Handspun Swaledale Wool Coaster

June 29, 2022June 29, 2022 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

Last April, I spun Swaledale wool for the first time and after weaving a table runner with most of the yarn, I put the remaining bit away until this week. I knew I would have to make home decor or the like out of this breed because of the high micron count (and super high amount of kemp), so I decided on an oversized crochet coaster for the remaining yarn.

I used a free crochet pattern “The Iris” which can be found HERE. I used the picot edging option.

On a spinning note: Other than a large amount of kemp in the Swaledale wool that I spun, I really enjoyed spinning this breed.

Swaledale ewe and lamb (photo: Wikimedia Commons)

The CVM fleeces have arrived…and another Lincoln x.

June 21, 2021June 21, 2021 Emily Wallace Handwoven2 Comments

Friday brought 3 new raw fleeces: 2 CVM fleeces ( California Variegated Mutant (CVM)/American Romeldale) from Cactus Hill Farm in Colorado and a Lincoln/Targhee fleece from Montana.

The CVM fleeces were seriously discounted since they were 2020 fleeces, so I got a killer deal on them (so much so, I’ve ordered 4 more). One fleece is 7.5 pounds and the other is 8 pounds—and both are heavily skirted. I’ll be posting more pics when I start processing them.

CVM fleeces from Cactus Hill Farm in Colorado

The 2nd fleece that arrived on Friday was a Lincoln/Targhee cross —the second fleece I’ve bought from this farm in Montana. I’ll be posting more about it as I start working with it. (Notice the small box this 2.75 pound fleece was shipped in).

After Saturday’s drop spindle class that I taught at Alchemy Farms, my neck and right shoulder started hurting, so I’m forced to take it easy this week …even though I’m teaching Wednesday and Friday—and Tour de Fleece starts on June 26th!

This Week’s Project #1: From the Dyepot

November 23, 2019 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

Other than teaching beginner-advanced yarn dyeing classes at my LYS, I haven’t dedicated much time to professional acid-fast dyeing recently. I remedied that this week by dyeing five skeins of 100% Superwash Merino wool yarn in DK weight. I hope to start selling these at the LYS where my studio is (Yarn Boutique of Decatur–Decatur, AL). When I owned my own yarn shop (In the Loop, Hartselle, AL), I had my own handdyed yarn brand: Mythos Yarn. This is the brand I plan to revive at Yarn Boutique.

For this “test” project, I decided on two colorways. The first is hand painted with fuscia, turquoise, silver, and black. The other is a violet purple blend. Names are forthcoming.

Handpainted 100% superwash merino yarn (Mythos Yarn)

Kettle dyed 100% superwash merino wool yarn (Mythos Yarn)

Deep South Yarn Hop 2019: Yarn Haul

November 18, 2019 Emily Wallace Handwoven1 Comment

I only got to visit 6 out of 7 participating shops during the 1st Annual Deep South Yarn Hop, but I had a great time traveling to those shops…especially the ones I hadn’t been to before, bringing home some fiber goodness. Here are pictures of my haul. All the yarn I bought was discounted for the event (except for Taming of the Ewe and Bliss Yarns).

Haul from Yarn Boutique of Decatur (Decatur, AL): Madeline Tosh, Vocabulary Yarn (now Vicious Yarns), Sirdar Jewelspun, Peace Dove stitch markers, sheep measuring tape, Felted mini bag from Frabjous Fibers

Haul from Hook A Frog Fiber & Fun (Madison, AL): Noro Tennen (2 colorways), Berroco Skye (Leo colorway)

Haul from Bliss Yarns (Brentwood, TN): Farmers Daughter Fibers: Craggy Tweed (Pine Drop colorway) (Merino and Tweed)

Haul from Haus of Yarn (Nashville, TN): River Cottage Farm Fibers: Romney Worsted (Son of Chieftain) and Romney Lamb’s Wool/Mohair Fingering; two bars of Tuft Woolen Soap

