Abstract Fiber

Cables, Twists, and Charts. Oh My!

2012-02-07T23:10:00.001-08:00

Progress! New patterns really slow me down. Reading every stitch is slow compared to seeing the pattern form and understanding what comes next. I often think I'll never memorize a pattern and it will be a slog. Usually I'm wrong.

I have trouble visualizing charts sometimes. The Vortex pattern is well written and clearly charted. But I have to look at each cable and twist in the chart, then consult the legend to see what the symbols mean, and then look at my knitting to translate the cabling instructions to cable without a cable needle. (That always feels backwards, but juggling two circs and a cable needle is just beyond me.) Then I check to be sure I've got it right. Sounds pretty awful, right? And yet I keep knitting hoping it will get better. 'Cause it usually, magically, does.

Tonight I turned off the tv, took my glasses off and put on my Steve Jobs audiobook so I could make progress on the sock. And then it happened. Suddenly I could just see how to make the cables match the chart! No legend, except to double check. It all just clicked in my brain and seems so easy.

Update - next evening I did a whole chart repeat!

Madrona is coming!

2012-02-05T21:27:00.001-08:00

The entire abstract fiber crew is working fast and furiously to bring you lovely things at Madrona and Stitches. Madrona starts in about 10 days and we're racing the clock. We are making kits for Mary Scott Huff's class, and I am in love with her color choices, just like an exquisite quilt! We are introducing super fine meino fiber in many, many colors.

We also want to ship the first yarn club before the show. That way we can show the first sample and color and maybe sell a few more memberships. In the meantime, we have developed a few more fabulous colors for the club. Membership sure will have it's privileges!!

One of the new lovelies for the shows is O'Keefe. Our newest yarn base is fingering weight merino and silk 80/20. O'Keefe is available in all our colors. I'm making a sock sample now, thanks to Karen I'm cleverly making another sock out of Toe Up! Out of order yes, but it is perfect for this round, smooth yarn. The color is red. Not just any red, this is my own blend, but still it is the same red we've always sold. It's one of my very favorite colors and I've thought we would have some designs in it by now, but, oddly enough, we don't have a single sample in red. It's starting well. The cables are going to pop right out.

Its a little crazy to start a new project so close to the shows, but I just cast off the second sock from the second pattern in Toe Up! I used the bamboo rib pattern and SuperSock in Gaston. Can't wait to wear them!

New Yarn/fiber Club!

2011-12-14T09:12:00.001-08:00

Abstract Fiber presents a new yarn club! Our customers keep asking us to do a club, and we've finally decide to give it a go. We discussed the things we would want in a club and thought about some other clubs and came up with these ideas.

We will offer six installments, one every other month starting February 2012.

We will deliver a new, exclusive Abstract Fiber color with every issue. Only club members get to have these colors for one whole year after issue.

We will get great designers to design very pretty things with our yarn. We've got Sivia Harding, Mary Scott Huff, Chrissy Gardiner, and more.

We will offer more than just socks. Socks are good, but variety is even better.

Sometimes one skein just isn't enough. All projects will have the option to make more. Maybe a larger size, or a set of things, or a different style that needs more yarn. We know very clever designers and will encourage them to be creative with this concept.

We will not forget that many of our loyal fans are spinners. Fiber instead of yarn will be an option. Sometimes we may not be able to get the exact same fiber blend as the yarn, but we will take good care of our spinners and get them great stuff to spin. The colors will be the same.

We will offer discounts or coupons for early adopters.

We think it might be fun to offer prizes for club members who post finished items on Ravelry. Do you?

And how about getting to try new, luxurious yarns? Silk and/or cashmere blends, or a little texture? Something we might offer the world, but only after our club members get a preview? New introductions anyone? Probably some old favorites too.

Click here to sign up!

Field Trip!

2011-12-08T23:14:00.001-08:00

Last week Karen, Colton, and I skipped work and took a field trip. One of the things I like about living in Portland is how quickly the city ends and farmland begins. Our trip led us to pick up beef at Sheila's farm. Sheila raises happy cows that become the best beef.

But she also raises yaks. (Of course when I say Sheila, I mean Sheila and her husband, he was most obliging in convincing the yaks to come near the scary strangers.) How often do you get a chance to meet yaks? They have definite personalities, and were very entertaining during our visit. After hiding in a far pasture out of view, the first yak appeared, following a bucket of apples. The next appeared at a run, 'wait for me, I want some' like a puppy after a ball. One yak tried to cuddle with the man with the apples, or push him away from her apples or something. I had to ask if she was really trying to stab her master. Apparently not. The cows looked genuinely frightened. They sounded frustrated which they were. The apples were yummy, but the yaks seem to be in charge of such bounty and don't like cow drool in their food. Who could blame them, really? So the poor cattle had to wait their turn.

In addition to the gorgeous and entertaining yaks, we saw sheep, some rare spinning wheels, and rare wools. What a great day!

Happy Fleece

2011-11-29T21:59:00.001-08:00

Spinning has been sucking up a lot of my time lately. Between the pretty fleece and sublime wheel, I look forward to spinning throughout my workday.

I bought a lovely Rambouillet x Romney fleece at the Abernathy Grange sale in March. I'm learning how big fleeces are and how quickly the pile builds up, so I immediately split the fleece with Karen. We decided to try washing it without soap and spinning in the grease. After an overnight soak we spun it out in the spinner we use in the studio. No more stink and not too much grease. I started flick carding and spinning locks. Then I stopped. Then summer passed and wax set in. When a fleece gets waxy all the fun goes away. I decided hot water and soap were needed, followed by drum carding on my SuperCard. I made one test batt and spun it up. Heavenly!!! The test is a success and 18 batts later, the fleece is all ready to finish spinning. I think I'll finally finish my first fleece.

If you are curious, I'm carding the fiber pretty straight in one pass, then stripping the batt into lengthwise strips, leaving a bit connected at each end. This creates a zigzag allowing me to make one big strip. I roll this into a loose ball and spin from that. It creates a semi worsted preparation that I spin in a semi worsted way.

Toe-Up Sock One

2011-11-27T21:21:00.000-08:00

I'm starting on a new project! The goal is to have something to share here, and to learn more about making socks.

I'm going to make every sock in Chrissy Gardiner's book Toe-Up! Starting at the beginning and going straight through to the end. I expect most of the pairs will be for me, and they will all be in Abstract Fiber yarn, or possibly handspun fiber. I might showcase a new yarn or fiber blend from time to time. There will definitely be solids and colorways, perhaps a new color or two. I have he first four planned.

So let's get started! Snuggalicious Slipper Socks are first up. Designed in bulky, I chose worsted weight, our thickest yarn, Miro. I figured I would make a larger size to make up for the lighter yarn weight. Having finished one, I can't imagine using a heavier yarn. I ended up with 48 stitches for the foot on size 3 needles using the magic loop technique. Pacific is the color for the heel and toe, with Laurelhurst as the main color. There is some obvious pooling, but I like that, since the sock is plain stockinette. The design calls for a very short athletic sock-like ankle. I don't find that style comfortable, so I kept on knitting until I nearly ran out of yarn. I love the idea of long warm house socks. The pattern calls for an afterthought heel. The technique is new for me, although I have socks with that heel (thank you Jasmine!) and it is comfortable. So I learned my first new heel. The book has great instructions and I had no trouble. The sock fits well. I'm afraid of second sock syndrome, so I'm sticking to my rule and casting on sock two before bed.

