Mad Ophelia
LightNews LightNews
banner
madophelia.bsky.social
Mad Ophelia
@madophelia.bsky.social
1.1K followers 700 following 250 posts
Artist, maker, poet, dreamer of dreams, kind of a weird girl, mosh pit enthusiast, autodidact, chaos goblin, fun at parties
Posts Replies Media Videos
madophelia.bsky.social
Spotted in a shopping mall ladies' room. So many questions. Am I supposed to roll the tampon in the pop rocks, or do I need to use the sour candy drops for adhesion? I suppose if this one sold rubbers like in the old days, pop rocks in the tip could be an exciting and zesty surprise at the end.
Wall mounted vending machine with the text, "Protocol when life just can't wait" and a faded photograph of a rocky stream above cards showing that the machine is stocked with Sour Patch Kids gummy candy, pop rocks type knockoff popping candy, tampons, sour liquid candy drops, and generic ibuprofen.
November 1, 2025 at 9:57 PM
madophelia.bsky.social
Trading doomscrolling for spindle spinning when I just can't with the world has been very rewarding. Plying 330 yards into a giant turtle was incredibly satisfying (turtle shown w/ Puscifer cd for scale). All done except a bath to fluff & set the twist!

#handspinning #handspun #yarnsky #dropspindle
Large lozenge shaped ball of bright purple and lime green striped yarn in front of a cd case which has been propped upright. The yarn is over half as tall as the cd. The striped strands neatly criss-crossing each other create zig zaggy op-art effect that appears to slightly vibrate. Thick twisted hank of lime green and bright purple barber pole striped handspun yarn.
October 5, 2025 at 5:56 PM
madophelia.bsky.social
Just started spinning this 50/50 Yak and silk top and it's the absolute softest, most amazing feeling thing! If I had all of the money, I'd make myself a giant nest out of it.

#handspun #handspinning #yarnsky
Turkish style cross arm drop spindle wrapped with a small amount of fine, shiny, silver grey yarn resting against a braid of the same unspun fiber.
September 28, 2025 at 2:49 PM
madophelia.bsky.social
Gorgeous rainbow this afternoon with funky, almost horizontal, streaks of light across it. Hard to see in the pics* but super cool irl. Light does wild stuff during sunset adjacent storms**

*cranked contrast, etc in 2nd for visibility

**or I didn't make the cut for the rapture. It's ok, I 💜 Earth
Rainbow against a gray, cloudy sky. A traffic light, crosswalk signal, tree tops, and the top of a flat roofed building are visible in the foreground. Rainbow against a gray, cloudy sky, with thin faint rays of light refracting across the rainbow
September 23, 2025 at 11:42 PM
madophelia.bsky.social
2nd single of the "Wizard and the Frog" roving from Avalon Springs Farm done! Spinning wee bits on breaks moved things along, but making time for a nice long session today to blast through the last chunk felt really good. Next, onto a bobbin, then plying both together.

#handspinning #handspunyarn
Drop spindle wound with bright green yarn next to a loo roll used as a makeshift bobbin for bright purple yarn.
September 21, 2025 at 9:28 PM
madophelia.bsky.social
The "Gremlins" remake you didn't know you wanted
September 6, 2025 at 1:58 AM
madophelia.bsky.social
Final #TourDeFleece 2025 update:
Started with 2 spins in progress. Finished the fiddly one. 3/4 through the straightforward one & continuing through TDFF to push myself over the finish line. As a new spinner, seeing everyone's projects got me excited to learn & practice daily. Thank you all! 💜
A large drop spindle wrapped in lime green yarn sits on a pile of fluffy lime green fiber. A cardboard tube used as a makeshift bobbin for dark purple yarn with a few streaks of lime green also sits on the fiber. A small, turquoise, cream, and purple hank of yarn and a larger hank of yarn with short sections of yellow, hot pink, purple, turquoise, and cream twisted together sit next to spindle.
July 28, 2025 at 11:36 AM
madophelia.bsky.social
Finished plying the merino!
I love it! And I got to use my new bat niddy noddy! Squee! The bobbins were uneven, so I had a low pressure chance to try chain plying. It just needs a wash & whack

