Remember to Always......

Voice in my head: Remember to always tie your skein in three places when you block it.

Me: Yes!

Voice in my head: Remember to always tie your skein in three places when you block it.

Me: Absolutely!

Voice in my head: Remember to always tie your skein in three places when you block it.

Me: I've got it ingrained in my inner most being, I'll never forget. Thank you voice in my head.

Voice in my head: Remember to always tie your skein in three places when you throw said skein into the dye pot.

Me: Yes!



I think that the voice in my head should have reminded me on that last point a couple of more times.

I have no words to describe what I went through to fix the brain fart I had when I dyed this skein.....even though the other three skeins, dyed at the same time some how managed to get themselves tied securely.

Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

It's not my fault

I am in no way to blame. In fact my downfall can be traced back and attributed entirely to the people at the Upper Canada Village. About 12 years ago, we went there as a family. I was knitting, but not to the extent that I do now. We entered one of the many homes and what did we find????

An older lady and a teen sitting at spinning wheels. I have this on video...the conniving pair, luring me into their cult.

The spinning cult indoctrination took some time. The seed was firmly planted, but as the soil was rocky, the idea took some time to grow. OR.....I just had no idea where I could get the help to get started.

About two years later, I moved to Northern Alberta for three years. It was a wasteland land for wool. The only local place to buy yarn was Zellers. If I wanted anything nice, I had to drive three hours to Edmonton. So forget about quick fixes.

Just so you know , only understanding and experience I had with spinning wheels , at this time, were with the ones that took up half your living room.

Then it was off to Vancouver Island for three years. One of DH's friends, was a member of the SCA. He told me that a fellow member of the SCA taught spinning on a drop spindle. "Aha" this is just what I needed. I would learn how to spin, it wouldn't cost a lot of cash and I wouldn't have to rearrange my living room to accommodate the wheel.

I soon learnt that I had a knack for spinning, wheels are a LOT more compact and it gave me a new hobby to stash for. Several months went by and I am happily spinning away on my drop spindle. Then fate intervenes.....

DH leaves for half a year. He is on the other side of the planet and making a few extra bucks. It is now the end of November.

Me: I really like this spinning thing. I want to save up and next Christmas I'll buy myself a wheel.

DH: Hmmmmmmm

Little did I know what was about to happen next. Secret e-mail conversations between a friend of mine and DH. He was getting advice about what wheel to buy me for Christmas...that Christmas. He never did buy the wheel for me. He sent me money and told me that it was for a wheel. I took matters into my own hands and bought a wheel. Since he did technically pay for it. I do give him full credit for buying me a wheel.

Once again we move and my wheel and various stashes go with me. Some days I think that I've moved to the middle of no where. Other days I think that I've moved to the hub of activity. Every year the local Historical society puts on a SPIN-IN. Spinners from all over the Ottawa Valley (and beyond) get together for a day of spinning. It is always fun. There are techniques to learn, new friend and old friends, a few vendors to tempt you and of course, door prizes.

Here's a picture from this year.


I spent the time spinning up some Blue Faced Leicester....not sure what I'm going to do with it. My problem is that I can spin a lot faster than I knit so it just produces another stash. I can live with that.

Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

Oh Heavenly Gift!

My qiviut is here. I couldn't believe how wonderful this stuff actually is. I've felt qiviut yarn before but the raw fibre is out of this world.

"Supper will be late tonight kids, mommy is playing with her Qiviut." I put supper on hold and proceeded to play. I thought the Post-It note was cute. DH told me that he had informed the large animal research station that the fibre was a Valentine's gift. Proceeds from the sale of the qiviut go to the maintenance of the animals.Very cool!


Here is the qiviut after I've pulled out a handful from the Ziploc bag. By this point, I've fallen in love and have decided to run away with the stuff and leave DH and the kids behind.



It was DH's plan to buy me the fibre, not to use but to simply enjoy. "So that you could just pet it every now and then." Oh no, no, no, no, no.......that would never do. I have many labels and spinner is one of them. I can't have a bag of qiviut and just leave it be only to visit it every now and then when I'm in need of some high quality fibre fondling.

Since this is raw fibre, I had to dehair it. Now normally this would be a boring and monotonous task but today is different. Today, I'm finding tedium to be highly enjoyable. I could pull those hairs out all day and not complain. Just let me touch all that wonderful silky soft goodness.

All good things must come to an end. What this actually means is while the desire to spoil me is there (I am so keeping this man), I didn't marry a zillionaire and DH had to limit how much fibre he purchased.



The hair on the right hand side can be saved and used for tassels or other nonsense, I just pitched it as it did not serve any useful purpose for me. Yes, I know, you're all shocked. I'm going to blend my qiviut with something to make it go furthur, but that's for another post. For now I'm just going to stick my hand in the bag every now and then and enjoy.

Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

A Good Day to Dye

Or should I say....how to fix a really bad dye job......NO!!!!! I'm not talking about my hair.

I'm talking about 400 grams of a merino/silk blend. I bought this fibre about 5 years ago from the lady who taught me how to spin. I loved it so much that I didn't let this stuff age in my stash, I spun it right away. But there it stayed until I could decide what to do with it.

Recently, I was playing around with some dyes and mucked it up royally. So I left the "skeins of shame" hang where they would be a constant reminder to my dyeing inadequacies. Frankly, they were screaming louder than any UFO ever could.

Let's just say that over dyeing is a wonderful way to save my bacon. What I did to it was just down right criminal...makes me shudder just to think of it. To make matters worse, the teen would ask what I was going to do with that ugly yarn. It is 70/30 merino/silk and doesn't deserve this. So, without further ado, here's what I did...in reverse.......

A close up of my hand spun. The finished skein.What do you mean, you use your salad spinner for lettuce? It's a good thing DH and the girls like sauerkraut, I need the big jars for dyeing. Now you can see why I needed to over dye. We've had a long talk and the skeins have decided to forgive me. I'll finally be able to sleep at night.

Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

Ode to my Green Merino

Ode to my green merino

so lovely and green.

Ode to my green merino

the nicest I've ever seen.

The moment I saw you,

I knew you would be mine.

So soft, lovely

and very fine.

In a bag you were,

waiting to be spun.

When I saw you,

I knew we would have fun.

That other lady wanted you,

she didn't even say please.

I knew to have you,

I'd have to beat her to her knees.

Even though she was a senior,

it didn't matter to me.

She might have been an older lady,

but you and I had to become a "we".

You are a delight

and compared to others, you are the boss.

You are practical as well,

my green merino super wash.

I can't begin to tell you,

of how you are nice.

Better still,

you cost me half price.

How do I show my love?

Do I spin you right away?

Perhaps I'll wait,

and think on it for a day.

Will you be a sweater,

or many pairs of mitts?

Doesn't matter green merino,

for me you are it.

So lovely and soft,

you didn't cost much cash.

But let's dispense with shallow sentimentality,

I bought you for my stash.