MoonBound Vlogmas Day 15

MoonBound Vlogmas Day 14

MoonBound Vlogmas Day 13

MoonBound Vlogmas Day 12

MoonBound Vlogmas Day 11

MoonBound Vlogmas Day 10

MoonBound Vlogmas Day 9

MoonBound Vlogmas Day 8

MoonBound Vlogmas Day 7

Vlogmas Day 6 18

MoonBound - Vlogmas Day 5

MoonBound - Vlogmas Day 4 18

MoonBound - Vlogmas Day 3

MoonBound - Vlogmas Day 2

MoonBound - Vlogmas Day 1

MoonBound Vlogtober Day 30

MoonBound Vlogtober Day 29

MoonBound Vlogtober Day 25

MoonBound Vlogtober Day 24

MoonBound Vlogtober Day 23

MoonBound Vlogtober Weekend 20 21

MoonBound Podcast Episode 19

MoonBound Vlogtober Day 17

vlogtober 18 16

MoonBound Vlogtober Day 15

MoonBound Vlogtober Day Eleven

MoonBound Vlogtober Day 9

MoonBound Vlogtober - 8th

MoonBound Vlogtober Day Five

MoonBound Vlogtober Day 4

MoonBound Vlogtober Day 3

MoonBound Vlogtober Day 2

Vlogtober day one - studio and spinzilla

MoonBound Vlog the week before Vlogtober

Moonbound Vlog at Sheep & Wool 2018

MoonBound Vlog Camping at Walworth County Fair

MoonBound Hikes - short hike on the boardwalk

MoonBound Vlog - Camping and knitting progress

MoonBound Hikes - the one with all the animals!

Earlier this Summer - Hiking Video

MoonBound Podcast Episode 19

MoonBound Hikes - Where did the Trail go? June 4

MoonBound Vlog - Hiking - June 2

MoonBound -hiking vlog- june1

MoonBound Vlog - may 31 - Hiking in the sun

MoonBound vlog 30 May - first hike

MoonBound Podcast Vlog/Alpacas and more!

Podcast Episode -18 - After radio silence

Vlog March April - Dyeingand Cooking all the things!

Show notes vlog march 19th

It occurred to me that I haven’t welcomed you to the vlog yet! So Welcome! This is the MoonBound Podcast Vlog and I am your host Julia. I am the spinner, dyer, and Artisan behind MoonBound Artisanship and this is our weeklyish vlog showing some of what is going on behind the scenes here at MoonBound home. I have spent quite a bit of time getting settled into a different computer to edit videos on and changing a few things around so this vlog covers more than one week. I will not be trying to record in my car again! The Audio quality is just too awful and nothing I have tried fixes it. We will be taking some walks this week, so there may be wind affecting audio in the future but if there is wind the view is likely better than inside a car too so I hope that balances it out!

One of the things I did was spend some time writing at the Steaming Cup. I usually sit in the front room but this time chose the back room to write in and there is a totally different vibe! The front is jumping and noisier, with people coming and going, it is vital and fun. The back room is calmer, with more people plugged into work or having conversations in large groups looking to catch up and stay awhile. Don’t get me wrong groups gather and stay in the front too, but they are more boisterous and seem to change members throughout the morning, in the back they stay. I am just beginning to write out a story that has been kicking around in my head for a while now. It has drama and struggle, uses my knowledge of material culture and of course there is knitting! I am also working on a family history and a cookbook, but this morning was fiction followed by a long chat with a friend who joined me. Good coffee and a friend to chat with sometimes that is all you need.

I am spinning slowly – for me – in small bits of time as my leg can only tolerate it in about thirty minute segments right now. I am trying to build up that stamina. The fiber I am spinning is the guild potluck fiber and despite my reservations it is spinning up quite well. A friend recently asked if I could spin something bad or ugly. Her point was not really to compliment me but about Artisans. Growing up my father drilled into my head the old chestnut ‘It is a poor workman that blames his tools’ back then I took that to mean, don’t make excuses do the best work you can today and do better tomorrow. While that is certainly true, I think perhaps the larger point and certainly my friend’s point was that a artisan can make something, in fact will make something, lovely out of whatever material they have, even materials they don’t particularly like will be made to be the best thing that can be made, by that person, with them. It is not just the tool but the hands and mind of the maker that make the thing. It is, of course, nicer to work with fibers that bring joy, but I like how this is spinning up.