Main spin: 308 yds
Chain ply experiment: 31.5 yds

#TourDeFleece 2025
A large, multicolored skein of yarn and a much smaller skein lay beside two bat shaped pieces of a disassembled modular niddy noddy. A small hank of turquoise, purple, and cream yarn is nestled against a much larger hank of yarn with short sections of hot pink, yellow, turquoise, purple, and cream twisted together. Two Turkish spindles wound thickly with yarn lean against each other. The yarn on the large spindle has many colors twisted together. The smaller spindle is half as large and wrapped with solid colored yarn.
July 26, 2025 at 4:47 AM
madophelia.bsky.social
Not sure what official day of #TourDeFleece it is; the rest days threw me off, but it's 17 for me. Started plying the "Lollipop" merino from The Fiber Imp on my Snyder Spindles Turkish plying glider. Love how it's turning out and am excited to see the final skein!
Two cardboard tubes wound with multi colored hot pink, turquoise, yellow, purple, and cream yarn sit next to a large Turkish spindle wrapped in thicker yarn made of two strands twisted together.
July 23, 2025 at 3:32 AM
madophelia.bsky.social
#TourDeFleece day 16 was a rest day, so I only did a very tiny bit of lunch break spinning on the sparkly green and got the neon pastel rainbow singles wound onto loo roll "bobbins". Planning to start plying them tonight.
Two cardboard rolls wound thickly with thin yarn in bright yellow, turquoise, purple, hot pink, and cream.
July 22, 2025 at 11:55 AM
madophelia.bsky.social
#TourDeFleece day 14 & 15 progress. Finished the neon pastel rainbow merino singles! Should have stopped earlier, but I got too excited. My hands will probably hate me in the morning. Tomorrow these go on bobbins, & I'll pick away at the sparkly green. Pic taken with flash to better convey the neon.
A pair of wooden spindles wrapped with yarn rest next to each other. The yarn is wrapped around the plain, straight handled spindle in a carrot like shape, with thin stripes of yellow, purple, hot pink, turquoise, and cream. The yarn on the more elaborate, curvy handled spindle is wrapped in a turnip shape, with wide stripes of turquoise and purple at the bottom and thinner stripes of cream, hot pink, and yellow at the top.
July 21, 2025 at 1:58 AM
madophelia.bsky.social
#TourDeFleece days 12 & 13 progress. Finished the short colors & got to blue on the long colors for the neon rainbow spin. Need to split the last of the braid for the 2nd long color single. Green spindle has been slowly getting fatter over my lunch breaks. Stoked to be this far & for plying soonish!
Three top whorl drop spindles between two piles of fiber. A spindle with a white top wrapped with lime green yarn is next to a large pile of soft, fluffy fiber in the same color with a few streaks of dark wine purple and sparkly strands of tinsel-like thread. The central light colored wooden spindle has a smaller top whorl (the piece at the top of the spindle shaft) and is wrapped full of fiber in stripes of cream, purple, hot pink, turqoise, and yellow. The fiber wrapped around the spindle is almost as wide as the whorl! The third spindle has a wider whorl and is made of a slightly darker wood. The shaft looks wood turned, with wider and narrower sections of various lengths and widths, giving it a decorative, antique look. It is wrapped thickly with yarn halfway down the shaft, in a shape like a beet or radish. The visible yarn is mostly purple, with a thick stripe and a few criss crossing strands of turquoise around the middle and thinner stripes of cream, hot pink, and yellow at the top. A pile of loose, fluffy turquoise fiber and a densely packed braid of fiber with swirling strips of cream, turquoise, hot pink, purple, and yellow is next to the darker, more elaborate spindle.
July 19, 2025 at 12:31 PM
madophelia.bsky.social
#TourDeFleece day 11 progress. Finished the cream and onto the purple of 1st of 2 long color sections for the neon rainbow braid. Remembered to start and pack the other 1/2 of the "Wizard & the Frog" fiber to work on over lunch break and made a nice start on it. Feeling accomplished for a work day.
Two spindles resting next to each other. One is wrapped with bright green yarn and is next to a fluffly pile of bright green fiber with strands of sparkle and a few stray splotches of dark purple. The second spindle is wrapped with large sections of purple and cream, with smaller stripes of yellow and hot pink visible at the top. It is next to loose, fluffy piles of turquoise and purple wool.
July 16, 2025 at 1:02 PM
madophelia.bsky.social
#TourDeFleece days 9 & 10 progress was slow, but this is meant to be fun. 12 short color runs and 7 1/2 long left of this braid. Tempted to file in a notch in the plain spindle before it drives me batty. New spindle is a dream. Packing the "Frog" half of my other spin to work on at lunch break.
Two spindles lying next to each other. One is wound with striped yarn in yellow, cream, hot pink, purple, and turquoise and is next to neatly organized strips of wool in the same colors. The second spindle os wound mostly with cream colored yarn, with thin stripes of yellow and hot pink visible at the top of the cop (which is the name for the yarn wound onto a spindle) beneath the whorl (which is the disk bit) of the spindle. It is next to small, fluffy piles of wool in turquoise and purple, and a much smaller pile of wool in cream. A piece of braided strips of wool fiber with all of the colors blended together is above the spindles.
July 15, 2025 at 1:21 PM
madophelia.bsky.social
Fell asleep before taking a pic of my #TourDeFleece day 8 progress. Finished the hot pink and started the cream on the first of two long color run sections in the Lollipop merino and wound the purple (I assume the Wizard) from the Wizard & the Frog wool, alpaca, and mohair blend onto a bobbin.
Wooden spindle wound with hot pink and cream colored yarn rests on loose, fluffly piles of cream, purple, and turquoise wool above a loo roll used as a makesift bobbin and wound with dark purple yarn and a few strands twisted with lime green
July 13, 2025 at 1:44 PM
madophelia.bsky.social
#TourDeFleece day 7
New spindle arrived so I only got a little done on the short color change single. Split the remaining braid in 2 equal-ish length bits & separated the colors as best I could from one half. All the yellow and half the hot pink are on the new spindle and the rest is under them.
A pair of wooden spindles wrapped in yellow, hot pink, purple, cream, and turquoise yarn rest on loose fluffy mounds of turquoise, purple, cream, and hot pink wool with their shafts crossed
July 12, 2025 at 5:37 AM
madophelia.bsky.social
#tourdefleece 2025 Day 6
Picked up my 2nd WIP while the purple spin rests. Seperating colors on lunch break made spinning much faster. Tiny floof & strips will be the last of the current short color change single. Big floof will be much longer color runs in hopes of a fractal-esque result 🤞
Spindle wrapped with turquoise, purple, hot pink, yellow, and cream yarn surrounded by unspun wool in the same colors
July 11, 2025 at 11:13 AM
madophelia.bsky.social
Sneaking in some spinning on my lunch break was definitely the way to go. Finished the the purple single (mint tin for scale). Was so wiped out when I got home that I only managed to spend a few minutes on my pastel neon rainbow merino wip (sip?)
#tourdefleece
Spindle full of yarn next to a tin of mints
July 10, 2025 at 1:43 AM
madophelia.bsky.social
#tourdefleece day 4 progress.
Sooo close to finishing this single! I started with a half full (half empty?) spindle, so I had a head start. Definitely bringing my spindle to work tomorrow and sneaking in a little extra progress during my lunch break.

