Greenwood Fiberworks

2012-01-28T06:51:00.000-08:00

Greenwood Fiberworks Prize Drawing and Newsletter

Hello friends! It has been a while since I have visited this poor, neglected blog. I hope to do better in the future.

I wanted to announce some new plans for Greenwood Fiberworks. First we will be offering a quarterly email newsletter. This will include tips and techniques, patterns, special offers, new products, and a gallery of items made from GF fibers and yarns. We appreciate your inbox and will only send this out 3-4 times per year (only when we have something great to share).

You may sign up for the newsletter HERE.

As an added bonus, every person who signs up will be entered in a Prize Drawing to be held February 29th. The fun prizes include:

(1) 1st prize $150 gift certificate
(3) 2nd prizes $50 gift certificate
(10) 3rd prizes a Greenwood Fiberworks apron.

I hope you will consider joining our newletter. Please pass this on to all your fiber friends. Think gook karma ;)

Here's a little eye candy to brighten your day!

This is "Mountain Air" BFL hand spun by Yarnaholic

2011-05-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

10 Pounds of "Holly Berry"

Yes, it's true. I've had a bit of fun this spring dyeing up a large batch of Merino top in "Holly Berry" for a good customer. I set it up on the dining room table to make the room look festive. Ok, maybe it's not the correct season, but I love the combination of red and green.

2011-05-03T06:16:00.000-07:00

Sample Box Sweater

The Sample Box is one of the most popular items in my shop and I am constantly amazed at the creativity of what people make from them.

Linda of Sunset Fibers has made this delightful sweater using pigtails from a BFL Sample Box.

Here is her description of how she made this sweater:

"I took all the colorways, stripped them lengthwise by 4 and rolled them up into balls, threw them in a basket, added a few of my own colorways and tossed them like popcorn. I spun them randomly end to end then 2-plyed from the inside and outside of a ball. I did a side to side sweater striping it out with a next-to-the-skin soft romney fleece that I bought a few years ago. The result was exactly what I hoped for. I have enough for slippers too!!! Woo Hoo."

Thanks, Linda, for sharing your lovely creation. You may visit her website at www.SunsetFibers.com

Pigtails from a Sample Box

2011-04-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Busy sewing a Prom dress--more dyeing scheduled for next week

It's been a very busy week here at Greenwood Fiberworks. My daughter was asked to Prom and she wanted a unique dress. She and I picked out some lovely brown and teal tapestry fabric as we planned the design.

Looking at the pattern, the dress seemed very straight forward. I thought I had a good handle on everything until I realized there were two layers of lining, boning, and netting. Ugh!

After a while the dress with over 16 yards of fabric became quite heavy and cumbersome to work on. Adding to my distress, the bodice fit perfectly until I put in the linings and somehow it shrunk 1.5 inches.

I am pleased to report that the dress was finished with a whole 20 minutes to spare and that my daughter loved it!

So, if my shop seemed a bit neglected this past week, please know that I've been fibering with fabric and a sewing machine this week. It will be great to get back to dyeing on Monday. Stay tuned . . .

Back view

I think she likes it!

2011-04-19T06:54:00.000-07:00

Felted Birds

Lovebirds made from the Vintage colorway

The calender says spring is here, but in Utah we are still getting snow. The only thing that convinces me that spring is really on its way is the chirping of the birds in the morning. What a lovely sound!

Kirsten of Honeysuckle Kiss created these cute birds from my merino and bfl rovings. They just make me smile! She sells her felted designs on etsy, too.

