Shetland Raw Fleece Source
MRSF - Note to myself for where to buy my next fleece!
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September 28, 2006
September 27, 2006
Knitting Movie - Animation
Crazy knitting women - Kind of odd, kind of cute, very cool looking yarn :)
Speaking of pretty purple yarn... my monthly Spunky Eclectic roving arrived. It's a funky plum-ish colorway.
It's what? Romney! Looks like I'm all about the romney this month. It's easy to draft and spin, I don't like it as much as shetland and it isn't as soft once it has the twist in it as the shetland is. We'll see how it blooms when I ply it.
In other news, I swapped out the white Oh My! yarn for some baby green. "Only Ewe & Cotton Too" was really sweet and swaped it out without any issues.
September 26, 2006
Oh My!
I have a baby cardigan which I need to knit very soon (baby is due in 5 weeks) and so on Sunday I picked up the yarn and pattern, cast on and got nearly the whole entire back done. So I brought it to work yesterday to work on the last few rows before the bind off when I noticed the beautiful soft white yarn looked like it had been peed on.
It's the yarn, something is wrong with the yarn!! I can't figure out what is wrong, it's been in the bag it came in for weeks now and the other balls look fine, but its hard to tell. I can see it in any light, but it's the worst looking at work. I can see it outside; I can see it in my house. It's really making me mad!!
But enough about that dilemma, I have feet issues! So last week when Claudia came over to learn to spin, at the exact moment she came in Willow went all spastic and decided to step on my right foot. She stepped on it so hard or with such force that it immediately turned purple under the skin as though I was bleeding underneath. 1 week later I still have the bruise. So then last night when i got home from work and was letting the dogs out, Toby was being all hyper and knocked into the fire pit, and the metal cover fell on my foot, and HARD. So it hurts when i walk and there is now a bruise on my top left foot.
It's more obvious in person, and yes it hurts but it's rather funny the dogs managed to injure opposite feet around the same time, in nearly the same spot.
Now let’s talk about something happy. I got a call yesterday and a message on my cell phone from Wauka Valley Farms reminding me that I needed to air my fleece out because it was so humid on Saturday they found some of the sheep that they sheared earlier in the day had to much moisture in them. So last night I very quickly ran and opened the bag and spread it out on a towel on my floor. I will admit it smelled a bit more then before and some of it was moist. I hope that 2 days in the bag didn’t ruin it but I had not tied it up tight or anything. It was very sweet of them to call and let me know I needed to do that! It didn’t look ruined or smell to horrific, and I’m sure once I give it a good hot bath it will be okay, I hope!
Also I ordered this book, it was listed in the Woolery's latest catalogue.
"An actor turned shepherd, ambles through the story of her part-time renunciation of Cape Cod summering and New York City loft living to settle in remote, idyllic Nova Scotia in the 1970s—a change that brought "richness and beauty" to her life. Prompted by nostalgia for her cozy childhood home, she makes a fateful series of impulse purchases in Nova Scotia: a 200-year-old house and then an entire island."
Sheep and Nova Scotia, how could I resist?
September 24, 2006
Shetland vs Shetland
UK Shetland on the left, American Shetland on the right.
There is a big difference in the roving, however it is important to keep in mind that the UK stuff is actually combed top so it's going to be denser and more even. The American stuff has a lot of VM, a kind of gray/blue tone to it and it has lots of I think you call them, tiny noils and nubs. It was much harder to get an even yarn out of this even if what i spun looked even at first, when plied it looked less even.
I think Scotland was careful not to send the best Shetland Sheep over to the US many years ago when they first got imported. Heh.
It came off the bobbin all balanced and straight like this;
I adore it, and want to melt into it, it's so lofty and soft. Both of these samples are my testers and a little uneven because I spin a little too fast just to get through it, but even with a little bit of thick/think it evens out wonderfuly when plied.
Last night we went to see "Fearless" which btw way was extremly good and we stopped at B&N and I picked up a copy of "Knitting" a magazine from England. It has a lot of main stream yarns and often patterns from current books.
I had to get it when they had this pattern I have wanted but never bought the book for. "Driftwood" in "Natural Silk Aran" (RYC).