Soundtrack: Smorodina by Kiberspassk
Purple wool and a spindle
July 9, 2025 at 4:06 AM
madophelia.bsky.social
#Tourdefleece day 3 starting point and soundtrack. Making way more progress than I expected, yay!
Fiber from Avalon Springs Farm
Spindle from Snyder Spindles
Tunes by Billy Howerdel
Drop spindle resting on a pile of wool roving next to an open portable cd player
July 8, 2025 at 1:17 AM
madophelia.bsky.social
#tourdefleece day 2 (7/6) starting point and soundtrack. Kept going after the album was over because it seemed way more fun than sucking it up and doing laundry. Slightly concerned about how my hands will feel about it in the morning, but I was in a hyperfocus groove. G'night y'all!
Spindle of yarn, wool roving, portable cd player, headphones, and cd
July 7, 2025 at 5:12 AM
madophelia.bsky.social
Jumping into my first #tourdefleece to finish my current WIPs (below). Spun yesterday while streaming Back to the Beginning (Slayer is awesome to spin to, & Tool's "Hand of Doom" cover was amazing). It inspired me to pick an album to spin to while listening end to end daily for TDF.
July 6, 2025 at 3:15 PM
madophelia.bsky.social
One shot at police. Two were described as having a "mental health crisis." Police aren't trained mental health professionals. They're unlikely to defuse those situations without it ending traumatically for everyone involved. Funding crisis response teams & mental healthcare is a life or death issue.
June 27, 2025 at 1:55 AM
madophelia.bsky.social
Two panel meme: Simpsons character Principal Skinner stands in front of a broken window. He is labeled as "Democratic Party Leadership." In the first panel, he is slightly hunched over, and appears uncertain, with his hand on his chin, as if deep in thought. He says "Maybe I should stop backing lackluster 'centrist' candidates and policies." In the second panel, he stands upright and confidently declares "No. It's the voters who are wrong."
June 25, 2025 at 11:56 PM
madophelia.bsky.social
Briefly assumed there was a super vampire invasion I wasn't yet aware until my coffee jiggled my brain cells & I realized the sender was a gardening company and they meant to hold up tomato plants.
Screenshot of an email notification with the subject, "When a wooden stake just won't do" above body text preview "shop speciality plant supports and more"
June 15, 2025 at 12:57 PM