Sky Ride Handspun

I fought with my spinning wheel and spun a full small bobbin of this short stapled art batt a couple of years ago. I picked this wool up, another of the same variety in teal and black, and the wool I used for the Desert Dusk skein at a wool shop in Northampton that has since closed.

I still have some of the undyed wool from Desert Dusk, which I am excited to play with, as well as another variety that I had less success dyeing. I boiled half of that second batt whole, and while it took the color, it also kind of felted. I'll have to do a throwback on that at some point. Desert Dusk, I pulled into tufts when I dyed it.

Anyway, this batt came dyed. I sat down and tried to spin what was left of it, but the stale is really short, and I am not patient. It was a bit easier than I remembered it, probably because I have a bigger flyer, now.

We'll see if I try to spin it, or felt it into a scarf.

I got 48 yards out of 51 grams. I'm guessing that it's a thick and thin Aran weight. It's a little kinked up. Will probably keep and knit it myself.

Lily Pond Handspun

So many knots.

Had never spun from a batt before. Kept pulling it too thin, then it would snap, and hence the knots.

But it is not the worst yarn I gave spun, and the colors are oh-so-pretty.

This handspun, however, reinforced the need to let the twist set.

This project was a nightmare and a learning experience. I'm going to keep it for myself...!

Rag Hill Farm Art Batt, romney wool, silk, and merino, 1.6 oz, single ply, 50 yards.

Mulled Winter Wine

The Winter Wine cowl is a simple and satisfying knit. It's a little too simple for my taste, but it was nice having a project that flowed. I've been knitting a lot on bigger needles lately, so I had forgotten how much easier on my hands it is to use smaller needles.

The repeat is easy to remember, so once you have that down, you can just fly!

I named mine Mulled because of the color of the yarn. It's a deep mottled purple, with hints of yellow and blue. It's my favorite type of multi-colored yarn, no pooling.

I picked the yarn up on clearance at a local yarn shop in Long Island while on vacation. It had a cut in the skein so was marked down. Since I started this project last December (2016), I've lost the label, which is a shame, because I'd like to buy more of it. If anyone knows of a similar yarn, I would love to hear about it!

Like I said, the project is a little simple for me, so I lost interest about a quarter of the way through last year. I also lost interest in knitting in general for a while that year. I was working an unfulfilling job and commuting long distances, so just didn't have a lot of time for it.

But now I'm back at it!

This cowl was knit with my favorite Size US 6 needles, yarn unknown, worsted. Blocked dimensions, 32 inches by 6 inches.

Almost Morning "Collared" and Buttoned Cowl

I went to a sheep festival a few years ago. Which one, I couldn't tell you.

But I bought some stuff. Go figure, right?

The yarn for this, I bought on clearance, and it was a dream to work with.

Soft, bright purple, bulky.

The pattern... the pattern I had troubles with. I've since misplaced the copy of the pattern I purchased, so I can't tell you who it was from, except that it was called Collared and Buttoned Cowl.

The cowl body was very similar to other cowls I have made in the past. I bought it because I was intrigued by the collar.

I, however, must have done the collar wrong, because it did not lay flat, and pulled at the body of the cowl. So I ripped it out!

And then it languished, and languished, and languished some more!

But now I've revisited it. I've weaved in the ends, added buttons, and blocked it. Viola! Enjoy!

Size US 9 needles, Mad Color Fiber Arts Big Shot in colorway Almost Morning, 90 yards. Finished measurements, 27 inches by 6 inches.

Block Party!

Sun, coffee... And T-Pins. My kind of day off!

Here's a preview of some projects coming up.

They've been soakng in the bucket for a couple of months (I just kept filling it up), so here's hoping I didn't ruin them!

Desert Dusk Handspun

Seeing so much fiber and so many fiber animals riled up my creativity.

A few days after this year's adventure to Gore Place, I pulled out my spinning wheel for the first time in a year and a half.

I have a used Ashford Traditional. My mum had been wanting to get me one for a while, and lucked into a purchase, so now I have my baby.

She's a little dusty right now, and needed a good oiling, but I did some making, and it was like riding a bicycle; it came right back.

Right before I stopped spinning, I had picked up a jumbo flyer, so that I could ply larger skeins. I'd been fearful of messing up installing it, so had been putting it off.

It was so easy! I just had to switch out the insert for the orifice. Didn't even have to change my drive band.

I had kettle dyed some wool about two year's ago, and while I wasn't thrilled with how it came out, I wasn't super disappointed, either. It was a little dusky, not as bright as I wanted it, and the wool hadn't felted while I boiled it. Hence the name, Desert Dusk. It's a dusty pink, with some gray blues and greens.

I had about 5 oz. I divided it into two even batches, and spun each batch onto a bobbin. Then I put one of my new jumbo bobbins on, and plied it. For how rusty I should be, I'm quite happy.

Next up, Rag Hill Farm Art Batts!

4.8 oz, 45 yards, wool blend, colorway Desert Dusk, bulky.

TBT

Take a look at my Wool Weekender Bag, circa 2014, The Weekender by Hilary Hunt.

I made it right after my dad died. I'd been promising him slipper socks for years, but never got to them. The weekend of the memorial service, I knit like crazy with the reserved yarn and ended up with this. It was cathartic.

The ends from the ball and color changes in the mesh had to be knotted. I wove them in, but when the bag stretched, they came undone.

The handle spacing isn't perfect, but they work. I got them on clearance and used metal glue to set them.

Size US 11 needles, Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick Solids, 1 ball colorway Gray Marble (106 yards), 1 ball colorway Burgundy (106 yards), and 1 pair of purse handles, pattern The Weekender by Hilary Hunt.

31st Gore Place Sheapshearing Festival

As I try to do annually, I attended the Gore Place Sheepshearing Festival this weekend.

Look at my smiling face decked out as a sun-conscious hippie.

I had good times with good people and got some good loot.

Rag Hill Farm is a repeat vendor at Gore Place. I picked up some art bats last year to spin, and did the same this year, though the one I wanted got snatched out from under my nose!

This year's purchase is an earthy, mellow green with shots of purple. The photo doesn't do it justice.

I got some cool magnets.

Just for good measure, here are the bats I got last year, still unspun.

Most of the yarn I bought this year was from the same vendor, Grey Sky Yarn. They were using varied, experimental dying methods, and were getting great results. I'll have to find some worthwhile projects for these beauties.

The last skein I bought, from Mother Nature's Finest Fiber USA Alpaca, was an impulse buy. I liked it, and knew it wouldn't be there later... So I bought it...

 My last purchase was practical, a 50/50 wool/alpaca dryer ball from Nodrog Farms. My purchase bought the alpacas a bail of hay.

Good pull this year. Going to more events this year hopefully.

Oh, and I was inspired. Pulled out my spinning wheel for the first time in a year and a half! Stay tuned!