Birthday Supper

2011-11-15T23:19:00.001-08:00

We had a little birthday party here today! Gail turned 70 and she wanted a quiet dinner with a neighbor. Pie and pasta were requested. I rarely make apple pie, but Gail gets what she wants for her birthday. I had some heirloom apples that were red-fleshed. Very pretty, tart, and flavorful. I mixed in a quince and some more random heirloom apples to fill it up, put in the minimum sugar and seasoned it with nutmeg and cinnamon. I cracked open a can of cougar gold cheese to go with. Gail wanted sharp cheddar and I just happened to have one of the best on hand.

The pasta was fabulous too. Super easy, I could whip that up regularly, but oddly I hadn't made it in 20 years. It was linguini with clam sauce. I used a little anchovy paste, onions, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, champagne, and canned clams in broth. Finished it with just a little cream. The cream gave it a silky texture. A little champagne, a little French bread, good company, what a great meal!

Finishing and cooking

2011-11-14T09:31:00.001-08:00

I got on a finishing jag this weekend. After about three years on the needles, my Casbah socks are done. These are in the color Masala. Orange, in other words. I like orange. It's not an easy color to sell unless you get it just right, so instead of making orange colorways, I buy them from other dyers. Casbah is so lovely to work with I think we might just start using something similar for Abstract Fiber.

I cooked quince into sauce in preparation for making quince paste. It too was orange. Nearly the same as my socks, although the picture doesn't show it. Man, what a pretty color! By Sunday evening it was cooked way down and deeply red in color. Quince is like magic, changing from light yellow, through shades of peach, to orange and finally deep, warm, red. Never did set up into the paste I wanted, but it will make a nice spread to go with cheese. In fact, it's breakfast time...

Also finished spinning gold silk. Yes, gold. It's supposed to be some kind of special no moths were murdered in the processes silk. Expensive silk. And full of crap. I had to pick tons of who knows what out of this silk just to start spinning. Then more bits would appear as I spun and I'd stop and clean more out before it got twisted in and thus harder to remove. It spins up a bit hairy, like tussah. I'm not sure what I'll do with the yarn, but I'll sure be happy to move onto something more fun. A fleece is calling me.

Tea Cozy

2011-11-06T22:47:00.003-08:00

Mary Scott Huff and I took a little trip to Ballard, WA Saturday. She taught at the Nordic Heritage Museum and I visited a customer's shop I had never seen. Tea Cozy Yarn Shop was bright and friendly. The customers and staff encouraged me to sit at the comfy chairs where their class was wrapping up. I wish I had photos because all the students had just learned to make sock heels and toes and bound off their first socks!! The clever class had them using giant yarn to make Christmas stockings that only took two classes to complete, yet had all the components of a sock.

I took a couple pics of the charming shop, plus two very nice ladies I met. Good company for an afternoon of knitting. Oh did I mention that Jean, the store owner, kept making us pots of tea? Check out Tea Cozy if you're in the Seattle area.

I made a fair amount of progress on my socks. I've had these socks on the needles for three years. I got stuck, kept forgetting where I was in the texture and put them on the back burner. I haven't made socks this year and am used to having a pair on the needles ready to grab and go all the time. Sock number one is done and two is well on its way.

Ate fantastic Vietnamese food at Monkey Bridge in Ballard before heading home. Mary was excellent company for the drive and a great day it was.

Sunday I groomed Merlin. Not my favorite chore, but he was overdue and he's so handsome afterwards. I also managed to spin a bunch more of the gold silk I got from Carolina Homespun.

New handspun

2011-11-02T01:02:00.001-07:00

I've got new handspun to share! I spindle spun a Crosspatch batt very finely, then plied it with two different rovings. Both were polwarth and silk. One was pink copper and other colors from a vendor at SOAR (sorry don't know which one). The other is my Glenn Jackson Bridge. About 750 yards and 5.5 ounces each.

Spun the polwarth blends and plied it all on my new Hansen MiniSpinner. The WooLee Winder made it go a little faster although I have trouble getting enough twist when I ply with the WW. Plied the first one twice, did better on the second one. It is simply amazing to me how much these two yarns vary considering one of the plies is the same in both.

What am I making with them? Yarn! (No other plans yet)

Urban Forager

2011-10-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

I love foraging. I've been at it since childhood, snacking on figs and berries while walking to friends homes, mushroom hunting in the Sierras, picking miner's lettuce in the back yard. This summer I harvested mussels, clams, and sea beans at the coast for the first time. Yumm!

Today Gail and I set out to find quince and nuts in and around Portland. Sadly, we didn't find quince. But a search for black walnuts, Gail's favorite, led to an English walnut tree on Sauvie's Island. Not exactly right, but easy pickings of tasty nuts. A web list of places to find urban food plants led us to two chestnut trees in a park.

Chestnuts are new for me. Last week Karen, Gail, and I found chestnuts (after researching the difference between the edible and poisonous)and roasted a few. I'd never had them before. Sweet, crunchy, soft, delicious! The pickings were slim. Maybe not a great year for chestnuts. That's why Gail and I were on the hunt again. We got a few more handfuls at the park.

Bonus for the dogs was a huge off-leash area and several friendly dogs to greet. Merlin is sleeping like a stone. I'm gonna have to mess that up 'cause he's in the middle of my bed. Sorry buddy!

Happy Sockday!

2010-07-08T15:43:00.001-07:00

Happy sockday to me, happy sockday to me, happy sockday, happy sockday, happy sockday to me!!!!!

Sockday is a special day when someone delivers you new handmade socks.

Thank you Jasmine!

These socks are in a new colorway called Poppies. Just like summer.

SOAR

2009-10-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

Vendor List

Set up Rollercoaster

2009-05-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the TKGA show at the DoubleTree Lloyd center here in Portland. We're in booth 49 and having a blast. But getting here was a little rough.

I was well organized, we packed the car, it wasn't too full, and off we went, in two cars since all the seats in the van were removed. Then I notice Gail is saying something like **&^%^! Uh, oh... The car lights are flashing as the autolock has engaged and she's noticed her purse is on the front seat. Keys inside. I'm thinking **&^^! too. **&^^%! Rebecca patiently takes out her knitting.

We got very lucky and AAA arrived in about 15 minutes. We were on our way for real now. Next stop Trader Joe's. We always have snacks in the booth in case lunch doesn't happen. Besides that, chocolate keeps the whole crew happy. I'm in the zone, heading to the hotel, zipping right along, hmmm, hmmm, oh, wasn't that TJs we just flew past - both of us? ((*&*^^!

After a few illegal turns, we are back at TJs and all is well. Gail and Rebecca head off for gas, as Gail realized she was on fumes and we all needed more caffine. Gail thoughtfully gets me my favorite, Earl Grey, in a fancy commuter cup. Yeah Gail! I already have Earl Grey in the car, but more is always good, right? I drink the tea the next day. It was hermetically sealed right?

