The indoor door leads to the main area that was used for pottery. It had 2 wheels the kiln, tons of shelving and a canvas table for clay.

The small wheel was sold 2 years ago but I do still have the big one, the kiln and an extruder that you can see the handle of in the next picture as we head into the second room. Yes, I do still hope to have time to make pots. It hasn’t happened in a while, but I do seriously still love to make pottery.

This  is the glaze room and its much cleaner. It’s the one where we can pretend to be old Geezers. Just put out the lawn chairs and open the garage door, voila, instant covered patio. It’s brilliant.  There is even a heater in there for those cool nights (actually, it’s a room heating system but it hasn’t been used in a year so I don’t know how well it works. I may need a new one)

It’s still got pottery on the shelves:

But I was able to clear off one set to hold the fleeces:

Of course, if Husbeast decides he needs this place the fleece will find a new home, probably back in the first room. But if he decides this room just isn’t for him, I know just where the loom will go.

Miss 8goingon20 didn’t want her sister to be the only spinner. She has spun on the wheel before and spent time at it, not just a few hours one day. Then all of a sudden she didn’t want to work on it anymore.

After Baby Boogie’s debut on the wheel, 8goingon20 decided she needed to be spinning but not on the wheel. She wanted to be on the spindle. Which is a much better tool for her. She’s actually drafting!! I’m so proud. She wants to crochet little flowers from the singles and sew them onto things, probably onto stuffed animals if I know her. A few animals have quite a few extra buttons on them. I don’t know why, and yarn heaven help us if she decides to be a vet

I’ve been spending my leisure (haha) time cleaning out the pottery garage. Not really clean but clean to the point where for the next few weeks at least, we can sit in there with all the wheels and fleeces around us. Happily spinning away. We can open the garage door and sit in there with our lawn chairs and be dry or out of the sun sipping on our teas or beers. Philly family coming for a visit so I’m looking forward to a little more relaxing this coming weekend.

Then it remains to be seen if the space stays with wheels and outdoor living space (aka, octogenarian Mainer patio) or if Husbeast wants it for his shop. I’ve been promising him space for years but never giving it up. Now I’ve got 2 good spaces and 1 crappy space for him to choose from and he gets first dibs. But if I keep the Mainer patio then I’m going all out and getting a screen for the big door and getting some classic “old” timer folding chairs. The ones I have are too hip.

Photos will come as soon as the last of the trash is hauled out and I mop. I swear this cleaning thing is going to kill me. But I’m looking forward to one of us being able to use the space again.

I’ve got nothing of my own to show off but I do have the work from a new spinner. Check this out:

She broke the rules by not doing much for drafting but I can’t expect that much out of a 2 year old. She is obsessed with the wheels and spindles. She likes to carry around a spindle and doesn’t want to hit anything with it, generally she wants to wrap it up with fiber or just hold it. The wheels, she pulls up a stool and treadles. She’s really good about getting it going in the correct direction (when she remembers which one that is).

She’s been begging for weeks to make yarn so I pulled out some pencil roving and sat next to her as she fed the wheel. I was amazed at how well she did. Now she has the bug. All the time it’s “Where’s MY wheel” and “I want to make yarn”. Already this morning she’s been at the wheel:

When I can’t sit with her to make yarn (I need to keep making sure the wheel is going in the right direction as she likes to stop often and feel the wool) she sits and treadles.

She settled in and got really comfy treadling Saturday night:

Gotta love that sloth spinning technique she’s working on.

Finally finished her over the weekend.

I took another Nupp-a-licious shot because I could:

Swallowtail shawl from IK 2006 Fall issue
Yarn was spindle spun from batts made by Enchanted Knoll.
The Yarn is a 2 ply fingering weight and worked out beautifully in this application. I gave the shawl to my Mom (they’re her colors) and she’s thrilled with it. I’m thrilled to have it of my needles so I can start something else. I’ve not settled on what that something else is but I have a good idea what it might be…

I found out from 3 suppliers that prices will be raised August 1st. As new stock comes in the prices will be raised on all natural fibers as well as Louet and Fricke products. That’s the bummer news.

The good news is that I’m adding in new fibers. I have a ton more fiber in the shop than you ever see on the website. So I’m spending time in between dye batches today and tomorrow adding in new luxury fibers and more. Soon I will be carrying the colored Louet Merino Silk in stock.

In my down time, what little there is of it, I managed to finishe spinning and plying my Shetland for a project:

It’s 2 ounces of each of the 4 colors of shetland natural - Navajo plied.

And I got the Bison Bliss dyed with Cochineal:

I’m totally in love with that little skein. I just need to find the right lace scarf and I’ll have a new scarf for this winter.