Spin Group with my Peeps

It was a great time spinning with my peeps.  Everyone was hard at work on projects for the summer.  We discussed events we went to including my recap of CNCH and Juli chatted about the Maker Faire the same weekend.  We were so close in proximity attending different events.


Juli knit a cowl with lighted media that she wore to Maker Faire.  Here she is demonstrating how it works.  Very cool especially outside when it is dark.

We discussed weaving, spinning, cotton acquisition and our general variety of topics to catch up with everyone's lives.


Good food including a roasted vegetable casserole, cheese, hummus, pitas, coconut topped cake and cookies.


Another fun get together!

Bailey and the Coyotes

Since the last attack and poor cone head Pepper, the upper gate has been locked.  Bailey has been alerting regularly when the coyotes come calling.

Here he is checking down the canyon and this is what he sees.

Later in the afternoon, he was at it again.

And there were two more - in talking with the neighbors, we believe there are two adults and 4 juveniles.

Pepper was in the house the entire time.  I guess she is over the coyotes.

Carding Ginned Cotton into Tight Punis

I learned this technique from Joan Ruane and it is the most ergonomic way of carding that I have seen.

I was even able to teach my friend Jude who now has my Ashford cards for practice.  I knew she would totally get Joan's "petting the kitty" reference.


After getting home from the conference, I started making punis of the red/brown ginned cotton.

Full Proof Pineapple Ripening Technique

I learned this technique from someone who worked at the Dole pineapple plantation in Hawaii.  A few people asked me for directions and I decided to post a video on how it is done.

Perfect pineapple every time!

CNCH 2012 - Day 3

I arrived at the Conference after brunch and was able to see a demonstration of Saori weaving.

I was able to sit and weave and make some cool icicles.

I wove the yellow and blue section.  Neat technique that I can try on my wolf pup loom when it is cleared.

It was amazing the patterns you can make with just two shafts.


I then headed for my class of AVL Warping Wheel Tips and learned some cool time saving tips for using the wheel.  I also found some supplies to make things a bit easier as well.

Angling the reed helps keep the section even.

Using tape and paper to keep the strands organized.

Bike inner tubes to keep the sections neat and clear while winding.

Using a cone holder to keep the winding easy to do.


There were some additional tips for winding super long warps as well as maximizing the wheel itself.  I will need to start using this awesome tool.


I ran up to see Joan one last time for some cotton seeds and purchased this ceramic dish for my takhli spindle.  Joan was teaching takhli spinning on day 3 and I bought her DVD to learn at home.

Headed back to the market for one last purchase of the "Little Man" niddy noddy from Village Spinning and Weaving.  Jude had the mini one that I used in the cotton class.  Awesome concept and easy to break down and store.  This niddy noddy can handle huge skeins of yarn.

CNCH 2012 - Day 2

Day two of the Conference was spent with Joan Ruane and cotton spinning.  After taking her class, I hit the market to shop for her cotton.


Lunatic Fringe Fibers sells Joan's sustainable cotton which is labeled "cleaner" of which I purchased 4 ounces of white, brown, and green.


I also decided to find finer cotton cards that were flat instead of curved.  It is amazing how much you learn about ergonomics when you get the right technique.


I used the Ashford cotton cards which are curved for class and was able to make do but found by borrowing flat cards that they are more comfortable for me.

I shopped around since quite a few vendors had hard cards for sale and ended up purchasing Strauch cotton cards from Carolina Homespun.

I also checked out the gallery of items and saw some cool designs.

Weaving with plastic bits.

Loved this pattern.

Super bright colors.

This piece had an iridescent sheen to it and was quite lovely.

Spinning Cotton with Joan Ruane

I was lucky to sign up for a class with Joan Ruane who is know for cotton spinning.  I learned to spin cotton on a wheel instead of the normal takhli and charkha.

We had a bunch of samples of ginned cotton and cotton sliver.  There were also different qualities of cotton.  The samples included Pima, Acala, and Sea Island sliver with new cleaner varieties.  We also received ginned cotton samples of colored Pima cotton, white Pima cotton, and Sea Island cotton.

I also learned how to card cotton into tight punis.

We spun some of the white ginned cotton punis we prepared and then moved onto cotton sliver.  After spinning punis, the sliver spun like butter.

We spun a single of white pima sliver and another single of brown pima sliver and plied the two together.

After washing in super hot water, the brown will darken and the white will become brighter.  Cotton is stronger when it is wet.

Kay with Strawbale Barn Weaving Studio brought some colored ginned cotton that we were allowed to play with.  I made punis of all of the colors she brought. The green is on the top.

I also spun up some of the green and plied it with the left over brown and came up with this.  I can't wait to see the colors after washing.

I ended up buying the rest of the green and red/brown fiber from her when class ended.

I also got some seeds from Joan and am ready to start planting.  I'm pretty sure that the plants will grow in San Diego.

The fuzzy seeds are green cotton.  As you can see of the other two seeds - one is fuzzy and one is naked.  The naked one is Pima cotton and is creamier in color and has a longer staple relatively to the Upland cotton which is whiter and has a hairy seed.

Joan was also wearing a blouse she spun and wove.

The amazing thing is the the total weight of the blouse is 3.5 ounces.  Great for super hot weather locations.

Bay Area Food

As with travel and fiber events, it inevitably is about the food.


First meal was at Bowl'd that I visited last time.  This go around I introduced it to my cousin and it was a hit.  We all had the big bowls.


Bill and I order the chicken.

Angie had the beef.

And Jude rounded out the selection with the spicy pork.

Good times always.

The next meal was bland rubber chicken that we had at the conference.  We stayed through the raffle drawing and went home to sleep leaving before the keynote speaker.

Next up I went to brunch with Angie and Bill at Skates on the Bay.  Great location next to the pier where we wandered before the place opened.

I had the smoked chicken scramble.

While Angie and Bill had the Seafood Joe.  Bill also went for the bloody mary bar.

The last meal consisted of Barney's Burgers before heading to the airport.  Jude had the Voodoo burger.

We shared the seasoned curly fries.

And I ordered the Sunshine burger.  We had them without buns so we could eat all of the fries.