle, because I forgot my camera. Sorry, Chelle.)