I WON!

New Fleece

I took the Midwest Moonlight scarf to it's new owner yesterday and she let me pick out some black alpaca fleece. She had about 3 black fleeces. I chose the smallest one(less than a pound) because it was the softest. Yesterday as soon as I got home, I washed it up and laid it outside to dry in the sun. It's really nice and soft and has a shine to it.

Keeping Busy

This is my version of the 'Spontaneous Scarf'. I'm using four colours of handspun alpaca and a 3.25 Addi needle. It's a really fun scarf and I'll make more with different yarns. A nifty gift idea and a way to use up some of those handspuns one has laying around. I made a decision to spin only wool for now. I have several fleeces that I need to work on. A nice black Corriedale with some grey hairs running thru it. It's got quite a bit of vm in it but the combs help with that. I have this older Patons pattern and there's no seams. My kind of cardigan! I will knit it for myself out of the black Corriedale. My yarn shelves have plenty of alpaca and hardly any handspun wool, so that will be my priority for a while.

If at First You Don't Succeed.............

I wasn't all that satisfied with my fawn yarn and I knew I could do better. This latest skein is 24 WPI compared to the other which is 21 WPI. It was inch worm spinning all the way but I took my time and made it as perfect as I could get it. The other entry is a lovely 3ply rose grey. It's so beautiful I wish I had enough to knit a sweater for myself but alas I don't. I would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Charlene. Wish I could be there to have a drink with you but I will instead have one here. Here's looking at you kid :D

I'm in SpinOff Magazine (well kind of)

More Goodness!

A lovely soft skein of fawn cria yarn...almost 400 yards in 128 grams. Close to a laceweight I'd say. Some good news......this yarn and another I am working on plus 2 of my knitted items will be entered in both the Pacafiesta and Alpacacanada Yarn and Garment Competition. I would be happy if I placed in the top 3 but I know the competition will be stiff!

Keeping Busy

I am coming along nicely on my Moonlight scarf. It's a navajo-plyed alpaca yarn and quite heavy so will be extremely warm! Above is pic of a new yarn. Lately I have been spinning yarn a bit finer than normal so I'll have some laceweightish for when my new Nancy Bush book arrives. Actually it will be a Christmas gift from my husband so I will wait until then to open it. The new yarn is one ply golden brown alpaca and one ply bamboo. So soft and fluffy feeling. Right now I am working on combing some beautiful, soft and crimpy rose grey that I have a small amount of. It is a really brownish rose grey with little flecks of grey running thru it. Kind of like a frosted look. I never get tired of alpaca...so many amazing colours!

The Long Weekend

Boy it has been hot and humid here for the long weekend. It feels more like beginning of August than September. My Goldenrod natural dyeing turned out pretty good except alot of the colour washed out because I didn't put in enough mordant(alum). Next time I will add cream of tartar too. I dyed white handspun, white sheepwool and white pygora. You really have to be careful with all that simmering because it can easily felt your fibre. In the future I will try natural dyeing again but with other materials like madder and indigo. I have been prepping a beautiful crimpy light fawn fleece that I only had 200 grams of. I'm trying to use up my odds and ends...of which I have many and they are beautiful. I feel rich in alpaca fleece. I just had to include a pic of my Spicegirl (9 yrs old). She is not friendly to people that come to our house..she keeps her distance. To my husband and I, she is a big suck and always on our lap (although she can be cranky). This funny little girl sleeps cuddled up to me at night...with her tiny head against my cheek. I cannot close a door to her or she will meow until I let her in. She is my shadow.