I think it's time to get back to some knitting!
September 23, 2006
Shearing Day!
On this new years day (for some) and the fall equinox (for others) I went out with my husband and traveled into the humid and cloudy Georgia Mountains to the Wauka Valley Farm Shearing day.
It was truly a family affair with grandmother, daughter and granddaughters (and a sheep named after great grandma that I got the fleece from!). Everyone was so sweet and full of great info and happy to share. I'm going to go back hopefully in March for their next shearing day and actually help them "skirt" the fleece. Which turned out to be NOT what i thought it was. I thought it had to do with if you put a cover on them to keep them clean but it actually has to do with sorting and picking the fleece before you send it out to be processed.
I got my fleece from PJ the Romney. This particular sheep originally came from a farm that breed their sheep for eating and fleecing. So some of the males that came from very good fleece bearing mommies, get eaten. Two somehow got left and Wauka got them before they could be eaten so now they are the two Romney's that live at Wauka.
The sheep don't like to be caught, but once you do get them they don't freak or fight about the shearing itself. You can even pet their head while it's being done and they don't seem to care. I think they are just waiting for it to end so they can relax.
I could have gotten some Correidale cross etc but I'm just not to into Correidale right now so I wanted to try the Romney. Wish me luck, it's a lot to wash. Speaking of the fleece, it cost way more then I was expecting. How much do you guys pay per pound for your raw fleece?
PJ gave me 3.5 pounds of a beautiful, creamy Romney Wool.
I didn't wind up seeing anyone I knew, we got there early, 9:30am. The husbeast came with me and seamed to really enjoy himself. It was really fun to share the experience with him and when we went to the pet store later to get the dogs food he told the sales women (who we know and talk to often) all about the fleece and how many sweaters I could make from it and how much it cost and what the shearing was like. Heh.
September 22, 2006
Hallowig
Some of you may remember from past years that Knitty's Hallowig has been a popular item to knit this time of year. I plan on starting one in october (stash-busting of course).
(Click to go to the KAL website)
I love that little button! Hrmm what color should my wig be? I always wanted a blue one but I don't think I look very attractive in a blue wig. Maybe green.
There is also a Princess Leia wig.
September 21, 2006
Fall Sweaters - VS Style
September 19, 2006
Beer Belly
Lookit! A mini beer to go with my mini wheel!
If you look close you can see my swift, the ball winder is on the other side. It's a very good location!
On my way to the kitchen to get said beer, I came across a Scorpian. Don't worry no bug pictures from me. I have a slab home and georgia has scorpians so there you go.
I am sooo happy with this shetland, which is funny because I didn't think I would be (this wasn't as nice as some other stuff). It just goes to show how much shetland is *my* wool. I'm still not through the first ball. I really am hoping I can get a sweater out of it. I think probably another Split Neck (the blue sweater from the last post). I am waiting on a Hello Yarn Acid Dye Kit and once it's all spun up, I'll take the worst spun stuff (probably the first ball) and dye some samples and pick a color. Probably a stormy sea green if it plays well with the wool.
September 18, 2006
Deal or No Deal
That's a pretty funny show to watch. I always liked Howie. Howver, back to knitting. Sleeves are slow. I've been workiong on this for months.
Oh speaking of sleeves... I don't have the right needles for SKB to work on the sleeves so I will be waiting for a week for them to arrive in the mail. Here it is however, the body finished.
I had to share something with you, I ordered it a long while ago, and it's simply stunning.
Happy Hippie 100% Soy Silk
Color: Woodstock
www.conjoinedcreations.com from The Woolery
I would like to try the other funky stretch merino they offer but they don't have it in that same color way. It's sooo beutiful but I don't like spinning it. Nothing wrong with it just to much of a pain, probably just like silk. I'm a 100% wool kind of girl :)
September 16, 2006
butterflies and bobbins
Here is the view out the little window above our kitchen sink. There was a stunning orange butterfly I couldn't get a good picture of, because of a large bumble bee.
It's an extremely large butterfly bush. On the right day, at the right time there can be dozens and dozens of butterflies. This year I have not seen a lot. I am hoping we see a bunch in October like we did last year. We have 3 large trees like this in our back yard.