We arrive at the hotel without further trouble after a few more illegal u-turns. I check us in and realize I forgot to get a badge for Rebecca. Get that fixed. Then go see the booth. We're in the back, but there are a couple of rows farther back, right? Well, no. They didn't sell all the booths and my "premium" corner booth is at the very back corner of the show, in the dark. ((*&%^!

All turns out well, as I get a refund of the booth premium, and we end up with a ton of space by spooging out all over. We bring lights the next day to eliminate the dark cave effect. Elecrical is free at these things if they don't notice you using it.

Setup went really well until I ran out of yarn. The show hasn't started and my yarn display is about 1/3 empty. I simply didn't have enough stock of yarn. (((&^^***((*!

An emergency call to Jasmine, along with Rebecca's offer to help label, and the two of them are set to wind yarn all evening while Gail and I sell yarn at the preview show. Do I have a fabulous group of women working with me or what?

(We do leave one skein unwound, as it is for Deb and won't be sold at the show. Deb shows up on Saturday and needs the skein of yarn (yes needs, she's designing something for the June newsletter with it). I fix this on Saturday night by delivering the yarn to Ginos, where we have the best pasta dish I've had in years. If you get a chance, have the wild mushroom pasta with cardoons. I may go back for more. Yum!!)

So setup is done and we had sushi at 3:30 as our reward. This place has fried calamari, so we were very happy. The show last time was totally dead on the preview night, so I'm planning on doing some labeling and knitting. But no, the booth is busy, people are shopping, and I get a surprise visit from my friend Nicci from California. She's my sister's best friend, and neither of them told me she was coming, so I was practially knocked over with delight! Nicci is a wonderful knitter, loves bright color, and is just a blast to hang with. Yippee!

The show is going very well, we have lots of extra chairs and room to hang out. Come by, knit, spin, visit! I hope to see you there!

At the Kitchen Table

2009-05-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

I listen to a number of knitting podcasts while I dye yarn. Today, I was listening to a relatively new podcast At the Kitchen Table, by Deb Accuardi, a local fiber artist, cook, and gardener. Deb's been podcasting since late 2008.

Right from the first podcast she had me hooked with the antics of her numerous fiber animals, the harsh mountain weather, delicious cooking, plus lots knitting and spinning. Deb's voice is pleasant and her ability to connect to her audience and tell stories is delightful.

So when Deb approached me about pairing my yarn with her newsletter, I didn't hesitate to say 'yes.' Today we met and agreed on the yarn for her June newsletter. June is a great month for color in the Northwest, and I'm sure you're going to love the yarn she chose.

We also talked about her plans for pre-Sock Summit luncheon at her restaurant, Gino's. She's pairing a 4-course lunch with wine and, of course, yarn! I'm providing one of the yarns, so we tossed around some ideas. The lunch is on vendor setup day, so we'll setup early and take a much-deserved break for lunch at Gino's. I can hardly wait!

Fresh from the Dyepot
Today, I've dyed Broadway Bridge, Black Opal, and Smith Rock in sock yarn, plus I dyed some of the new Baby Alpaca DK. I'm limiting the colors and quantites until I see the response, so I've planned 3 skeins of each color for now. But then I got to thinking, this yarn is irresistably soft, Smith Rock is deliciously red, so why did I plan only 3 skeins? Because I'm idiot! I dyed 3 more. Come and get it Friday at TKGA, booth 49!

Jasmine came over and wound yarn too. Some of the skeins were experimental colors. I had them all hanging to dry this week, but, frankly the colors just didn't make me happy. Then Jasmine comes running down the stairs to show me the green one fresh off the re-skeiner. Ooooh, the green one. We have a new deep green yarn! I've got to dye this in SuperSock. It's going to be even better! There is also a possibility of a cool grey and maybe even one more.

New Samples!

2009-05-05T21:56:00.000-07:00

The samples just keep coming in! What talented people knitters are! This scarf arrived in the mail last week from Caryn. It has lovely gold beads and is an original pattern for sale very, very soon. Thank you Cooper for the photos!

Jasmine just finished this cute hat she designed. Check out her projects on Ravelry for this pattern, Vertical Sock Victory, in a darker yarn (this one's in Opal). She's a very cooperative model too! This pattern will also be available soon. We'll probably put it on a bookmark and make it a freebie. It's fun, fast, reversible, and easily re-sizeable too. Practically perfect in every way!

Wool Picker Delight!
I got a new toy too. I found this video of someone using this novel (to me) wool picker.

It's not super-expensive, and I've already picked a whole fleece with it. Works like a charm and the carded batts I made up were utterly delightful in only one pass through the carder. I do love spinning freshly carded batts! I gave the first two to my newest spinning student, and she just oohed and aahed. We have another spinning addict!

TKGA Next Week
I've been painting yarn for next week's TKGA show at the DoubleTree Lloyd Center. Violetta will be back in stock, and High Desert will make it's debut. High Desert is one of my favorites, lots of grey, plus blues, touches of brown. This yarn was reserved for something special, but that's changed and the yarn is available now.

New Yarn Colors

2009-05-01T21:13:00.000-07:00

Coming soon!!
Remember I said I was designing new colors? What do you think?

NEW YARN ALERT!!!
I've just purchased 154 skiens of ShiBui Baby Alpaca DK. If you're not familiar with it, take a look next time you're in Knit Purl. This stuff is super soft, nicely spun, and not too fuzzy. It's light enough for socks. Considering how warm alpaca is, I think it's just right for a sweater too. And I have a wonderful pattern for a simple reversible cable scarf that will soon be knitted up in this yarn. The question is, what colors? If you look at all the colors of sock yarn, what would you like to see in Baby Alpaca DK? What do you want dyed up before TKGA?

I'm also testing out another Shibui yarn, their merino/alpaca. It is a cabled yarn. This means it is dense, but also very round. The stitch definition is unbelievable, just perfect for cables and textures. It feels a bit like a cotton it is so smooth. The merino/alpaca is about an aran weight and makes a heavy sweater. Anybody familiar with this yarn?

Charity Knitting

2009-04-29T16:29:00.000-07:00

Barn Raising Sock Yarn Quilt

Everyone's so excited about Sock Summit! We're all oohing and aahhing over the class lists. Someone said the vendor spots are full. I hear a trainload of people are knitting all the way across the country. Deb's doing a special lunch pairing food and yarn. The Ravelry group is abuzz with information and ideas.

Did you know there is also a charity project? Larissa Brown, author of Knitalong, is offering her barn raising pattern for free just for this project. You knit a square out of leftover sock yarn, Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks collects all the squares, more volunteers put them together, and they resulting quilt will be auctioned or raffled off for Doctors Without Borders.

I just made my first square! This pattern is so easy, and it seems rather magical to make a square by knitting in the round. I took the hint on the pattern and used Judy's Magic Cast-On so my square does not have a hole in the middle (the link takes you to a list of techniques and there is one for casting on to knit in the round - Ok I found this after I did my square, so the next one will look ~~right better~~ different). It is knit in MightySock Black Opal. I hope you'll join in the fun and knit a square or two. Get your pattern here!

