Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links denoted by asterisks (*). That means if a purchase is made through an affiliate link, I will receive a commission based on the sale at no extra cost to you. The products I have chosen are ones I have personally used and would recommend, and I have not chosen them due to any commission I may receive.
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Hi again. It's been a few weeks!
I put the crock pots away, and it feels good.
I feel like I can move forward, and I have been moving forward since I made the decision to stop dyeing. I ordered an inkle loom, and I subscribed to a monthly fiber club for the first time since 2018. I've been ogling and sharing other dyers' work – a thing that I felt like I wasn't allowed to do if I was dyeing fiber myself.
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I've signed on as a Knit Picks affiliate as well, and I'm hoping to use some of their value packs for future projects to share with all of you. When I was kitting myself out for Sock Madness in 2019, snagging a discounted Hawthorne Value Pack* really took some of the heavy thinking out of my yarn choices. Since then, they've introduced new shades and have a glorious range of colorways for anything from socks to shawls to sweaters (and the packs can easily get you a sweater quantity).
As much as I love hand-dyed yarn, I have a really tough time shelling out for a full blanket or sweater quantity of the stuff. I'm much more likely to buy commercial yarn for larger projects, and that's just the way it goes. Likewise, I talked about the Kaleidoscope Hexagons (Ravelry) blanket pattern back in my first post of the year, and I'm starting to plan that out to work with one of the three Palette Box* color schemes.
As stated at the top of this post, if you choose to purchase anything from Knit Picks through one of my affiliate links, I will receive a small commission based on the sale. I've chosen Knit Picks because I've used their products for years, and it's a way for me to earn a small kickback for mentioning products I would be using anyway.
If you do ever use my links, thank you!
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In feeling free to move forward, I've found myself getting more excited about projects and tools and adventures.
Sunday morning, I took myself out for a solo hike, and it couldn't have been better. I brought nothing but myself, my phone, and my water bottle. I set out with the intention of doing a specific trail, but veered off onto another, unsure of how long it was. Worst case, I thought, I'll get 2.5 miles in and turn around.
Fortunately, it turned out to be a 4.5-mile loop, so I continued on and found some burros who acted like they'd never seen a human before.
Just getting away from town, from noise, from screens, for an hour and a half was beautiful, and I plan to do more of it. We make and consume all of this complexity, and all it does is give us stress and anxiety.
Sometimes it really ain't that deep.
Go outside.
Be calm.
Exist.
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Edit: The sliding flyer hooks did not end up working out for me on my Bliss. I have a wobbly axle, and changing the balance of the flyer exacerbated the problem, causing a lot of vibration and shaking. If you don't have that problem, the sliders may work, but please keep in mind that they might not work out for you! I've returned to the original fixed metal hooks.
In crafting news, I'm pleased as punch about finally ordering some Kromski Fantasia sliding flyer hooks for my Woolmakers Bliss wheel.
That was a mouthful, so let me explain.
Woolmakers, creator of the Bliss spinning wheel, started shipping new wheels with sliding flyer hooks back in December (from what I can tell by searching the #woolmakersbliss tag on Instagram). Intrigued, I went to look at their website to see if they're selling the hook set.
No mention of it.
Now, Aleks of @spindlesandstitches has been in contact with Woolmakers, and they've confirmed that the new guides will be added to the store – but we don't yet know when.
Additionally, Woolmakers is located in the Netherlands and, while their wheels ship free internationally, I'd imagine many of us US-based Bliss owners aren't going to want to pay international shipping on four small pieces of metal.
The Kromski Fantasia spinning wheel has flyer arms similar in shape to the Bliss, and I've wondered in the past if their sliding hooks would fit. I could have tested this two years ago, but at the time I balked at $7 shipping on a $10 item (and to be honest, I still do, but now I'm more impulsive).
The new sliders arrived on Saturday, and I immediately set out to see if they would work.
I went over my first impressions in this Instagram post, but the basics are that the sliders are a tight fit, but they work! Once installed, they slide pretty easily and I'm able to load my bobbin much more evenly.
On the underside, you can see how the guides flex to fit the flyer arm. They don't seem to be under too much stress, so I think this is going to work out long-term.
Because of the rounded ends of the Bliss flyer arms, it's pretty easy to accidentally slide a guide off the end. Since I mainly use the guides on the right side of the flyer, I've replaced the end hook underneath the guide to act as a stopper (in that last hole of the above photo, I just hadn't done it yet). If you plan on using both sides, you could probably use a small rubber band or O-ring instead.
All in all, I'm very happy with my new guides, and I'd recommend others to try them out, especially if you're planning on buying anything else from your Kromski supplier of choice (mine is the Woolery) to make the shipping charge worth it.
A nice bonus is that they come in bright blue, yellow, or magenta! I chose the pink to go with the decals on my wheel. (Paradise Fibers seems to have them in black if you prefer a more classic look.)
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In blogging news, I'm still struggling to not feel guilty for extended periods of silence, but I'm reminding myself that it's all part of the process.
I'll leave you with some things I keep saying to myself. Maybe you need to hear them, too.
Rest is good.
Consume less to create more.
It's okay to leave behind the things that aren't serving you.
Until next time, thanks for being here. 💕
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Next Twitch stream: Saturday, March 26
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