The Latest Spin... gourmet

Gourmet is one word that well describes this most very beautiful fiber that was given to me by John Kerr. It is one of the most beautiful fiber preparations I have ever seen and looks good enough to eat! Caramel with berries and cream! Thank you so very much, John. I can't wait to sink into it.

John tells me it is from Wellington Fibres in Ontario and is one of their "Mystery Rovings" meaning it may contain any combination of alpaca, wool and mohair. The Mohair from their own goats, mixed breed wool from Wolf Island in eastern Ontario, and alpaca from local growers.

I just want to set this bowl of fiber on the table and feast my eyes upon it for a while! It is that beautiful. I'm giddy with glee!

The ideas are already churning for a very thin single 2-plyed for weaving or lace knitting.

I will post updates on the journey that awaits this luscious fiber.

Thanks again, John.

Tour de Fleece... afterglow

One of the neat discoveries I made during Tour de Fleece--it was presented in one of the discussions in Team Men Spin at Ravelry--is something called fauxlags. Tis a thing of beauty... sigh...: Fauxlags

And speaking of Charkhas (Indian spinning wheel for spinning cotton), this is a beautiful video of a Charkha in action: Bosworth charkha spinning video

Soap... a report

Well, three weeks have passed. According to the recipe, the soap I made July 4th weekend should be OK to go at this point.... the moment arrives... suspense...

It lathers beautifully and it's hard enough so it won't disappear after a few uses. The scent is mild. I would say I didn't use enough essential oil but on the other hand the cinnamon doesn't overwhelm the subtle scent of oatmeal, so it's not bad--at all. I have read reports of people finding that palm oil (quite a bit of it in the recipe I used) dries their skin. I find it leaves my skin feeling well cleaned but I have noticed I don't like to use it before I spin as I like my hands to be somewhat greasy or oily to spin with--it helps.

This is very exciting. Oh, yes. I'm quite motivated to have another go at it. Surfing the web brought me in touch with another recipe last night that looks pretty good. It makes twice as much (2 lbs.) as the last recipe which seems like a reasonable increment to go with. It has much more olive oil in it which means it will be softer on the skin (I think). This new recipe contains castor oil, cocoa butter, coconut oil, palm oil and olive oil! The thought of it makes my skin tingle with anticipation.

It might happen this weekend... :)

Post Tour de Fleece... Pumpkins

I started spinning "Pumpkins" on Monday and plyed my first hank last night. Didn't snap a photo till today so I could get it in daylight. It makes a nice compliment to "Parfait" and I think they're both going to end up in the same article of clothing...

Tour de Fleece... Days 22 and 23... The End

I can't believe we're on our last day. I'm almost sad about it. It's been most enjoyable to spin as one of a team (Team Men Spin) amongst hundreds (literally!) of teams from all over the world. Tour de Fleece is a brilliant idea... consider the amount of discussion it has created... the thousands of posts at Ravelry where team members describe and display their spinning. It has been overwhelmingly inspirational.

I have even enjoyed the team names and my favorite (although I have not read the entire list--it is long) is definitely "Team Russian Underpants". Haha!! Their team is made up of antique spinning wheel enthusiasts amongst which there are many owners of CPWs (Canadian Production Wheels).

I look forward to next year's Tour de Fleece.

Yesterday and today I spun another hank of my Parfait wool/silk blend. While spinning I dyed the remainder of it setting aside a few lengths for a different colorway which I'm calling "Pumpkins". This picture shows the remaining batts hanging up to dry, Parfait on the left, Pumpkins on the right. It also shows today's finished hank of Parfait on the table.

I rewarded myself with farmer's market (humanely raised) hotdog and vegetarian beans cooked on my little barbeque visible in the background...

And here is my Tour de Fleece 2011 output in one shot. I am well pleased. I did not finish the Merino (on the spindle) but that's OK. I still have another hank or 2 of grey Shetland and there's the remaining Parfait and Pumkins to spin up. It's going to be loads of fun finishing them up and I already have plans for what's next.

Tour de Fleece... day 21: The Challenge

By far the most challenging undertaking I've attempted in spinning is cotton on a supported spindle called a "tahkli". Since today is the day we are to attempt something challenging for Tour de Fleece I chose to dig out the tahkli and the cotton sliver I bought last summer. I remember feeling that I'd reached the point of understanding this little spindle and had managed to spin enough 2-ply cotton to start knitting with it.

I did not get much time at it today... just finished at midnight after about 45 minutes. It took me half that time to get reacquainted with the spindle and technique--to rediscover all it's challenges. It can be enormously frustrating at first. It took me a while to figure out letting the twist grab the fibers from the sliver at it's own pace. All I need do is keep the tahkli moving at a reasonable--but not too fast yet--pace, while moving my right hand which is holding the sliver, away--but not too fast--but not too slow. It's all got to be within a certain range of movement and speed. Then extra twist can be brought in. Once experienced, the technique can build on itself through repetition. The other tip I learned is to spin the tahkli near the tip of the shaft, otherwise I loose complete control of the spindle. After about 20 minutes this evening I had reached the point of getting reasonably reliable draws again.

I like this video on YouTube which shows the process -- with all it's difficulties: Spinning Cotton on a Takli Support Spindle

It's not a fast process. Someday I'd love to try a Charka--a small portable spinning wheel for cotton promoted by Ghandi.

Here's my tahkli with the little bowl in which the point sits while it's spins, a sliver, a small ball of 2-ply which was done last summer and some knitting with the 2-ply. Now that the spindle has been taken out for a spin I think I'll keep plugging away at it... who knows, maybe I'll become proficient?

A little closer view (I can't get very good macro photos with my camera):

Tour de Fleece... days 19 and 20

Yesterday and today saw the completion of "Sunset in the mountains". As expected I got another hank almost exactly the same size as the previous one--44 yds.--so I have a total of 89 yds. The rovings that went into this hank had a little less bright salmon in them and I like the resulting yarn a tad better. I also got some very nice color combos in the plying phase. The two hanks are not so different that they don't go together though.

I don't know what I'll do with them yet. The first thought that comes to mind is using them as highlight bands in hats... only time will tell...

I also got a half hour in on the spindle yesterday. No spindle today but tomorrow will see some yards added there.

The 2nd and final "Sunset in the mountains":

A NOTE about the color differences between today's photo and that from the other day: The first hank was photographed in yellow light (incandescent) and today's photo was taken in bluish light (fluorescent). Today's picture is a little darker than the true colors of this yarn, and the first picture is a little brighter, albeit the first hank does have more salmon in it. The best photo of the colors is the one of the rovings--it was taken out of doors.