Samples You Can Touch

I dropped 4 samples off at Knit Purl today. Now you can see these lovelies in person!

Spinning Resource - Woodland Woolworks

2009-04-27T20:50:00.001-07:00

Gail called me today and invited me to join her on a jaunt to Woodland Woolworks. I couldn't go, because I was busy inventing new yarn colors (photos later this week), but I think you should know about Woodland and why we call each other when we are going to make a pilgrimage.

Woodland Woolworks, in Carlton, Oregon, has a wealth of spinning resources (and stuff for knitters, felters, weavers...). It's about an hour for me to drive there, but the drive is through farm and wine country. I'm happy to have any excuse to make that drive! They have nearly every brand and model of commercially made spinning wheel, all set up and with wool to play with. You can rent a wheel for a month and then either buy it (I think you get credit for the rental), or try another one. Woodland has fiber. Tons of it. They've got all the stuff I have - undyed - plus many talented dyers' wools, silks, cottons. Ingeo, Soy Silk, Latte, nylon, bamboo, Tencel, and more man-made fibers. Flax, many forms of cotton, endless varieties of wool and blends, alpaca, llama, possum, silk hankies and caps (dyed and undyed).

Woodland also has parts for spinning wheels, used wheels and equipment (there are some seriously good deals in the sale room), books, magazines, spindles, carders, combs.

They also have a thorough online catalog if you live too far away.

This fiber's going on the website very soon, maybe tonight. It's merino/Tencel in Sea Turtle.

Pottery Show

2009-04-25T17:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend is a show I've heard called the Pottery Guild show, or the Portland Handweaver's show. Turns out, this is the Metal Arts, Glass Artists, Beadmakers, Woodworkers, Potters, and Handweaver's show. This huge show has to be one of the most spectacular in the area. Attendance is free! (Your budget still might suffer.)

I particularly enjoyed the woodworkers, glass, and pottery guilds. The wide variety of styles, colors, and techniques boggles the mind and gets the creative juices flowing. I bought one bowl, practical and beautiful, my favorite thing. But I was very tempted by a few other pieces. The red teapot by Natalie Warrens matches my home's interior style, and is still calling to me. She made these other pieces too.

I may even buy this jar, I am so charmed by it.

Then when I got home I found more goodies in the mail!!!

Torya, aka Butterfly Sparkle Designs, in Scotland test knitted my gloves pattern and then made these socks too. Socks are in Smith Rock, gloves are in Lady MacBeth.

The next package comes from GuppyGirl and is crocheted in Valentine. What a great match of color and pattern. It is light as a feather, so it can be worn almost year-round. This scarf almost makes me want to crochet. It is the Butterfly/Firefly scarf from June 2007 Crochet World magazine.

Spinning Opportunities

2009-04-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

In the past year, I've gone from having nobody to spin with to finding far more opportunities to spin with friends than I could ever attend. Who knew???

Some of these groups have been meeting for years, like the Aurora Colony Handspinners' Guild, and NWRSA. Others are new, evidence that spinning is growing in popularity. Those include PDX Knit Bloggers (who've been around for a few years, but it seems that more and more people are spinning and knitting), and Portland Spinnerati - a very new group. There are off-shoots of all of these groups that meet weekly, semi-monthy, monthly, or quarterly, in addition to the regular monthly meetings of the main groups. Then there are special events, conferences, fairs, gatherings, festivals, Black Sheep Gathering, and OFFF, oh my! How lucky are we?

Do you want to join in? Just follow the links for each item mentioned and check out their calendars. Most groups will allow you to come for one or two visits for free, some are simply free altogether, and others meet in public places, so you can join, or not, as you please.

I'm spinning some tussah silk I bought from Dicentra. Everyone's gushing about this yarn. It's the fiber, not me, this stuff spins itself, and the color is eye-popping!

From Wednesday's PDX Knit Bloggers. My friend Lisa brought a knitted cotton coverlet made by her grandmother. The gauge is 10 stitches per inch, or so. Absolutely fabulous!!

From Thursday's Aurora Colony Handspinners' Guild April all-day spin-in. Harriet and her humongous niddy noddy and Loyce with her gorgeous felted scarf. She finished the scarf with time to spare. Beautiful!

Knitted Samples

2009-04-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

To my dear sample knitters:

You ladies are a wonderful bunch! For the price of a little yarn, you put your time and effort into making beautiful samples with my yarn. How you part with your delightful creations, I don't know. It makes my day whenever I see a new parcel in the mail, or someone brings me something freshly knitted. Thank You! Thank You!! Thank You!!!

Just today Jasmine (KnitMileOfDoom on Ravelry) brought me a new sock in SuperSock Opal. We happened to be in the store that will display the sock and the staff were grinning from ear to ear! It had to come home with me for a little photography and labeling, but it will live at Abundant Yarn from now on. Jasmine's got a neat hat she's going to knit with the rest of the yarn. You'll see that pattern on a free bookmark at TKGA booth 49 in May.

Here are some other goodies recently arrived:
Tami knitted up this cute baby sweater in Dundee yarn.

Rachel made this Gardiner Yarn Works bag in MightySock Blueberry. Gene thinks it's an ideal dice bag. What a great idea!

Wendy - wlindboe on Ravelry - made two of Cookie A's Monkey socks in MightySock Granite. Love love love! The photo does not show how well the pattern shows up.

This hat makes great use of the color Ross Island Bridge. Amy chose a great pattern.

Signs of Spring

2009-04-20T20:26:00.001-07:00

Spring is well underway in Portland. We've had a few beautiful, sunny days in the 70's and I got out in the garden for some quick pics. I love tulips, and these have so many shades of pink when they're closed plus this really hot color and the little surprise of black and yellow in the middle.

I have a lot of chartreuse plants in my garden. They are the color of spring to me. The euphorbia flowers will darken by summer and the barberry will gradually turn more green. But at this time of year, they positively glow.

Japanese maples are another repeating theme.

I found this little patch of violets. I think these are volunteers and can be very invasive, but they are well contained where they are, so I'll let them be for now.

Merlin approves of the weather too!

Show Weekend

2009-04-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

A Great Day
I worry on the way to a show. I spend a lot of time and energy getting ready for shows, and sometimes quite a lot of money too. As I head out to setup the booth, I worry. What if nobody comes to the show? What if people are bored with my products? Is this show going to have the right target audience? Will they have any money to spend?

This Saturday at the Aurora Colony Handspinners' Guild Fiber Faire, I need not have worried. People started coming while we were still setting up. They came back a little later and shopped, shopped, shopped. I brought my spinning wheel so I could enjoy the day, no matter what the business. I didn't even get it set up. Gail and Duffy were in the booth all day making tons of sales, and knitting and spinning, attracting lots of attention - always good for business.

We saw many repeat customers and friends. Arianne from Spineratti, Kelley Petkun and her friend Alison, Dierdre had the booth next us, as did Lisa of Dicentra designs. Kat McCann was there, as were Loraine, Sara, Jasmine, and Gene, plus all the folks from the guild Diane, Terry, Sandoval, Chris. What a great day!

And to make it even more fun, Duffy finished her shawl. I think she said she had well over 700 stitches per round on the last few and she bound it off as we packed up the booth. Isn't it fantastic? Way to go Duffy!!

