The week of fleece washing didn’t accomplish as much as I was hoping, but I did get a pretty sizeable pile of fleece washed. And while there is still a whole garbage bag full of dirty fleece, I think this will keep me busy for a while.
I actually got a pretty fair amount of this carded, but the carded got used in another project before I took any pictures of it and is now hanging out to dry. I did decide to break out of my usual “rolag” carding method and turn the carded fluff into these nice little balls of homemade roving. Not quite as smooth and buttery as store bought, but it’s fun to use and spins nicely.
The pink and purple are from cochineal dyed fleece. Yes, I still have that fleece laying around. Two nice chunks of it.
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I did some more dyeing yesterday. Here are the two new colorways, Poppies and Copper Lake. That last practically designed itself. I started mixing colors and there it was!
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Wow. 2009 snuck up on me. It’s so exciting to have a brand new year stretching before me. Although remembering to put /09 on my checks will take some work.
And speaking of some work, here is the sum total of the New Year’s Dash.
Before
After
(“After,” minus the sock yarn from Gawain, which is already on the needles.)
Ta-da! Ten days of frenzied activity paid off. I’ve got five projects checked off my list, enough yarn to sink a small boat, and the knowledge that I can spin five and a half ounces in a day. (On average.) And even though the pile of New Zealand wool is still uncomfortably large, I’m happy.
I also have a large fiber order coming in, and there are rumors floating around that it might be time to refinish and fix up my spinning wheel.
Have a wonderful New Year!
No, this is not a horror story involving Angora rabbits and sticky candy. This is the next-to-final project on my New Year’s Dash list.
This is the Bunny Yarn.
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I have officially finished spinning all of the Rebecca wool into singles, and I’ve even started plying it! I have two nice skeins done already.
The First of the Bunch
I’m not sure how much they weigh, or how much yardage is in them. I’ll find out once they’re all done. And, once they’re all done I’ll just have the two drop-spindling projects left to finish up.
Ha ha. Just two drop-spindling projects. I spun a little on each of them today and managed to remind myself that they’re good for leisurely, enjoyable spinning. Not so good for speed work.
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Once again I didn’t get this up last night. I have an excuse, though! I was busy plying this wonderful skein of sock yarn.
Four-Ply Sock Yarn
Gawain is done! I absolutely love it when the seemingly endless thread you’ve been working on for the past who-knows-how-long comes together and makes yarn. It’s amazing.
That makes three things checked off my list. No, four. Well, I guess three. Gawain sock yarn, the lumpy yarn, the sparkly black stuff, and if you want to count it separately, this little skein from the leftover turquoise.
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Look what is showing through my once-enormous pile of turquoise fiber.
I Can See The Bottom!
This is all I was able to make before running out of purple locks to stick into the thin single.
The Finished Lumpy
Actually, I’m rather glad I ran out. It was getting a little tiring. I have a few chunks of badly felted locks left, but they don’t look as pretty as the ones in the yarn. That enormous skein on the end was what I got done yesterday. Oh, by the way, all the stuff you’re seeing here are things I got done yesterday. It was late when I got around to winding things down, so I didn’t get this up until now. I shall try to be better about that.
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I’m ahead of schedule! Two and half hours on my feet running the Great Wheel has paid off in these five little beauties. They’re right around one ounce apiece!
Five Marvelous Spools
I spun two of them this morning, and the other three while we watched Miracle on 34th Street. I’m so happy that I got ahead! It means that I might not fall behind in the next couple days. I’ll just forget about the fact that my arms and back and everything else are complaining loudly.
And I added two more big fat skeins to the unnamed yarn.
More and More
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It looks like I’ve spun the necessary five and a half ounces today. One ounce of which finished up the Gawain batt! I now have five spools full of it. And that means that the wheel is freed up for either spinning the Rebecca wool, or plying the Gawain.
The First Finished Project!
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I’ve been eyeing the container of indigo for long enough. I am hereby starting a project especially marked for the dye pot. Here it is, in its brand-new beginning.
On The Drop Spindle
I’m taking what’s left of the pound of New Zealand wool roving (great stuff), and spinning it on the drop spindle. Hopefully it will come out at a decent DK weight, so I can dye it blue and use it in
this pattern (with some slight modifications).
The goal is to get it all done before the weather gets too hot for me to wear the sweater. The only kicker is that around here that means I have until roughly the middle of March. Oh well. The little jar of dye calls.
Ah, The Possibilities
