Hallo.

I just finished a truly massive shop update. However, unlike normal, I will not be posting all the photos here as well with details. I’m deep in writing and applying and suchlike things right now and really can’t spare the time.

The shop has a lot in it again though. And, as usual, all the breed and fiber info is in each item so you don’t have to go searching for “oh crap, what sort of fiber is targhee again?”

Have a whole bunch of pretty new jacob roving, so expect to see more of that.

Targhee, Jacob, Shetland, SW Merino, Dorset, Wensleydale

And a new grey sampler with Jacob, Shetland, Black Welsh Mountain, and Norwegian. I’m one breed short there of an “ancient breed” sampler. Should consider that.

Also a TON of new stitch marker sets. Like this one. Some extra large ones, a lot of normal ones, and some lace/sock ones.

I’ve also finished some yarn, have some new socks to show off, and probably other things I’m forgetting, but no time. Back to writing.

Online applications are nice and a pain in the butt at the same time.

In answer to the question about my defense… They’ve read my dissertation by that point, and they long ago (4 months before approximately at that point) had a meeting with me where they grilled me about my work, so they already know I know it. So if I don’t blow my dissertation, I’m fine. The only real remaining question is if I’m going to need edits to the thesis and if I’m going to need to do a few additional experiments to nail things down.

~The Gnome

Whee! Pretty good weekend. A couple chances to go out, but instead I stayed home and rested a little, then went to visit my parents on Sunday. I think this was a good choice.

I’m gonna go backwards. ‘Cause I feel like it and you can’t stop me! Bwaahahahahaha! Ahem.

Sunday I went home to visit my parents. Always a good time. Said hi to the goose.

::waves to the goose:: Isn’t she a pretty goose? She’s lonely.

We worked on the garden, the bed that’s where the tulip poplar was before it blew over. Got it pretty much done, plants moved in, weeds pulled out, and mulched nice and deep. This is as we were just a bit into it.

Mmm dirt and green. A good day, even if it meant sacrificing some spinning time with my spinning buddies.

Saturday I didn’t accomplish very much. I’m fine with that, I wasn’t trying to. I needed a day to decompress. I did get a few things dyed and done though.

It’s always interesting to see how different fibers react to the same colors and process. For example, here’s the same colorway I posted earlier, but in Wensleydale instead of Cashmere/Tussah

“Press closer, little Nightingale,” cried the Tree, “or the Day will come before the rose is finished.”

The Nightingale and the Rose – 4oz x 2 – Combed Wensleydale Top

And a fun one, rather than my usual “serious” colorways…

Yeah, it’s that color. You remember, when you were a kid, how every superhero was made by a radioactive pool or bug or monkey? The color that turns small reptiles into ninjas? This reminds me of exactly that color. Yes, it is that bright.

If you’d prefer, you can also call it “Matricaria” because it’s the color of the little Pineapple Weed blooms.

How to Make a Superhero – 4oz – Combed Wensleydale Top

The deepest purple blue, intense and saturated, shining and softly heathered…

Deep Centauria – 1oz – 50/50 Cashmere/Tussah Silk Combed Top

A soft heady scent floats up from the deep pink rose petals, the soft sheen gleaming in the romantic candlelight…

Dried Damask – 1oz x 2 – Combed Tussah Silk Top

All of these are up on the shop.

These are two that are dyed, but someone already has first dibs on.

Dark Rhubarb Cobbler – 4oz – Combed Wensleydale Top

Amethyst – 1oz – 50/50 Cashmere/Tussah Silk Combed Top

I also made these, sock stitch markers! The rings are much smaller, sized for size 5 needles or smaller, and made to be overall very light so they don’t disrupt your lace or sock knitting. The middle and left will be up on the shop when I actually manage to take real photos of them (probably tomorrow). The ones on the right were on my long to-do list (which I’m SLOWLY catching up with). Stones are…

Amazonite – Malachite – Garnet
Leopardskin Jasper – Agate – Leopardskin Jasper
Lapis – Aventurine – Lapis

Aaaand I think that’s about it.