Knitting Happenings

2009-04-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

Show this weekend!
If you're in the Portland area this Saturday, don't miss the Fiber Faire hosted by Aurora Colony Handspinners' Guild. All day, Saturday only, guild memebers will have fleece, dyed and natural fiber rovings, yarn, spinning wheels and tools, jewlery, rugs, and much, much more. The Mapelwood Grange is on highway 99E between Canby and Aurora next to the Top O' Hill restaurant. We'll have a booth loaded with yarn and fiber. See you there!

On the Needles
I've been working away at the KnitPurl Sock Club March socks. One is done, the other well on it's way. This color is Arboretum by Shibui Knits and the pattern is easy and well suited to the yarn. I'm loving it! It normally would not take me so long to make simple socks, but the first one was too small and it took me a long time to make that decision. I got all the way to the cuff (I'm making them toe up) and ripped them out back to the toe. 8 extra stitches makes the new sock much more comfortable. I put in a garter stitch short row heel I learned from Lucy Neatby on her Sock 2 DVD. This is my new favorite heel. Very easy to make and doesn't have any holes.

I'm also working on the Feather Lace Shawl by Chrissy Gardiner of Gardiner Yarn Works. I'm using one of my yarns, MightySock in Butternut. The Merino/Tencel blend will make this shawl wearable nearly all year and it drapes well. It will likely be a shop sample.

On the Wheel

2009-04-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

On my Jensen Tina II, I'm spinning up some 50/50 merino/silk that I bought from SweetGrass Wools at Stitches West. Yes, I buy roving! It's always fun to see what other people are dyeing up, both in fiber blends and colors that I don't do. This time I bought two fibers that I haven't dyed before so I could take them for a test drive and decide whether to carry them in my shop.

The merino/silk blend comes from my wholesale supplier, so I can get it if I want to. It looked pretty compressed and didn't feel anything like the undyed fiber I've handled. That can happen with both merino and silk when they are dyed separately, and I wanted to see for myself how this combination dyes and spins.

I'm spinning this fiber for a lace scarf or shawl. I don't spin a lot of fine lace, but this blend just seems perfect for it. Since it was a little resistant to drafting, I spent about 10 minutes pre-drafting the roving. That might seem like a long time, but the result will be many hours of happy spinning. I just lightly stretched and fluffed it along it's whole length and width, since I want long areas of each color. I am also pre-drafting smaller sections into very thin, light lengths as I come to them. After my first pass at pre-drafting, the fiber is very fluffy and ready to spin, the extra work is really only needed to help control the color. I find it hard to work back and forth across the wide roving because I'm spinning the yarn so thinly, and the staple length is pretty long. The reward for this preparation is fiber that spins like a dream! I love the feel of the blend and the shine of the silk. Dyed merino/silk will be available very soon from my shop. The undyed product is available now.

On my Ashford Joy, I'm spinning Targhee. It is very fine and soft, similar to merino, and has a special bounce I haven't felt in other fibers. I have spun Targhee before and just loved it. It bounces in my hand as I draft! The fiber comes from Montana, which seems a little more environmentally friendly than my usual stuff that comes from overseas. I connected with a wholesale supplier of Targhee at Stitches and, price willing, will acquire lots of it very soon.

Getting Caught Up

2009-04-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

OK, so I've slacked off on the blogging for quite some time. I'll get you caught up on the happenings and try to stay in touch more often from now on.

Stitches West
Stitches West was a big success. We met Lucy Neatby, who was nice enough to stop by the booth and say Hello. Gail was working on a sock from Lucy's book, so that was fun to show her. Meeting her shamed me into buying a video, finally, and I've been loving that. More later.

Jasmine and Gigi, the Knitmore Girls came by and became friends almost instantly. Jasmine's hair matches some of my fibers, as does the hair of a few of her friends. We got photos of some of those folks buying 'their' fibers. Jasmine sent tons of people to our booth every day of the show, and introduced us to Purlescense Yarns, a shop in Sunnyvale, CA. The ladies who own Purlescence are fantastic, bought lots of yarn and fiber, and invited us to a show 'n tell at the shop on Saturay evening. That store rocks! Their customers were very welcoming and we had a great evening there. I'm a regular Knitmore Girls listener now!

Stephen Houghton of HizKnits and the YKnit podcast came by too. I liked him instantly! Very friendly, funny, and we had the same socks on. He gave me some insight to colors for men, and interviewed me for his podcast. If you haven't hear his podcast, give it a listen. His interview with the owner of A Verb For Keeping Warm was fascinating. He'll be teaching at Sock Summit in August, so we'll see him again. Whoo hoo!

AbstractFiber.com Updated
I finally (Finally!!!) updated the website. It will get even spiffier over time, but for now it is simple, and fairly complete. Show dates, shops where you can find product, and where I teach are all available right now.
Most importantly, e-commerce is working!!! Goodbye Etsy. You can now buy all sorts of things right on the website. I've got more shipping options, including free shipping for orders $100 and up, and local pickup for customers in the Portland Metro Area. I'll even deliver at knitting and spinning meetings I regularly attend. Besides having more options for you, this system saves me a whole lot of time. Yeah!

And now... From the Dyepot
Freshly dyed and dried fiber for all to see. This is superwash merino dyed brown/grey, blended with alpaca. I've added brilliant color, and the results are sublime. These will be on the website and at Saturday's Fiber Faire in Aurora.

Sock Yarn!

2009-02-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

The Sock Yarns are Here!
Knit Purl will debut my sock yarns at the Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat next week!! They have 12 colors of both MightySock and SuperSock. Get there early for best selection. They will also have spinning fiber in 10 colors in Alpaca/Merino/Silk and Cashmere/Silk. A small amount of overdyed chocolate alpaca/silk will also be available.

Coming Soon to Stores!
Knit Purl and Abundant Yarn and Dyeworks will both be carrying my yarns in their stores. Abundant will get delivery in March. I have about 20 colors in each yarn, and you'll find a different selection in each shop.

Stitches West!
If you are planing to go to Stitches West, come visit us in booth #1035 near the market stage.

This little business has had a very eventful couple of weeks. I feel as if I'm stepping closer to real success. Now I'm back to the studio - must paint more wool, sleep can wait!

Jarrod's New Hat - Part 1

2008-12-15T11:06:00.000-08:00

I've been making the most wonderful yarn the past few days. It's for my nephew Jarrod. He's creative and loves color, and last year's hat is way too small for him. So this year I'm making him a new one for Christmas. The plan is to use chunky handspun in red with other colors to make Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Unoriginal Hat. Quick, easy, gorgeous.

I picked Autumn in merino from my inventory, but thought it might not be enough, and it might be even more appealing to him if I mixed in something a little darker. I chose my last batch of Ice Cream Sandwich batts. These are carded chocolate merino, cream CVM/Romeldale, and silk noil in lots of colors. This had a lot of turquoise noil and less of the other colors. The carded fibers are such a dream to spin! Soft, fluffy, and so fun when the little silk bits pop out, and the fiber colors change, alternately more cream, then more chocolate, then half and half. Just yummy! The Autumn merino I spun about worsted weight as a single. That's always an exciting challenge. I like to spin thin, so I have to focus to make it thick. But it goes so fast, that I've got 4 ounces done in no time.