Blue Bellied Bird Couple from the Retro Boy colorway

Red Breasted Robin Pair from the Autumn Flame colorway

2011-04-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

Lovely Enchanted Yarn

SheepingBeauty creates lovely handspun yarn. I was delighted to see pictures of my Enchanted colorway spun so expertly. Here's the eye candy! You may visit her etsy shop at www.SheepingBeauty.etsy.com

Enchanted handspun yarn

Enchanted BFL Top/Roving

2011-04-08T08:47:00.000-07:00

Super Coils!
Made with Heathered Cyndi's Suitcase combed top

Alas, I was determined to achieve the distinction of spinning a full bobbin of "balanced" super coil yarn. This was the elusive novelty yarn I've been coveting for some time now. I could make a super coil yarn--it really isn't all that difficult--however, my skeins always turned out overspun and full of active twist. After playing around with some different techniques, I finally created a balanced super coil yarn. I'm so proud! I think I'll display it in the living room for all to see.

First, I started by spinning a firmly twisted single on my Schacht Matchless wheel. I used a 4 ounce braid of one of my new colorways, Cyndi's Suitcase, in a heathered BFL. I spun it into a thick and thin somewhat sport-weight yarn.

For the core I chose some ecru crochet thread. It really does not take much core to super coil 4 ounces of wool. It is surprising how many yards of wrapping yarn one needs to spin in order to get just a few yards of super coil yarn. Anyhow, I wound off a little ball of the crochet thread containing about 30 yards. I attached it and the wool to the leader on my Lendrum Bulky flyer setting it on the largest whorl. Treading very slowly, I held the wool singles at about a 60 degree angle to the core and allowed the wool yarn to spiral around the core. After 3 or 4 treadles I would push the spiral yarn up towards the orifice to completely encase the core.

During this process, twist builds up in the core yarn. To counterbalance the built up twist I did a couple things with the core thread. First, I placed a piece of tape on the small ball of thread so it would dangle freely from the spinning wheel and not hit the floor. Every time I would push up the spiraling wool yarn, I would gently let go of my grip on the core and allow the hanging ball of thread to freely spin and release the extra built up twist. After performing several "push up" procedures, the hanging ball of core thread would need to be unwound to give more length. I simply removed the piece of tape from the ball, unwound a few feet of thread, and replaced my tape. This was a bit cumbersome, but soon a rhythm developed. In the future I think I will try winding the core thread on a small bobbin used for knitting intarsia. I welcome any suggestions here!

When the yarn was completed I noticed that it was still not perfectly balanced. There was quite a bit of live twist. I decided to run the yarn quickly through my Lendrum wheel to remove the excess twist. This only took a few minutes and VOILA! perfectly balanced Super Coil Yarn!

I ended up with about 26 yards of fabulous art yarn. Move over flower arrangements and coffee table books, this yarn gets center stage on the living room table!

2011-04-06T17:55:00.000-07:00

TRIBE--a New Colorway

It's always fun to have a dye day where I can be creative and make up a new colorway. Sometimes this only happens every few months or so, and then sometimes I get in a creative mood and make up several at once. This has been a great week with several new colorways including "Hot Lips", "Shades of Denim", and especially "Tribe".

I have a feeling that Tribe will be a new favorite. I love how all the colors came together so well. It was dyed in dark charcoal, teal, sky blue, brown, and olive green. The combination is quite manly. It also has quite a modern look to it, too. Here's the pics!

The first batch of Tribe right after dyeing

A braid of BFL wool in Tribe

2011-03-05T15:38:00.000-08:00

"Shades" a New Line of Colorways

I'm currently working on a new line of rovings called "Shades." These rovings are dyed in different shades of one color, exploring that color from dark to light. The idea behind this colorway is that it would be great to ply with one of the other "normal" colorways. For instance, the "Shades of Magenta" colorway would look great plied with "Crocus." These new Shades also spin up nicely by themselves. Here's the 4 colorways already made up in Shades.

The names of these colorways are "Shades of Turquoise", "Shades of Violet", "Shades of Burgundy", and "Shades of Magenta". These are pictures in my Heathered BFL Wool, but Shades will also be made up in all the standard fibers. There will be many more Shades of colors to come. I'll post when I have new colors ready. My teenage daughters have gone gaga over the "Shades of Turquoise". My 17-year-old has requested that I make her some arm warmers out of this colorway. Here is a picture of "Shades of Turquoise" all spun up and ready to knit. Aren't I a good mom?

