First: A Bit on Twitter....then, about spinning!

J kind of laughs when I go on about Twitter, and tweets from so and so. But, with my updates protected, I am able to accept or decline those who wish to follow me. There are some silly people out there, whose goal, it seems, is to get as many followers as they can get! Some people have hundreds, thousands. Even hundreds of thousands! Then you have celebs with a million plus. Lol. I'm pretty happy with my <200.

On to the crafty stuff!

I haven't been to sleep yet--from last night! I was knitting a clapotis (a French scarf)--click the word clapotis for a link to the first site I found when I googled clapotis. Hmmm. Kind of interesting that this link came up. Kimberly, the author of the blog Knit Whimsies, seems to have disappeared. Last entry was May 2008. This could be a mystery...

I went to bed at 2:30am and couldn't fall asleep, so I just got up and started sorting through all of the fiber (roving and batts to be spun into yarn), and yarn stashed in the closet in the den. I seriously have a lot of yarn and fiber. My goal is to put a lot of the handspun up for sale on my etsy site: vtknitboy at etsy.com. Now, don't go searchin' for stuff now! Nothing's up yet. I'll post to this blog after I get it set up.

I've been playing around with various fibers: mostly alpaca from Maple at Northstaralpacas.com in Michigan. She has fabulous fiber available--check out the stuff she has for sale at her etsy site. You can link to her etsy site right from her blog. Other fibers I've been into lately are soy silk, bamboo, and tencel. I'm really concerned about the use of oil for man-made fibers when there are so many natural plant and animal options in the world.

I'm interested in how these fibers can be sustainable and eco-friendly. I'm pretty sure the yarn made from corn is not a good example of this, as it takes lots of energy to convert it into yarn, and also removes it from the food supply. Soy silk is made from the soy by-product/remains of making tofu. There is also milk yarn! I'm not quite sure how it's made--if anyone has info on the yarn making process for these, please leave a comment or e-mail me!

Here are some of the yarn combos I did last week.

Top pics: attenuated bamboo roving (left); spinning the bamboo (right).

Pics directly at right: checking the twist on the single (left pic); bamboo spun onto the bobbin (right).

The bamboo is very shiny, almost like silk. But way cheaper and eco-friendly! It is very nice to spin. The fiber is attenuated by splitting it up lengthwise, then pulling it out about every 4-5 inches (the length of the fiber). This helps start the drafting process by sliding the fibers along each other. This also helps if the fiber is slightly matted, stuck, sticky, or just compacted a bit. ETA: here's a link to bamboo info: bamboo.

The next set of pics is the baby camel. This is very soft! Almost as soft as cashmere, but about 1/3 the price.

In the pics at right, spinning, on the bobbin, and checking the twist. Because the fiber is so short, it requires a lot more twist to keep it together.

In the next group of pics, the one at the left is the Lazy Kate. The three bobbins, left to right are camel, merino, bamboo. The middle pic is plying, and the pic at the right is checking the twist on the two ply yarn.

The final pic is the skeins of yarn, drying on the clothes rack, after being soaked in hot soapy water (I use an eco-friendly dish soap), then soaked in clear water, then drained and rolled in a clean towel. I give it a good whack, then put it on top of the rack.

New Twitter Friend!

I have become friends with a woman in Alabama, Katy, who goes by Alpacafarmgirl on Twitter. She sent me a sample of fiber from two of her alpacas. She asked me to post about it NEXT week, as she is willing to send out samples of fiber to those interested. In the meantime, I just want to say that it's superbly fah.buh.luss! Her blog is here. She's having a

Fiber Arts Friday & Giveaway!

More on knitting in a couple of days!

-Vtknitboy (Chris)

DMX OUT OF JAIL TODAY

DMX will be officially released today from the Scottsdale Prison he’s been in for months. After word broke the other day that X will be starring in the upcoming season of Dr. Drew’s”Celebrity Rehab”, we also hear X is already set to check into a Phoenix hotel tomorrow. We also hear X has a 7 month old kid as well who is already there with the mother waiting for X. No word on if Tashera is there or not. PLEASE let her be on the show. The antics will never end…

A NEW OVERNITE LADIES HANDBAG

Grammy Award winning artist Estelle and fashion designer Jonathan Kelsey have collaborated on the creation of a new luxury overnight bag - The Belvie.
The Belvie is designed to be the perfect accessory for the girl who goes from work to the nightclub and on through the following morning. In signature Jonathan Kelsey style, the bag –Kelsey’s first– is detailed and chic, crafted from a selection of the finest white leather.