Haul from Ewe & Company (Kingston Springs, TN): Frabjous Fibers BFL/Silk (8 oz) fiber for spinning

Haul from Ewe & Company (Kingston Springs, TN): Handspun BFL fingering and worsted weight yarns from local spinners

Haul from The Taming of the Ewe Yarns and Tea Room (Gadsden, AL): Mirasol Kancha Yarn (two colorways); Adagio Looseleaf Teas

WIP: My Home Studio Space

November 13, 2019 Emily Wallace Handwoven1 Comment

After 11 years in a small, 3 bedroom house, my family and I finally moved into a larger house in the middle of August. Luckily, this new house has enough extra space that allows me to have a home weaving studio. The room is somewhat oddly shaped, so I’m taking it slow when it comes to figuring out how to be use the space. Because the ceilings are slanted, I’m thinking I’ll have to put shelves on the walls at some point to maximize storage space. The door to the walk-in attic space is also in this room…which is why the plastic bins are in front of it at the moment.

The closet came with the built-in shelving units, so I’m using them as-is for now, but I may end up moving them around later.

I’ve always tried to have some design-element to each room in my home, but at the moment, this room is just a purely functional space. Perhaps if I spend enough time on Pinterest, I can come up with some better storage and design ideas for this room.

Main yarn storage containers (at present)

Find me on YouTube: September 2019 Yarn Haul from Hook A Frog (Madison, AL)

November 13, 2019 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

September 2019 Yarn Haul from Hook a Frog Fiber and Fun (Madison, AL)

Latest Yarn Score: Hook A Frog Fiber and Fun (Madison, AL)

November 12, 2019November 12, 2019 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

Last Saturday (November 9, 2019) after I finished teaching a beginner weaving class at Yarn Boutique of Decatur (location of my weaving studio/retail space), I headed over to Hook A Frog Fiber & Fun, our neighboring yarn shop in Madison, AL. This was no typical visit, however, because this was Day 2 the 1st Annual Deep South Yarn Hop event–meaning special sales for anyone with an event passport.

I wasn’t prepared for what I found in the $5 sale baskets: Noro Tennen (50% Wool/25% Silk/25% Alpaca) and Berroco Skye yarns (37% Wool/35% Viscose/20% Yak/8% Nylon). I scooped up nine skeins of the Noro (5 skeins of Smoky colorway & 4 skeins of Alpine colorway) and six balls of Berocco Skye (Leo colorway).

As part of the yarn hop, I also received two free stitch markers…an additional perk to my already amazing score.

Free stitch markers from Hook A Frog Fiber & Fun

I came home that evening and used the Noro Tennen (Alpine colorway) as the weft of a new scarf I was weaving on my 32″ Kromski Harp rigid heddle loom.

72″ long scarf using Noro Tennen yarn as weft and Tahki Tucson yarn as warp

Stay tuned for upcoming projects using these yarns! Visit my FB page to see more photos of finished projects or my main website Emily Wallace Handwoven Designs.

The purpose of this blog

November 12, 2019November 12, 2019 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

Because I’m a weaver, knitter, crocheter, dyer, and spinner, I wanted one place I could rave and rant about yarn without having to focus on just one area of fiber arts and textiles. This will be that place–my hodge podge blog that centers around the thing that makes all fiber arts possible–fiber–and thus, yarn.

So, I may post patterns, give yarn reviews, post my latest projects, host giveaways, and who knows what else. But, I promise one thing: it will be about yarn or yarn related topics.

With all that said, welcome to my new blog and thank you for reading!

2019 Projects (so far)

November 12, 2019 Emily Wallace HandwovenLeave a comment

This year has been a fairly productive year for me, but I don’t feel like I’ve woven or knitted as many projects as I usually do. But, the year isn’t over yet! According to my Ravelry project page, I’ve finished 55 projects as of yesterday. Some of these projects included multiple items (like kitchen towels, mug rugs, etc.), so I’m only counting the projects instead of actual finished items. Find me on my Ravelry page for more details about these projects.