Tag Archives: yarn

Knit One, Cherish Too!

Posted on August 30, 2011 by | Comments Off on Knit One, Cherish Too!
Knitting Madness

I've been going crazy these past few weeks with all the projects I'm taking on.  We lost the camera (found it this evening), so no pictures for this entry...  The good news is, I finally accomplished making my first set of handmade knitting needles.

You wouldn't think that making knitting needles would be a tedious process, but it is.  It mainly involved sanding the points with high grit sandpaper so as to not snag the yarn.  The other thing to keep in mind is the finish.  I'm testing a few different ideas.  I stained a needle, varnished a needle, and high glossed a needle.  These treaments are drying, but once they're dry, I get to spend more time buffing the finishes.

I am dedicated to bringing back the old standard of quality handmade items.  It's important to keep up with artistic traditions while bringing a contemporary or modern-time feel to designs.  The fun thing now is that I get to learn woodworking, something my late grandfather did in his spare time during retirement.  I feel as though I'm passing on a tradition.  As a result, we invested in a lathe to do more intricate designs on knitting needles and my husband got a power saw since he's a little jealous of my growing tool collection.  :)

Amidst all of this planning, I managed to finish a pair of socks, travel to some of my local yarn shops, and bake a few apple pies (we visited an orchard last weekend).  All in all, I feel like Cherished Moments is coming together nicely and within the next month we could have more things going into Etsy, which was my goal all along.  Wish us luck!

Coming Soon
Pictures of handmade knitting needles.

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Knit Trek: On a Mission to Find Local Yarn Shops

Posted on August 1, 2011 by | Comments Off on Knit Trek: On a Mission to Find Local Yarn Shops
GOOD NEWS!
  1. The new website has officially been launched.  It's only a skeleton, but as the portfolio and designs build, we'll have plenty more going on. 
  2. Our etsy.com shop is up and running as well.  There are two listings so far that include our handdyed sock yarn.  Keep checking out cherishedmomentswi on http://www.etsy.com/ for new designs and yarns!

Knitting Madness
This weekend I decided to set out on a trek around the southeastern portion of our state in search of local yarn shops.  I figured, it would be a great idea in order to find out a little bit more about the craft business and also to find new and fun yarns.

  • The Knitting Knook (http://www.theknittingknook.com/):  This was the first stop on our trip.  Peanut immediately fell in love with the fact that the yarn was all out in the open.  I liked the set up of this shop because it was cosy and inviting.  The shop itself is in a house that is shared with three other businesses.  It was interesting to see the different kinds of yarn, but I also recognized a few from magazines: Manos del Uruguay and Debbie Bliss yarns!  This is definitely a place that I'll be visiting again.
  • Ruhama's Yarn and Needlepoint (http://www.ruhamas.com/):  Next stop on the tour was Ruhama's.  This was by far my favorite shop of all that I had seen.  Located in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this yarn shop was the most organized.  The store's yarns were organized by weight and there were signs that gave a lot of information about each individual yarn.  I spent the most money here, as I found an interesting set of soft yarns for some baby clothing designs.  I will probably be coming here most often.
  • Cream City Yarn (http://www.creamcityyarn.com/):  I think Peanut enjoyed this particular shop the most.  We watched one of the women wind yarn into a cored ball a few times and then searched the shop for more fun yarns.  There was a significant stash of Cascade Yarns, which I haven't seen anywhere except online.  The woman who was winding yarn invited Peanut to play with yarn ball winder when she was finished and also led him to a secret stash of toys by the baby yarn.  A great atmosphere here and modern feel.  LOVED IT!
  • Knitch (http://www.knitch.net/): The last stop on our tour was Knitch.  It's located in a small town in between Milwaukee and Madison, which meant it also had a cozy, welcoming atmosphere.  I checked out this store a little bit faster than the other shops, mainly because Peanut was starting to get sleepy.  I found some Baby Cashmerino yarn, which I quickly bought in order to make yet another vest design for the holiday season.
I orginally did a google search for a lot of different yarn shops, but found that half of them had closed.  There was also one place that was listed as a yarn shop online, but it turned out to be a quilting shop that had a tiny room of felted wool.  While it was disappointing to find that some places no longer existed, I was glad to have done the work and now I have a few more resources to go to for yarn.

