Fall Flowers

A couple of weeks ago I did three different dye pots using plants from my dye garden. Here is the end result of the first pot. The color is a soft baby chick yellow. I think there is about 3 oz's of fiber that's ready to spin.

I used the marigold flowers from these very plants to make the dye with.




This skein is 150 yards, and is quite soft and nice. I'm very pleased with the end result. I did have a little of the fiber left over and I'm planning on blending it with whats left over from the second dye.

What is the second dye pot? You'll just have to wait and see.

Thrum Mittens

Last year in my spinning guild meeting we learned about "thrums" and how to use them to add insulation to our mittens. I decided to try this technique and made this pair of mittens.
















The mittens are made from a hand spun dark grey Corriedale fleece that I purchased about a year ago. The pink stitches are made from unspun Merino fiber that is made into thrums. You can see in the basket the unspun pink fibers that are made into a bow by twisting the ends toward the middle of a 4 inch length of fiber.


















I then knit these little bows into the work so that the ends remain loose on the inside of the mitten. These loose ends inside make a wonderful wool lining that gives added warmth to the mittens.
As you wear these mittens the friction from your hand causes the loose ends of the thrum to felt slightly, so the unspun thrums will not come out or fall apart.

My Site

This is a picture of the house that I spend most of my time at when I'm at work. It was built by a man named Samuel Jewkes in the 1860's and has adobe brick walls which really helps the house stay cool on hot summer days.

I love sitting on the front porch with my spinning wheel and visiting with the guests that come to the village.

First Post

This is my first post ever, to my first ever blog.

How did this happen?????

Me with a blog?

Well let me tell you how this whole thing got started.

Today at work Jordan asked me if I had a blog. I told him no, because I really didn't think anyone would want to read what I had to say, but the more I thought about it the better the idea sounded.

I want to share my fiber passion with you, not only what I have learned about the fiber arts in 21 century but also what I have learned from being a spinster in the 1860's. That's right you read correctly a spinster.

During the summer months I work at "This Is The Place Heritage Park" located at the mouth of Emigration Canyon in Salt Lake City Utah. I am the spinster in the village, hence the name of the blog " Pioneerspinster". Now don't jump to conclusions here. I am married, I have two great kids, (both are married) and a standard poodle named Kyra. You might not know this but another definition for a spinster is . . . "a woman's whose occupation is to spin." That's me!!!!

As I write this entry the summer season at the village is coming to a close, but things are still going on at the park. I will be bringing my camera to work with me so I can share pictures of the site where I work, and the tools that I use on a daily basis. I also will be sharing some of the great happenings at the village.

During the months of October thru April most of what I post will be what is happening in my studio at my home, and I will be sharing with you my journey to become a weaver, ( I start my weaving classes on September 26th). Until then I still have a little over a month to post entries about the fun things that happen to me at the village.

Robin