The Poodle Project

I recently accepted a custom spinning job which I have dubbed "The Poodle Project".

The customer sent over a pound of black poodle fur and about 3/4 of a pound of white poodle fur.

Here is how the fiber looked when I got it.

I decided to start with the black poodle fiber first. I carded it on my Ashford fine cloth hand crank drum carder into batts.

The batts didn't draft very well so I tried washing the fiber. It felts very easily! I finally settled on hand picking the fiber open and carding it on my Louet Jr roving carder, which has longer teeth on the cloth. I then hand carded the fiber that I pulled off the licker-in drum on the carder. The hand carded rolags spun the easiest of all the different ways I prepared the fiber.

Here are the finished skeins of yarn.

I was hoping for a DK weight yarn but ended up with a worsted weight. I was planning on more yardage but because of the way the fiber spun up, worsted weight was the lightest I could manage. It has gorgeous texture to it and is very soft. The customer wants a sweater/vest knitted or crocheted with this yarn - it should be gorgeous!

Later I'll share the white portion of The Poodle Project. I took more photos of the various steps involved in spinning it.

Happy 1st Birthday River!

Our standard poodle puppy, River Runner, is one year old today!

Here is River with his littermates

Here is River as a puppy

And here is River enjoying his first snow

Here is River last October

Here is River yesterday morning

And here is River after his first professional grooming/clipping

River and Pippin (our YorkiePoo) are best buddies. Thank goodness we have Pippin to play with River! After River came home from his grooming appointment, Pippin didn't know at first who he was!

We like the look of the long haired River best but he was already getting so hot that we decided to have him clipped short for the summer. We'll let his fur grow and have him clipped again next Spring. In between now and then, I hope he'll let me keep his face shaved short. With the fuzzy face, he soaks up a TON of water when he drinks and then dribbles it everywhere. I think he was dribbling more water than he drank recently. We had to keep a mop handy so we wouldn't slip and fall on the wet floors.

I had the groomer save the fur that she clipped off River yesterday. She gave me a huge bag of black poodle fur! I weighed it after I got it home and it weighs over 2 pounds (including the weight of the bag) Wow! I recently finished spinning just over a pound of black poodle fur for a customer and the yarn turned out fabulous. I'll share pics in another post. I can't wait to spin River's fur and make something out of the yarn!

Another Original Design/Creation!

While looking for some yarns and threads in the stash in my office recently, I discovered a box of Interlacement's Big Loop Mohair Boucle yarns. The skeins are about 8 oz and the yarn is so soft and lustrous. I immediately grabbed a skein of the "Blues" colorway yarn and started casting on stitches. I was going to make a knitted scarf with it but I decided that this yarn would make a fabulous shawl because of the color, texture, softness and luster. Plus, knitting on big needles makes the fabric very stretchy. I knitted about a foot and then started increasing until I had triple the number of stitches on the needles. I knitted enough so that this wide section would completely hug your shoulders. Then I decreased at the other end, duplicating the other side. These narrower ends can then be tied together, looped over one another or fastened with a shawl pin as shown in one of the photos.

This shawl/wrap is my own design, created without the use of a pattern, making it a Split Rock Ranch Original Design One-of-a-Kind Creation!

Here is the shawl worn draped over the shoulders with the front flaps overlapped and secured with a shawl pin (not included - shown for demonstration only.)

 

Here is the back of the shawl when worn in this fashion.

 

You could also fold one side of the shawl over to form a "collar" and then loop the end flaps over one another.

Here is how the back looks when worn in this fashion. You can't see it very well, but the folded down portion forms a cute little "collar" and really helps to keep your neck warm!

Or pull the end flaps through a shawl or scarf ring to secure them at the front.

This could even be worn as a cowl/scarf by folding the center section in half and securing it around your neck. Or, wear it as a hood/scarf/neckwarmer by folding over a portion of the center section and then place it on your head and wrap the ends around your neck.Use your imagination with this versatile piece!

Here is a close up of the stitch and yarn detail - I just love the colors, luster and textures!

This scarf is available in my ArtFire store here.

Wordless Wednesday

I've Been Busy!

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile but I've been busy. I think I have ADHD project syndrome. I can't be happy with just one project in the works. I need to have several going at once. I currently have a rug project in the works. I'm using some dark brown alpaca roving that is far too coarse to be used for next to the skin wear and I think even too coarse for outerwear so I am hand spinning it and crocheting it into a large round rug. I'm also hand processing some dark brown Icelandic wool and spinning that to incorporate into the rug.

I did finish some other projects recently though.

Here is a large wrap/shawl that I made using some novelty commercial yarns along with my handspun yarns. I love the colors and textures to this wrap/shawl! I called this piece "Autumn Splendor"

 

Autumn Splendor is available for sale in my ArtFire store.

I have also been doing a lot of spinning. I finally finished spinning the suri alpaca and Polwarth rovings from the Split Rock Ranch Fall Spin Along (I know...I'm way behind!)