>> View Video of me spinning this roving
I spent most of today working from home (we are trying to launch a very big website, internal), and then after I spun away my weekend-work blues. The roving has some VM (Vegetable Matter) in it, and it's not nearly as nice as combed top, but it has a wonderful wild natural appeal to it. I can't wait to ply it, but I think I should spin up all 18 oz of it before I ply to try to keep it consistent, or at-least until I run out of bobbins. Happy Happy Joy Joy (Joy)
Update 11pm
>> View Video of me creating a 2 ply from 1 ball
Please excuse my awful posture etc.
September 15, 2006
Ashford Joy
Whats this? Do you know what it is? It's my new baby. It's my "Joy Ashford". I was freaking out for the last 7 days waiting on this to get to my doorstep. It arrived yesterday in a fancy box.
It's a Double Treadle with Scotch Tension, but best of all it's a "true" double treadle and I don't get dead spots where the wheel gets stuck. (Note the doggy nose!)
Here is a close up of the tension nob and the drive band. It has springs on both sides, and it runs over the bobbin.
Here she is in her natural habitat. I always felt my lendrum was a boy, but this one is most certainly a girl. The Joy is named after the actual "Joy Ashford" who is the mother of one of the Ashford guys.
Mini Review:
So far so good, I like how the flyer has to come off to put a bobbin on, sure it's a bit of a pain but it's on so nice and securely it just feels very stable and well put together. I like how short it is, I'm not a tall women and this is the perfect height to sit on my couch and spin. It's light as a feather and easy to carry with the nifty handle.
It came with great directions on how to set it up. I have yet to try plying on it but I love the onboard Lazy Kate, it even says you can ply off of it. I always thought it was just for bobbin storage.
Here is the very first thing I spun on it. Luxe Merino Top Superwash from Knitch. I attempted to spin a worsted weight single. I am very pleased with it!
I plan on selling my Lendrum locally. No need for 2 portable wheels. I feel like this one is a lot more portable, however including the bag it was a lot more money. Oh and for those who want to know, I got it from the Copper Moose with 2 extra bobbins, maintance kit and shipping, all for no charge.
September 14, 2006
How do you spin? - Long Post
When I was at Plying the Arts in Athens I took a spinning class which I have mentioned before. it was a wonderful spinning class and now I am obsessed with Shetland Roving because of it.
During the class we had 15 minutes to spin up samples of different fibers. We would get a small zip lock baggy filled with fluffy stuff, or rough stuff and we would spin. While we spun, Heather the teacher would tell us about this sheep. I never got to listen to much of what she said, except moments when I stopped spinning. I felt extremely overwhelmed for the first half of class up until the lunch break. Heather would show us samples of knit things from a particular breed, hand out the baggies and tell stories and history for the next 10 minutes. I started on the wheel but it went awful. My spinning was awful, I was aggravated and annoyed. I also refused to stop spinning a sample until I had enough to make a mini skein from, which sometimes meant about 50% of the fiber from the bag.
The women next to me, I remember very well because she had a Ashford Joy. Something was wrong with her wheel from the get-go. She was a semi-newbie spinner. I saw one of her bobbins filled up and it looked very good. Yet here in class she couldn’t get the wheel to take up the fiber. Turned out after heather sat with her for a bit, that the break band and tension stuff wasn't even on, wasn't even attached. She was definitely a new spinner! So Heather fixed the wheel for her, and the women set off trying to catch up. Within 1 hour she had 10 empty bags at her feet, fiber everywhere and she had pretty much lost all the tags. There was no way to know which fiber went in which bag. She pretty much gave up and just spun as much as she could like a crazy women.
Before she left I found one of her bags in my pile and gave it to her. She said "oh I'm not even going to try getting these organized". I felt bad for her, I'm sure if she would have asked, Heather would have sat and re-organized them with her. It's to bad because getting know the fiber was the whole point of the class, the spinning was simply secondary.
