Here is some of the fleece that we dyed yesterday. It’s in artificial light and with flash, so the colours are way off. It looks lovely in reality and I cannot wait to spin it up. However, I feel honour bound to get those BFL tops completed. As I am trying to up my spinning hours anyway, it seems an additional impetus to get the tops finished. I did an hour last evening and two hours this afternoon. I have about 2/3rds of a bag left to spin up. Shall I set a target of the end of next week for having it cleared away and plyed? That’s ambitious, considering how long the other 2 and 1/3rd bags has taken me!
As for upping the spinning hours, I did manage an hour last night while sitting listening to the radio after tea (Mike Harding‘s Folk and Roots show on BBC Radio2) and before retiring to bed to watch a very strange film indeed (Prospero’s Books. What can I say? I like Peter Greenaway films – but concede this to be his oddest, that I have seen thus far). This morning was spent domestic goddessing (soup and bread for lunch) but I did add another 2 hours spinning to this week’s total this afternoon, while on puppy-minding duty.
Nell scarcely counts as a puppy now and is well on the way to being full grown, but she still needs a watchful eye if she is not to earn disgrace by generating her own interests… though you would scarce believe that if you could have seen her on her very best behaviour at our spinning group yesterday.
Much of Nell’s apparent good behaviour yesterday, I put down to some apprehension about the spinning wheels. Indeed when I was spinning last night she kept well away from me and my wheel and chose to sit on the sofa close to her “dad” for protection. Two hours in her company this afternoon seems to have dispelled that apprehension. She had a good nosey around – literally, sticking her nose in the spokes when I was spinning. She won’t be doing that again in a hurry, I think. Who got the blame for a smarting nose? Why, me – of course!
That fleece looks gorgeous!
It is, it is, it is – and I shall send you a small skein of whatever I produce from it. I’m plotting a thick-and-thin production like the Colinette stuff. It may take some practice..
Ooh, thank you! I shall look forward to that. Good luck with the ‘slubbing’ technique – is that what it’s called? I’m sure that type of yarn is called ‘slub’ 🙂
I wasn’t thinking so much of slubs (though there will be many – as in all my spinning!) – I wa s thinking more of a fat and bouncy squishy ply, with a tighter fine ply in dark contrast. The finished effect that I have in my eye is of the lighter coloured ply being tied about with the darker ply, and kind of squeezing through it. The plying itself would have to be quite loose, I think – not many twists per inch, maybe one or two would do it. I don’t know. I have a vision – and no knowledge! I have asked for advice but I’ll probably just wing it and experiment. I am giving myself permission to fail and just planning to have fun and make something that doesn’t matter if it falls apart when I look at it. If I knit it, it will go on the wall, but I mostly plan to use it in the studio I think.
I should point out that it may be some months in making an appearance. I t will be a lot of work, as I think I will hand-card it. And I have commitment to projects on my other wheel that take precedence.
Sounds lovely.
No rush obviously! I hope you enjoy experimenting and playing with it.
I know you’ve got several projects on the go/in the pipeline. Sounds all too familiar!