Freshisle Fibers

New Fibre for Manitoulin Island

There's a new fibre available on Manitoulin Island.  A new local fibre.

 

Noble Alpaca Farmin Sheguindah is offering the most delicious Alpaca yarn and rovings.  So cuddly soft and special.

We haven't visited their farm, but perhaps we will soon before the summer is over.  My husband and I have visited other alpaca farms while on holiday so it would be especially interesting to actually visit one locally and see their set up.

They are not set up with an online cart yet, but you can e-mail them for orders if interested.

So Much Fleece

We had four summery days in a row this week.  Amazing.  And now the weather forecasters predict days and days of rain.  This has been our summer weather.  What a bummer!  Last night, rain again, but so far today is fairly decent.

I need more nice days because I like to do my carding outside in the summer.  I wash the fleece, pick it with my wonderful Patrick Green Picker, but it still contains little bits of hay and stuff.  It makes a mess inside so it's much better to be able to card outside on a warm sunny day.

I've been a carding machine.

I weigh and label each batt and then put it in a ziploc for future use.  One day, someday, eventually, I would like to include Suffolk wool carded batts on the shop site for sale.  For now they are for me and for local friends and customers.

I felt like I was making real progress on the carding.  I finished almost an entire fleece in the white natural.  And then I thought about the trunk of dyed fleece that I one day, someday, eventually will card.  Don't look too closely.  Some of this is labeled 2002!!

  

One day.  Someday.  Eventually.

Cotswold

I knew there was another present coming for me from my family's adventures in Arizona but I never imagined this.  An entire Cotswold fleece.  Eight pounds.  I wonder if my family has any real concept of how much wool this actually is!  Their hearts are in the right place.

And so I began.  I've never washed a Cotswold fleece nor spun Cotswold wool.  Let the learning begin.

It's a soft, curly wool.  Full of lustre and with a really long staple.  My fleece seems to vary from about 8 to 10 inches.  Very different from the shorter Suffolk I'm used to.  It also has a lower lanolin content and although I could feel the lanolin on my hands, much less than the Suffolk.

I ran for my In Sheep's Clothing - A Handspinner's Guide to Wool book to see what else I could learn.  It's a longwool breed.  Surprise, surprise!  But I also learned that Cotswold are classified as a rare breed.  Talk about an extra special present.

I was concerned about felting it during washing it, but the book says that they will have little tendency to felt.  I suspected that combing the locks might be the best fibre preparation however, my resource said that all methods would be suitable.

I decided to start with carding some of the unwashed locks and do a few ounces 'in the grease'.

I also have a picker, but I wasn't doing a lot so I just shook and pulled some of the locks apart by hand to do this little bit of carding.

Next time I'll be combing the Cotswold because I felt like I was destroying those lovely curly locks!!

I made about five passes through the carder until I was pleased with the finished batt.

I'm always amazed at how gorgeous the carded batts look from the icky fleece.

I did a total of four batts weighing about 40-50 grams each.  Enough for a small start to see how it will spin up.

I try to do most of my carding during the warmer summer months when I can do it outside.  It makes a mess!!

There's little bits of hay, little bits of wool, little bits of fluff everywhere.  But, because I was all set up and I had hand-picked a little bit of Suffolk fleece dyed earlier this fall, I went ahead and carded the Suffolk as well.

What a contrast!

Doing the longer staple length wool and following immediately with the shorter really showed up the differences.

The shorter length is truly meant for carding.  The Suffolk is much loftier and the Cotswold much more lustrous.  I was tempted to card the two together but I'll save that for another time.

This was just the smallest start to dealing with that seemingly endless 8 pounds.  I have a list.

1.  Wash some fleece - whole and individual locks.

2.  Comb the locks.

3.  Dye the locks.

I've seen pictures of the dyed locks in my surfing around the Internet to learn about Cotswold fleece and they are stunning.  What I've read suggests that it takes dye very well.

4.  Spin the carded batts - in the grease.

5.  Spin some that has been washed to see which I prefer.

Once again I'm sure my plans far exceed the time available but I always tend to think I'm going to accomplish so much when I'm off from school.  I can't help myself.

Only one more school day until March break and then I can spin and knit and dye.  In between sleeping and naps, of course!

Thank you Dad, Rob, and Yves for the lovely gift!  It's keeping me busy.

 

 

Arizona Gifts

My father has returned from a short vacation in the warmer climate of Arizona.  It's freezing cold here and I think it must be a shock to the system.  He had a wonderful time, enjoyed the weather, and all the attractions they visited.

I had carefully included a special map of all the Scottsdale, Arizona yarn shops in his packing.  Just in case.  Just in case he wondered what I might like for a souvenir.

He delivered the best.

Some lovely Karaoke fibre for spinning - 50% Soysilk, 50% Wool - from the SouthWest Trading Company.

It's luscious.  It's shiny.  It's soft.  It's totally yummy.

A most wonderful gift.

I have the best Dad.

I'm trying to catch up on blogs and Ravelry and Yahoo groups and other forums, but there's just not enough hours in my day.  Report cards are starting to need attention before the March break.  So much to do, so little time.

The spinning of this lovely stuff will definitely have to wait.   

Spinning Gold

I am on holidays.  March Break.  I am a sloth.  And I am loving it.  Sleep is good.

In between naps I'm watching the Tim Hortons Brier - the Canadian Men's Curling Championship.  And checking out the Curling Zone forums for the real behind the scenes stories.  Go Team Ontario!!

Most of what I'm knitting right now involves fierce concentration and careful pattern reading, so I've turned to spinning while watching the curling.  Spinning that precious qiviut I purchased last summer.

