Lessee… shop updated. One Burning Bright, the April Showers (unless someone emails me for it or something), and the War for the Oaks are getting shipped to the brick and mortar store. Everything else is up.

So, among the many projects which I am a bajillion miles behind on, is a “Fiber to Scarf” trade. I haven’t started, you see. This makes me feel terribly guilty, but well… grad school. I will get it done, it’s just going to run up against the deadline more than I’d like.

However, my trade partner (who was just identified, since it’s a blind trade) has already finished. I sent him some lovely silver suri alpaca, and he sent back this…

EDIT: My trade partner was VTKnitboy, and here’s his Blog

Isn’t it pretty? And it’s SUPER soft. And squishy, with a remarkably good drape for a pure alpaca. Not a big fan of this photo, but hey.

He also kindly sent me back the extra yarn, even though I offered to let him keep it. it’s a lovely fingering/sportweight. I forgot to bring it so I could take a photo though.

That’s all for now, fiber update this weekend.

~The Gnome

FO FO FO!

Scarf, done.
Hat, DONE DONE DONE!

2-ply, 80% Merino / 20% Alpaca. Wheelspun except the stripe, which was spindle spun.

And being modeled by moi

So I can get these in the mail soon!

Should finish the Pink Spinel commissioned yarn tomorrow, since my date looks like it’s not happening. ::shrugs:: Then I can get started on the Sapphires and Emeralds commissioned yarns on Sunday. Woot! Then… assuming nothing else… probably back to finish off the Cernunnos. After that… either Rusalka or Amaterasu… or maybe a “normal” yarn? Who knows, the possibilities are endless… though lab’s also getting stupid hectic again.

Oh, update on testing of large volume dyeing method… it worked. Soon as it’s dry I have 14oz of “Brick” border leicester to photograph. Woot. Also looking at getting the equipment to do it a little easier once I hear back on two other opportunities.

Plan to squeeze in a few more stitch marker sets this weekend too. And hopefully some of a new variety. ::crosses fingers::

Busy Gnome.

~The Gnome

Working on the hat. Currently knitting the stripe now, in my spindle spun yarn. Going well, hope to have it done by this weekend.

Dyed some more blending silk, will post when it’s dry.

Also, I’m in the testing stages for doing larger batches of fiber. The plan is to periodically make sweater quantities of a single fiber, single dyelot available. So, right now I’m in the testing stages to see if it can be done with my equipment, and if not what I’ll need.

Today’s fairy is a little forlorn. You see, he’s a sunflower fairy, and he was all excited because he thought Spring might be coming. See, he even got his seedhead sparkler out! But then it snowed. Now, deep in his little green heart he knew it would, it is March after all, but still, he’s sad.

~The Gnome

And that’s what I have to say about that.

Lab is eating my life, as usual. 14.5 hour days are long. But, if things go well, I could be graduating in May/June.

I have, however, managed to get some Queen Mab spun up. I’m in the process of plying it now. Hope to get it done soon. It’s a little slow. I still have to build myself a beading rig. You know, along with needing a flat swift, etc. No problem! Soon as I can make me some time out of thin air!

As I think I mentioned before, my bobbins have been falling apart. Luckily I have gorilla glue, which is magic. So, two have been glued back together. Once Mab is plied, another will be fixed.

Let’s see, what else is up… once I get the Mab plied, I’ve got three commission yarns to do. But with my wheel running faster and smoother, those shouldn’t take as long… barring more insane lab weeks.

I have managed to get part of a hat made. Getting the color on this yarn to photograph is a pain in the butt. It’s not nearly as grey as the camera wants to make it.

It’s currently stalled for a bit because it needs a band of another color on it. So I have to spin one… though I suppose I could cut some off that ball I’m knitting from and overdye that… nah, that would be too logical. What I’ll probably do is spindle spin enough yarn for the stripe this Saturday while I’m waiting for immunoprecipitations and western blots in lab. Yay lab?

Oh, yeah, that bit of color. I made myself a stitch marker out of pieces I didn’t have enough of to make sets. So this is my one-of-a-kind stitch marker. A bead, chalcedony, and malachite. I like it.

I just put in an order for more fiber. Should be some nice fiber and blends, including some ::gasp:: non-merino. I got it in large enough batches to do sweater volumes of fiber. As soon as I get some time, I have some BFL and Shetland to dye, and maybe some clun forest roving as well.

I’m also trying to draw more fairies for the blog, but again… time.

~The Gnome

Things are busy and insane here. Can’t go into terribly much detail besides to say these things:

I’m nearing the light at the end of the tunnel
My boss is feeling the strain of impending tenure review
Finances are extraordinarily tight

So, Gnomespun will not be updated as often as I’d like. However, some things are getting done and are in the works. If I can manage to get home in the evenings, there will be some new roving, and I’m working on a new yarn.

This weekend, I got to hang out with Lynn and Marcy and spin a bit, and have some lovely beer. Mmm beer.

Lynn also gave me some lovely Romney which is spinning up really quickly. Yay. Maybe I’ll actually finish a yarn sometime.

The pink spinel has been a bust. I need to get some new fiber for it. Blegh. I’m not plying this fiber this way again. It’s too slick and so won’t stay in the ball. Plying from two ends of a ball… not good with this fiber. It results in tangles (note this tangle is less than half of the original tangle)

Also, I managed to get something small done. More stitch markers.

Yay. I’m pretty happy with them.

Labradourite – Lapis – Malachite – Labradourite, you can just see the gold flecks in the lapis.

And chalcedony (carnelian and sard are sub-genres of this stone) flower drops.

And now, back to my little yeast.

Oh right, and below, the list of square donors, had a few last minute stragglers come in over the weekend. Seaming is starting. Memorial is the 11th.

~The Gnome

USA Kentucky C-Ville
Canada Manitoba Woodlands
USA Utah Logan
USA Texas Katy
USA Arizona Glendale
New Zealand Unknown Wanaka
USA New York New York City
USA Wisconsin Madison
USA Oregon Gearhart
UK Unknown Unknown
USA Florida Crestview
Norway None Bergen
USA New York White Plains
USA New York Endicott
USA Minnesota Columbia Heights
USA Washington Lacey
USA Maryland Columbia
USA California Redlands
USA New York Binghamton
USA Illinois Chicago
USA North Carolina Hendersonville
USA Pennsylvania Conshohocken
USA Washington Tacoma
USA Oklahoma Broken Arrow
USA Alabama Huntsville
USA Maryland Huntingtown
USA Georgia Acworth
USA Idaho Moscow
USA California La Habra
Canada Ontario Oshawa
USA Oregon Portland
USA Massachusetts Somerville
USA Massachusetts Worcester
USA Wisconsin Madison
USA New York Babylon
USA California San Francisco
USA Washington Renton
Canada Ontario Stouffville
USA Nevada Boulder City
UK None Bedford
USA Ohio Northfield
USA California Oak Park
USA Minnesota Chanhassen
Denmark Unknown Kobenhavn
USA Ohio Cleveland
Denmark None Aarhus
USA New Hampshire Belmont
Canada Ontario Oshawa
USA Waretown New Jersey
USA Dallas Texas