Gails Yarns, Hooks & Needles

I never win contests. Apart from the occasional order of fries when a burger franchise is having a give-away, I just don’t win prizes.

So I didn’t really believe I won this one until the first month’s shipment arrived in the mail:

Two ounces of  “Moonlight,” and a matching magnet. I waited a long time for a sunny day so that the sparkle would show, and even so the camera didn’t see as many as I could. I was also hoping to gain courage to spin some of this beautiful, luscious stuff, but as yet I haven’t tried. Fondle, yes. Spin, no. It is so soft.

The person who suggested the name and the colors also won a sample.  “Moonlight” is a brilliant addition to the “Moonbeam” line.

Content for Moonlight: 50% alpaca, 25% bamboo, 15% milk, 10% suri alpaca, plus angelina. Moonwood Farm is an alpaca farm, so the alpaca fiber comes from her own animals. Moonwood Farm has an etsy shop which is empty while they attend a show and SAFF, but they will return!

Above left is a closeup of the gossamer light Moonbeam fiber, showing two of the six little pre-drafted balls that arrived. Above right is an even closer shot of the same fiber, showing sparkles.

What I won is a four month membership of the Moonbeams Fiber Club. I can’t say I never won anything anymore.

Just for good measure, I also bought some fiber from Moonwood Farm that sounded good enough to eat: Blackberry. It is so very nearly black in normal light that there was no point in taking a picture until there was sun (and working batteries in my camera). Black, dark purple, and angelina are all in this ball of fiber. It’s just as gossamer light and soft as the Moonbeam. Also predrafted, the photo gives you no sense of how soft this fiber is.

Ive been out in the deep dark for the past week or so, grabbing the episodes of “Captain’s Share” as they come out at Podiobooks. Today the last episode posted and I’m finished. Your turn! Listen or subscribe at Podiobooks, follow the link. If it isn’t at iTunes, it will be soon.

No, seriously, if you have never listened to any of Nathan Lowell’s books, you can’t start any younger. Links in the side bar on the right, under Podiobooks. Each book stands alone, but for the full experience start with Quarter Share and work your way up. There’s a forum to discuss your reactions, link at the author’s web page. I enjoyed hearing where the crew ate and slept, and how standing watch actually works. Eventually the stories spend a lot of time on the bridge, but it isn’t all from a captain’s viewpoint.

Oh, and one of the many things I learned was that “Wang” is pronounced more like “whong,” not something I ever would have picked up in my old neighborhood!

edited to add: Ravelry has a Podiobooks group.

Rayon yarn is a medium I know almost nothing about, so I started some swatches to learn.

Now I know a few things to share. Rayon has no give, like cotton, but it has wonderful drape.

The multicolor rayon yarn used here is America’s Best Rayon Yarn, which is a rayon filament–a thing I had forgotten until I tried working with it. Rayon filament is a bit argumentative.

Soft and shiny and willing to do as it is told but it must be told firmly. Once crocheted into pattern, it behaves  beautifully.

This is America’s Best Rayon Yarn, available in Spice, shown here, also Silver, Northwoods, and Country Garden. Twentyfour stitches and two and one half inches wide; twenty rows and six inches long.

The pattern is for suspenders, and comes from the Antique Pattern Library; the suspenders may have been as much as two inches wide (and 27 inches long) and were backed with grosgrain ribbon. I have been unable to locate the pattern again, sorry! rows are worked in 6 sets of 4 double crochet shells. The shells are offset from center by being placed between the first and second dc (instead of the second and third dc as for center).

The next photo is of Honeysuckle Rayon Petalspun Yarn shown in sapphire, also available in  black and emerald.  Twentyfour stitches and 5 inches wide; twenty rows and eight and one half inches long. Made on a size E hook (3.5 mm). the photo is the same size, but the swatch is much larger.The lacy look seems to go well with the drape and softness of the rayon.

Here’s a bit of a swatch worked on a smaller hook, probably a US00 (2.70 mm), showing, I hope, the gleam of the rayon. Same yarn, different camera exposure.

I am working on a knitted swatch with this same sapphire yarn. It looks great on size 6 needles, but I have no idea if it meets gauge because none was given for this pattern. The pattern is free from Ravelry, Faroese Shawl by Dagmar Lutz. It’s a lovely shawl.

Attention all Nathan Lowell fans: the latest in the Ishmael Horatio Wang series is out! As it gets recorded, it is being posted at Podiobooks.com. Click for “Captain’s Share” page.

If you prefer to wait until recording is finished, or you are a stranger to Ishmael Wang, there are several other titles you may like to spend time with: Quarter Share, Half Share, Full Share, Double Share. All are described as “A Trader’s Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper”  and the shares refer to profits. Links in the sidebar.

I started a group on Ravelry, I’ve never done that before. It was easy. Thanks Code Monkey!

The group is called Gail’s Yarns Fan Club, which seems kind of presumptuous now but it is a good indicator of what I hope the comments will be.

I’m assured that the store itself will soon have the ability to show comments, but this was faster and I could do it myself.

A terrific ending to an interesting week.

Bless you all.