2009-08-06T06:07:00.000-07:00

Zen Baby Sweater

Completed Sweater

Sweater Details

Here are some pictures of a baby sweater knit by Gale Mead out of some of my "Gentle Breeze" handspun Merino yarn. It was fun to work with her on this project as she needed more yarn to finish up the sleeves so I quickly spun up some more.

The pattern used is "Helena," a free pattern from Knitty. Gale notes that she changed some of the patterning. For all you Ravelry users, you can read more about her sweater Here.

I love how this sweater turned out--especially the slight striping of the yarn on the sleeves. I spun the handpainted roving so it would have just a subtle striping effect.

Thanks, Gale, for sharing your beautiful project with us!

Pictures of "Gentle Breeze" Yarn

2009-07-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

Milk Silk Lace Shawl

This was my first project using 100% handspun Milk Silk. I enjoyed spinning this new fiber and wrote about this experience Here. The colorway I used for this shawl is "Calypso" and I used just over 3 ounces for the entire project.

I found the pattern for this lace shawl on Ravelry. It is Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark. The shawl knitted up quickly and easily.

Since this is the first time I've made something from Milk Silk, I was not sure how it would work out. I am happy to say that I could not have been more pleased with the results. The shawl blocked out well and is holding its shape. The stitches are well defined and the lace pattern is so pretty.

Best of all is the softness and drape of this yarn. The shawl is a delight to touch, hug around one's neck, or just cuddle with. The weight of the yarn gives tremendous drape. It falls elegantly around the shoulders. I hope you can see this in the pictures.

2009-07-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

Spinning Milk Silk aka Milk Protein Fiber

Got Milk? No, not that great cookie-dunking drink, but milk protein fiber! New to hand spinners is a manufactured fiber made from milk. It is a lovely, soft fiber that takes color beautifully. I love dyeing this fiber because the colors turn out like jewels. I call my line of hand painted milk protein fibers, Milk Silk. Here are a few pictures of the colorways I have dyed so far. You may click on an image for more information.

Spinning Milk Silk

For my first 100% Milk Silk project, I chose to spin the "Calypso" colorway. I needed to make something special for my guild's exchange and I thought a lace shawl made from brightly painted Milk Silk would be fun to make.

I began by spinning from the end of the dyed top, but found that the fiber clumped up in my hands. I then tried spinning from the fold and found that this spinning technique worked well. Not only did the fibers cling together better while being spun, but I was able to more fully control the color changes of the painted top.

Milk Silk is a somewhat slippery fiber to spin. I found that if I loosened my spinning wheel's tension so that the draw-in was as light as possible, it kept the fibers from slipping out of my hands before they were spun.

I wanted the colors to stay clear and bright, just like the painted top. I also wanted this yarn to be a laceweight two-ply. So, I divided my top lengthwise and spun each length separately. When plying, I made sure to line up the colors so that turquoise plied with turquoise, copper with copper, etc. Occasionally, the colors overlapped each other for a short distance when one color changed to another, but for the most part the colors lined up well.

I learned that Milk Silk needs quite a bit of twist in order to hold the slippery fibers together, but, if it has too much twist, the yarn will snap. It took a little practice to determine the optimum twist for this yarn, but once established, spinning went quickly and smoothly--Very smoothly!

The yarn turned out beautifully. It had an unbelievably soft hand and also a nice weight that I hoped would create a shawl with good drape. Click here to see pictures of the completed shawl. I recommend Milk Silk to those who are comfortable spinning wool and who are ready for the challenge of more exotic fibers. I found this easier to spin than silk, yet trickier than most other protein fibers. I would say a spinner with moderate ability will enjoy spinning Milk Silk.