The batts I spun about half as thin, but the yarn is by it's nature very uneven.

I plied Autumn on itself

and also did Autumn with the Ice Cream Sandwich and knitted swatches of both to be sure which way I wanted to go.

It was an easy decision, the turquoise adds just a little "pop," and the chocolate makes it more sophisticated. I'm sooo in love with this yarn!!!

I then plied the rest of the Autumn with the Ice Cream Sandwich and got 200 yards of yarn that's about 13 wpi, just what the pattern calls for. Now, I don't have the needles called for, they are bigger than I'm comfortable with, but I also knit loosely, so I'm going to just go with the 10.5, using my color swatch for a gauge check, and trying it on as I go, just in case.

The really good news is that I may have enough yarn and extra fiber to make at hat for me. Whoo hooo!!!

Part 2 - The Hat - coming soon.

Making Progress

2008-12-05T21:34:00.001-08:00

"You'reNotDownAMine" - Daniel Radcliff. If you get a chance to see Daniel interviewed on Bravo's Inside the Actor's Studio, take it. This phrase really stuck in my head. Helps me remember how lucky I am.

I'm in business for myself. So it is entirely up to me to decide when I work, how much I work, what I do, what needs to be done. Add to that the fact that I don't know exactly what needs to get done in what order to succeed. This can be pretty tough. Sometimes the work is fun, creative, and intrinsically satisfying. Sometimes I feel like I'm working in the dark, lonely underground (I am in my basement), doing repetitive tasks, slogging through paperwork, and not making a lot of money. The trick is to do all the tasks, keep up the energy and remember that I have a great job. I could be doing a job I hate for a company that doesn't care about me, and spending all my time either working or preparing to go back to work. I have been there, I know exactly what I've got. Just keep saying "You're not down a mine."

Meanwhile, back to the hat I promised you. I did it in one day!

I am also working on fingerless gloves in Lynne Vogel's Spirogyra pattern. Cindy and Judy have made them and they are sooooo adorable, that I had to make some. They are a gift for someone, haven't decided who yet.

In My Head

2008-12-05T20:17:00.000-08:00

This week's been a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs, and spending too much time in my head. To keep you here while I tell my tale, I'll sprinkle in some yarn pics.

On the up side, I met briefly with a yarn rep so I may have a chance to get my line represented to stores outside of my local area. I developed some more colors - haven't decided if any are keepers. Stevanie at Abundant Yarn and Dyeworks has been very supportive this week (and for quite some time now, I should mention). She told me about TNNA and why I might want to go. She's helped me see that my dye work is very good, and should stand up well against the competition. Designers I've approached are excited to get my yarns and are busily thinking up designs that sound fabulous.

But then I start thinking (perhaps I should do less of this!), and I get worried. There are a lot of other dyers out there and many of them do wonderful work. I'm a big fan of Koigu, Mountain Colors, Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Shaefer, Lorna's. TNNA says they have 800 vendors for yarn shops to see at their business to business shows. Eeeeiiiiigght hundred?!!! I feel faint...

I just need to develop the same sort of cult following some of these other dyers have. Sure, that's it. Simple. Yeah,... I wish!

So tell me, why are some company's products so popular? How do I create a cult-like following? What would make mine stand out? If I dye it, will you buy?

Like I said, perhaps I should not think so much.

Product Available

2008-11-29T17:32:00.000-08:00

I've been updating my Etsy shop. There are about 16 rovings for sale today. I've been working hard to create good photos of dyed rovings, plus text I can use and re-use for current and future postings. I've created descriptions for the colorways and tried to highlight the features of each fiber in separate descriptions. This should make my work more efficient.

I was contacted by a fan who posted a bunch of photos of her spinning. I love that! Then, she magic linked me in Ravelry. This means that she wrote my Ravelry name, AbstractFiber, in a post, and hyperlinked it to me. Mostly she said wonderful things and got other people in the group excited about my rovings. But, she did point out how empty my Etsy shop was. She was right. So now, I'm updating it and going to keep lots of product in there. Next time someone recommends me, maybe it will lead to a bunch of sales. Here's some of the goodies I put up today.

Giving Thanks for Good Friends

2008-11-27T11:56:00.000-08:00

Last night was the West Side PDX Knit-Blogger's night to knit and spin together. It's a long way, but I go every week because I like the people so much. We gab and laugh and just have a good time. It's never a gripe and moan session, just fun and sharing. Who wounldn't love that?

As you know, I'm getting over a cold, so I didn't go. I wanted to, but thought I'd spare them.

So my phone beeps, and Rachel has sent me two messages with photos of show 'n tell. I can't show them here because the format won't copy - drat! One was a lace scarf made from one of my fibers. Kathleen spun and knitted it and I am hoping for a better photo. It looks great! The other was of Gail spinning on Gimby, showing off how her Woolee Winder for her Suzie Pro works great on the Little Gem II. Then Gail called me, and the whole group hollered HI! It was almost like I was there!

So, today I give thanks for very good friends! Thank you Gail, Rachel, Terrie, Gretchen, Nancy, Cheryl, Kathleen, Cindy, Judy, Duffy, Sharon, Angela, the Lisas one and all, Carol, Bobbie, Stevanie, and all the rest of the Knit-Bloggers. Here are some photos of a few friends, Rodger, Rachel, Cindy, and Gretchen. Happy Thanksgiving!

A Very Good Day

2008-11-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

The last 24 hours have been good for my little business. I got a nice re-order for product at Knit-Purl, found out my fiber is selling well at Abundant ,

a fan sent me photos of spun fiber with the title Love!,

gave my friend Gail the Little Gem II she's been coveting (she's an awesome advocate and salesperson for Abstract Fiber), and she named it after my dog Gimbal. She's calling it Gimby. Here are Gimbal and Gimby.

got a sales appointment , and a chance to meet a yarn sales rep.

There is also a great new podcast about spinning, knitting, and food. What's not to love? Check it out here. Plus, my cold is somewhat better. A very good day.

More Benadryl Please!!

2008-11-24T11:28:00.000-08:00

For the 3rd time - grrrr!!! - this fall, I have a cold. In the not-so-distant past, I could go for years without being sick. This is just plain weird. Perhaps it is the cute 2-year old I've been hanging with on Tuesdays, or the kid who came running up to me and coughed right in my face at Twisted. Whatever, the cause, I actually ran out of a lifetime supply of Benadryl and had to drag my sick butt down to Safeway for more. I feel sorry for the people I had to be near and all the ones using the self-checkout after me.

Being self-employed, this cannot stop me. It does prevent me from doing anything really physical like dyeing wool. So I decided to take a bunch of photos, figure out how to get them on my new computer (I just switched to a Mac), and I've been editing and naming them ever since (and renaming and deleting duplicates and getting somewhat confused - thank God they have free classes, I think I'll take a few).

Rachel and I decided that the photos look much better when the wool is braided and wound into a coil.

