Handspun Yarn!

I get to share some very exciting news today! (I was planning on making this post sooner, but after spending a few hours having my tire repaired, it's posting a little late. I know it's short notice for some, but I hope you can make it regardless!) For a few months now, I have joined two very amazing ladies at a local farmer's market here in Central Florida. They have goat and sheep and make beautiful soaps, lotion bars, lip balms, fudge, and more using milk from their goats. I've mentioned one of them before as being responsible for getting me involved in spinning, and always being available for a crafty consultant when I get stuck. (Seriously, she's amazing) Every farmer's market, I sit at their booth and do a spinning demonstration. I enjoy the opportunity to meet new people and talk to them about an art I love, and one that's often not well known. I meet tons of kids and they love asking questions about spinning and about the goat and sheep that we bring to the market as well. (And I get to eat fudge) :D Several people have requested that I offer my yarn for sale, and while I was initially reluctant, I'm pleased to announce that I will have a few skeins for sale at tomorrow's market! I hope to see anyone who lives here locally, it's a wonderful market and has a plethora of handmade goods, delicious food and more.

Here is some of the yarn I've spun recently. There are a few skeins I'm still debating keeping for myself, but the majority of it will be at the market tomorrow.

This was from round one of spinning:

The first is an orange wool, single ply yarn. It is approximately 75 yards in sock/fingering weight.
The second is a brown wool, also single ply. It is approximately 81 yards in lace weight.
Third is a single ply dark gray wool, approximately 58 yards in bulky weight.
Fourth is a two-ply light gray yarn approximately 55 yards in bulky weight.
And finally is a three-ply gray and pink yarn approximately 93 yards in super bulky weight. (The last two are the ones I'm debating keeping for myself :D )

This is round two and are still hanging to dry. I'm slightly worried the last one won't be completely dry before tomorrow, so there is a small chance it won't be there.

The first is a 'candy cane' 2 ply, gray and teal. 113 yards of Bulky weight yarn.
The second is also a 'candy cane' 2 play using the same color teal and a pale yellow. It is 26 yards of worsted weight yarn.
The third is a green that kidn of reminds me of a 'military' green. It's 157 yards of sport/fingering weight.
Finally is a coffee colored 2 ply brown. 317 yards of bulky weight yarn.

 ***Please note, my measurements are approximate. Please keep in mind that variations in yarn weight are a normal part of handspun yarn. I use a wpi method to determine yarn weight.

I can't find a website to link to but it's called The Marketplace at Hibiscus Park. This came from the Chamber of Commerce Website:

From 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Hibiscus Park, 7th Street and Bougainvillea Ave Dade City
Contact: Lucy Avila 352-521-5858
Event Email: lucyvila7070@gmail.com

First Saturday of each Month (September 2014-May 2015)
Come shop our relaxing, outdoor, vendor-friendly market place in Hibiscus Park. Locally grown produce, plants, arts & crafts, and so much more!

Wish me luck and hope to see you there! :)

~Farm Girl Teacher

Handspun Yarn Projects

I have been very busy crocheting, knitting, and knooking over the last few days and I can't wait to show you what I've been creating!

First, I want to show you a cowl I crocheted from a Wool Ease Lion Brand Thick & Quick. I know that I said handspun yarn, but I was walking through Michael's and this Super Bulky yarn caught my eye!

 It is mostly cream with small amounts of brown and black fiber added in. The pattern is very simple, just chain the length you want (mine might be 35 sts?) and alternate rows of single/double crochet.

 The beautiful wooden button was also a Michael's purchase. It doesn't actually serve a purpose though, it's just for looks. :)

And now on to the actual handspun yarns! The following yarn was spun from this roving of alpaca fiber that was given to me. I spun it into singles but was limited to around 100 yards of yarn.

 I have been considering embracing knitting more as it tends to use less yardage than crocheting. This seemed like the perfect opportunity!


This knitted headband pattern came from Cedar Box Knits. She calls it a Wavy Moss headband. It took about two hours to complete and uses a provisional cast on to prevent large seam lines. The pattern includes instructions for a headband, a beanie, and a slouchy hat.


The photo taken by the designer showed the headband worn this way, I call it hippie-style. I like it a lot when those darn straight-haired people wear it, but I'm still not sure if I like it with my curly hair....


One of the main reasons I'm often attracted to knit patterns is because you can create cabled looks, which I love! While I do know how to knit I don't do it very often as I've always found crocheting simpler. This was my first experience knitting cables and because I only own one pair of knitting needles, I totally used a wooden skewer in place of the cable needle! lol


  Like I said, they jury is still out on whether or not I like the hippie-style look, so when I actually wore this headband, I wore it with a pony tail. I think it can also be used as an ear warmer when it's cold outside.

I had a small amount of yarn left over and I wanted to make one more small project for the very kind lady that gave me the fiber. She is an expert when it comes to fiber and the animals that grow fiber. She's been wanting a sheep, but doesn't want to mix them with their goats. So....

  I made this adorable sheep coaster for her! The pattern is designed by Monika Mrozkova. The white portions are some leftover acrylic yarn, the mouth is embroidery thread, and the eyes are two leftover gray beads I happened to have.

Since she can't have the sheep she's been wanting, I thought this coaster would be a cute alternative. :) I should have blocked the legs, but I think it's very cute!

The last is a two ply yarn I spun from wool I bought from The Woolery. I considered dying it but I kind of liked the natural cream color and left it.

I used about two of these balls to crochet a hat I hope to wear when we vacation in North Carolina this December. This is the beanie pattern that accompanied the Wavy Moss headband pattern from Cedar Box Knits.

It looks knitted, right? Actually, it's knooked! I bought a Knook Beginner Kit a while ago but never made anything from it. This pattern required a circular knitting needle but as I don't often knit, I didn't have one. The knook replaces that!

The cabled portion of the beanie was made first, and wasn't as difficult as I was expecting using the knook. Three rows on each side of the cabled section are done in seed stitch. The whole upper portion is supposed to be seed stitch, but I got very frustrated with it very quickly and made it in stockinette stitch instead.

The decreases aren't as gentle as I'd been hoping, possibly because I didn't use seed stitch like the pattern said to. I think I also started decreasing too early and it's a little more shallow than I wanted, but I think it will still be warm when we visit North Carolina.

I really do love the cables, and I like the small amounts of variation in the size of the yarn. It really adds to the character of the piece. :)





 I know it seems as though I'm preparing for cold weather and I don't want you to get the wrong impression, this is Florida and the high today is somewhere in the 90's! I threw on the long sleeve shirt so you guys could get an idea of how it would look but Mom thought the rest of the outfit was hilarious....shorts and flip flops!

P.S. Check out the gigantic honeysuckle vine behind me! It smells wonderful early in the morning! :)

~Farm Girl Teacher