Thursday, November 13, 2008

Fiber play

After what has been a very stressful couple of weeks, I was finally able to spend a bit of time in my spinning room. Pictured above is the latest blend to come off of my drum carder. It is 40% Shetland, 40% Golden Retriever ( my dog Rudy), 20% honey colored soy silk, and a touch of icicle top (for a bit of sparkle....which doen't really show up well in the photo). I carded up two batts and had one spun the very same day. While it spun up nicely, I'm not sure I will go with the same blend. I'm thinking a bit more Shetland and a bit less "Rudy" may be better. It was more fluff than anything and made for some difficult carding.....even with my brush attachment. Other than that it was a wonderful blend and spun like a dream! The finished yarn is now outside drying. I hope to get a picture of that real soon. Not sure what I will use it for yet. It is a very soft feeling yarn.


Here are pictures of the baby surprise jacket that I finally finished. I used a wool blend yarn that I had spun up at the fair this year. Let's see if I can remember the particulars. I think I ended up using about 290 yards of a dk weight yarn. Gauge was 6 stitches to the inch. Can't remember the needle size right now. I did do a swatch before I started. It was rather fun to knit up....once I figured out what I was doing. Not sure what I will do with the completed sweater since there aren't any babies in the family. Maybe I will make a teddy bear for it. I do know that I'm looking forward to making a larger version for myself.....once I figure out exactly what I want to use fiber-wise. I know it will definitely be Shetland. Just haven't decided if it will be a Shetland/Soy Silk blend (which I simply adore)......or if I will use all natural colors.......or all dyed fiber.......or if I will blend it with a bit of llama, too. Still in the playing phase of it. I dyed some more Shetland up yesterday and will blend that with a bit of soy silk (once it is dry). I'm also going to try dyeing a bit of the soy silk and then blend it with the Shetland. Curious to see the end results of that. Plus I have already carded up two batts of a Shetland lamb/llama/soy silk blend. I want to spin those up to see what the finished yarn will look like. Feels incredible though. :)



6 comments:

  1. Since you spun the yarn yourself, how about entering it in the fairs next year? And you never know; babies sometimes pop up in unexpected places. I know we surprised all our families when we announced we had one on the way after 17 years of marriage!

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  2. Oh, Tina - that stuff is GORGEOUS! I wannit! LOL My rescue Britts' undercoat is just not very long and I really want a regular supply of doggie hair to blend with my other fibers!

    LOVE that Baby Surprise Jacket - I swear, I AM going to knit one up. Some day.
    Connie

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  3. Michelle, I can pretty much guarantee that there won't be any babies in this family any time soon.....not from me anyway. I'm really leaning towards making a teddy bear that it will fit.

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  4. Thank you, Connie, for the amazing compliment on my batt. :) My supply of doggie hair is practically non-stop. My Golden Retriever mix sheds constantly!! I am just now starting to incorporate it into my spinning.

    The Baby Surprise Jacket was tons of fun to knit up. I'm going to knit myself an Adult Surprise Jacket some day.

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  5. Beautiful batt-I like to roll them up and keep them in sight for the pleasure of their texture! Nice work.

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  6. Thanks! Inspriration struck again lasgt night and I have another blend in progress.

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