Woolgathering

You know that you have married the right man when:

…you are struggling to bend your wheel to your will and feeling totally useless and he walks by, casually uttering just the right words “You really are very clever, you know.“

…and goes on to say, in response to your muttered “there isn’t one thing in this world that I do well” …

…”Nonsense. You’re really clever. You can turn a sheep in to knitting wool! And you made those lovely socks, they’re amazing. And you do lots of other things as well.”

I feel so much better

Well - I have spun three good handfuls of the triple cross fleece. I filled half a bobbin, at least. It’s patchy, but overall it is improving. I keep breaking my thread, though. That’s very annoying.

This fleece spins up beautifully and is sitting there looking all golden and full of lustre. It reminds me of a polo necked jumper that I knitted from a mill cone my mother bought many (oh, so many) years ago and split between the three of us (herself, me, and my twin). It was a tweed mix, and the colour was called “Bracken.” I really liked it. So there’s no wonder that I like this.

However. I should return to the Jacob. I really want to knit up those first three balls, and I need some more to add to it. 

It was a beautiful evening, I should have been out walking or cycling not sitting inside spinning. But I do need to conquer this thing and find out if sheep, Hebbie, and I are compatible.

HipKnits, handpainted luxurious yarns

New fleece

 We unwrapped our parcel of fleece at spinning group today. I should have taken a photograph at the time, but here is some of the two fleeces that I have a share in. On the left is a three way cross from Shetland/Manx/Corriedale. It’s a gorgeous rich brown with golden tips, good length and masses of crimp. And it is loaded with lanolin. On the right is a Jacob/Polworth cross - also a very nice fleece.

It’s wasted on me, of course. I rarely find time to practise to improve my spinning, and I am still rubbish at it. I want a new wheel - but what if I find it’s me and not the wheel? That’s money wasted then.  My beloved is happy enough to buy me a wheel and let me pay him back when I can. That’s nice. He’s also convinced that I should have a new one, not a second hand one. Even nicer. I do love that man… But I think I want to actually try a Traditional before I make the commitment. P in our group has a Trad, so I asked her this morning if I might play with it one day to see if it suits me better than the Haldane.

Anyway, the decision is out of my hands until the Orkney Ferries dispute is over. We’re not trusting any parcel deliveries now; between that dispute and the Post Office’s industrial inaction it really makes no sense to be ordering anything at all right now. There will be no more shopping for a while, methinks…

This morning I got no spinning done at all. So I knuckled down to an afternoon’s hard work. I did get the thing going at one point. I do like it when it goes well! Then my drive band started to go, so I came and ordered up two new ones. When I went back… well, it just would not go right at all.  My thread kept breaking and I’d lose the end. I couldn’t keep the wheel going and it kept going backwards. And the bobbin wasn’t taking up. In the end, I found that a nut had come loose. But my end had got fast. I just can’t find it. I decided to take it as a message, call this bobbin “full” and give up for today.

When I have cleared up the sitting room, so that the cats don’t choke on all this stray wool and the dog doesn’t pee on my new fleece (!), I’m going to knit until I am soothed once more. Knitting is almost as good as chocolate for the seratonin levels that it induces. And far better for the hip line.

Yesterday I went to Orkney Angora, with F. I wanted to have  a look and see what went on up there, but also to see if I could find something suitable to knit a pair of bedsocks from.

Angora yarn in Heather Pink

This heather pink 100% angora is destined for the bedsocks. I got 50gms. That should be enough… I think.

Orkney Angora began as a rabbit farm but the business soon became so successful that the rabbits had to go and the angora is now sourced elsewhere, but hand-dyed on the premises. William still hand spins some yarn and does all the dying himself. Garments are knitted by machine on the premises, and by hand by island knitters. It’s a real cottage industry but bang up to date, as the mail order business operates via the web site and William also dyes yarns for other yarn-selling Internet companies. Big ones too - by which I mean: “yes, I have heard of them and bought yarn from them.” I could tell you, but then he’d have to kill me…
maybe

We had the grand tour of both the craft shop and the garden and we seized upon the opportunity to purchase some oddments at advantageous prices.

We didn’t just come away with angora, but also with an offer from William to come and demonstrate dyeing to our spinning group.

Bloooooos

These gorgeous blues and greens are a handspun 50/50 angora/lambswool, which knits approximately to a DK. They are going to be stripy socks, one day. I am hoping to have enough left over to use on a felting project for my “island” theme. There is bound to be a challenge one day that invites the use of fibre

We scored this angora at £5.00 per 100gms. Well worth the visit.

Yarn Harlot: It must be viral

The Yarn Harlot speaks today of Startitis. If only I had the chance… I am still waiting for that silk to arrive for my Clapotis. You can bet your sweet life that, when the package does arrive, I’ll have those 5mm straights out before David can drop the parcel from his big goalie’s mitts. *sigh*

Spinning today - so I have been making cherry and almond cake and (ugh) cleaning up a bit. I know spinning and carding makes mess, but I figure the Spinning Ladies of Sanday do not want flakes of cat litter in their yarn :-}

Little progress on the sock. Maybe I’ll finish it tonight. Maybe not. After all this early morning activity, I am pooped.

More later - on my trip to Orkney Angora. For now, I shall return to my compulsive checking of my spam folder - just in case that is where my Ravelry invite has got to.