Fiber Stash and New Spinning

I was inspired by Coby CJKopec Creations to spruce up my crafty places and took some photos to share. We are currently waiting for our offer for a House to go through on a Short Sale hoping we get it fingers crossed. I'd love if when we got our own place that I could have a better area to house all of my fiber goodies as right now my crafty stuff is spread across three areas of the house. I'll share some ideas of what I would like to see for my own fiber space.

This is my fiber stash at my computer desk

This is one of three areas I store my crafty stuff. The majority of my stash is still in ziplocs due to carpet beetles last year. The green and blue scarf in front was the first spinning I had done back in 2007 with some of what I had at the time considered expensive wool it was 100% superwash merino plied with a black cotton cord. The big ball of yarn behind the scarf is All Spun Up's "Odd Couple" SAL really loved how that turned out. Next to that is 8 oz of 100% Suri Alpaca dyed by Woolgatherings green and teal. To the right is my shawl and the Amy Pond scarf that has been taking me forever! Below that is another All Spun Up SAL "Water Lilies. It's 50/50 Merino Tencel super soft and shiny and I'm spinning it on my Turkish spindle which has been great. Last thing is the yarn below the Water Lilies spinning below the sock needles. I'm making a pair of Yoga socks for my Mom :)

The majority of my fiber all in ziplocks

Unfortunately I don't have the space to properly store my fiber in all it's glory plus with the carpet beetles we had I had to make sure everything was sealed up to prevent infestation. Luckily everything has been good no fiber damage YAY!

My two spinning wheels Ella the Wee Peggy and my Majacraft Aura (name pending)

Here's my two spinning wheels that I use to make all my beautiful yarn along with some other goodies like my Majacraft Tensioned Lazy Kate which is awesome along with a basket full of other items including practice fiber, additional flyer and bobbins.

I've been spending quite a bit of time on Pinterest finding inspiration on house interior decorating and other ideas that will come in handy for when we get our own place.  I've been looking for some cool ideas for designing my own fiber space. Doubt I'll be able to have my own fiber studio room but I at least want a single designated space for everything instead of randomly around the house. Here's some of the ideas I've come across so far.

Ikea Expedit Shelving Unit 5 by 5

The Ikea Expedit shelving unit seems to be the best way to go. I love how the black one makes the colors pop. I'd like to line the bottom row with the green baskets or get the black baskets from Ikea along with shelf inserts to divvy up the space.

BRANÄS Basket

EXPEDIT Shelf insert

Here's some other cool fiber zone setups!

http://fluffyflowers.typepad.com/fluffy_flowers/2008/10/pickles-in-the-yarn-store.html

http://easymakesmehappy.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-handyman.html

http://www.hillsboroughartisans.com/other%20pages/FiberStudio.htm
I love this space it's a store but I think the cabinet set up is definitely doable. I like how it provides extra space to display things above the cabinet maybe even bench seating.

A couple weeks ago I started a learning adventure with my Aura. I wanted to learn how to Navajo ply which I've tried to learn several times in the past with not much success. I'm still trying to figure out how the settings work with the Aura it's quite a bit different than my Wee Peggy, it'll take me time to get fully adjusted to it but so far making a lot of progress.

Settings
Bobbin Drive - Groove 1
Flyer Drive - Groove 2 on lace whorl
Tension 25%

First bump was 4.05 oz 433 yards approx 20 WPI
 
Settings
Bobbin Drive - Groove 1
Flyer Drive - Groove 2 on normal whorl
Tension 25%

I'm really proud of this yarn. It took me awhile to get into rhythm of spinning it but once I got the settings down it was smooth sailing and unlike my previous attempts at Navajo plying that were extremely over plied, this was almost completely balanced. Will take some time to make my super thin singles more even but over all this came out better than I had imagined. It still needs washed so it will more than likely fluff out a bit due to the blend.

I'm still slowly working on my Water Lilies blend on my Turkish spindle. I've managed to finish 4 oz total which would put me at half way done however All Spun Up posted some extras and I picked up 2 more bumps to put me at a total of 16 oz so I can make a much larger project! or maybe I could Navajo ply the new half for a different project not sure yet. So far with 4 oz I've spun up 392 yards will have about 780 yards total with 8 oz.

After I finish spinning Tapestry and Water Lilies I'm hoping to dive into spinning this luxurious Suri Alpaca I purchased from Woolgatherings. I'm hoping to spin it extremely thin on my Turkish spindle and then Navajo ply it. I have 8 oz total and was shocked when I got it as it's super compact in comparison to other rovings. Each bump is very small only about 6 inches in diameter and are pretty hefty for their size.

I was inspired by Colorlessblue on Ravelry by her numerous gorgeous lace weight spinning on her Turkish Spindle ad decided to get my own. She made a gorgeous Volna Wrap and I think this Suri Alpaca would look beautiful knitted up like this.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22725427@N06/6406088723/

Current Works in Progress
I've got several projects I'm working on most of them are fairly lengthy projects but I'll get them done eventually! Here's all I've got going :)

Tapestry November 2011 All Spun Up Spin Along 1/4 bumps spun
Water Lilies December 2011 All Spun Up Spin Along .5/4 bumps spun
Amy Pond Scarf 50%
Commissioned Scarf 25%
Yoga Socks for Mom 20%