Today I'm going to show you a few of the yarns I've spun that haven't gotten any air time. First, here's a picture of some sample skeins I spun just to see what they would look like. The vivid blue one is Andy combings dyed with blue Kool-Aid. I think I might use this as a cuff for some black felted mittens. I was surprised to see how even Andy's worst fur could be made into pretty decent yarn. I'm always afraid to experiment with it because it's so costly -- but these were just combings that came off when I brushed him so I felt like I could play.
Sitting beside the angora skein is a small experimental skein of Rambouillet plied with blue merino/silk top. The Rambouillet came from the first raw wool I ever bought. It was from a gray ewe that was a little older and, I gathered, something of a pet. I had no idea what to do with raw wool and everything I tried resulted in a neppy and unsightly mess. One of my friends looked at it and said to just use it as fertilizer. But I perservered. I tried combing some of it with my english wool combs and, lo and behold, there was lovely solf wool in that mess. So I took the rest of the fleece to a wool mill where the owner assured me he could deal with it. It came back to me last spring beautiful soft pale gray and ready to spin. Granted, it still has some neps, but that's in the nature of Rambouillet, and it's not nearly as bad as when I tried to prepare it. Lesson learned: it's very difficult to properly prepare fine soft wools like Rambouillet and Merino at home. In getting all the dirt out, you very likely will tear the wool up a little, creating all those little unwanted neps. For my experimental skein, I thought I'd perk the gray wool up by plying it with a strand of the blue merino/silk blend wool Jeff gave me for Christmas. I think they look good together.
Next is a skein of alpaca with bits of rayon or cotton "confetti" scattered through it. This was sort of fun to spin. All the little bits add interest. I bought the roving at the Wool Gathering. last year.
The next skein is a cautionary tale. It's a beautiful cream color two-ply wool with a melon color running through it. Unfortunately, I didn't put a tag on it and now I have absolutely no idea what it's made of. It has a little sheen, so if I had to guess I'd say it was mostly cream Romney with melon colored merino and silk mixed in. Oh, well, it's still pretty.
On the knitting front, I gratefully accepted the ounce of lace weight qivuit yarn that Mom discovered in her stash. I ripped out the 3 for 4 inches of garter stitch she had done (Shhh, don't tell her I ripped out her work!) and started on a project I've wanted to do for a long time: a lacey Moebius scarf. At the moment it looks like a total mess but I've been told to expect that with lace knitting. I'm just afraid it will STILL look like a total mess when it's washed and blocked. I done a complete pattern repeat and
I still don't see a pattern. Well, at least it's a learning experience ... I keep telling myself ...
I was able to use my $25 gift certificate from the Weaver's Guild though. I bought a skein of beautiful soft cream colored sportweight alpaca
and a laceweight skein of unusual silk/yak yarn. I really love those exotics! I'm planning to make a shawl for the Friendship Spinner's Christmas exchange with the alpaca, but I have no idea what to do with the silk and yak -- I guess that's the purpose of a stash.
Yesterday, my stash grew even more! I went to lunch with Lynne and -- bless her heart -- she brought me a gorgeous skein of mohair from York, England. She carried it home with her in her suitcase for me. It's a dark navy and difficult to see in the picture, but it's beautiful.
