Velma's World: viral video

Showing posts with label viral video. Show all posts

Monday, July 05, 2010

Thursday, October 29, 2009

In honor of Jacey Boggs, who is arriving today at SOAR so I finally get to meet her!!, I'm re-posting this photo of myself sporting the hat I created for inclusion in her how-to DVD Sit and Spin!, using her faboo Insubordiknit handspun yarn. Called 'Babies in a Blender' (Rav link), it was worn by the drummer in the video. (I think it looked way better on him, but whatever.)

Answering the perennial question: "Art yarn is nice, but what the hell do I do with it?", I crocheted the hat from wee mini-skeins of Jacey's art yarn, complete with little 'shoulder sockets' for the doll arms. Someday I'll make another, using my own art yarn; I want to knit one this time, & I think it needs more appendages!

I thought I wrote a review of the DVD, but can't find it anywhere, so I have something to add to my to-do list when I get home. 'Til then, enjoy these little in absentia blog posts, & this trailer.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

This is What Happens When You Blow Off Work

Today, like yesterday, was supposed to be silk-dyeing day. It wasn't. Instead, today was a day of complete & utter goof-off-i-ness. Check it.

My good friend Maia took these frakkin' HI-larious shots of me going down on an absolutely enormous Scharfen Berger chocolate bar. "Can I share 'em on my blog?" she says. "Of course, you know I love attention!" says I. But oh, no: that ain't enough for spotlight-hog Velma, no not enough at all. I had to put them up here, too. Check out this blog post over at Maia's for the full story of "The Chocolate Incident" and her shameless plug of luv of yours truly.

Need more proof that Rule 34 is alive and well? How about this video of gratuitous fondling:

Yeah, I know, I got carried away. Those of us who didn't get to attend the real New York State Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY decided that wasn't gonna keep us from pretending. Nope, we just invented ImaginaryRhinebeck, complete with a virtual beer stand, free cashmere for all attendees, a teddy bear shearing demo, & the aforementioned unicorn fiber fondling in the petting zoo. While having a beer with WonderMike, I even saw Elizabeth Zimmerman there!

One more thing: I'm making new yarn for a new project! That's one of my Menage a Trois handspun yarns, 'Flambe', made from retina-burning reds, oranges, purple, & yellow merino from Forest Fiber Works. I've got 4oz., & I'm spinning to make a Harf (Rav link) by Kate Burge & Rachel Price of Spincycle Yarns; the pattern is in the Best. Book. EVER. for handspinners: Intertwined by Lexi Boeger.

I started by spinning it up on my Jenkins Turkish Delight drop spindle, & finished up the 1st cop last night, plying it on the wheel (chain-ply, aka navajo ply). But I need to finish this in my lifetime, & I've already got a crazy-big drop-spindle project going, so I switched to the wheel last night. So far I've got about 25 yards completely finished, & about 1/3 bobbin of singles. Now that I've got a rudimentary long-draw under my belt, it should go much faster than my usual glacial pace.

Guess that's enough for today. Heading to the wheel with a beer. Happy Sunday!

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Viral Video, Redux

More Velma, more spinning, more yarn!! This one is a tutorial on adding yarn scraps to your art yarn. Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

'Nicked Shaving' is Scrappy Goodness!

It's Wednesday, boys and girls, so let's see what's on my bobbin! Mmmm, scrappy goodness, that's what. I've been working (slowly, been feeling very lazy ass for awhile) on a (S)craptastic style yarn - and it's done!

"What the hell is a (S)craptastic yarn, Velma?" Glad you asked, reader! (S)craptastic yarns are one of my Greenish products, made of 100% repurposed and reclaimed materials. In this case, it is naturally-colored gray Shetland wool that I bartered for (go, green!), filled with loads of yarn scraps all in RED in honor of the Valentine's crafting season. When I plied it, I threw in tons of beehives, coils, and stacks for added visual & tactile stimulation. Here's the pertinent details:

46yds./42m., .4.7oz./139g., 3-5WPI - Super-bulky weight

Available on Etsy!

Wanna see how it's made? Guess what? You CAN! I made 2 more spinning videos for YouTube consumption, one showing the spinning process, the other how I plied it. They're both pretty crappy vids, but you can at least get an idea. Sorry that the 2nd video is cut off; my battery crapped out before I finished!

EDIT: I'm having trouble getting the videos to upload. You'll just have to come back for them. :( Sorry for the inconvenience.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Please Be Gentle...

...when you offer your feedback on my new spinning tutorial video! Yep, I've entered the YouTube era. I started the COLORBOMB Creations channel yesterday, and this is my *virginal* video. COLORBOMB Creations is going viral! First one out of the chute: Corespinning. The production value is pretty low (*really* low; you can hear the traffic on the other side of the fence & Canada geese flying overhead), but (hopefully) I've put some good info on how to create yarn like my WoolyBear™ & WoolyBearCub™ handspun. Be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts.

Props to my personal marketing guru, CraftyCoach, for his gentle prodding to get me to dip my treadle into the video pool. Thanks, Norm!

Want to buy the yarn spun in the video? It's for sale in my Etsy shop: 'Have a Heart' is a ginormic skein, 34 yards of carmine Cormo/merino blend squooshy wonderment, with silk threads & just enough sparkle to make it POP! Doesn't sound like much, yardage-wise, but this ~3WPI super-bulky wonder-skein should be *plenty* for a small project like a hat, or pair it with a complementary commercial yarn to create something bigger. Get it while it's hot, just in time to whip up something for your valentine!

In other video news, my friend Jacey Boggs, Queen Boognish of Insubordiknit, has made a REAL spinning video! Her Sit and Spin DVD, chock-full of techniques for spinning art yarns, is IN as of today! Go, quick like bunny, and get your hands on a copy before they're all gone! And when you do get a chance to view it, be sure to keep your eyes out for my freeform-crochet Babies in a Blender hat (made with Jacey's handspun art yarn + doll arms I added) and The Fez (a crocheted fez made with 'Blood Fever', my own COLORBOMB Creations WoolyBear yarn), modeled by members of the backing band.