Lunch time came and I left that classroom as fast as I could. I had a nice long lunch and then came back to the classroom. I sat down and spun the next sample. Something happened. It was magic. Suddenly I could spin pretty much anything I was given. I could spin evenly and I was happy. I even got a compliment (on the Shetland) from a more accomplished spinner in the class. They all thought I had been spinning a year and I had to tie my lips shut to keep from saying "8 months!".
I don't know if the Shetland was first after lunch, or if that came later. I wonder sometimes if that wonderful roving that loved my hands simply made the day go better. Mostly however I think I am the type of spinner who has to warm up, and I just don't know how to solve this issue. I hate spinning crappy fiber, but it would be best to spin crappy fiber to warm up. Should I just always buy way more of any roving then I need to accommodate for warm up sessions? Also, I usually don't spin for more then 3 hours at a time, so how can I ever warm up? I had spun for at least 2 hours that day in class, prior to lunch.
Oh I forgot to mention, the wheel went so bad during class in the morning, that I switched to the spindle. I almost always seem to be happy spinning on a spindle. Sometimes I feel like the wheel takes up to much, to fast even at its lowest tension. Sometimes I feel like the spindle ruined me for the wheel. I am trying to discover myself and get a better idea of what works for me. Maybe I should only spin on weekends when I can warm up in the morning and then spin all night into oblivion.
One thing I know is, I simply adored that Shetland. It was combed top, and from babies, no wonder it was so nice. I did wind up ordered 1lb of it and I can't wait for it to arrive. I suppose I could do some scientific hypotheses with myself, and do test and see if it's the fiber or the warming up, or the mood. Sometimes I spin so perfectly it shocks me, and other times I can't get an even yarn to save my life. I'll figure it out one day. Any advice or personal stories are more then welcome!
This was the night before last;
That same night I actually finished the bottom, but wound up ripping it. Last night I re-knit it back and I saved the cast off for tonight because it was 11pm.
11pm in my house looks like this;
September 13, 2006
what the heck??
What language is that? Check out the URL - I wish I could read it. I can't see why they would choose that name.
September 12, 2006
Lion Brand Fall 2006
Yesterday in the mail I got the new Lion Brand Fall 2006 magazine.
They re-vamped their whole entire look. There are hip and modern designs, layed out in pretty rooms that could be in any modern furniture catalog. I am extremly impressed.
Most of all however, I like this. I have no idea why but I like it a lot. I think I would just leave the split neck open without the fancy bits. Am I freak for liking this? Sometimes I like things that fall into the "Tacky" catagory. I love the mock-ribbing at the bottom.
Does the blanket below look familiar?
September 11, 2006
Puppy Party
I know I won't have any time tommorow to post about this so I'll just do it before I go to bed.
I had some visitors on sunday, Claudia and Hermione! Keep watch on Claudia's blog this week for some other photos from the puppy party.
Claudia and I drank tea, ate cheese and amused ourselves with the dogs. Claudia was brave and sat on the floor with all 3 of them, which made me question her sanity just a little bit! However everyone behaved, and she got well slobbered on.
Oh yeah and the cat, she likes the new couch. A LOT. The husbeast and I clipped her claws good last night. So far a few pin pricks pre-clipping and nothing after. Little brat likes to sit right in my chair as soon as I get up. It's like she KNOWS I don't want her on it.
Willow think it's all too small for her taste.
But back to knitting, here is where I sat all day sunday, with I think about 6 total hours of knitting;
What you're really here for.;
Here is a better shot of the arm hole, which is freakin perfect! I'm so pleased with that whole area.
I'm kind of worried about running out of "Disco Lights" which is the sequined yarn. I used up very close to 1 ball on this center panel. That means I have 1 ball left for 2 arm panels (same height as this but less width) and then the neck edging and buttom edges of the sleeves etc.
September 10, 2006
Nearly Over
So it's lunch time sunday and sadly the weekend is nearly over. It's not over yet though and I plan on enjoying what's left. However I do have to work some from home but that's okay.
I am very happy with the new furniture, It's way smaller then our old couch, which is better in our living room. So now the room feels much larger.
That's my new knitting spot. It's aimed directly at the tv, and I can also see out the front door which is nice during the day (it has a large stained glass center). Please ignore the floor it needs to be cleaned REALLY badly, but the only way we know how to do it is to get on our hands and knees with 409. Your not supposed to use water or soak it. If anyone has pergo type flooring and knows an easier way to make it pretty please let me know!