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New Rovings!

Posted on February 4, 2011 by | Comments Off on New Rovings!

Dyed some lovely Cormo roving from Juniper Moon Farm the other day – the moody brownish one was a total surprise.  I just lumped up the soaked roving and randomly  poured on a red, blue and yellow, let it set, steamed it and voila!  The other three rovings are painted.  Can’t wait to spin them, especially the bright one -

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This is the “voo-do” dye job – came out a really nice moody grey/brown but how will it spin?

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Kind of a boring roving, but may spin really nicely…..?

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I have 2 of these!  juicy!

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My First Give-Away!

Posted on January 28, 2011 by | Comments Off on My First Give-Away!

You should now be able to comment! Yay!

-L

I have a set of 12 Smart Stitch Markers and a hank of hand-spun Juniper Moon cormo wool – yummy!  The wool is a 4.4 oz skein of about 150 yards of 2 ply yarn.  I just put it’s partner and a second skein of Juniper Moon cormo up in my Etsy Shop!  It will knit up as a worsted or heavy worsted.  The stitch markers are silverplate with glass beads and can hook on your fabric or slide on your needles.  To enter:

1) Leave a comment on this blog about what you could do with 150 yards of handspun, or if you can’t think of anything, no worries, just tell me your favorite colors!

2) THEN comment here in the Friday Giveaway post at Juniper Moon Fiber Farm and let them know the best part of your week!  (while you are over there, check out the cutest puppies in the world – lots of pictures posted on the blog!)  As usual, the winner will be chosen at random.

In these photos, the colors seem too saturated, the overall effect is too bright – the actual skein is nicely muted and slightly silvery-grey.

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So, How did the Neon Slinky Yarn Come Out?

Posted on January 21, 2011 by | Comments Off on So, How did the Neon Slinky Yarn Come Out?

Very well thank you!  Ernest (aka. the Nuisance) was a big help with photography tips today!

Yarn spun from the "neon slinky" roving Ernest Yarn spun from the "old rose" roving

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Dying: inspiration? the neon slinky!

Posted on May 5, 2010 by | Comments Off on Dying: inspiration? the neon slinky!

My son has been absent-mindedly “slinking” this brightly colored plastic slinky back and forth between his hands for the last couple of weeks.  I decided I really liked the colors of the slinky and needed to dye something, anything!

"Neon Slinky" sock yarn "Neon Slinky" Roving "Old Rose" Roving Dry Rovings Yarn and Roving Drying

So what is up with the yarn you ask?  I am planning on attending two local farmer’s markets this summer and fall, the Glenside Farmer’s Market which runs on Saturdays, and the CreekSide Coop Farmer’s Market at High School Park (now that is a mouthful!) which runs on Sundays.  Here is the schedule as planned:

CreekSide at High School Park – May 23, June 20, (skip July and August – too hot!) September 19 and October 31 (Boo!)

Glenside – May 29, June 26, September 25, October 30 and November 20

I found a source for nice organic Incan cotton.  It came the other day and I am excited to dye some up.  I will post pics so you can see what will be at the markets!

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i dyed yarn

Posted on November 30, 2009 by | Comments Off on i dyed yarn

my first efforts
Originally uploaded by lornababy

so i tried dyeing yarn for the first time this weekend. i did these with kool-aid. amazing that you can get such pretty colors with kool-aid, huh? more pictures in the yarn dyeing set at my flickr page.

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Fun, Food, Friends and Fiber

Posted on May 11, 2009 by | Comments Off on Fun, Food, Friends and Fiber
What a great group of nouns! Yesterday was the Rt66 Fiber Rendevous in Edmond and I fought my way through rain and road construction and it was every bit worth it.

While I have great friends locally, only a couple are fiber folks. So getting to be surrounded by them is all wonderful. Some of them I see a couple of times a year so there are lots of "How you been? What are you working on?" etc. And there was fiber and yarn and looms and spindles and all sorts of good things.