I often hear people ask what is the best wheel or fiber to start with, the answer is the one you have access too, the one you can afford, and the one you can make work. Try it. Keep trying. No one learned to walk in a day. There are all sorts of technical things to learn, things that I firmly believe are valuable to know and will improve your spinning, if you are just starting out learn them later. Make yarn now. Will it be the best yarn you ever make, nope, but I hope the yarn I make today is not the best yarn I ever make either. Right now focus on turning fiber into yarn and you into a spinner. Read about spinning, know that there is more to know, but focus on making yarn. When you can do that, then focus on making better yarn, making exactly to yarn you want, or knowing what kinds of projects the yarn you make is best for.

Having said that we are off to the technical!

I am spinning partially supported long draw, which is a woolen spun yarn. Even with a lot of twist this yarn is soft. I think I will end up doing a two ply lace weight yarn. In long draw you allow the twist to travel back into the fiber supply and when it does you pull the fiber supply back a bit. The yarn fairly makes itself, it looks a bit like magic really. Too much fiber? add a bit more tension and more twist, ie pull back a bit more. In supported long draw after the twist has taken some fiber and you have pulled back a bit, you apply a bit of pressure to the yarn to partially stop the twist and provide some support to pull against, this is very useful in removing any slubs caused by the twist having grabbed too many fibers in the initial draft. Once you stop the twist, gently pull back, smoothing the slub. You are treadling the whole time. It is also slightly less nerve wracking that full on long draw as your other hand is in the mix should you need it. This is a very quick method – once you get the hang of it – with low strain on your body. Both hands should be fairly relaxed, when you first learn this the fiber flies out of your hands quite often, don’t tighten down, you will get this it just takes practice. When I was first learning to spin lots of people said this method could not be done on a double treadle wheel, it can be done. Twist your body a small amount towards your back hand (I use my dominant hand, habitually, for my fiber supply, but there is a good argument for using either or both) and spin. You may find, you need a bit more room behind your fiber supply hand’s shoulder, but I don’t have to move my chair from its normal position to spin this way.

Woolen yarn, which is yarn that has a more jumbled fiber orientation is usually carded and then spun long draw. This traps more air into the yarn producing a lighter, softer, more insulative yarn with more loft after washing than a worsted spun yarn, the downside is it is less durable and loses the luster in the fiber.

This fiber is 20.37% Alpaca, 33.29% Unknown breed of Wool, 6.9% targhee, 8.1% Lincoln, 8.21% Corriedale, 9.67% Eastern Friesian and 13.46% llama. I have no real idea why the stable length is so short, but it is allowing me to play with long draw.

I also worked on my union square socks and Multinomah shawl. The shawl is in Glow Beauty from With in’s Pan is Back colorway and I love it more every time I work with it! The shawl is really coming along and I am in the patterning section.

Hopefully, you enjoyed this format for the vlog and I will see you later! I hope that your projects are going well and maybe even surprising you with how well they turn out!

MoonBound Podcast Vlog March 19

MoonBound Podcast - 16 - The socks are done!

MoonBound Vlog12 Feb - 24 Feb Snow, Rain, Voting, Thankfulness

MoonBound Podcast episode 14 - yarn measurements and headaches

MoonBound Vlog 2 weeks 11 feb - all the snowing

MoonBound Podcast 13 - New cast ons and opinions

Moonbound Vlog Jan 27 - Cleaning the Studio and Beyond

MoonBound Podcast 12 - Tiny kitchen linens

MoonBound Vlog January 20

MoonBound Vlog January 14

Mystery spin - three

So now that it is revealed here are the niddy gritty details.