2009-07-11T21:02:00.000-07:00

Greenwood Fiberworks
Featured on Lime & Violet

It was nice to have my shop reviewed by the self-acclaimed knitting addicts, Lime & Violet. You can read what they say Here.

2009-07-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

July Phat Fiber Samples

I am happy to be a contributor for the July "non-wool" Phat Fiber Box. The non-wool theme allowed me to play with fibers that have been lurking around my studio. I decided to create some unique fiber batts just for Phat Fiber. These are made of soft, silky bamboo fiber and blended with hand-painted tussah silk and just a bit of hand-dyed icicle sparkle. Here's the spoiler pictures.

Batts being drumcarded

Soft, Fluffy Batts!

A Pile of Batts

One of 50 mini batts waiting to go in the mail

2009-05-04T05:46:00.000-07:00

Handspun Grapevine Yarn

Here are some pictures of yarn spun by Snicklefritz Yarns. She is an indie dyer of beautiful sock yarns and a new spinner. She spun a lighter version of Grapevine Merino Roving into a lovely textured two-ply yarn. I just want to squeeze it!

2009-04-29T06:36:00.000-07:00

Carnival Batts Yarn

I love to make up fiber batts chock full of all kinds of fibers on my drumcarder. Here are pictures of the yarn that Ann of SanicolaDesigns created with my Carnival Batts. These batts were made with all kinds of fibers and even some snippets of yarn. These batts had a lot of texture along with a bit of sparkle--not to mention loads of colors.

I love how Ann spun these up and the resulting yarn is really beautiful!

Here's what Ann said about spinning the batts. "I spun a single from your batt, and plied it with a lace-weight light gray Romney that I carded with coordinating colors of merino and glitz I dyed to match."

Batt before spinning

Gray Romney singles

Carnival Batts Singles

Finished Plyed Yarn!

Another Picture of the Yarn. Don't you just love the texture?

2009-04-06T06:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday Dye Day!

I had a great time dyeing rovings on Saturday. I needed to dye up some batches of "Pottery" and "Calypso". These bright colors never stay in my shop very long.

I came up with this new colorway, Mountain Air. It is fresh, crisp, and cool--just like clean air in the Utah mountains.

2009-04-04T06:55:00.000-07:00

Textile Art, "Friendship"

Scottish artist Morag Lloyds has used my painted rovings and batts to create some beautiful felted art pieces. I'm thrilled that my fibers have reached the country of my ancestors. (I'm a Campbell and Livingston.)

This piece is entitled, "Friendship". It has a friendship bead incorporated into it and comes in a nice box frame. I really like the fresh, whimsical look to her felted art. It is similar to the work she does with her painting. Hint: look close at my blog banner and you'll see her name on that, too!

Here is another untitled piece. You can see how nice her work looks in the box frame. To see more of her felted work, or to purchase "Friendship", please visit her Etsy shop, Parkave. To view her paintings visit My Ark Gallery. Thank you, Morag, for sharing your lovely work!

2009-04-01T07:15:00.000-07:00

Something New

Dyeing fiber is one of my favorite things to do, and even though I've been doing it for many years, I've never tried dyeing nylon. I've heard that nylon, although a synthetic fiber, can be dyed using the same acid dyes used on protein fibers. Always being one to test things out, I thought I'd give it a go.

I decided to try dyeing Louet's sparkling white icicle fiber. I've used the white fiber in some of my blended fiber batts to add glitz and sparkle. Wouldn't if be fun to dye it in colors? My only concern was if it would still sparkle after being dyed.

In my non-scientific way, I wetted the fiber, put it in different dye pots, added water, poured in "glugs" of dye along with a bit of albegal set and citric acid, then heated the pots until the dye bath was clear. I rinsed the fiber and laid it out to dry. I was pleasantly surprised to see how vibrant the colors were, and even more surprised to see that they still sparkled!

