Crafty Manolo

Check out these fabulous mittens. They are the creation of our own Cthululovesme, and her entry in the recent Crafty Manolo contest. How gorgeous are they? Mighty gorgeous, that’s how.

Not only did she knit these bad boys, she also dyed and spun most of the yarn for the project. For details on the yarn, the pattern, and the work as it progressed, check out her Ravelry page on the project.

Early attempts at spinning the colors she needed wound up inconsistent, so she put the project aside for a while… a couple years, in point of fact!

It wasn’t until I decided to do a mass WIP purge that I remembered my plans. Having had several years of spinning experience at this point, it was considerably easier  to get consistent, non-overspun yarn from the last few batches of fiber.  I wound up playing around with the fiber prep on some of them, handcarding some, spinning others straight. I also decided that the mittens would never get done if I also had to spin up the background color and lining, so I got those from Knit Picks.

I would say these mittens were well worth the wait, Cthululovesme! They’re superfantastic in the extreme!

15th century French illustration of drop spindle and walking distaff via Ewephoric

Spinning is almost as old as any form of civilization. After all, many agree that without clothes, civilization is, at best, tenuous, and spinning allows us to have both cloth to cover our nakedness and thread to keep those clothes from flapping pointlessly in the breeze:

Oh, Natasha Richardson! This was not your finest public moment.

Anyway.

So if we’re not all going to be naturists, we are going to wear clothes at least in public. And before the advent of harnessed electricity, refined gas, and all those other much, much later technological advances, well, we had to make that thread and cloth somehow. The drop spindle – and later the spinning wheel – and the loom were how we got it done before there was much written recorded history or the internet.

Sure, we can just go out and buy clothes, fabric, yarn, or thread today without worrying about producing our own… but where’s the fun in that? After all, I can go out and buy microwaveable meals, too, but I still prefer to cook most of the time. It’s tastier and I get a sense of accomplishment.

Yarn may not taste much better from a drop spindle, but it’s certainly more of an accomplishment than buying it ready spun! It’s something you can do with your hands while waiting for other things or while listening to music or watching TV. And when you’re done, you’ve got something useful to show for your time, whether you’ve made something just right for that chunky knit sweater you want to get done before the first snowfall or something delicate enough to turn into a spider web of lace.

If all of this sounds like fun to you… it is. And if you think you’d like to give it a try, check out these instructions from Handspinning.com. Just remember the heed the author’s warning:

WARNING!!! Spinning reduces stress and promotes well being. It can also be habit forming and lead to obsessive behaviors such as, but not restricted to: caressing and hoarding all fibers; dying them with food colors and things from your garden or whatever you have laying about; spinning the fluffy bits of the weeds in your fields, the cotton wad in your vitamin bottles and even the lint from your dryer! Proceed with extreme caution!

Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

via Craftstylish

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I would bring you some great ideas for recycling your refuse into glorious crafts nobody would refuse to have in their homes. First up, this kind of adorable mosaic frame is made of old credit cards. If you’ve been hit hard by the recent economic miseries and suddenly want to get rid of all your plastic, here’s a way to make it work for you again.

But what if you don’t have a large cache of old credit cards to cut up? Ah my dears, just look below the cut and find more fun crafts from around the web made of discarded items.

(more…)

if you love to spin, you need a good spinning wheel. Of course, you’ll also probably want a good deal on your wheel. That’s where Pacific Wool and Fiber comes into play. They’re having a special deal on spinning wheels right now. It’s not a sale, per se, but a case of adding in some free goodies to sweeten the deal.

For instance, I find myself intrigued by this Kromski Sonata folding spinning wheel. It’s the perfect tool for the spinner who does public demonstrations or wants to take her work along to crafting circles.

Weighing in at just 11.5 pounds, it folds down to just 22″ x 19″ for easy transport. It comes with three bobbins, a built in lazy Kate, threading hook, and carrying bag. Even the shipping is free.

Depending on the finish, the wheel will run you $520.00 to $540.00. But wait! There’s more! You can choose your free gift of two extra bobbins, a niddy noddy and an extra bobbin, an instructional DVD on learning to spin, or 24 oz. Corriedale top.

Of course, just because it’s a good deal doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. If you think you might prefer a drop spindle, or if you can’t afford a wheel, drop on by the Joy of Handspinning to learn how to make your own drop spindle for next to nothing.