Loving Lamb Locks

By far my favorite part of my homework has been laying out wool locks to wash them. These are Gotland lamb locks and I am in love with them! They have the cutest curl and the fiber it very soft. I think I may have to add Gotland sheep to my wish list! I lay out the locks so they are all going in one direction and then sandwich them in between two grill screens I bought at the dollar store. I find this so relaxing and it's a great way to keep the lock intact while washing. 

Triple the work

This past weekend was my triplet nephew's christening. My sister-in-law asked me to use her wedding dress for the outfits. This was probably one of the most stressful but most rewarding projects I have ever worked on. She must REALLY trust me! I think they came out great but those babies would make anything look adorable! 

Gina on her wedding day.

The first cut was the hardest! 

I feel so blessed to have these little loves in my life. I hope the outfits get passed down to their children one day! 

Indie Untangled

I feel so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful community. I was interviewed by the new website Indie Untangled. If you don’t know about it you should! 

Go check it out: http://indieuntangled.com/untangling-queen-bee-fibers/

Their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/indieuntangled

Upcoming Whole Foods Demos

Come buzz by and learn about our products and receive free samples! Hope to see you there.

• JUL 19

  Paramus Whole Foods Demo Whole Foods Market Paramus in Paramus, New Jersey 10:00am JoinSave

• JUL 19

  Ridgewood Whole Foods Demo Whole Foods Market – Ridgewood, NJ in Ridgewood, New Jersey 3:00pm JoinSave

• JUL 20

  White Plains Whole Foods Demo Whole Foods in White Plains, New York 10:00am JoinSave

• JUL 20

  Yonkers Whole Foods Demo Whole Foods in Yonkers, New York 3:00pm JoinSave

• JUL 26

  Lake Grove Whole Foods Demo Whole Foods in Lake Grove, New York 3:00pm JoinSave

Road trip to becoming a Master Spinner

I am so excited to be beginning my Master Spinner journey. You never know where life will take you but I believe you discover check points that tell you you're on the right path; well this was one of my check points. I am right where I need to be and I can't wait to take you all on the journey with me. Please feel free to ask any question you may have along the way! 

A Minnesota farm

Knitting and getting some color on my pale legs in North Dakota

This had to be one of the craziest storms I had ever seen. It was a little scary. An alarm came across the radio to warn us about it, that is a wall of rain. Thankfully we went around it. 

Wind turbines in North Dakota

Northeast Montana

So much GRAIN!! They were everywhere! 

Montana crops. I think this is a great color inspiration. I feel a dye day coming! 

Cargo train in Montana. I wonder whats in those shipping containers and where they are going. I guess I will never know. 

A very large Corriedale fleece named Michelle properly rolled. 

More Michelle, I cant wait to work with her fleece. We divided it up into the different sections: britch (back end,) belly, leg, side, back, shoulder and neck to spin and see how the fiber from different parts of the fleece is and how it spins up. 

Getting locks ready to wash. These pouches are a great way to ensure that the locks don't move around and you can keep them intact. That way you can spin worsted yarn straight from the lock. 

Our classroom. I was trying to capture how epically messy the room was but I don't think I was able to. Your just going to have to trust me on this one. I loved seeing all the different wheels! 

Our classes yarn getting prepped for dyeing

Dye day selfie. Safety first!! 

For our natural dye day we used four different natural dyes- Marigold, Cochineal, Osage Orange and Sandalwood paired with four different mordants- Alum, Alum/Iron, Iron and no mordant. A mordant is what helps the color set to the fiber. We were able to get different tones using the different mordants. I love love love natural dyeing now! 

Letting the yarn simmer in the mordants

Adding colors! 

Cochineal- Ground up beetles that come off a cactus

Sandalwood

I believe this was the Marigold. The Osage orange came out really similar. 

My final skeins! I cant wait to do the 6 more I need for my book! 

The first place Jacob fleece that our class won at the silent auction. I was so nervous because I was doing the bidding for the class and I didn't want to loose! But we won and I did a happy dance. It's such an amazing fleece! 

We also won this smaller 2nd place Jacob fleece. I love the colors on this one! 

Rain, rain and more rain! This picture was taken in North Dakota

I got 14 hexipuffs knitted in the car! About 300 more until I finish my Beekeeper Quilt. I also picked up a beautiful skein on grey sock yarn at fiber week to add to the quilt stash! 

I truly will remember this experience for the rest of my life. I met such amazing like minded people and was able to see parts of the USA I have never been to with my husband. I will never forget it and will treasure it for the rest of my life. Now I must start on homework and get ready for level 2 at the end of this month!