Here are those yarns along with some lockspun yarns that consist of suri alpaca locks and yearling mohair locks, plied with metallic yarns.

I haven't listed all of these yarns yet because I haven't decided yet whether I'm going to sell them or use them in another project. I might just list everything and then whatever is still available in the store when I'm ready to start a new project, I'll pull from inventory and use. I think these yarns coordinate beautifully!

I also completed a custom dye order for someone but I'll do a new post later for those.

Thank you for stopping by!

Wildflower Shawl - My newest handmade creation!

I recently purchased some beautiful hand painted yarn that is a textural delight of 50% silk and 50% rayon spun into a textured boucle-type yarn and dyed in rose, cornflower blue, deep lavender and sage green; the colors remind me of a field of wildflowers blooming in a summer mountain meadow. The yarn is very soft and silky with a beautiful drape to it and incredible luster and shine.

I hand crocheted this shawl using the silk/rayon yarn. I used a butterfly wing shawl pattern so the resulting shawl resembles butterfly wings!

I am including a gorgeous silver toned scarf ring that you can slip the tips of the wings through to secure the shawl around your shoulders.

Here is a close-up of the scarf ring

And here is the back of the shawl

Or, you can wear the shawl "backwards" with the wings crossed behind the neck and secured back in the front, the tip of the shawl is pulled up and looped through the center top part of the shawl and then the wings are secured with the scarf ring to form a cozy cowl.

Or, wear the shawl turned 90 degrees so that the back is worn on one shoulder and the wings are secured at the other shoulder with a scarf ring or shawl pin.

Use your imagination to create lots of different looks with one gorgeous shawl!

The Wildflower Shawl is available for sale in our ArtFire store. Valentine's Day is next month and this shawl would be the perfect spring wrap for that special someone in your life!

Or, check out our Handmade Accessories section in the ArtFire store to see what else we have available.

I used the same yarn (50/50 silk/rayon) hand painted in shades of rose, mauve, orchid and tan to make this Old Rose ruffled spiral scarf.

Happy New Year Sale!

To usher out the "old year" and ring in the "new year", I'm offering a discount on everything in the ArtFire store starting today and going through Monday, January 2, 2012. Use coupon code HAPPYNEWYEAR2012  to save 12% off everything in the store!

Visit SplitRockRanch's Studio

SAVE 12% Off All Items

Use Coupon Code:

HAPPYNEWYEAR2012

during checkout.

Lampwork Beads

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours love, joy and peace this Christmas!

Rocky Mountain Sunrise Shawl

I have had a small pile of yarns sitting here on my desk for weeks now, waiting for me to decide what to do with them. I was drawn to yarns in pinks, fuchsias and oranges for awhile and I collected quite a stash of them from Etsy stores, ebay and other sources. I have them in plastic storage drawers, just waiting for the perfect projects. I rarely find a pattern and then buy yarn for it; I buy yarn I love and then let it tell me what it wants to become.

In this stash was a skein of Be Sweet Magic Ball yarn in the Hot Sundae colorway

The Be Sweet Magic Ball yarn is a collection of yarns tied together (commonly called a component yarn) and is described by Be Sweet this way:

A divine arrangement of hand dyed boucle and brushed mohair yarns tied with knobby, ribbon, and metallic goodies.

I intended to make a long skinny scarf with this skein of yarn. I crocheted a long chain and started crocheting rows. I loved watching the scarf take shape as I went through each section of the magic ball of yarn, enjoying the colors and textures of each different section of yarn. After the skein was all crocheted up, I looked over at my pile of coordinating yarns and decided to just grab a skein of yarn, tie it to the end of the Be Sweet skein and keep on crocheting. I ended up using 13 different skeins of yarn with so many different fibers, colors and textures.

What I created was this incredible shawl that I named "Rocky Mountain Sunrise because the vibrant colors remind me of the vibrant sunrises (and sunsets) that we enjoy here in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

This shawl can be worn many different ways. If it hadn't been so cold outside when I did the photo shoot I would have created more looks but I needed to get finished before my fingers froze!

I love the colors and the textures in this shawl!

 

The yarns I used include boucle, brushed, ladder, ribbon, beaded, flag, two-ply and eyelash yarns. The fibers include mohair, baby mohair, merino, wool, silk, rayon, poly and nylon. This shawl is warm, soft and snuggly.

I have listed this shawl in the ArtFire store for sale. I am including free Priority Mail shipping along with delivery confirmation and insurance (to the US only). If you order by Monday, December 19th, you should have this shawl in time for gift giving at Christmas. Here is the listing in the store: Rocky Mountain Sunrise Shawl

And, of course, I want to share with you some photos of the Rocky Mountain Sunrises that inspired the creation of this shawl.

All of these photos were taken from either our front or our back deck without the use of filters or enhancements.

Emma Lea is growing up!