At last Wednesday's knit night, Cindy said she had a lightbox for taking better photos. Lightbox! What a concept! Ummm, what's a lightbox? I looked at a bunch of DIY ideas for lightboxes until I found one using a large plastic box. You see, I have issues with making a big box and then storing it. But I have tons of large plastic boxes, as I use them for storing and transporting my fibers. So I set up the box and took a bunch of yarn photos. I still need to get posterboard for the backdrop, or do you prefer the wrinkles?

I still had to adjust the color a bit on the computer, but I'm pretty happy with the photos. The yarn is Merino/Tencel which is very shiny. I was afraid that I'd just get sheen and no color. One big shiny blob of yarn. With the light box and my flash combined, I ended up with color and very little sheen. That's perfect for online marketing. People need to see the color, I can tell them about the sheen.

I've been knitting samples - little treasure bags - of the Merino/Tencel yarn. Photos soon.

If I make it, will they come?

2008-11-17T18:06:00.000-08:00

It's a scary thing starting up a small business in a recession. I've seen recessions before, but this one seems serious. I've never heard so many people talking about cutting back, selling possessions, foreclosures, being frugal, growing their own food. This year the waiting list for my community garden has apparently grown from none to 30+ people. It's going to take years for some people to get in. What does this mean for yarn buyers?

Are knitters going to have to cut back on their yarn budgets? I've heard people suggesting that, but I never know if it will really come to that. For the sake of my mortgage, I sure hope not. I have dreams of paying my bills with this business - Real Estate is my other business and you know that's not paying them. But I do have high hopes, in fact I have my own theory about spending on yarn.

I believe that yarn may be one of the last areas where we knitters cut back our spending. Well, maybe yarn is not the right term, because many of us are also spinners. Let's say fiber purchases will be far down the list of cuts. Why? Because fiber and yarn are cheap for what we get out of them. Compare spending $20 on sock yarn or spinning fiber to going out to dinner or a movie. The fiber purchase takes many hours to spin and ply, and the yarn hand made or not, will take days or weeks to knit up. Plus, time spent spinning and knitting is enjoyable, relaxing, soothing (at least when you're not ripping out or searching for a lost end on a bobbin of lace-weight). After enjoying all this time playing with luscious fiber, the knitter ends up with something to wear or display or give as a gift. Knitted things can last for years if well cared for - OK and just a few minutes in the jaws of a puppy - perhaps we'll learn to be more careful in leaner times. Dinner is quickly over, and for $20 probably wasn't anything special. Handmade socks are very special.

Wishful thinking, or am I on target here?

Here is some fiber to tempt you. It is cashmere and silk in Mossy Rock and Jamaica.

Playing Tourist

2008-11-16T17:04:00.001-08:00

We've had a stretch of dry sunny fall days this week. Yeah!! Gail and I carpooled to the new Portland Spinnerati group and then decided to do a new touristy thing and ride the Arial Tram. This tram goes from the South Waterfront on the Willamette river to Oregon Health and Science University, a veritable city of high-rises on the hill. The tram has only been open for a little over a year, I believe, and has become a surprise hit with locals who don't have business up at OHSU.

For $4, we got to ride up and back and visit the sculpture garden and observation deck on the building attached to the tram. Glorious fall colors and relatively clear air gave us a real treat of a view. The pictures can't really show it, but we could see four mountains. Adams just peeks out behind a large hill, and Rainier is this white glowing slice just behind Mt Saint Helens. We snapped a ton of photos. Have a look:
Cool bubble cars!

A meditative labyrinth with a Mt Hood view.

How lucky was this weather?

This leaf was so pretty I just had to snap it.

One Warm Hand

2008-10-31T21:39:00.000-07:00

I needed a sample project for Yarn 1. I love this yarn!!! It is mostly a wide range of purples with a little red and dark blue. Haggen, where we PDX Knit-Bloggers meet, is cold, and my hands have been too cold for knitting or spinning lately. Plus, I've been under the weather and have only the energy to sit and knit. So I decided to make some fingerless mitts. In exchange for drop spindle lessons, my friend Bahar gave me a pattern of sorts for some cool gauntlets with a cable on the cuff and then a little detail on the hand. I did my own thing, picking a 9 stitch braid with some ribbing on either side and then a simple slip stitch detail on the hand. I used a glove pattern from Homespun and Handknit for the shaping, but skipped the fingers. I added a little garter stitch anti-roll edge and voila!

A warm, pretty, fingerless mitt!! Now for the right hand...

I am feeling a little better, so I made a pear gingerbread upside down cake too. I took some liberties with the Sunset Magazine recipie. I forgot to buy molasses, so I used dark maple syrup. I added fresh ginger, and some black pepper (a trick I learned from Maida Heater's gingersnaps- Yum!). I forgot to put the pears on the bottom. Some stupid thing about not wanting them to turn brown while I made the batter, then pouring in the batter while thinking something was missing... I turned the finished cake out, put the pears and a little sugar on top and back in the oven for a bit - no problem.

You can see I cook like I knit. Look at the instructions, change a few things, make it work in the end. Did I mention the cake is delicious? Just a hint of spiciness from the ginger and pepper, sweet, gingery, and the pears are perfect with it? It could use some whipped cream or ice cream. Tomorrow!

What is it about knots?

2008-10-29T14:19:00.000-07:00

So, last night I come home after teaching spinning and I decide to just get a move on and skein up some of my new merino/Tencel sock yarn. It comes in cones, big cones. I don't have my skein winder yet, it's finally on it's way today. But I do have a ball winder, scale, and umbrella swift. So 9PM ish I begin winding a ball off my cone. All is well, winding, winding, winding, flying.

FLYING?!! NOOOOOO!!!!! The ball flies off the winder and lands in a tangled heap. Maybe I can up this back together before it makes a very large knot. Not. The thing is, when I see a big knot I have to untangle it. Now. It's like a puzzle with just a few more pieces. I can't seem to stop. 2AM I finish untangling, winding weighing and skeining 100g of yarn. Oh, and the skein has uneven tension and hangs funny. There has to be a better way...

Finished my sample sock with Yarn #5.

And Then There Was Yarn - Sock Yarn

2008-10-26T18:31:00.000-07:00

The base yarn is ShiBui Sock. 100% pure merino. Yum!

I am loving these colors!!! These are just a few first samples with whatever dye I had ready to use. I'm playing around with dye techniques, a few are not shown, will not be shown, will not see the light of day until they are re-dyed... I always learn something from the duds. I love the base yarn. It's easy to work with, the colors look great, and my knitting is going well. No splits, feels good, makes a nice, solid fabric. What do you think?

I haven't started painting (I'm going to have to stop calling it dyeing. I refuse to sound like I'm dying in my basement. Far from it, this is fun!) the merino/Tencel sock yarn I've got, because I need to skein it and I don't have the equipment. It's coming soon.

Went to the matinee of Spring Awakening today. Fantastic!!!! I'm not wild about most musicals, but the music in this was great, hardly any sappy sweet stuff, great tunes, intense subject matter, loved the choreography.

Still can't knit in the dark. Drat!

