Category Archive for ‘spinning’ at adam knits!

Archive for the 'spinning' Category

He’s Got Legs…(You Know the Rest) 24 Aug 07

Ok, we have a lot of ground to cover today people, so grab some coffee and hunker down. This could take hours. You know, metaphorically speaking. And you know how we roll when there’s lots to cover at Adam Knits…bullets!

from the "oh my goodness, what have I gotten myself into" department:

You may have seen this little announcement, already, but if not, this is news to you. I’m proud to announce that Yarn Nerd is the newest indie dyer at The Loopy Ewe! So now all you crazy Loopy Ewe fans can get your Yarn Nerd fix, along with all the other great yarns and stuff that Sheri stocks. I’m really excited about this, and am looking forward to breaking into the wholesale market. And if the response I’ve gotten so far is any indication, I think this will be the beginning of a great thing. I’ve admired Sheri’s shop for a while, and I e-mailed her to see if she was interested in Yarn Nerd, and got an emphatic yes. I’m hoping to have the order finished in a week or two, so you should be able to grab some soon.

There are a few ramifications (hehe, I love that word) for the Yarn Nerd shop, mostly since I do need to sleep occasionally. At least for the next few months, all 900 MHz Merino will be dyed up for The Loopy Ewe, so if you’re looking for it at my shop and can’t find it, that’s the reason. I am planning to bring back some of my other yarns though, which means that I should have 1500 MHz Merino in stock by mid-September. I’ve had a lot of requests for this one, and it’s one of my personal favorites, so I’m excited to be bringing it back. It’ll be available in your favorite colorways, or as a custom creation with Create Your Skein. Plus, to satiate all you spinners (including me!), there will be a lot more roving being thrown about in my dye kitchen, so keep your eyes out for that.
from the "spindles are fun! I don’t need a spinning wheel, really! so stop tempting me!" department:

I spun up the last of my roving stash (don’t worry, I promptly bought more…), and I’m definitely getting better at the spindle. I’m starting to actually draft while the spindle is spinning, rather than stopping, pinching, moving my hands up, etc. I think this lovely 2 ply speaks for itself :)

Hello Yarn Corriedale in the Granita Colorway. Isn’t it lovely?

I also received my newest fiber purchase yesterday, a lovely BFL top from Flawful Fibers, in the Safari colorway. This picture, although terribly cute, doesn’t really show off how lovely and subtle this roving is. I can’t wait to spin it, but I’m also worried that I won’t be able to do it justice. But my desire to spin it outweighs my worry of flubbing it up, so I press onward. Yarn Ho!

"do these braids make me look fat?"
from the "I wish I could show you my sexy biker calves, but that might be a skosh inappropriate" department:

It’s been a while since I’ve updated you on the biking, but I’m still going strong. I’m averaging around 4 days a week, and occasionally getting a weekend ride in as well. The benefits are many: hot legs, less gas tank fillups and a bunch more energy. And coupled with the fact that the Albuquerque bus is now free for UNM students, I can ride down to the park & ride a few miles from my house and take the bus to campus on school days. In fact, I’m loving the bike so much, I went and put a new one on layaway. There were some killer end of season deals, and the store happened to have one model of the bike I wanted in my size left, so I jumped on it. Hopefully I can pay it off by the end of September and start riding it! It’s a svelte 24ish pounds, compared to 40 something for my brother’s bike (that I’ve been riding), so I should be a speed demon on the new bike. Watch out ABQ, here comes Adam with his hot legs! (I wonder how many times I can say hot legs in a blog post…)
finally, from the "yes I do still knit, I’m just very lazy about taking pictures of the knitting these days" department:

Here’s some socks that I finished while on vacation, and I figured it was about time to give them the spotlight. I really love these socks, since they have all my favorite colors (you should see my closet, it’s a red and black explosion). I went for the no frills method, with a short row heel and a simple pattern, but I think they’re awesome. They definitely make me feel like a rockstar. And they match my red shoes. Oh yeah.

"there’s no place like home" eye candy

Pattern: Basketweave (6 stitch) from More Sensational Knitted Socks.
Yarn: Yarn Nerd 900 MHz Merino in Love and Peace or Else
Needles / Gauge: 8 stitches / in on US #1’s. Knitted Magic Loop style.
Construction: K1, P1 ribbing, then patterned over the leg, short row heel and round toe. Easy Peasy!
Completion Time: 3 weeks (July 22 - August 10)

"at least we're not wearing them this time..."

Ok, I think that’s enough bullet action for now. Have a good weekend everyone! I’ll be up to my eyeballs in yarn and dye, it should be fun!

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Adam

in biking, dallas, dyeing, emma, exercise, finished objects, hand spun, knitting, schnauzers, shop, socks, spinning, unm and yarn nerd

Adios Amigos! 03 Aug 07

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Whew, it’s vacation time! I’m sitting here in the airport, waiting to hop on that jet plane and fly off into the Seattle sunset. I can’t wait! I’ll be attending a wedding near Bremerton this weekend, and then spending next week bumming around Seattle. The extent of my plans include meeting some groovy knit bloggers, drinking ridiculous amounts of coffee, and knitting until my fingers fall off. It’s going to be magnificent.

sorry Mom, it’s another feet picture!

