fibergarden

I just found this too-cute skirt pattern–Hey Mickey–designed by Jacqueline over at This Kitten Knits that I think I’m going to try to knit up for my daughter. (By the way, she’s having a Blogiversary contest, so be sure to sign up for it and say that I sent ya!). This skirt has a vintage look to me that reminds me a bit of those Catholic school skirts I had to wear for 12 years of my life (frightening thought, isn’t it?!), but in the right colors I think I’ll be able to erase that thought from my mind and it’ll look great on miss A, who is a picture of cuteness in skirts (and shorts, and t-shirts covered with mudpies, and well heck–she’s just cute, but I’m her Mama so I am allowed to have a jaded view of how totally cute my kid is, right?)

This is a formula pattern so I can probably work it up in my own handspun if I’m feeling really adventurous. I have a pound of a gorgeous green-purple wool-llama-mohairish blend that I bought last year at the NYSWF that would look great on little A, so maybe I can discipline myself enough to spin it up thin enough to use for this pattern. Then again, maybe not.

She’s also got a gorgeous shawl pattern called Nerides that I love, complete with little pearls on the fringe…check it out!

All my handspun is on sale over at the shop–Handmade. $5 off any skein until Labor Day. Say that you found it at my blog and get US shipping for only a buck (free shipping on any order over $50 as usual).

I thought a sale to help clear out some stock would inspire me to stay up late spinning down some of my ever-growing fiber stash. I may even post a few brand new yarns there in the next day or so if I can get the twist set and dry in time to photograph, so you may get access to some brand new skeins at sale prices. Run right over and check it out!!

Quick FO photo post…to show off a few things I’ve been pulling together lately. Two handspun necklaces–one plain, one with beads. And a hand felted pin with glass beads, sequins and decorative yarn trim. The pin is called ‘Flame’. Necklaces aren’t named yet, but probably will be. These should appear on the web site after the Craft Fair this weekend, provided they don’t sell. I had a lot of fun making the necklaces and will definitely try more. Already have new techniques in mind. It never ceases to amaze me that the possibilities with fiber art just seem to be endless. Anyhow, enjoy the pics…the other photos I took came out terribly. I think it’s time for a new camera (or a new photographer!)

Just a fast post with two new fo’s to show off(”what”, you say, Carrie has actually finished a project?) Well, yes I have…imagine that! Anyhow, here are sneaky peeks as they lay flat blocking on a blue towel that really doesn’t make them look their best. Top is a snippet of a yarn over scarf from a skein I spun called Carribbean. I had that skein on consignment at a lys and got it back a while ago. Decided to knit up instead of re-listing it. I used a commercially hairy yarn carried along on the tightly knit areas and in the fringe (fringe not shown).

And this one is the end of a belt-scarf hybrid from a recent skein I spun up and couldn’t keep my hands off, called ‘Royalty’. Knit both sides, with a buttonhole like loopy bit at the other end to slip the tail through if you want to wear it as a belt. Or it makes a great skinny scarf. I also made a wacky cell phone bag-cosy from this skein and a necklace that I’m pretty happy with. Will try to post those soon too

Not listing these for sale until after my show on Shelter Island in a few weeks, so if anybody is interested, give a yell. Will be at the Chamber of Commerce Arts and Crafts Fair at the school grounds, on August 25th with my Sister and her beautiful photos in the booth next door. It’s usually a good show for both of us and we meet lots of new and old friends there every year.

Finally something fibery to talk about! Spent the day doing this and that…taking care of baby, eating, doing dishes, etc. Went to the Bellmore Antiques flea market and picked up a wild dress that I think I’m gonna shred and spin up, Pluckyfluff style, though I don’t expect it to come out great like “The Emperor Has No Clothes” which was truly amazing! This dress is sheer and sparkly and has it’s own brilliance that I hope I can transform into a beautiful yarn…I figure for $6 it’s worth a shot! I also ran across another Sheffield Farms glass milk bottle to add to my collection. This one may be a cream bottle as it’s a half pint. My Grandfather worked for them (out of Brooklyn I think) as a milkman–I believe it was around the 1920’s– delivering milk with a horse and carriage, so I keep grabbing the bottles as I run across them.

So it was pretty much “do anything” today to avoid doing more cleaning/organizing/paperwork that I’ve been working on, though I’m off to work on it again late tonight after I scavenge something to eat for myself. This evening, baby O went to bed around 7–teething, cranky and exhausted–and since the rest of the fam is in FL visiting Grandparents, I broke out my bulk white roving and the dye pots and went to work! I always forget just how easy it is to dye, really. I managed to do about a pound of miscellaneous stuff in about an hour and the results, though still too hot to handle, look promising. I won’t bother to touch it until tomorrow when it’s cooled off. I think it’s just easier that way and less likely to have a felting accident from too much handling and wild temperature changes.

So, on the stove top I dyed some Wensleydale in sunset colors (accidentally let that one boil, so cross fingers it’s not a big felted glob when it cools!!). In my enamel roasters in the oven, I dyed some merino/tencel in red-purple-chartruse blend and some bluefaced leicester in a red-purple-dark green blend. I’ll add pics tomorrow when I rinse and hang it all to dry. It’s not much compared to the amazing Yarn Wench or others who dye for hours and produce piles of rovings to spin and sell, but a pound is enough for me to accomplish, and will keep me busy for some time.

Maybe I’ll use some of it to finally get some of my spindle kits packaged up to sell…a girl can dream, right?

Sorry I’m still not posting about fibery stuff, but I have to get this one out there. Mattel is recalling 92 (YES, you read it right, I count 92 product numbers on their recall page–horrific!!!!!) children’s and baby fisher price toys that have lead paint on them. Here’s a link to the CPSC page about it. Most of them are Dora and Sesame Street characters, and all of them seem to be aimed at kids under 6 or so–the ones most likely to get brain damage from lead poisoning.

I’m on the CPSC mailing list for recalls, and every week it seems that I receive 2-3 emails of toys or kids’ jewelry that contains or is painted with lead paints. Remember the lead pvc lunch box scandal of two years ago? The recent Thomas the train recalls? Why can’t these companies have quality control? You know they would turn the stuff away if a shipload arrived in the USA painted green instead of orange. Why can’t they attempt to keep their customers safe? It makes me sick to think about it. I paid $2 apiece for good-quality lead testing swabs to check my house. Why can’t these companies simply test samples of this stuff before they make billions selling them to our children? I think that corporate lead testing needs to be a law to protect our kids. It’s simple and can’t cost more than a few bucks per item. Enough is enough.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I believe that PVC is an evil toxic product and that much of it is tainted with lead (no real science behind it yet, but from a little reading I’ve done I’ve come to this conclusion…apparently lead is often used as a stabilizer in vinyl–remember warnings not to drink from the hose? That’s one of the reasons!) Beware and be suspicious of all PVC products, and all items that come from places where manufacturing standards are questionable. Think of those poor people who painted all that stuff, probably not wearing any protective gear, and then going home to spread the lead onto their kids. No doubt the recall won’t protect them. Blech.

Off to throw away anything suspicious while little A isn’t watching, and to pray that someday our corporations act responsibly, sigh.

Sadly, I have to add this bit, from today’s Reuters news, 8/13:
China recall toy factory boss hangs himself IMO, despite the lead painted toys being his fault, and that he does bear responsibility for the safety of his workers and their families, ultimately the burden for this horrible crime rests elsewhere. If they had simply done routine and cheap testing (as I suggested above) when the toys left the factory/entered the US, the whole problem would have been avoided. At the heart of it, corporate execs in charge of quality control at Mattel and Fisher Price are responsible for this mess. So sad…