I couldn't find much 'out there' on spinning qiviut - this article does offer a bit of information.  But I didn't want to blend it with anything else, I wanted pure gold!

I've gently and carefully carded a bit and have started spinning.  It is very slippery and has short fibres, but it's coming along.  Slow and gentle seem to be the keys.  The plan is to spin it all into singles and then Navajo ply that into a three ply yarn.  I don't have plans for the knitting with it ... yet.

Tomorrow is the final game for the 2007 Brier - more quality spinning time.

New Fibres

My latest order from Louet arrived this past week and I'm in love - again.

This is the new Northern Lights Painted Wool Top from Louet.  Glorious.

Northern Lights is a space-dyed 100% wool top and comes in 1/2lb (225gr) bags.  I love the range of colours available - 26 in all.

Tropical Skittles is pictured in the bottom right and is sold and gone to a good home, but the other four are available for $23 a bag (U.S. funds).  Top left is Cotton Candy, then Rainbow, Camouflage, and the bottom left is Toffee.  I still can't decide which is my favourite.

Louet updated their site at the first of January and there are still lots of pages not available.  I love Louet yarns, fibers, and spinning wheels.  They have absolutely the best.  But ... sometimes it's strange dealing with them.  Mostly the service is wonderful and prompt, and other times it takes forever.  Like updating their site.  I tend to think of them as a large company and am often surprised at how they 'do business'.  In any case, because their products are superior, I'll keep buying and loving them.   

Making Yarn

Did I say I wanted snow?

Was I really crazy enough to say that?

It hasn't stopped snowing for the last three days.

It's definitely a winter wonderland, ready for Christmas, picture postcard kind of snow and just gorgeous to look at if you can stop thinking about all the shoveling that needs done.

I've just had new studded winter tires put on my car last week and what a difference they're making in driving through all this glorious white stuff.  I feel positively like a snow plow!!

The Corriedale roving I dyed last spring has been slowly spun into singles - one bobbin a plain white and one bobbin from the dyed roving.

I've since dyed other rovings and am definitely hooked.  It's super easy and the spinning of them is so fun.  It's quite interesting how the colours can be manipulated during the spinning process.

When I first started dyeing, it was my own carded batts that I dyed.  Rovings are a little different so this was a new learning experience.

After marinating a while, the singles have finally become real yarn.

I have a whooping 85 grams of real yarn.

The Corriedale has a lovely sheen to it and is super soft.

I'm not sure what this will become - maybe mittens? - but for now it's enjoyment enough just to have yarn. 

Later

It seems like I want to start every blog entry with an explanation of how busy my life is.  It is.  Busy.  No time.  Just like most everyone else I know.  Which totally explains why I decided to curl again this year.  I don't know what I was thinking.

Yes, I curl.  Not hockey, this is that other Canadian ice game.  The one where we throw really heavy rocks down the ice and sweep them with brooms.  I love it.  I've curled since I was thirteen years old!!! with the odd year off here and there.  Last year was off because school was an extra-heavy year and there were also some controversial issues happening at our local club.  But, I'm back this year, loving it, and still feeling some pain and stiffness in muscles that haven't been used in awhile.

I've also been sorting through some of my spinning stash and trying to get it a bit more organized.

This is a spinner's sampler that I purchased on eBay many, many years ago.  I can't even remember how much I paid for it.

It contains about four ounces of fleece from nineteen different breeds of sheep.  All of the fibre is raw, unwashed, still in the grease!!

I do remember that the plan was to wash and spin each sample separately, then knit a square with each to make into an afghan.

I've re-loved each sample, remembered all my plans, and then I carefully packed them all away again.  Later.  Someday.  Although they tell me there's no time in retirement either, I keep hoping and planning.

Aaahhhh.

Aaahh.  The sigh of relief that I made it.  Another week done and a glorious Friday night and weekend ahead.

I got another black fly bite on my eye this morning - the lid this time - and I've looked like a prize fighter all day.  The swelling and redness is better now than this morning, but I'm still not sure I'm ready to brave the outdoors and more flower planting tonight.

The horrid little creatures seem to love getting up under my glasses and biting around my eyes!  It's impossible!!

I'm making progress on the Corriedale spinning.  The roving I dyed is done and I'm almost finished spinning an equal amount of the white to ply it with.

Now that I see them together, the dyed roving reminds me so much of those dark purple lilacs!

I'm loving the Corriedale - an absolutely wonderful fibre to spin and there will definitely be more of this.

I have to decide which skein to send to my Dye-O-Rama buddy this weekend and get it posted off.  I also have more dyeing and orders to fill.  Hopefully it will stay nice and I'll be able to dry the skeins more quickly outside.  Outside - black flies - maybe not!

Four Months Later

It’s been a very long week - same number of days, hours, and minutes , but somehow this week is feeling like forever. School again, and dentist, and life.

It seems when I’m more stressed than normal, I return to spinning. The soothing rhythm of the wheel and treadling does wonders for my spirit. It’s very calming. A cliche, I know, but true nevertheless.

I finished spinning the second bobbin with the grey Icelandic top, let it sit for a bit, and now I’ve plied them, and am patiently waiting for the finished yarn to dry.

I think it’s 9 wraps to the inch which is about what I was hoping for. I wanted a worsted kind of weight yarn to knit into mittens. I also have more than I thought I did. There’s at least 250 yards which will be lots for mittens.

I still have lots of the Icelandic top left, but it's time to try something else.  I have some Corriedale that is ivory/white that I've never spun, so it's next up on the spinning wheel.

I've only ever dyed my own Suffolk wool carded batts, not rovings, so I set some of the Corriedale aside for this weekend with plans for dyeing it.  Spring violets and green grass colours, I think.  That should perk me up!