Pacific International Quilt Fest 2008

2008-10-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

Went to PIQF this weekend. It’s the best quilt show west of the Rockies and I go nearly every year. My sister Pat lives nearby, so I can stay for free. She and I go together as we both quilt (it’s all her fault really, she started it!). Pat’s friend Nicci always comes too, and this year their friend Mary joined us. We walked and stood and stared until we had seen it all, and our feet hurt.

Man, the quilts are spectacular!! I was looking for interesting colors and snapping photos left and right.

We all admired the incredible details, like impossibly small, perfect little patterns stitched on huge bed-sized quilts, or the painted quilt with the elephant staring us down. There was a quilt made of ½” inch hexagons. A huge, hand-stitched quilt. The artists note said her eyes were tired. I’ll bet!! Seriously impressive. There must be a million pieces in that quilt, how did she even conceive of the idea? I was thrilled to see that one of the new trends this year is wool in quilts. Yarn and roving were being used as embellishment, fabric, texture, line and detail, and in one case, the entire surface of the quilt was wool roving. Another had large knitted sections. Of course, I’m thinking about the business, perhaps another source of customers? Oooh, all that color makes me dizzy!! Maybe it’s just the hours on my feet…

What's Next
I am about to start dyeing sock yarn. I don’t want to carry a bunch of yarns, just a bunch of colors on the same base yarn, so I’m trying to figure out what base yarn is great quality and would sell well. I’ve got a line on a couple of high-quality choices, a merino/tencel blend, and ShiBui merino, but nothing very exotic. Like a silk blend, mmmm!!! My struggle is whether to keep looking for something more exciting, perhaps a blend that’s not readily available from other yarn dyers, or just go with the basics because most people buy those. Maybe it makes sense to look at the timing. If I dye some stuff now, right now, I can get it in stores before the holidays – right when people are shopping and the weather is cooling. If I delay looking for just the right yarn, I’m past the sweet spot, the weather is warming and people might be buying less yarn. I think this is a whack your forehead with the palm moment… Duh! Dye yarn now!!

Scarf done! Dyeing still in progress!

2008-08-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

I've finally finished my Autumn Surf scarf!! It turned out just great and shows off the colorway just the way I need it to.

I've been spending lots of time in the dye studio - OK my basement - but doesn't studio sound so much better? - cranking out roving for the upcoming shows. Here are some photos of new colorways.

I'm really excited about some new fibers I'm offering. My supplier just got a shipment of SuperWash Blue Faced Leicester wool. I got 22 lbs and will have it in most colorways for TKGA Sept 12-14 and OFFF Sept 26-27.

And then there is the CASHMERE!! I'm starting with a brown 100% cashmere with a nice 1"-1.5" staple length and a cashmere/silk 50/50 blend. I only bought 1 lb of each so get it while it's hot! I'm going to do just a couple of colorways sticking to some of the more sophisticated colors. I'm not sure buyers want rainbow candy in cashmere... Tell me if I'm wrong about that please!

I'm doing a sample right now with the silk blend dyed in a very splotchy Caribbean speckles.
I'm spinning it laceweight for a scarf for a friend. I think any striping will be subtle and the effect gorgeous.
I did have some trouble spinning the cashmere at first. Ended up on my Joy wheel. It has a very light scotch tension and the roving spins like a dream on it. Both cashmeres have great sheen when dyed and feel like heaven.

Scarf in Progress

2008-08-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

I just started a scarf that I'm really excited about. That's saying a lot because I don't usually make scarves. They just seem to go on and on without end. But this one is very promising.
The pattern is Morning Surf Scarf by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer. The pattern is free on her website http://www.heartstringsfiberarts.com/a6.shtm
I planned to make this after seeing it on the cover of Spin-Off Magazine in 10 different handspun yarns. I think it will show off the dyeing I do just perfectly. I chose a new fiber I'm selling, an Alpaca/Merino/Silk blend. After a few false starts I spun 2 ounces of the fiber by splitting the roving lengthwise then spinning each piece from the same end onto it's own bobbin. I spun it as thinly as I could. I plied from the two bobbins and ended up with a self-striping yarn. Of course some areas don't match, but overall the effect is just what I wanted. It should show off the drape of the fiber, plus the lovely Autumn colorway.
I've been dying too and carding some fun chocolate cupcake batts. More pictures soon!

New Kits!

2008-07-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

I've just finished making samples for my new kits. They are super-simple felted bags made with three of my colorways. The red bag needs a little more felting and was made a little wider, so it's not your eyes! The fiber is Blue Faced Leicester and is very softly spun, just enough to make it easy to knit with. I designed the simple pattern, or you can use any pattern you like. Kits come with three 4-ounce balls of Felting Singles and pattern for $60. Click the title to this post to go direct to my shop. I'll also have them at TKGA and OFFF in September. I may do a design-your-own color too, where you choose any three balls of the Felting Singles you like. What do you think?

Community Garden

2008-07-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

July 3 I finally got my community garden plot. Wooohoo! It's in the Brentwood garden in SE Portland. I'm sharing the plot with a friend also named Susan. We stopped by that evening to see our plot, and stood staring, in shock. Bad words were said. This is a picture of a plot in much better condition than ours. Ours had weeds over 5' tall, many of them bunch grasses and reeds.

By Sunday we had made a little garden miracle. And some seriously tired bodies!! The black stuff is 1 yard of mulch we brought in.

Our neighbors in the garden are the best. I was given a head of broccoli (yummy! Thank You Axel), cucumber, tomato, and marigold plants, and snacks of raspberries. I met at least 10 new people, who were all very nice, had one offer to help watering, and many thanks from owners of neighboring plots who were glad to see the weeds gone.

I'm in charge of watering since I live close, and Susan will weed. I fear the weeds will need both of us for the first, um, year,..... or two. Yikes!

Gotta Start Somewhere

2008-07-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

I started Abstract Fiber about a year ago because I had just started spinning and hadn’t found very many sources for dyed fibers. I had some experience with dyeing cotton and really loved the results. Quilting for years has given me a sense of color too. So it was pretty easy to take the next step and play with wool. The results were good, and people bought a bunch of hanks… If I had known all the great sources, I might not have started so eagerly. I think we all have different styles and spinners have all different tastes, so I’m glad I was a little naive.

I do have a job that generates real revenue. I am a Realtor in Portland, OR. That’s paying for my fledgling business. I’m never too busy with wool for your Portland referrals, and despite the horrible headlines, this is a great time to buy real estate. This blog is about all things fiber, so I’m not going to carry on, but feel free to contact me with RE questions.

I live in SE Portland, near Reed College, and Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks. That’s my favorite knitting/spinning hangout. They’ve got my fibers for sale if you need to touch and feel in person. The café is huge, and if we sit outside of the café area, they let me bring my dogs in. You can’t really know about me without meeting the kids. Merlin is 8 and Gimbal is 5. She’s the brown one and is Merlin’s daughter. They are both Portuguese Water Dogs. And no, I haven’t spun them yet (other than a small test to see if it would spin), but I do have some fur for future spinning. My friend Lisa Harper, owner of Pup-A-Razzi in Beaverton, saved me a white PWD coat she shaved off. It is fabulous knowing a groomer and fellow spinner! She knows good fiber when she sees it!

So here are a few fiber photos to tempt you and some of the dogs, of course!