Moving Right Along

Well - this is so much fun. I was so excited with the Kool-Aid rovings that I couldn't wait to do some spinning - so - away we went.
As you can see here (please excuse the
messy bobbin) - it was really kinda cool to spin, and a lot of fun to watch it spin onto the bobbin.


I didn't do a full bobbin - because really this is only a test run.


Anyway - I did up 2 bobbins - only a little less than 1/2 full each.


And here is the finished skein that I did up in
2 ply. Sorry the picture isn't very clear.
I will have to wash is next week - and set the twist - then I will have to knit up a test swatch - just to see what it comes out like. Ahem - I am
only a very - VERY beginner knitter - so it might not come out very good.

Anyway - I was pretty pleased with the final
results - even my DH was impressed with it.

And now - since this is so exciting - I have
7 or 8 raw fleeces out in the barn that I am taking to the fiber mill this weekend to have made into rovings. Some of them will be dyed - and others will be left natural so that I can play with more kool-aid (by the way - I went out and bought more kool-aid the very next day). To be honest - I think they look so great just hanging on the rack - I just wanted to leave them there - kinda like artwork. However - my
kitten had a different idea - so now they are in a basket.

Tonight - I have to go out to the garage and do an inventory on the raw fleeces that I have left, then I have to bag and box everything up for the mill this weekend.
I'm also going to do an inventory on my remaining rovings and yarn. I have a braided rug in progress - so I need to make sure I have rovings to finish it.
I also have shearing parties on the 5th and 12th of May - as well as my own shearing day on
May 9th - it's going to be busy, busy, busy around here for a while.

What I did on my afternoon off

This is so exciting for me. This is what I spent my afternoon doing. It is so amazing what fun you can have with some kool-aid and wool rovings.
I found it so much fun - that I went out and bought some more packages of kool-aid when I was in town tonight, and guess what I plan on doing next weekend. Well, actually, I am also working on some braids so that I can make a
braided wool rug out of rovings. But I'm still waiting for the binding thread to come in, so I can't progress too far on them.
I also decided that I might just take some of my gray rovings and overdye them with green (makes a nice sage green), then I will use them
in the rug to add a bit of colour.

This year - we'll be shearing our sheep on May 9th, and it seems that it's turned into a bit of a
shearing party. So, if you don't see a lot of posts for the next little while, it's because I'm busy getting stuff ready. I also have a commission to do on some handspinning for a lady that was out this weekend, and wants several balls of yarn in a specific weight and colour.
Along with all of the spring cleaning to do on the farm, and getting ready for lambing, it's going to be a very busy time.

I've Been Busy

Well, as you can see here, I have been very busy
lately. I've had the spinning bug lately and have spent every spare moment available at my Ashford Traveller. Of course we've had 2 floods in the basement the last few weeks, along with numerous other little mishaps that have just served to slow down my enjoyment of my spare time. This past weekend, I washed and dried all
of my skeins, and have spent the last few days, fluffing and in some cases rewinding the skeins.
You'll notice the bright green yarn that I use to tie my skeins with. That's because my eyesight is getting terrible - and it's much easier for me to see, instead of trying to distinguish which yarns to pull on.
I've just placed an order for some Coopworth rovings, and some Romney fleece with
a couple of different suppliers. I'm also thinking of purchasing a little bit of Wensleydale roving
just to give it a try.

As you can see in this picture - I have lots of
help with my spinning - and other work around
here. This is Greyling. She is our resident troublemaker -
um kitten. This last few days, I have found my skeins of
yarn all over the house. She loves the drying rack - and
apparently doesn't believe in sleeping. She's showing you
my latest spinning - where I have been plying metallic threads into the yarn to give a sparkly effect. The white is
my favourite - although - I do have to say that the metallic
thread does make the yarn feel rougher. I spin shetland
fleece (because I own 25 shetland sheep), and it's mostly very soft to the touch - until you add the thread. I am also
working at plying beads into the yarn - however, it is a long
and tedious process. I will have to see if I can find a quicker
way.

And surprise - as if I wasn't busy enough. I've decided that
possibly I should try knitting as well. Since I'm a lefty, and
no one has ever been able to teach me to knit, I bought myself
a book last week, and some lovely birch needles, and
voila - here is my attempt at knitting! Now - I know it's not
much yet - but give me time. so far - I am just practicing
casting on, binding off, and the knit stitch. This weekend
I think I will attempt to purl. Of course - with 5 cats in the
house - it's quite a chore just to do the basic stitches. Today, I found my little project here, halfway across the room -
Hmmm - I wonder who could be responsible.

I think that this weekend I will also spin up some more
white, and I'm going to try plying part of it with blue metallic thread, and the other part with pink thread. Then
I think I will cable it all together to see what happens - it could be interesting, and if it turns out good - I'll post pictures of it.