~The Gnome

That’s about the extent of my vocabulary right now.

So yesterday was a rough day in lab, and I was still sore from my weekend workout, so I figured I would burn one of my non-gym days and go home and rest and maybe clean a little.

Yeah. That so didn’t happen.

I get home and the landlord’s downstairs (the neighbors moved out), and it turns out he wants to put in new pipes to my apartment… this week. Now, this *needs* to get done, because the water pressure to my apartment is… suck. So, no resting, instead I spent 4 hours straight cleaning. The cleaning makes it to my living room and then stops. Hopefully the landlord and plumber will not have come today and I can get the living room done tonight. Which will be fun, because… well it’s going to take some moving of furniture, and I haven’t bought the shelf and bins I need to organize the fiber. Grah. Stupid money.

I got a bit more dyeing done.

The soft green of faded, just cut hay, wilting and drying in the sun…

New Hay – 6oz – Combed Corriedale Top

The dark, dappled green of a secret shaded evergreen grove, a cool and secluded place to hide from the world, and create your own…

Secret Glade – 1oz x 4 Combed Tusssah Silk Top

and, for the literary, something by Oscar Wilde. A drop of heartsblood…

The Nightengale and the Rose – 1oz – Combed Cashmere/Tussah Silk Top

Also, because I was bored and a few people have shown interest…

Gnomegear

Gnomespun shirts, mugs, and what spawned getting off my butt to do it, something that occurred to me yesterday…

If life were a shawl, mine would be a Clapotis

That’s it for today.

~The Gnome

When I was One,
I had just begun.
When I was Two,
I was nearly new.
When I was Three
I was hardly me.
When I was Four,
I was not much more.
When I was Five, I was just alive.
But now I am Six, I’m as clever as clever,
So I think I’ll be six now for ever and ever.

Part of being an adult is being able to admit when you can’t.

I do not like this part of being an adult.

I do not like the word “can’t” very much at all. It makes me cranky and obstinate, rather like a donkey which will not go somewhere simply because you’re trying to lead him there.

But nonetheless, it is sometimes necessary, and right now, I can’t. ::sighs::

The balance has been lost. It needs to be regained, which may require a trip into Mordor, but it must be done.

So, shop updates will be a little less frequent. I will not be accepting any new commissions until the one I have, outstanding projects, agreements, and the trades that still aren’t done have been completed. At that point, things will be reevaluated, but I will also be writing my dissertation by that point, which means I will be applying for jobs and, hopefully, interviewing.

But anyway, I did get a little done.

I got these made… or rather, remade. It turned out one of the findings I had gotten was substandard and shed bits all over the place. So I remade these carnelian stitch markers. And because it took me so bloody long, I also made a pair of Leopardskin Jasper ones to go with them.

And these leopardskin ones as a bonus for a recent large order.

Also, for the shop…

Fire ripples and glows along the slowly burning wood, creating waves in the air as the heat warms your skin. The fire is burning long and low now, the colors deeper, richer, the coals glowing deceptively welcoming…

Into the Fire – 1oz – 50/50 Cashmere/Tussah Silk – Combed Top

Capturing the sheen and depth of this fiber is really hard in photographs.

I also have some silk and some merino/angora drying as we speak.

In other news… LOOM!

I actually got this loom on tuesday. But only just got it unloaded. My living room is exploding. I need to clean the bedroom so Ash can move in there. Also this guy needs some cleaning, and I put the beater bar on the wrong direction. Easily fixed.

It’s a 20″ Hammett counterbalance floor loom. 4 treadle, 4 harness. It’s quite lovely, just needs some cleaning and to be re-hung, which I think I can do. I do think that full love of it will have to wait a bit though, as I need to rehang things and get/make a ratchet advance lever for the front beam. And before that, I have other projects that need to be taken care of. No big deal. It’s pretty!