The next day I blended the fibers with some black wool and sari silk/rayon threads and created "Northern Lights" Batts. I think I'm in love!

2009-03-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

Colorway Inspiration

Many times I am asked how I come up with different colorways. I wanted to share a recent inspiration.

A couple weeks ago I attended the annual Art and Soup Celebration. It is a wonderful event featuring various Utah artists along with soup tasting from local restaurants. One of my favorite artists is a potter, Ben Behunin. This year I found a pie plate. The colors grabbed me and wouldn't let go. So, home it went with me.

A couple days later found me in my dye studio, studying the colors of the pottery. I dyed some sample rovings and named it "Pottery." The colors are bright, fun, and unique. I'm not sure I would ever have chosen to put this color combination together, but inspired by the pie plate, this has become a very popular colorway.

2009-03-19T11:23:00.000-07:00

Make Your Own Blocking Wires

Today I read an article reviewing some stainless steel blocking wires used to block knitted objects--particularly lace shawls. I had wire envy! Next to my bed sat a sad, crumpled-up lace shawl, waiting patiently for me to block her. The reason she had been neglected is that I dreaded taking the time block her out with dozens of pins.

My blocking experiences have never been great. As soon as I finish placing all the pins in place, I inevitably find that one edge is longer than another, or the corners are not quite square, and then comes the unpinning and hoping the second or third try is better.

So, after reading the article I determined that blocking wires would make my life easier. The only problem? The $40+ pricetag and the fact that I would have to wait for them to be shipped. I wanted to block the shawl Today.

Being a thrifty knitter, I decided to make my own blocking wires. I rummaged through my husband's closet until I found four wire clothes hangers that were coated with paint. I knew that I could not use regular wire clothing hangers because they could possibly rust when blocking wet items. Next, I found some wire cutters and a sanding block. Sandpaper could be used, too.

I straightened out the wire hangers as best as I could. My hands were pretty tired by the time I straightened the fourth one. If you have a strong-handed friend, this is the time to call them over! I used the wire cutters to cut the curved ends off and then sanded the ends gently so the wires would not snag on the knitted fabric and fibers.

All this time I had the shawl soaking in the sink.

I ran the wires through the upper stitches of the shawl and pinned the wires down. I then ran the wires through the points of the shawl and pinned the wires in place. It was easy to stretch it to a certain length by using a measuring tape. Here's the picture of it being blocked.

So, for $0 and 30 minutes, I have my own blocking wires! The pattern used is "Flower Basket Shawl" from Interweave Knits Fall 2004. The yarn is some of my handspun Merino "Greenwood Fiberworks Skinny Singles" in the Plum Tree colorway.

Now, if I can only have patience to let it dry! Hmmm . . . maybe I'll have to get out the hairdryer again.

2009-03-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

Should proximity to a yarn store determine where one goes to college?

After months of working through the difficult college application process my daughter, Emily, found out that she has been accepted to Smith College. This is the second college that has accepted her and she is still waiting to hear from several others.

Now . . . the ethical dilemma. . .

How much influence should I try to have on her decision. I mean, really--did you know that Smith College is in the same town as Webs Yarn Store? Ok, so that may not be all that exciting to you who live in New England, but to me, who lives in the desert of Utah, this is fabulous!

Just think of all the trips I would have to take to visit the store--ahhh--I mean, my daughter, at college. Just think of all that yarn--oh--I mean those mother/daughter bonding moments perusing the yarn--ooops!--I mean campus. Oh boy, this is a tough one!

May I also mention that Emily received a colored brochure from Smith College describing the arts at the school, and there was a picture of some yarn that had been named for the school's founder! Does Smith know that my daughter comes from a fiber-friendly family? Someone in public relations is doing waaaaay too good a job.

So, the question is: Should proximity to a yarn store be a determining factor in where one goes to college? I'd love to hear your opinions.