Soooo... I realized I had to frog it when on friday night I messed up another row. I handed it to claudia at saturday SnB and she frogged it all perfectly for me, right up to the first knit row after the purls. That women knows how to knit! I hope to one day be as confident and competent a knitter as she is.
Click here to see the photo very big and see how pretty this yarn really is. I'm going to try to knit as much as I can inbetween working today, and I hope to get nearly finished with the lace panel so that I can finish up the body this week and start in on the sleeves. The lace has really slown me down. I would have been done with the body by now normally. It's just too hard with how dark the yarn is and I'm no lace expert. Somehow I randomly wind up with the wrong amount of stitches EVEN WITH the markers.
September 08, 2006
It's friday people!
I have felt a lot better ever since I went out with Claudia, so I decided I want to go to SnB again this weekend even though it means lots less time with the husband. However I think it's good for me mentally to get out of the house and have some time with friends!
Another thing I do when down in the dumps is spend money. This is not a good habit but considering I have no other habits and I know I'm not allowed yarn or roving at ALL at this point, I directed my attention at something else.
Who can guess what it is? If you KNOW don't guess!!! I left 1 clue for you hacker types.
Simple Knitted Bodice
The KAL is going strong and I am amazed we nearly have 90 people signed up now. I remember the first whole year I blogged, hardly getting any comments, hardly any FO's and when I did try to do a KAL it never went very far. It's neat to see how I have grown in this little blogging world of ours and I have figured out which things are best to take a shot at and have a high chance of being successful. However I also realize I have taken a lot on with the KAL, the Forums and the blog. One reason I am not blogging every day as usual, but I think that just means richer content so it might be a good thing. I have learned to say no to swaps because I know I stink at it, and I have learned that I CAN take a stab at making up patterns or altering ones to fit me better.
But I digress, back to the SKB... so the lace panel.. ugh dark yarn, with sequins.. not so much! I royally screwed up the lace just on the back, and I just really didn't want to frog, so I kept going after I got back to the right number of stitches and I'm not sure how noticeable it will be in the end. I might wind up frogging the whole lace panel but I'm going to get to the end of it to see how I feel. Its dark yarn that you can hardly make out the lace as it is. Sorry for such a crappy photo. Hopefully I will finish the lace panel this weekend either way and can post perty pics then!
September 05, 2006
How was your weekend?
I had a wonderful 2 long days undisturbed by anything with my husband. It was really nice! It made me much less grumpy. I also saw Claudia on Monday and I got a LOT of knitting done the whole weekend over. It was a great weekend. I also slept in on Monday, and it was the first time I remember sleeping in, for a while now.
Monday once I did wake up, Claudia and I went to Main Street Yarn in Athens GA. Wow can I tell you how nice this yarn store is? I met lots of nice people, and of course (classic pixie style) I don't remember anyones name. One nice women, possibly the owner or one of, cooked me 2 hot dogs fresh off the grill and even asked me how I wanted them. We all sat in a big back room, ate, drank and knit. Then near the end of the day, I spotted an Ashford Joy in the back of the room near the looms. I was asked if I wanted to give it a whirl. How could I say no??
It was great, just perfect. Plus they gave me merino to spin with so that didn't hurt things any. I would consider buying it, trying it and then eventually picking one to keep and one to sell.
But I digress, there was knitting.
I'm very excited to get to knit with the Disco Lights. I love sparkly things!
So back to Main Street Yarns. They had Silky Wool, and I saw posters for RYC which I love. They had spinning, very good roving, weaving stuff, Addi Natura's and a big bowl full of black sheep tape measures (uh huh, yup I got one). Most of all though, they where incredibly sweet and attentive. I will be back!
September 01, 2006
Sleepy Heads
Last night at midnight I was pretending to do this;
But I was actually doing this;
I nearly cheated on my own KAL, but I held tight and watched the MTV VMA's until midnight. I freakin adore this Tilli "Pure & Simple" silk. It really is so much better then the Debbie Bliss Pure Silk, atleast in my opinion.