::grins::

Ok, back to working on this paper. Stupid yeast didn’t grow last night, making today paper day instead of tomorrow.

~The Gnome

So, of course, no sheep and wool festival is complete without stuff! Mmm shiny stuff.

Birthday stuff:

My parents bought me some more lovely fiber for Strider. And a wrap gauge for me! Been wanting one for a while, yay! All from Spunky Eclectic. I narrowly avoided a bird’s eye maple Loki as well.

Merino/Tencel on the left, Corriedale batt by Grafton Fibers on the right, and wrap gauge below.

See? Shiny!

Let’s see… what else… oh right!

Heeeeee. For my birthday, I got Tsuper Tserious Tsock Tstuff.

Hand carded and blended Tsock Batts by the Tsarina herself… made with some of the fleece I gave her from the Great Fleece Adventure.

Mood Indigo: Romney, Mohair, Silk

And this one, “just for fun” which, in grand black tradition is hard to do photographic justice to

Assyrian Cohort: Merino, Seacell, Silk, Mohair, Sparkly

And, finally, recieved in the mail presents from England!

The shirt made me laugh. Which is good, laughter is the best medicine.

The socks… wow. Dude.

Here’s a better photo of them, truer to the gorgeous claret-ey color. DAMN they’re soft. If I recall correctly, they have silk in them. Fit great too. Look at those cables!

They’re even cabled on the back!

Aren’t they awesome? ::squee::

Presents from me, to me:

Now, of course, I can’t go to a sheep and wool festival without buying a few things myself. And so…

I got me some Abby Batts from Spunky Eclectic. Mmmm. Shiiiny.

And a closeup of the green one

I also got some Icelandic Lamb, because I haven’t spun any Icelandic yet, and it’s about time. Marcy helped with this purchase.

And finally, I had to valiantly throw myself on these to save my dear friend Lynn from them. Ahem. 30/2 and 40/2 cotton thread, which will be used for weaving.

Stuff I made:

And that’s all the new stuff… except…

Remember this photo?

Notice something? Here, let me zoom in…

See that? That was my not so super secret project after making the spindle bags.

Here it is with better light

Or on the table so maybe you can see it better…

Still can’t tell what’s going on?

Try this…

Get it now?

If not, wander over here and look at the 4th photo down, I’ll wait…

See it? Yeah, that’s me, at NH Sheep and Wool, wandering around spindle spinning. That’s what I do. I do it here at work too.

And it’s for that that I invented this little “device.”

It’s a spindle holster. Yes, a spindle holster. When they’re not all full, you can put them through button holes. But when the cop gets large, they won’t fit in button holes anymore. And spindle bags are great, but they really go IN bigger bags. And when I’m walking around spindle spinning, I want a place to put the spindle that’s right there at hand, that I can get the spindle back from. You know, you walk up, spinning away, to a booth and then OOOH cormo-silk, you have to pick it up to touch and look at the price, but where do you put your spindle? Oh noes! Put it in your pocket and it may get squeezed back out and dropped and… ::gasp:: lost.

So, I made this. Admittedly, it’s probably not for many people. I mean, it’s got a belt loop, and two draw strings. But as the link pointed out, I’m hardcore ::snickers:: really ::twitch:: hardcore… ::falls out of chair laughing:: Ahem… totally. Anyway, for me, it’s awesome. As the cop gets bigger, I can adjust the lower drawstring so that the spindle is snug and secure and won’t drop out the bottom or bounce out the top.

It’s awesome! I’m happy.

And finally:

A new bit of fiber for the shop.

Deep sea blue-green currents swirl and twist in the depths of the water, where strange creatures swim…

Deep Sea – 1oz – 50/50 Cashmere/Tussah Combed Top

SO SOFT. SO SHINY. Love.

That’s all for now.

Later!

~The Gnome