The Yarn Side

Quick Reminder - March's Yarnography Registration Ends SOON

2010-02-26T17:54:30-05:00

Quick reminder that registration for the March installment of Yarnography will be closed in 3 days! March will be seeing some amazing content in the box, and I'm stoked to be pulling it all together because I am completely blown away by the Awesome.

Jester's are drying (video)

2010-02-25T17:46:26-05:00

I love my iPhone and all of the creativity it allows. I love it even more since I realized the iPhone 3G has an iVideo app that lets me do things like this, where I get to share something in progress (tip: follow me on Twitter so you can get updates like these as they happen; I'm "TheYarnSide"!).

And if that link doesn't work for you, try the following...

Sale - Glorificus now 40% off!

2010-02-25T01:31:55-05:00

I’ve marked down what’s left of Glorificus in the shop due to my switching to a new MCN base. The new base feels more luxurious and rightfully deserves its place in your shirt (possibly beyond). Because of this, Glorificus is now 40% off! Go to http://theyarnside.etsy.com/ and click the SALE link in the right sidebar. You’ll see a list of sale items there.

Keep your eyes peeled as more Glorificus will be arriving in the SALE section.

Shop Update - 02/23/10

2010-02-23T17:17:58-05:00

There was a shop update in the wee hours of this morning, consisting of spinning fibers, Lorelai Lace and the new Lorelai Sock! To see the full update, go to theyarnside.etsy.com or click one of the icons above.

You can see the new Lorelai Sock below:

Isn't it fantastic? The above Lorelai Sock is 435 yards of Amazing. It's the same blend of 70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk and 10% Cashmere, but in a true sock/fingering weight--absolutely perfect for shawls, scarves, hats, or heirloom projects.
Now, for the fiber, which definitely dominated this morning's update.
100% Superwash Blue Faced Leicester - "Head Above Water"

50% Superwash Merino (Fine) / 50% Silk - "I Met A Girl"

80% Superwash Merino (Fine) / 20% Cashmere - "The Blue Hour"

100% Superwash Merino (Fine, 19.5 micron count) - "Teenage Wasteland"

Tips to Fluff Up that Fiber!

2010-02-15T01:22:52-05:00

I originally mistyped the title as "Tips to flubb up that fiber!" You have no idea how fitting that original title really was, as 3-4 hours ago I was braiding some roving and nearly pre-drafted a section into two pieces. Oh, the horror! This had me thinking, however, of other horror stories that some people have mentioned to me, either on Ravelry, during a chat, or at the yarn shop. This brings me to...

Tips to Fluff Up that Fiber!

Problem #1
Compressed Roving

So, you've accumulated a healthy amount of roving, more than you can spin if you're honest with yourself, so a lot of it has been stowed away. You likely have it in buckets, drawers, closets, space bags, grocery bags, anywhere that seems fitting. One day you happen to be browsing Etsy for some roving, when you get the hair-brained idea to spin from your stash. Okay, hair-brained is harsh, so you take it back and tell yourself how awesome it'll be to rediscover amazing fiber in your own...[insert "home", "garage", "warehouse space" here]. And you find it! The colors are calling to you, the fiber blend is exactly what you were looking for, and you can't believe you forgot about it! Except, uh oh, what's happened? It's compressed, stiff and lifeless! Where's its bounce? Where's its luster?

Solutions

Unravel the braid, and hang it up so that it can breathe and decompress
Unravel the braid, then place one end in the palm of your hand, and begin to wrap it underneath your bent elbow, up and over your hand, back down under your elbow, and so on. Once it's all coiled up, grab it in the middle and slap one side of the loop on the top of the table. Repeat for the other side of the loop, changing sides until the fiber has opened a bit more for you.
Unravel the brain, and then slightly pre-draft the fiber. You can pull off a bit of fiber from the tip to gauge the staple length, then pre-draft at that length. Make sure not to turn this into a workout or you'll have many piles of staple-length fiber bunnies all over the place.

Problem #2
Matted/Felted Roving

Same scenario as Problem #1 has occurred, except oh no--the fiber is clumpy and/or slightly felted! What could you possibly do?

Solutions

Unravel the braid, the best that you can. Go ahead and salvage any of the fiber that's not matted or felted and put it to the side, or place it in a container or bag where it cannot be further damaged.
Once you've completed that, see if some pre-drafting will help loosen up any clumpy areas.
If you have mostly felt, then do your best to unravel the braid. Grab your paddle hand carders. If you don't have any, a clean dog or cat brush with the wire teeth works pretty well too! Gently try and run some of the fiber through with the carding instrument. You may need to spend some time working at it with your fingers to open up some of the felted areas. Once you do that, slowly work your way through the piece. If you're diligent, you should be able to recover some of that fiber.*

note: there are, sometimes, when you should just beat the crap out of the fiber and then choose to do something else with it. For example, felt it even further, cut it and make purse handles!

So, what about you? Have you experienced some fiber horrors with roving, or even yarn(!), that you learned a valuable lesson or tip from? Maybe you learned to turn it into something else. Care to share?