• I have been washing fleece and doing some sampling. These are just to see what the fleece is like and if it needs additional work. I can tell you that there are some mediocre fleeces on Etsy, selling at premium prices. Not naming names. But there are also some great vendors, and I try to give them great reviews. Also, a new Bosworth spindle!

    Skinny Butternut Midi

     

    This is Icelandic/Finn and was interesting enough that I bought a couple more pounds. I have been buying smaller amounts of fleece, although I like to buy full Shetland fleeces.

    Finn/Icelandic

    This is a Shetland mystery fleece. It was cheap and should be. The tips are sunburned and felted. There’s scruf. I was not sure if I wanted to mess with it. This sample had the tips cut off and feels pretty nice. So I may keep it.

    The next two are from the same vendor. There was a mix up and the fleece I chose had been sold. She offered money back or a different fleece. I went with a different fleece. She sent me two! Punk Hazard is the vendors name on Etsy and these are both nice.

    From Jambalaya

     

    From Emma


    This is a Border Leicester fleece.

    Border Leicester

     

    Another Shetland fleece. I need to wash this differently due to VM.

    Fawn Shetland fleece


    And finally, Shaela Shetland! It is a lovely color.

    Shaela Shetland

    That’s it for now!

  • I have been ordering a little fleece from Etsy. First up is black Icelandic lamb from Pure Joy Farm. I cleaned a sample and worked it up on my Bosworth Midi.

    Fleece

    Yarn

    Next is Border Leicester from The Dancing Goats. I also picked up a couple of support spindles.

    Fleece
    Yarn

    I bought some black tipped Shetland fleece from The Sheep’s Company. Haven’t sampled it yet

    Fleece

    And there’s some lovely Bond roving from Forever Handmade. No sample yet

    Roving

    I am working on some CVM/Shetland from Lost Acre Farms that I bought a few years back. I think I bought all she had. Was a good thing because she’s not on Etsy any more. This is a 31g ball of singles. I will be on this project for awhile.

    Spun yarn

    And that’s it for now!

  • When you don’t spin for awhile. Not a lot of knitting this year either. But there is this!


    I have plans for this year.  The first thing, when it warms up, will be to take a lot of stuff to Goodwill and the dump.  I would recommend you pick up this lovely book to get your spinning restarted.

  • Spindles 26.08.2024 No Comments

    This is my new Bosworth book charkha. Just arrived today. I’m spinning some green cotton from Cotton Clouds. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a charkha. Always wanted one of these. Looking forward to putting a dent into my cotton stash.

    Charkha
  • Just found this master class on charkha spinning by Eileen Hallman. Good stuff here: Video

  • This is a sample pack of roving from Bartlett Yarns. Will likely make a cap of it. Just a fun thing to spin.

  • Projects 29.07.2024 No Comments

    Nothing fancy, just a pair of cotton socks. I’ve retired so I just might have more projects to post here.

  • Finished the singles of Inglenook polworth, colorway Earl Grey. Hope I can ply it next weekend. I have so much fiber and yarn and no time to use it.

    Polworth
  • My left thumb joint has been bothering me, so I’ve let it rest. I did start a pair of cotton socks. I did the heel on the first one today.

    Short row heel and toe

    The big news is a couple of hours of spinning! Last time I tried the Country Craftsman, it kept throwing the drive belt. I figured it was time to sort it out. But no problems at all! I just kept going. This is some Polworth from Inglenook Fibers, colorway Earl Grey. Really happy as I have a lot of fiber to spin. And spinning didn’t bother my hand.

    Spinning

    The last is what I’ve been doing intead of fiber. I’ve been taking Liz Steel’s sketching/watercolor classes. She’s a good teacher and I am enjoyimg it. I’m getting better at drawing things on my kitchen table but still working on outside sketches. Here’s mine from tonight:

    That’s it for now!

  • They don’t look like much. First up, Churchmouse’s Two point Cowl in Cloudborn Alpaca. Getting close to joining the shoulders. I hope I like this. I’ve decided I need more protection for my throat in winter. I seem to be coughing more.

    Next up is a gift for a coworker. This is Churchmouse’s Ribbed Watchcap. 1×1 rib on #1s for almost 10″. This is The Fibre Company’s Amble, which is a superwash wool/alpaca blend. I like the yarn and I have plans to do a couple more. But it’s a slow knit.

    I spent part of the day cataloging the stash. When I left Rav, I had to find a new way to track projects and yarn. I found that Notes on my iphone works well for this. I have a template to record details about the yarn, with a section for project notes. I add a picture of the project and the yarn. Looks like this: