A Post about Wool

Dear Mom,
It may be 105 degrees out, but wool is still my preferred knitting and spinning fiber. Heck, we are so closed up inside lately that it might as well be winter. You know its been HOT when 85 makes you think about putting on a sweater.

I finished a couple of small shawls. I love them both.
The first is Color Affection, designed by Veera Välimäki. I used Fiber Optics' Siren Song yarns (Vitamin C, Ellie and Willow Batik) I purchased at the Greencastle Fiber Event this spring. The yarn was wonderful, the pattern was simple but not mind numbing- the perfect project for the past month's roller coaster of activity and emotions. 

I was overcome with addiction to this shawl and in a weak moment purchased enough Madelinetosh yarn to make two more. I've learned that grief makes me susceptible to comfort purchases. 
I also finished another Sunderland, this one in Jojoland Melody, I think. I can't find the ball band. I either tossed it, or Olive ate it. This one may be the prettiest one yet, and reminded me of how much I enjoyed the knitting of it.

So now I want to make more of these, too. 
Instead, I cast on for this and a pair of socks.
I am enjoying Tour de Fleece. Having the "excuse" to spin a little everyday could become a nice habit. My spinning stash rivals my knitting stash, which is alarming when considering the fact that I've been spinning only a few years in comparison to my decades of knitting. 
I just made myself sound really old. 
Anyway, daily spinning is using up some of that stash. Which adds to the knitting stash.
It's an endless cycle. 
My focus needs to include an effort at using that handspun for weaving. my mind begins to wander.....
I couldn't wait, and spun the sparkly batts I blended a couple of weekends ago. The sparkly part didn't sparkle as much as I thought it would, but they do show themselves in the sunlight. I wonder if they will show up more when knitted? I, not being a sparkly sort of person, have surprised myself with this whole sparkle business. When did I ever think I would want MORE SPARKLE? And yet, here I am, wondering where I can buy more of that sparkle to drum card into batts for spinning! Who am I again? Can I use the word SPARKLE one more time?

This yarn is so much prettier in real life.
And speaking of real life, I need to get back to it.
Love,
Kim

Dye Day

Dear Mom,
Last weekend MelissaWhoSpinsButDoesNotKnit and I spent Saturday in my garage dyeing wool and blending fibers.

We used thrift store crockpots and Greener Shades Dyes. We ended up with some beautiful results and colorful hands.

Melissa had some vintage wool to over-dye. In our excitement to get started, we neglected to take any before pictures.

While the crockpots were simmering, I blended some of my plain vanilla wool with two shades of the wool from my copper dye experiments. I added a little translucent nylon fiber for a subtle sparkle.

The photo does not do justice to the blended batts.  I cannot wait  to see how these spin up! (And let me digress here to say that the Tour de Fleece begins tomorrow. Much like the knitting Olympics, Tour de Fleece challenges spinners to complete a self imposed spinning goal on each day of the Tour de France. I haven't participated in a Tour de Fleece, but may, in a small way, join in the fun by taking a daily spin, even if it is for 10 minutes- nothing heroic or pressured- just pleasurable spinning. I learned my lesson from my first knitting Olympics. Making an adult sized, cable pullover in 16 days was challenging and exciting, but I don't think it is a coincidence that I had carpal tunnel surgery about a year later. Not making THAT mistake again! )

After blending all of the copper fibers, I took some of that same plain vanilla, blended it with some wool I had dyed a fuchsia color, mohair locks and a bit of nylon that were all in that same fuchsia family.
Melissa and I did a good thing, teaming up to purchase Fig, our drum carder. And our strengths in color sense, color understanding and dye math compliment each other. It was a good, productive, fun, educational day for both of us!

Love,
Kim

Batty

Dear Mom,

On Sunday afternoon, MelissaWhoSpinsButDoesNotKnit and I gave Fig a test drive. We watched a few you tube tutorials on drum carding and then started playing.
With Fig clamped to the kitchen island and all of us surrounded by a variety of fibers and roving, we selected colors to blend.
We carded a combination of bright blue, walnut brown and natural to create the batt you see to the left of the picture,

and then a combination of grey-brown, chocolate brown and grape.

There is a definite learning curve, but we're getting things figured out. Cleaning the carder for the next batch of fibers seems to be the hardest part. We had a better time with the second batch and discovered that the longer fibers were easier to pull and clean off the carder.
I've gone on to card two more batts of plain vanilla. The grape combination has been spun but not plied, and with such a little batt there won't be much yarn created to do much with, but when it is plied and skeined I'll show you what I/we made.

Next step?
Dyeing.

Watch out.

And if you see me with stained hands and clothing, you'll know why.

Love,
Kim

Introducing...

Dear Mom,
Meet the newest member of my fiber family!
She is an Ashford Drum Carder and her name is Figment Imogene.

MelissaWhoSpinsbutDoesNotKnit and I hatched a plan awhile ago to be on the lookout for a used drum carder that we could purchase together and share. We had our hopes on acquiring one, only to have the negotiations fall through. We refused to be discouraged, but did wonder if really possessing a drum carder was all a figment of our very fertile imaginations. Through the wonder that is ravelry I found hermajestymargo, who really must be one of Santa's helpers, because here we are with a freshly delivered drum carder. And she is real. As Bonnie Jo would say, "She is a BEAUT!"

So "Figment" because she is no longer a figment of our imaginations, and "Imogene" as a spin on imagining because we imagine so many possibilities with her.

Fig will have an extended family of rug hooking and spinning fiber at Melissa's house, and the knitting, spinning and weaving goings on here.

Daphne Joy and Donna Reed already like her.
Love,
Kim