There was also a potluck but due to some apparent misunderstandings, there didn't seem to be enough food for all that were there. So Katya and I went across the street to a Pita shop (whose name I don't remember) and I had the BEST sandwich I've had in a long time. I need to find an excuse to go to Edmond again :)

And, yes, I spent money. I took cash in my pocket so I was controlled but when I left, I had $2.25 cents left. That would have been gone also but I couldn't find anything for sale at that price. Dang!

I bought yarn and fiber. I'm gonna spin well if it's the last thing I do. Here's the goods.



The green and orange skeins just hopped into my bag as I walked by the table they were on. And I certainly didn't want to be labeled a thief. So I happily paid for them and sure...I need green and orangey yarn. All the rest of the yarn was in a big box. Someone was destashing sock yarn. Be still my heart. The big skein of brown tweed (which is much prettier in real life) was $10 for 400+ yarns and the others were $3!! The brown..which looks really drab in the photo is a really soft tweed sock yarn. I could only find one of the rainbow skeins and it certainly isn't enough for a pair of socks but it was a lovely antidote to a very gray day. The big ball of roving is Ramboulliet and the little one is Ramboulliet and angora. And I know the R's owner so it's kinda like spinning with a friend. It spins like butter on my spindle. Well sometimes rather lumpy butter but you get the idea.

Today has been about catching up with laundry etc, and playing with the new stuff. Oh and soaking in the tub with some really yummy bath salts my girl sent me. She seems to have a real talent for making this and I told her that since I got some for Christmas and some for Mother's Day, she has inadvertently started a tradition. And I'm all about traditions. And, for me, it's a special day. The kitties and the dog have been unusually attentive and who doesn't like a fur/dog hair snuggle?

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Fun, Food, Friends and Fiber

Posted on May 11, 2009 by | Comments Off on Fun, Food, Friends and Fiber
What a great group of nouns! Yesterday was the Rt66 Fiber Rendevous in Edmond and I fought my way through rain and road construction and it was every bit worth it.

While I have great friends locally, only a couple are fiber folks. So getting to be surrounded by them is all wonderful. Some of them I see a couple of times a year so there are lots of "How you been? What are you working on?" etc. And there was fiber and yarn and looms and spindles and all sorts of good things.

There was also a potluck but due to some apparent misunderstandings, there didn't seem to be enough food for all that were there. So Katya and I went across the street to a Pita shop (whose name I don't remember) and I had the BEST sandwich I've had in a long time. I need to find an excuse to go to Edmond again :)

And, yes, I spent money. I took cash in my pocket so I was controlled but when I left, I had $2.25 cents left. That would have been gone also but I couldn't find anything for sale at that price. Dang!

I bought yarn and fiber. I'm gonna spin well if it's the last thing I do. Here's the goods.



The green and orange skeins just hopped into my bag as I walked by the table they were on. And I certainly didn't want to be labeled a thief. So I happily paid for them and sure...I need green and orangey yarn. All the rest of the yarn was in a big box. Someone was destashing sock yarn. Be still my heart. The big skein of brown tweed (which is much prettier in real life) was $10 for 400+ yarns and the others were $3!! The brown..which looks really drab in the photo is a really soft tweed sock yarn. I could only find one of the rainbow skeins and it certainly isn't enough for a pair of socks but it was a lovely antidote to a very gray day. The big ball of roving is Ramboulliet and the little one is Ramboulliet and angora. And I know the R's owner so it's kinda like spinning with a friend. It spins like butter on my spindle. Well sometimes rather lumpy butter but you get the idea.

Today has been about catching up with laundry etc, and playing with the new stuff. Oh and soaking in the tub with some really yummy bath salts my girl sent me. She seems to have a real talent for making this and I told her that since I got some for Christmas and some for Mother's Day, she has inadvertently started a tradition. And I'm all about traditions. And, for me, it's a special day. The kitties and the dog have been unusually attentive and who doesn't like a fur/dog hair snuggle?

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