2009-03-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

Handwarmers made from "Retro Boy" Roving

Etsy customer AmbjerKnits created these really cute Handwarmers from Greenwood Fiberworks' "Retro Boy" roving. I love how she used a simple pattern to effectively show off the great texture of her yarn.

2009-03-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

"Three Wishes" now carries my Rovings!

On Saturday I stopped by "Three Wishes," a fabulous yarn/spinning/weaving store in Salt Lake City. I brought a bag of my hand painted Merino rovings with me. Kristine, the shop owner, was very complimentary and wanted to carry these rovings in her store. I was so happy. I feel like a professional having these rovings in such a quality store.

What was even nicer was that before the rovings were even unpacked, two of them were purchased. Nothing makes me happier than sharing a bit of what I enjoy with others.

2009-03-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

The new face of Greenwood Fiberworks

I am so excited today! I just received the most wonderful artwork from Morag Lloyds of Scotland. She created the artwork for my banner. Don't you just love those sheep? She is an artist/felter who has more of her work for sale at her etsy shop: My Ark Gallery. She has the most darling little pieces of art. If you are a fiber addict, you've got to check out her other sheep paintings.

Her art will be the new face of Greenwood Fiberworks. My shop has been needing a face lift for some time. I think the style of her work compliments the handspun yarns and painted fibers in my shop. Tomorrow will be a fun day as I will be making up stationary, business cards, and hangtags--all with the new pictures.

2009-03-07T05:58:00.000-08:00

The 24 Hour Knitting Project

A knitting project finished in 24 hours? Yes! It is possible. How do I know? I just completed one.

Now, I have to say that I even surprised myself at how quickly this project went together. All the specs are up on Ravelry. It is called "Sarah's Easter Shrug." I found an easy lace shrug pattern called "Little Silk Shrug" in Pam Allen and Ann Budd's Lace Style book. I used only one skein of Incatops Alpafina that I purchased from Webs some time ago. I dyed it with the natural dye, Logwood, to a lovely lavendar color.

I started while getting my hair done, then took it to an informal dinner that night. I came home and knit a little more that evening. When I awoke the next morning, I realized that if I stretched the lace out to where I would block it, I already had the necessary length. All I needed to do was finish off the garter stitch edging and block it before sewing up the ends. I pinned the shrug to the floor (my usual blocking technique) and my daughter Sarah dried it with a hairdryer. Here's a picture of her at work.

It took only about 5 minutes for the lace to block. I sewed the ends of the shrug together and knitted the garter stitch edging while supervising my children's piano lessons. Somehow they seem to escape and not practice well if mom isn't watching. I'm finding that this gives me a good excuse to spend and hour or so knitting or spinning while attending to my motherly duties. It also makes the time much more pleasant. Somehow, I don't hear the complaining as much when I'm having so much fun knitting. Gotta love multi-tasking!

Best of all, Sarah loves her shrug. Even Emily, my teenager who wasn't too keen on the project on the needles, really liked how it looked when Sarah tried it on. Isn't it cute?

Now, I need to help teach Sarah how to sew the dress this shrug is supposed to go with. She has never sewn before. I am trying to muster up all the patience I can. Maybe we will get started on it this week.

2009-03-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

It's My First Day Here

Hello! This is my first posting on my blog and I am so excited to have better communication with the fiber community. I would appreciate your feedback and comments.

I have recently relaunched my etsy store: GreenwoodFiberworks.etsy.com

This is where I sell some of my creations. Right now that means hand painted rovings, blended fiber batts, and handspun yarns. I would love to have you visit!

Here are pictures from my latest dyeing session. The first is a picture of the hand painted Merino roving and next to it is a picture of yarn spun from that roving. I just love how bright the colors are and how the different values of color make a most interesting yarn.

"Arcade"

"Persimmon"

"Calypso"

I plan to post tutorials on how to spin hand painted roving in order to achieve the color results you desire. Stay tuned . . .