For my Mom

Well, Peace wanted a starring role in a blog post, so here she is. The shadows in this picture are worse than the other that I took, but I couldn't resist her expression in this one!

My mom wanted to see a picture of the wool I dyed a few weeks ago using Wilton cake decorating colors, and so here is a sampling of each color for her.

And that makes two people happy with one little blog post. What a good start on my day!

Sheep and Wool in Wooster

True love is when your husband works extra hard all week so that he can take time away from work on Saturday to take you to the sheep and wool festival. Just in case you needed a definition of true love.

Above you see Benjamin petting an alpaca, and Verity with a friendly little alpaca in the background. The angora rabbits and the lambs were also popular with the children. A kind lady gave them each a tuft of cotton fiber with the seeds still attached... reminded us of our study of Eli Whitney this school year.

And this what I got.....very little fiber....I have to make a dent in the fiber I already have first. But I did get 1/4 oz. of peacock angelina to use as a blending metallic for Project Spectrum in June/July.

I bought a handy little sett gauge, a lovely medium size Kromski niddy-noddy, and a pleasant Greensleeves Barebones spindle....I took it for a test spin before I bought it, and it spins so nicely for an inexpensive spindle. Now I can spin a heavier yarn with a bit more ease, and now I can also work on more than one fiber at a time.

Happy sigh. I feel like one spoiled lady.

Dandy Lions yarn

I finished up the spinning for my shawl, so I get to move on to something new!

This is colorway "Dandy Lions" in superwash merino from the Spunky Eclectic Fiber of the Month Club. It is spinning up at around 10 wpi though I am having a hard time spinning consistently. Maybe because the merino is so lofty, the slightest change in grist seems to have a big bearing on the diameter of the yarn. My plan is to use this yarn to make something for a new nephew who will be arriving soon. The superwash will be perfect for gifting. This is my first time spinning with superwash, and my first time spinning with merino. The superwash gives almost a papery feeling while I draft, but the finished yarn is pleasant and oh so soft.

Slippers for Mercy

I knitted socks for my daughter Peace recently, and promised socks to the other girls as well. Mercy picked out some yarn that wasn't especially sock-friendly, so I made slippers instead. Mercy says they are soft, and she is a stickler for comfort! She wants to wear them to church, but I don't think so...... These turned out so cute, Verity wants some as well!

I used the Pocketbook Slipper pattern, modified for a smaller foot and sport-weight yarn.
Yarn is KnitPicks Shine Sport in Crocus, consumed less than one ball. I used size 2 circs, made them 2 at a time. A quick knit and an easy pattern.

We planted the marigolds yesterday. I am hoping to collect enough to use for dye. Marigolds are supposed to produce quite a nice yellow dye.

welcome to you!

I have so enjoyed reading others' knitting and spinning blogs that I have decided to start one myself. I am savoring a crafting renaissance in my life....

My posts will be short and sweet because

a) I have six young children, including 4 month old twins
b) It takes me a long time to write a short bit
c) I don't want to take much time away from my fiber!

So down to business!

Above you see the BFL two ply that I have been spinning from my koolaid dyed rovings on my Bosworth mini spindle. I am not sure what the wpi is, but it is a fingering weight yarn. I will show the shawl that I am knitting with it in a later post.

In the center is a baby hat that I knitted from some of my earliest yarn, photographed from the top so that you can see the concentric striping. It is one ply of Lisa Souza's Deep Sea BFL roving, and one of a Yarn Botanica roving in blues. I knitted it watchcap style, adapted from EZ's Knitting Without Tears.


Look for more posts soon!!!