Sugar Plum Witch

Firstly, a reminder about the dramatic finger puppet contest that is going on right now! If you have yet to enter click on the link below and do so before June 20, 2009 or forever live in a saddened state of what might have been:
http://thetreadler.blogspot.com/2009/05/great-procrastinators-freebie-contest.html

I have to say, as I read all the heart-wrenching finger puppet entries I really wish I were Oprah. What a momentous and historical ending it would be to announce, "Everybody look under your seats! You are all going home with your own fingerpuppehhhhhhhts!" Then I would sit back and enjoy the tearful jubilation that ensued.

But, alas I do not wield a level of power so fantastical as to change everyone's life in one magnanimous swoop. There can be only two lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky winners. And, as the deadline draws nearer, if you find yourself loosing sleep over the flurry of excitement surrounding this event please know you are not alone. The burden I carry knowing that this contest will forever change two peoples lives weighs most heavily on my shoulders. It's a real finger nail-biter.

Well, onto a lighter topic: I finally sculpted a new needle felted doll. I take this to mean that my ear flap hat-making obsession has crested. (Truly, its seduction was a reign of terror from under which I am happy to burst forth.) Now as soon as the finger puppet contest is over I will once again be able to enjoy a completely stress-free life.

Regrets? No. Who has time for them? It is only by facing such challenges that we learn of the stuff of which we are made of. And, speaking of such stuff of which I speak, (wool) I confess I did have a moment of weakness in the midst of all the ear flap fervor where I (inadvertantly) ordered yet another 15 lbs of fiber. But, that is a story for another time. (As it has yet to arrive I can still enjoy a brief period of denial.)

The Great Procrastinator's Freebie CONTEST

This month I am proud to say I’ve finally opened my Etsy store, from start-to-finish a feat that only took me two years to accomplish. I spent that time creating and forgetting elaborate passwords for my account and procrastinating what I perceived would be the tremendous hassle of making a shop banner. Well, mission accomplished! Whoot! (Now I just need to get some stuff in there to sell.)

What is this contest about? A few days ago I had an epiphany: Nobody I know makes unique, labor-intensive woolen, hand & needle felted finger puppets just for grown-ups! (How’s that for specific? Have I found my niche at last?) You can well imagine my enthusiasm only 2 years after creating an Etsy account and in time for my grand opening to be struck with a brilliant idea such as this one!

So, how can you win your own one-of-a-kind woolen grown-up, hand & Needle felted finger puppet?

To enter simply comment to this post by creating a name and personality for the finger puppet you’d like me to make for you. On the first day of Summer, June 21st, 2009 (what we here in Wisconsin call the last day of Winter) I will randomly choose a winner from all those who commented. No doubt the response to such an opportunity as this will be overwhelming! I will then proceed to create the woolen finger puppet of that winner’s dreams and swiftly mail it out.

But, that’s not all! There are TWO WAYS TO WIN! That’s right, I will also choose my favorite entry and make that person a finger puppet as well! Imagine the joy and satisfaction you might feel having your own personalized finger puppet delivered straight to your door. And, imagine the ensuing hours of puppetry fun that just might be yours to enjoy either by shear luck or due to your ingenious response below. The last day to enter is June 20, 2009 so act now!

To learn of the name and personality of the above character click on the picture. You'll be transported to her description.

Sincerely yours,

The Treadler

Fine Clothier to the Discerning Finger

The Land of Unfinished Projects

If knitting needles were a treasure and I were a pirate I'd have to dig one heck of a hole to bury my bounty. Sadly, the hole would have to be extra big to support all of the unfinished projects that reside on so many of these various circular, double pointed and straight needles.

The above picture is a little shirt I started for a little doll I never made. I just wanted to see how the painted roving spun into yarn and then played out in a pattern. Once that question was answered I took the picture and set the project aside. That was over a year ago. This little shirt and needle now reside in a wooden box with a myriad of similar unfinished but answered questions.

Well, the box is now full (this pirate's treasure chest overfloweth). While some might tackle the situation by sorting through the malay and making those tough decisions about what to finish and what to rip out I'm thinking it might be best to simply draw up a map and start digging. If that sounds wrong to you please note I said, "start digging". I'm sure there's enough room in the wooden box for an unfinished treasure map.

Jury Rigged ~ Clemes & Clemes Indian Head Spinner / Flyer

Mmmmmwwwhhhaahahahahah! At last, I have a novelty/bulky/art yarn spinning device in my clutches. Now, the fibrous mayhem can begin in earnest! This flyer head set-up with ginormous bobbin should be able to handle a hearty woolen concoction or two. I'll do a better job of mounting it one day but, for now, I'm not messing with success. The uptake is great and the spinning is smooth.

It's a Clemes & Clemes flyer and bobbin that I believe was produced in the 1970's when hand spinning was enjoying one of its revivals. Clemes & Clemes designed this wooden wonder specifically for use on old sewing machine treadle frames. Why? Well, sewing machine treadles are one of the most abundant antiques around. Cast iron really withstands the test of time. I've heard it called the Indian head Spinner as it may have originally been primarily intended for the creation of thick Navajo weaving yarns. As for my uses I wanted a contraption that could wind on all kinds of crazy foreign objects like big beads, silk flowers/leaves, and stuff I might find in the junk drawer...you know objects that cry out, "Put me in your knitting yarn. I want to be part of a woolen ear-flap hat!" I'm guessing that bobbin can hold close to a pound of wool. I won't be able to hang my skeins to dry from the chandelier any longer. They'll be too hefty. YAY!

Mid-Life CRISIS Yarns ~ Spinning & Knitting

When I first realized I needed to design my own yarns the big, big goal was to spin everything smooth and even, smooth and even. Well, that has all changed. I want the lumpy bumpy yarns of my spinning youth, that first 6 weeks behind the wheel, only this time I want to exaggerate it all while retaining a balanced yarn.

Seems it only took me 2 weeks to break every good habit I developed, except for the balanced yarn part. I'm not much for over or under twisted finished skeins. And, I don't believe stretching the daylights out of a yarn in the name of "blocking it" does the knitter any favors. Wool is, well it's like my hair. Do anything you want to it but remember, the first humid environment it encounters and sproing! While over twist can be purposefully used as a wonderful design element in a project it is rarely a pleasant surprise element.

Spinning on the wild side is rather addicting. (Imagine my saying so. It's such a rarity for me to become obsessed with woolen activities.) For those that have not slid down this slippery slope here are a few of the terms we young and moderns banter about: Thick and thin, Coils, Super Coils, Wrap and Roll...just a bit of the lingo of the cool spinster chick (although a cool spinster chick would not use the word lingo or call herself "cool", "spinster" or "chick").

These hats are what I like to call "Wisconsin Wild" because they're made with lots of wool and the ear flaps are built right in. (Practical and sophisticated.) I have apparently entered into an ear-flap-hat phase where the design possibilities may prove to be endless. The Treadler's Haberdashery will soon be teaming with woolen toppers. Then the gnome-like elite will line up to arrange for private fittings where they'll select one-of-a-kind statements for their heads while sipping hot cocoa from fine pewter mugs. Well, that's the dream anyway.

When I got tired of spinning little-miss-straight-and-even I found the following rogue elements most helpful:

Insubordiknit and Pluckyfluff

There are also a slew of other envelop pushers in the Ravelry group Novelty and Art Yarn Spinners