NAS AND KELIS ARE DIVORCING

One of hip hop’s most talked about married couples have split. VIBE has confirmed that Nas and Kelis are headed for a divorce. “I can confirm that she has filed for divorce,” a spokesperson for Kelis told VIBE. “We request the media to respect her privacy during this very difficult time.” At around 3:45pm PST, high-powered attorney Laura Wasser (who has also represented Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie, and Stevie Wonder) filed a divorce petition today on behalf of Kelis, citing irreconciable differences. The bombshell comes amid recent reports that the acclaimed rhymer and influential R&B vixen were expecting their first child together—a son. Kelis is currently seven months pregnant

RIHANNA EMBARRASSED

Rihanna got embarrassed big time on the stage Sunday night at the finale of the Barbados Reggae Festival. When the closing artist, Beenie Man, brought her up on stage and then went on and on, talking and singing about the beating incident between her and CB
. You could tell the girl was embarrassed and the crowd too.

NAOMI TO RETIRE SOON

Naomi Campbell is hanging up her heels for good after 25 years of strutting her stuff on the catwalk.The volatile supermodel has announced plans to retire from runway modeling because she is anxious to settle down and start a family.
“It’ll be 25 years next year. In terms of fashion shows, I don’t really see myself doing every show everywhere,” the 38-year-old says. “I’m a woman and I’d like to be a mother one day.”
Hopefully She’ll work on her anger issues and violent behavior before becoming a mother!!!

A Visit to DC. Finally an update...

Just a quick update here, as I will be posting a new entry tomorrow or Thursday with fiber stuff!

April 8-13 J and I were in Washington, DC! The last time either of us visited DC was sometime in the 1980s. We were planning on making our trip this summer, but the University of Vermont (UVM) hockey team made it to the college hockey Frozen Four, and our plans were made a bit earlier than we originally wanted.

It's always fun going south (of Vermont) anytime between March and May. All the plants and flowers and trees are several weeks ahead of us. The farther south you venture, the further ahead the plants. We were hoping to see the cherry blossoms, and we literally got there on the last 2 days of the blossoms, due to a heavy rainstorm on Friday and Saturday.

(click on pics above and at right. The flowers were gorgeous! There was heavy rain on Friday and Saturday, and most of the cherry blossoms fell off--but J managed to get some pics early Thursday.)

Unfortunately, UVM lost a heartbreaker 5-4, after leading with about 8 minutes left in the game. But, the rest of the trip was pretty good!

One benefit to being on Facebook and Twitter (I'm vtknitboy on Twitter) is being able to meet some of the people I've only known online. Another thing is being reconnected with people from college and other ventures in the past. I've been friended on FB by Donna S., a woman I knew at UVM in the early 1980s. She now lives in Alexandria, Virginia, and we met up one morning for breakfast, along with Elizabeth, a friend and knitter I know from FB.

We also were fortunate to meet Brian G. (@Urbanbohemian on Twitter) in person! I met him for dinner Wednesday, and he met up with us for trekking around DC on Friday and Sunday. It was really nice to have a local take us around! This made the trip. Props out to Brian for the time and efforts he put in with us, and put up with me! (pic of Brian and J at right.)

The monuments.
I have wanted to see the Vietnam War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and The Mall for years. I was really surprised at how beautiful they are up close.

And yes, I did get quite teary-eyed reading the Gettysburg Address in the Lincoln Memorial, and also while slowly walking along the Vietnam Memorial. What really choked me up was that we were there on Easter Sunday, and someone left an Easter Basket and a small basket of flowers. (pic at right.) Very heart wrenching!

The World War II War Memorial was breathtaking! Large, spacious, very well done. The Washington Monument is, well, very tall. It was difficult to get a closeup picture as it wouldn't fit in my viewfinder. It was a very windy day. The flags encircling the monument were being whipped out to the right from our perspective.

I'm not always proud of things our government do, but I felt a bit patriotic trotting around being a tourist. We ate at some fabulous restaurants, including a Burmese one in Chinatown. The Chinatown in DC is really small. Kind of disappointing when compared even to Victoria, BC or Seattle's.

The picture of the statue of the Native American with the bow and arrow was inside the new (and fabulously beautiful AND expensive) Visitors' Center!

We visited the Textile Museum, but we weren't able to take any pictures.

Cheers!

WOW !!! TO THAT BODY MEL B

Each time we see Mel B, she gets more toned. It's not good for our confidence levels. But alas, we can't help but look. Mel B's recently been relaxing in Las Vegas with her hubby Stephen Belafonte, in between her Peep Show performances.

CELEB SPOTTED .........

Rihanna was spotted in Barbados still spending some quality time with her friends and family

Beyonce was spotted in JFK ready for takeoff.

Ciara hit up Bungalow 8 in London last night in her YSL cut out booties.