Bad Blogger

It has almost been 6 months since I have posted on Blogger, well here is an update -
This is my PIF gift from Gilraen's Knits (Margaret). She used Posh Yarn 'Emily' in pomegranite colour which is a combination of Lambswool/Angora and Cashmere to make this pair of 'Monkeys'. Also included in the parcel was a stitch marker with 2 animals on and Fair Trade Chocolate. Thankyou Margaret, the socks fit perfectly! A really special PIF parcel.



This is the 'Landscape Scarf' from FibreTrends knit in Shantung Sunbeam yarn (65%silk 35%wool?). The pattern was given to me in the last Knitter's Tea Swap, I have just started on the huge shawl! (Yes, there is part of a cat in the picture.)



This scarf is going to be a present, it is a Fishtail Lace pattern, using SWT Karaoke yarn, 3 balls of it.


This was the PIF gift for Ron Miskin from Buffalo Gold who very generously gave me the Buffalo fibre. I posted the other two gifts a while ago but have not heard from either recipient, please let me know if the gifts have reached you.



Some spinning - the first picture is the fiber from the first KTS I joined in with, the second pic is the rest of the fleece a friend gave me.


This next piccie is the fibre from the most recent KTS as one ply and the other ply is a wool/silk/cashmere combination. The last single ball is entirely of wool/silk/cashmere combination.


I downloaded these pictures onto Photobucket and perhaps forgot to save the changes, hence the reason why they are not all upright.

My new Kromski Symphony

This is my new wheel from Wingham Wool Work that I got for a bargain price as it had been water damaged from the floods a couple of months ago, it had minimal damage to the varnish and I thought it was coming unfinished but to my surprise it had a clear finish which was just what I would have given it so my Dad helped me assemble it and I just need to adjust the flyer as the bobbins stick on one side before I can start spinning. It also came with the lazy kate.

Silk Yarn

The singles spun up. The caps weighed the same but it looked like I had spun a lot more onto the top bobbin but when I plied them the yardage matched with about 20cm left over on the top bobbin!

27g of silk caps spun into 242yds of a gorgeous sea coloured varigated 2 ply hand dyed, hand spun yarn, at a guess because I forgot to check before winding into a ball I think it would be fingering weight to heavy laceweight. I always seem to have a lot of dye come out when setting the twist even though after the initial dyeing I washed the caps until the water ran clear, maybe I am abit heavy handed with dyes as I like strong colours!
Any suggestions for a small project in which I could use this silk?

Silk Cap Preparation

After almost all of my first week of annual leave spent mostly indoors as there was sooooo much rain we finally had a really sunny, hot day of gorgeous weather so I sat in the garden separating and thinning 1 of my silk caps the bottom one from the previous post, so silky and shimmery in the sunlight although these photos are taken indoors.

Ready for spinning!

This is a full bobbin of the roving Iris gave me as part of the Knitters Tea Swap 3, I hope they do another, it was fun. This must be about 2-3oz of roving from the 8oz she gave me.

Spinning wool

A fleece from a friend of which I have spun a 2ply yarn weighing 147g, and of about 15 wpi. This picture is a bit darker than the acutal fibre colour. Loads of fleece left to spin!

This is a Dorset fleece from the Suffolk Show 2006, spun into a 2ply yarn, weighing 202g and approx 14/15wpi. This was a massive fleece so I also have alot left over to still spin. This is the washed fibre, compare with the post from yesterday to see the difference in colour!

Spinning with wool & Bamboo

This is the roving from Iris, just started to spin this, fine laceweight, lovely variated colours and very soft.
This is 100g Bamboo Fibre from Wingham Wool Work (UK), I have now to spin another bobbin as I will make a 2 ply yarn.

This is a fleece I got from the Suffolk Show last year, initially I spun straight from the fleece as it was so clean and easy to handle but had the rest sent to a fibre mill to be processed because the fleece with the lanolin was not very nice after a few months. This is before washing, it was very yellow and extremely greasy! More to follow.

Spinning

This is a 2ply, approx 260yds, 12wpi yarn. 1 ply is of soy silk and the other of random dyed Suffolk wool. The yarn is quite soft as the soy silk balances the roughness of the Suffolk wool.

Spun freebie by Kat

Spun by Kat, the parcel got all the way to America! She has spun 2 lots, one being navajo-plied and the other thick and thin singles. Thank you to everyone who has participated with the spinning as I am really impressed with all the spun results, this is a really positive result, keep sending in comments and photos please. Kat both are very pretty, I particularly like the navajo-plied one!

Spun freebie by Jo

Pictures from Jo, the fibre sample looks gorgeous and I really like the combination of the eyelash yarn with the spun wool. Stats - 7 wpi, and 23.6yds of fibre goodness. I am now researching possible websites to sell my wares from, does anyone have any tips/ideas on the best type of site to sell fibre from e.g. Etsy shop, Mr site website etc?

Spun freebie by Anne

Here are pictures of the sample sent to Anne, 25wpi, 200yds, approx 40-50gms, single ply - gorgeous! I love how the marine blue from Omega Dyes looks much more subtle than on the dyed roving.

Spun freebie by Artis-Anne

Here are the first piccies from Artis-Anne of some of my free fibres spun up! I am now getting really informative feedback on whether to start an internet fibre shop! This sample weighed approx 40gm and using several different techniques -(slubby yarn, light Aran weight, Lace weight) Anne got about 52 yds of 2 ply yarn. I love the Malachite colour, and the barber pole effect with the white, I agree with Anne, the colour is very intense and I think it looks great!

Freshly dyed fibres for sampling!

These are some samples random dyed with Omega Dyes - All in One Acid Dyes - Pyrian Purple, Marine Blue, Moss and Malachite. I much prefer these dyes to my Ashford ones, the colours are more appealing to me and I don't have to use vinegar. Keep commenting on the relevant March 'Freebies' post below if you would like to try spinning some of my fibre freebies.

Spinning Freebie Pictures

These are some pictures of the free spinning samples I will be sending people - please respond to the post below this one to register your interest for spinning some of my wool!