Thrumbs -some Cotton & acrylic, but mostly wool or wool blend. total weight 3grams.

 lighter colored alpaca - I bought this second hand and it wasn't labelled as to what type of alpaca, it is softer than the one below. 30 grams.

 Darker colored - same label problem - it is harsher and thicker in texture than most alpaca I have worked with. 60 grams

 Lincoln longwool - some veg, clean but unprocessed otherwise. 55 grams

 brown sheep wool roving from Wyoming. 14 grams

 Mohair roving from the same mill in Wyoming near my Grandpa's house. 16 grams

 This is Correidale sheep's wool. I was very unhappy with this purchase as there was a huge (about a pound) ball of muddy yuck in the center of the fleece, I couldn't see it at the time of purchase. There was also a ton of veg - I am very tolerant as that goes but this was excessive. I will not be buying from this farmer again. I like spinning Correidale and this is courser than many I have worked with. 18 grams.

 This is Rose fiber, it is rayon made from rose stems, it is soft and flyaway and lovely. 48 grams

 don't forget the beads!

So here we are the Mystery Spin revealed. I am excited but honestly have no clue what to do yet. Still pondering, one viewer asked me to discuss how I will be addressing the differing stable lengths  and I sure will - after I figure out what I am doing. One current thought is sort them into two strands by stable length, ply them together and then autoply beaded thread around them. But I haven't decided.
 ~Julia

MoonBound Podcast Episode 10

jan 5 vlog

https://youtu.be/susF6QiswHA
 the new vlog episode

Show notes for "some plans"

Year of the Garment KAL (Yarngasm)

• Slenip yoke chart on a hooded sweater with a zipper for Mouse
• Design a bunny and carrot sweater for Bunny
• Design a cat themed sweater for Badger
• Split Back Tank (Allison Griffith) for me
• Coogee Bay Dress (Jenny King) for me 

Shawls
Humbug & Hygge by Nordic Stitches
Celtic myths and Heartwood Cape (both free on Ravelry

Make nine in 2018
This bag as a knitting tote, without a bow, enlarging the side pouch to hold a water bottle and adding a camera pouch. Expect walks and photos!

 This skirt pattern. I really like the green one shown and will likely make a few in different lengths.

 The white bag on the bottom. to replace a book bag I had to toss.

 The green tunic length and the one with the curved hemline.

 Middle left one and bottom orange one.

 I love this dress! the center style.

 The dress and later in the year I want to weave fabric for the jacket.

 The long one!

 These are my hiking pants! I will be making several pairs. I realize as you have no doubt realized that this is more than nine. I can count! I think, I can anyway. Part of the reason I will be making so many things is I will be participating in the Ready to Wear Fast this year.

I will also be doing Anna Knitter's Treasure Chest KAL, Spin the Bin, and the Box of Sox KAL

~Julia

MoonBound Podcast - 9 - The year in review and some plans

Show notes for the year in review

All project details (not sewing) are to be found on Ravelry. Project pages are linked.

Socks - unless it says otherwise these are done cuff down on size 1 Addi sock rocket, magic loop, two at a time

Cascade socks  size 3 knit picks cables
Lime Margarita socks Corriedale-nylon sock blank dyed with Spindle and Dyepot guild,
Watermelon Stripe Socks
Pink on the Avenue
Yorkville Sings the Blues

Hats
Shell stitch flapper hat 
Ear flap hat

Sweaters
Pikachu Sweater
Milk sweater   

Shawls
Campground Shawl
Mystery Spin Shawl
Bunny's shawl

French market bag
stuffie hammock notes are in link for bag

Sewing
Tulip apron
Blue bird of happiness apron
Grey Shirt Apron
Tomatoes and carrots
sewing weights
1840's dress

Yarn
Wild of nothing
Red Wolle - sold this before I got it into ravelry
Apple cart
Mystery spin one - Ribbon Candy
Mystery spin two - Heaven and Earth
Forest View Birds
Dark Blue Lace
Mid Blues
Confetti