And I’m super glad this week is over, since it’s been a doozy. Between work, new dog schedules and packing up Yarn Nerd orders (thanks guys!), I’ve been swamped. Definitely ready for a nice vacation. I also took up a new hobby this week…one that I think I’m already addicted to. Thanks to Adrian for being my enabler!

I think that will suffice for eye candy, even if it is a bit slubby. ;)

Have a great week everyone, I know I will! Even if my fingers do fall off.

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Adam

in a nerd's life, hand spun, knitting, shop, spinning, vacation, works in progress and yarn nerd

Yarn Pr0n Friday! 29 Sep 06

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It’s that time again! Get ready for some extreme fiber closeups, on today’s special spinning edition of Yarn Pr0n Friday! Today’s feature is a little bit rough around the edges, but it’s jam packed with some very soft wool. This is the small chunk of yarn that I spun on Noelle’s Lendrum last weekend, in a lovely green roving that she hand-dyed. It’s definitely a thick and thin yarn, as the whole consistency thing wasn’t quite there yet, but it was my first time, so obviously I was a bit nervous. But Noelle was very patient with me, and definitely infected me with the spinning bug, so there will be some nice hand-spun yarn yet to come in future months. Now on to the pics!

kinda looks like an alien brain huh?

And there’s still yarn in the shop, so go buy some!
adamknits.etsy.com!

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Adam

in knitting, shop, spinning and yarn-pr0n

Please Be Kind…Rewind 29 Sep 06

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Alright, I promised a post about my weekend, um, just after last weekend, but here it is now. Better late than never eh? So may I present the short photo essay, How I Spent My Saturday, by Adam Church.

Snake Proofing: Last Saturday was Dallas’ last week of Novice Class at Acoma, and every final week of Novice class involves snake proofing your dog. This might sound a bit strange, but basically the idea is to scare the crap out of your dog and create a link between their fear reaction and snakes. This comes in handy in NM, since you’re never too far from a rattlesnake. (My parents have lots of them on their land). And during snake proofing, we use real live bull snakes.

They let the dogs sniff the snake so that they become really curious, then they set your dog up. As you’re walking by, the trainer slides the snake out at you (while someone’s shaking a rattler in the background) and your job is to freak out and get your dog away from the snake as fast as possible. This involves lots of screaming, shouting and whatever else you need to do to make your dog afraid of that snake. This is a really effective training tool, and it’s saved many dogs and their owners lives, because your dog will warn you of snakes before you get bit. And it’s always interesting to throw 30 dogs and their owners into a room with bullsnakes. Alright, onto #2.

Dog Sitting: Also on Saturday, I was terrorized blessed by the company of all the family dogs at my house. That’s right, 5 Schnauzers, all at my house. You see, my parents had just put their house on the market, because they want to move somewhere a bit closer to my Dad’s job and Church, i.e. The West Side, dun-dun-dun! Anyway, they were out looking at houses that day, and there were people coming by to see their house, so I volunteered to watch all the dogs. Ha, was I ever crazy! For future reference, it’s not a good idea to take 3 dogs out of their comfort zone and put them in a backyard with a big puppy who just wants to play with them. Fighting will ensue. Nevertheless, I enjoyed having them all there, even if dinner time was a bit crazy…

the feeding frenzy. notice that cricket eats alone…
this is because she goes postal when any of the other dogs get near her food.

Baking: I did find some time to make some delicious cookies. Chocolate-Chocolate/Butterscotch Chip w/ Walnuts. Oh, man, they were amazing. I’ll write up the recipe sometime, cause oh man…

heaven, in cookie form.

Real Estate Selling: So I mentioned that my parents were selling their house. Well, while I was watching the dogs, a couple came by and fell head over heels in love with their house. And bought it the next day! It really was amazing, because the house went on the market the Monday before, and sold in only 6 days! My Mom was really nervous about moving, and that really helped to confirm for her that was what God wanted them to do, because it was amazing that it sold so fast, and for full price! And this past Monday, my parents made an offer and entered into a contract on a house out in the Petroglyphs that they fell in love with. It’s a pretty sweet house, and the backyard backs up to the Petroglyph National Monument, so all the land behind them is protected land, so the gorgeous view is there to stay. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more of this, as I will no doubt be enlisted for the moving process.

Spinning: Last, but certainly not least, I did some spinning last weekend! Yay! Noelle was at the Saturday Knitting Group that meets at Napoli Coffee, and she brought her spinning wheel, so I decided to mosey on over for a demo. I did a little spinning with a drop spindle and with the wheel, and really enjoyed it. I wasn’t a complete natural, but I’m sure with a lot more practice I’d get the hang of it. And Noelle assured me that there was plenty of room for my nerdiness with subjects such as gearing, wheel ratios, etc. I’m getting all hot and bothered just thinking about it. I took some pictures of my little bit of handspun green yarn, and those are in today’s Yarn Pr0n Friday, so check it out! Hmmm, Christmas is coming, and I’m thinking Spinning Wheel…(or maybe just a small down payment…). Oh crap, here we go, another hobby to add to the list…

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Adam

in cooking, family, nerdy, schnauzers, spinning and yarn nerd