I absolutely, utterly, completely refuse to even so much as look at carding equipment! I know what happens....
I have had a couple of "mom"cations this summer. DH Dallas and the kids are currently out again at Grandpa's cottage and so I have been free to do what ever I want! And to think that there was a time that I figured that I needed a 3-star hotel and airline tickets to have a good vacation. How things change once you have kids.
So there is dyed fibre all over my house right now. The problem is that I am eager to try them all out and start spinning them, but I have to ration my bobbins. I keep meaning to order more. In the meantime I wander around and pet them all.
I am starting to experiment with different fibres. This was my first try with Wensleydale. I was at my LYS bemoaning the fact that even though I didn't think it was possible for me to spin any finer without my singles disintegrating my finished 3 ply yarn was still coming out a bit heavier than I would like for socks. So Wensleydale was suggested. It has such a long length that it is literally possible to spin strong singles with only 3 strands of fibre. Unfortunately, I ended up felting this fibre a bit when dyeing so I had to rip it apart to draft it. It is still very fine and very strong. I Navaho plied it.
It is really overspun, but I don't mind that for socks. It doesn't have the softness of a lot of other wools, but it should wear like iron! It should end up to be loosely self striping when knit up.
A Blue Faced Leicester dyed with mauve, lilac and grey. I have discovered that anything dyed with purples in it will be dominantly purple. It didn't turn out quite like I expected (I thought the grey would show up more), but still a very pretty heathered yarn. This one is 3-ply fingering weight.
This one I couldn't wait to try spinning it. It is BFL again, spray dyed with pale pastel shades. So far, so good. I am very pleased with what is showing on the bobbin. Now I just have to hope that when it is plied things will still look as pretty.
This is a Corriedale-Rambouillet-Merino roving that I purchased from Wooly Wool of the West on Etsy. It is nice and soft and sproingy and should spin up beautifully. (Mikki had to get her nose in to see what I was doing. The dogs tend to like the sheepy smell of undyed fibre. Not too keen on the vinegar smell after dyeing, though)
Another Wensleydale. This time I didn't felt it! I also didn't get enough contrast between the blues that I would have liked, but it should still be fine. It is hard to go wrong with blue.
BFL again (I keep coming back to it!). It should self stripe nicely if Navaho plied.
And finally.... more good things in the mail. I got these notions from KaratStix on Etsy. Made of bamboo they are very light and should prove to be very handy. The wraps-per-inch tool is hanging on my spinning wheel. The Kitchener stitch tag is sitting next to my knitting chair. And the needle gauge (notice how she includes really small needle sizes) is attached to my knitting bag for when I am on the go.
BFL again (I keep coming back to it!). It should self stripe nicely if Navaho plied.
And finally.... more good things in the mail. I got these notions from KaratStix on Etsy. Made of bamboo they are very light and should prove to be very handy. The wraps-per-inch tool is hanging on my spinning wheel. The Kitchener stitch tag is sitting next to my knitting chair. And the needle gauge (notice how she includes really small needle sizes) is attached to my knitting bag for when I am on the go.
I also have 3 more big, poofy piles of roving sitting on my kitchen table (all the easier to walk by and pet) still waiting for pictures. And there is a batch of Lincoln I dyed currently being spun also waiting. Not to mention the one finished skein and the dyed pile of roving to be spun with the intent of knitting two strangs together.
1 comment:
Those are gorgeous! I'm getting sucked into the dyeing thing, too, and it's just scary! I really need to win the lottery so I can afford to do all this stuff!
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