The little bottle fed kitten, Emma Lea, is now fully weaned and eating solid foods on her own. She's gained a LOT of weighed since we rescued her. She was a tiny 13 ounces when we got her and she now weighs one pound 8 ounces.

I got some photos of her today but they aren't very good because she was running all over my office and I had to use the flash so the camera took too long to take the photos. But, you get the idea.

Her eyes are turning from baby blue to green.

And I love her markings!

Let the Shopping Begin!

Today is Black Friday, officially the start of the holiday shopping season. I know some people love the challenge of standing in line in the cold waiting for the store to open and hoping to score big on some door buster deal. For those of you who would prefer the sanity of shopping from home, please consider shopping from American online sellers, especially small independent sellers and artists.

Visit SplitRockRanch's Studio

SAVE 15% Off All Items

Use Coupon Code:

LETTHESHOPPINGBEGIN

during checkout.

Fiber Arts

I am having a 15% off sale in my Split Rock Ranch ArtFire store. I know 15% off isn't much, especially when you consider the huge deals that the big box stores offer today. But, my mark-up and profit isn't nearly what theirs is so I am offering what I can afford to offer. Just use LETTHESHOPPINGBEGIN at checkout to get the 15% discount on your entire purchase. Discount does not apply to shipping. The coupon sale starts today and ends Monday night, November 28th. Happy shopping!

In the store I have handdyed fibers, both loose locks and rovings, fiber blend batts for spinning or felting (blended right here on the ranch with my hand crank drum carder), felting needles and supplies, and felting kits (both beginner and deluxe). I also have a variety of my OOAK original design scarves, cowls, shawls and accessories.

Let the shopping begin!!!

Namaste Farms Online Radio by Namaste Farms | Blog Talk Radio

Namaste Farms Online Radio by Namaste Farms | Blog Talk Radio

We are so lucky to have Jacey Stringham Boggs available for an interview on Wed. night 6:00 pm. Jacey is a well known spinning teacher, author, video producer and associate editor for Spin-Off Magazine. She is extremely well regarded in the spinning community and is considered one of the most well respected spinning technicians and teachers among her peers. Please join host Natalie Redding, with co-conspirators Jennifer Smith (Foo) and Kimberly Macalindin (the Radio Fairy) for our interview with Jacey Boggs. Jacey will be available live for questions after the interview.

Please check out Jacey's website www.insubordiknit.com where you can pre-order her book!

New Kitten!

We haven't had foster kittens for a couple of months here and I was having kitten withdrawals. A couple of weeks ago our daughter called asking if we could please take this tiny little kitten that had been found at our son's house. My daughter-in-law found this little kitten almost frozen stiff in their yard so she brought her into the house and laid her on towels on zip-lock bags filled with warm water. Our son-in-law went and picked the kitten up from them (my son is allergic to cats so they could not keep her.) We met our daughter and her husband halfway and picked up the kitten. She is adorable. She was maybe four weeks old at the time and I was afraid that she might not make it. But, she took to the bottle right away and is now eating semi-solid foods and growing like crazy. She was 13.1 ounces when we got her and she now weighs 1 pound 2 oz as of tonight. We named her Emma Lea - she has two "M"s on her forehead so I wanted a name with two Ms in it.

 

Just look at the beautiful mackerel tabby markings on this little girl!

And look at this adorable little tummy!!

I have an old alpaca slipper that our foster kittens always love to snuggle in. Emma loves it, too!

Cria Update - They're Growing Like Weeds!

The crias are growing like weeds. Phoenix will be five months old on November 4th - that's only two weeks away! He has been showing interest in the females already and while he cannot get them pregnant, he is "practicing" on a regular basis and really irritating some of them. He can be weaned at five months so I will probably put him in with Spencer (who will be a year old on October 30th) until they have bonded and then I'll turn them out with the small group of younger/calmer males to see if I can integrate them safely into that group.

Here is a recent photo of Phoenix.

Rosie is growing fast, too. She is now four months old so I will be able to wean her in a month but her mother usually weans her babies on her own so I'm hoping Rosie can just stay in with the female herd and the transition will be a smooth one. I notice that her mother is allowing her to nurse less and less so she is probably already starting to dry up.

Here is a photo I took a couple of days ago. I just love Rosie's face! Look at those dark circles around her eyes. And her darker muzzle. And those fuzzy ears!

 

Autumn has grown a lot. She is four weeks old today and is looking awesome. Her fiber is very lustrous and silky and I hope it stays that way.

And look at her face! Is that not adorable?!

And then I got a really cute photo of Rosie and Autumn together. They were watching Courtney, one of our cats, on the other side of the fence.

And here is the newest little male who is eight days old today. I think we're going to call him Time Traveler because his grandsire is Tempis Fugit (latin for Time Flies) and his sire is Viajero (Spanish for Traveler).

 And we are still waiting for Dazzle to have her cria. And that should be the last one for this year. If Dazzle gets much bigger, she's going to explode!