handspun yarn

i really dislike unnecessary gadgets. and the people who have them. people who knit can be just as guilty as those ridiculous home cooks who have a different peeler or corer for every type of fruit, the hand blender and a food processor and a regular blender. why can't those people just donate some money to charity instead?

i am really proud of my arm and magazine rack skein maker. and my mug-weighted drying method.

that having been said, i just received in the mail these hand cards i won on ebay (for six bucks, brand new ones are sixty)! (hint: they were so cheap because they were not in the "spinning" section, where there is much competition for these items. if you are looking for some carders, i recommend doing a search for "wool card", "carder", and "carding", and bidding on the ones that are not in the "spinning" category.)

non-spinners, in case you don't know, these objects are used to prepare wool to be spun. supposedly you can use a dog brush instead, but i have witnessed a comparison, and it is worth it to get the carders; the wool poofs up a lot more when it is carded, as opposed to dog-brushed. and i like my yarn poofy.

i plan to go to a sheep shearing day at a local farm this spring and pick out my own fleece. i'll card, dye, spin and knit something with it. i'm thinking maybe a hardcore tricky lace shawl.

here is the latest loveliness. made with some mystery fiber i got from sheep shed studio. i dyed it myself with various cake icing dyes i found at the new broadway panhandlers on 8th st.