Fiber, Yarn and Knitting

It's been a long time since I've posted. I can't believe how fast the time is going already. Guess that's just a sign of age. lol My mind is racing with all the things I want to get done this year and I find myself writing lists all the time. I can't really say that I haven't had time to blog, it just seems I've lost the inclination. I've spent my blogging time catching up on reading other peoples blogs and it feels good to catch up with old friends.

I finished up the silk/alpaca skein and am not sure exactly how I feel about it. I'm not completely in love with it, but don't really dislike it either. I'm a bit perplexed by it I guess. This is the first time I've felt so ambivalent about something I've created. It's approx 142 yards, 3.75 oz. Two of the three plies are black alpaca and the third is the silk from the silk cap experience. The only thing I can think of to use it for at this point is gloves, so I'll let it marinate in the stash for awhile and then decide. I have decided that I'm going to dye and spin another silk cap before I determine if I'm selling the rest. The dislike I felt for it at the begging of spinning could very well be lack of experience. The second half of the spinning went really well, so I think I should give it another shot before deciding on the fate of the rest of the silk stash.

Right now I have the grey super wash on the wheel. It's not exciting to look at so there's no pic. It's spinning up beautifully and will hopefully make a nice sock yarn. I'm not sure yet if I'll leave it as is, or wind it on the sock dyeing board and dye part of it. After this I plan on doing some color blending work, but I'm going to do some research on it first. I'm ok at picking colors to go together, but the really awe inspiring batts I see usually have color combos I'd never thought to put together. So I'm striving to step out of my comfort level on picking colors. When I do the blending, I'll take pics and show what I did. (Good blog fodder.)

I've gotten in some good knitting time and have actually finished this sock already and am about a quarter through the second. No pictures of the finished sock yet, but I'll snap one when they are both done. I'm loving the pattern and hating the yarn. The yarn itself it nice to work with, but the colors are not "me". Sadly I think I'll have some left over after I'm done with this pair. As for the sock itself, it fits beautifully and I only had to knit it once. Ironic considering I don't like the colors. That's the way it goes though. I will probably buy more of the yarn (it's Knit Picks) and do some sock yarn dyeing this summer. I like how the self striping came out and I'd like to use the sock dyeing board again.

Today I spent some time picking through the last sheep fleece from the back deck. It's at the top of my "to do" list as it's days are numbered out there. It's spent enough time out there anyway. I almost threw it away but am glad I didn't. As I was picking through it, I was amazed at how nice the lock structure is, and how curly some of them are. I have no idea of the breed of this one as it was a "dirty freebie" but I can see it carding up to a nice batt. I think it's my last sheepie fleece to wash. After this one it's all alpaca. My goal is to get all of the dirty stash washed, dried and packaged asap. If the weather comes in warm soon, I'll dry outside again. Anyway, I've heard others talk about putting the fleece in a soaking bucket for a few days before actually washing it and thought I'd try that out. I didn't get even half of it picked through before my back said "STOP", but what was picked out is now on the back deck soaking. I plan on starting the washing stage Wednesday. It's mostly a brown and grey fleece, so I won't be able to visibly see a cleaner difference, but I should be able to tell in the washing experience. If I have any lighter fleeces stashes somewhere, I'll try it with one of those to see if there is a visible difference.

Well that's it for the fiber post update. I've another post to put together, so I'll be back soon!