Novelty Yarns!

I took a class with Maria of Foraging Fibers yesterday, hosted by my spinning guild.

I like the looks of novelty yarns but never seem to spin them, so a class was the perfect thing!

Maria kept us busy and gave us our money's worth. She was there to help just the perfect amount, and had some wonderful knowledge and sneaky techniques that appealed to my lazy side. I'm sorry though that I didn't get a picture of her lovely smile!

Here are some of the yarns she's spun. My favorite is the robin's egg yarn.

Doesn't that egg nestle in its nest so sweetly?

And here are the yarns that I spun. I am most inspired.

A Time for Everything

The longer I live here, the more I appreciate the seasonality of living in the rural North. The summertime is for enjoying the outdoors, for putting up food for the winter, for weeding, for harvesting, for soaking up the sunshine.

The winter is a time for quiet and reflection and a slower pace.( even taking the hectic holidays into account and the social activities that seem to multiply since there is less work for the farmers.)

And so, for me, the crazy busy summer is over, and I no longer need to take time out for fiber. It fits into the rhythm of a late autumn day.

My spindles are out.

My knitting needles are busy.

And the crochet hook?
Why, I have a finished object! for the chiropractor's new baby girl.

Handspun Merino Seacell , fiber from Spunky Eclectic

I started with a pattern, but this little sweater took off in other directions.

And I have a cousin's baby to knit for, a little cabled sweater that is close to done now. Perhaps there will be another post soon?

Tour de Fleece Wrap Up 2011

Well, this is a bit late!

But I did want to share the kid mohair yarn with you, the last yarn I finished for the Tour.

Julie Spins "Deep Marigold" colorway, 630 yards laceweight.

I had a wonderful Tour this year! Love the Tour de Fleece! It is so much fun seeing everyone's yarn, and seeing fellow spinners meet amazing goals. I wish I had more time for the community part of it, but what little I was able to find was so much fun. Plus, I got back in my spinning groove, which was my main goal. Completing some yarns gave me a new burst of creative fervor. Visions of yarns dance in my head.

And as vacation time approaches, I have some lovely new yarns to knit.... the angora scarf is growing and the kid mohair is turning into a Vermont shawl, and the darling new Beekeeper's Quilt pattern is just singing to all those bits of handspun and sentimental yarns that had been waiting in the stash, silent about what they wanted to be.....

Tour de Fleece Nearing the End!

On Monday I went to the annual Garden Party, where spinners and weaver gathered. It was an enjoyable, low-key event, and I met some fascinating people... one a woman who had helped preserve the textiles brought up from the Titanic.

I brought the kid mohair along... that has been the main project this week.
When my hands are tired from spinning mohair, I've been taking breaks to knit on the angora/wool scarf that is being knit for a dear sis-in-law.

This is one of the three skeins that I ended up with from the angora... a total of 375 yards to enjoy.

The question is...can I finish the kid mohair and the SCF and sample yarn for my hubby's sweater too, before the Tour ends??? Don't forget to breathe in your anticipation!

Tour de Fleece Friday Update!

Sometime a week goes by so swiftly, it a surprise to come to the end. And so with this week. But there has been spinning.

Here is the current main spinning-in-progress. It is satin angora that I lay across wool top as I spin. I am hoping to finish this yarn tomorrow.

The current spindle lineup includes color!

Here is the finished flax. 250 yards of two ply. And I am happy with it. This would be a lace yarn in wool, but I'd like to go for more of a thread next time I spin linen.

And my new resolution: spin plant fibers for every Tour! They are so satisfying and suited to the season.

Tour de Fleece: Spindle Walks!

Beautiful mornings for spindle walks with my girls.... Mercy on Tuesday.....

.... and Verity today.....

Tour de Fleece Flax Progress!

Linen is a plant fiber, processed from the stem of the flax plant. It has been used for thousands of years; it is an extremely durable fiber with many endearing qualities.

However, it is very different from spinning animal fibers or cotton. This fiber is extra fine water retted flax from Louet. I love the color and the sheen, but the fibers are short in spots, so it is a challenging spin when coupled with the slipperiness of the flax. But well worth it! I am able to get an even enough single to suit me, and I am finding the spinning a leisurely paced pleasure.