Handspun Yarn for My Mom!

My mom is one of my very best friends, and she's also the one who taught me to sew and crochet! Ever since I started learning to spin, I have had an idea in my head to make beautiful yarn for her. Of course, it took me a few test skeins to get to gift-worthy yarn, but I think I finally did it. My mom's birthday was yesterday, November 22nd, and this is what I gave her:

I even made my own custom label, but I must give credit to Blarney Yarn for her super-soft wool blend and gorgeous hand-painted autumn colors.

You may recognize this wool from my past post on the Vista Fiber Fiesta!

I spun and plied the yarn on my trusty Ashford spindle.

Stretching the yarn out on my noddy-noddy showed the colors to their best advantage and got it ready to soak. 

Yarn soup! Soaking the yarn helped clean it and set it.

Last, I hung it to dry on a hook that was left in front of what will soon be my craft room. (I can't wait to repaint or replace that door, though!)

What do you think? I want to try dyeing my own yarn next!

-Assunta

PS- I had a great time at Hearts & Hands on Saturday. I brought a friend and we each made a few spool knit hats for refugees. Making the hats was fun, but the best part was being around people from different backgrounds all working together and using their creativity to help others! It was wonderful to see!

Hearts & Hands 2016

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted! My husband, kitty, and I are all successfully moved into our new house. We are still renting for the time being, but as soon as the home repair projects begin, you'll see them here.

In the meantime, some of the goings-on in the world have made me feel a little extra motivated to have a positive impact. This weekend I plan to participate in Hearts & Hands 2016, and event where volunteers complete craft projects to help refugees and victims of human trafficking. If anyone is reading this in Orange County, you should join me! If not, I'll let you know how it is.

Please see the flyer below for those who are interested:

As we move into the holiday season, I hope it's full of love and laughter for all of you!

Assunta