sometimes a cigar

well, you know.


handcarded merino (?) fleece rolags, washed during Deep Color's Fleece Day class & purchased w/ my (used) Ashford Joy wheel.

My Strauch handcards came yesterday from The Woolery's Spring Sale (along with 3 more bobbins and a tension spring-- my son decided to see how far he could make the scotch-tension brake band with its spring go and it went faaaar :)). I'm really having a fun time carding; I still don't know if I'm doing it "right" but it looks good and totally spinnable. The fleece is super short staple, almost doesn't roll into a full "cigar" shape.

Carding the fleece, I had one of those back of the mind fantasies to buy a fleece, wash, card, spin, design and knit a sweater for a loved one-- such a fantasyworld I live in! For now, the total fleece I have weighs about 12 oz., not quite enough for a (real) large project. I'm planning on carding all of it before spinning, a relaxation project when everyone's asleep and I can indulge in dirty secret tv by my lonesome.



I also finished spinning and plying one of the superwash merino rovings I kept after my last dye session-- "the color." Its going to be pretty neat... reminds me of candy and should knit up tweedy. My sock yarn spinning's getting finer & finer though (not necessarily a good thing), these I'll have to knit on US 1/2.25mm or US 0/2.0mm. (Did you hear KnitPicks added US 1/2.25mm and US 2/2.75mm to their available needle sizing?! Their dpns are my favorite... too bad they don't take paypal or I'd own several sets already). So much for fast socks, but with the effort that goes into spinning it's more than worth it (or so says the gallery).



When I was drying the merino superwash, I finally skeined up some of the bobbin-ed yarns I showed in this post (I make the messiest skeins)...





...merino/tussah silk (ashland bay-- rose colorway, my guess) and superwash merino from fiberfiend.com. Both were navajo plied since their singles looked too thin to me-- washed up though, they look light/worsted (there's a great looking shop on etsy I need to try one day-- he makes wooden wpi meters and plying templates for spinning). I think the merino/silk worsted would make a great sub for the Seashell Shrug from Runway Knits that I have mad love for-- I only have 8 oz of fiber total, but since its commercially available I'm thinking it won't be hard to find.


Seashell Shrug back, merino/tussah handspun (color's off)

On a personal note, I'm dying sick right now (food poisoning, wishful thinking, voodoo doll?) so I don't expect to have an etsy friday post ready in the next few days. Karrie has been linking some great etsy stuff lately... I bought a pendant from one of her shop recommendations a few weeks back that I need to remember to share.

...and close to my heart and made me feel ridiculously better-- Alyson finished her Belloq thighhigh stockings for her upcoming wedding, and wove a freshwater pearl stitch marker from my etsy shop into the top. Too cool, all around... babies and weddings make me cry.

Be well yall!