Wellington Fibres...

Can I just say I am in love with this fiber (or fibre for my Canadian friends)? Today's spinning was 170 yards, 2-ply of the turquoise colorway. It is so pretty, and such a joy to spin. I've been splitting the roving in 2 lengthwise before spinning, and am noticing that sometimes one side can consist of finer fibers than the other. I've discovered that if this side is too easy to draft as to be fussy, that turning the roving around and using a backward draft fixes all.

I always test my roving to see which way the fibers draft most easily--fiber has a direction due to the laying of the scales. Since I like a short forward draft, that's what I test for. But as I mention, if the fiber is too loose and drafts with no resistance, reversing the roving and using a backward draft makes it go with much better control, for me.

Silk hankies all spun up... and more wool from Ontario....

The silk hankies were quite fun to spin. Very different from drafting wool for sure. More like stretching to size then adding a bit of twist. The results are very pretty. Such a sheen and lovely softness. I got 86 yards of 2-ply yarn (if I include the 16 yard sample, I have just over 100 yards) out of the hankies.

Here are the hankies after they were all drafted out and curled up. One word of caution: the silk fibers cling like crazy--the smallest nick on your hands, fingers or nails will catch the fibers. Also, if you roll up your rovings as I did, be careful uncurling them as they snag into a gnarled mess pretty easily, especially if you're spinning out-of-doors in a breeze. The breeze will carry the silk aloft and it may well tangle up in the process. Ask me how I know!

This is the finished skein, followed by a closer look:

When I went out the door this morning I was greeted with a package. Someone had let the UPS man in. (I sleep late-ish and use ear plugs in the morning hours, so I don't always hear the door bell if it's too early.) It was my order from Wellington Fibres very speedily shipped and delivered. Just put the order in earlier this week! Oooooooooooohhh..... b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l-!-!-! There are several hours of spinning here:

Can you believe all that fibre came in one small little box 11x13.5x7.5 inches? Yes, indeed.

Here are snaps of the fibers up close. Aren't they g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s-!-?

I've already started a bobbin of the turquoise.

Yesterday I found my gift cannas toppled over. Blown over by the high winds the night before. In addition to taking a lie down, it had also opened some blossoms. Beautiful, bright red ones:

Thank you, crafty1!! :)

The spinning continues....

I started another bobbin of Wellington Fibres' Mystery Roving today, post TdF. I have enough top to last me till my new order arrives. Latest shipment will include colored Mystery Rovings. I can't wait to see them! Soon... Will reveal the project this yarn is going into in the near future. Very exciting!

This evening, after sitting at the loom for half an hour, then treadling the Mazurka for an hour, I decided to pull out the silk hankies I had purchased a while back. I've been meaning to get back to them and found myself in just the mood this evening. Not making anything fancy out of them, just a pure silk artsy yarn. This stuff is fun. There is a great write-up with visuals about how silk hankies are made here: Wormspit.

Wormspit is Michael Cook's adventures raising silk worms in Texas, and his wonderful blog is here. I met him a few years back when he was in town for the Museum of Natural History's Silk Road exhibit. His silk work was featured in the show. We met for dinner along with a few other fiber enthusiasts. A fond memory of a delightful time.

As I was "drafting" apart the hankies I had the idea that I'd like to try core spinning with these. That's going to be another project... it's on my list!

I spun these hankies on a hand made spindle I purchased from Cheap Twills last December. At that time she was still living in the area I grew up in, in NH. She has since moved back to Texas, but that day she was selling hand spun yarn, spindles, gourd art, and weaving at a roadside holiday stand. This little twirlyhoo spins like crazy! I can't believe the speed it gets. The fastest spindle I have! Pics below.

While winding down the evening, I drafted six hankies and spun them up into a 16 yard, 2-ply sample. It is super duper soft and luxurious. I like it!

Y-U-M-!-!-!

Tour de Fleece... day 23+

Well, I went over by a day! Just wanted to get the last skein done before I took the "group picture". The end has come and one again I can't believe that it's over. Time flies when you're having fun, no? I pushed myself a bit this year. I tested out some ratios on my wheel that I've never used before, setting it on the highest speed for the last skein. I have to say it was a bit too much for the type of yarn I was making and struggled a bit off and on. It was great when I drafted really fast, but the top didn't allow such a pace to continue unabated.

I think there was something psychological going on with the color of this last skein. It didn't place me in the best of moods! Whereas the purple--same fiber from the same company, just different color--kept my spirits riding high the whole while! Go figure. But the confrontation of a challenge can be good and I'm glad I have another skein of this blue to spin up. I'll see if it's a simple case of my biorhythms (remember those!) being off or whether this color just has it in for me! It's funny though, because once it's all plied up and skeined, I love the color...

And now for the group photo of my TdF spinning for 2012. It's been a BLAST! Wish I could share all the fabulous spinning photos over on Ravelry... it's unbelievable!!

Tour de Fleece... days 21 and 22

This is Merino/Silk blend from Ashland Bay Fibers. They have the prettiest colorways. 192 yards, 2-ply. Very quick to spin up, it's so well combed. Merino is lovely, isn't it?

Just peeking out on the right of the basket is some blue of the same fiber. It's left over from some spinning I did last year and then some. I think I'll start that now while watching the rest of "Victor Victoria" (fun!) and finish it up tomorrow.

Tour de Fleece, days 19-20

I can hardly believe I got this all spun up in two days midweek! It's so. I like this one quite a lot. Nice autumn colors. I purchased the wool last fall at the NY Sheep & Wool Festival. Thinking of this year's festival being only 3 months off is a very pleasant thought. Brings a smile to my face.

Tour de Fleece, day 18...

Started spinning some wool from Spinner's Hill after midnight last night. Got in an hour this evening. It will be 2-ply like most of what I'm spinning this TdF... Well, I've got weaving on my mind... I'm hoping to spin the rest of what I have in this colorway tomorrow and maybe even ply it before end of day...