Yarn all over the house...

Getting ready for Holiday Market, I stopped to take a few photos of the way yarn has taken over the house.

The manual skein winder has moved into the kitchen



There is yarn on the counter waiting to be wound



The electric skein winder has taken over the office



notice the computer chair full of yarn...


The sink is full of dyed yarn after rinsing


Which then is drying on the deck




Somehow this needs to all get skeined and labeled, and loaded into the fairgrounds this Friday for the opening day of Holiday Market.

Pass the coffee please. And ignore the dirty dishes and laundry while it all gets done.

Everybody loves yarn

Sometimes you just have to hug it.....

Bulky crochet hat pattern

This is more of a recipe than a strict pattern, it is easy to adapt to different size yarns and different sized heads. For this hat I used Bulky weight yarn and a size P hook. Skein was 125 yards, I used a little over half of it.

Stitches used are chain, slip stitch, single crochet and hdc (half double crochet).

Chain 4, join with a slip stitch. Chain 2, work 7 hdc around ring and join with slip stitch.

Chain 2, 1 hdc in joining stitch, 2 hdc in east stitch, join with slip stitch.

Chain 2, 1 hdc in join, 2 hdc in next stitch. Repeat 2 then 1 around circle, join.

Chain 2, 1 hdc in join, 1 hdc, 2 hdc, repeat around and join.

Continue in this sequence, adding one more hdc before doubling up until circle measures 6-7 inches across. This will form sort of a bowl shape. Then work even until hat is desired size, this will make hat shape. I usually stop when it measures 9 inches from center to rim. Single crochet the last round, joining with slip stitch. Weave in ends.

Optional ideas, if you like the ridges around the bottom of the hat in the photo just crochet in the back loops the last couple of rounds, then turn inside out when done. Sometimes I do the last round of single crochet in a contrasting yarn.

To use a finer yarn and smaller hook just use the same method of increasing, doing 2 in each stitch, then 2 and one alternating, then 2-1-1, then 2-1-1-1, etc. until the top is 6-7 inches across. Then work even until hat is desired size. Once you learn this pattern you can whip out a hat with any yarn without a pattern, and it is a great way to use a one of a kind yarn.

Have fun!

Organic yarn

All of the ebay organic wool yarn is sold, Thanks so much to everyone.

I'm a terrible blogger, been working much too hard trying to dye tons of yarn and silk for Holiday Market. Hope to have some pictures soon. But I will try and post the hat pattern I have been promising later today.

Organic yarn for sale at wholesale prices

I am clearing out the last of my stash of commercial organic yarns, so that I can focus on my own handdyed yarns. Visit my ebay listings, where you can get organic cotton and organic wool yarn at wholesale cost or below. These aren't auctions, just buy it now listings so you can get the quantity you need. If you want more than a couple skeins, please contact me for a corrected shipping quote as the ebay calculator doesn't work well.

Go here for Yarn Bargains!

Wheel has a happy home!

My kiwi is off to a happy home, right here in my neighborhood! Thanks to all who asked about it.

Happy spinning!

Kiwi for sale

I've gotten several inquiries on this wheel, so I am putting all the pictures in one place. I am asking $250, plus shipping if necessary. It will weight about 18 lbs. in a box with packing materials and the extras, so calculate shipping via UPS or the post office from 97405 to your address.

It comes with the high speed adaptor kit, a couple of lbs. of wool to play with (the grey I think is romney, but I don't remember for sure, the white is commercial wool that dyes lovely colors if you want to try that). Both are combed rovings with a long staple length ready to spin, and easy to learn with. I am also including the book The Whole Craft of Spinning, and it has the original paperwork from Ashford.

Also comes with three bobbins (I will wind off the yarn on the bobbin in the photo). It also has the lazy kate that came with it, visit the Ashford site to see a photo as I can't find it right now. A thorough cleaning of my fiber space will uncover it so I can include it! It is the metal two bobbin one shown just below the Kiwi photo at the site, not the fancier tensioned 3 bobbin one below that.

The wheel has a hand rubbed wax and citrus finish on it, no shiny varnish. So it could be stained darker, or painted, or kept as is. I have kept the drive band loose when not spinning, on both the regular one and the high speed kit, so they are in good condition.

Here's a fun link to a Knitty article about spinning on a Kiwi. I would prefer to sell it to someone in Eugene so that I don't have to dissassemble it, and they don't have to reassemble it. All the instructions are there, but I bought it assembled from Woodland Woolworks and would love to sell it that way if possible.