Dudleyspinner Goes to KAWS Dudleyspinner Tie Dye Roving/Combed top

The Kansas Alliance of Weavers and Spinners conference in Manhattan, KS this past weekend was great. This is my booth. I had a good time meeting many people and sharing all the fibery goodness. Next year the KAWS conference is in Emporia, KS and in 2013 Kansas is hosting the Midwest Weavers Association in Kansas City, KS
Deb

Hemp Fiber Is Really Green! Dudleyspinner Tie Dye Roving

I recently got in stock a big shipment of hemp fiber, 21 kilos which for those of us that are metricly challenged is about 47 pounds of fiber. I have been playing around with some commercial hemp singles for the past few months, plying it and knitting with it to see what kind of fabric I can produce.
In the first photo is the last of the experiments. The photo is of a a three ply yarn that I finally got RIGHT! It has a beautiful drapy feel to the fabric and is getting softer with each washing. This is a place mat that I have been using for a few months. It is a soft ecru color, not a bright white.

The second photo is a close up of that first test.
The bottom photo is the whole piece. I made a two ply yarn and it skewed very badly, I did a two ply with a cotton yarn and did a seed stitch at the bottom. It was nearly straight.

I like the absorbency of the hemp with the cotton. Hemp is quite strong so for that fiber to be absorbent it needs to be used, a lot, washed numerous times and dried in a dryer to soften it up. Hemp will last for years because of this fact we don't see much hemp fiber in our clothing. Manufacturers need us to buy new stuff every few years, so making clothing out of hemp is not in their best interest. It is in my best interest. I would love to have a t-shirt that never wore out! Or a pair of pants, or a jacket. So since the cost of buying hemp clothing is pretty dear, I will be making some of my own. I have lots of fiber to play with and a couple cones of yarn to play around plying.
Deb

Dudleyspinner Tie Dye Roving/Combed Top: Time for a Contest

Isola 1 is 4 ounces or 112 grams which I will be giving away in my contest.
Contest Rules
Leave a comment telling me what country you are from and why you need a little love in the form of a soft, cushy piece of Dudleyspinner tie dyed combed top. This 100% wool roving can be yours if your I find your reasons compelling. I have another piece of this same dye lot that is available in my store.

I am standing at the threashold of the twenty first century. I have struggled with a dial up internet connection for so long now. I am trying different methods of connecting to the internet. A 3g modem is being tested and so far, it's great. I just wish when you sign up for service they would tell you the whole cost. This is going to be about forty bucks more than the original advertised price. I will try whining and threatening tomorrow to see if they will wave the extra fees for a year. If not, I guess it will be going back and I will slog along with dial up until something affordable arrives in the boondocks. I love living in the country, but it does have it's drawbacks.
Deb

Dudleyspinner Tie Dye Wool Roving Combed Top Omaha

I love the color of wheat fields in the spring. I just purchased a bushel of wheat to grind for baking bread. I can't find really good whole wheat flour, so I grind my own. I baked bread from this wheat on my birthday and now have a freezer full of half loaves of bread. We don't use it fast enough to have a whole loaf out at a time. So I froze them in halves. It is working well.

Thunderstorms give us some nice sunsets here in Kansas.

This is Omaha which is available in my online store www.dudleyspinner.com.

Dudleyspinner Tie DyeWool Roving/Combed Top: Hot Times Need Cool Photos

I took some photos during a big snowfall in January. There was about 6-8 inches. It looks like a nice place to imagine being on a July day like today. Thunderstorms and high humidity are the norm for the past few weeks here in Kansas.

Dudleyspinner Tie Dye Roving/Combed Top: Angelica Merino In My Artfire Studio

I built my self a studio today. An Artfire Studio


Anita and Angelica are available from the new shop.

We have a water leak in the garden, so today Mike dug up the water line and fixed it. At least the garden is well watered. A little too well watered, the corn is falling down since the ground is so soft. A few roasing ears, some tomatos and green beans have been making suppers pretty wonderful. I love garden tomatos with some black olives and oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.