Holy cow!

I just realized how late it is and that I missed doing a blog post last week!  Though I really didn't have much to show - and actually still don't.

I did spin, ply, and wash the green batt.  I used the Bulky Pinkie for this, and became a more attentive and better ply-er because of it. :-)

That is a quarter instead of the usual dime to show how thick the yarn is.  It's still not a very soft yarn, even after washing; but it is very squishy and it's probably soft enough for a hat.  It's 4-ply and the singles were averaging about 14-16 wpi. :-D  Wow is it hard to spin a thicker single but I loved how it turned out!! 

I also washed some more of the churro fleece today.  Since I want to spin from the locks this is a lot more labor-intensive than a usual fleece-washing.

I have maybe 4 ounces washed so far.

Last week I bought a beautiful pair of batts from Corgi Hill Farm on Etsy - now I just need to figure out how to preserve those beautiful colors while I'm spinning it.  (I forgot to take a picture today - I'll try to remember for the next post). 

Along with the alpaca I also bought from her, she sent along a sample of milk fiber.  Interesting-looking stuff, very fine and silky.  From what little I've been able to find on it so far, it's best spun from the fold so I'll be learning another new technique. :-D  I want to do the milk fiber on the Pinkie since it's a slower wheel (and it's the only wheel that doesn't have a project on it right now).  I think I'll finish up the bobbin of colonial on the Production and then try the new batt on that wheel - that will give me time to get a better idea of best to spin it.

I haven't done a lick of weaving, for some reason I'm really into spinning right now.  Maybe next time?

Not bad...

I was inspired by a comment a spinning friend made, and while straightening out my upstairs fiber stash decided to try my newest drop spindle (yes, I buy them - I don't use them but I buy them) with the small number of Perendale rolags I came across:

I didn't 'drop' it once (it did come unwound from the shaft once); and I've learned at least this Perendale is not particularly pleasant to spin - it feels surprisingly coarse. The spun yarn has a bit of a sheen to it though, so we'll see how it is once plyed and washed. I still prefer my Spindolyns, but it's nice to see that I can now (finally!) spin on a drop spindle. :-D


I have one cotton plant this year - it's kind of fun even though I don't especially like spinning cotton. I took pictures of two of the flowers and one boll:



It looks like I'll have a little bit of cotton this year!